Big Pelf, Marian and Donald

Around this time last season, Mike Pelfrey established himself as the number two starter we were expecting him to be this season. Although we would've liked to have seen it from the beginning of the season, hopefully we see a repeat performance. Yesterday was a good start.

The Mets were outhit 7-5. They struck out 12 times. Hey, a win is a win. Right now you take it.

I thought Pelf would get another batter or two in that eight inning, at least for the righties leading up to Prince Fielder, which is Feliciano time. It would've been a shame had Sean Green blown that one, but thankfully it didn't happen.

Fernando Martinez went 0-for-3. Send the kid down. The team should be fine alternating Ryan Church and Jeremy Reed in center.

The black and gold house of horrors is up next for yet another weekday afternoon game, which means more of MLB Gameday and the occasional radio call.

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As for Day 1 of Free Agent Frenzy regarding the Rangers:

Once you lose Colton Orr, you had to get an enforcer. Donald Brashear, at two years, 1.4 mil per? Not sure about that one. Maybe Colton wanted more years, after all he did get four from Toronto. As much as you hated Brashear (my last memory of him featured one of my rare Garden cussing outbursts) you have to like a guy like that on your team. Age is a concern and you wonder if he can keep doing what he's always been doing. Sather said he's a little quicker to the puck that Orr. Really Glen, did you factor age into this at all and wonder if he might lose a step? One year fine, but two, you can only hope for the best.

Marian Gaborik is now a Ranger. Bottom line is the guy is worth it if he's healthy. But all those groin injuries is A LOT to be concerned about. Sather can talk all he wants about the hip being 100%. It's not about the hip. It's the fragile groin, which is always under stress when skating.

They needed a pure 40+ goal guy. Heatley has attitude problems. Gaborik has injury issues. Hossa wanted 12 years. That's all that was available. I guess you take the best out of your options and hope the injury bug does not strike.

Now let's pick up a mean defensive defenseman and we're ready for training camp in September.

Brewhaha

Didn't that fourth inning just about sum up this losing streak, which is now at five?

Fernando Martinez hit his first career homerun. Too bad is came in the same game where he literally fell on his face in centerfield with the bases loaded, leading to a 4-run play capped by Johan throwing the ball away. Send the kid down.

Speaking of Johan, for how many starts in a row are we going to hear about him not having his best stuff? You wonder exactly how much of a pass he is going to get with every start in which he lacks his one-time pinpoint control, which are coming at an alarming rate. Walking a pitcher? Haven't we had enough of that after Sunday night? I guess some credit goes to Ryan Braun, who really went down to get that low pitch and hit it well to clear the bases.

I want my .300 hitting, 25+ HR David Wright instead of .350 slap hitter David. He hit one that was vintage David, outta here to right-center. The only positive of the night. The kid hitting the homerun in the ninth followed a double play- whoop-de-damn-doo at that point.

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Frankly, I though Scott Gomez was untradeable, but it happened. This is a great move, even if we got a bag of peanuts in return. No disrespect to Gomer, who I didn't mind in his time here, but the salary was just way too much in this cap era.

However, it's July 1. The worst day of the year. Who will the Rangers overpay this year now that they have a little cap room?

Guaranteed

If my ass was in the Promenade yesterday, that ball hit by Yadier Molina goes over Jeremy Reed's head for a two-run double and a 4-3 Cardinal lead. Ryan Franklin comes in and gets the Mets 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th. If that happened it was only fitting that Pujols got clearly picked off at second base (how can the third base umpire not overrule that play- you could be leaving the bathrooms on the third base side of the Promenade and see that he was clearly out). However, the blown save did not happen. 7/10/08, 7/24/08, 8/7/08, and now 6/25/09. Four weekday matinees I missed or sold, 4-0 record. When I go, 0-6. As of now, I am scheduled to go to camp days 7/30 and 8/5. Anyone want tickets?

How about Fernando Martinez's play in centerfield? Unfortunately he went 0-for-3 to drop his average to .167. Bite the bullet with Jeremy Reed in center for the next week or so (besides, let's see what he can do when given a string of consistent at bats) and send the kid down before his confidence goes down the toilet.

K-Rod just refuses to throw strikes if he does not have to. Sure, he made it scary, putting two men on after striking out the first two batters in the 9th, but it's all part of the master plan. Worked great against the Yankees, until- let's forget about that one- wait, we can't. They're next on the schedule. Can someone please drill Robinson Cano at some point this weekend?

John Who?

Fernando Nieve continues to roll. John Maine, take your time coming back. Fine, I've been a little hard on Maine the past few days, but he spoiled us in 2007 with that good season. Our expectations were for him to at least repeat or better that season. He simply has not been doing that the last year and a half. Right now, he's just another 5th starter. Until he starts popping high fastballs in the 90s again, there no sense to get excited about a possible return anytime soon.

Brian Schneider just might be getting hot at the right time. He needs to take the catcher job and run with it. Leave Omir on the bench for that big pinch hit late in the game. It seems like it's the only time he gets hits on a consistent basis.

Good move in calling up Nick Evans for Fernando Martinez. Evans could have easily made the team out of spring training, but struggled mightily when sent down. He was not even an option earlier in the season. In the last month, he's been tearing up AA, so it was finally time. In addition, unlike with F-Mart, he does not have to play every day.

Sean Green, your new 8th inning man. Although you can't help but wonder if Putz and Wagner can find their pre-surgery selves and return to action for September. Another lefty in the pen would be nice. Can we win a game without stress so we don't have to run Feliciano out there for the 15th straight game?

