NY Mets 2013

[sonny10305]

Saucy I did not get the chance to jump out of my chair when Kirk Nieuwenhuis got that hit, I was in Brooklyn with the Cyclones as we prepared for today’s opener at the SI Yankees. But word spread thru the Cyclones clubhouse about what had happened so I could not wait to get home and crank up the DV to watch the game fast forwarding to the ninth inning to see Kirk's hit. It was Kirk’s his first career walk-off home run, a three-run shot off the face of the second deck in right field which took his OPS from .299 to .450. Kirk had been belting out the homers pretty regularly in Vegas before coming back to Flushing but was not doing as well here. One of the things he said was he was not seeing the ball as well here as he did in Vegas. I felt that he was now facing big league pitchers who are better at concealing the pitches than the guys in AAA, plus of course how you see pitches varies from pitcher to pitcher and how well he hides the ball. So determined to overcome that he had no problem recognizing that fastball yesterday. Keep that going Newsy my boy.
My one word Text to Kirk last night was “DUUUUUDE!”!



“We are going to have to move Murph back to second base” ~Terry Collins. Really Terry, ya think? I mean just about everyone in baseball told him that was a boneheaded move so now Terry finally realizes that it was a bad move and his little Valdespin experiment which blew up in Terry’s face is mercifully over. In six starts since becoming an everyday player, Valdespin is 3-for-23. And that’s not to mention tossing a throw over error to Jonathon Niese’s head and twice during a play at second not knowing how to get out of the way of the runner ended up on his dumb ass.

Moving over to first tonight will be Duda which is where Lucas should have played in the first place my guess is when we face lefties we could see Turner there.

Tuesday is the home opener for the Brooklyn Cyclones, we have been working hard and are pumped to get this season started. Our first game is tonight away with the Yankees. One of the new guys on the team is LJ Mazzilli, the son of ex-Met Lee Mazzilli; he will play second base for us. Lee has been to the park the last couple of days and said he believes his son will have a chance to have a great future with the Mets organization, even going so far as to say L.J. has the edge over him as an overall player.
Also on the team is shortstop Gavin Cecchini who played a short time with us last season. He was selected 12th overall last season and is the highest drafted player ever in the Cyclones 13th season. Gavin recently donated 10,000 to the Sandy relief fund Gavin said that being from Louisiana he knows firsthand about the devastation caused by hurricanes and felt he had to do something. Great kid welcome back best of luck in Brooklyn
Two other players I am excited about are pitchers, Ricky Knapp and Seth Lugo Kevin McGowan

I dono about you guys but my blood is beginning to pump a little harder as we get close to that Tuesday double header in Atlanta with Harvey and Wheeler pitching on the same day. Be still my heart, I have a game in Brooklyn and will miss most of that live but you can bet my DVR is set to go. Zack will have tons of family and friends at the game Tuesday,yesterday he just hung out with his brother and friends, just chillin.
He will wear No. 45. Kevin Burkhardt will speak to Zack during tonight’s game

The lineup the Mets will put out tonight to face the Braves will be Lagares Murphy Wright Duda Byrd Buck Nieuwenhuis Quintanilla and Gee the mound

 

[Sausy]

Yep sonny, so great to see Kirk's jubilation and even more just how happy our boys were for him and to win the game! Your buddy JT giving him an apple pie facial instead of the usual whipped cream facing was an inspired touch... plus Kirk says he loves apple pie! He's just an infectious dude when he gets going, you really wanna root for him because he plays the game hard and right and when he's going like he did the first couple of months laast year he was one of those instrumental in the Mets hot start last year. Hoping he continues to just be himself and not overdo things and let his talent take over. He's got power, speed and we know he can cover it in center field. Good luck on the season opener for the Cyclones... hoping Gavin does really well, and stars moving quickly up the Mets chain. He was a natural hitter with a good eye and while not blinding speed a very good baserunner who also is solid defensively in high school...he didn't really shine in his debut season last year but it does take time sometimes to make the adjustment. Another couple of pitchers in the pipeline with promise? I love that!


Thankfully as sonny writes the Valdespin experiment at second is over and Daniel Murphy goes back where he should have never been moved. Valdespin disappointed me greatly, showing virtually none of the spark he shows often coming in late in games. His sometimes questionable approach doesn't help, and I think it's better for the Mets and Jordanny if he were sent down to Las Vegas to play every day at one position and show the Mets if there's anything to really get excited about here.

