New York Mets 2010

[sonny10305]

Yuh Saucy, being a Mets fan ain’t easy.

The Maine thing is just so bizarre. What I have been able to piece together is that while Maine was warming up in the bullpen before the start of the game, Dan Warthen noticed Maine’s velocity was lower than normal and was concerned about his mechanics as he wasn’t using his normal delivery, this carried over into the first at Nats batter, it was obvious after that pitch that something was wrong with John and so Warthan and Manual went out to the mound to talk to him. It was clear that Manual was totally pissed that John did not complain about any problem and allowed himself to start the game....I mean totally pissed, I have never seen Manual look so disgusted at a player before. In fact he blew off Maine who was asking to stay in and took the ball and walked away, not even waiting for Valdes to get to the mound.
The confrontation continued in the dugout with Maine clearly upset and Manual clearly fuming. Maine complained that he didn't get a chance to make a case to remain in the game which is what he was the most upset about. He felt he was not given a thorough enough explantion for taking him out. He thought that throwing 85 miles an hours was not a good enough explanation.Warthen returned the fire, calling Maine a "habitual liar" about his health, although Maine did admit that he always feels pain and said he always tells the team what he's feeling. Maine will see a doctor on Friday. Dan also later said that Johns modified delivery and decreased velocity was the rationale for the decision to allow John to continue pitching. Maine continued venting in the clubhouse saying.
‘They should have cut me some slack, I didn't get asked a chance to stay in and that's what I'm most upset about There's no fucking reason I should be seeing a doctor tomorrow." Whatever his health, I have to believe he won’t make his next start, and me personally I don’t give a rats ass, I am soooo tired of her drama. That fool has been awful this season and it is pretty clear the team has no confidence in his ability to pitch right now.
My question is If the Mets, as Warthan said, had doubts about Maine's readiness to pitch, they should never have let him get to the mound in the first place. And if they thought he was hurt, it's a downright criminal to risk a player's health in that manner. Add to that the punk remark Wathan made calling John a habitual liar” in public. Warthan has a history of that sorta crap; you may remember how he blamed the Mets catchers for the pitchers' struggles in 2009. When asked how he felt about the defense and game calling of Santos and Schneider, Warthen sarcastically replied, "Next question."

So the rotation is in turmoil, of course we don’t know how long Maine could be out if all but we can pretty much expect more changes in out starters, we can’t depend on Maine anymore.We are going to have to depend on Takahashi and Dickey, then maybe go back to buffalo with our hands out again. Fortunately, Part Misch and Dillon Gee have been pitching really well. But can we keep bleeding Buffalo; I mean there soon will be no one left to pitch there. But I guess we gotta do what we gotta do. Misch by the way in his last two starts threw a complete game shutout and in another gem in a 3-1 win gave up only three hits and allowed one run in seven innings of work. You also have to consider what Valdes did last night and could be ready to pitch again intime for Maines next start.

Just please hope that no one is tempted to put Perez back in. although Manual did say that Perez will stay in the bullpen, regardless of what happens with Maine. We can’t look at Mejia, he hit another wall last night.

On a positive note how exciting was it to see D Wright have some quality at bats, NOT ONE STRIKE OUT!

Interesting tid bit that was not talked about regarding the big brass meeting the other day, Gary Matthews' name apparently came up, and what to do with him.
Until/if Beltran come back we will need Matthews to backup Pagan, I would have said in a heartbeat to bring Jason Pride up from AAA but he just went on the DL. Bad timing cause that would have worked really well. But maybe when Jason is feeling better and Matthews is still struggling (yeah I know he had a few good at bats) we could dump Matthews and bring Jason up.

