Mets Merized Online

I’ve spent a great deal of time considering Jerry Manuel’s decision to pinch hit Omir Santos for Ramon Castro during yesterday’s loss to the Marlins. I’ve also read a great many opinions on the matter and for the most part they all came to the same conclusion that Manuel made a big gaffe. I also believe that it was a terrible error in judgment by Manuel who was trying to be too cute and over-managed the situation into a certain loss. Maybe Castro would have popped up as well, nobody can know for sure, but the odds were clearly in Castro’s favor as opposed to Santos.

Eddie Coleman, Mets analyst for WFAN, may have framed the argument perfectly…

What exactly is going on here. Can anyone figure out what makes this team tick? Just when you think you’ve seen it all with the Mets, they add another chapter to the file. The 9th inning on Wednesday was absolutely bizarre – and so was Manager Jerry Manuel’s explanation for his strategy. Down by a run, bases loaded, two outs and Ramon Castro due up. Jerry stalls and calls down to the bullpen for – Omir Santos? Castro is a 10-year veteran with two hits and an RBI on the day – Santos is a 27-year old catcher with 36, count ‘em, 36 major league AB. You wanna play a hunch, fine – I’m not a by-the-book loyalist by any means. My problem lies in Manuel’s explanation for choosing Santos over Castro – “When you have a little shorter swing, you have a better chance against a guy throwing in the upper 90’s”(meaning closer Matt Lindstrom). Well, anytime I looked up during the day, Josh Johnson was hitting 97 on the gun, and Castro had his two hits against him. Castro, with red-rimmed eyes, was stunned by the development after the game in the Mets locker room, but to his credit, took the high road and said the right things – Yeah, I was surprised, but he’s the manager, he makes the decisions.

Manuel is beginning to gain a reputation for being ultra conservative on the base paths, having too quick a hook with his starters, playing favorites in the dugout, and going against the grain in certain strategic situations. The honeymoon has evaporated and the glare of the spotlight is firmly planted on him now.

Binghamton 8, Portland 3

Emmanuel Garcia broke out of a 6 for 37 slump in a huge way, going 3 for 4 with 3 runs, leading the Mets to a convincing 8-3 win over the Sea Dogs today. Josh Thole, Shawn Bowman and Mark Kiger also had multi hit games for the Mets, while Ruben Tejada (0 for 3, BB, 2 Ks, .222), Lucas Duda (0 for 4, K, .292), and Carl Loadenthal (0 for 4, K, .270) took 0-fers.

Ryan Coultas got the start tonight, and was effective in his 5 innings, allowing just 6 hits and a run (on a solo homer). Despite entering the game with a 4 run lead, Roy Merritt somehow got a save, going 1.2 innings for his 9th of the season.

cf Emmanuel Garcia 3 for 4, 3 runs, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K, .269
c Josh Thole 2 for 5, 2b, RBI, 2 Ks, .383
lf Josh Petersen 1 for 3, run, 2 RBI, BB, K, .267
dh Shawn Bowman 2 for 4, run, 2 2b, RBI, K, .263
3b Mark Kiger 2 for 4, RBI, 2 Ks, .250
2b Jon Malo 1 for 3, 3 runs, HR, RBI, K, .455
Ryan Coultas 5 IP, 6 H, ER, 1/4 BB/K, HR, 3.05 era, W (1-1), 4:7:4
John Madden 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2.25 era, 2:0:0
Edgar Alfonzo 1.1 IP, H, BB, 0.00 era, 2:2:0
Tim McNab 0.1 IP, H, 3.27 era, 0:1:0
Roy Merritt 1.2 IP, 1/4 BB/K, 1.98 era, SV (9), 1:0:4

St. Lucie 7, Sarasota 5

Carlos Guzman’s walkoff 2 run homer in the 10th provided the Mets with their second straight extra inning victory tonight, 7-5 against the Reds. The story of the game, however, is the continued resurgance of Ike Davis, who had 2 more hits tonight, both doubles, and is batting .371 over his last 10 games, with 6 2b and 8 XBH. The 2 thru 5 hitters in the Mets order were a combined 10 for 23 with 4 2b, 2 HR and 5 RBI. Greg Veloz (0 for 4, BB, K, .229, in a long 6 for 43 slump) and Brahiam Maldonado (0 for 4, 3 Ks, .224) took 0-fers.