So excited about the Wheeler debut...it looks like on the surface he's a lot cooler and calmer than the intense Matt Harvey but the kid wants to be great, too. His personality seems perfect for him in that he's not going to shrink from the tough situations but eagerly confront them, his quiet confidence a nice complement to the more fiery public intensity of Matt Harvey. He even received a classy welcome by Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones, who always was up for the Mets as we well remember!

 

[Sausy]

Very, very tough loss last night after Kirk's electric three run game winning homer on Sunday... Freddy Freeman launches one off of Dillon Gee in the bottom of the ninth with one out and on to do the reverse for the Braves in Atlanta dramatically ending a game that started after an epic three hour, forty plus minute rain delay 2-1. Great job by Atlanta personnel getting the field in good condition .... such a great effort until the end by Dillon Gee, who also drove in the Mets only run earlier with a single. Dillon was magnificent all night, going the sistance only allowing five hits and the two runs, one walk and struck out six. Lucas Duda going to first base had a great night as well, four hits including a booming double that nearly went out of the park in his last at bat.

Today the twin bill starting off with Matt Harvey and the evening game trumpeting the MLB regular season debut of Atlanta area native Zach Wheeler.... hopefully we can get some bats supporting good pitching efforts today.

 

[sonny10305]

So the bad news last night was the weather in Brooklyn which forced the cancellation of the Cyclones home opener, lots of thunder lightning and rain the good news was we were able thanks to an SNY feed in the clubhouse to gather around and watch Zack Wheeler make his major league debut.

We all expected Zack would be nervous and excited and hoped that it would not affect his pitching performance but what he felt out there was more excitement than nerves he had trouble sorting out his mechanics and felt a little unsettled not being used to his alack of rhythm and could feel that his release point was off around the strike zone you may have noticed he was flying open with his front. So yeah Zack was a little off in the first inning; right of the bat we could see his breaking ball was not working for him with he had to be nervous with all the excitement, his family and tons of friends in the crowd and of course all the hype that led up to that big day. Although Zack said he was not nervous you may have seen Wright go out to the mound at one point and speak to Zack what you may not know is that David went there to kid with Zack saying “I though you said you were not nervous. You lied” Murph also came over during the game to give Zack a second to breathe and boost him up a bit. Then in the second inning he settled in and began to pitch more like we were accustomed to seeing like striking out Dan Uggla on a breaking pitch.
So now Zack will head back to AAA Las Vegas for the weekend where he is expected to throw a bullpen session for the pitching coach then meet up with the Mets in Chicago at the end of the weekend. Now if you are reading this and going HUH What? It is a necessary temporary demotion he will be officially re-promote on Tuesday for his next scheduled with the White Sox.
It goes like this, because Zack was technically the Mets' 26th player for the doubleheader, they can demote him after that game without having him spend 10 days in the minors before returning applying. The other thing is it means Wheeler will not collect MLB service time between starts, and that’s where that Super 2 thing raises its ugly head again cause he will not qualify for an extra year of arbitration as a Super 2. The rules also dictate that Zack will not be allowed to be with the Mets between starts, so sending him to Las Vegas makes sense although many of hoped that just maybe he could come to Brooklyn instead but alas that was not the way it went. Keep in mind that Wheeler was designated as the 26th man for the team’s doubleheader against the Braves so if you stop and put it all together you will see that this is the best and pretty much only way the Mets could have played this. Again it’s all about the rules call it a wrinkle if you will. It enables Alderson to capitalize on it to give him the most available players during the next week of games rather than have Zack sitting it out he will go to AAA and wait. It’s what he’d be doing with the big-league team, but just not actually with the big-league team. Got it? Good! So no fear guys he’ll rejoin the Mets and stay for the rest of his career.