Yankees up next, I have no idea what to expect from Takahashi but at least we have Pelf and Santana to follow him. 2 outta 3 would be sweet, the Yankees have injury issues and if our bats heat up some more we could...might just come out of that series smelling pretty good.
Hey!......ya gotta believe

 

[syam24]

Ohhhh, the drama! What would a Mets season be without it? Besides the Maine issue, the bats were great for a change, Bay and Ike, 3 hits a piece, Ike going to center and left for two booming doubles. D Wright with the clutch bases loaded double in the first to set things off, plus a nice sac fly later in the game. Barajas with 2 hit including an HR. Valdes was awesome til running out of gas, Accosta and Mejia were shakey. Hoping for a good outing from Takahashi tonite.

What's with all the balls being lost in the twilight, I think I've seen four in the last 2 days. Just prior to Franceour losing Pudge's fly, I had on the Yankee game and Upton never saw Miranda's fly to CF in the Bronx, Zimmerman lost a popup, and there was at least one other this week somewhere that I saw. Crazy times.

 

[sonny10305]

So last night ended in typical Mets fashion, although Takahashi was excellent throwing six shutout innings, 101 pitches with an outstanding 73 for strikes I also have to mention his ability to work himself out of two big jams in the middle of this game…
You could see the confidence in his face and he was not the least bit intimidated by the Yankee batters. For sure he earned another shot in the rotation. But the Mets bats went cold…again and gave him no run support.
There were a coupe of things I really enjoyed lat night, watching Takahashi pitch, Keith Hernandez reporting from just outside the dugout, watching pitches from a batters point of view was terrific and last but not least seeing the one and only Mike Piazza.
The worst part of the game, besides the absence of any offense was Manual taking Takahashi out in the 7th for Elmer Dessens. Hisanori had thrown over 100 pitches but I still would have let him pitch the 7th. I guess Manual could not wait to put Elmer Dessens, who pretty much had just gotten of the plane, in the game. Next was Cora doing his D Wright imitation throwing the ball to Reyes in some kind of wacked out motion, I mean he had plenty of time to make that play but blew it. I’m sorry but that was inexcusable, as slowly as that ball, was hit he should have gotten the lead runner out. I have nothing else to say, it was just very disappointing game.

On the subject Cora and playing for Castillo at second base, Daniel Murphy will begin his rehabilitation assignment tonight for Single-A St. Lucie. Murphy will play primarily first base but will also get a shot at second throughout the weekend, then he will to move to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, where he will begin working at second and other positions so the Meta can determine his versatility. I mention this because it ties in with the very interesting story that the Mets are currently shopping Luis Castillo and have gone as far as to contact the Rockies, who are looking for a replacement for Melvin Mora. With Daniel Murphy planning to move back to second base and getting closer to playing each day, it does make sense to move Castillo now. Actually, now is probably as perfect time as any. See how well that would work out
Cora by the way does not plan on staying in baseball much longer; his primary interest is in law and is planning to quit baseball soon to work in corporate law.

OK Pelf it’s up to you now.

 

[syam24]

A Castillo move would be fine. I see Oswalt has asked to be traded, don't know what they would need in return from the Mets, but he's certainly still got fine form, and it's worth looking into. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Yes Syam, Oswalt would be a god fit, but he has a no-trade clause, which of course works both ways for the team and the player. He can ask to be traded but that’s about all he can do.
Meantime The Texas Rangers are looking for a catcher and have made it known that if the Mets put Rod Barajas on the trade block, they would have interest.
Hey Texas… Keep dreamin

Jose Reyes has one more test to check on that overactive thyroid that kept him out in the beginning of the season, if the test goes well, it will be the final one for him.

So last night we had another outstanding outing from Mike Pelfrey, allowing only 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. He threw 108 pitches, and once again Manual as he did Friday with Takahashi took Pelf out of the game in the seventh. What is it with Manual and his rush to go to our tired bull pen? When a guy is pitching as well as Takahashi and Pelfrey were I say Pitch counts be dammed.
Big Pelf is maturing more and more he is pitching with so much more confidence, and is quickly showing he could soon be an ace in this league, I hope you guys enjoyed watching him Tame all those big Yankee bats, I was absolutely giddy watching him brush back Teixeira and Gardner early on the count to establish the inside corner He was dominant in total control, using breaking pitches for strike outs, and controlling the at bats. I think Swisher, who crowds the plate when he hits, got a taste of our boy Pelf when he got spun around.

