Reyes Third and Santos Out

It looks like Jerry is serious in having Jose Reyes bat third until Carlos Beltran returns from injury. Everyone is in an uproar over this. If Jose can't mentally handle batting third, then he should not be in the big leagues, plain and simple.

Does Reyes lead off an inning all the time? No. The leadoff batter in a lineup leads off the 1st inning, and in some cases, that's it. Think of the flip side to this. Half the time, Reyes will come up in the first inning with two out and no one on. If he reaches first base, you have a good situation to go for the stolen base- two out, bases empty. On the other hand if someone ahead of him reaches base, then he can actually drive them in with one of his league leading (and assuming he stays healthy in Citi it will be league leading) triples.

As for Omir Santos, yes, he provided us with some bright spots last season- well, I count only two. However, his constant swinging at the first pitch and on base percentage of below .300 will not be missed. Barajas is not much better, but at this point the more mediocre catchers there are competing for a spot the better.

Amen, Matt Cerrone

Well said.

For all the pessimists out there, I hope to not hear from you if the team is in a pennant race come September.

For all of you who dropped out of the full season ticket plan you shared with me, don't bother asking for playoff tickets.

I'll be going to plenty of games this season, and no matter how the team fares I will enjoy every minute of it.

Season Subscriber Benefits

Mets season ticket holders are getting their season ticket renewals in the mail. Got mine yesterday.

Inside, a copy of the 2010 schedule. Ticket prices of each tier of games have not changed much, but you notice there are less gold games, automatically decreasing the total cost of the season. The overall decrease? 2.9%. My seats are in the Promenade Reserved Infield. I can't complain about the prices. I was shocked at how low the cost was last season for the inaugural season at the park.

Here's my issue with the Mets in general. Their benefits fall a bit short. Just last season their started a split payment plan. A nice start compared to what they had before 2009, when they hit you with one big charge. However, in the days where credit card interest rates are skyrocketing, the least they could do was offer a six-month pay plan. The Rangers play half the games the Mets so, yet they offer an eight-month pay plan.

In the 'New for 2010' page, there is "Expanded Club Access." Sweet! Finally, if I'm freezing my ass off in April I can finally escape into the Promenade Club at the very least to warm up for a few innings. Wrong. On the other side of the page is list of every seating category (37 of them!!) on the left side with list of clubs along the top, and checkmarks underneath for which club each tier has access to. The only ones without a checkmark? Promenade Reserved and Promenade Reserved Infield. They are allowing Promenade Club holders to go to the Caesar's Club. How about just allowing everyone access to the Promenade Club, or at least those with a season ticket??

In the final game last season, they allowed us to participate in the DynaMets Dash, which was cool. Anytime you get on a major league field (or skate on the Garden ice, which the Rangers allow once a year), it's an experience. This season the Mets are offering tours of the field, dugout and clubhouse, which will take place in December. The Dash was great, as it got you on the infield dirt. This time, it will be nice to see how big that Met clubhouse really is.

There are also '"Take the Field With the Mets" Days', Mets Yearbook, and Mets Magazine opener edition giveaways in addition to the customary gift and media guide you get each year. These are all improvements and steps in the right direction, but the Mets can give us more, and if there ever was a time to do it, the time was for this season. Despite their efforts, they might have dropped the ball. That being said, will I renew? Probably. It would take a super f- you for me to drop.

Speaking of benefits, the Rangers had their annual fan forum last night, as reported nicely by Mrs. Hurley. I don't ask questions at these things, but if I were to ask one last night, it would be something like she suggested: Henrik needs to just snap at the next guy who runs him in his crease and use that stick.

The end of the evening featured a trivia quiz, with each of the five players in attendance giving away their Rangers jersey for those who get the correct answer. This contest in previous fan forums featured crappy questions which fans lucky enough to be next to the host got called on to provide the correct answer. They improved on that with some doozies last night. Which current Ranger was picked a few picks after Enver Lisin was picked in the second round of the 2004 draft? Getting that one is deserving of a $300 Ranger jersey. The answer was Dane Byers.

