NY Mets 2013

[sonny10305]

I will tell you Thad that’s what always seems to happen with the Mets, we meet a team that is struggling like 10-15 games under .500 but as soon as they face us they come to life and beat up on us But to their credit he Phillies in spite of the troubles they have faced are not a team to be taken lightly and can always be a threat and like em or not they are fun to watch. The ball was carrying well tonight with the humidity and the Phillies just seemed to square up on everything early
Hefner has not had any luck against the Phillies it’s a mental issue with him now, I mean he was throwing way to many hittable pitches, and the Phillies took full advantage of that, Hef had nothing working for him and pitched one of the worst games of his career, giving up eight runs in two innings in the the Mets' 13-8 loss Of course he wasn’t helped by our piss poor defense. This was a disappointing start to the second half,

Hey Scrubs! Come out and play you know you wanna, feast on yesterday’s game come on have your fun take your licks you deserve it and I can take it

We were hoping that Justin Turner (man can we use him now) would be back in the lineup this weekend but for one thing the Mets wanted to have enough pitching and second Justin hasn’t had many at bats during his rehab assignment so they decided to him more time and go with the extra reliever through at least the weekend. JT is expected now to be activated off the disabled list for next week's series against the Braves. It’s a win win because we really need to be sure we had enough arms thru the Phillies series, don’t wanna run out of pitching so much, and we've worn our bullpen down to the bone a few times, JT only had like 20 at-bats and needed to get more he appreciates that and understands that as well. It’s not as if he was going to come back to the Mets and play every day although I sure wish he could.
Of course the thrill for me was when JT called and said “Dude! Let’s ride the coaster” I did not know what he was talking about and then I found out he was coming to Brooklyn to join us with the Cyclones to rehab. Man was I pumped could not wait to get to the ball park yesterday. And there he was wearin a Cyclone uniform with that big ass grin of his face I knew then that this was gonna be fun. Justin went 1-3 with a walk.
If you were at the game last night you had to be moved by the great ovation he got from the crowd I can tell you he was very moved by that as was his welcoming committee by the Cyclone boys. Have fun in Brooklyn JT so great to have you here with us.

 

[syam24]

Not the best way to start the second half, with a dud of a game. Some of the Mets bats were okay, but the pitching of Hefner and Burke way below par. Lets hope today's game will provide a different outcome with Zach Wheeler doing the chucking. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Scrub]

Hey Scrubs! Come out and play you know you wanna, feast on yesterday’s game come on have your fun take your licks you deserve it and I can take it

Oh Sonny, I know you can take it, but really no need to gloat.

The Phillies lost today

 

[sonny10305]

Oh Sonny, I know you can take it, but really no need to gloat.The Phillies lost today

It was a great game; Parnell almost lost it giving up the homer by Utley and a double to Domonic Brown. But then Murph snagged that ball that Ruf lined out to end the game. Murph saved the day with that catch cause had that ball gone into the outfield it would have tied the game and the Mets would have had another OMG extra inning game. Murph also contributes yesterday with his 41st RBI of the season Speakin of Murphy had to mention that new haircut he promises he has not joined the Marines I hope you guys caught KBs Awesome honest interview with Daniel Murphy and that heartwarming interview with the great Luke Gasparre, Purple Heart Battle of the Bulge, Mets usher since 1964.



As to Wheeler, he was not great but really not terrible either. The Phillies’ hitters got his pitch count very high and very early into the game, and we could see early that he was not going to last all that long. Too bad Zack could not go after Delmon Young to try and get the win, but with that awful heat and a 106 pitch count ya have to know why Terry took him out. Plus Zack had just walked Darin Ruf to load the bases, and we had to be sure not to let the game to get out of control just because he was one out away from qualifying for a win. Wheeler’s command on his fastball was good, and he is getting better at stranding runners in scoring position, If only he had a little more confidence in his secondary pitches, all in good time my pretties, all in good time.