Felicianono

Huff giveth, Huff taketh away. Pedro Feliciano was brought in the perfect spot. Markakis and Huff, two lefties coming up. Don't criticize for wanting to keep Parnell in there. It was simply a case of the right move gone wrong. I say Huff ain't nothing to write home about the day before and the next day he hits what eventually is the game-winning homerun.

Fernando Martinez hit a nice looking double. However, I'm tired of seeing the kid struggle up here (he was all twisted on that early homerun by that other hot shot prospect who was going all season without an rbi) and he needs to go down and get some confidence as soon as National League ball returns this Friday.

A painful 0 for 5 for David Wright, with three of those at-bats coming with runners in scoring position. I wonder if David was trying too hard to go yard there as the tying run in the 9th inning. It's amazing the guy is on pace for about ten homers on the year. Sure, you'll take the .357, but you'd like some pop when the team desperately needs it.

At least Gary Sheffield went yard again and has caught fire. The question is will it keep up now that he has to resume playing the field on Friday.

Shake It Off

Some carryover effect. Go figure. They say momentum is as good as your next day's starting pitcher, and there's no better example than today's game.

Luis Castillo had a couple of hits and even fielded some balls today. It seemed like everyone had at least a couple of hits. On the subject of one-handed popups, it's a matter of time before David Wright drops one of them gimmes. Just look at where his body is and where the ball is on EVERY popup.

Speaking of Wright, I can't forget to mention the big hit off Rivera in that game to forget, which was a "clutch situation." I've been complaining that seemingly all of his hits during this hot streak have come with the bases empty.

The story of this one was Fernando Nieve. For an unheralded starter, his stuff looked pretty good.

No lead is safe in this park. It's Mile High Stadium and pre-humidifier Coors Field all over again. A nice place to boost your offensive numbers. Is there any fly ball to left field that does not reach the warning track?

Safe to say Gary Sheffield is benefiting from the DH; a homer for the second straight day. Four more games in AL parks. Nice.

Fernando Martinez should still go to AAA when the Mets return from Baltimore. Unless Sheffield, who's scheduled for an MRI, is diagnosed with something that puts him on the DL.

The Team to Beat

Usually we come off losses criticizing every single move our team's manager/coach made. Or chalk it up to a blown call.

The Phillies are just too good. Power? Check. Ibanez and Utley hitting homer after homer. Never mind Howard. Speed? Check. Rollins, Victorino, Werth (he who stole home earlier this season). Defense? Check. Every one of gets to anything questionable and Ibanez is throwing out everyone from left. Bullpen? Check. No Lidge, but the other guys, with the matchups they present, are right up there with the Mets pen as it currently stands. Starting pitching? Maybe we found something. However, if they acquire a stud via a trade this season, we're screwed and looking at the frightening possibility of a Philly-Yankee World Series come October (Yes, the Yanks are 0-8 vs the Sox, but after all that they are only two games out and are a Joba move to the pen away from fixing their mess).

Speaking of which, if you switched over to that Yankee game last night and all you heard was "this is the game C.C. was brought here to pitch," you had to feel a little bit better with the eventual result. Just a little bit. It all goes down the toilet if we have a bad weekend.

It does not matter who pitched that 10th inning last night. The result would have been the same.

John Maine is now on the DL. As Billy Wagner says, "F-n shocker." Who is the poor soul that will be taking his place in the cauldron that is the New Yankee Stadium?

David Wright had three hits again and the stats say he is on fire. All three hits came leading off an inning. He had another stolen base and is still stuck on four homers on the season. When the team gets healthy, that sounds like a number two hitter to me. Remember the spring training a couple of seasons ago? Maybe that spot in the lineup is not so farfetched for Wright after all.

Fernando Martinez has one last shot to prove he can stay, with Sheffield likely taking DH duties and fly balls to right that are homers in the Bronx.

Twin Killing

At least it was quick.

The Mets hit into a double play in seemingly every inning. You even had double plays of the comical variety, such as Luis Castillo running back to first without seeing Emil Brown, the batter, passing him on the basepaths, a no-no. And why is Emil Brown batting second anyway? That about sums it up.

John Maine is what he is. An average fourth starter. If he does not have his stuff, as he did last night, we're screwed. Great pitchers battle their way through times they don't have they're best. Last night was batting practice.

Jerry continues to cool off players by sitting them. See Gary Sheffield.

If Fernando Martinez is here to play everyday then why has he sat in two games already since his callup?

Are we going to wait to lose five of six to the Phillies and Yankees this week before some kind of outside help? The problem is the Mets have no chips to make a big acquisition. We're going to have to suffer until some of these guys on the DL come back. Unfortunately by then, it might be too late.

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How sweet was it to see the Penguins absolutely unravel last night? Evgeny Malkin should be suspended a game. The guy is as dirty and cheap as any fourth line goon out there.

Complete Game

First off, thankfully we did not have to see the Mets in those red hats.

We got to see a throwback tonight. A complete game by Livan Hernandez. It's not exactly a no-hitter, but for the Mets it almost seems as rare.

Gary Sheffield hit a homerun for real this time. Yes, the one yesterday counted, but you know it would not have gone out had the fan not reached out and touched it. What was great about tonight's homer was how he reached for that low pitch and managed to hit it hard. I will be the first to admit I was against the signing. Dead wrong. Unlike my NHL playoff predictions (Detroit is one win away from setting up the rematch in which Pittsburgh will win this time around. Ugh).

We got to see the debut of Fernando Martinez. It was time, seeing how the Mets were dropping like flies and he was already hot at AAA. With Carlos Beltran declared out for the next three days, Jose Reyes and Ryan Church were placed on the DL, at long last. Fernando did not do too much, but what do you expect? For all the hype he has not exactly dominated the minor league level. He had a great May thus far. Show me more the rest of the way. He'll get his chance with the big club for the next week or so.