The Mets play game two of the this three game set as the Amazin's go for another win. Its the Maine event tonight as John will face John again for the second time this season. This will also be the first time this season I will be able to see the Mets live (so I am very excited). As of right now (I am writing this at about 1:00 AM) for the first time in days it seems tomorrow will be pretty much rain free.

Anyway, Maine is 5-3 on the season with a 3.75 ERA over 57.2 innings. In his last four games he has pitched 24.0 innings with a 2.62 ERA, 12 BB and 16 K. One of those last four games was against the Nationals where we lasted 6 innings, allowed 4 hits, only one run, walked three and struck out 4 on his way to a win. Here are some stats the Nationals have put up on Maine:
      Zimmerman 5-30, 2 2B, HR
      Kearns 5-20
      Johnson 2-14
      Belliard 9-15
      Guzman 0-11
      Dunn 1-6
      Willingham 1-8
The Mets pitching staff was the best story from last night and they look to keep the Nationals baffaled again tonight. Of course, the pitching staff would really appreciate if the Mets bats can score more runs.

Lannan is 2-5 on the season with a 4.21 ERA over 62.0 IP. In his last four he is 0-2 over 22.2 IP with a 4.76 ERA, 11 BB and 14 K. His duel with Maine was during that time and he went 5.0 innings and allowed 8 hits, 5 earned runs, 4 BB and a K. Here are the numbers the Mets have on Lannan:
      Wright 4-16, 2 2B
      Beltran 4-12, 2 2B
      Castillo 4-9, 2B, HR
      Tatis 3-7, 2B
      Schneider 3-6, 2B
      Sheff 2-3, HR
So the Mets have a lot of extra base hits off of Lannan and that would be really nice to see again tonight. If the Mets score runs, and the pitching staff keeps the Nats bats quiet, then the Mets have a good shot of winning this one. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Nats!

In a mentally stressing game, the Mets somehow walked out with a win on the day they Mets find out they do not have Putz anymore and the day after they find out no Reyes for a while. On the batting side the Mets made pretty much every mistake one can think of. They left 10 runners on base and they made three outs at third base (two by Wright) and then another time Wright was called safe at third, but it really looked like he was out. Then at the same time, Wright was 4-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, really showing why this team needs him. On a normal day I would say that the Mets may not have deserved to win this one, but they really did because the pitching really kept them in the game.

Redding had an absolute gem in terms of Tim Redding as he went 6.0 innings and escaped with allowing only 1 run, although he got dangerously close a few times to giving up runs. The pen took over and they did a very good job on the whole of shutting the door on the Nationals and making sure all the Mets would need to do is score runs. The Mets finally did that in the tenth as they got Castillo on and then got Beltran up which set up Wright to just send one to the outfield wall and not only get an extra base hit but also get two runs in. Lets go Mets! Keep this up!

If the game happens tonight (because it has been raining pretty much for two days straight) then the Mets will try to end their three game slide against the Nationals tonight with a pitcher (Redding) that they pretty much hung out to dry in his last start. Things haven't got any easier for the Mets who now have lost for Reyes for what looks like a good chunk of time, and now have lost Putz for what preliminary reports suggest 8 to 10 weeks. Anyway the Nationals are really on a bad stretch as well so the Mets are going to need to beat up on them to get ready for a tough schedule in June, but more importantly get some confidence behind injuries. Redding has made three starts for the Mets this year and only his first one was good. Since then he has really struggled. He is 0-2 on the year with a 9.20 ERA over 14.2 innings pitched. Since he pitched with the Nationals last year, he has limited AB against the Nationals. Willhingham has seen him the most and he is 5-13, 2 HR. Dunn is 3-12, Kearns 1-4 and Belliard 0-2. One story tonight is whether or not pitchers do better when they face their own team or if hitters do better. Its an interesting debate, and we will see some of the story unfold tonight.

