It's Not that Hard to Defend.

A lot of people seem to be making a big deal over Pedro Martinez's victory over the Mets on Sunday night. Pedro threw a great game, no doubt, with 8 shutout innings in which he allowed just 6 hits, while striking out 7 and walking just two. He also lowered his ERA to 2.87 and received the victory to improve his record to 5-0. Not bad. In fact, with numbers like those combined with the fact that Johan Santana's on the disabled list, Pedro would probably be the Mets best starter.

But if you ask me, it's pretty darn hard to blame the Mets for not signing him when he became available this summer.

1. He wouldn't be helping the Mets anyway. You know that. Give the Mets five more wins, and they're 15 games out of first place. And that's besides the fact that with the Mets anemic offense and with the actuality that the Mets don't have any pitchers who are 0-5, he's not giving them five wins anyway.

2. He stank last year. Did you forget. After an encouraging five games after he returned from surgery at the end of the 2007 season, Pedro pitched terribly in 2008. How badly? 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA.

How bad is that?

Let's put it this way. When Livan Hernandez was released by the Mets this year, his ERA was 5.47.

Who Figuer-ed?

Nelson was brilliant yesterday, pitching 7 innings and driving in as many runs (1) as he gave up. What more could you ask from your number seven starter?

Others who contributed to yesterday's miniature offensive outburst were Anderson Hernandez, Jeff Francoeur and Daniel Murphy with RBI hits (Hernandez's a triple).

Fernando Tatis seemed to get a hold of a ball in the top of the fourth inning, and he hit a shot to left, but the wind knocked it down and it didn't even make the warning track.

The wind could have been the story of the day as it (possibly) played a role in around 7 plays, most of which involved Luis Castillo. Castillo was battling like nobody's business, but when he yielded to Jeff Francoeur on a pop-up in the ninth, Francoeur dropped it. Kosuke Fukodome, who was on first, was forced out at second by the alert Castillo, but those two Mets were having a rough time of it.

Wild Game

Trivia Question: What is Ichiro Suzuki's career high in home runs? (answer later)

Another Question: Why is it that the Mets major league team doesn't cover the bases properly? (No answer forthcoming)

What a game! How often do you see a pitcher give up 8 runs in an inning - and remain in the game to pitch the next inning?

A couple of players earned a trip to the moon in frequent flier miles in tonight's game. Here's basically what happened:

Anderson Hernandez started off the game at shortstop. In the bottom of the third inning, Wilson Valdez pinch-hit for Bobby Parnell. That's where all the trouble started. Valdez remained in the game as the shortstop and Anderson Hernandez shifted to second, with Luis Castillo being double-switched out for Nelson Figueroa.

In the bottom of the fifth, Andy Green pinch-hit for Figueroa. Green remained in the game at second base and Anderson Hernandez went back to shortstop, with Wilson Valdez now shifting to left field to replace Gary Sheffield who was double-switched out of the game for Tim Redding.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cory Sullivan pinch-hit for Redding. He remained in the game as the left fielder. Valdez went back to shortstop, with Anderson Hernandez going back to second. Andy Green shifted to third taking over defensively for Fernando Tatis, whose spot in the batting order was taken by Sean Green.

This would all be so much cooler if it happened because the Mets did this in a game in which they were blowing out the enemy instead of vice-versa.

Answer: 15. For more, click here.

Cans of Corn

I think the Mets players are like cans of corn - they're dropping like flies.

Yesterday, the Mets got news of a setback to Jose Reyes's recovery. Then Luis Castillo fell down the dugout steps and had to leave the game.

Today, adding injury to injury, Johnathan Niese hurt his hamstring while covering first base on an attempted double play. And then Gary Sheffield pulled up lame at first base after crushing a base hit to left-center field.

Yet they won. Nelson Figueroa and Bobby Parnell spun 7.1 scoreless innings - against an offense that had scored 12 runs the night before and the offense, led by Angel Pagan and and David Wright, scored seven runs.

I still think that with all their players healthy, they are, at the very least, the team to beat in the Wild Card race.

Now if Beltran and Delgado can just come back.

You know what Yogi said: It ain't over 'til it's over.

Innocent

As you probably know if you're living and breathing, Omar Minaya has been getting a fair amount of blame for the Mets substandard record in 2009. And he should probably expect it.