So with all the Wheeler hype Matt Harvey was not about to be overshadowed he too threw a magnificent game reaching 100.1 MPH the fastest pitch thrown by a starter this season and setting the bar just a little bit higher for Wheeler. Matt took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before giving up that infield single to Jason Heyward. What concerns me is the way Matt reacted to that he just never recovered especially after thrown that ball away he was, well, a little off his game after that. He is just soooo intense beats himself up and never satisfied with his performances. He Just needs to chill a bit maybe take a page form Zack's book who is so laid back its night and day between the two boys on that level. But don’t misunderstand or read anything into that cause Matt has been nothing but supportive of Zack taking him under his wing as it were. The boys are going to be one heck of a one two punch for us this year

Sorta unnoticed in all the noise last night was David Wright who is now is the Mets all-time career hit leader, extending his lead with a single in the 9th inning of Tuesday night’s game for his 1,500th career hit.

I had asked Turner to warn Zack about those wacky Braves fans and their war chant and chopping. Which as it turns out he got in the very first inning. Our Cyclones manager said “oh there they go I bet they could not wait to hit him with that” Speaking of JT he is going to be fine its juts that intercostal had been nagging him a while so on when the team left for Atlanta he stayed behind and headed over to the hospital to have it checked out, after getting a shot and he took a flight down to Atlanta to join the team but Collins said he should rest and take a couple of weeks of till we see how he feels then, so Justin will go on the 15 day DL he feels good now.

My boy Anthony Recker came through with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning just to be sure that Zack would be able to get his first big league win.

Loved that interview KB did with Zack’s parents his dad just beaming with pride, unseen just behind them was a big fan of Zack’s by the name of Chipper Jones who later said “Boy I'm glad I retired! Would not wanna face Harvey and Wheeler 5 or 6 times a year for the next 10yrs. Those boys were electric”

Other stuff that happened last night the Mets traded Collin McHugh to the Colorado Rockies for Eric Young Jr and promoted Andrew Brown from AAA, in a move I did not like they also designated Collin Cowgill for assignment. Why not Valsespin is beyond me makes no sense. Unfortunately after all his hard work getting back Scott Atchison hurt his groin and went back on the disabled list.

Matt den Dekker very excited to say he made his season debut in the minors on Monday with St. Lucie you may recall he fractured his wrist back in late March. Can’t wait till he is back in Flushing

Remember F-Mart? Well Fernando Martinez is now a Yankee.

Gotta head to Brooklyn now write more tomorrow

 

[sonny10305]

Well how great was the Mets taking that series against the Braves, we really needed that. Tough team them there Braves but we took em and that included a scary 6 innings yesterday from our pen. When Niese went down I thought Oh boy, the pen for 6 innings this is gonna be bad. But lo and behold they came thru and got er done and how great was that the perfect topping for that series. The SNY feed was down last night at the Cyclones park so I did not know the outcome of the game till I got home to watch it on my DVR which as nice for a change, so there I at chewing my nails off watching our pen toss 6 pretty darn good innings. Meantime back in Brooklyn we played our home opener which was rescheduled after a rain day and we took it 3-0 with John Gant pitching a brilliant game limiting Aberdeen to three hits and two walks while striking out six batters in five scoreless innings. NICE!

I am happy to tell you guys that Ike Davis is doing well in AAA he has adjusted to the situation beautifully and sees by way of his progress the merits of him going there. The Ike Man although still a bit nervous is a happy dude. All Ike needed was to relax and calm himself down which was very difficult in NY with the media attention and all the stress he had here. They have found the problems with his “hitch” and it is improving, not as big as it was, he is now standing closer to the plate and keeping his hip in while at the same time keeping his body back which he really needed to do. On Wednesday he went 2-for-2 with three walks, an RBI and two runs scored. Yesterday he was on fire homering twice, doubled and drove in three runs. I have to give thanks to the great job hitting coach George Greer and of course Uncle Wally Backman for the great job in helping Ike whose average is now up to.306. So yeah. The Ike Man is on his way back to his old self. Way too soon to get too excited he still has a way to go but every day shows improvement and so that’s encouraging.

Good grief I am so glad we are done in Atlanta after 4 days 5 games, playing those guys was fun but enough already with those obnoxious fans with that chop chop and that organ player with his war chant, soooo irritating. Players have told me that if ya think its bad watching it on TV try beginning on the field when that crap starts, it’s loud and unsettling, just let one player get on base and off they go.

Not much to tell you on Niese seems like the same issue he had before has returned, the docs in Atlanta found nothing serious, so now Jon heads to NY to see what the docs here say. Jon did say late last night the pain or discomfort had stopped and he was not concerned about it. But that’s what he said last time and missed a start so hopefully this is not gonna be a thing he will have on and off all season.