Mejia scared me a bit he looked kinda shook up, but then, bless him, came up big striking out Teixeira and grounding out A-Rod in that tight spot he got himself into.
It should not be long now before Mejia is sent down to the minors to get stretched out and develop his breaking pitches, my guess would be he will go as soon as Igarashi comes back.

The bullpen gave me agida as they so often do. Even K-Rod gave us more than just a little drama last night. Lately almost every time he comes in to save I worry he will blow it, especially in a game like last night where a blown save would have been devastating. I just duck and weave in my chair every time he throws the ball, watching him complete his delivery practically running up to the first base bag, so scary yet so effective. Somehow it works, but how, beats the Hell outta me.

How about that Jason Bay, he seems to have woken up and about time too. 4-for-4 last night with 3 runs scored. Wright has been looking better shortening up his swing and improving his approach, he didn’t try and do too much, and the results were two big RBI tonight.

Angel Pagan had a good game as well, I am thinking when Beltran comes back there is no way we bench Angel and if Bay continues to heat up, Jeff Francoeur is the one who should be on the bench. Jeff was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts last night and is now hitting .215 but I have to give him his offense last night keeping the Yankees from trying to score at least twice

Why has Manual stopped using Chris Carter, we see more of Matthews pitch hitting than Carter and not very well at that. Then again last night even though Cora was brought in a big pinch-hitting situation in the 6th and got the job done with an, RBI single, I still would have liked to see The Animal.

It sure was nice for a change to see Mets pitching stranding 13 Yankee base runners last night tonight, the Yanks were just 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position, something the Mets are soooo good at.
But still the Mets went 5 for 12 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight.... of course they were.
Did you notice that all five of the Mets runs were driven in with two outs?

The last two games have given us the best Mets pitching performances we have seen in a while.

 

[syam24]

WHat a great weekend series for the Metropolitans! 3 very nice pitching efforts, finally some clutch hitting, good defense, and a 2 outta 3 series win. Sunday nite's game was great, getting to CC in the second inning, Jason Bay's two bombs, Johan with another good job of pitching. KRod was good enuff to get the deal done the last two nites, ending with a big K of A-roid. I agree with ya Sonny on Pagan, he should stay in the lineup and put Francoeur on the bench and use for defense, when Beltran returns. I see Dan Murphy has torn up the FSL pitching, should be moving up soon, I would think. We need to have a good showing against the Phils this week. Perhaps the bats are really ready to pop. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Another outstanding start from a Mets pitcher. Johan Santana was brilliant last night, pounding the strike zone and keeping his pitch count down, 7.2 innings, six hits, one run, five strikeouts, and three walks. He ran outta steam and got into trouble but Feliciano came in and with one pitch saved the day.
Then Manual pulled one his WTF are you doing moments. He put Igarashi in the game. What a stupid move putting so much pressure on a guy who is just back from a rehab assignment and was clearly not the man for that job. He looked very hyped up, I was socked by his fastball which had great life but was all over the place. In a blink of an eye we were in deep Ka Ka. So we had to go to K-Rod who had been used a lot this week including the night before. In fact he has been called on four times this week so I was not to happy to see him in there again in a game that looked like it could get away from us. I worried if he could get the job done, he was not ready no one expected him to have to come in but he knew he had a job to do and went out there to try and do it. He was a bit wild, but somehow I felt he was gonna be ok. The absolute cherry on the cake came with A-Rod who with one swing of the bat could have taken the game away from us. Alex would not chase anything but then Frankie with a 3-2 count threw a fastball that A-Rod was late on, and good thing too cause otherwise that ball would have been so long goodbye. Talk about a nail biter, that A-Rod/K-Rod battle was intense beyond words. K-Rod tried his curve ball, followed by a fastball, and it was foul ball after foul ball. finally, K-Rod threw an absolute perfect change up that Alex swung at. A strike out to end all strike outs. Just incredible.

