New York Mets 2012

[sonny10305]

Whew, what an amazin day yesterday the Mets home opener was full of emotions mostly joy but incredible feeling of hope as well. As to the game it was all about the pitching with Johan Santana looking as sharp as we have ever seen him, going five innings, striking out five, and only allowed four base runners. One of the highlights was watching him escape from a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with the look of I got this on his face and got it he did. It appeared as thou the velocity on his four-seamer was maybe 2 mph lower than it was back in 2010 but the important thing here was that there was a 10-mph gap between his fastball and changeup, which is just about perfect and just about where it was during his best days. Keep in mind that Santana’s changeup is his out pitch. The holy cow moment was when he got In trouble he threw what was abut an 87-mph fastball in a perfect spot around the knees on the outside corner for a called strike on a 3-2 count and then threw a 88-mph fastball which although it caught more of the plate, again was down around the knees. I looked at Dwright after that pitch I wish you all could have seen that WOW look on his face.
After Johan came out of the game you could not help but get a little lump in your throat cause we had just seen a master at work once again good as new and wowing u by making just about all of his pitches. But it did not stop there Sandy Alderson's new bull pen came in and was brilliant as well. Man oh man when the last time that pen was was effective? But yesterday they were shutting down the Braves to lock it up for Johan only sad part was the Met did not score that run till after the 5th inning which made it too late for Johan to get the win which went to Ramirez. All in all the pen went four scoreless with Ramon Ramirez, Tim Byrdak, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco. Matter of fact Frankie hit 94 on the gun.

Andres Torres tweaked that calf muscle again and had to leave the game; he is going back to St Luice today to begin rehab should be back in a bout two weeks meantime Ruben Tejada will take over the leadoff spot. The upside to that story is that Kirk Nieuwenhuis is leaving today to come back to NY and will play centerfield starting Saturday while Torres rehabs. So that is very cool

The Mets did a great job of honoring Gary Carter , in addition to wearing a "KID 8" home-plate logo patches on there uniform sleeves, the same logo was placed on the left-center field wall next to the 385-foot marker. The also had Carter's No. 8 jersey hanging in the dugout. And during the pregame workouts they all wore his blue No. 8 jerseys. There was a moment of silence for Carter before the game.

Quite a day one I won’t soon forget, one win down, 161 left to go.

The boys have the day off today and in fact Terry Collins told all of em that he did not want them coming to the ball park or doing any baseball activities today he wants them all to just take the day off and relax. Next game on Saturday. Dickey pitches.

 

[sonny10305]

Today the regular line up with the exception of Kirk Nieuwenhuis who replaces Torres in center and bat 8th, Kirk will be wearing #9. Tejada replaces Torres batting lead off. Looks like while Torres is out we will have a platoon type setup with Kirk and Hariston with Kirk vs righties. Hairston vs lefties. That will mean with the pitching configuration over the next few days we will have Kirk Saturday, Hairston Sunday, Kirk Monday, Hairston Tuesday, Kirk Wednesday. Welcome Captain Kirk to the big leagues guys a terrific hard working kid I have been a fan of for a while now. Now if only he can stay healthy which has been his biggest problem time and time again.

RA Dickey on the mound today for us and Jurrjens goes for the Braves.

David Wright is now seven RBIs shy of matching Darryl Strawberry's franchise-record 733

Sandy Alderson will make the new deal with Jon Niese official today.

Happy Birthday to one of really nice guys in the game our bullpen coach Ricky Bones

 

[sonny10305]

How Sweep It Is!

As a Mets fan ya have to be stoked I mean come on, what a weekend. It all started with the pitching, Johan Santana who looked a lot like the ole Johan after throwing five shutout innings and then R.A. Dickey went six solid innings not at all effected by the cold weather which usually effects his knuckler. Then Jon Niese took a no-hit bid into the seventh before running out of steam, the Mets still haven’t thrown a no-hitter in their 50-year franchise history. During their three-game sweep of the Braves, Santana, Dickey and Niese combined to give up just six runs (four earned) in 17 innings, which translates into a 2.12 ERA. WOW

Next up Sandy Alderson’s new revamped and improved bullpen allowed just one earned run over its first 10 innings of the season that’s an ERA of 0.90. Tim Byrdak, Bobby Parnell and Jon Rauch were awesome in their specialty/setup roles, and the one I worry about the most Frank Francisco saved all three games during the series, and became the first player in Mets history to save his first three games with the club.