Daniel Murphy gave a little lip to the home plate umpire after an at bat and the ump gave him a totally unnecessary warning, Murph was not out of line or rude to the jerk he simply let him know he disagreed with the strike call. When Wright saw what had happened he jumped up and defended Murphy yelling back to the ump to “Pay attention to what he was doing out there” along with a few other choice words, Good for him sometimes those guys think they are mightier than God and need to be put in their place and Captain Wright is just the guy to do it.

 

[sonny10305]

Another great day at the plate yesterday for Ike Davis his second day in a row with two homers
Duda may be going on the DL he is in NY to get MRI after feeling discomfort in his side yesterday
Alderson visiting with IKE in AAA
What’s it all mean?
Watch this space

 

[sonny10305]

Lucas Duda to the DL, Zach Lutz, not Ike Davis recalled.
It’s all good because we want to be sure Ike is fully ready before he returns and even thou he is on fire at AAA a part of that can be attributed to the fact that he is seeing the ball better since he is not facing major league pitchers who conceal the ball better. But he is making what Backman called “incredible progress” and so it should not be long now. Ike is fine with this not losing patience just anxious to get back understands why he is there and completely happy with his progress so far.

Josh Satin is probably going to play first Ike is happy with that idea since he and Josh are close buddies and wants very much to see Josh get a lot of playing time; Josh has been getting the job done as a pinch hitter so far. Ike gave Josh his locker to use, Josh joked that Ike did not leave him any presents in there.

I often written about Kevin Burkhart here cause he is simply the best at what he does but he is also a great guy funny mischievous and well loved.

As an example of KBs fun side here he is flubbing thru making a commercial



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlSkCyh_0Sk&feature=youtu.be&a

 

[syam24]

Back from travel, and the Mets have been playing some decent baseball, winning series in Atlanta and Philly, coming off the terrific ninth inning victory over the Cubs in the homestand finale. Harvey has been awesome, Wheeler excelled in his debut, and with some timely hitting the Mets are having a good road trip. Gee's Atlanta game could have been a win, and the Saturday game in Philly was as close as could be, too, so things are on an uptick right now. Lets hope the Mets can continue that tonite in Chi-town vs the Sox, with Zach Wheeler on the hill. Perhaps the Sox will be slow following the Black Hawks exciting Stanley Cup win last nite. I see Ike was named PCL player of the week. That's what I like to see!! Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Yup Syam, Zack Wheeler is already in Chicago he will start Tuesday against the White Sox, Greg Burke is prolly going to be sent down although he did travel with the team to Chicago. The boys took a well deserved day off yesterday in Chicago seeing the sites and relaxing We expect that Zack will be much more relaxed this time out less pressure out of NY look for him to have greater command and strike out more batters.

Ike Davis continues to just get better and better and it is now at the point where he just needs to be brought back. I man there is no longer any doubt that he is ready and does not need any more time in AAA. I am sure you read or heard sports casters suggest that Ike may have been just on a hot streak and could come back and fail which is total BS. I already told you guys we just wanted to be sure he is really seeing the ball as well as it appears he is and trust me he is. His approach has improved tremendously and is now beginning to get a bit bored down there and is chompin at the bit to get back. I would be surprised if Ike is not back as soon as late this week after the Chicago series don’t want to play him in Chicago against two lefty’s right outa the box. Ike is now up to hitting .310 with four home runs in 42 at-bats over 12 games in AAA and .474 with four homers in six games and yesterday he was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week. “Start him up”

Thanks for that post Syam it sometines seems once again I am the only one posting, come on guys do you not have a single though or comment at all? Your comment do not have to be as rambling as mine are and go on and on just a few words would be helpful in keeping this thread interesting.

 

[Sausy]

I'm definitely reading, just some personal stuff right now that's been getting to me... very sorry sonny and syam. Last night we saw Zack Wheeler trying to get his other stuff over, not crisp but got through five plus innings allowing four runs, four hits, three walks but surprisingly just one strikeout. Mets tied in the game in the ninth in the kind of fashion that the Mets would have lost games before... David Wright gets a hit, steals second ... After two outs Daniel Murphy pinch hit, but promptly appeared to have lifted a game ending pop up. Confusion though by the White Sox infield on who had the ball resulted in a drop that allowed DWright to score from second, improbably tying the game at 4. Reality set in before Mets fans could get too excited when in the bottom of the tenth, LaTroy Hawkins gave the game back allowing a hit, allowed a misplay and eventually the game winning hit. Colin Cowgill was traded after the game to the Angels for A-ball infielder Kyle Johnson after being designated for assignment several days ago.

