New York Mets 2012

[sonny10305]

I hope you guys got to see Jeremy Hefner yesterday, he was pretty darn good. I have been impressed with him since first seeing him in the minors I may have written about him back then. Miguel Batista had started the game but left when his back started hurting him. Batista has also been complaining recently about a groin thing so this dude is hurtin, too bad cause he was pitching well for us Batista did see a doctor last night and was told he suffered a minor pull. So we will see how that goes but coupled with that groin injury I dono if we will see much of him. if he ends up on DL it could be a break for Hef cause he could end up with that starters job for a while at least. Hef did not have a while lot of warm up time but managed to pitch pretty well although maybe if you asked him he would say his mechanics where off a little bit and he prolly would like to get those balls back that were up and caused the two runs.Hefner has been a starting pitcher for a few minor league seasons, when in Buffalo his ERA was 2.72.

In other pitching news Chris Schwinden will join the Mets as part of the taxi squad on Sunday. His job will be to be as a safety net to back up Dillon Gee if Batista lands on the DL, or of course should the Mets decide to make a bullpen maneuver. Things will have to change Monday anyways cause we go back to playing National league teams and so we will need to remove a pitcher from the active roster to restore the bench to five position players. Then you have to figure if Batista lands on the DL and Hefner takes his spot in the rotation it would free the roster spot and Schwinden will shuffle on up back to Buffalo.
Jenrry Mejia who is back from Tommy Johns surgery pitched in AA yesterday gave up one run on six hits he also struck out three and did not walk anyone Mejia threw only 48 pitches, the plan was for him not to go beyond about 55 pitches.
Chris Young has taken little time from his rehab starts to be with his wife who is expecting a baby. Young has now made two starts for Class A St. Lucie although he has a good shot at a roster spot it is in way guaranteed once he is ready to return. Thing is too he is not officially on a rehab assignment so he is eligible to remain in the minors indefinitely.

Our catching situation may soon get better; Josh Thole has increased his cardiovascular work and is expected to really step up his rehab work on Monday in Port St. Lucie. After that and a couple of minor league games he could be back with the team over the Memorial Day weekend. This will be a relief for Nickeas who has done a decent job filling in but can not handle Dickeys knuckler he had a pretty good game the first time he caught for RA but the last one was a nightmare for him.

Jason Bay is back with the team in Toronto, so has been hitting off a tee and swinging at soft-tosses. Monday the Mets will talk to Jason’s doctors about taking at light batting practice and could return to the team in June.
Ruben Tejada could also be back by Memorial Day weekend. Tejada is now running and could be in minor league rehab games by Monday.

Well Syam I don’t think the chicken soup you recommended for Dwright worked all that well he felt really lousy yesterday and in fact it looked like he would not even play Sunday although he told Collins he wants to pay today, no decision yet as I write this . David was going to get Saturday off anyways cause Collins wants to give all the boys a day off the next dew days due to the current schedule of 20 games in 20 days coupled with that hard playing surface in Toronto. Murphy has been told to expect to rest on Monday.

 

[syam24]

Nice win to salvage one game from the Blue Jays on Sunday. DWright returned with a vengence, couple of hits and RBI's. Dillon Gee turned in a solid performance and the bull pen pulled off another high wire act for the victory. Mike Baxter was terrific! 3 hits, two for extra bases, awesome! On to Pittsburgh, hopefully the Mets will get Johan some runs tonite, and he'll be able to coast, he needs a "laugher" for a change. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Syam it sure was great to see David back without missing a beat; with his two-run double Sunday, Wright passed Piazza for most interleague RBIs in franchise history, so the records keep getting broken. He felt fine after just one bad day which seems to be what has been happing to all the guys with what ever is going around making em sick. The latest was Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell and Kirk Nieuwenhuis all feeling lousy yesterday. Ike still not 100% this morning and With him really not feeling all that great will sit again today against the lefty Bedard, originally Collins had said in Toronto when he sat Davis against lefty Ricky Romero that Davis would play in the opener in Pittsburgh, even with a lefty on the mound. Kevin Burhardt talks to Collins on the pre game show tonight you will want to hear what Terry says about Ike.

Vinny Rottino is back up from AAA Buffalo where he has been tearing it up. To make room Chris Schwinden is back in Buffalo.