Eric Niesen started tonight as was good over his 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs (1 earned, thanks to a Bouchard error). Nick Carr blew the save (thanks to a Reese Havens error, his 10th), but got the win with 4 innings of piggyback relief. Carr has rebounded strongly so far this month off what was a total disaster of a season in 2008, he’s posted a 1.69 era in 16 innings this month, with 11 hits allowed in 16 innings, and 17 Ks to go along with 10 walks.

cf Kirk Nieuwenhuis 2 for 4, 2 runs, BB, .231
ss Reese Havens 2 for 4, 2 runs, 2b (6), HR (4), 2 RBI (11), BB, .275
1b Ike Davis 2 for 5, 2 2b (8), RBI (6), .304
c Francisco Pena 2 for 5, run, 2b (4), RBI (5), .214
rf Carlos Guzman 2 for 5, run, 2b (6), HR (3), 3 RBI (8), 2 Ks, .303
3b Matt Bouchard 1 for 4, K, .154
dh Hector Pellot 1 for 4, 2 Ks, .159
Eric Niesen 6 IP, 3 H, 2/1 R/ER, 2/4 BB/K, 2.45 era, 9:5:4
Nick Carr 4 IP, 5 H, 3/1 R/ER, 7 Ks, 1.69 era, 2:2:7

Savannah 7, Greenville 4

Eric Beaulac started today and was roughed up for 3 runs on 4 hits (including a homer) and 3 walks in 3.2 innings, but a piggybacking Kyle Allen matched his best outing of the season, working 4.1 innings, allowing just a run on 2 hits, striking out 7 to pick up his first win. Rhiner Cruz got the final 2 outs for his 4th save.

The top 4 in the order for the Gnats (Fernandez, Marte, Flores, Satin) were a combined 0 for 16 with 4 walks and 7 Ks, and they scored 2 runs (one each for Marte and Satin). Raul Reyes (0 for 4, 2 Ks, .208) also took an 0-fer. Sean Ratliff and Jean Luc Blaquiere had multi hit games, Blaquiere went 4 for 4 and drove in 4.

3b Jefry Marte 0 for 4, run, BB, 2 Ks, .267
ss Wilmer Flores 0 for 4, BB, K, .296
1b Eric Campbell 1 for 4, 2 runs, HR, 2 RBI, .268
lf Sean Ratliff 2 for 4, 2 runs, K, .299
c Jean Luc Blaquiere 4 for 4, run, 2b, HR, 4 RBI, .262
2b Jacob Elgsti 1 for 3, BB, K, .333
Eric Beaulac 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3/6 BB/K, HR, 2.87 era, 3:2:6
Josh Stinson 0.1 IP, 3.86 era, 0:1:0
Kyle Allen 4.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 3/7 BB/K, 7.47 era, W (1-1), 2:4:7
Rhiner Cruz 0.2 IP, K, 2.61 era, SV (4), 0:1:1

Well it seems as if the front office is all about giving players their shot and if they fail they are gone.

Casey Fossum was designated for assignment this past Sunday after a short stint with the Big Leagues. Freddy Garcia never even made it to a big league game before being cut either. I have to say it looks like this season will bring a lot of new faces to the Mets team the way they keep going through players.  Why haven’t they just put Figgy in the bullpen? And will all these constant changes really help the club? I wonder who is going to be the next casualty of war? Omar is really starting to tighten his grip and I think  it is mainly because the Wilpons are tightening the noose around his neck.

Jerry hasn’t looked nothing like the great manager we were all expecting, the one that saved last years season and kept it close. It looks like he is playing it safe with this team and safe is not going to win games.

Sorry Jerry, but you are going to have to throw caution to the wind sooner or later. One of the reasons the Mets were a big threat last season was because once they got on the bases, they put added pressure on opposing defenses with their base stealing. One more thing… whats the deal with taking those first pitch meatballs all of the time? I never thought pitch counts could hurt us offensively as much as it does defensively, but some how it is starting to.

