Month: May 2012

Mets Attendance Down in 2012

Citi Field with Shea Stadium's Home Run Apple
Citi Field with Shea Stadium's Home Run Apple (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to ESPN stats, attendance at Citi Field is down about 10% in 2012 through the first 19 home games. The Mets are averaging 27,683 paid per game. They finished 2011 averaging 30,108 in a park with a capacity of 42,000.

The Mets finished 2011 averaging 14th in MLB in home attendance. So far in 2012, they’ve slipped to 16th in the league.

Of course, much of attendance can be attributed to on-field performance. But the Mets have surprised early this season tied for third in the NL East and attendance is still slipping. The visiting opponents have a lot to do with interest in buying tickets as well. So far, the Mets have hosted the Braves, Nationals, Giants, Marlins, D-Backs, Brewers, and Reds.

The backlash against the Wilpons for the Madoff Ponzi scheme lawsuit also has something to do with fans staying away from Citi Field in my opinion. Allowing Jose Reyes to walk away in free agency because of related financial constraints didn’t help sway ticket buyers either.

It’ll be interesting to watch how attendance fluctuates this season. My guess is that the average game attendance continues to slide as the Mets begin to gravitate toward their predicted finish of an under-.500 team.

Mets Try to Avoid Sweep in Toronto

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: RY 24: Dil...

After losing a blowout Friday night and a pitching dual yesterday, the Mets try to avoid leaving Toronto empty-handed. The Blue Jays can send the Mets packing for Pittsburgh with a sweep today.

It may not be easy either as the Mets send Dillon Gee to the mound. He got bombed by the Brewers in his last start for 7 runs in 5.1 innings and the Phillies got him prior to that for 4 runs in 5.2 innings. Basically, he hasn’t been pitching well in the last two weeks.

Contrast that with Blue Jays starter Henderson Alvarez. He’s gotten wins in three of his last four starts and his ERA is 1.03 in May.

On paper, it doens’t look good for the Mets. But I have to say that early in the season the Mets haven’t let losses start to pile up on them. They’ve done a good job of coming back with wins before there can become a series of losses. Today will be a big test of that resilience that we’ve seen thus far in the season.

Ike Davis Is Hitting – On the Road

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: Ike Davis #...

Much has been written this year about Ike Davis’ struggles at the plate. And he sure has struggled mightily. But when you look at his splits, he’s not hitting that badly on the road. He just can’t hit a lick at home. Going into tonight, his slash line for the season is .173/.236/.276. Really ugly!

But if you look at his home/road splits, he’s not hitting that badly on the road. He’s hitting a home run every 16 at-bats on the road this year. That’s better than his (short) career numbers of a home run every 25.8 at-bats. His slash line on the road this year is .286/.340/.490. Not bad.

Take a look at his home/road splits:

http://www.sports-reference.com/js/sr_share.js
Report from Baseball-Reference.com.

I’m not sure what to make of his road success this year in the same number of plate appearances and at-bats as he’s had at home. Do you?

Mets Ruben Tejada Likely to Disabled List

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 13: Ruben Tejada #11 ...

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada did a face plant on first base legging out a bunt in the fourth inning yesterday. He just got tripped up before the base and stayed on the ground for a few minutes. It was bad enough that he left the game and had an MRI.

It looks like the damage is a strained quad and facial cuts and bruising. He’ll probably go on the DL today before the Mets start their series in Philly.

Jordanny Valdespin is already on his way to Philly to re-join the team. He’s played in 7 games this year with only 6 at-bat’s and no hits. He’s also been playing the outfield at Buffalo but he’s a natural middle infielder.

It’s a shame to see this happen to Tejada so early in the season in a freak play like that. He’s been a big surprise to me so far this season. I thought he was going to be an automatic out but he’s been solid offensively hitting .305 with a .762 OPS.

Mets Should Start Jeremy Hefner

Jeremy Hefner
Jeremy Hefner (Photo credit: SD Dirk)

The Mets decided to replace Chris Schwinden in the starting rotation with Miguel Batista… For now. But they should take a look at what Jeremy Hefner’s been doing at Buffalo so far this season. He’s 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in 33 IP. He threw 6 scoreless innings over 5 games for the Mets this spring too.

Hefner may be over-matched my Major League pitching but he’s mastering the Triple-A level right now and deserves a shot at Mike Pelfrey’s vacated rotation spot. Continue reading “Mets Should Start Jeremy Hefner”

Mike Pelfrey’s Mets Career Ends with Surgery

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: RY 24: Mik...

Mets starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey underwent Tommy John surgery today in Alabama by Dr. James Andrews. The surgery will force Pelfrey to miss the rest of the 2012 season and, in all likelihood, end his disappointing Mets career.

Pelfrey was a non-tender candidate coming into 2012. So it’s impossible to imagine him coming back to the team following a major injury. If he doesn’t come back, he’ll be remembered by Mets fans as a big disappointment after being the 9th overall draft pick in 2005. Hopes were high for Pelfrey to continue the Mets tradition of drafting and developing great starting pitchers that goes back to the 1960’s. Continue reading “Mike Pelfrey’s Mets Career Ends with Surgery”