Don't let the 5-1 record fool you, Martis has been struggling this year as well. He has pitched 57.2 innings this year and has a 5.62 ERA. In his last three starts he is 0-1 over 16.0 IP, and has a 9.56 ERA. He pitched against the Mets once last year and he lasted 3 innings, 5 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 BB and 4 K. Here are some Mets stats against Martis:
      Beltran 1-1, HR
      Murphy 1-2, 3B
      Wright 0-2
Hopefully the Mets can snap out of this funk tonight and show the world why they were 19-9 in May despite being injured. Lets go Mets! Beat the Nats!

The Mets look to salvage part of this now three game set against the Pirates as they play the early afternoon game with the same starters as last nights game. The Mets got a much needed night off to regroup after the last two losses and refocus on baseball and just to help get over injuries and diseases.

Pelfrey has been great so far this season. He is 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and 55.2 IP. The great comes in though when you look at the corner he has turned and how he has been pitching recently. In his last three games now he is 0-1 but he has a 2.18 ERA in 20.2 innings of work while walking 4 and striking out 14. Last year against the Pirates he went 7.0 innings where he allowed 7 hits, didn't allow any runs, didn't walk anyone and struck out one. Here are some stats the Pirates have on him:
      Adam LaRoche 3-3
      McLouth 1-3
      Moss 1-3
      Sanchez 0-3
      Wilson 0-2
With the exception of Putz. the Mets have been able to keep the Pirates pretty well contained in offense, and with so many key batters missing from the Mets lineup that has been very important.

The Mets bats will have to deal with the 5-5 Ohlendorf who has a 4.45 ERA in 60.2 innings of work. In his last three games he is 1-2 over 17.2 innings where he has a 6.11 ERA, has walked 8 and struck out 10. Last year he pitched 1.2 innings against the Mets in relief and allowed 10 runs over that time. However, that was mostly against Mets who are not playing right now as these are basically the only stats the Mets have on him:
     Castillo 2-2, RBI
     Wright 2-2, 2 RBI
     Schnieder 1-2
Anyway, the Mets just have to score some runs this afternoon. He seems to be a little wild so for some of hitters that are really backups or backup backups (and you can really just start adding the word backup to that as well) they should try to patient, run the pitch count up get on base via the walk then start rallies. Lets Go Mets!

Mejia and Holt are not the only players being beamed up to AA, all of the players at AA Binghamton will be beamed up for a Star Trek promotion. I believe Friday will also be Brad Holt's first AA start, which he will do in this uniform:

(From Bmets website)
Yes, thats right, the Mets have modeled a jersey to be very Star Trek theme. This has already been written about on Uniwatch Blog and Milb.com. Apparently all of the in game games will also be Star Trek themed and the people who work at the park will wear different color uniforms that apparently show their rank in the club (so Trekkies go to the game and figure out everyone's positions!).

Tonight's game against the Bucs has been canceled  due to the rain which has been all across the area today and really has been raining all day. It looks like right now that the game will be made up sometime in the future which means all of the pitching schedules will be moved back a day. Pelfrey will make his start tomorrow and then Redding will now go on Friday against the Nationals (which, for selfish reasons I'm upset about because I am going to the game and really wanted to see Maine, and really did not want to see Redding but whatever). Well the the game preview post tomorrow will probably just be rehashed from today. Lets Go Mets!

The Mets have dropped 3 of 4 and the injuries to the team are starting to take a toll, but the Mets look to rebound tonight as they take on the Pirates for game three of the four game set. These losses are frustrating but it is a different frustration than the losses in April. Tonight the Mets will send Pelfrey out to the mound and he will have to battle Ohlendorf.

Pelfrey has been great so far this season. He is 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and 55.2 IP. The great comes in though when you look at the corner he has turned and how he has been pitching recently. In his last three games now he is 0-1 but he has a 2.18 ERA in 20.2 innings of work while walking 4 and striking out 14. Last year against the Pirates he went 7.0 innings where he allowed 7 hits, didn't allow any runs, didn't walk anyone and struck out one. Here are some stats the Pirates have on him:
      Adam LaRoche 3-3
      McLouth 1-3
      Moss 1-3
      Sanchez 0-3
      Wilson 0-2
With the exception of Putz. the Mets have been able to keep the Pirates pretty well contained in offense, and with so many key batters missing from the Mets lineup that has been very important.

