Baby Steps

(by Brett Kahn)

At this point, all the Mets need to do is keep winning games to build momentum. Willie is clearly shaking up the lineup to see what mix of players he likes at different times. If Reyes continues on his torrid hitting pace as of late, the Mets will most likely continue to be successful offensively.

If any baseball analyst or fan said to anyone that the Florida Marlins would be in first place after 45 games, that one person deserves a nice prize. Regardless of how people predicted the Marlins to end up, the Mets needed to prove themselves in this series. They did so with help from Jose Reyes, Endy Chavez, and Fernando Tatis. Chavez's game-tying home run in the ninth last night was his first of the year. We all knew that Chavez could field but to hit a bomb in that spot was extremely clutch. Tatis, on the other hand, has been hot since being called up to the team. He is now batting .368 with a HR and six RBI's in eight games.

The Mets will start a four game series starting tonight against the L.A. Dodgers. The Mets dropped two-of-three the last time they faced the Dodgers, in L.A. Claudio Vargas will throw tonight for the Mets and try to prolong this temporary sense of accomplishment for a team that has underachieved thus far.

Mets Coming Back Home After a Rude Awakening

(by Brett Kahn)

After the Mets were swept by the Atlanta Braves, they dropped to fourth place in the NL East with speculation that Willie Randolph could be fired. Now, after loosing two-of-three to the injury-plagued Colorado Rockies, the Mets now find themselves in a slump that's going to take a lot to "swing" out of.

After the first 48 games of the season, the Mets find themselves 5.5 games out of first place. But, who's fault is this really? Much has been blamed on Randolph and the pitching staff when, in fact, it's the offense that's been lackluster all season. The Mets are currently 22nd in the entire league in batting average at .253, 16th in the league with 228 runs scored, 21st with 41 HR's, 18th with 214 RBI's, and 16th with a .329 OBP. Simply put, this team needs to hit to have any chance to be competitive.

The fans and the media want to blame the pitching staff because the Mets, by adding Johan Santana in the off season, put a lot more emphasis on starting pitching because of the debacle at the end of last year with less than stellar pitching performances coming from Tom Glavine, John Maine, and Oliver Perez. However, it always seems to get swept under the rug how the Mets simply could not hit down the stretch last season.

Until Carlos Delgado boosts his batting average higher than Johan Santana's, David Wright becomes the Wright of old, Jose Reyes stops getting picked off two times per game, and Ryan Church stops colliding with other players, this team will continue to struggle. The question is: will Omar Minaya wait that long to seriously do something about it?

Swept Into the Cellar

(by Brett Kahn)

With a four-game sweep coming at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, the Mets must feel like that pile of dust that someone desperately wants to get rid of.

After a triumphant two-game sweep over the Yankees, the Mets seemed to have their swagger back. That couldn't be further from the truth as the Mets were outscored 27-9 in the Braves series. The only good thing that might have come out of this series was the fact that Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran both hit safely in every game.

The same positive notions can't be said about the pitching. John Maine, Claudio Vargas, Mike Pelfrey, and Johan Santana gave up a combined 17 ER in 20 IP. (7.65 ERA) Starting pitching has been one of the Achilles heels for a team that now finds itself in fourth place in the NL East.

With Moises Alou now on the 15-day DL and all of the recent clubhouse issues that have arose, the depleted Mets head west to face the Colorado Rockies for a three game series starting tonight. Oliver Perez will go for the Mets.

Mets vs. Braves Notes

(by Doug Kahn)

Winless in this last five starts, Mike Pelfrey has a "brave" task ahead. In the past two games, the Mets' starters have been unable to compete with their opposing Atlanta starters, losing both games decidedly. Pelfrey has the daunting task of breaking this slump against the division rival Braves.

During his last start, Pelfrey showed his capabilities against the Nationals, allowing only one run into the eighth inning.

In his last five starts, the Mets have only been able to fork up a maximum of four runs, with a combined total of five in his last three starts. Pelfrey's last outing against the Braves was a loss having lasted only 5 1/3 innings, while giving up nine hits hits and five runs.