Lineup tonight Andres Torres in center, Justin Turner at second, David Wright 3rd, Scott Hairston left, Lucas Duda right, Vinny Rottino 1st, Ronny Cedeno short and Mike Nickeas catches Santana
Daniel Murphy told on Friday that he would get the day off as part of Collins wanting to give all the guys a day.

Jeremy Hefner will as I expected pitch in the Pelfrey rotation spot on Thursdays

Matt den Dekker all excited about becoming an uncle in a few days the baby is due Thursday. He is way excited.

 

[sonny10305]

All I want to write about today is Ike Davis, I am sure you guys are hearing all kinds of things and I would appreciate a chance to express my feelings here so please indulge me.

Yesterday I told you all how Ike was not going to be in the lineup there were two factors one being the lefty killer the Pirates had on the mound and then there was Ike who was feeling lousy with a persistent head cold. Collins had originally planed on using Ike last night but after thinking about the stats against left handers by Pirates pitcher Bedard and the fact that Ike was not feeling 100% decided it would be best to rest Ike; Terry just did not want to put Ike in the position of having yet another bad day at the pate. If you saw Collins on the pre game show with Burkhardt last night you listened to Terry tell Kevin how he feels about Ike right now. I should mention that Ike knew about what Collins was going to tell Kevin cause just before BP yesterday Collins asked Ike to come in to see him in his office. Now usually when the manager asks to see you and things are not going well it can be bad news but when Ike came into Terry’s office he was asked to have a seat but he was not asked to close the door which was a good sign. I have seen Collins office it is a huge space with terry’s desk in one corner and two large leather couches one up against the back wall of the office and one to Terry’s right. It is a nice setup cause you don’t go in there and sit down in front of Terry on a chair facing him like you would a job interview or a visit to the student counselors office it is much more intimate and friendly. The talk only lasted about 10 minutes, Terry explained why he had changed his mind about using Ike last night and said if the there is a pitchers change Ike would play which is exactly what happened, as soon as Bedard left the game in the 6th Ike was put in but mostly for his defense. By game time Ike was actually feeling a lot better and was ready to play.

As to the talk about Davis being sent to the minors Ike does not believe that a trip to the minors will help him out of his slump, actually Collins agrees with that and said that the team is trying to be as patient as possible with Davis, in part because they view him as a cornerstone of their future and they have to have patience with Ike, but he did say the possibility exists for a possible demotion, the next few days on the road will be very important for Ike in that decision. As far as Ike goes the facts are his batting average is now .161. which is the second-worst in the majors and an OBP of .218. There is a marked difference in Ike’s numbers from 2011; he's hitting more balls on the ground and fewer in the air. He's swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone and, is striking out more and walking less. The balls he puts in play are falling in for hits less than about 20% of the time which lat year was about 35%. We know and have talked about often that Ike actually has an insignificant mechanical difference from lat season but he's getting out front a little too fast, and not allowing the bat to get ahead. To be fair and Collins noticed and acknowledged this as well some of his struggle is just bad luck, we saw Ike hit three line drives over the weekend but only one fell in for a hit. We have all noticed that not counting last night Ike over the last six games hit the ball solid, the hits however were not there. Terry plans to play Ike tonight and tomorrow and then decide what to do against the lefties that follow, but one thing is for sure Collins is a big Davis fan and is hesitant to recommend demoting Davis because he believes Ike is close to breaking out. He’s just got to start making good solid contact Collins said you never know when it’s going to happen, when Ike is going to all of a sudden get it centered and start to make that solid contact.

So will Ike be sent down only time will tell, there has to be changes soon with several injured players getting close to returning and changes will result from that. It will be a heartbreaking day for me personally if it happens, I and a lot of Ike team mates will be greatly saddened, Murph and Turner in particular. I want to remind you of how close many of the players are they are much more that teammates and lot more like brothers. A great example was seen on live TV Sunday when Ike had a bad outing with the bat and came back to the dugout, he sat next to Murphy who slowly put his arm around Ike and left it there a few minutes as if to say hang in there dude I am here for you. I hope some of you caught that it was a quick but very powerful showing of the love and support most of the boys have for one another.