Lisin, by the way, is my new favorite player. The kid is hilarious, and you really see why the guys get a kick out of him.

We Suck

You know, I didn't even have to watch that whole game in Washington tonight to realize what the hell was going on. The Mets are brutal. It's sad, they probably won't even reach 70 wins on the year.

What did Wilson Valdez do wrong to get taken out of that game? Anderson Hernandez is not a shortstop, and proves it by committing the big error in the 8th that led to the go-ahead run.

Friday night is almost here. Opening night- in Pittsburgh of all places. How long before we rip on Crosby and pig-face Kennedy?

It's Hockey Season

Yikes, almost two weeks since the last update here. Judging by the hits on the site and comments, you didn't miss me too much.

Since the last update, the Mets continue to play out the string, and the Rangers have actually reeled off a few wins in a row, although it's only preseason. The play of the youngsters is definitely something to get excited about, but be warned: how many times have we seen this, whether its with the Mets or the Rangers? Preseason does not mean a thing.

Add another chapter to the horror show that is the 2009 Mets. David Wright lolligagging to home plate as Jeff Francoeur gets thrown out at second. The run does not count. Word has it that Razor Shines encouraged David to take it easy towards home. Let's find another third base coach for next season.

Vintage

Pedro had all of his good stuff last night. 8 shutout innings with 130 pitches. Getting out of a couple of late jams. Too bad I'm not typing this at this time in 2008, 07, or even 06. It's 2009 and Pedro Martinez is a Phillie. And he was doing this against the Mets. For what it's worth he did it in a game that officially eliminated the Mets from playoff contention.

Daniel Murphy bailed him out in the eight inning and continues to prove why the Mets should look to find another first baseman until Ike Davis is ready if they plan on contending. Youth is no excuse for his aggressiveness in trying to go to third on a pitch that barely bounced away. You're down a run in the 8th. You are already in scoring position. Ground ball specialist Jeremy Reed maybe just maybe finds a hole that can drive you home. As Torts said about the Dubi situation, "It's stupid." Murph can work as hard as he wants in the cage, on the field, and in the video room, but he's not the answer at first base.


It was nice to see John Maine in action in the first game of the doubleheader, albeit for only three innings. How about Josh Thole going 4-for4? Could he be the answer at catcher next season? Keep it up kid- if Omir Santos and his sub .300 on base percentage is our starting catcher next season, we're in trouble.

Both games saw the Mets not go quietly in the 9th against first Brad Lidge, then Ryan Madson in the second. Lidge was a bit shakier and Madson gave up a hit to Brian Schneider in what was an impressive at bat by him considering his situation. Angel Pagan unfortunately made the final out in both, more unlucky the second time, roping one down the line right where Pedro Feliz was standing.

Bullpen, You Have a Problem

The Mets probably got their most satisfying victory of the season late yesterday afternoon. Considering it's September and they are about 19 out, that's saying a lot.

We saw David Wright hit not one, but two homeruns, including one that put the Mets ahead over the Phillies in the top of the 9th, after being down to their last out with nobody on and trailing 9-8. Tatis single, Wright homerun. Phillie fans stunned.

The Phillies can compete with the Yankees (I can't believe I'm saying this) if they have Ryan Madson doing his thing in the 8th and if they had the Brad Lidge of last season. The problem is they don't Frankly I couldn't care less if they choke away the division to the Marlins (I can't believe I'm saying that).

A doubleheader sweep today would be nice, but I'm afraid it will be not the way we want it. At least we had one day to enjoy a sweet victory in this crap season.

*****

On Dubinsky: they give Callahan a decent raise and why shouldn't Dubi feel he deserves something similar? Sure, he did not have the season of growth we expected of him last season, but we see a worse season from Jagr in his last year without Dubi. The team put themselves in this position. They were shelling out millions to fourth liners the last couple of years and just a portion of that money could've been used to satisfy Dubi's demands. If this kid gets away, it will be a real shame.