The next 30 days, although many do not want to say it, are going to be crucially important. With the Phils looming ahead,  if the Mets don’t play with heart we all know that Philly will because they hate us so much it drives them. Come on boys, quit the pity party and play with some fire, we all know you can!

As far as the Mets are concerned April is now over and they find themselves in 4th place with a 9-12 record, closer to last place than first. Not exactly the beginning we all envisioned after overhauling our bullpen and adding a few role players to our bench.

In 2008 the Mets found themselves at 14-12, 15-9 in 2007, and they finished the month with a 16-8 record in 2006. Notice any trends?

The last time the Mets won nine games for the Month of April was in 2004. That year we finished with a 71-91 record. Steve Trachsel led the team in wins with 12, Mike Cameron led the team in homers, and our first baseman was guy named Mike Piazza.

That ends our trip down memory lane…

Some things you should know 

Carlos Delgado leads the team with 3 homeruns, followed by Carlos Beltran who has two. Nobody else has more than 1 homer. The Mets rank last in the National League.

David Wright leads the league in strikeouts and is on pace for over 200. He currently has more K’s than Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church and Jose Reyes combined.

Carlos Beltran leads the league in batting with a .388 average. He is joined by Luis Castillo, Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy who are each hitting over .300.

The Mets offense ranks #3 in batting average, #9 in runs scored, #16 in homeruns, #1 in triples and #5 in stolen bases.

The Mets pitching ranks #9 in ERA, #14 in wins, #14 in saves, #7 in strikeouts, and #9 in homeruns allowed.

Nice Surprises

Brian Stokes has yet to allow a run this season and has totaled 11 scoreless innings thus far.

Bobby Parnell has also been a pleasant surprise in the bullpen and currently sports a 1.74 ERA.

Johan Santana is in the midst of one of his best seasons statistically. In addition to a 1.10 ERA, he has struck out 44 batters in 32.2 innings while walking just 9.

Daniel Murphy is batting .324 and is second on the team with 13 runs scored. He has also proven to be a solid pinch hitter when he comes off the bench. He has looked more comfortable in the field despite the last slip.

Not So Nice Surprises

Sean Green has a 8.49 ERA and has allowed 23 baserunners in just 11.2 innings.

J.J. Putz already has 2 losses and a blown save with a 4.09 ERA. He has more allowed more walks than strikeouts.

No Mets starter has an ERA under 5.00 and if you were to take Johan Santana out of the equation the Mets starting rotation would rank last in ERA in all of baseball. The biggest culprit is Oliver Perez who carries an unsightly 9.31 ERA.

Jose Reyes is only 5th on the team in runs scored with 9. He has scored just 2 runs in his last 8 games.

Upcoming Decisions

When Brian Schneider is activated from the DL this weekend, the Mets will be faced with optioning Omir Santos or cutting Ramon Castro. When Santos pinch hit for Castro yesterday, Castro stormed into the clubhouse and didn’t stick around for the end of the game.

Tim Redding is getting close to being activated and the Mets will have to decide how to make room for him.

Final Thoughts

The Mets continue to struggle with runners in scoring position and had their worst showing yesterday when they left 14 runners stranded. They have problems adding runs late or coming back after they lose a lead. Aside from Johan Santana who has been remarkable, the starting rotation ranges from erratic to bad. Pelfrey and Maine both showed signs of hope in their last starts and will face big challenges this weekend in Philadelphia. If they can turn the corner and deliver solid performances, it might be just what the doctor ordered for this ailing Mets team.

April Booms

1B – It was tough to overlook Carlos Pena and his nine dingers in the AL, but Youkilis is batting .414 with 20 runs scored. Albert Pujols is a god!

2B – Chase Utley put a scare into many of us on draft day, but if you were lucky enough to grab him kudos to you. Aaron Hill is having a huge season so far, but it pales in comparison to Ian Kinsler.

SS – NL shortstops are all off to slow starts in April and picked Jose Reyes, but just barely. Michael Young who still qualifies at SS, leads a bunch of up-and-comers in the AL who might just dethrone him in May.