 

[syam24]

Two nice victories to close out the Pirates, with stellar performances by RA Dickey and J Niese! Even better were two great closing of the games by Frankie Francisco!! Very nice, indeed. D Wright in a deeeeeep slump, avg below .400, OMG! Just kidding, nice to see the Mets can win when David has a slow period, he couldn't possibly stay as hot as he was. I see Ike had a hit today, we really need him to bust out, what a lineup it would be, especially with Tejada on the mend. This division is there for the taking, the Phils just don't seem to have it, must take advantage before Utley and Howard return. Looks like it may be a fun summer. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Syam, Wright in a slump, Don’t even joke It was bound to happen, of course pitchers are staying clear of him now giving not much to hit so it’s understandable his numbers would drop…for now. But Lucas Duda has started to come back to life and that could change things with Lucas hitting behind David. who has greatly benefited in the past from having protection from the guys like Beltran and Delgado. If Duda can fill that void things will soon change for David. It’s no secret that every good player benefits from protection in the lineup. Hairston gets that spot tonight

Yes we are all happy to se Ike making progress and even thou he has only the one hit he did have a few really good at bats lately smoking the ball only to have it caught but still it’s good progress. He has also been hitting the ball really well in BP it’s frustrating when that does not translate into good at bats in games. So the clock is ticking he has got to get it back together and soon cause once bay return changes will be made, Collins is now hinting that Bay will get his old job back at left, Here’s hoping Bay continues where he left off before the injury, he had finally started to be productive with the bat. With useless Torres struggling as bad as Ike is I want to see a platoon situation with Andres and Nieuwenhuis in center. As I have written many times there is no way Kirk sits on the bench which would be a mistake especially for a guy like Torres who has shown us very little. Mike Baxter will need to have more playing time as well and not used just as a bench player perhaps at left with Bay. I like Mike Baxter but he said something the other day that bothered me, when asked if he would be ready to replace Ike Davis at first Mike said he would play where ever the team needed him but felt he would be very comfortable at first which was the wrong answer, Mike should not have suggested he could replace Ike, he should have said that first base is Ike’s job.. period. To suggest that he could replace Ike was so very very wrong hopefully he did not mean it sound the way it did and will be more careful about the Ike question in future. We have enough media guys prematurely burying Ike in the minors, members of the team need to stay away from questions like that, and Ike is not gone yet in fact Collins told Ike today not to stress over all the minors talk and that he wants him to work through his issues up here and not in the minors. Because of the Padres lefty on the mound Ike will sit; Collins does not want Ike facing lefties he wants him to have every opportunity to improve.

Jeremy Hefner will get his first big league start tonight, in his new role replacing Pelfrey in the rotation after Schwinden basically bombed and Batista going on the DL hopefully he will keep the job till Chris Young is ready. Of course there is always the possibility that He will pitch so well that he will give Young a run for his money for the spot. I am rooting for this kid I like him a lot.

Zack Wheeler back the DL in great form he allowed one run over eight innings in AA Binghamton which is a career high for him. He allowed two hits and struck out seven in his fourth straight win. I have been watching this kid for a while and he is very exciting I see a promotion to AAA Buffalo coming very soon.

Lineup for tonight Cedeno-ss, Murphy-2b, Wright-3b, Hairston-lf, Duda-rf, Rottino-1b, Torres-cf, and Johnson catches Hefner

 

[sonny10305]

I just wanted to add another comment to what I wrote above ^^ about Ike and the minors. I have no doubt that there will be media fools who when they see tonight’s lineup without Ike are going to say it’s another nail in Ike’s coffin and I wanted to be sure that at least you guys know it’s not and Ike is only out against the lefty, Collins wants Ike to have every advantage. I am sure once a righty takes the mound during the game Ike will be in the game especially in late innings for defense. Sorry to harp so much on this but the media feeding frenzy over Ike’s problems makes me nutz.
Collins told Ike just a little while ago that he is not going to the minors but don't hold your breath waitin to hear that in the media.

 

[Sausy]

I was reading it today,sonny.....Collins and the Mets would much rather get Ike straightened out here.Some great players didn't always click right away,sometimes the best way to learn to succeed is being allowed to fail,and find your own way out of it.Duda would most likely play first,or Murphy....and neither would be anything but a short term solution there anyway.The Mets need Ike,Ike needs to be with the guys up here.He did some real good for himself driving two clutch runs in the fifth(ironically both Duda and Murphy)in the fifth,ripping a single up the middle.He's just got to relax,not put too much on himself...today was a great win,6-1 with a lot of heroes.There was Dillon Gee piching a marvelous game,seven innings,only one run on four hits,a career high nine strikeouts including three stirring strikeouts just after he got himself into a bit of trouble to get out of the seventh.