The Mets bats will have to deal with the 5-5 Ohlendorf who has a 4.45 ERA in 60.2 innings of work. In his last three games he is 1-2 over 17.2 innings where he has a 6.11 ERA, has walked 8 and struck out 10. Last year he pitched 1.2 innings against the Mets in relief and allowed 10 runs over that time. However, that was mostly against Mets who are not playing right now as these are basically the only stats the Mets have on him:
     Castillo 2-2, RBI
     Wright 2-2, 2 RBI
     Schnieder 1-2
Anyway, the Mets just have to score some runs tonight. He seems to be a little wild so for some of hitters that are really backups or backup backups (and you can really just start adding the word backup to that as well) they should try to patient, run the pitch count up get on base via the walk then start rallies. Lets Go Mets!

With every draft and year comes another set of minor leaguers that are ready to make noise in all of the prospect magazines, forums and scouting reports everywhere. For this report, I am focusing on both of the Mets single A teams that are playing right now (St. Lucie and Savannah) where players like Ike Davis and Brad Holt, who we have heard a lot about before (being first round picks) are heating up and how other players you might not know about yet are doing well. First off, some non 2008 draftees:
       Jenrry Mejia 4-1, 9 G, 50.1 IP, 1.97 ERA, 16 BB, 44 K
       Brant Rustich 1-1, 9 G, 0 GS, 31.1 IP, 2.03 ERA, 10 BB, 28 K
And now 2008 draftees that are doing well so far this season:
       Ike Davis .282 BA (50-177), 19 R, 16 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI
       Brad Holt 4-1, 8 G, 41.1 IP, 3.05 ERA, 10 BB, 50 K, 1.04 WHIP
       Joshua Satin .320 BA (55-172), 13 2B, 2 HR, 27 RBI
       Sean Ratliff .312 BA (62-199), 15 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 5 SB
       Kaplan 4-1, 1.05 ERA, 8 GS, 9 G, 51.2 IP, 13 BB, 42 K
I feel its important to note first that Satin is a second basement and Ratliff is a centerfielder. I can't remember the last time the Mets have had a secondbasemen in the system putting the numbers that Satin is putting up right now. He got off to a slow start last year in Brooklyn but if he keeps hitting like he is hitting, I wonder if he will be moved to St. Lucie later in the season. The test for all of these players is not only do they need these numbers for the rest of this year, they need to do it next spring, next season and they need to show the raw talents, the non-number stuff that scouts see that allows these players to move up to the majors.

As we all know, the Mets do not have a first round pick this year, a year after they had two first round picks and one supplemental first round pick last year. The last time the Mets didn't have a first round pick was in 2006 and the time before that was 1999. Surprisingly, the 2006 draft was one of the better ones for the Mets in recent years. For those of you who are slightly unfamilar with MLB Drafts, unlike football, where you probably need at least 3 good players from your 7 rounds to be considered a good draft, 1 or 2 players in baseball that make it to the majors and perform well equals a fantastic, amazing draft. There are now 50 rounds which goes on to show how hard it is to go from the minors to the majors. Anyway here are some notable picks from the 2006 draft (followed by the round when they were selected):
     Mulvey (2)
     Smith (3)
     Murphy (13)
     Stoner (16)
Mulvey ended up being a critical piece in the Santana deal, and Smith the same for the Putz deal. Murphy is self explanatory and Stoner is a prospect that is starting to be noticed. Here are some notables from the 1999 draft:
     Pagan (4)
     Redman (10)
     Jacobs (38)
We all know that first place picks don't always pan out, and if they do they are not always the best prize in the draft for a given team. Here are some other drafts where the Mets had notable or not notable first round picks followed by some notable later round picks. 2005 in my opinion has panned out as one of the best drafts for the Mets in a while where they selected Pelfrey in the first round and then these players:
     Niese (7)
     Parnell (9)
     Thole (13)
     Brown (18)
Parnell and Niese are focus in this bunch that if the pan out as they are on the road to do now, they can really make this a great draft for the Mets (and overall 2005 ended up being a good draft year for many Mets). The 2005 draft is also in the stage where the stars start to emerge because it has been a few years since the draft and now many of the players are starting to surface. In 2003 the first pick of the Mets was Milledge and 2004 was Humber, both have been traded here are some other notable selections:
2003:
     Bannister (7)
     Muniz (13)
2004:
     Evans (5)
     Carp (9)
And finally, some notables from the 2007 draft:
      Moviel (2)
      Rustich (2)
      Duda (7)
      Gee (21)
It is also a little too early to make judgments on the 2007 draft, and way early to make judgements on the 08 draft.