And how great is Gonzalez Germen turning out to be looks like a keeper maybe at least one more in the pen we can count on

Ike Davis and Josh Satin are for sure looking more and more like a platoon situation are they not? Satin will now have started in each of the Mets' three games against lefties since Davis returned from AAA You just have to look at the numbers to see why, Josh is hitting .450 against left-handed pitching. Expect Josh in there again today with Ike back on Monday when we have three right-handers coming up with the Braves, plus let’s face it Ike has struggled against left-handers this year, hitting a buck and a half against them while at the same time Satin has owned lefties, with an almost .500 batting average

Nice to see Gary Cohen give credit to the great team of guys who run the cameras for Mets games at SNY. I have gotten to know these guys over the years and appreciate the great job they do giving the Master director Bill Webb all those beautiful pictures to for him to spin into that masterful web of incredible baseball images game after game. I have suggested to the SNY people that a profile of Bill and his boys is long overdue on a show like Mets Weekly

Major rain delays last night in Brooklyn but Miller Diaz was awesome on the mound striking out 9 over 5.0 innings. Nice!

 

[sonny10305]

Hey Phillies! I know most of you like to sit on a pitch, ya know waitin for that sweet one to come along so you can knock it out of the park. But I guess now you have learned, or should have, that you cannot sit on a pitch when you face Harvey, you can hope for it and if Harvey knows what you are waitin for and gives it to you know he’s just messing with you cause you aint hittin it anyways.
All you can do is come to the plate take your hacks and then go back to the dugout with your tail between your legs and say WTF was that? Well THAT was Matthew Edward Harvey whose ERA is 2.23 and now which is the best thru 30 games in Mets history Last night was his 8th win and 5th shutout this season. I have to say I think Matt was as good as I’ve ever seen him, I mean everything he threw was absolute gold, his fastball was consistently 98-99 MPH, his slider was filthy, and that changeup was out of sight no one was hittin that.

I first time I met Matt was when he came up to Buffalo last year I am thinkin but not sure I wrote about him back then I knew he was going to be special. So when he came to Flushing I was thrilled cause here he was the man who was going to help us turn it around. Well so far he has been doing a pretty darn job of doing just that he is simply amazing a thrill to watch and gives us Mets fans something to believe in again.

I have held off writing about this but I just have to get it out of my system so please let me vent a little. It’s about Harvey and the irresponsible reporting some of the jackass media people have been writing about him lately. It all started when he did that fucking ESPN body photo spread and subsequent interviews. Some of the jackasses that spoke with him decided to misinterpret what Matt said and make it sound like he is some kind of party animal that spends most of his off time hanging out in clubs boozing and chasing girls. I don’t know if any of you have read that crap but I am here to tell you it’s bullshit.
Matt is leasing a modest singles apartment in the Village, and yes there are a lot of clubs there and also yes from time to time Matt will frequent a few, but not to the extent some in the press would have you believe. He is not out chasing girls either Matt is currently seeing a girl he really likes someone he met a few months ago and has no interest in dating other women. And he certainly does not envy Derek Jetter for his ability to get girls, he simply admires Jeter for the way he plays the game and manages his personal life so well. Trust me, Matt Harvey would not need Derek Jetter to help him find women and Comparing his lifestyle to that of Joe Namath just made me want to vomit. All that talk has those of us who care about the guy upset and it has embarrassed Matt as well. I can tell you he will be very cautious on any further interviews he does it will be kept to pitching and baseball nothing more and it will be a cold day in Hell before he takes any of his clothes off for a photo shoot again. Another thing written is that he wants to be a movie star or model, WRONG! What Matt wants is to be the best pitcher in baseball… period. Sorry to go off a little but this thing had been bugging me for weeks now had to get it off my chest.

Matt and Annie



Just before the game last night in Brooklyn Justin Turner got the word he was being reinstated from the DL. So after the game the Cyclones said goodbye to Justin as he finished his rehab with the team, he left in style as part of our fourth walk-off win of the season. Justin who was playing shortstop, led off the inning with a single then moved up to second LJ Mazzilli's single and then scored in our walk off win. Of course the boys hate to see JT go he was a joy to have in the clubhouse and on the team giving advice and encouragement to all the young players and of course that awesome personality of his always smiling always up beat. Good luck in Flushing JT and although the team will miss you they are thrilled to see you healthy again and back with the Mets where I am sure a welcome home committee will be waitin for him. No word yet as to who will go to make room for Justin on the roster but I am pretty sure it will be a pitcher.