There was Mike Baxter(who I love but agree with sonny the way he put his two cents in on playing first if Ike was sent down was something he really didn't express right.Should have pushed for Ike over his own benefit there)yet still,he's a gritty,tough home town player who actually started with the Padres after being drafted twice by the Mets but never signing.What a catch he made off of Jesus Guzman by the left field wall,a drive surely meant to be a game changing,run scoring double to put the Padres in a great situation already having scored a run.But Baxter,who this his best play ever in the outfield(I was reading he never even played the outfield through high school after catching the ball fired a strike to Ronny Cedeno who was able to double up the runner at first)keeps showing he has a real place to play with our Mets(and it's in the outfield,Mike...NOT first base!)The Padres really liked him too,praising his solid fundamentals and grittiness and character as a player....maybe I love the kid TOO much but hopefully sonny can find it in his heart to cut the Queens boy some slack,so long as Mike just keeps on hiotting and playing solidly in the OUTFIELD.

Dillon Gee was energized by that play,certainly showed what he can do when his stuff and command are going together...really happy for the kid and hope he can continue to grow and develop as a starter.Zack Wheeler,Jeurys Familia,Matt Harvey soon if they all PLEASE can stay healthy this Mets club will be tough for opposing hitters to face.Chris Young in reserve is looking healthy and good....the most tantalizing reliever,Josh Edgin,hasn't even come up yet for the regular season and Jennry Mejia looks on his way back and sound and healthy after his surgery and rehab so we are going to have SERIOUS depth in the rotation over the next few months and year or two.Am I sounding TOO excited about our future?

 

[sonny10305]

Nah saucy no one would ever say you sound "too excited" I think for sure although we have had a few off games over all we can be pretty proud of what our boys are doing keeping in mind this is a young tam of kids still wet behind the ears in the majors going up against the big boys and showin em how it’s done.
Dillon gee and Jon Niese are giving us some good outings keeping up with Dickey and Santana. Dillon is a special friend to me having first meet him when he played for the Cyclones, we hit it off immediately and has taught me a lot of what I know about pitching, he even came to Long island with his wife Kari Ann to watch me pitch, I was a celebrity of sorts that day as Diilon watched the game and later hung with the guys to talk baseball, sweet kid. He is pitching even better now that he shaved what had become known in the clubhouse as The Goatee That Ate Flushing.
The 5th spot in the rotation is still a question Jeremy Hefner got roughed up this week but I have seen that kid pitch and he is better than that don’t give up on him yet. I think Collins and Warthen did him disservice by letting him pitch after that just over one hour rain delay; they certainly would never have allowed any of the stars pitch. Collins asked Jeremy how he felt and if he thought he could go back out there and of course what was Hef gonna say he did not to seem weak and not handle and said he thought he could but he knew it was not such a good idea he was not prepared for such a role and Terry should have known that. The only thing Warthen told Hef was to ride the bike and take some throw some pitches to stay loose but that too was bad advice. The kid is green to such conditions he was never asked in the minors to do anything like that in fact in the minors after a rain delay as long as that one they NEVER send a pitcher back out its just not done, actually in the minors when it rains the game is pretty much over. But at least Collins remains confide in Hef and will give him another crack on Tuesday. I was really happy to hear that although I suspect it has more to do with not wantin to mess with the rotation than anything else. Jeremy’s family had flown in from Oklahoma to see the game, his mom, dad, wife and son, the wife is pregnant by he way with their second kid, I wish the day had turned out better for them,. I kept thinking how much it sucked for them to se Tuff get creamed like that. After Tuesday spot the next time around could be Jeremy’s or Collins may go to Miguel Batista. It is pretty much a wait and see thing now.