Whats the best way to rebound from a loss like last night? Play again and this time with the ace Johan Santana. The Mets and the Pirates will play the second game of a three game set where Santana will take on Duke. The Mets will be looking to go back to some fundamentals tonight like fielding a ball cleanly and getting the run over and in.

Santana is coming off of his most enigmatic start to date where he pitched 120 pitches in 6 innings where he also had a ton of strikeouts. This season he is 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA over 66.0 innings where he has only 20 BB on the season and has an amazing 86 K's. His last three games have included the roughest for him on the season where he still has won all three games where he has pitched 20.0 IP, a human 4.05 ERA, 7 BB and 26 K. Last year he pitched against the Pirates twice to a 1-0 record, 14.2 IP, 1.23 ERA, 3 BB, 14 K. Here are some Pirates stats against the Mets:
      Monroe 8-38, 3 2B, 2 HR, 12 K
      Sanchez 2-10, 2B
      McLouth 1-6, HR
      Wilson 2-7
      Adam LaRoche 0-5
      Hinske 0-5
The Pirates do not have much power. That being said defense is needed against them because they play scrappy, they manufacture runs and can build these strange rallies.Yesterday for example they scored their runs in bunches. The Mets have to prevent that from happening. Also, they need to not only score a bunch of runs at the start, but continunely do it the entire game.

To do that the Mets will have to battle Duke who is the duke of the Pirates pitching staff this year (that was a terrible attempt at a joke, I am so sorry). Anyway he is 5-4 on the season with a 2.75 ERA, pitched 72.0 IP. In his last three games he was 1-2, pitched 22.0 innings, 3.27 ERA, 6 BB and 14 K. He faced the Mets twice last year where he had a 0-1 record with 12.0 IP, 9 ER, BB and 5 K. Here are some stats the Mets have on the Duke of the Pirates:
     Beltran 2-15, 2B
     Wright 5-15, 2B, HR
     Tatis 3-6
     Castillo 1-1
The Mets have to score often and then with Santana and a healthy and effective bullpen, should be in a position to try to get the W in this game. Lets go Mets! Beat the Pirates!

Tonight was one the first nights that I felt frustrated and I really feel a large portion is due to the injuries on the squad. First off all, something just looks wrong with Putz, and I hope he is being honest with the training staff because he isn't throwing like how he used to. He could really be injured. And going back to the injuries, the Mets did a good job scoring runs in the beginning, but by the end of the game they were having a hard time and we have to start realizing that the injuries are now catching up.

Think about, no Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, Cora, Pagan, and Church, our lineup looks completely different. Beltran and Delgado our are sources of power and we don't have them now. We have been able to win without them, but with these types of injuries these nights are probable. So we have to put this night behind us and hope that Cora, Beltran and Reyes all return soon this week because our lineup really needs them not only for the offense, but also for the defense (Valdez didn't really look good tonight, and Reyes out there probably could have saved a lot of runs).

Not the way to start off the month but hopefully the Mets will come back tomorrow and play strong.

The Mets travel to Pittsburgh to start a four game set tonight. Last time they played, the Mets swept the Pirates at Citi in a series that helped them get a 7 game winning streak and a very strong month of May. Now they return looking a little different thanks to injuries but also very confident after finishing a 19-9 month. The Pirates tonight will call on Ian Snell who is enigmatic in he has the stuff but the last two years he has struggled and the Mets will send out Livan, the unexpected complete game pitcher in his last outing.