 

[Sausy]

I'm definitely reading, just some personal stuff right now that's been getting to me... very sorry sonny and syam. Last night we saw Zack Wheeler trying to get his other stuff over, not crisp but got through five plus innings allowing four runs, four hits, three walks but surprisingly just one strikeout. Mets tied in the game in the ninth in the kind of fashion that the Mets would have lost games before... David Wright gets a hit, steals second ... After two outs Daniel Murphy pinch hit, but promptly appeared to have lifted a game ending pop up. Confusion though by the White Sox infield on who had the ball resulted in a drop that allowed DWright to score from second, improbably tying the game at 4. Reality set in before Mets fans could get too excited when in the bottom of the tenth, LaTroy Hawkins gave the game back allowing a hit, allowed a misplay and eventually the game winning hit. Colin Cowgill was traded after the game to the Angels for A-ball infielder Kyle Johnson after being designated for assignment several days ago.

Back with tonight's happy recap later or tomorrow morning but Kyle Johnson is an outfielder, good contact hitter, lots of speed.....unintentionally said he is an infielder.

 

[sonny10305]

looking forward to your recap later Saucy

SooooooooThe Mets are gonna keep us waitin A bit longer with Ike Davis’ return. We all thought he would be back his weekend but it is not looking likely after all. Ike has not been told what the plan is exactly but with a string of lefties coming up again including at least two against Washington this weekend as well as a pair against Arizona to open next week, the feeling is let’s wait and start him against a right hander the first time back. Which means the upcoming lineup of pitchers could cause a delay in Ikes return till the middle of next week. We do face a righty today in Denver with righty Tyler Chatwood. But back at Citi Field this weekend, the Mets will see two left-handers Detwiler on Friday and Gonzalez on Sunday. The Mets also should see two lefties during the next series against Arizona with Corbin and Miley. Thing is we know that Ike can and has hit against lefties successfully in fact he is hitting .429 with two homers and a walk in 14 at-bats against lefty pitching in AAA. Ike is getting fidgety and anxious and most of us are getting impatient for his return, but the nutz and bolts behind the Mets have decided to wait on him and we all know what great decisions those guys are capable of In any event anything could change and I promise if I hear anything I will post it.

I wanna vent now about John Buck and his attitude lately, the other day Collins decided to pinch hit Murphy for Buck and that did not sit well with him. Later in the clubhouse Buck moaned and pouted about it to other members of the team basically acting like a little girl about it getting his panties all in a bunch. What he needs to understand is that when you are down to your last out in the 9th and behind a run you want the better of the hitters going out there to try and get the job done, which was Murphy and not Buck.
So instead of bitchin abut it to the team Buck should have gone to Collins and let his feelings be heard that would be the professional thing to do.
I am also going to put part of the blame on Zack Wheeler troubles in his last outing I felt that Buck called a bad game and made poor pitch selections, I just wish Zack had shrugged off some of them especially the off speed stuff but he gave the benefit of the doubt to the “veteran “catcher I am thinkin maybe some of you guys after seeing what fingers Buck put down in some cases made you think HUH?. Of course as many of you have heard Zack was also tipping his pitches which Dan Warthen will help him with during a bullpen session today eliminating the pitch-tipping by Wheeler. Zack did not realize he was doing that he really had not been before. Just so you guys understand that tipping is not a problem to fix at all by simply using different arm angles for one thing. In addition we did not see Zack throw a lot of strikes in that outing and when he did they were not good cause the balls were up. He did have a mean curveball going however.
So he still has some work to do but he will be fine.

Well it seems out search for a leadoff hitter may he over finally we have on that is working for us in Eric Young Jr. What a breath of fresh air that kid is both at the plate and in the outfield, he even came to our rescue at second base the other day when Valsespin had another mediocre start at second. He has the speed we need in the leadoff spot sorta like Reyes had and I love his ability to take the extra base on hits

A very tired David Wright will be given off today against the Colorado Rockies.