Now our lineup First let me say Jose who?? he may be gone and that’s fine cause this weekend other than a lack of stolen bases we sure did not miss him. David Wright is hitting .667 with a home run and three RBIs. Lucas Duda had the first two-homer game of his career on Saturday. Even Jose replacement Ruben Tejada had a carrer-high four hits on Sunday. Daniel Murphy had two doubles, including a sweet two-out, two-run two-hit down the third-base line that gave the Mets a 4-0 fifth.
And speaking about DWright, enough BS give the kid an extension and make him Captain…NOW

But it all begins with Terry Collins who has said he doesn’t care what others think of his team. He believes in the 25 guys in his clubhouse. Terry knows he doesn’t have the Yankees’ lineup or the Angels’ pitching staff, but that doesn’t matter. He hasn’t made excuses, nor has his team. They’ve just gone out and executed and they are going to compete every game, they need to prove they’re better than many thought.

We all understand that heading into the season, little was thought of the Mets’ postseason aspirations especially in that powerhouse National League East, but the Mets made an early statement by allowing seven runs overall and bashing seven doubles and three home runs in their three-game with the Braves. I have been saying it for a while but now maybe folks are realizing that the seven homegrown players in their starting lineup is going to pay off and maybe this “youth movement” which may have been the result of limited funds and free-agent options than by design, but I am here to say as a Mets fan, who cares.
Speaking of our youth movement I hope you guys caught my boy Kirk Nieuwenhuis’s major league debut he went 2-4 with a pair of singles including a squeaky clean line drive to right. He was given the ball from his first hit and Kirk later gave it to his dad to take back home to California, Kirk’s parents made the trip in from he west coast to see their boy play. Watch this kid you have seen me write about him a lot I have known him for a while now having been following him around the minors for about 3 years before he was drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft. Terry Collis is impressed enough with his Daniel Murphy type approach at the plate that it is possible we may see Kirk leading off someday soon. He along with the Dude (Lucas) are gonna be awesome this year. Before the game I asked Kirk how he felt was he nervous and he admitted yeah he had a few butterflies but mostly he was very excited and the excitement overshadowed the nerves. I met his parents and his dad was beaming it was chocking up a bit speaking about his son. A very emotional day for dad.

Now I know it has only been three games and as a Mets fan for a very long time I know the whole thing could come crashing down on us at anytime, but that does not take away the feeling of hope I have right now.
There was some celebrating Sunday night not just for the win but for the fact that the team has proven how well they can play together and what how everyone contributed, brothers all out to show the world that watching the amazins is fun again.

Our boy Kirk Nieuwenhuis a kid with a big future

 

[sonny10305]

Another win another game with great pitching, but tonight's hero of course was Murphy with that awesome defensive play in the top of the ninth and the walk off hit in the bottom 9th to win the game. Justin Turner got his first crack as the new official pie thrower getting Murph during his post game interview with Kevin Burkhardt and in the spirit of the moment KB did not mind giving up his jacket for Murph to use to clean up the shaving cream mess, too funny. The kitchen was out of whipped cream so JT had to use shaving cream

Just about everyone is contributing to our success and one of the guys unable to get it going yet is Ike Davis but I expect him to break out soon as does he. He is just not comfortable at the plate right now; we see him at the plate stepping in doing that lunging he used to do dipping his hands and swinging at off-speed pitches out of the zone. You can’t help but notice that Ike is positioning his hands differently with almost at bat. Between the height of his hands plus the shift of his weight it makes him sorta jump at the ball a bit. Now when he does that his front side is gonna pull off a little early and makes Ike open to fastballs towards the middle and outer half, and of course breaking pitches. He understands what he needs to do including focusing on driving the ball back through the middle which will force him to get his weight driving straight ahead and keep him on the ball longer. It is not goona be that much of an adjustment in his correcting his timing. Ike will be back no one thinks differently.
However there is another problem, he has gotten back in that bad habit of bitching and moaning at the umpires again something he did a lot last year until his dad got him to stop. Ike needs to understand taking his frustrations at the plate on the umps will get him nowhere but in trouble. If he continues he may find his strike zone shrinking and balls called as strikes. It is a no win and the umps don’t like that attitude and it needs to stop before it spreads around the leaque that Ike is at it again. I love the kid to death but he needs to take a more mature approach to his problems at the plate and not take it out on the umpires. Speaking of Ike he will be going in for a follow up doctors visit today to determine the state of his possible valley fever, which was noticed during a spring-training physical. Last night Ike said he does not have any obvious symptoms, but will be able to have a better idea of what is going on after todays blood tests and a look at his lungs. Meantime, Terry Collins who had planned on resting Ike every two weeks or so to avoid overtaxing him and inflaming the illness has decided to give Davis off today with Ike’s new roommate Justin Turner taking over first base. I will let you guys know how Ike makes out at the doctors today. Meantime now that Ike and Justin have become roommates in Manhatten I feel the need to warn their new neibors , be afraid…be very afraid. Ike and Justin are jokesters and love to have fun….you have been warned.

Meanwhile Murphy was not the only one with a walk off win last night, Darrell Ceciliani had one as well a walk-off homer for St. Lucie way to go dude.