Another very important turn for Jason Bay who has been seeing and hitting the ball a lot better. Last night he got his power back with two home runs. This could be the start of something big for us. Jason says he’s feeling a lot better at the plate and that up until a few days ago was getting good pitches to hit, but just wasn’t in good position to hit and was fouling them off. I would add to that that I think he found his timing, and he’s no longer guessing.

Ryota Igarashi who returned last night was as I wrote above was dreadful. Now I hear that the Mets have decided not to send Mejia to the minors but ill stay in the pen to handle the seventh Manny Acosta will, instead go to Buffalo. Igarashi will used in an eighth-inning setup job. After what happened last night we will see if that changes. It was after all just one start but he looked really bad.

Yesterday Syam, who's posts I love btw, mentioned that Oswatt wanted to be traded and I thought he would not be able to do that because of his contract. I made a couple of calls and found out that he can play somewhere else and in fact the Nationals are very interested in him. Considering the state of our starters I wonder if the Mets will make a move to get Oswalt, I would be up for that for sure but I worry about what prospects we would have to give up. Finally we have some decent talent in that pool and I hate to mess with it, but the idea of another quality starter is very appealing.

I continue to watch Daniel Murphy’s progress in St Lucie. I am happy to tell you he is red hot having gotten a home run the first day and then the nest day went 5 for 5 with a double and three RBIs He played the entire game at first base and is batting .727 in three rehab games. it looks like Daniel will be going to Buffalo tomorrow (Tuesday) and he will play at second base and left field. With Castillo out again with that foot problem and the rumors surrounding his trade I am getting very excited about the possibility of Murphy playing second for us. Of course we will have to see how he handles that position but my gut is that he will do very well there. Murphy at second and Davis at first, how sweet the sound. The boyz and I are planning a trip to Buffalo next Monday, Memorial Day. None of us has practice that day so we are going to go. With the Cyclones and me all about to start our baseball season this may be our last shot of going up there this year. I want so bad to meet Murphy and see and speak with Thole and Misch again. I also need to give my boy Pridie a hug, hope he is felling better.

Day off today and then the Phillies, first game will have RA Dickey against Jamie Moyer. A winnable game for us…you bet your ass. Actually the pitching in that series looks pretty decent for us. It will Dicky then Takashahi and Pelfrey. Winnable? Like I said…..you bet your ass.

 

[syam24]

Great job by the Mets last nite! Dickey was effective in his six innings and Valdes had a superb three innings of relief. Some early clutch hits got the ball rolling, and then a three run eigth put 'em away. Reyes appears to have arrived for 2010, 3 more hits, another triple, and stolen base. With Valdes' good job, that saved the rest of the bullpen for another day, which the way they've been overworked should be a big benefit. Let's get another game against the Phils tonite. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

The great pitching continued last night with R A Dickey throwing six scoreless innings. I guest the Phillies don’t know how to hit the knuckleballer having been dominated by another knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield on Sunday. Dickey’s knuckleball is something of an art form, it just glides along at around 75 MPH keeping all those big Phillies bats pretty quiet, just seven hits all singles and giving up only three walks. Mighty fine if you ask me.
As is his style we saw an occasional fastball, which he always uses to get out of trouble.
You guys have heard me go on about how much I like Dickey, I mean you can’t help but love to watch him pitch. I just keep thinking there is no way I could hit off that guy and as to catching him….forget about it, I would drop every other ball. Gotta give our catchers for handling those Knuckleball pitches so well, no easy task that’s for sure. I dono what the Mets will do with Dickey once Niese comes back but he will get at least one more start and then maybe we could use him pitch out of the rotation, in long relief and as a spot starter. He could be our secret weapon in the pen.
What a thrill to see Raul Valdez come in and pitch so well. I expected him to pitch one inning but the kid pitched well enough to finish the game and keep the Phillies shutout in tact.
With John Maine out for who knows how long with tendinitis in his right rotator cuff we will need a starter for Saturday. I know we have other options but how about giving Valdez the ball?

