NY Mets 2014

[Sausy]

So what I've been able to read about the speculation of who the "player to be named later"in the Ike trade is that it could be someone the Pirates drafted in the 2013 mlb draft. Those draftees cannot be included in trades until after this years draft, so we may not know until sometime in June. The Bucs drafted two shortstops, one from high school and one from college in the 5th and 6th rounds, and at least one reporter is speculating the Mets will receive one of those dudes. Let's go Mets!!

Hopefully it's someone with a real chance for an upside....... not the highest picks most likely but someone who could develop over time into at least a solid part of a team foundation even if it's more a complimentary type than outright star. We should know after the upcoming MLB draft after that moratorium is over.

 

[Sausy]

Another shutout tonight at CitiField, though this time it was the Mets turn to end up scoreless as they were silenced by old Cardinals foe Adam Wainwright who left the game after the seventh after appearing to suffer a hyperextended knee and looks day to day while going to cover first. Mets were almost able to break through when Chris Young launched a deep fly to left but was robbed of a two run homer by Matt Holliday who jumped up and gloved the ball just over the fence. Otherwise Wainwright remained in control with his patented deep dropping curveballs. Mets starter Dillon Gee was solid for six innings but just not enough for tonight, giving up two runs. Germen Gonzalez was solid for two innings of scoreless relief. Ex closer Jose Valverde showed why he was no longer called to shut down games by giving up a run in the ninth when the Mets needed him to hold the Cards to their 2-0 lead and Holliday delivered a clutch single to drive in the third run... final at Citi 3-0.

 

[sonny10305]

Have to mention despite his hitting troubles Ruben Tejada had two sparkling fielding plays, topped by a beautiful double play with Daniel Murphy which was particularly dazzling!

Thanks for mentioning that not enough said about it by the sports press; Murph's defense was outstanding all day and has really turning into quite the second baseman not that I had any doubt that he would.
And then Last night he put down an awesome bunt taking advantage of the Cards infield and fooling them brilliantly. Really good intelligent at bat. Bunting is something you never see Murph do but when the infield challenges him like that he cant resist and is gonna go for it. Well done!

Headin home on Friday after my fun trip to Pittsburgh be back writing here this weekend.
Thanks to Saucy and Syam for keeping things going here.

 

[Sausy]

Thanks for mentioning that not enough said about it by the sports press; Murph's defense was outstanding all day and has really turning into quite the second baseman not that I had any doubt that he would.
And then Last night he put down an awesome bunt taking advantage of the Cards infield and fooling them brilliantly. Really good intelligent at bat. Bunting is something you never see Murph do but when the infield challenges him like that he cant resist and is gonna go for it. Well done!

Headin home on Friday after my fun trip to Pittsburgh be back writing here this weekend.
Thanks to Saucy and Syam for keeping things going here.

Thanks Sonny and definitely looking forward to what you have to say on Ike and the Mets and glad it was a fun trip, you see Ike's grand slam there in person?

Yep Murph isn't always smooth but he's starting to get very comfortable at second and is as we have seen capable of making great plays too, not just the routine. Is he a Gold Glover potentially there? Likely not but still a pretty damn good one defensively and a very good one as we know already offensively. Murph works his butt off on the field and it's so good to see him showing the doubters they were wrong about him at second base.

 

[Sausy]

Wow.......... after a wild game featuring a strikeout fest by Cards young stud Michael Wacha during the first three innings striking out Mets left and right he runs into sudden unfathomable control issues and walks in two runs.... Mets starter Jon Niese solid for six and two thirds innings giving up just one run on six hits walking two and striking out three. Lucas Duda pushing the Mets to a 3-1 lead with his fourth homer of the year, a line shot. The game almost collapses on the Mets as new acting closer Kyle Farnsworth gets roughed up and nearly gives away the game but defensive stars of the show Kirk Nieuwenhuis, firing a perfect throw after corralling to shortstop Ruben Tejada who spins 180 and fires a perfect relay to catcher Travis d'Arnaud just gets the Cards Matt Carpenter at the plate and preserves the Mets lead and ultimate victory. Now it looks like Terry Collins is looking seriously at Dice K to close occasionally... never a dull moment in Mets world! But fortunately able to hold on to a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals and lead the four game series concluding tomorrow 2-1.