 

[Sausy]

We didn't get it done today but the weekend sweep over Atlanta plus the Monday night win over the Nats really got me excited,and I'm still very happy.It was great psychologically for the boys and the fans....bviously we can't keep up that pace but I really think that our boys now will take a loss or two and put it aside,and bounce back with confidence.Johann was amazing on Thursday and going today against Strasburg is going to be a very fun battle.So glad they extended Jon Niese for five years,sonny knows how good his stuff is,and he's got to just gain confidence and consistency.

So proud of Daniel Murphy so far,not only the offense which we know he's capable of but improved defense like the gem the other night to get the stop and the out.Lucas Duda looks like a changed young man out there...unsure of himself early on last year,then showing his hitting ability and his bursts of power are growing by leaps and bounds in the new season.Ike will of course hit,and no doubt sonny has in a good natured way gotten on Ike about dialing back on those outbursts of displeasure with the umps as sonny mentioned.Also really jazzed about Kirk Nieuwenhuis' start,capped by the Monday night home run which he teasingly mentioned would have not gone out last year with the original configuration in right center.He's a gamer and hopefully will get more of an opportunity to get playing time,with Torres' injury.

David Wright,off to such a sizzling start as sonny mentioned unfortunately may have broken his pinky diving back to first base Monday night....then again depending on x rays he may play again shortly depending on the break but it's better with his history of all out play sometimes leading him to play hurt like last year's broken backbone injury,to let him rest a bit.Terry Collins will not,to his credit,put the short term gain of the club ahead of the long term interest of the player or club.Hopefully it's just the very short term setback it appears to be,and David is out there asap.He looks great,and sonny's already campaigning to sign him long term,as I really hope the Mets will as well.I really want to see David remain a Met for his career,but how things play this year will determine that.

As the site here will go down for a couple of days as they update the software here and hopefully make JUB bigger and better,wanted to make sure I was aboard here and talk about the first impressions of the Met's season so far.Glad sonny is keeping this Met's thread going strong and look forward to putting in my own two centsand hearing the perspectives of sonny and everyone else contributing.One more thing for sonny,did read in your last comments in the spring training thread that you'd be doing some work with the Cyclones....I know how much he really loves seeing the Mets coming through the organization especially out of the Cyclones and wish him the best in his new duties.I know he's going to do an "amazing"job!

 

[sonny10305]

First of all congrats to the team at JUB for getting the site up better than ever and ahead of schedule as well.

Of course the question is how DWright is doing and I can tell you that he saw a hand specialist yesterday who told him to go ahead and see how the finger feels on Friday and if he decides to play it would be ok with them. So that is exactly what David is going to do later this morning by testing his pinkie with some swings on the bat and see what happens. Last night he was wearing a splint on the finger. Terry Collins said he knows Wright well enough to know he could return quickly. So sometime this afternoon a decision will be made as to play David tonight.

So the Mets are off to Philly to take on the Phillies starting tonight. I had to love what Justin Turner said last night which was; ok so we lost a couple but all that means is we're not going undefeated, back at it tomorrow to win the Philly series and start a new streak.
Pitching matchup for the three game series will be; Friday R.A. Dickey vs. Cliff Lee, Saturday Jon Niese vs.Vance Worley and Sunday Mike Pelfrey vs. Cole Hamels

If you saw the game on Monday you saw Murphy win the game with a walk off hit that set the stage for Justin Turner’s first crack as newly appointed official pie thrower. It was really funny cause with all that shaving cream on his face Murph was able to keep it together and talk about how excited he was; even using Burkhardt’s jacket as a napkin to wipe the mess from his face. Too funny.
The kitchen meantime has promised not to run of whipped ream for the next pie.

I keep this pic on my phone for when ever I need a laugh

 

[sonny10305]

Update on the post I did yesterday on DWright ^
He did indeed try to test out that pinkie yesterday lightly tossing the ball back to the coach and taking grounders at third but it did not go well and didn't last very long, he was soon watching BP from behind cage. Problem is he can’t grasp the ball or the bat for that matter and it’s not a matter of pain it’s just that he cant physically do it, the pinkly is still too swollen Trust me if it was just a matter of a little pain David would work through it in fact the pain was less yesterday than it was the day before but he just can’t wrap his fingers around a bat or ball.
Next step will be today when he will try again but if the results ate the same you can pretty much expect him to be on the DL by game time. In my opinion he should go on the DL it will only be about 10 days with the time he has already been out and why mess with this what’s the rush give the darn finger a chance to heal then go out there and start playing again. Even though he has been on fire and playing really well and it sucks that he has to take this break it just makes no sense for him to push this and in fact David himself said last night that he was of no use to the team right now.
So what happens if David does go on the DL, well there are a couple of things in consideration the first being to move Murphy over to third and let Turner and Cedeno play second, Murphy is a natural third baseman and the move makes a lot of sense. Of course Collins would prefer to not move Murph cause he wants him to play second and improve his position there but this is just temporary and I can’t see letting that get in the way of moving Murph to third. Next would be to have Turner play third but I don’t think that will be how it will go, Murph is a much better third baseman than Turner and Justin pays a very good second.
Murph is up to the idea of moving over for a bit but then that’s just how he is and would do anything asked of him without hesitation. Murph said he will prepare by taking a couple of groundballs over at third this morning and get prepared. He even went so far as to say that both Turner and Sedano are both better than he is right now at second. As to the spot opened by Wright going out prolly look for Josh Satin to take his place on the roster. Satin was recently assigned to AAA Buffalo