So tonight we hope the magic continues with Takahashi and Blanton.

Just thought I would pass some very nice thing Ike Davis is doing. Ike had a close friend, Michael Lio, who played second base alongside Ike in travel ball and at Chaparral High School. Last year at the sad all too young age of just 22 Mike died of Ewings Sarcoma, which is a cancer that occurs in bones or tissue. Mikes death hit Ike bad and in a way of doing what he can to fight the disease Ike was in Times Square Tuesday at the Modell’s Sporting Goods store on 42nd St. to launch the new "I Like Ike" T-shirts. The T-shirts are blue and feature a button reading "I Like Ike. He took pictures and signed autographs for the crowd in the store.
Proceeds from the shirts will support Ewings Sarcoma research.
I am wearing mine as I write this

 

[syam24]

Holy Seaver and Koosman, Batman!! Two shutouts in a row over the Phillies!! What could possibly be next! Another solid pitching performance by Takahashi, and superb bullpen work. Barajas keeps bashing and driving in runs and Jose is hotter than the sun! A nice run our Mets are on, let's keep it up! Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Sounds like your havin a lot of fun Syam, as all Mets fans shoiuld be.

So who are those guys pitching for the Mets anyway?
Anther gem this time from Takahashi who dazed and confused the Phillies through six innings of shutout ball. He allowed 5 hits, walked none, and struck out 6. Do you suppose the Phillies are playing so badly now that they can no longer steal signs?
Takahashi is now tied with Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey for the team lead in wins (4). He’s posted a 0.81 ERA over his last 8 appearances,
With the awesome outings from the new guys do you suppose that has anything to do with the fact that none of em has had that much exposure to Dan Warthen? I’m just sayin.

Jose Reyes continues to heat up; Gary Cohen said it best last night when he said “He’s Baaaaack”
The Mets are now 18-9 at home.
The Phillies have only scored 15 runs in their past 8 games and scored 4 runs in their last 45 innings. The pitchers have shut them out through 18 consecutive innings.

So now it’s up to Big Pelf to give us the sweep tonight against Hamels.

Looks like Nieve is the front runner to take the mound for Maine against the Milwaukee Brewers on Satutday
Although a tweet from Kevin Burkhardt this morning said that Elmer Dessens is on his way here, so we will see.

Mets transferred OF Carlos Beltran from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. The transfer will not affect him at all, the move just clears room on the Mets' roster for Justin Turner, an infielder who was claimed off waivers from the Orioles on Tuesday afternoon. Beltran is currently working his way toward a simulated game and is expected to rejoin the Mets around the middle of June.

 

[sonny10305]

27 INNINGS 27 ZEROS

Whoa believed it....well if you’re a Mets fan you always believe.
What an amazing series, just fantastic. Of course it was all about the pitching and the rebirth of Jose Reyes and the reawakening of our offense. Well that’s after all what Jose does he just need to be put back where he belongs in the lead off spot.
Pelfrey has had better days but I’m not complaining, a few too may walks, but he has mastered that split finger against the lefties and his sinker was awesome. Then there were those three inning ending double play grounders big Pelf generated, so I forgive him those walks. His ERA now at 2.54 The Mets have not thrown back-to-back-to-back shutouts since 1988.

The Mets move on to Milwaukee to face the Brewers tonight with. Johan Santana against Yovani Gallardo.

Jon Niese will make a rehab start this weekend for Single-A St. Lucie. He’s expected to return from the disabled list next week.


The following is a joke and of course not a true story, but I wanted to share this Ollie Perez laugh with you guys today.