3B – Third base was tough in the AL given the early performances of Longoria, Inge and Miguel Cabrera, but I opted for OPS as the tie breaker and gave it to Longoria. In the NL it was easier to select Aramis Ramirez over Jorge Cantu and Ryan Zimmerman. Anybody out there seen David Wright?

C – Victor Martinez is your winner in the AL and it’s not even close, but Bengie Molina was quite a nice surprise in the NL. 

LF – Raul Ibanez is doing it all in leftfield for the Philadelphia Phillies, and Jason Bay is making Red Sox Nation say ”Manny who?”

CF – At centerfield, you better get you some Torii Hunter in the AL with all apologies to Adam Jones who was right on his heels, while in the senior circuit, Fukudome (remember him?) edges out Beltran. 

RF – Finally, rightfield honors go to Nick Markakis in the AL and Andre Ethier who edges out Dunn in the NL.

SP – Johan Santana might just be the next pitcher to score Cy Young’s in each league, but Billingsley and Haren will give him plenty of competition if they keep pitching like this. Nobody can touch Zach Grienke in the AL as all of the hard work has paid off for him. Armando Galarraga is not a secret anymore, and Jered Weaver is off to a solid start. There were plenty of other starters that could have easily made this list including King Felix in the AL and Wandy Rodriguez in the NL, but I don’t think anyone will complain about the pitchers I went with.

CL – If you want saves, Heath Bell and Joakim Soria are the guys for you. Both are off to tremendous starts.

April Busts

1B – Lance Berkman, David Ortiz – Big Papi is not so big anymore…
2B – Dan Uggla, Alexi Casilla – At least the top second baseman are doing okay…
SS – Jimmy Rollins, Mike Aviles – Rollins was a first rounder in many drafts…
3B – Edwin Encarnacion, Adrian Beltre – Nothing too bad here, these guys were middle rounders at best…
 C – Geovany Soto (ouch!), Dioner Navarro – Soto must be breaking a lot of hearts so far this season…
LF – Conor Jackson, Carlos Guillen – Again, nothing to cry over here…
CF – Cameron Maybin , BJ Upton – Speed kills, and these guys prove it…
RF – Brian Giles, Michael Cuddyer – Giles might be toast, retire already…
SP – Cole Hamels, Josh Beckett – Some major burns over here, big burns, huge…
SP – Jake Peavy, Francisco Liriano – Here’s two more guys that have made some lose sleep…
SP – Edinson Volquez, Justin Verlander – Velocity isn’t everything…
CL – Jose Valverde, BJ Ryan – Both just landed on the DL and it might be for a while in Ryan’s case…

Till next time…

Buffalo 0, Rochester 1

I’m not sure what else I can say at this point. Pitch well and lose, pitch poorly and lose, score 4 and give up 5, score 0 and give up 1…it’s just a sad sad situation up in Buffalo right now. The Bisons were held to 7 hits and 3 walks today, and went 0 for 5 with RISP, leaving 8 men on base in their loss. Willy Mo Pena and Jesus Feliciano had multi hit games, while the top 3 in the order (Cory Sullivan, Andy Green, Fernando Martinez) were a combined 0 for 11. Mike Nickeas and Jose Coronado also took 0-fers. Nelson Figueroa pitched brilliantly for 7 innings, allowing just 1 run, enough for the loss.

lf Fernando Martinez 0 for 3, BB, 2 Ks, .233
dh Willy Mo Pena 2 for 4, K, .500
3b Mike Lamb 1 for 4, .143
1b Nick Evans 1 for 3, BB, K, .102
rf Jesus Feliciano 3 for 4, .283
Nelson Figueroa 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 Ks, 2.25 era, 84:59:25, 10:9:2
Elmer Dessens IP, H, 0.82 era, 9:6:3, 1:1:0

Binghamton 2, Portland 6

Jose Sanchez has been having a very rough start to his 2009 season, so much so that tonight’s outing (3 earned in 5 innings) served to lower his ERA a full run and change from 9.88 to 8.68.

