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They tried to get the game in tonight but there was too much rain. The original forecast was calling for the rain to end around game time but that didn’t happen.
The Mets and Reds will play a day-night dual admission double header tomorrow. The games will be at 1:10pm and 7:40pm. Johan Santana will keep the day game that he was originally scheduled for and Mike Pelfrey will pitch the night game.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Indians yesterday to take the struggling outfielder off their hands for next to nothing. The Indians had put Michaels on waivers after he began this season hitting .207 with no home runs and nine RBI’s in 21 games.
I have to believe that this move is a precursor by the Pirates to give them the ability to move Jason Bay or Xavier Nady (or both). The Pirates are struggling and have been for many years. It doesn’t make sense to keep two solid outfielders that could offer significant trade value for prospects.
The Mets surely will keep an eye on the situation in Pittsburgh. We’ve all heard the talk about bringing Nady back to New York to play first and the outfield. That might gain some traction now that the Pirates have Michaels as an experienced outfielder to hold the line until their youngsters are ready to play. The problem is that Nady is playing so well this season that the Pirates can demand a pretty big return for him. The Mets dealt so many top prospects for Johan Santana that leaves them somewhat bereft of minor leaguers to deal.
Baseball Crank has a great chart comparing Johan Santana against other mid-career pitching acquisitions the Mets have made. The comparison is through their first seven starts.
Santana looks pretty good but doesn’t compare to some like Al Leiter who was lights out in his seven starts in 1998. 
Thanks to The Hardball Times for the link.
There wasn’t a lot of hitting today which was no surprise with Johan Santana and Dan Haren matching up. David Wright had the only homer of the game, which was one of only six Mets hits on the day.
Connor Jackson made a huge throwing error in the ninth inning that opened the door for the Mets to score three runs and win the game. Marlon Anderson had a big pinch hit RBI single in the ninth.
Johan Santana gutted through six innings giving up only one run. We still haven’t seen his best stuff yet. But I love the way he always keeps the Mets in the game. He never lets a game completely get away from him. It’s easy to see why he’s one of the best pitchers in the game.
This was a huge win today and will hopefully propel the Mets. Going into Arizona and taking a series from the team with the best record in the league has to be a big confidence builder for the Mets. That was a great game going right down to the ninth inning, maybe the best game of the year so far.
The biggest story with the New York Mets over the last week has been closer Billy Wagner ripping Oliver Perez after Perez’ dreadful start against the Pirates on Wednesday. It’s raised many questions about the Mets as a team.
Do the Mets need a team captain?– They could probably use a team captain but I don’t know who would be the logical candidate. They would want someone that’s going to be around for several years like Jose Reyes, David Wright, Johan Santana, or Carlos Beltran. I doubt that it would be Santana. Typically, captains are position players. Wright and Reyes are pretty young to captain a team of veterans. Beltran is usually so quiet that it’s hard to picture him as the team leader. I don’t think that Billy Wagner would even enter the discussion on this topic. Continue reading “Mets Pitcher Billy Wagner: Bully Or Team Leader?”
New York Mets (15-13) at Arizona Diamond Backs (21-9) 4:10pm
Johan Santana (3-2) vs. Dan Haren (4-1)
What to watch: The Mets really want to get this rubber game of the series. It’s always an aces pitching match up when Santana pitches, and this game is no different. Haren is a really good pitcher in his own right. I’d like to see Santana get through at least the seventh inning today to give the bullpen a break.
David Wright was the hero tonight in the eleventh inning. He hit a bases loaded shot to the wall in right field to win it. Jose Reyes had a big night at the plate going 3 for 3 and a stolen base (6). Although Reyes did have a costly throwing error in the ninth inning that helped the Pirates to tie the game. It’s all good because the Mets ended up winning, but it was a great sign to see Reyes hitting again.
Once again, Johan Santana didn’t look like he had his best stuff but it was better than most pitchers. He didn’t make it through the sixth tonight. He also had the crowd worried when Nate McClouth led off the game with a homer.
Billy Wagner pitched two innings tonight so I doubt that he’ll be available to pitch tomorrow. He actually gave up his first run of the year although it was unearned.
Aaron Heilman struggled again through .1 innings giving up one hit and a walk. Scott Schoenweiss came in to finish the inning and made a huge play tagging Ronny Paulino on a wild pitch play at the plate in the seventh.
The Mets Report 