I told you guys that Kirk Nieuwenhuis would platoon with Hariston in center playing only against the righty pitchers but Collins has had second thoughts about that and with two lefty Philly pitchers in a row he does not want Kirk to sit twice in the Phillies series, so he is now leaning toward having Kirk start Sunday against Hamels. Smart move Terry, it is never a good idea having rookies sit too much at the major league level. Ya gotta let those kids get in there and play

Interesting move by Collins using Bobby Parnell in the eighth inning last night to protect a 4-1 lead rather than Frankie. A factor for sure was the fact that Bobby pitched six scoreless, one-hit innings against the Phillies last season, plus he has had a lot of success at Citizens Bank Park. I was amused to think that the Philly batters may have been relived to see Dickey and his knuckleball out of the game but what they may have forgotten is Parnell’s hard-throwing fastball ,And of course he ’s got that awesome contrast in primary pitch speed.

 

[sonny10305]

Well I just got a text that blew me away, David Wright is in the lineup today whoda thunk it
Apperently the excersise the docs gave him to do worked and the swelling went way down this morning, he just took BP and actualy hit one out of the park so all systems go.
I am realy happy for David but a little surprised that he is in the game I hope he will be careful sliding for one thing he will have to take precautions not to hurt the pinky, although the doc did say David can not make it worse it's already what it is and just needs time to fully heal. He will wear a small black cover on the pinky.
Great news for the Mets

 

[Sausy]

Well I just got a text that blew me away, David Wright is in the lineup today whoda thunk it
Apperently the excersise the docs gave him to do worked and the swelling went way down this morning, he just took BP and actualy hit one out of the park so all systems go.
I am realy happy for David but a little surprised that he is in the game I hope he will be careful sliding for one thing he will have to take precautions not to hurt the pinky, although the doc did say David can not make it worse it's already what it is and just needs time to fully heal. He will wear a small black cover on the pinky.
Great news for the Mets

David not only played(he does have some protections I read and he still must be careful,but like sonny said team doctors did indicate that David wasn't going to risk further injury if he could tolerate the pain and play)but wow,what apsychological rush his first at bat a booming home run to dead center in Philly!Two more hits and another run scored on Lucas Duda's two run line shot to right later.David really is a gamer,he really wants to get the Mets into a position of serious contention as they were seemingly primed for in his big years from 2005-2008.It definitely was a statement at bat.....David's ready to kick ass this year and not be on the outside looking in anymore.Great start by Jon Niese,who was saved early on by a leaping grab at the fence to save a home run by Captain Kirk Nieuwenhuis himself,and after that defensive gem took over and held the Phillies scoreless six and two thirds innings.Bobby Parnell and Jon Rauch smoothly took over and slammed the door shut to finish the game.I came home from work and saw the Wright and Duda home runs online,so happy I was checking on the score before I left that DWright actually was in the game,no DL necessary!!!That he should so dramatically go out and kickstart the Mets offense with a huge home run like that....just ,for lack of more apt term,"Amazin''!

 

[Sausy]

A couple of bad starts from Johann and Dickey but nothing to be too concerned about hopefully.Johann was throwing fine velocity wise but just had one of those rare days he couldn't find the plate on Tuesday,and RA was dealing with a damp Turner Field in Atlanta yesterday which affected his control of the knuckleball.Ike Davis has found his power swing it seems though,another shot yesterday.Haven't seen sonny around here the past few days,hope all is okay.Big four game series coming up starting tomorrow at CitiField with the San Francisco Giants.

 

[syam24]

After a good start by the Mets, a lackluster 2 days in Atlanta, with some poor quality starts by Johan and RA. Let's get it turned around against the Giants and get back on a roll. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Good seeing you back syam...yep,I think these guys are different from last year's club in that they really
want to show everyone what they're made of,and bumps will be just that,they'll pick themselves right up.David Wrght is tied with Darryl Strawberry for most RBI,next puts him in first place.Hopefully he'll get extended and add many more and put up some lofty totals.The most important thing to him though,and the best partt about him is how he really wants to see the team go far and have a chance year in and year out to seriously be in the fight for a title.Hopefully this year starts it going!