The Mets begin a four-game series with the Braves tonight at Citi Field, with Julio Teheran taking on Dillon Gee at 7:10 PM on SNY

 

[syam24]

A nice series win over the Phils this weekend. It started out pretty sloppy, but finished with a flourish, as Matt Harvey put on a dazzling display of power pitching. Saturday's game was a nice get with a solid bullpen effort from Germen, and a shaky, but a finish from Bobby Parnell. Seeing the long balls from DWright, Byrd and Juan Lagares, who has been getting better and better as the season goes on, was awesome. Mets might have a legit CF for the future. Bring on the "Bravos" and let's kick their butts. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Thad1527]

Yup, you got both the Phils who can hit and the ones who can't. See what I mean?!

Now on to other opponents!

 

[syam24]

Nice victory by the Mets last nite following the disappointing loss the nite before. Carlos Torres turned in a great performance, followed by 3 scoreless innings from the bullpen, including a 1-2-3 ninth by Parnell, following his blown save from Monday's game. Ike Davis had a clutch run scoring, tie breaking double, and later scored the 4th run, and Torres helped himself with an RBI single earlier in the game to tie the score at 1. Well, a TEAM effort, more of these needed. Fun to see. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

The rules of baseball now say that when a team plays a double header they may add a player. The Mets playing a double header today will bring Mejia back to pitch in game one. Mejia said he may still have surgery to remove spurs; he wants to finish the season, and then have the procedure. For now he takes anti-inflammatory medication and does have some swelling and discomfort.
This could open the door for the Mets to begin using a six man rotation something I have been wanting them to do. With the talk of limiting both Harvey and Wheelers innings count the rest of the season a six man rotation makes perfect sense and would allow the boys to pitch deeper into the season.

Jon Niese will pitch for the Gulf Coast League this weekend and could be back with the Mets in about a week.

Shaun Marcum has been placed on waivers which is to say unconditional release which makes sense since we now know Marcum is done for the season.

Lovin what Carlos Torres is givin us, in 12 appearances which including two starts, Carlos has posted a 1-1 record with an 0.94 ERA. In the 28 innings he's pitched so far he has struck out 26 batters and allowed only three earned runs. In spite of the troubles Hefner has had I don’t know if the Mets are willing to send him to the pen or Torres who has already proven that he can be effective as a reliever. And of course be available should we have any more injuries to starters, It will great for us to have a pitcher in the pen who can go multiple innings.

We also have a couple of other interesting situations to figure out. The first being what to do with Lucas Duda when he returns in a couple of weeks, our outfield getting a little crowed now and working so well for us even thou the trade talk is heavy for Marlon Byrd I can’t imagine Collins putting Lucas back there, which leaves first base for Lucas possibly cutting into the playing time for Ike Davis who is already sharing that position with Josh Satin. Secondly Rubin Tejada is getting close to being ready to return so do the Mets give him his job back or play him in a platoon with Omar Quintanilla, shortstop would be unusual for us but it could work out that way since I doubt that they Mets want to send Omar down and risk losing him again.

In the what are we gonna do with that guy department Jordany Valdespin who I am sure you all remember was banished to AAA and went nutzo in the clubhouse after he was told he was going down, has been killin it in Vegas. Through six games, Spin has 10 hits in his first 25 at-bats, for a .400 average. He has produced two homers and 13 RBIs. Now I for one never want to see him in a Mets uniform again but ya have to wonder what the Mets brass will do with him if he continues to play well. Of course there is still that loose cannon of a personality of his and he is not very well liked but maybe Backman will be able to do wonders with him in that department. I remain very skeptical; of course we want his talent but what about all the baggage that comes with it? I have to keep reminding myself we are after all in it to win.