As to Davis oh yes things are looking better for him now that he has that weight of being sent down off his mind, Collins did the right thing recognizing how much pressure and stress was being put on Ike waiting for that shoe to drop as it were. Saucy I am glad you read about the move but true to form many in the press continued to downplay it saying things like Ike should have been sent and Collins is playing favorites and so on and on . They just can’t help themselves, poor bastards; they think they know baseball and how it all works. The move to tell Ike he was staying changed him immediately his confidence rose his happy good nature returned and just like that he was his old Ike man self. Sending him down would have been bad for his confidence and the whole team would have been bummed, as I have told you guys many times they are not just teammates but family and no one wanted him to go down. I applaud Collins and Anderson for seeing the advantage of letting Ike work out his problems here, in addition we hold on to his awesome defensive role and let’s not forget that. Collins will still sit Ike out against the lefties but that’s ok being sure everyone knows it’s not going to turn into a platoon situation just keep away from the Lefties in order to help him improve. In fact Ike will not play today unless later in the game a righty comes in or Ike is needed for defense in late innings. Althouigh Ike is going to play against the lefty on Monday. Nieuwenhuis will also sit today against the lefty but Duda will play since he has the best lefty record. So the lineup today will be Torres, cf Turner, 2b Wright, 3b Hairston, lf Duda, rf Rottino, 1b Cedeno, ss and Nickeas, catching Santana,

Was so happy to hear from Darrell Ceciliani who was activated from the Disabled List yesterday and so excited to be back in the lineup for St. Lucie he has been out since late April. Stay healthy and make us proud DC

Pedro Beato has been promoted to AAA, so hopefully He and Mejia will be ready soon to help out our sometimes leaky pen.

Kevin Burhardt's new expression for just about everything these days is “Gas Face” The latest was the long rain delay which was, yup ….“Gas face” Oh Kev, you so crazy

 

[syam24]

Well, the Mets had 3 very nice games against the Padres, with outstanding pitching from Johan and RA Dickey. Yesterday's loss featured some bizarre stuff. Justin Turner goes down with an ankle injury that may cost hiim and Mets, a few weeks on the DL, DWright is forced to play SS. Niese is a bit wild with 5 walks, Wiggonton (former Met) drives home 6, 3 of them on a homerun off MANNY ACOSTA, who I read, is on his way to be designated for assignment. To this I say, It's about time. He has not done a whole lot for us this year. His ERA started at 10.86 yesterday and went up into the 11's. Adios, Manny. I think Quintanilla is going to be the SS for tonite and hopefully will stay healthy long enough until either Cedeno or Tejada to return to the position. Let's hope Ike will really take off after some recent RBI hits. Let's go METS!!

 

[sonny10305]

Nice post Syam thanks for that

I did not watch the game yesterday I had a great day at a party in Brooklyn, I had left my phone in the car and when I went out to get it and found a couple of missed calls and a text that read “Turner down call me” That’s when I first heard about the hell-of-a scare with Justin Turner, most thought at first it was gonna be a lot worse than it turned out to be. I watched a rerun of the game later and saw how when he went down the pain on his face was severe it did not look good. Justin thought he had really hurt himself when he could not even put any weight on that ankle at all and had to be carried off the field. Ike Davis followed Justin thru the tunnel where Justin told Ike that he thought he’d blown out his Achilles. But after an x-ray showed no damage JT was declared to suffered an ankle sprain and a mild one at that. Whew!
Justin jammed the leg on the first base bag in a rundown, his leg just gave out before he reached base. So he will be on the dl and should be back in about 2-3 weeks tops. That makes the ss position a bit tricky since Ruben Tejada is still on the dl with that quadriceps strain. He is recovering slower than we thought and still is experiencing tenderness with the muscle and prolly will not be activated until at least the weekend, then there is Ronny Cedeño who did God knows what to his left calf and is not available for a few more days. So once again the young troops will come to the rescue Omar Quintanilla will play ss tonight, Omar has been promoted as well as Chris Schwinden and are both expected in camp today. Good news for Syam and all other Mets fans to clear roster room the Mets will designate Acosta for assignment Schwinden will come in to the game tonight if Hefner, who gets another start tonight, needs help.

Josh Thole is scheduled to catch in extended spring training for the first time today. I expect he sill be in AAA Buffalo any day now before coming back to Flushing.

Miguel Batista will make a rehab start for AA Binghamton today he is not eligible to be activated from the DL until next Monday.

Chris Young will pitch in AAA Buffalo on Thursday and since the Mets have that day off SNY will televise the game on Thursday's 10:30 a.m. Chris will get at least one more stat after that and then a decision could be made about his return to the Mets

Lineup for tonight Baxter-LF, Nieuwenhuis-CF, Wright-3B, Duda-RF, Murphy-2B, Davis-1B, Nickeas-C, Quintanilla-SS, Hefner on the mound

Headin over to Brooklyn to watch The Cyclones hold open auditions for National Anthem singers.
Getting close to the start of the new season in Brooklyn I am sooo psyched

 

[sonny10305]

Justin Turner says he is doing really well he’s got on a big ole boot on his ankle and has crutches but he only needed them when he first got up yesterday cause it felt a little stiff but walked it off and did not need the crutch to walk into the clubhouse last night. It’s now just a matter of waitin it out before he can put full weight on the ankle and get back to normal. Justin did break that ankle once so it was a major relief to know it was not broken again. Only thing left is a few more test results after MRI was taken and he will find out today if there was any other damage but it does not look like here is any. Great spirits which was so great to hear.