How Fitting

Training camp opens today, and not a moment to soon. In a mere few days, there will be hockey played at Madison Square Garden, albeit the preseason variety. The way the Mets are going through the motions, just the sight of the Garden ice is something to look forward to.

I was not at Citi on Tuesday/Wednesday, but had the pleasure to be there Thursday, the most miserable of the three value dates. That place was dead (yet somehow in the middle of the game, the Shake Shack line was still wrapping around, just not outside the line barriers). If you wanted to go to the field seats late in the game, you could have. The staff almost felt sorry for us and were not checking tickets. Ah, the one benefit for your team stinking it up- good seats and small crowds. Still a few more home games to attend- is there anything to look forward to?

We can see Angel Pagan trotting out to the outfield day by day, with Jerry showing absolutely no discipline for each and every boneheaded mental mistake. I don't care if he's taking care of it in-house. Don't put him out there in the next inning. That's what we want to see. Are you worried about his confidence or that of Bobby Parnell, who continues to take a beating in his Bad Bobby starts. There were two Good Bobby starts, but a lot more the other way. He's making Oliver Perez look consistent.


Last night, you knew Cole Hamels would eventually shut down the Mets. The Mets knocked him around twice already this season. An outing like last night was bound to happen.

It's time someone just drills Chase Utley, making it count. This guy has been leaning over the plate forever and enjoys getting nicked on the elbow. What's there to lose? A pitcher getting thrown out? We have a deep (number of people, not talent) bullpen. Suspension? Who cares? Philly baserunners? We're going to lose anyway.

Are we done with the red hats already? Seriously. How about next season we bring back those navy blues and teams have options to wear the red or the blue.

It Would Be Nice If...

...Carlos Beltran hit that grand slam homerun on Tuesday night in his first game back to give the Mets the lead.

...the Mets won the first two against the Marlins to basically knock them out instead of losing them both.

...someone brushed back Hanley Ramirez ("f- the Mets"- remember that? When the team that had nothing to play for knocked us out? Twice?)


...someone hit Cody Ross with a pitch. Just to see him get all bent out of shape and cry like he did when he got hit by Pelfrey last season.

...all those guys we saw in the Met dugout were healthy and playing since June.

...the Mets did not give out free hot dogs last night in feeling sorry for us, which would have meant that the team was doing well.

...hockey season started next week. It's close enough, with training camp opening up and the first game back at the Garden on Tuesday.

Murphy's...

I'm not going to say it. I'm sure you have seen enough references to the law I'm referring to in other game recaps.

Did not watch a single bit of the action yesterday, but it was all about Daniel Murphy and Mike Pelfrey. Murphy drove in all four runs and Pelfrey went eight innings in giving up only a run.

Checking out the game highlights on mlb.com, I see another fine play by Cory Sullivan in left. At the same time we hear that Gary Sheffield is unlikely to come back this season. Addition by subtraction?

I know a lot of people don't care that the Marlins are coming to town, but I would like to see a three game sweep to knock the Fish out of the playoff hunt. They are still alive, barely, and remember the endings of the last two seasons?

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.

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.

Pat Misch?

Who says we need another pitcher behind Johan? We have Figueroa and Misch. Even Redding is pitching well lately. What is going on?

Congrats to Misch for getting his first big league win, after threatening Anthony's Young consecutive losing streak by going almost a third of the way towards it.

Congrats also goes to Josh Thole, who started at catcher for the Mets and got his first big league hit.

Congrats to David Wright, for ditching the space helmet. Make the damn things mandatory prior to a season and we can then laugh at everybody.

Angel Pagan went 3-for-5, but I'm still not sold. Carlos Beltran is on a rehab assignment. I sure hope he's not feeling any lingering pain- I got a bad feeling about this one.

The 40-man roster rule is September is a joke and needs to be abolished, tradition or not.

Giambino

I'm sorry, I had to post another picture of David Wright in the helmet.