Shhhhhh don’t say this out loud but the Mets are only 2 games out of second place.

Another rain out for the Cyclones yesterday this time the freakin rain followed us to Massachusetts but cause the Cyclones and Spinners do not play again this season, the game will not be made up and we headed home to play the SI Yankees at their park today then it’s back home to Brooklyn on Sunday.

Kevin Burkhardt would be the first to admit that he can at times be a bit of a geek; it’s a side of him that makes him so likeable. So imagine his joy when at the Star Wars day at Citi he met his Father 

 

[syam24]

Nice job by the Mets to grab the final game of the 4 game series vs the Braves. Wheeler had his "usual" quirks in getting the victory, but he is still learning, much like Matt Harvey did last season. The bullpen again provided three solid innings of relief and John Buck came thru with 3 clutch RBI to lead the Mets to a 7-4 win. DWright had a controversial triple, which should have been ruled a double, to knock in a run. EYoung left with a bothersome knee injury from the previous day when he stepped on Tim Hudson's foot and broke his ankle. Young says he's day to day. Twinbill vs the Nats today, we need to beat up on them, while they continue to struggle. Lets' go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

So I got my wish the Mets have set their new six-man rotation, I have wanted that in order to allow Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler to complete the season without getting shut down.
This will give both boys about 70-75 innings and allow them to the end of the season without reaching an innings cap.The rotation shapes up with Jeremy Hefner pitching Monday and Wheeler pitches Tuesday, Jenrry Mejia will pitch Wednesday and Harvey will go with an extra day of rest on Thursday all in Miami.
What the six-man rotation does is a four-man bench, with seven relievers.

The change meant that Kirk Nieuwenhuis was demoted to Vegas, something he was sorta expecting the kid plays an awesome outfield but is struggling at the plate.
Hopefully a bit of time with Uncle Wally Backman will help him.

Today’s game in Washington will see David Wright getting the day off, Josh Satin will play third. Mighta been Justin Turner but he is still feeling the effects of that collision with Andrew Brown. JT is ok nothing to worry about just needs another day or two to get the cobwebs outta his head. His shoulder and leg tightened up a bit after the game on Friday but is better now. As for Satin third is actually is natural position, but with David there Josh has not played there this season not even in the minors, David has started all but three games this season.
Daniel Murphy will bat 3rd in place of Wright, Daniel now has a 7-game hitting streak and ranks fifth in the NL with 119 hits and ninth with 26 doubles.

The team heads to Florida after the game today to face the Marlins, some of the boys have already got their Florida attire ready

 

[Sausy]

*sneaks back into the thread after too long a hiatus*

So many good things recently but not this weekend, and Carlos Torres and whatever passed for relief stunk up the place... 13-1 to end a four game series, losing the last three including the last Harvey game, second part of the doubleheader Friday, just isn't the way to get back in the race. Again our offense is fumbling after an 11-0 explosion first game of the doubleheader... we just didn't get anything going, then Gee pitches decently but is victimized by three homers Saturday, and yesterday was just, yuck. 6 man rotation may be good to hold Harvey and Wheeler without having to shut them down early because of innings counting, but Carlos Torres was god awful. Some dinky hits but when it mattered, he didn't impress. Jennry Mejia though has shown he's back in the mix and healthy again after his elbow surgery a couple of years back with his seven scoreless innings in the Friday early game... he's looking like the young stud everyone thought he could be. Carlos Torres has just been a journeyman... just released Shawn Marcum before his injuries had been far more effective in his career and we may have to look elsewhere for that sixth starter...hmm perhaps in a couple of weeks Jon Niese returning as I looks like he is much improved from his shoulder woes.

 

[sonny10305]

Yay Saucy’s back! missed you dude

Saucy said it all nothing to add; usually I trust Saucy and Syam to report on the everyday game stuff while I stick to other things Mets.

Lucas Duda's rehab continues from that intercostal muscle strain; he had been in the Gulf Coast League and has now moved to St. Lucie on his road back to the Mets. D’Arnaud remained in the Gulf Coast.