 

[sonny10305]

So I have been telling you guys for a while now to watch out for that kid Kirk Nieuwenhuis, I have known him for about three years now and have been following his career very closely simply cause I know he is going to be one of the greats and cold if allowed to play have a major impact on the Mets season. A big test came yesterday when Terry Collins decided to see what Kirk could do against a lefty pitcher and Kirk proved he could pass that test easily by drilling a 1-0 curveball from Barry Zito into the Party City Deck in left field for his second homer this season. Kirk is the first left handed batter hitting off a left handed pitcher to hit an opposite-field home run over the wall in Citi Field history. Kirk is currently tied for the ML lead among rookies with four walks in 36 plate appearances. Fortunately for the Mets they not only have an able replacement, but a player who could very well represent the team’s future at center field. So what do we do when Torres is ready to return, Collins has said that the CF job belongs to Torres when he is ready to come back and he feels that Kirk would be better suited to return to AAA and play every day rather than sit on the bench in NY. I get what Collins is thinking and I don’t want Kirk rusting on the bench either but you can not take this powerful player out of the line up. We need to keep him here in he majors, perhaps shift Matt to left or right field and split time with Jason Bay and Lucas Duda. How can we even consider sending Kirk down when he is currently hitting a .375 average and six runs scored and three home runs. He is as of today a very early contender for the NL Rookie of the Year, not only is he getting the job done with his bat but his defense has been stellar, yesterday alone he made two outstanding catches including one which ended the eighth by taking an extra-base hit away from Hector Sanchez, the second day in a row he has made a spectacular run saving catch in as many days. Kirk will be back in the lineup today (Saturday) and leading off

Now about DWright, first off all as Saucy wrote David has now tied Strawberry for the franchise lead in RBIs (733). In a class act Straw called Wright while the Mets were taking batting practice yesterday to congratulate the team’s third baseman on tying his franchise record. As of now there are no contract talks going on with David the Mets are just sitting on their hands and waiting to see how David performs and how his health holds up before making any decisions Currently The Mets have a $16 million option for 2013, but Wright can void it if the team trades him during the season. He is in the final year of a six year, $55 million contract he signed during the 2006 season. However, the team holds a $16 million option for 2013, which Wright can choose to void if he’s traded.
If you run into David please don’t ask him about the contract cause he just does not want to talk about it he will tell you that It's hard enough playing the game, and It's a lot harder when you're asked questions every day that he really have no control over. About the only thing David will say is that he is not a free agent and he is under contract this year and the team has control of him for next year. Finally it doesn't make sense to continue to discuss something that he has no control over basically right now the ball is in the front office's court. David as you guys know after a couple of seasons where he struggled is off to a scorching hot start. I wrote often last year about how I thought David had gotten into some bad habits with his swing choices. He was especially susceptible to the breaking ball away and was tentative against the inside pitch and standing to far away from the plate. In fact David’s percentage of pitches out of the strike zone against the ones he chose to swing, and his rate of swings that missed, both reached unusually high levels and as a result, his strikeouts rose. But now he has been very choosy about what he’s swung at this season. Credit hitting Coach Dave Hudgens’ who has been working tirelessly with David and has had much more success with him that Ho JO did and the results have been clear. Of the 20 or so balls he’s hit, close to half have been line drives with at least two that have been “outta here” I am not sure if David realizes it or not but in thinkin he knows that he is starting to put pressure on Mets ownership to get negotiations going, The Mets can’t afford to allow even the perception of him following Jose Reyes out the door. The Mets cannot dare to allow him to get into a free agency situation after 2013.

Sad to hear that Daniel Herrera will undergo Tommy John Surgery and is done for the season.

I can not wait to see the Dunkin Donuts commercial Terry Collins shot Thursday with Joe Girardi.

If you have been wondering about why you haven’t seen Kevin Burkhardt at the Mets games, besides the Mets SNY is also the television home of the UConn Huskies football and men's basketball programs, and Kevin will be calling some of those games. Kevin of course will return to reporting from the field for the Mets

So I guess I have to mention that the Mets will acknowledge Jose Reyes’ with some sort of video tribute when the Marlins come to town on April 24, Now I appreciate that Jose was a dynamic player for the Mets but come on, he is not retiring for heavens sake lets not get carried away here let the fans honor him with a standing ovation and a nice Jose-Jose-Jose chant and be done with it. I think this is a bit much I got it when they did it for Piazza but it’s not the same thing. Mike was nearing retirement, and when Mike left the two sides needed to part ways and everyone knew it. The end of his career was getting close and in fact could have actually happened mid season that year. Jose is only in his late twenties and in the prime of his career and lets not forget two things; he chose to take more money to play for a division rival, and then there was that stunt in pulled in the last game of the season leaving the game after one at bat to save his precious batting title, something I bitched loud and clear about and will never forgive him for. So let’s not get carried away just make this tribute short and simple. Oh. I also want him to go 0 for as many trips to the plate he makes and make at least one throwing error. WHAT! Too much?