Ruben Tejada should begin a rehab assignment later this week in the Gulf Coast League, and also will make a stop at Las Vegas before being activated from the DL. But I wonder considering the way Omar Quintanilla is playing especially with those awesome fielding plays if Tejada will get his full-time shortstop position back. Maybe divvy the playing time between Ruben and Omar could in in the cards.

 

[Sausy]

Great wins as Shawn Marcum finally got his first win going eight fantastic innings allowing only four hits winning 3-0 on Wednesday against the ChiSox and Jeremy Hefner pitching fairly well and given a huge lift by the bullpen on Thursday in the Colorado Rockies- Mets make up game in Denver. The scorching Marlon Byrd hit a two run homer in the ninth to give the Mets a 3-2 victory and Bobby Parnell sealed it with another dominating performance.

Our boys come home today to CitiField taking on the Nationals with Matt Harvey going today... appears that Zach Wheeler will go Sunday, Dillon Gee tomorrow splitting the two big young power arms on the Mets.Sonny I'm sure will have more info and correct me if I'm wrong here. Mets have gotten so much out of new acquisition Eric Young, Jr.. who's speed, bat and versatility have been a huge injection of positive-ness to the Mets just as they need it, and since he was acquired from the Rockies last week he's been an ignitor at the top of the lineup the Mets have lacked really since they let Jose Reyes go. Hope the New Jersey native continues to shine but so far he's really added life to the boys and now it just seems more fun.

 

[sonny10305]

Oh boy what a shame after another brilliant start from Matt Harvey who went seven innings, allowing three base runners and one home run and striking out 11 and lowering his ERA to .199 our bull pen came in and threw it away, yup literally “threw it” away. But now where normally I would rant and rave about the poison pen I have to take a step back and say wait a sec cause after all the bullpen has performed well lately, in the previous 11 games, the pen posted an ERA of 0.52 ERA, giving up just two earned runs in 34 1/3 innings. THE METS BULLPEN!!! So I won’t overreact here and will instead chalk it up to just one of those games that got away. Credit or fault has also have to be given to our bats who should have brought home more runs we left way to many stranded again and that contributed greatly to last night’s loss. Actually I was happy to see our bats come alive so well last night at all after a grueling flight delayed trip home, I know that Murphy did not get home till 5:45 in the morning and after short rest was back at Citi Field so the boys had reason to be a little tired but no excuse for leaving so many base runners on.

Matt reacts to the bull pen “Are you shittin me?



I am feeling pretty darn good about the team as and as a Met fan you should as well. We have finally put together a very formidable outfield, our pitching both starting and relief has been very good our infield even without Tejada and Davis has been terrific. Quintanilla is giving Tejada something to think about for sure I am not so sure that shortstop job is his anymore. Then there is Josh Satin who is doing one heck of a job keeping first base warm or I should say hot for Ike Davis, Josh had another great night driving in two runs and was right in the thick of all the key plays on both sides of the ball. No one is happier than Ike about that who said “I am so proud of Josh he has worked hard to get there after getting bumped off the roster a couple of times its awesome to see him finally getting the break and doing so well at the big league level” Ike by the way continues his commitment to charity events for those effected by super storm Sandy, he is gonna be one of several players doing a golf tournament to benefit recovery and rebuilding efforts from the storm. Ron Darling among others will also participate will have more on that in future posts from the dinner at Carlyle.

John Buck continues to mess up with his game calling, yesterday I complained about the way he handled or I should say mishandled Wheelers last start and last night he stupidly called for a for a breaking ball inside to Desmond which went out of the park. Harvey himself should have known that it was a boneheaded call. In addition Buck is now 1-for-his-last-24.

You prolly did not hear this if you were listing to SNY but over on the Nationals broadcast Bob Carpenter called Murphy “one of the best second basemen in the league.” Can’t argue with you there Bob

Often times you will see Kevin Burkhardt sitting in the stands while doing his reports during a game but you may have noticed that KB stood thru most of his reports, that’s because the night before he was hit by a foul ball, Ron Darling called out “It got Kevin in the back” Well truth is it got him alright but it was just a bit south of his back and he has the bruise on his backside to show for it. But he’s ok lucky to have turned around as the ball hit him otherwise, well that mighta stung a bit more in a pace ya don’t wanna get stung.