Not much happening there was uneventful plane ride to Florida last night all was quiet on the ride down after that awful couple of games we just had.

With two days left till the trade deadline all points lead to nothing happen in Mets land but as they say in the lottery Ya Never Know I do however get the same response from everyone I speak to and that is expect nothing not even Byrd. Thing about Sandy is that he keeps a lot of things close to his vest so we just have to wait till 4PM on Wednesday to know for sure.

Jason Bay designated for assignment by Seattle, do we want him back? Um…..NO!.

Marlins game tonight the lineup will be Young, Murph, Wright, Byrd, Davis, Lagares, Recker, Quint and Hefner on the mound

 

[syam24]

Well, as Saucy wrote about and Sonny alliterated to, not much of a weekend after the Fri afternoon game. Harvey pitched great, as usual, and the Mets didn't score for him, as usual. Dillon Gee was okay, didn't need to give up the 3 bombs, but 4 runs overall isn't horrible, the bats did nothing, and yesterday was just a piss poor showing all around. A real bright spot has been Daniel Murphy's hot streak, had the two HR's on Fri afternoon and 5 RBI and has been banging the ball, hope he keeps it up. We need some payback on the Marlins this week. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

So I was happy about the six man rotation but now I am confused. Seems that Matt Harvey is not happy about it, I don’t know yet why but I will for sure be asking him about that when the boys get home to NY. It is odd to me that Matt would have a problem with the idea especially since he is one of the pitchers who have the most to gain from it allowing him to go deeper into the season so I will be very interested in hearing his side of this. The only downside I can think of, which should not bother Harvey, is the fact that we now as a result have a smaller bench to draw on and no lefties at all. Of course Wheeler benefits the same way Harvey does but consider the advantage for Jon Niese as well since it will give him more time between starts to rest that rotator cuff injury. Jonathon expects to make two more rehab starts in the minors before being activated from the disabled list.

Meantime Jeremy Hefner returned last night after his awful start last time out and I could see where Warthen has found was to improve Hefs mechanics. I’m guessing you guys saw the same things I did last night; for one thing the ball was coming out of his hand better so he was sharper. I’d like to see him getting back to his pre All Star break form when we saw his hip rotation causing more deception for the batters something he was not till last night. In his delivery last night you could see him sitting a bit lower almost sitting and what that does is give him more push of his back leg. I liked seeing him pitch off the plate when he got ahead as we saw in his earlier starts Take notice how when he is a fast ball count and when he got ahead on the batter looking for a breaking pitch he will fool em with a fast ball. Now that is how you get it done. So his return last night was at least a step in the right direction and I can feel optimistic about his future starts. Hef threw 111 pitches but walked too many batters, he did get some of his velocity back but it just seemed to me that he lost his release point somewhat you could see that with his off speed stuff.

For me the highlight of the game had to be Ike Davis with his RBI double his second big hit of the week. Ike has been saying that he is for sure seeing the ball better now and as a result he is not chasing pitches. He has been hitting the ball well and looking so much better at the plate and I could not be happier for him.

Of course as Syam wrote about, The Irish hammer Murphy continues to hit; last night he had a three RBI game. In the 12 games since the All Star break Murph has hit four doubles two homers and had 13 RBIs and his hitting .404 over those games.

Wheeler returns to the mound tonight with a more energized team behind him. Ya have to love how the Mets have proved lately that they are not a team that is going to shut down after blowing leads and playing badly. No one can deny them the character this team has shown over the last couple of months, even when they have a few losses

 

[syam24]