 

[Sausy]

Great seeing sonny back with some more great perspectives!Kirk always was someone you were pulling for,and supportive of
here the past few years,and he's proving why.Defensively he's been awesome,showing great range and instincts and he's one of those who's going to appear pretty regularly on the highlight videos with his impressive catches.Love the way he's swinging,showing power and even more impressively patience which really helps his value.His home run last night as sonny referred to was against a left hander,to left field and also supported the cause of moving the left field dimensions in some and having anything hitting the higher wall now count as a home run.It's going to be really difficult to just put Andres Torres back in the lineup after his stint ends on the DL if Kirk keeps hitting like he's been to start the season.Andres is probably best as a fourth outfielder and defensive replacement fopr Bay or Duda right now.Other player I love in the Mets organization like Captain Kirk is Matt den Dekker,who can be as spectacularly defensively(said to be one of the best defensive prospects among center fielders)...he definitely could benefit from at least half a season in AAA offensively,to tighten his swing and improve his patience.But I could imagine two thirds of an outfield patrolled by the Dutch treats of Nieuwenhuis and den Dekker....the range covered and acrobatic catches would be worth the price of admission in itself!
I know David doesn't want to talk about the contract,though he definitely wants to stay with the club he grew up rooting for.his health is vital to the Mets success,and I can understand the club's perspective that to rush into a big deal extension before seeing that David can stay healthy wouldn't be wise,but please remember what he means to the other guys as well...his leasership and personality and character,they look up immensely to him like sonny can attest.I read that David has also been getting help on his swing when he went back home to Virginia in the offseason with an old coach of his growing up he's known for years who really helps him with the nechanics and seeing what kind od bad habits he has to avoid.Hutchens is no doubt keeping him in the right frame with maintaining that swing but his old coach David I read felt instrumental in getting him back to his old swing,before the beaning,injuries,and distractions over the past few years.If he keeps hitting like this,David may be an MVP candidate,so important is he to the Met's potential for success.

Jon Niese pitched well but had a few mistakes,gave up three runs but beared down and left his club in good shape after six innings,being down only 3-2.Jon Rauch was saved by that incredible racing catch making like a faster Jim Edmonds.Great clutch single by Josh Thole in tying the game,good to see the Mets coming back but in the end Jason Bay who had been showing positive signs struck out and couldn't with only one out get daniel Murphy or David Wright who both had singled to start the Mets 10th home.Lucas Duda hit a fly ball to end the game,and we've got to get him going again as well as Ike Davis,who despite flashes of power still hasn't gotten into a groove after missing so much of last season and dealing with the Valley Fever situation this spring.If we can get this lineup going,they will be very dangerous.Just hope Lucas Duda hasn't become so power conscious it affects the swing that was so impressive last two months of last season.

I think sonny is not too happy with the Jose Reyes honoring I feel the same way,not necessarily blaming Jose for leaving but the way he got the hit and sat the rest of his last game out to win the batting title,I wasn't happy about that.He turned a page,and so should Mets fans....he's not retiring,see no reason to honor him.What,when Carlos Beltran comes back to CitiField with the Cardinals,we should have something for him,too?Sheesh!

 

[sonny10305]

Love your stuff Saucy,
I think David’s ole home town buddy helped him a lot as well, that went on for a couple of years he really helped David figure out the mechanics but he never got David “fixed” mostly they watched a lot of tapes making comparisons and showing where the problem areas are, it wasn’t till Hudgens got involved that David made real progress.
Saucy i know you like that kid Den Decker and so do I but Kirk is my boy. Kirk had a rough day yesterday but it can’t take away from success he has had the last week with the team. The support he got in the locker room after was very important to him all the guys pretty much saying it happens, it’s over we move on don’t let it get to you. Even Collins spoke to him later and gave him encouragement and reminding him f the great job he has been doing. I was pissed by the amount of Kirk bashing that went on in the press over that catch, how about Frankie coming in and destroying everything Pelf had accomplished. I want to remind the press that Frankie cost Pelf the win and almost the win why wasn’t more said about that and less about a rookie mistake huh. HUH?
Kirk is back weather permitting today in the same spot leading off. Bay gets the day off Mike Baxter gets a shot out there in left field with Duda moved to the cleanup spot and Gee on the mound. Weather is a big concern today a rain out means a double header on Monday question will be whether Johan Santana would get Game 1 or Game 2.

Kevin Burhartd returns tomorrow night from his trip to Connecticut calling spring college football.