So today we go back at em for game two line ups will be: Young, lf, Murphy 2B, Wright 3B, Byrd RF, Satin1B, Nieuwenhuis CF, Buck C, Quintanilla SS and Gee on the mound.

 

[Sausy]

Great pic of Matt, sonny..... and I bet the Italian side of Matt was blowing up inside! It just sucked.. Aardsma should have been left in there to get the last out in the eighth but NO, Collins just has to do the lefty righty thing when David had got two outs after the leadoff single. You want to finish and get right to Parnell who was probably so bummed he just didn't have it...no excuse, he's got to put guys away. No panicking but we cannot afford bullpen meltdowns when our pitchers are giving us great efforts. I'm not giving our outfield raves yet, as this is not going to be the Mets outfield of the future but they are holding the fort well. Young can't throw in left field though, and eventually he's a fourth outfielder or platoon one, with occasional play at second but he can be really valuable as a supersub off the bench with his speed, all out play, and fundamental soundness. For this year, Marlon Byrd is valuable as well but he's a stopgap, at 35 not part of the long term future. A core outfielder has to be acquired by trade by the trade deadline or more likely this winter, using some of our strong starting pitching in our minor league system. Young and others, maybe Matt den Dekker, or Kirk Nieuwenhuis can be solid complimentary pieces out there but we need to get a young stud who the team can hold on to at a reasonable price for the next w or three years while the team can improve developmentally as a whole and with bigger attendance can maintain healthy higher payrolls envisioned by Sandy Alderson in the future.

Boy, John Buck has gone from April hero to almost a zero... thought he was at least respected defensively at least but it's just gone sour for him since early in the year. Anthony Recker should get more opportunities, he worked great with Zack Wheeler his first start. When will Travis D'Arnaud be ready to play regular games in Las Vegas? Travis can't get here soon enough! Glad to hear about the Murph love.... he's really improved his play defensively at second and is primed for another hitting surge after a bit of a quiet period, lately.

You must be really fun razzing poor KB!

 

[sonny10305]

Ok so that happened

Look you guys please don’t get too disappointed in Wheeler I am sure you have and will continue to read all day today about all the reason he failed yesterday but I am here to tell you he is much much better than you have seen so far. Perhaps he was brought up o soon but the reality is I don’t know that would have made a difference cause he is facing big leaguers now and that is a whole other anchlota from what he is used to. I watched him pitch quite a few times in the minors and know what he is capable of he just needs a bit more time. Harvey was able to adapt immediately but Zack is having problems at the big league level What I saw yesterday other than continuing fastball command problems were problems that were different than the ones he had in the first game and that is a little disturbing but please give him time don’t give up on him.
The game became such a circus that at one point I just started laughing I mean I had no control it became so incredibly lame. I hated that dreaded Nats had the satisfaction of beating Wheeler up so bad. But then in the ninth something happened I had not expected something that made me feel so good and that was seeing Anthony Recker in the bull pen. I knew Tony can pitch I actually saw him do it once but I never thought I’d see him do it with the Mets; so when he came out to the mound I was thrilled. It all started when Collins realizing the game was lost and rather than use of the bull pen and wear those guys down in a no win situation he would just finish the game with Recker on the mound smart move by the way cause there was no way we going to come back form a 10 runs we aint that amazin So Collins asked Recker if he wanted to pitch, Tony said sure but I need a glove, Here you go, said Harvey as he handed him his glove, go on out there. So with Matt Harvey’s glove and a big smile he headed to the mound a day he won’t soon forget. Truth be told he did as well or better than most of the guys in the pen. Great fun!

The news got better last night when Matt den Dekker said he is leaving today for AAA Las Vegas feeing back to normal after playing a few games in A ball and is ready to go. One of my favorite people I am excited to see Matt returning to the game and will keep you guys informed on how he does and when he might return to Flushing.

Waitin on word from Mike Baxter who left Vegas last night to come back to NY to be with his wife Diana, who is about to give birth any second now.

Justin Turner played catch yesterday hopes to start swinging a bat in maybe a week intercostal doing well.

Lucas Duda still not doing much just still getting treatments.