Jason Giambi, of all people, breaks the game open last night. That's all I can make out after breezing through the DVR this morning, choosing not to watch the live action.

Did not watch much of this game last night due to Rangers season subscriber event. Donald Brashear is a big dude, and just a few months after cursing him out, you didn't want to do so given the opportunity. He's on our side now, after all.

The third game of the series is streaming via the Gameday audio at work. Almost forgot about this one like that Arizona game last month, but only remembered because I needed to post a game 2 recap. 5-0 Mets halfway through. Pat Misch!

Bobblehead Night

The Mets lost, but all anyone wants to talk about is David Wright's helmet. If you missed it, it looks a little something like this:

He will indeed be the butt of all jokes until this new gear is mandatory everywhere. Aside from the bobblehead, it was nice to see David back.

Mike Pelfrey was awful. Sean Green was his usual awful self in a short stint later in the game. Angel Pagan continues to prove he is not a starting player. Stop thinking about him for left field next season. He's a fourth or fifth outfielder at best, and always will be with his baseball instincts. There's a reason why there's a mental side of the game.

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.

Work In Progress

All right, kid. Bases loaded, two out. Tie game in the fifth inning. You're past 100 pitches and running on fumes. Let's see what you're made of. Swing and miss strike one. Swing and a miss strike two. Looking good. Finish him off.

Grand slam. On an 0-2 pitch.

Such is the growing pains we are experiencing with Bobby Parnell. That makes at least 8 runs allowed in two of the last three starts. Yikes. The ERA has skyrocketed to 5.80.

At least we got to see the debut of Lance Broadway. Exciting stuff. Gotta show something for that Ramon Castro trade. Between Brian Schneider's .188 average (boosted with a 2-for-4 performance) and Omir Santos' .300 OBP I miss big Ramon, no matter how much time he missed due to injury.

Boneheaded move by Fernando Tatis for even thinking about scoring on that bases loaded hit by Schneider in the 4th. To make matters worse later in that inning, Jerry has Parnell sac bunting with runners on the corners and one out. Are you that afraid of the double play?

Aaron Heilman needs to lay off the burgers and fries, either that or those socks make him look Heath Bell-like. We don't miss you.

8th Inning Help Wanted

OK, maybe that's not fair to Brian Stokes, who has been very consistent all season and really has had only a couple of stinkers, today included. However, you have to think Elmer Dessens (Elmer Dessens!) is knocking on the door to take over the 8th when the Mets have a lead. After all, he probably has been in more high-leverage situations, being the closer in Buffalo. Eh, the Bison's record stinks, maybe there were not that many high-pressure situations for him.

How about Pat Misch? Seven innings of one-run ball. Ollie, so far we don't miss you. It could be a while if we ever do.

I thought the Mets were coming back for sure in the 9th when Omir Santos led off with a walk. If Santos is walking, you know things are going your way. Unfortunately, Carlos Marmol, Chicago's Wild Thing, found the strike zone and quickly dispatched the Mets after that.

Funny Game

Annibal Sanchez can throw a no-hitter, get rocked by this group of Mets, and Tim Redding can go seven innings. Everyone in the lineup had at least two hits, except for Redding. What can you say, things were clicking on all cylinders for a day. Maybe the Mets like it when the temperature is in the 90s and humidity is pushing 100%.

The more I follow games at work, the more I love this live look-in feature of the mlb.com scoreboard. With all the afternoon games yesterday I noticed that they always cut in for the top of the 9th, which does not always make much sense, especially when the visiting team is ahead. They will go live for the close games at the end though, which is good, as I was entertained watching the Dodgers almost lose another one to the Rockies, but Jonathan Broxton was dealing, clocking 102 m.p.h on the gun.

The Ace?

With a pitching performance like that he is not, but when the rest of your rotation consists of Tim Redding, Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa, and Pat Misch/Lance Broadway, he is. And there we were back in March complaining and speculating who was going to win the 5th starter job as if it mattered.

The Mets have lost five in row. Better get used to it if you're still watching games in the next month.