The Mets have the highest payroll in the National League. To think that they are struggling right now, trying to ease their way up to .500 seems to show some significant mismanagement. It's hard to blame people for getting disturbed.

But, if you ask me, (and I know you didn't, but it's my blog) it's hard to blame Omar Minaya for this team's troubles.

Last year, the Mets won 89 games and finished 3 games out of first place.

They basically played with this team:

C Brian Schneider/Ramon Castro/Raul Casanova/Robinson Cancel (C+)
1B Carlos Delgado (A-)
2B Luis Castillo/Damion Easley/Argenis Reyes (C)
3B David Wright (A+)
SS Jose Reyes (A)
LF Fernando Tatis/Daniel Murphy/Nick Evans/Angel Pagan/Marlon Anderson/Moises Alou (B-)
CF Carlos Beltran (A+)
RF Ryan Church/Endy Chavez/Trot Nixon (B)

Those letters in parentheses are the grades that I gave to the positions. They are approximate. That's a pretty good team.

Here is what I assume Jerry Manuel figured:
1. Brian Schneider/Ramon Castro would continue their decent catching duties.
2. Carlos Delgado, who hit torridly the last 3 months of last year, as well as in the World Baseball Classic, would put up similar numbers to those of last year.
3. Luis Castillo would improve on last year's injury-hampered numbers.
4&5. David Wright and Jose Reyes would at least duplicate their numbers from last year, while possibly showing some improvement considering that they are both under 27.
6. Daniel Murphy would be able to play left field and hit rather nicely.
7. Carlos Beltran would be Carlos Beltran.
8. Ryan Church would, after full recovery from last year's injury debacle, play quite well.

Here is where Omar's luck went bad: Of his 8 rather reasonable assumptions, only 3 (1, 3, 5) came to fruition. Injuries bad ballplaying hampered 5 of the 8 everyday positions.

But there's more. It's not like the Mets had no decent backups. They had Fernando Tatis, who was great last year as a semi-regular ready to back up the corner infield and outfield positions. They had Alex Cora, a fine backup infielder. They had Gary Sheffield and Nick Evans, both of whom can seemingly hit a bit, and play a little (very little) defense. And Jeremy Reed, who is this year's Endy Chavez, was availabe to back up the three outfield spots.

In a nutshell, here is what happened. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, got hurt. Ryan Church, Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis (and David Wright, to a lesser extent) clearly underperformed. CLEARLY. Throw in an injury to JJ Putz, and you've got yourself a lost season.

Unless...they come back. And perform. And win.

* * *

I was holding a relative's (relatively) new-born baby today. It burped and spit up. The baby's mother asked "Oh, did it burp or spit up?" to which someone else responded something like "both."

I said, "I like that it burped and spit up. That's my kind of person."

Late Push

With the trading deadline creeping up - and with it the decision of whether to become buyers or sellers - the Mets have gone on a winning spree. Before falling to the Rockies in the second game of their twinbill on Thursday, the New York Mets - with all their injuries - were winners of five straight.

How did this injury ravaged lineup win five straight. Well, it's kind of simple. When you give up nine runs in five games and score at least four per, you're giving yourself a good shot. Every starter pitched well - even Oliver Perez was OK - and the offense was doing the job, too.

The Mets stand six games back of the Giants in the wildcard hunt.

Notes: I'd like to note Fernando Tatis's two home runs against the Rockies. Number six on the year, Thursday, put him into a tie for third on the Mets this year, with Omir Santos and David Wright. They're behind Gary Sheffield and Carlos Beltran. (Seriously, how much money could I have made by betting that David Wright, 375 at-bats into the season, would have 6 home runs.

Also, nice heads-up play by Angel Berroa in the top of the seventh yesterday. Troy Tulowitzki hit a high fly to left. Tatis tracked it to the wall and leaped, but missed the play. Anyway, the ball bounced hard off the padding and was making its way back to the infield, when Berroa, the shortstop, picked it up and threw it in.

Not something you see every day.

Welcome

Fernando Nieve, who tore his right quadriceps while running out an infield grounder yesterday, has been placed on the disabled list, and outfielder Cory Sullivan has been called up from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster.

According to this,

"The team called up Sullivan rather than 22-year-old prospect Nick Evans (who played 15 games for the Mets prior to the All-Star break) because of Sullivan's versatility.