Last night Perez was approached in the clubhouse by two uniformed NYPD officers. He was arrested and led out of Citi Field in handcuffs. The charge? Petty theft and vandalism. So what happened? Apparently the Mets, upset with Charlie Manuel's recent accusations of sign-stealing, decided to see if they could actually steal the Phillies signs. Oliver Perez was given the job. It seems Ollie took the job very seriously even if he didn't quite fully understand it. Perez went out to Willets Point and downtown Flushing and proceeded to steal every sign he could find. Perez said “They wanted Phillies signs.", "I didn't see no Phillies signs but I found One Way and No Right On Red and Railroad Crossing so I took those."

This is the result of num nuts Ollie’s quest for the signs

 

[sonny10305]

Nieve bombed, I was surprised to see him get the start, even although he was pretty decent in ’09 with an ERA under 3, but yesterday he may have put the first nail in the coffin for him starting. Even Perez pitched better than he did yesterday, and Ollie was not all that good. Ollie? Not good? Go on …your kiddin right?
It will be interesting to see what the Mets do with Nieve; they could skip his next turn and then wait to make a decision for their June 9 game in San Diego. We may see Valdes, who was my original choice for the job.

The Mets are back stinking up the road again, they just can’t make it work, if the pitching is good the offense blows when the offense is working the pitching sucks, I mean it’s just enough to drive a dude to drink.

Then there is Manual, there are days when I like his management style and then there are days when I just wanna choke him. On Friday he pulls Santana out of the game instead of letting him pitch a complete game, oh, and don’t kid yourself, I have it from very reliable sources than Johan was royally pissed. Then yesterday when Nieve crashed and burned who does Manual turn to hen the ship is sinking but Ollie Perez,
Are you kidding me???? Wait it gets better, with the bases loaded and two out and a chance to get ahead who does Manual send out to pinch hit in that very important situation? Why Mathews Jr. of course, once again Are you fuckin kiddin me???

Hopefully Dickey can stop the bleeding today. Our offense should have no problem hitting Randy Wolf. But then with us on the road ya jus never know.

Baseball Practice for me today then grab the train to Buffalo. We wanna get an early start tomorrow morning catch the boys workout and BP. Then there is a barbeque before the game tomorrow tons of food and fun with the guys. I can’t wait to hook up with Murphy; there is so much I want to speak to him about. Jon Niese is coming up Monday a well for his minor league rehab start, Should be fun
Prolly be the last trip to buffalo this season, my baseball schedule starts next Saturday and the Cyclones two weeks later so besides work it will be all baseball, eat and sleep and that’s about it. But that’s fine with me.

 

[syam24]

At least we salvaged one game this weekend, could have been a mini disaster otherwise. Dickey pitched good enuff to win and kept the Mets in the game 'til their bats finally awoke. Most of the lineup had a very successful day, Castillo with the big clutch 2 RBI single. Even R.A. had an RBI hit! SAn Diego should be interesting to see if we can score runs against their very talented pitching. The Padres 'no name" pitchers have done very well so far.

 

[sonny10305]

I am back from Buffalo; it was an amazing two days. The Cyclone boys had unlimited access to areas not normally available to fans so we took full advantage of that. I meet up with just about all of them except Jon Niese. Jon was pretty much working bull pen and preparing for his start so I did not get to meet him.
Josh Thole remembered me from my last visit which was very cool, we talked a lot about the Mets catchers, and the job Barajas is doing in particular.
A lot of subjects came up speaking with the boys, from Ollie Perez to Jerry Manual to the Mets season so far in general. I think the most interesting thing I learned was that there is zero support among the Bisons about what Ollie is doing by not leaving and going to AAA. I had heard this from the Cyclone players but it was not until this weekend that I learned it was of the opinion of most players. One of the Bison players said that Ollie was “holding a roster spot hostage” and keeping someone from making good use out it for the team. Several agreed with that and another pointed out that Ollie is being an idiot and acting very selfishly looking out only for himself and not the Mets. All agreed that Ollie’s going to AAA would not only help the team but him as well, he is not going to get better were he is now and is making a lit of people angry. Then came the question that a lot of the guys nodded in agreement was where the hell is Ollie’s agent Borus in all of this and why doesn’t he convince Ollie to go. Surely he sees the logic in it and should be helping Ollie make the right decision here. Apparently Ollie won’t budge and repeated yesterday he ain’t goin. Ollie is going to speak with Pedro Martinez today I hope Pedro can knock some sense into that knuckle head. I should mention that Thole did not weigh in on the Perez thing; in fact I think perhaps the whole conversation may have made him a bit uncomfortable. I totally get that being as close to the Mets as he is. Very diplomatic and understandable.