I messed up yesterday when I told you guys about the Bisons game being televised on Thursday, turns out it won’t be on SNY but you can see it on MLB network Thursday morning at 10:30, if you can’t see it live you might wanna record it so you can see Chris young pitch and Josh Thole catch should be fun. If all goes well with Josh he could be back in our lineup on Friday, how great is that

Speaking of the Bisons I have many times sang the praises of the young kids who have been called to service in the bigs in emergencies and once again last night we had two great examples with Hef and Q of how well that turns out. What I have not written in a while is the drive behind these guys Wally Backman who is doing an amazing job turning these minor league kids in major leaguers. I had the pleasure and honor of spending time with Wally when he was with the Cyclones I saw first hand how well he handles those kids and how much respect they all have for him. I also got a few chance to see Wally in action in Buffalo and he is some kind of manager lemme tell ya. So thanks Wally for turning continuing to turn out the future Mets superstars we could not have done it with it you. Of course the first next Mets superstar will be Matt Harvey who is inching closer and closer to coming up to play with the big boys. He is currently playing with his fastball lowering it from his usual 95 down to 90 MPH he wants to experiment with his control and staying away from the middle of the plate and keeping the ball down more. In addition he will need to work on improving his changeup and keeping those walks down. I am looking to see Harvey in Flushing sometime after the all Star break or early August. We have some darn good pitching coming our way thru the minors with Harvey, Familia, Mejia and Wheeler. Seriously, Mets 2013 will be off the charts.

Kimberley Locke who was on American Idol will be doing the honors singing the National Anthem on Cyclones Opening Day which is June 18th. I Spent much of yesterday meeting a lot of the new Cyclone staff, later the boys and I took a walk down the new boardwalk in Coney and it looked really great, bunch of new Stores I haven’t seen before and even the old ones have been spruced up, bunch of new rides too. Check out the new Coney I think you will be impressed with what they have done and of course come out and support the Cyclones.

The SNY boys will broadcast tonight's Mets game from the Pepsi Porch in right field. Looking forward to that.

 

[sonny10305]

Chris Young’s outing in Buffalo was excellent; he pitched six scoreless innings in 87 pitches he allowing two hits. So he gets that much closer to his return to NY, still not decided is if he needs another minor league start or is ready to join the Mets, my guess would be he would get at least one more probably two especially if Jeremy Hefner continues to give us quality innings,

Elvin Ramirez, who has been killin the minor league batters this season joins the Mets tonight in Citi field, Ramirez is 3-1 with a 0.65 ERA that’s between AA Binghamton and AAA Buffalo this season he allowed no runs in 14 innings .

The bigger news is of course Josh Thole who also returns to the lineup tonight. Josh left last night from Buffalo after decision was made not to make him play any more rehab games. Josh feels great and is ready, oh so ready, to come home to NY. He had an aggravating day yesterday in Buffalo, when he got to the park he was told he could not start his rehab due to some paper work fuck up, It seems some knucklehead in the MLB's Players' Association had not yet approved Thole's rehab assignment in time for him to play. So as the game went on Josh sat waiting and I am might add fuming in the dugout while they straightened the whole mess out. Finally the word came down all was clear and he could play but late in the game. So after that when he was asked about one more game in AAA Josh said “no thanks” and packed his bags for Flushing.

Chris Schwinden after being put on waivers will make room for the promotion of Elvin Ramirez which makes sense if you figure we won’t need a long reliever anyway after an off-day and with Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey coming up in next two games. We hope
Unless the Mets go with three catchers for now they will need to free a 25-man roster spot for Thole, Mike Nickeas would prolly be the one to go rather than Rob Johnson who is just a better offensive player and is pretty much on an even keel with Nickeas on defense.

I mentioned Manny Acosta was gone and now he cleared waivers and was out righted to Buffalo.