"In our situation now, in Cory's defense, he has a little bit more versatility than Nick," manager Jerry Manuel said. "He can play center field, he can play right field. Nick is a first baseman/left fielder basically, and he's still growing and learning those positions.""

Now, maybe I'm crazy (it's been argued), but to me, that doesn't really make any sense. Two days ago it seemed as though the Mets outfield consisted of Jeff Francoeur in right, Angel Pagan in center, and Gary Sheffield in left, with Fernando Tatis and Jeremy Reed as the backups. Okay, now Sheffield hurts himself.

If I'm the GM, I probably want to call up Nick Evans and play him in left field, but apparently they want Jeremy Reed to play left.

Here's the problem though. The man who went down was not needed to play center or right. Why should his replacement need to? Tatis can play right, and Reed can play all three spots, so a versatile outfielder is irrelevant. Basically, you can have one outfielder who can only play left.

I may have the answer. According to this, the Jerry Manuel is toying with the idea of having Livan Hernandez play some first base. Aha! Should that happen, Daniel Murphy might try to reinvent himself as an outfielder - one who can only play left.

If Jerry is really going to try this, the decision to leave Evans in Buffalo makes some sense. If he isn't - which certainly would seem more likely - it's a mystery.

Optimism?

Everybody thinks that the Mets stink. And can you blame them? They're nine games out of first place.

Well, if you're feeling blue about this team, orange you happy to read these optimistic notes.

1. Johan Santana, who is darn good whenever, is markedly better after the All-Star break. Just for one example, last year his ERA, WHIP, and SO/BB ratio were all much better after the All-Star break. And he went 8-0.
2. David Wright is a power hitter. He will likely hit some home runs in the second half.
3. Daniel Murphy is seemingly getting comfortable at first. Maybe he'll start hitting.
4. The bullpen is pretty good.
5. If Carlos Delgado comes back in, like two weeks, and gets hot, he could carry this team.
6. Fernando Tatis is probably a bit better than he's playing.

I know, I know, it's a weak list. But the fifth point (while containing a big "if") can be huge.

Baseball Note: According to this, the fourth-most similar pitcher to Tim Lincecum through age 24 (I know you were wondering) is Jim Bouton (who, in case you don't know, was arguably the most influential baseball player ever).

Time for Synagogue

Okay, we're one game past the traditional halfway mark in the baseball schedule, and things are not looking good if you root for the Mets. The Mets, picked by Sports Illustrated to win it all this year, are in fourth place.

With an overflowing portion of injuries to the likes of Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran and the under-performance of players like Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis, the Mets are in hot water.

Then Omar Minaya trades Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur. Ryan Church was one of the Mets only healthy players with any real upside. Sheffield's old, Castillo has no power, Schneider can't really hit. Church was really good last year (especially until the concussion) and has shown flashes of that this year. In fact, with Beltran and Fernando Martinez out, he became our center fielder.

So, let me understand: You trade one of your best uninjured players for a slow outfielder who doesn't hit for average, strikes out a ton, and treats walks as if they're the bubonic plague. Oh, and let me clarify - I'm not talking about and Adam-Dunn-without-the-walks type of player. This is a man with five home runs. Let me repeat that: Five home runs.

I understand that three years ago Jeff Francoeur was a summer sensation. He made Sports Illustrated, got all the hoopla, and for all I know, it didn't even get to his head. But the fact is that right now the guy stinks. And he's seemingly going on a downward trend. Could this trade work out well for the Mets? Sure.

But it doesn't make any sense.

Ugly Update

The Mets, to put it mildly, are suffering mightily. After dropping 3 games in Philadelphia (in which they scored only three runs - three runs), the Mets are now three games under .500 and 4.5 games behind the first-place Phillies.

What's more, the Los Angeles Dodgers (of Los Angeles), possessors of the best record in the major leagues as well as Manny Ramirez, are coming to Flushing. Get ready for a long week.

Or should you?

Here's why the Mets might beat the Dodgers...

Game 1: Mike Pelfrey vs. Clayton Kershaw
These two youngsters have a lot of potential between them, so don't look for too many runs on the scoreboard tomorrow night. If Pelfrey is as good as he was last time out, the Mets might just eke out a win.