So on to the game…well we lost but the most important thing was Jon Niese pitched well, he looked sharp and on his game, he needs more time but I see him returning to form soon. He left the game after the 6th with the Bisons leading 4-2. He gave up five hits and two runs. I asked later Bisons pitching coach found out that he threw 88 pitches 60 of them for strikes. To me that was more important then any hits or runs he gave up. l liked that a lot.Unfortunately De La Torre and the rest of the bullpen was unable to keep it going and gave up r six unanswered runs in the final three innings for the win. Well. at that wasn’t as bad as what the Mets pen did yesterday, OMG! But I’m not gonna write about that mess today. I’m thinking maybe saucy or Syam will write about that. I did not see the Padres game and glad I didn’t.

The highlight of the trip was finally meeting Daniel Murphy; he was friendly and talkative and was as interested in my baseball game as I was of his. Nice guy
I asked how he was doing at second base and he told me they still had not given him much opportunity as yet to play there but it was gonna happen soon. Yesterday he played first and had a great game. In fact he was responsible for all four runs they scored. He singled in the first inning which brought Ruben Tejada home. Then he did it again in his next at bat again this time drive home Tejada and Justin Turner, which brought Murphs RBI total for the season to eight. But then Irish hammer (my ole nickname for him) scored from second on a single from Russ Adams. A very nice day for Murphy and I was beaming watching him play again.
Of the guys you are most familiar with, Murphy was 3-5, Thole 2-3 and Tejada 2-5

Watching the Bisons and the Cyclone play is far more fun most times than watching the Mets. That’s because they are working hard tying to get noticed and playing there hearts out to become better players. It’s something I have written about many times there is just nothing as rewarding invigorating as watching these kids play.
Getting to know many of them has been a highlight of my life and I am humbled for the honor and pleasure of knowing them.

 

[syam24]

I did not see last nite's game, but had it on the radio as I was falling asleep. Sounded like a real mess. Takahashi gave up the slam in the first, then everytime I sort of woke out of dozing, I heard a different pitcher's name and either a walk or hit by the Padres. Appears nobody was "on" last nite in the pitching dept. Perhaps the time zone changes got to 'em. They better snap out of it quick. Jose Reyes still "en fuego". Let''s go Mets!!

 

[syam24]

Another nice effort by Pelfrey last nite, 8 solid innings. Homers by DWright and Ike were enuff to put the Mets over the top. We needed an effort like that to let the bullpen recover from their embarassing display the nite before. "Frenchy" had a couple of more hits, he's had a nice week. Let's see if we can get outta town with one more win. Let's Go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Yup Syam, Big Pelf was brilliant once again, man that kid can pitch, and he loves that new split finger
and so do I. Mike allowed only one run on 4 hits and 2 walks, a total of 110 pitches, and shudda finished the game. But nunb nutz Manual took him out for what anyone will tell you was for no good reason. NONE!
Kevin Burckhardt twittered this morning about Pelf being pulled out, he is as miffed as I am. WTF is up with Manual not allowing his starters to finish games; he did it last week with Santana and now Pelf. As if that wasn’t bad enough we had to endure another one of K-Rods drama filled innings. What is up with that guy anyway, can’t he just get 3 outs anymore? I am getting really sick of that guys inability to give us easy saves.
Pelf is a star now and the Mets better extended before this season is over.