 

[sonny10305]

Yup Saucy I was that game for Ikes Grand Slam I spent just about all my time at the park while here with batting practice bull pen and all the games plus keeping up with the Mets on my tablet. You could say I died and went to baseball heaven while I was here.
After the game today the Pirates head out on another road trip starting in St Louis so I will be coming home Sunday after I finish up a few things here. Plan is to return June 26 with the Mets and again in late July when Justin Turner come here with LA
See you guys Monday

 

[Sausy]

3 out of 4 from our big rivals the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi! Bartolo Colon wins going seven strong innings allowing one run on four hits and 8 strikeouts and the pen delivered with Dice K getting his first save since being put in the closer mix by Terry Collins. Daniel Murphy had two hits ,including a double and drove in two.... Chris Young homered, Curtis Granderson knocked in a run off a pinch hit single. Now we take on the Marlins to close the homestand this weekend....... Let's go Mets!!!!!!!!

 

[syam24]

A very nice series from the Mets taking 3 of 4 form the Cards. Good pitching from Colon and the bullpen with Dice K getting his first save. Let's hope the pitching and timely hitting continues vs the Fish this weekend.

 

[Sausy]

I'm so excited to hear what perspectives Sonny will have about Ike and so much stuff when he gets back after this weekend rooting Ike and the Pirates on... bet that June trip will be fun... who's Sonny gonna root for?

Great come from behind win tonight 4-3 against the Marlins as Zack Wheeler pitches brilliantly at times going six innings and allowing only one run, four hits had three walks and dazzled with then strikeouts. He had all his pitches working, though he threw a lot of pitches Terry Collins had faith Zack would get through the sixth inning and he did which was huge. His fastball had very good velocity averaging out in the mid 90's but credit Zack and catcher Travis d'Arnaud with a gutty, gutsy approach that saw him mix in regularly his entire repertoire and give Marlins batters fits. Even when he was off pitching coach Dan Warthen came out to calm and focus him and it worked beautifully as Zack struck out a batter he started off with two balls.

Not as effective was German Gonzalez who gave up back to back homers to Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and outfielder Garrett Jones in the eighth but struggling rookie Jeurys Familia did the job in the ninth and got credit for the win. Mets had a strong game offensively from David Wright with two his and an RBI and Daniel Murphy also drove in a run with a double... Eric Young setting the table for Wright perfectly after getting on with a hit. When Young gets on he's been dynamic and scores runs, just has to be comsistent at the plate. Travis D'Arnaud had two hits and seems to be getting more comfortable at the plate in recent games... we know he can hit based o his reputation in the minors but he just needs to gain confidence in that part of his game as his work behind the plate and guiding pitchers has become quite good.

Now to the ninth, where our boys did us proud when they had their backs to the wall against Marlins closer Steve Sichek, who has been great but not when facing the Mets. Lucas Duda got on with a hit and scored after Omar Quantanilla smacked a liner to left that the left fielder lost his balance on and fell before he could set himself to throw home. Pinch hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis thrilled Sonny and all Mets fans golfing a line drive that was run down in the left center gaps for a double, holding Quantinilla at third. Then after yet another game of offensive futility much maligned (with a .130 batting average, fairly so it must be said) Curtis Granderson stepped up and slapped a grounder under the glove of the Marlins first baseman for a game winning single to the delight of his teammates and Mets fans. It may not have been the prettiest but like his other game winner recently it got the job done and it's good to see something positive happen for him, he is a great character person despite his ineffectiveness so far at the plate. Back for more tomorrow against the Fish... Let's go, Mets!

 

[Sausy]

I hate losses like this... score runs early , then nothing! Mets lose 7-6 in 10 innings as Jenney Mejia didn't really have it tonight allowing six runs on eight hits in five innings. Stellar relief work until new closer Kyle Farnsworth, who may soon be removed from this position, gives up a homer to Marlins catcher Jarod Saltalamacchia to break up a 6-6 tie top of the tenth and the Mets could not respond in the bottom of the inning. Back at it today so after a frustrating loss all you can say is, "Let's go, Mets!"