 

[Sausy]

Oh you know I love Kirk,sonny...just den Dekker is so much like him,the gritty,always hustling mentality,the defense,the potential for power and great quickness.If Kirk hadn't gotten hurt last year,he may have done enough to have the center field job outright to himself already instead of the trade for Torres.Kirk didn't have a great day yesterday,especially the misplay between him and Tejada but it can happen to anyone....he is just learning to play with Tejada,and they'll improve their communications with each other in future situations.No way Kirk should get bashed for overrunning the ball,you live and learn and like one of the Mets broadscasters said talking about it he doubts you'll ever see a mistake like that from Kirk again.It's a 162 game season,and there are days even the greats look ordinary.
What I was most impressed about was how on his Friday home run,and great catches,and his great start he really didn't want to talk about all that.What mattered to Kirk was they lost in extra innings and he badly wants to win.Individual accomplishments isn't what he''s about at all,but from his football derived mentality of winning for the team(I'm sure you know sonny but in case others don't Kirk LOVED playing football but wasn't quite big enough for college ball,so he played college baseball instead.Funny thing is,he's a pretty big boy right now himself!)

I'm glad too Terry Collins pulled Francisco when again he was proving ineffective.Lord knows we Mets fans have seen enough of unreliable closers!Frank started off well but his been alarmingly off lately,whether as Tery collins thinks(maybe hopes)it's just inconsistent use but Frank definitely needs to work on the kinks now.We're a club with little margin for error and everyone was upset after how great Pelfrey pitched everything just broke down.Wouldn't have been in that position to lose because of the miscommunication between Kirk and Ruben Tejada if Francisco just comes in and does his job instead of giving everyone agita putting people on!Terry wanted the win on Saturday and thankfully we got it,with the help of Aubrey Huff's defensive lapse and a great slide by Scott Hairston that clipped catcher Buster Posey's leg and caused him to misfire to first,throwing the ball away.The Mets needed that win,after losing so many games like that these past few years.It felt good to see the other side get screwed for once!!!

Nasty day today so no surprise it was postponed....hopefully better weather tomorrow so they can get in the game,hate for a second rainout!

 

[Sausy]

Not a great day for our boys as they lost a doubleheader against the Giants 6-1 and 7-2.Batista diidn't give us much in
the first game and Gee just didn't have it in the nightcap.Really hoping Ike will relax so he can get goiung like we know he can
...I know he felt horrible leaving all those guys on base and I could understand his emotional reaction after that last strikeout call.
Was happy with Terry Collin's take that he would rather Ike show fire and emotion in a situation like this rather than just react calmly and not make a fuss because that's Ike's personality and he'd be kind of worried if Ike didn't show that fire.We started off so great,now we're .500 and just have to get back to the things we were doing well.Another thing Collins said after the game which was interesting was tha is that when asked about the guys like Ike in the lineup that are slumping he indicated that the approach of some guys isn't just to go with the pitch and make contact but if they have the power to drive the ball.While it's a good thing trying to make good contact and if you get the pitch you're looking for,you'll drive it anyway though if you have the power.Ike should take a lesson from David Wright(who really showed leadership talking to the umpire regarding Ike,seemingly trying to have the ump maintain his cool as he tried to protect Ike)and go line to line,Ike's too good to struggle so badly.

 

[Sausy]

Sonny,what do you know about Zack Lutz?Mets called him up after they put Jason Bay on the 15 day DL
for a non-displaced rib fracture after trying to make that diving catch .And who's going to be playing where?
Also this Jordanny Valdespin kid they called up who was playing yeaterday?How does he fit in?

 

[sonny10305]

Sonny,what do you know about Zack Lutz?Mets called him up after they put Jason Bay on the 15 day DL
for a non-displaced rib fracture after trying to make that diving catch .And who's going to be playing where?
Also this Jordanny Valdespin kid they called up who was playing yeaterday?How does he fit in?

Yup Saucy we were due for another injury and Jason Bay came thru he has indeed been placed on the 15-Day DL with a fracture of a rib on the left side. At first the X-Rays were negative, but then Bay underwent an MRI this morning which revealed the injury this just as he was finally starting to see the ball well and get productive. Figures To take Bay’s place on the roster, the Mets did recalled Zach Lutz from Triple-A Buffalo. That is a good move Lutz, hit .333 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 19 games for the Bisons. He will wear Danny Herrera old number 19. Now it gets tricky cause Andres Torres began a rehab assignment Monday night with Class A St. Lucie; he played six innings in center field and went 3-for-4 with two steals. So far so good although we still don’t know how his coming back will affect Kirk Nieuwenhuis with Jordany Valdespin now up from Buffalo it’s getting a bit crowded in the outfield. Collins ha not said what he will do but you can bet the kid with the biggest bat will get the job at there. As for Lutz he is an infielder but how this will affect Ike is also a question. Ike as we all know had hit the wall and not getting better but if I know Collins he is going to keep Ike pluggin along I will surely know more later tonight when I speak to KB.So more tomorrow. For tonight’s opener against the Marlins Mike Baxter will man left field and bat 7th but that’s cause he is a lefty and the marlins pitcher Johnson is a right-hander. Nieuwenhuis will remain in Center and bat lead off but Ruben Tejada will bat second followed by Murph and Wright, Santana is on the mound