Interesting to see what moves The Mets will make soon with Pedro Beato eligible to be activated from the DL on Sunday and Miguel Batista the following day.

So proud to tell you guys former Cyclones Cory Mazzoni, Adam Kolarek, Blake Forsythe, Wilmer Flores, Wilfredo Tovar and Cory Vaughn have all been named to the Florida State League All-Star team.

Justin Turner continues to feel better not using the crutches at all now; he saw “Rock of Ages” on B’way last night and raved about the “Awesome music, tons of laughs, a really great time”

 

[syam24]

Would love to see a big weekend from the Mets against the Cards!! Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Gonna leave the reactions and perspectives to sonny and syam and anyone else posting but Johann Santana pitches the
first Mets no hitter ever against our bitter foes the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0....it took 50 years but the wait was worth it!!!!!!!!!

Had tears in my eyes,never thought I'd actually see one...a one hitter a few times,but with even two World Series championships,so
great to see this for the amazing pitcher Johann is,what a competitor....the players,the organization and especially all the Mets fans!Mike Baxter hurt his shoulder on an incredible catch against the left field wall but he was determined to get that ball ....hopefully he'll be out just a short time but in almost every no hitter like this,there's one standout no hit saving play and that gem by Baxter was outstanding...local boy making the fans proud!

 

[Ninja108]

COngrats to a class act like Johan. Great to see after all he's been through the baseball gods decide to give him something back. Congrats!

 

[syam24]

Well, for me the great sports Trifecta is complete!!! A Mets pitcher throws a no hitter! Congratulations to Johan Santana, a model ballplayer and a model citizen. After seeing the NY Giants win Super Bowls, and the NY Rangers win the Cup in '94, waiting for the first Mets no-no was the last event on my sports lists to see accomplished. Of course, the Mets World Championships were completed well before the last three. Was quite exciting to see the team reaction to the no hitter, from surrounding Johan on the mound, to the handshakes/hugs afterwards to the shaving cream in the face and champagne bath on the bench during an interview in the dugout. The thing that got me most emotional though, was reading in today's NY Daily News of how the team reacted when Johan returned to the clubhouse after the interview, the team gave him a standing ovation. For these guys to show that much respect, especially from a group of mostly younger players is awesome. They displayed their appreciation of his talent and his hard work and dedication in returning from his surgery. Says a lot about this group of young men. I'm happy for Johan and the team, but I'm also proud to be a Mets fan. Let's Go Mets!!!

 

[sonny10305]

Not a whole lot of time I just wanted to say congrats to Santana for making Mets history. He threw 134 pitches, 77 of which were strikes and 48 of them were in strike zone. Not surprising when you think about it 48 percent of Santana’s pitches have been in the strike zone.This is 1st no-hitter thrown by NL pitcher since Roy Halladay with the Phillies in 2010 and Santana is 1st pitcher since Dave Righetti in 1983 to throw a shutout then a no-hitter in consecutive starts.

To put it all in perspective ever since Santana's shoulder surgery in 2010 we all wondered and even worried if he would return to the mound for the Mets, after all he did missed all of 2011, But since Johan made the 2012 Opening Day start he has been excellent all year. Ya gotta think with his no-hitter and his second straight complete-game shutout has put him in a class all his own.
Watching him pitch I am always trying to second guess which fingers Thole will put down and what Santana’s pitch selection will be it’s a game I like to play with a lot of pitchers but with Johan it’s just that much more fun. By the way how great must it have been for Thole to come back to the team and catch that game. I did predict that changeup at which David Freese swung and missed, seriously, I said it’s gotta be a change
Actually I counted 10 outs Santana made with the changeup He a couple more than 35 of them making those poor Card batters miss 10 of them. Not that his slider was all that shabby he got at least seven outs with that pitch .which he threw around the strike zone, but oh no not in it
Ya have to remember that getting outs out of the strike zone is a big part of what makes a great pitcher like Johan. We all watched happily as those poor birds hitters chased better than 24 pitches that were out of the strike zone.

Mike Baxter is another hero of the game saving that potential hit unfortunately he paid the price slamming into that fence. He seemed to be not all that banged up as of last night maybe nothing more than a strain and bruise but we will know more after the MRI results come in. There is still the possibly of a slight concussion and broken rib, he’ll get another exam today. Love what Mike said after the game “It's an honor to be able to make a play for Johan, but ultimately it was his night."