 

[Sausy]

Great start by Dillon Gee, going eight scoreless innings giving up only three hits, four walks and had six strikeouts having his usual effective mix of pitches in particularly grand form. Lucas Duda and David Wright drove in runs with doubles and Chris Young delivered a two run homer in a 4-0 Mets win that gave them two of three against the Marlins this weekend. Combined with winning three out of four against the Cards, after a slow start to the homestand Mets finish up in very impressive form. A day off today and hopefully we'll be hearing from Sonny about his Pittsburgh trip in support of Ike Davis later today!

 

[syam24]

Pretty nice home stand, and the Mets continue to play hard for Terry Collins. Gee was terrific with 8 shutout innings. Hopefully this will continue as we head down to Philly and out to Denver. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Yep, Syam... really nice home stand after a bit of a rough start winning the last two series. Mets started a road trip in Philly with a solid 6-1 win featuring a great effort by Jonathan Niese and some good hitting from different parts of the batting order. Nese went a strong seven innings giving up only one run and one walk striking out six. Relief by Dice-K and Jose Valverde did the job without any problems and it's a great way to start a road trip especially against one of our most heated rivalries in those hated Phillies. Cole Hamels got smacked around for six runs and eight hits and there was good balance in the Mets batting order. Daniel Murphy was the hitting star with three hits and an RBI followed by Ruben Tejada knocking in two with a single, Chris Young driving in a run with a double and Josh Satin singling in a run. Murphy continues to be frisky and effective on the bases getting his sixth steal and 28th consecutive steal without getting caught... Murph a road runner, who knew? Thought brother Jonathan who plays in the Twins organization had the speed in the family! Game 2 tomorrow, Let's go, Mets!

 

[syam24]

As Sausy's recapped, a good way to start the road trip with that 6-1 victory over Hamels and the Phil's. At least one NY team was able to win in Philly Tues nite, the Rangers struggled in their loss. Tonite's game has been postponed by rain. Need to take Thursday's game before heading to Colorado. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Not a good way to open up a road trip as Mets drop first game to the Colorado Rockies 7-4. Bartolo Colon was flat out awful giving up seven runs and ten hits in less than five innings though the relief work of Germen Gonzalez and Jose Valverde was excellent and halted the bleeding. Even gave up three RBI to the Colorado starter, a two run single and a sacrifice fly... an effort that just really was unfortunate all around as his ERA ballooned like his tummy to an unsightly 5.65.

Mets got virtually nothing through most of the game from their lineup but Juan Lagares drove in a run in the eighth with his second double of the night, a deep gapper and Travis d'Arnaud made the score respectable launching a moonshot nearly 450 ft away to dead centerwith two aboard for the 7-4 final, Colorado over New York.

Juan Lagares activated before the game and Kirk Nieuwenhuis was sent down to Las Vegas, not that far a trip with the Mets being in Denver. Terry Collins praised Captain Kirk, who despite only a .222 average since he was called up to replace Juan Lagares when he was DL'd for a tight hamstring. He noted that twice he basically won games for the Mets with a walk off walk and booming three run homer and his swing was much better overall... he would have no hesitation binging Kirk up later in the season to serve as an important cog off the bench. Game two in Colorado tonight with Zack Wheeler......... Lets go, Mets!

 

[syam24]

Well, two sub par pitching performances in a row from the starters, last nite Zach Wheeler got knocked around pretty good, and the Mets offense provided very little response. Granderson had two hits, including an HR, but not enough from the others in the lineup to make much difference. Will need some length from today's starter to give some relief to the bullpen. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Yep syam, two bad efforts from our starters in Colorado kinda knocking the wind out of our sails some. As bad as Colon was Thursday night Zack Wheeler matched him for suckiness with a performance you'd just have to say was frustrating for the young pitcher who has shown real flashes of stepping up this season so far, but definitely has to bounce back from last night in his next start. Seven runs given up in less than five innings for the second straight night just won't cut it. Curtis Granderson hitting a two run homer is nice and hopefully he is starting to come around finally, but the Mets strength is their starting pitching and we can't allow these last two bad efforts to spiral so let's nip it in the bud starting tonight.