In other team news, Ryan Church, arguably the pioneer in Mets hitting as of now, was knocked out cold after an accidental collision occurred when sliding into Braves' second basemen Yunel Escobar.

Church leads the team in average, home runs and falls just two short to David Wright in RBIs.

After the accident, Church was taken to Piedmont Hospital for further observation.

Mets vs. Yankees Recap

(by Brett Kahn)

Not many people in baseball think of rain as a positive force. Rain usually means a double-header somewhere down the line for both teams. However, the rain provided a much needed day off for a Mets team that desperately needed to work out some issues.

Willie Randolph called a team meeting on Friday to discuss the morale of the team. After Billy Wagner's statements to the media earlier that week, it was clear that the team needed to get certain things off their chests. Well, it seemed work.

The Mets pounded the Yankees by a combined score of 18-6 in the two-game series. Both Johan Santana and Oliver Perez pitched very effectively and were awarded with wins.

A player that needed to step up in this series did so in the biggest way. Jose Reyes homered in both games to fire up a team that desperately needed it. After being criticized for being too flamboyant in celebration, Reyes calmed his antics for a while only to be criticized by Mets fans as being stoned-faced and too quiet. There is no doubt that Mets fans are fickle to say the least, but it's clear that when Reyes goes, so do the Mets.

The Mets also got added offensive sparks from Ryan Church, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran as each of them provided clutch hits when the opportunities arose.

The Mets will go into a critical series starting today against the Atlanta Braves. John Maine will go in the early game of the double-header, while Claudio Vargas will go in the night cap.

Mets @ Yankees Preview

(by Brett Kahn)

With the way the Mets have been playing lately, it's no wonder that Billy Wagner flipped at the media after last night's 1-0 loss to the Washington Nationals. However, if Johan Santana went over to Wagner and said "Relax kid. I'm pitching tomorrow," maybe Wagner wouldn't have gotten so mad.

Santana has been the go to guy for the Mets pitching staff this season. He is 4-2 with a 3.10 ERA tallying 52 strikeouts. He also beat the Yankees in his only start against them last season, going seven strong innings and allowing only two runs.

There's no question that both teams desperately need this series. The Mets (20-19) are coming off of series in which they lost two of three to the last place Washington Nationals. The Yankees (20-22) are also coming off a series in which they loss two of three. Except they loss to the first place Tampa Bay Rays. (No people, it's not a typo)

Which team will rise to occasion and which team will fall further into their division's standings? Here are some notes regarding the series.

PITCHING MATCH UPS
5/16- Johan Santana (4-2, 3.10 ERA) vs. Darrell Rasner (2-0, 3.00 ERA)
5/17- Oliver Perez (3-3, 4.61 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (3-4, 4.40 ERA)
5/18- John Maine (5-2, 2.81 ERA) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (6-1, 2.90 ERA)

-Both teams met in 2000 World Series

-Mets are 25-35 all-time vs. Yankees, 3-3 in 2007

-Mets are 10-20 all-time at Yankee Stadium

-Moises Alou will be playing his first games ever at Yankee Stadium

Roster Moves

(by Brett Kahn)

The Mets made some drastic changes this week due to the fact that reliever Matt Wise was ready to return from the DL. Here are the most recent changes.

Nelson Figueroa- designated for assignment
Jorge Sosa- designated for assignment
Matt Wise- added to roster
Claudio Vargas- added to roster and will start 5/14 vs. Nationals
Angel Pagan- 15-day DL
Fernando Tatis- added to roster

Figueroa Lashes Out at Nats

(by Brett Kahn)

Figueroa had a right to be angry after a less than stellar performance last night in a 10-4 loss against the last place Washington Nationals. However, the worst of his performance might have come after the game during the post game interview when Figueroa took offense to Washington's post-game celebration.

"They were cheering in the dugout like a bunch of softball girls," he said. "I am a professional, I take great offense to that. ... They won tonight, but in the long run, look who they are, a last-place team. ... They should show a little more class and act a little more professional." And then the kicker: "That's why they are who they are." (NEWYORKMETS.COM)

Catcher Brian Schneider also took slight offense. "It sounded like the College World Series," the former Nationals catcher said. "I guess they're trying anything now." (NEWYORKMETS.COM)

John Maine goes tonight in the second game of the three-game series. If Maine can duplicate his last performance, I'm sure the Mets won't have to worry about the Nationals celebrating.