Interesting and encouraging news today regarding Carlos Beltran who is on track in his recovery from knee surgery and could soon begin a minor league rehab assignment.
Beltran has begun running the bases and catching fly balls. He is hoping to play within a week, Talk is that with Pagan playing so well it is possible that Beltran may play right field when he finally is activated. One of the other things besides Pagan is that there is a concern about diminished range as Beltran plays with his arthritic knee.
I wrote last week about what might happen to Francouer once Beltran returns and a Pagan-Beltran alignment would squeeze Jeff out. Of course Beltran would need occasional days off as he gets back into playing shape. And, it's possible Beltran could move back to center when Manuel wants to rest Pagan.

Daniel Murphy has been told he will be playing second more often now in Buffalo. Daniel played first when I saw him on Monday and has not played a whole lot at second, but that is about to change. Daniel must be happy cause he really wants to be a good utility player and he knows he needs, to as he put it, “more some bullets in his gun” in order to do that.Castillo has been having a lot of problems with his legs and now both feet are bothering him, so ya gotta think this could be his last year with the Mets and opens up a door wide for Murphy if he works hard and masters second. I don’t think Cora will be back next year either.
Murphy had another good day Tuesday going 2-4
In that same game Pat Misch continued his outstanding pitching he was dominant in 7 innings Misch improved to 5-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.83 He allowed just five hits and no walks and seven strikeouts. Pat retired 16 of the first 19 batters he faced. And he threw 71 of his 100 pitches for strikes.
The kid is on fire.

 

[syam24]

The Mets news was bad enuff last nite, with once again the bats remaining silent when Johan pitches. Worse news from Buffalo, the below is from the Buffalo News following last nite's game:

The post-midnight word from Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell is this: Catcher Josh Thole is sitting out today's game for precautionary reasons after getting cranked in the head with an errant bat Wednesday night and should be OK. But second baseman Daniel Murphy is almost certainly headed for the disabled list with what looks like a longterm knee injury.

Murphy was carried off the field in the seventh inning after Syracuse's Leonard Davis roll-blocked him sliding past second base on a double-play pivot. Dirty play. You wonder if it's season-ending. Especially since it's the same knee Murphy injured in spring traing. At any rate, the Mets' experiement with Murphy as a utility man is over for a while.

That absolutely sux! Castillo is ailing, too, so there may be a callup of an infielder for the weekend and beyond. The NY DAily News is reporting that the outfielder Feliciano may be called up soon, could this mean the Mets are about to get rid of Matthews,Jr?? We'll see.

 

[sonny10305]

Last nights incredible loss thanks to K-Rod and the pen was more than I can handle. Here we had Johan clearly not having his best stuff struggling through seven innings but managing through his brilliant pitching to get out of trouble in just about every inning. Then that fool K-Rod comes in and again he can’t get a lousy three outs. Add to that the pen which totally blew the game.
The Mets continue to find ways to lose, it was not enough for K-rod to tie the game but noooo we had to end the game giving up a grand slam, that’s our Mets we do it in style
Syam I got a call about Murphy last last night from a kid who plays for the Cyclones who is a friend of Daniel Murphy’s, he said “I got bad news:”
Murphy hurt his knee again and it looks bad, he had to be carried off the field and could not put weight on the knee. It just looked like Daniel was trying to execute a double play and when the base runner got there Murphy planted his foot and the runner slid hard into second base to break up the play and caught Murphy in the right leg, Daniel was pretty banged up and he was mad at himself for not getting out of the way.. He was helped off the field and is prolly headed for the disabled list with what could be another knee injury.
I am so bummed by this I can not tell you, the kid can’t get a break; he was so excited about getting that shot at playing second and was looking forward to a possible return to the Mets. I can’t get that image of his smiling face full of hope as he talked to me about it in Monday. As the day goes by more news should come down, my buddy has promised to keep me up to date and I will post more as I get it.
And that’s not all that happened in yesterdays Bisons game, Josh Thole go hit in the head with a backswing from the opposing teams batter, Josh was pretty woozy and left the game, he will sit out today but should be ok.

I can’t stop thinking about Murphy