Saucy I was happy to see you have been doing your Kirk Nieuwenhuis homework, and yes indeed I did write about his football days a while back. It was at the University of Colorado; he loved football, played it all his life, and even considered the Air Force Academy when they showed interest in him. But even though he had colleges calling Kirk began to lean toward baseball. You may not know it but like Ike Davis Kurt pitched in fact his fastball touched 90 mph.
But then it was a couch at Azusa Pacific, who started playing first base and soon later it was clear Kirk was to be a center fielder. He was on fire in the Alaska League batted just over 400 and entered the 2008 draft as his school’s all-time leader in runs scored. That’s when the Mets came a callin and in the third round and signed him. He never looked back he just got better he hit about 15 homers at A St. Lucie and went on to slug .510 for AA Binghamton. Then in AAA Buffalo he got hurt again but not before posted a .400 on-base percentage
There is really only one word to best describe captain Kirk…..Athlete

 

[Sausy]

Very definitely our boy Kirk's an athlete...and as a competitor you're not going to find a fiercer warrior
who wants to win more.I remember awhile back I was talking during the Mets foibles the past few years
how they needed grinders.....well we have quite a few now best represented by Captain Kirk's all out style
of play.Love that pic of Kirk,sonny!

Speaking of grinders,how great was Johann Santana today when we really needed someone to step up in the
rotation after the double header sweep and the really stunning news of Mike Pelfrey suffering from elbow inflammation,now likely a partially torn ligament?Johann just took the club on his back and gave six and two thirds innings of three hit,one run,11 strikeouts ball.
After such a poor start previously his control being so uncustomarily off Johann's just the type of ace who knows how to turn things around,and when he can get his stuff together he's a master!Rauch provided a quick clean eighth and Francisco did the job without dramatics and closed up shop for the badly needed win.Psychologically,gotta be huge after getting off to such a great start and then falling to .500 after the sweep by the Giants yesterday.Beating Josh Johnson,another great pitcher recovering from an injury plagued season last year,who pretty much matched Johann almost batter for batter,definitely eases some of the recent problems.


I'm not even going to complain about the little salute that was given early on for Jose Reyes....he was someone we watched grow as a
player and despite the way things ended with the Mets,Jose gave us some really wonderful,electric moments.David Wright was urging fans not too boo and remember the good times,as we know David is all class and basically said he remains good friends with Jose,but during the games he's going to do his best to beat him.Well,Jose get on base today anyway off of Johann or anyone,off to a slow start as is Miami.Kirk made a tremendous running,leaping grab to rob Jose early in the game which was so cool...Kirk is just a joy to watch I'm not going to let bad feelings about Jose and the Mets splitting(let's face it,BOTH sides really could have approached things better but it's water under the bridge)affect my thinking about the matchup.Just want to see him make catches that will bring everyone to their feet!

Really feel bad about Mike Pelfrey,he pitched his best game in awhile Saturday night,8 brilliant innings and now I'm reading his elbow would flare up each inning he went out,the subside til the next.It's a shame,Mike hasn't lived up to his promise being so erratic and unpredictable but always seemed to be a really good guy who truly wanted to find himself as a player...guess the expectations after Johann went down of Mike being an ace was just too much to live up to.A lot of pitchers recover well from these elbow surgeries nowadays but it is unclear if Mike has pitched hs last game as a Met,eligible for free agency after this season.Just wish Mike well for a quick recovery and in his future wherever he plays(of course so long as it's not against the Mets!)

God,so much to talk about...Jason Bay disabled,Lutz,Valdespin,whoever called up to replace Pelfrey,but I have to talk about Ike Davis.
I'm glad that Terry Collins has enough confidence in him that for now he will still play(but may be rested against some lefthanders,or pinch hit for if Collins deems necessary)and will not be sent down to find his stroke again.It's good that Lucas Duda(who had the game winning hit today)is showing signs of getting comfortable at the plate but Ike was going so well before the ankle debacle last year,it's rough seeing him struggling like this.I know sonny is perplexed,just seems Ike doesn't have the relaxed attitude at the plate of Daniel Murphy,who just puts the ball in play and by doing that he gets himself going...just too intense,trying to do too much out there.He's too good for that,and hopefully someone will get him more relaxed and disciplined out there.He doesn't need to swing hard to generate tremendous power to all fields....it's like David Wright getting back to the relaxed,line to line hitter he used to be and Ike trading places trying to drive everything.He'll get his pitch,and hit it a long way but he's got to realize the good pitchers are making him hit their pitches...he has to adjust and be disciplined or he's going to continue to psyche himself out.Maybe he should shave the beard and facial hair,do something different.....just anything that brings him to the plate in a more relaxed,focused frame of mind.