 

[Sausy]

Well, at least the Mets bats showed up and put up an ole Colorado staple, a run scoring fest that unfortunately the Rockies stayed pace with one run better. Jennry Mejia just imploded after going four strong innings and Lucas Duda was unable to complete a tough but fieldable DP relay from Daniel Murphy gave up consecutive first pitch hits(and hit batter) to the next six hitters topped off by two brutal home run launches. The first few hits were basically just well placed bloopers or seeing eye squibblers through the infield but the last few were smoked. Couldn't manage t get out of that inning and wound up with an unsightly eight runs allowed. Dice-K wasn't perfect but stemmed the bleeding some.

The Mets were resilient all night, even after giving up a 6-0 lead in that meltdown fifth inning which is the second straight Mejua appearance that he really lost it after the first couple of times around the rotation. He'll continue for now and work on whatever flaws Dan Warthen and Terry Collins find but it's possible he and Dice-K may switch roles. Kyle Farnsworth however made a huge mistake to Colorado backup outfielder/ pinch hitter Charlie Culberson in the ninth and he launched a two run game winning homer for a 11-10 Colorado victory over the Mets. It's been a rough time here starting the road trip out West in Colorado with three straight losses, all brutal starting pitching performances after our starters had been so effective early on.15-11 to start May now is 15-14 and the Mets close up in Colorado today before going back east to play the Miami Marlins on Monday evening. Just ridiculous pivoting West to East on a road trip with the new scheduling for MLB.

Like I said proud of our bats, with the exception of Ruben Tejada everyone contributed from DWright and Daniel Murphy (3 and 4 hits apiece) to Chris Young, Curis Granderson, Lucas Duda and Anthony Recker getting big hits. Juan Lagares was hitless the entire game but came up big singling for the Mets 10th run. So sad such a great offensive performance, up and down the best of the year, went all for nothing but hopefully the Mets can salvage this series with today's afternoon game. Let's go, Mets!

 

[syam24]

Not much to add, just very disappointing after going up 6-0 after 4 and ahalf innings. Was glad to see the offense battle hard. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Dillon Gee gave the Mets what they needed, a strong quality start though Colorado's altitude did effect his control and he left after tiring in the seventh.... got in a bit of trouble but was helped out by Carlos Torres and Scott Rice who kept things going strong in relief. Mets won 5-1 in the last game of the series against the Rockies and avoided a four game sweep, truly something the boys were very much determined not to let happen after the pitching let them down big time the first three games. Dillon went six full innings giving u no runs on six hits, walking one and striking out five... Mets desperately need this quality start and after a little bit of control issues trying to adjust to the Denver altitude unlike Jennry Mejia last night Gee was able to use his shaky early command to his benefit over the aggressive Rockies lineup and had making them get themselves out. As the game went on Dillon got more comfortable until he did tire after a couple of hits in the seventh, getting up there in pitch count with 113, 68 for strikes.

Jeurys Familia got touched up a bit in the ninth giving up two hits including a solo homer by first baseman Justin Mourneau, who seems revived in Colorado after failing in recent years to show much with the Minnesota Twins since a harrowing beaning a few years back hitting his seventh of the year already. But the strong effort of Dillon Gee plus shutdown relief from Torres and Rice made the Mets sizable lead stick. Juan Lagares had three hits and scored twice, Daniel Murphy had two hits including an RBI double and other RBI doubles were contributed by David Wright, Lucas Duda (who also walked three times), and Chris Young who really has done much so far to get his career back on track and early on looks like a great bargain signing, one year at 7 mil and change. Curtis Granderson too joined in the act knocking in a run with a single... solid timely hitting today backed by a strong starting and relief effort makes for a winning change. Back East in Florida tomorrow night against the Marlins... Let's go, Mets!