Isn't This a Pitcher's Park?

That makes 5 homeruns in the last 7.1 innings of Nelson Figueroa as a starter in Citi Field. Good thing his next start is to open up the next road trip.

Elmer Dessens was given the 8th inning yesterday, albeit trailing by a run and not in a setup man role, but sure enough served one up to Derrek Lee on his first pitch, a second-decker.

I know there's absolutely no other way to the get the crowd going these days, but I can't stand the noise meters on Citivision. They were seemingly appearing at some point of every Met at-bat in the last few innings.

Well Deserved

Nelson Figueroa is getting his opportunity and is taking advantage. Of course, performing well in meaningless games for a 35-year old journeyman is nothing to get excited about, but it's nice to see someone continue to work at it and get rewarded. Jerry must have read my post last week about letting them pitch 'till they drop: who thought Figgy was coming back for that eight inning, already having thrown well over 100 pitches?

The Mets actually got Milton Bradley out today, a popout in the 3rd inning.

11 hits in the fourth inning, but only one the rest of the way- that's the way the offense has been lately. Score a run a game or explode for an 18 hit game.

Wind or no wind, Luis Castillo is shaky on those popups. Bad memories.

Just Pitch 'Em 'Till They Drop

Nelson Figueroa had a pitch limit of about 80. I wonder if anybody bothered to ask him how he was feeling after the 5th inning and giving up only four hits and one earned run. I'm sure he could have gone out there. Why hold him back? A Parnell or a Niese I can understand. But Figgy? Just let him pitch.

One person Jerry did let pitch was Sean Green. He said it was a positive sign that he pitched two scoreless innings. Excuse me, but what the hell is positive about a guy throwing 50 pitches in two innings with runners in scoring position each inning?

Gary Sheffield was taken out of the game because of injury. Just give this guy his release already so he can sign with whatever team he wants and still be eligible for the postseason. I would rather watch Nick Evans play left field the rest of the way.

Oe- who?

That would be Trent Oeltjen, who is one-upping what Mike Jacobs did to the Diamondbacks back in 2005. Sure, this guy has not hit as many homeruns, but he's doing just about everything else. At least Mark Reynolds isn't hitting any bombs off us like he did in Flushing last week.

The season continues to go down the toilet. Who are we kidding, it already has. 11 game homestand coming up after a get-me-out-of-the-west matinee later this afternoon. Should be good times at Citi.

I'm tired of watching Livan Hernandez throw bp. Give the job to Nelson Figueroa in the meantime. He has deserved a chance, despite that awful start in his return vs these same Diamondbacks. Guess what? The Mets are done with the Snakes the next time Livan's turn is up in the rotation. Give Figgy the few starts he deserves.

Aside from Luis Castillo (who's having a fine Castillo season minus a stumble down some stairs, a dropped popup and some lazy throws to first), the highest on base percentage in last night's lineup was Alex Cora's .325. Pathetic.

Crack

Nelson Figueroa was getting hammered. The oohs and aahs off every crack of the bat in the first and second inning gave you an idea of what was happening if you were not paying attention to the field. I felt really bad for the guy. Here he was, his final shot, deserving of the start (I don't care what you're hearing on talk radio, his AAA performance says otherwise), friends and family in attendance and he gets shellacked.

Not the kind of game you want to take your old man to, which looked to be over early when it was 6-0 after two. My Dad went to another game with my brother earlier this season. That one was 5-0 after four and ended up an 8-0 loss. Poor guy. Had a good time though.

At least there was some fight in this one as the bullpen kept things in check, highlighted by 3 1/3 scoreless from Tim Redding of all people. The Mets chipped away, but the attitude from the Citi Field faithful spelled defeat from the beginning. It's really sad how many times the scoreboard has to display the "get loud" meter to get the crowd amped up.

Mark Reynolds is an absolute freak. This guy mashes balls like he's playing in a slow-pitch softball league.

Joel Pinero faces the Mets tonight. Should be interesting considering his last couple of starts in Flushing, where he has been dominant.