Game 2: Oliver Perez vs. Hiroki Kuroda
Oliver Perez. The enigma to end all mysteries. He's been devastating so often in his career - and downright terrible just as often. Hopefully he'll be on the top of his game and the Mets can score a few runs. Because otherwise, they're toast.

Game 3: Randy Wolf vs. Livan Hernandez
Probably the game that the Mets have the least chance of winning, as Livan always seems to implode when playing good teams - but what watch out for the fellow. He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

As I analyze these forthcoming games, I realize that the only reason I give the Mets any chance against the Dodgers is because Tim Redding is not pitching.

How's that for optimism?

Closing In...

Carlos Beltran is now hurt. He joins the ever-growing list of wounded Mets that includes such ballplayers as Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, J.J. Putz, Oliver Perez and John Maine. Oh, and don't forget Gary Sheffield. Yet, believe it or not, the Mets are closing in on first place.

Under almost any circumstances, winning three games in a four-game series is impressive. With all those All-Stars on the shelf, it's nearly unfathomable.

So how did the New York Mets, in their current crippled state achieve the unachievable? How did they face off against a first-place (and darn good) St. Louis Cardinals team for a threee-game set and emerge victorious?

A lot of it had to do with starting pitching. Over the four games, Mets starters pitched 27 innings, in which they allowed nine runs (only seven earned) on only 23 hits. Their strikeout to walk ration was a pedestrian 1.36, but the walks didn't hurt all too much and the defense did pretty good work. Was there a luck aspect involved? Probably, but what do you want - this is baseball.

But it was more than that. In the nine innings that the bullpen worked they gave up nothing. 3 hits and no runs. And remember, J.J. Putz, the setup man, is disabled, and Bobby Parnell, his replacement, has been so overworked that they vowed to rest him for the first few games. No runs in four games! It's an impressive achievement, to say the least.

But there's some more credit to pass around. David Wright had 6 hits and 4 runs, Fernando Tatis, who is hopefully out of his seemingly interminable batting slump, had 5 RBIs over the four games. Ryan Church contributed runs and RBIs at the rate of 3 apiece, and the middle of the order, while it may not have scared the Cardinals too much, certainly hurt them.

Tomorrow the Mets take on the Yankees at Citi Field with Mike Pelfrey taking on Yankee ace C.C. Sabathia.



Poll Update: In our last poll, we asked you "Who should play right and left field for the Mets?" with the choices being Gary Sheffield, Ryan Church, Fernando Tatis, and Fernando Martinez. Coming in first was Ryan Church, with Gary Sheffield and Fernando Tatis tied for second.

Weekend Notes

After a really tough loss to the Yankees at their new "wiffle ball stadium" on Friday night (capped by a Luis Castillo error), the Mets rebounded last night by beating the Yankees 6-2. Gary Sheffield likes going back to being a designated hitter - he's 4 for 10 with two home runs and a double in the last two games.

David Wright, if you didn't know, is leading the major leagues in batting average.
Carlos Beltran is not far behind.
Fernando Nieve pitched solidly in place of the injured John Maine.
The Mets had 17 hits today.
They are not dead.
Trust me.

Interesting Note: It might just be me, but it seems as though there is an inordinate number of former Mets second basemen floating around the Major Leagues.

1. Melvin Mora, BAL - played 8 games at second base with the Mets in 1999-2000 before being traded (with others) to the Orioles for Mike Bordick.
2. Ty Wigginton, BAL - played 37 games at second base with the Mets in 2002 and 2004 before being traded to the Pirates in 2004 in the Kris Benson deal.
3. Marco Scutaro, TOR - played in 51 games at second base for the Mets in 2002-2003 before being waived in 2003.
4. Anderson Hernandez, WAS - played in 18 games at second base for the Mets in 2005-2006 before being sent to the Nationals in 2008 to complete the Luis Ayala deal.
5. Kazuo Matsui, HOU - played in 105 games at second base with the Mets in 2004-2006 before being traded in 2006 for Eli Marrero.
6. Jeff Keppinger, HOU - played in 32 games with the Mets at second base in 2004 before being traded in 2006 to the Royals for Ruben Gotay.
   

Ruben Gotay (who played 37 games at second in 2007) does not make the list. He might soon, considering he is a AAA infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks and his on-base percentage is currently more than 50 points higher than what the Diamondbacks are getting from their second basemen.