Two in a row over the Fish! Zach Wheeler continues his education at the major league level with a superb outing, six hitless innings before giving up two runs in the seventh after he gave up his first hit of the game. The bullpen pitched scoreless baseball the rest of the way and the Mets won it in extras 4-2 on a two run single by John Buck. Juan Lagares continues his nice rookie season with a two run triple for the Mets first two runs. THe Mets also continued their agonizing way of leaving men in scoring position, especially following Byrd's lead off triple in the seventh, stranding him there at third. Bobby Parnell closed out his second consecutive game earning the save. He's not always clean, but is efficient in getting the job done. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Wheeler was at his best Tuesday night... the no hitter bid was dashed but Zack showed though he got hit around a little he wouldn't break. He's cooler in his emotions compared to Matt Harvey outwardly, but seems when he finally gets his command consistent like that he's going to be really exciting for Mets fans. Harvey and Wheeler give us Mets fans so much to look forward to. Juan Lagares was quiet Wednesday but along with John Buck was the big hitting star Tuesday night as Zack left in a 2-2 tie after seven and the Mets bullpen held the fort going to extra innings as syam mentioned. Buck knocked in the game winner with a two run single ripped up the middle as he has gotten back to the approach that got him off to a remarkable April. After a long lull as he became too homer and pull happy, he now is up to 55 RBI to go along with his 14 homers.

Wednesday night's loss 3-2 to the Marlins though was disappointing because Jennry Mejia, in his second start after his outstanding Friday first game effort last weekend after getting whacked around early settled down nicely and wound up giving up only three runs on six hits in six innings, showing great composure... you hate to lose games like this when the offense can't generate anything while the relief holds the fort again. Teams are going to have their rough patches offensively, but it would be nice to sustain a run of games where the Mets score four or five and not leave so many runners on base when they do get something going.

 

[syam24]

Following two losses to the Marlins where that old bugaboo of not hitting with men is scoring position reared its ugly head, the Mets pulled one out in extra innings last nite on a two run homer by Eric Young. The Mets got two in the first on a DWright two run homer, before he left with a hamstring issue, then didn't score again until Young's winning blast. Dillon Gee was "on" last nite, pitching a good game, virtually shutting down the Royals. KC scored one in the eighth and ninth to tie the game, the last run against Aardsma, who is filling in as closer for Bobby Parnell, out with a "stiff" neck. Pedro Feliciano made his return, successfully retiring the one left handed batter he faced. He replaces Josh Edgin, out 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture of a rib. So if you can read between the lines, the Mets are beset by injuries again. My guess is that David Wright will be on the dl by day's end, and if he's ready by the end of 15 days, that would be great, but I fear it may be longer than that. He's slated for an MRI today to determine the severity of the hammy injury. Nice to break KC's nine game win streak, now let's keep 'em on a losing streak. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Last man out please turn out the lights!

Well as Syam has written and I am sure you guys are aware David Wright injured himself last night in what looks like a Hamstring injury. David is as I write this at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan receiving an MRI to determine how severe it all is.
But as Murph, who saw David this morning. said “it does not look promising”

The plan while David is out is a bit muddy till we know how long he will be out but for today Justin Turner will play third and bat sixth this afternoon against the Royals.

Meanwhile filling in the roster with David out is Mike Baxter who got the call last night in Nashville where the AAA Vegas team is playing; Mike grabbed a 6am flight back to NY. All indications are that the Mets are going to leave Josh Satin and Ike Davis at first.
But, what will prolly happen if David is out a while is that Daniel Murphy will play third till Wright returns shifting Eric Young Jr. shifting to second base, Third you may recall is Murphs natural position and in fact plays it very well he last played third two seasons ago while Wright was out with a stress fracture in his back.

Shifting Young from left field to the infield actually would open up an outfield spot which will for now settle the question of what to do with Lucas Duda once he is activated from the disabled list.

Not to be lost in all of this is the great night Ike Davis had yesterday I was proud of the Mets fans at Citi who welcomed Ike to the plate with applause in spite of his problems, that good faith greeting meant a lot to the Ike man he responded with a 3-for-3 day with a walk.

Lineup today Eric Young, lf Juan Lagares, cf Josh Satin, 1b Marlon Byrd, rf Daniel Murphy, 2b Justin Turner, 3b Anthony Recker, c Omar Quintanilla, ss and Jeremy Hefner on the mound

 

[sonny10305]

A quick addition to my last post
Syam called it right, Murphy just confirmed David is now on the 15 day DL he has a strained hamstring