Feast or Famine

This is what you get with Bobby Parnell. Lately, it's been a lot of famine, but here now are a couple of scoreless outings sprinkled in. He's been more up and down than Oliver Perez in his heyday.

Brian Stokes put up a crooked number for the third time in the last four outings. Crooked numbers are good for batters, not pitchers. Give a Mets pitcher the eighth inning and he wilts under the pressure. Elmer Dessens, anyone? In defense of Stokes, this outing was not completely his fault despite giving up two. Angel Pagan continues to prove he is not deserving of a starting position in the major leagues by not calling a popup that Jeff Francoeur and Luis Castillo were waiting for him to catch. There's more to a player than the numbers. Perfect example.

Watching Alex Cora talking to Mike Pelfrey in the dugout continues to show why the Mets have to bring this guy back. Intangibles. Alex needs to spend more time with Angel.

How can we forget about the player of the game, Cory Sullivan? A homerun to start the scoring, a beautiful catch in left, an intentional walk (forget for a moment Omir Santos was following him in the lineup), and another single in the inning that broke the game open.

Only for Die Hards

Livan is pretty lucky these games don't matter much anymore. He got zero reaction as he was pulled from the game last night. The crowd does not care. They were busy doing the wave in the late innings before they all left en masse in the 8th.

It takes great patience to stick around in game like last night. Got a seat upgrade for last night's stellar affair thanks to a friend who could not attend, and sitting in left-center you really appreciate that new video board in the right field corner. Indeed, that would be something I would complain about had those been my seats. So at least you could say it was sort of a good time. Although that's tough to say when you look at the product on the field.

I hope Alex Cora is back next season. For him to continue playing on two bad thumbs since back in May- that's all about the team right there. The Mets need more guys like that.

Bound to Happen

His name is circulating in trade rumors involving the Mets. I don't know, looking at his numbers and his defensive play, is he something we really need right now?

5-for-8, a double, a homerun and 4 rbi, that's all Aubrey Huff has done to the Mets since I wrote that following the first game of this series. The final hit was a game-winning single off Francisco Rodriguez. It was the first Met closer meltdown we have witnessed this season. Have you missed those?

Feliciano will not get the lefties out some days and K-Rod will blow some saves. Unfortunately, as shorthanded as the Mets are right now, we need them to be flawless. Last night was a tough one indeed. It's another series loss. The Orioles were supposed to be the cookies in this rough stretch of games against above .500 teams. A 5-10 record in the month of June. We should be thankful the Phillies have only gone 1-5 since their series victory in Citi Field last week. It's the only reason the Mets are within striking distance of the division lead.

Alex Cora tried his best to pull out a Met victory last night. With key hits and great defensive play you only wonder how much worse it would be had he not returned early from the torn ligament with Reyes out.

Fernando Martinez, please find your game and confidence at AAA. You don't belong right now.

It will be interesting to see Fernando Nieve pitch today. The news yesterday was that John Maine threw 60 pitches in Florida, but it was not really any progress. Maine, Redding, Figueroa, a call-up- seriously, what's the difference? He hasn't been the same since 2007.

To D.C. Please

Disaster.

Mike Pelfrey was awful. The Pirates were anything but, despite having their best player traded the night before. At least Carlos Beltran looked good in his return from the stomach flu. Alex Cora returned as well, so the lineup was looking a little better. Anything but Ramon Martinez hitting sixth. The offense was fine. This one was full of pp- Pelfrey and...

J.J...ah, never mind, we've discussed him way too much lately. Would you like to reverse that trade with Seattle today? Jason Vargas is 2-0 with an ERA under 2. You win some, you lose some, but it seems like Omar is losing them lately. We can only rely on the fact that there's still a lot of time left this season.

It has to suck being a Pirates fan (aside from the fact that you own the Mets in your city). Andrew McCutchen, enjoy your time in Pittsburgh, you'll be gone in a few years.

And to think, the Mets have to come back here for one measly game on July 2nd due to the rainout last night. How about we forfeit the game and take the rest instead? The result won't be any different.