Ike Davis getting very very very impatient to come back

 

[Sausy]

I'm not going to give up on Zach either.... learning command of your pitches, even if you have the talent like Zach sure does is different for every pitcher. Matt learned pretty quick, and this year has improved even more. The Zach that was often batting practice for the Nats yesterday will look like a whole new pitcher, often dominant and intimidating, before long. He just needs time, more work and more confidence but the Nats and other clubs won't feel so lucky as Zach gets more comfortable in his situation and improves.

I'm getting sick of seeing Brandon Lyons or anyone coming in as the bullpen turns from solid to poison lately. Anthony Recker like sonny mentioned was game to even try to pitch the last inning, comparably speaking he was better prepared having never pitched than most of our so called "relievers". The Mets cannot afford to allow the pen to screw things up and blow leads or perform so badly they allow the opposing team to pull away. Lyons has had a couple of these piching out of his ass efforts lately.. what's he trying to do, make LaTroy Hawkins look good?

Thanks sonny for the player updates as well, hopefully we'll see all these players soon enough. I don't know if Ike is still hot at the plate, but he may hot at the plate as temps in the Southwest hit unbearable temps since the end of last week.. Las Vegas was 117 yesterday, Phoenix was 119... fucking unbearable and it may be that way for the nest few days!

 

[syam24]

Following this weekend's series, there were enuff positives and negatives to go around. Harvey was brilliant as usual, with only the bullpen providing the way to lose that game. Dillon Gee pitched masterfully in his win, with a good job from the bullpen boys, and Sunday, Wheeler continued his learning curve. Enough bats have been working in general, especially since Erik Young arrived, he's provided a much needed boost to the lineup, and Byrd has been flying high the past couple of weeks. On my S*list, however, is Brandon Lyon. In my opinion, it is time for him to go, he has not provided much lately, and this weekend was a disaster for him. He's serving pitches up on a platter. Kill the "Snakes", Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Now that’s more like it what a fun game with offense for a change and of course as almost always we had quality pitching. Jeremy Hefner was brilliant, gave up just one run in seven innings, his ERA is now just over 2 for his last eight starts
But my hero last night had to be Anthony Recker, who took great advantage of a 2-1 changeup to blast one into the left-field seats, starting an offensive barrage that was soon to follow; it was Recker's third home run of the season, Atta boy Antny. Maybe now Collins will give him m more playing time and give the struggling Buck some bench time. Prolly not but we can hope, tonight Buck will catch Harvey.

After a slew of lefties we finally begin to see some right handed pitchers tonight, now we have heard that was then time we might see Ike Davis back but Ike has been told no positive news yet. Ike wants very much to get back and is making big progress, including a lot less movement in his hands, and is standing better at the plate not so slouched. And the hitch is pretty much gone he had another two run homer last night. Also important is he’s driving the ball the other way much better and not so much a pull guy and that spells progress. But still no encouraging news on returning as of yesterday. However today Collins and Alderson will be talking about additional moves but not hearing much on one of them being Ike. The other side of that coin is of course Josh Satin who has been awesome filling kin for Ike, ya gotta love his plate discipline, and the way he controls his bat, he has clearly improved his pitch recognition all of which has added up to a steady ability to get on-base and man on man do we ever love those clutch hits. Nice to have a problem like what to do with Satin when Ike gets back and although I love ne some Satin and want him to remain in the lineup somewhere Ike is our first baseman I am ready to hear for “Start me up” again at Citi.

As to the other what happens too question there is Omar who has more than adequately filled in Ruben Tejada, what happens there? Well Ike is more secure in his job than Rubin who will now have to basically win in his job back. Rubin is now in his rehab assignment in Las Vegas; his first at bat was a pinch-hit RBI double and is expected to start for the first time for the 51s today.

Lineups tonight Eric Young Jr., lf Daniel Murphy, 2b David Wright, 3b Marlon Byrd, rf Josh Satin, 1b
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, cf John Buck, c Omar Quintanilla, ss and Harvey

 

[syam24]

After two very nice wins over the "Snakes", the Mets couldn't pull one out for Matt Harvey last nite, despite HR's from Murph, Satin, and DWright. Matt pitched okay early on, being his dominant self, but seemed to fade as the night wore on, then giving up the 3 run bomb to Cody Ross. Probably just a "hiccup" during the long season, especially as we near the All Star break. The Mets have played much better since the arrival of Eric Young and Josh Satin getting into the lineup. Let's go Mets!!