Mets Roster Moves-Billy Wagner To DL; Lugo Called Up

The Mets put closer Billy Wagner on the 15-day disabled list today after having X-rays and an MRI on his left forearm. It was diagnosed as a strain and requires rest.

Jerry Manuel told reporters that he’ll got with a closer by committee approach and give the struggling Aaron Heilman first crack at the job because he can get righties and lefties out.

Ruddy Lugo was called up to replace Wagner on the roster. He’s been starting games at Triple-A New Orleans. Lugo, the younger brother of Julio Lugo, will be the long man in the bullpen.

On Deck- August 5- Padres at Mets [Game 1]

San Diego Padres (43-69 Road: 18-35) at New York Mets (58-53 Home: 32-20) 7:10pm

Chris Young (4-4 4.12) vs. Mike Pelfrey (9-7 3.91)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The only thing I can say about this is that the Mets owe the Padres a major beating for sweeping a four game series in June in California. Remember the three 2-1 games that the Mets lost there? It’s payback time.

Mets Lunch Links August 5th Edition- Beltran, Aurilia, and More

As the Mets prepare for their seven game home stand this week, I thought it was a good time for some links to read while having lunch. No game yesterday means no post game interviews to dissect. Onto the links…

Have a good lunch and enjoy the links.

Billy Wagner Scheduled For MRI This Morning

Keep an eye on the Mets news today for the results of Billy Wagner’s MRI that’s scheduled for this morning on his sore left forearm. His post game comments from Houston sounded like a guy that was headed to the disabled list.

The Mets will dodge a major bullet if Wagner is able to stay on the active roster. He just had another MRI two weeks ago when his shoulder was sore.

Stay tuned…

Padres at Mets- August 5-7 Series Preview

Tues. Aug. 5 7:10pm Chris Young (4-4 4.12) vs. Mike Pelfrey (9-7 3.91)

Wed. Aug. 6 7:10pm Cha Seung Baek (3-6 5.22) vs. Pedro Martinez (3-2 6.16)

Thurs. Aug. 7 12:10 pm Josh Banks (3-4 3.65) vs. Johan Santana (9-7 2.86)

What to watch: The Padres are in last place in the worst division in baseball. Only the Mariners and Nationals have worse records this season. The Padres swept the Mets in a four game series in San Diego during the first week of June. So the Mets owe them a beating. Anything less than a sweep will be a failure in my mind.

The Mets rotation is unaffected by John Maine’s injury for this series. So there are no excuses not to clobber a bad team like the Padres.

There’s been some talk about whether Trevor Hoffman should still be closing game for the Padres. He took the loss Friday night when he gave up a run in the 10th inning against the Giants. He’s converted 23 of 26 save opportunities this season but he’s 1-6 with a 4.59 ERA. Not very closer-like numbers.

Time To Second Guess Mets Trade Deadline Inactivity?

The Mets had a rough road trip and the two main weaknesses of the team were exposed, the corner outfielders and the bullpen. The two positional weaknesses should be looked at independently.

Sure, the losses of Moises Alou and Angel Pagan for the season and Ryan Church for an unknown period of time have hurt the team. There’s no denying that. Church is being evaluated by doctors in New York this week and may begin rehab games within the next week. The Mets have to count on him coming back in their plan for the rest of the season.

IMG_0081 When Church gets back they can mix and match in left field between Fernando Tatis, Nick Evans, and Daniel Murphy. If things don’t work out as planned they may be apt to give Fernando Martinez a shot at the job too.

The bullpen is another story. Although Billy Wagner has gone through bad patches, the Mets are married to him as their closer. As long as he’s healthy he’ll be closing games. Duaner Sanchez and Aaron Heilman haven’t been living up to expectations though. I really think Heilman could use a change of scenery. He’d be great waiver deadline trade bait during August. Sanchez may need some time on the disabled list to refresh his arm. He won’t be successful throwing a fastball in the mid-80’s as he has been over the last week and a half.

The Mets may need to explore a trade for a relief pitcher like Brian Fuentes if the Rockies fall out of contention this month. Heilman for Fuentes would be a fair deal for both teams in my mind. The Mets may need to throw in another mid level prospect but not any of their top prospects. If Eddie Kunz looks good over the next couple of weeks it may not even come to that.

I’m not ready to hit the panic button because of this bad road trip. And I’m not second guessing the Mets lack of activity at the trade deadline. But if they don’t take five out of seven games on this home stand against San Diego, Florida, and Pittsburgh then I will think there’s a problem with this team… again.

Astros Complete Sweep of Mets With 4-0 Shutout

The Mets get swept in Houston by a sub-.500 team and finish their road trip at 1-5. It feels like Willie Randolph never left. The Mets will have to do a lot better than this if Jerry Manuel wants to keep this job next season.

Oliver Perez went six inning giving up all four runs on a solo homer to Ty Wiggington in the 2nd inning and a three run two-out rally in the fourth. He gave up eight hits but didn’t walk any, and he didn’t give up after the fourth inning rally. He came back strong in the fifth and sixth innings. Not that there are any moral victories when you get swept though.

The Mets had a lot of opportunities on offense, leaving 11 runners on base. Carlos Delgado continued his hot hitting going 3 for 4.

Eddie Kunz made his big league debut in the seventh inning. He gave up only one hit and did make a throwing error over Delgado’s head. Overall, he looked like he’s got the right stuff.

Nick Evans had two outfield assists from left field in the game. Although he did misplay a ball when he stumbled on a ball he should have caught. That led to an Astros run in the fourth inning.

The Marlins lost today and the Phillies play tonight on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

Box score