Mets 7 – Dodgers 3 April 28, 2010

Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets completed the sweep against the Dodgers this afternoon, the second consecutive sweep amid a 9-1 home stand. It’s been an incredible week and a half for the Mets surging into first place in the NL East.

The pitching was good once again today with John Maine going 6 innings and giving up only two earned runs on a Russell Martin homer in the fifth. He got through six on 102 pitches, which is pretty good for Maine. His velocity doesn’t appear to have improved. His fastball was still in the high 80’s. But he was firing strikes right from the start and he ended up striking out 9.

The bullpen cleaned up the last three innings without giving up a run. Francisco Rodriguez did give up  1 hit and 1 walk in the ninth. Other than that, the bullpen was spotless.

On offense, Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur both had 2 RBI’s and the Mets, as a team, had 5 two-out RBI’s. That’s some serious clutch hitting. The new lineup with Jose Reyes batting third is definitely working right now.

Ike Davis continues to chip in on a daily basis. He was 2 for 4 with 1 RBI. He seems to add something on offense in every game. His season average is up to .355 with a .424 OBP and .980 OPS. Not bad for a rookie.

The first place Mets are off tomorrow before heading to Philly for a weekend series.

Box score

Rockies 11 – Mets 3 April 13, 2010

MLB: New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets lost their third straight game to start the series in Colorado. John Maine was crushed for 8 runs in 3 IP. He had absolutely nothing and gave up 6 runs in the third inning with two outs. It’s starting to get ugly again for the Mets, not exactly the hot start that Jerry Manuel talked about all spring.

The Good – nothing

The Bad – Maine was horrible again and appears to have lost velocity; Jason Bay and Angel Pagan muffing a fly in left-center; Fernando Tatis looking uncomfortable at first base on a bad throw from Maine; Fernando Nieve giving up 3 runs in 0.1 IP

Just an awful effort from the Mets. That’s all there is to say. And I hate the live calls coming into the booth during blowouts. It’s so desperate, and  leads to Cohen and Hernandez senselessly defending their employer.

Box score

Marlins 3 – Mets 1 April 8, 2010

New York Mets Angel Pagan reaches first base in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field in New York

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsAll spring long Jerry Manuel talked about the need to get out to a good start this season. This wasn’t the way to do it, losing a series at home to the Marlins. It’s really disappointing to see. The keys to the game were:

  • No offense- The Mets only had 7 hits and Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur combined for 4 of them
  • Jon Niese- He pitched pretty well going 6 IP giving up 3 ER, but not good enough to get a win

The Nationals come to town tomorrow for a three game series which is critical that the Mets take, if it can be critical in April. What a bad way for the Mets to start the season…

Preview: Marlins at Mets April 8, 2010

Florida Marlins (1-1) at New York Mets (1-1) 7:10 pm

Nate Robertson (0-0 -.–) vs. Jon Niese (0-0 -.–)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: Niese makes his first start of the year, and first time making it onto the opening day roster. Hopefully, he can keep the butterflies to a minimum and get some outs. I’d like to see Angel Pagan get a start for the first time this year as well. It’s the rubber game of the series that the Mets need to take. The key to the season is just winning series’.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!

Mets Send A Message To NL “We Came To Play”!

Florida Marlins at New York Mets

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsOk, my prediction on my last post was dead wrong and I’m so glad it was!

Even though I wasn’t one of the many lucky Mets fans who attended opening day, I was not even one of the lucky Met fans who was able to play hooky from work to watch at home. I did end up listening to the game on WFAN and what I heard made me smile.

Right from the beginning this seemed to be a whole new team! David Wright’s first at-bat is a homer! Johan Santana gets an immediate two-run lead and never gives it up as I expected. Twitter was going absolutely crazy as was my phone. Very hard to get work done…

It’s great to be in a meeting and know your team is winning opening day and twitter is giving me the recap. I can’t help but laugh and yes, the boss looks over and wonder’s “What’s so funny!?

Quick twitter recap – One minute Wright is the home run leader, the next he’s tied with Albert Pujols, a few minutes later Pujols is the league leader again. Phillies fans are tweeting with a #mets hashtag, “Halladay is dealing what was that about Johan Santana being the best pitcher in the NL East?” “#Phillies are striking fear into the hearts of the #Mets #Cards#Dodgers and #Yankees“.  Baseball is back but now it’s interactive! Following baseball on twitter is too much fun!

Hey Phillies Fans…No fear on our end!

Continue reading “Mets Send A Message To NL “We Came To Play”!”

Mets 2010 Spring Training Lacks Competition

New York Mets at New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York

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There have been two big surprises about the Mets coming off their 70-win disaster of a season last year. First, the Mets and Omar Minaya didn’t do more to improve the team via trades and free agency. Second, there aren’t many position competitions on the field in spring training. We’re basically going to see the exact same team we saw last year, plus Jason Bay.

The first point we’ve argued about all winter. Some of us think the Mets should have done more in the offseason to shake up the team. Other fans have been on board with Minaya’s plan that there weren’t better players on the market than the Mets that are returning from injuries. Whether you’re on board with the plan or not, it’s finished and we’ll see how it plays out. If things don’t look like they’re working out by mid-season, it’s likely that Minaya and Manuel are finished with the Mets too.

The second point is an interesting one. You would think that a team coming off a horrible season would have plenty of competition for playing time. But the Mets appear to be pretty set at most positions and that’s probably a bad sign. It’s very likely that we’re going to see the exact same team that drove into a brick wall last year.

Continue reading “Mets 2010 Spring Training Lacks Competition”

Mets Links: Angel Pagan, Mike Jacobs, Daniel Murphy

New York Mets Angel Pagan reaches first base in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field in New York

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Now that we’re only eight days from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, there’s starting to be some action in the news over the last few days. Unfortunately, none of the news involves the Mets signing a #2 or #3 starter, a first baseman that can hit, or a legitimate big league catcher. That being said, here’s the latest news:

  • Angel Pagan worked out a deal with the Mets to avoid arbitration. He’ll be back on a one-year/$1.45 million contract. That’s a 152% raise over his 2009 salary. Pagan wanted $1.8 million and the Mets were offering $1.275 million before they agreed on $1.45 million.
  • It looks like Mike Jacobs is coming back to the Mets on a one-year minor league contract. I’m not sure what the Mets expect from Jacobs other than a first baseman that can play a little for the fans of Triple-A Buffalo. Clearly, Ike Davis is the first baseman of the future. But Jacobs offers a little protection against another horrific season by Daniel Murphy.
  • Keith Hernandez is in Florida teaching Daniel Murphy how to play first base. Frankly, I think someone needs to teach Murphy how to hit and do it with power if he wants to stick at first base.
  • The Mets are lowering the center field wall from 16 feet to 8 feet. I thought the Mets brain trust liked having a pitcher’s park? If anything, they should have lowered the wall in left field if they wanted to have an impact on home runs.
  • Mookie Wilson is coming back as a minor league outfield and base running coach. I always like when they find a job for former players. Good job bringing Mook back.
  • Joel Sherman has a plan to save the Mets in 2010. He’s been on the Mets pretty badly over the last few days. You have to wonder what his motivation is. Did someone turn down an interview with him?