Notable Notes

(by Brett Kahn)

As I was uncorking a bottle of wine that I bought, I instantly had a thought. Was this the reason the Mets were hitting so well lately? It worked for Sammy. Ok so maybe the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff isn't stellar, but the Mets haven't been hitting anyone all season so pardon me for being a little suspicious. Regardless, the Mets took two of three in two days against the Reds, and they did so with the bats.

-Carlos Beltran may have found his stroke having batted .455 (5/11) with 8 RBI's in the series. His batting averaged raised from .218 to .240.

-I mentioned a little while ago about the direct correlation between the top of the order and the offense. Today, Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo went 5-for-8 at the top of the order as the Mets piled on eight runs.

-Brian Schneider's home run yesterday was his first extra-base hit of the season. (21 1B and 1 HR)

-Carlos Delgado also batted .455 (5/11) in the series raising his batting average from .216 to .236.

-Scott Schoeneweis pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief today lowering his stellar ERA to 1.50

Will Heilman Start?

(by Brett Kahn)

On WFAN this morning, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts discussed the idea of Aaron Heilman joining the starting rotation.

Since reliever Matt Wise is on his way back to the bullpen, there needs to be an open roster spot for him. If the Mets send Heilman to the minors for a little while to work on his pitches so he can start, Wise can return to the Mets bullpen in place of Heilman.

Since the Mets don't know how effective Pedro Martinez will ever be again or when Orlando Hernandez will return, having Heilman as an ace up the sleeve might help solidify the starting rotation.

Notable Notes

(by Brett Kahn)

Last night, the Mets rebounded from a disastrous first game against the LA Dodgers with help from starter John Maine. Maine went 8.1 innings, giving up one earned run while striking out four. Maine showed complete control against a very young and dangerous Dodgers' lineup. The final score of the game was 12-1.

-Ryan Church went 3-for-5 raising his batting average to .328. He also added a home run, his sixth of the season.

-Marlon Anderson and Raul Casanova each had two hits replacing Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider respectively. Casanova drove in two runs while Anderson drove in one.

-John Maine also drove in two runs at the plate.

-Mets scored six runs in the sixth inning.

The Offensive Struggle Continues

(by Brett Kahn)

Last night's 5-1 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers furthered proved that this team needs another bat in the lineup.

The Mets only managed five hits and one run against starter Chad Billingley and the Dodgers' bullpen. Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Luis Castillo all went hitless as their batting averages are now much lower than expected. Reyes is now at .263 while Wright is right there at .274. Castillo can almost smell the Mendoza line now batting at .231.

With Moises Alou back in the lineup and Ryan Church becoming a fixture in the two-hole, it was thought that the lineup would be pretty solid, at least one through five. It hasn't been.

On top of the offensive struggles, starter Oliver Perez had his second shaky outing in a row as he went six innings while allowing five runs (three home runs) and six hits. Perez is now 2-3 on the year with a season-high 4.63 ERA. After having not giving up any runs in his first two outings, Perez has allowed 12 in his last two.

Nelson Figueroa will go tonight in the second game of this three-game series. Figueroa has been somewhat consistent so far this season but still doesn't have all that much major league experience. If the team can get the bats together, it will put a lot less strain on an already tired pitching staff.

Notable Notes

(by Brett Kahn)

Last night, the Mets opened up a road series against the very hot Arizona Diamondbacks. Behind David Wright, Jose Reyes and John Maine, the Mets were able to pull out a 7-2 win.

-Wright went 3-for-5 and only missed the cycle by a triple. It was the second time that he just missed the cycle this season.

-Reyes went 4-for-5 and raised his batting average from .250 to .275.

-Moises Alou made his much anticipated return and went 0-for-3.

-Carlos Delgado went 2-for-4 and raised his batting average from .198 to .210.

-Maine won his third game of the season going six innings, allowing two runs and striking out six.