I have to comment on Kevin Burkhardt’s heart filled interview with Johan after the game, as he always does KB pulled the heart and soul out of Johan making for an extraordinary interview. And of course my boy Justin Turner and the whipped cream pie was just the cherry on the cake I had hoped he would not be to shy about hitting Johan; but not Justin oh no he knew what he had to do. As Syam mentioned, after the interview a couple of the boys lead by DWright hosed Johan down with champagner to wash away the whipped cream, how great was that

I must say I am surprised by the Mets decision to optioned to Rob Johnson Triple-A Buffalo rather that Nickeous As I wrote yesterday although Johnson and Nickeous are pretty much on the same page defense wise Johnson is clearly the better offensive payer. I also thought maybe they would hang on to all three catchers for a while till Thole is fully back in form I still have to say the Mets seem to have made the wrong choice here but what do I know..

 

[syam24]

Holy double shutouts!! What great pitching by Johan, and now RA Dickey! Shutting down the Cards offense is generally not this easy, but they've done a superb job, and also a very nice job by Josh Thole calling/catching these guys. After getting 3 runs without a hit to score them (where has that been for a few years?), it was nice to see DWright pole axe an insurance HR to right. Let's see if Jonathon Niese can give us a good performance tonite, Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

So the amazing pitching continues Jon Niese pitched 6 terrific innings to keep the Cards shutout. Unfortunately Jon got that rapid heartbeat again and had to leave the game after 6. You may remember the same thing happened last year in Texas. Not sure what to make of this but Jon said his heartbeat returned to normal before the game ended but still you have to be a little concerned cause that should be happing just because he got excited after running. I recall he had a bunch of test done last year after it happened and doctors could not detect anything to worry about so we will se what comes pout of today’s test Jon is supposed to pitch next on Friday at Yankee Stadium,
R.A. Dickey may or may not pitch Wednesday because it would be on short rest and RA first wants to see how he feels during a bullpen session today. If Dickey is not sure about going in Jeremy Hefner will take Wednesday's start. Then there is Santana who is expected to pitch Thursday in Washington Johan too will throw a bullpen session today, after that he will have a better feel for whether he needs more than one extra day rest after that 134-pitch count on Friday
Chris Young will take the mound on Tuesday and Miguel Batista will be activated from the DL so he will be available in case Young needs help and has a short start, Chris has not pitched in the majors since May 2011.

Ruben Tejada will begin a rehab assignment today with Triple-A Buffalo. He will play today and tomorrow for 5 innings each day followed by seven innings Wednesday and a full game Thursday with the Bisons. If all goes well Tejada will be activated from the DL for Friday's game with the Yankees.

Jason Bay is due to play in St. Lucie after a couple of games with the Florida State League club. Bay could be back middle of the week in Washington. Prolly see him DH in the Yankees series this weekend.

Pedro Beato, was eligible to be activated from the DL today, but it got a little complicated cause there is now a crowded 40-man roster Once Beato is activated from the DL the Mets will have to clear a 40-man roster spot. So the trick will be for Beato to play at least a couple more games in AAA while he is still acting as a rehabbing major leaguer. Yeah, I said it was tricky

Ramon Ramirez who did too much celebrating after the no hitter and messed up his hamstring will not be placed on the DL after all at least not till he sees the doctor today or tomorrow But if it turns out he will need to go Robert Carson has been called from AA, why Carson? Beats me I can’t keep up with it anymore. All I recall is that Carson only played in two games with us and went a grand total of three innings before he was sent back to Binghamton. As far as I can recall Carson has never played in AAA and sucked in Binghamton's rotation for two year 2010-11 but he was moved to the bullpen now and looked better there, in fact he his ERA is about a buck fifty for about 20 innings. If nothing else he gives us a second left-handed option out of the bullpen.
Meantime the hero of Friday’s game, Mike Baxter, is now on the DL with a displaced collarbone and fractured rib cartilage he will prolly be out 4-6 weeks. So the Mets have promoted Josh Satin from Buffalo.

Johan Santana will do the top 10 on Letterman tonight and ya don’t wanna miss that.

Today’s game will be rough with the crappy weather but when/if we get it in the lineup will be Nieuwenhuis, lf Torres, cf Wright, 3b Duda, rf Murphy, 2b Davis, 1b Quintanilla, ss
and Nickeas, wil catch Gee.

Kevin Burkhardt will speak with Terry Collins on the pregame at 12:30