In this week’s installment of the Mets Weekly Report with Kerel Cooper of On The Black. We recap the Yankees series when the Mets lost two of three but I took some positives out of it. R.A. Dickey and Justin Turner had good series’ there and the Mets are on their way to Chicago this week. We also talk about the upcoming series’ in Chicago and back home against Philly.
Kerel brings up the idea that Jason Bay may have taken over the mantle of “Most Hated Met” from Luis Castillo. It’s tough to like Bay the way he’s played as a Met and the $16 million he’s making this season.
The Mets finally got the kind of start from R.A. Dickey that they’ve been looking for. He still didn’t look as sharp as he did last season but he certainly pitched well enough to get the job done. He went 6 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks. It was a great job against a solid Yankees lineup.
The Mets offense was pretty weak except for you know who… Justin Turner. This guy is on fire going 3 for 4 tonight with a big RBI double in the fourth inning. He’s hitting .364 and has an RBI in 6 straight games. Daniel Murphy chipped in with a solo homer in the sixth inning from the two hole to cap the scoring for the win.
The Mets looked pretty impressive against a good Yankees team. It’s great that this team with six guys that could be in Buffalo right now are playing some decent ball.
Many would call this a transition year for the Mets. The Phillies are clearly ahead of the pack in the National League East, and the Metropolitans will have their work cut out for them if they hope to make a run at the Wild Card.
But as the Giants proved last season, some big years from some key players can launch a team to the promised land.
I’ve compiled a list of the five Mets that the team needs to have a big season from if they have any hopes of playing serious September/October baseball.
1. Jose Reyes-
We all need a big season from the franchise shortstop. The fans need it, the team itself needs it, and most importantly, Jose needs a big season for himself. When Reyes is healthy, there’s no arguing that he is one of the most tantalizing players in baseball. But in 2011, Reyes needs to prove that his body is not already starting to break down at the age of 27. Realistically, this could be the last season that Jose Reyes is a Met. He’s a free agent after the season, and if he has a big year he will undoubtedly be targeted by several teams who could use an upgrade at shortstop. If the Mets don’t plan on resigning him, you could see him used as trade bait in late July if the Mets aren’t in contention. Continue reading “Five Mets That Need To Have A Big 2011”
With just 6 weeks until Spring Training the Mets biggest worry will, by far, be their pitching staff. With the hope that the Mets can bring on one of the two free agents they are targeting, the pitching staff lines up as follows:
Mike Pelfrey, RA Dickey and Jon Niese, followed by either Chris Young** or Jeff Francis**, then Dillon Gee or Chris Capuano. (**this is assuming the Mets can obtain Young or Francis who are free agents).
In 2010, the Mets had question marks in their entire pitching rotation. The only person that could be counted on was Johan Santana. This year you can add Santana to the list of question marks for this pitching staff making the “ENTIRE” pitching staff a question mark.
Game 1 was practically given away to the Brewers with Jon Niese giving up 6 runs in the 3rd inning. The Brewers, not to be outdone, allowed the Mets right back into the game by giving up 2 runs in the 3rd and 5 runs in the 4th to briefly give the Mets the lead 7-6. The Mets gave that lead right back by allowing 2 runs in the 8th and that was all the scoring for the game as the Brewers defeated the Mets by a score of 8-7.
New York used 8 pitchers in the first game because soon to be ex-Mets Manager, Jerry Manuel, could care less. He’s out of here in a few days. Niese started the game and went a full 2.2 innings followed by Ryota Igarashi, Raul Valdes, Sean Green, Elmer Dessens, Pedro Feliciano, Manny Acosta & finally, Hisanori Takahashi.
Game 2 featured a pitching matchup of Dickey vs Bush. No this is not a typo and Twitter users certainly caught the double entendre. R.A. Dickey, the new Mets ace, gave up 6 hits in 7 innings but only allowed 1 earned run. He still took the loss in the nightcap as the Mets offense was completely overpowered when the Brewers trotted out the way past his prime, all time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman, who pitched the 9th to earn his 601st save of his career. Note the Brewers regular closer, John Axford, was not available to close because he was used in Game 1.
Mercifully the season is over in 4 days.
Injury Update: Carlos Beltran is out for the rest of the season due to “Mild Inflammation” in his right knee (What’s New?) and Nick Evans injured his left, non-throwing, shoulder.
http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets didn’t stand a chance in attempting to stop the Phillies winning streak which now stands at 11 games. At this rate the Phillies could clinch the division on Sunday with the Mets forced to watch.
Despite having R.A. Dickey on the mound, who pitched well enough for the win, the Mets generated almost no offense. Shane Victorino leads off the game with a homer and then in the 2nd, Victorino doubles to score Wilson Valdes.
Angel Pagan’s 1oth homer of the year tie’s it up at 2 in the top of the 4th. Dickey give’s the lead right back in the bottom of the inning by giving up a single to Raul Ibanez who then went to 2nd on a passed ball. Ibanez ultimately scored on a single by Carlos Ruiz making the score 3-2.
After the 4th inning the Mets mailed it in. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran just did not show up tonight. Angel Pagan, 1-4, 1hr, 2 RBI’s and Ike Davis, 3-4, 1 run scored, were the entire offense and only bright spots of the game.
If the Mets can’t get the win tomorrow with Dillon Gee going against Kyle Kendrick, expect the Phillies to wrap up the division on Sunday when they have Cole Hammels on the mound against Mike Pelfrey.
Atlanta Braves (85-64) at New York Mets (74-75) 1:10pm
Derek Lowe (13-12 4.22) vs R.A. Dickey (11-6 2.80)
TV: WPIX Radio: WFAN
What to watch: The Mets try to avoid the embarrassing home sweep to the Braves this afternoon behind Dickey. He’s been tremendous this season and won his last two starts only allowing 3 runs over 15 innings. Lowe has also been pitching well winning his last two starts. He allowed only 1 run over 14 innings during that period.
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