Livan is 4-1 on the season with a 4.28 ERA over 54.2 innings and in his last four games he has pitched 27.0 IP where he has a 2-0 record and a 3.00 ERA. He really helped out the Mets with a strong outing his last time up and continues to surprise as a key part of this rotation this year. He already pitched against Pittsburgh in the sweep earlier where he went 6.0 IP allowed 2 ER, with 4 BB and 5 K. Here are some stats the Pirates have on him:
     Adam LaRoche 7-29, 4 2B, HR
     Hinske 6-22, 2B, HR
     Vazquez 3-19, 2 2B, HR
     McLouth 4-5, 2B, 3B
     Wilson, 4-19, 2B
Hernandez has done well against the Players he has seen a lot, and pretty well against the guys he hasn't except Nate McLouth who is the big bat in this lineup. The pitched has to get by him, and if they get run support, then they can take this game.

Snell is struggling again with a 1-6 record, 5.43 ERA over 53.0 IP. In his last three games he has pitched 13.0 IP, allowed 12 ER, 6 BB and 13 K. Against the Mets this year he pitched in a losing effort where pitched 6.0 IP where he allowed 3 ER, walked one and struck out 5.Despite his struggles, a lof the Mets he could possibly face today have not been stellar against Snell over his carear:
     Beltran 2-12, HR
     Wright 2-12
     Castillo 2-12
     Schnieder 2-9
     Santos 1-3
The Mets have knock Snell out early and have to make sure he doesn't settle in. If they can do that, they can get to the Pirates bullpen, which they have been able to beat up on so far this year and get into the win column and start off this month right. Lets Go Mets!

Right now the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 is going on and it was announced that there will be a new Rock Band out this year which will focus on the Beatles.

If you are unfamiliar with the series, Rock Band is very similar to Guitar Hero where the game plays a song and the players have to match up generally the rhythms with guitar, drums and microphone controllers.

This game features the Beatles so the characters on the screen are a virtual recreation of the Beatles and shows some famous places they played and some computer generated backgrounds that match the visuals of the music.

That means one of the places you can play the game at will be, of course, Shea Stadium, one of the famous concerts that took place on the field of our old home. (As a little disclaimer, it has not been officially released that you can play in Shea Stadium, but when they were showing screen shots of the game, it looked like they were playing at Shea Stadium).

So Shea Stadium lives again!

Update:
Jim left a great link in the comment section from the Mets Merized Online version of this post that confirms Shea Stadium:
Thanks Jim!

The Mets, who have been battling injuries for basically the last month, had another foe besides the Marlins out their yesterday which was a stomach bug (or Virus, not really a germ but whatever) which sidelined Beltran to start the game and then would later take out Maine in the game. Maine was incredible. When he left before 7th inning he had pitched 6 scoreless innings, 2 walks and 5 K's and he as really effective. Citi Field is treating him well because his fly ball outs are staying in the ball park. More importantly, his pitches looked excellent yesterday as he contiued a really good stretch that he is in. Another player really deserving of praise in Maine's outing would be Feliciano who had really no warning that he was going to be in the game and he just kept the Marlins bats out of the topic for at least the 7th inning.

Welcome to the bigs Fmart! In the bottom of the seventh, Manuel had Murphy bunt the runner over so Fmart can try to get him in and thats a lot of faith for a player who has had all of 5 days in the bigs. Well he got in there and rocketted a double to bring in the run. Next, the very popular and very awesome Omir Santos hit a double and brought in Fmart. Thanks to the top of the 8th those two runs becacme very important and very decisive. Overall in the bottom of the seventh, the Mets played very sound offense fundalmentals which is nice to see considering the Mets are in a power drought for a lexicon of reasons. Playing basics well keeps the team balanced and winning.

Krod also had a great 9th. He struck out the first two batters, who were both very frustrated with their K's. Then he walked the tieing run on base to make the game interesting. And then he got Paulino to strikeout to finish off the game with a joyous arm pump from Santos with Krod pointing to the sky. That energy is great to see on the field. A very nice 5-1 homestand. Lets go Mets!