It was a very frustrating night for the offense, as they had 8 hits and 3 walks, but in a performance the big club could be proud of, went 0 for 11 with RISP and left 11 on base. Josh Thole, Lucas Duda and Jon Malo had multi hit games, while Emmanuel Garcia (0 for 4, run, BB, .243), Shawn Bowman (0 for 5, .250), Mark Kiger (0 for 4, 3 Ks, .214), and Carl Loadenthal (0 for 4, 2 Ks, .288) took 0-fers.

ss Ruben Tejada 1 for 5, 2 Ks, .233
c Josh Thole 2 for 4, 2b, BB, .382
1b Lucas Duda 2 for 3, 2b, BB, .318
2b Jon Malo 2 for 4, run, .500
lf DJ Wabick 1 for 4, 2 Ks, .205
Jose Sanchez 5 IP, 7 H, 4/3 R/ER, 4 Ks, 2 HR, 8.68 era, L (1-3), 5:6:4
Nick Abel IP, BB, K, 1.93 era, 0:2:1
Julio De La Cruz IP, 1/2 BB/K, 2.25 era, 0:0:2
Adam Bostick IP, 4 H, 2 ER, K, HR, 3 era, 1:1:1

St. Lucie 1, Jupiter 1 thru 12.5 innings

Angel Calero went 6 strong innings, followed by 5 terrific innings from Brant Rustich, but the offense has done nothing all night, outside of a run in the 9th to tie it, Ike Davis doubled and scored on Francisco Pena’s single. That’s where we are, 1-1 in the 13th. I’ll edit this post with a full game recap when it goes final.

St. Lucie 2, Jupiter 1 in 14 innings

As I told you earlier, Angel Calero and Brant Rustich were the majority of the story for the Mets tonight, they combined for 11 incredible innings, scattering 4 hits and a run (Calero’s) between them, each struck out 7. But it was Ike Davis who ended up as the main story, he doubled and scored the tying run in the 9th, then singled and scored the winning run in the 14th, ending with a 3 for 6 day. The Mets had just 5 hits, but made 4 of the 5 count heavily. Francisco Pena’s only hit drove in the Mets first run, Reese Havens’ only hit drove in the Mets second run. Matias Carrillo got the win by getting the final out in the top of the 14th.

2b Greg Veloz 0 for 4, 2 BBs, K, .241
cf Kirk Nieuwenhuis 0 for 6, 2 Ks, .216
1b Ike Davis 3 for 6, 2 runs, 2b, K, .297
ss Reese Havens 1 for 6, 2b, RBI (walkoff), 2 Ks, .263
c Francisco Pena 1 for 4, RBI (tying, 9th), .196
rf Carlos Guzman 0 for 5, 2 Ks, .296
3b Matt Bouchard 0 for 5, 3 Ks, .111
lf Brahiam Maldonado 0 for 5, 2 Ks, .241
dh Hector Pellot 0 for 4, 3 Ks, .150
Angel Calero 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 2/7 BB/K, 1.23 era, 5:6:7
Brant Rustich 5 IP, H, BB, 1/7 BB/K, 1.38 era, 4:5:7
Jose De La Torre 1.2 IP, H, 2/1 BB/K, 4.35 era, 1:2:1
Emary Frederick IP, BB, K, 2.19 era, 0:1:1
Matias Carrillo 0.1 IP, BB, K, 5.06 era, W (1-1)

Between the two teams, there were 33 strikeouts (17 by the Mets, 16 by Jupiter), 33 of the 83 outs recorded by both teams were via strikeout.

Savannah 11, Greenville 7

Robert Carson has been alternating good outing-bad outing so far this year, and he had a strong bounceback outing tonight, going 6 strong, allowing 3 hits and 2 unearned runs (due to Jefry Marte’s 10th error of the season). Wendy Rosa and Eric Turgeon combined to give up 5 runs in 2.2 innings, but Jimmy Johnson came in with the tying run at the plate and struck him out to end it, earning his first save.

The Gnats offense exploded tonight for 11 runs on 17 hits and 3 walks, they went a blistering 8 for 18 with RISP, and left 8 men on base. Wilmer Flores, Kai Gronauer (0 for 4, run, 2 RBI, 2 Ks, .214) and Juan Lagares were the only Gnats who didn’t have multiple hits tonight.

rf Rafael Fernandez 2 for 5, 2 runs, 2b, RBI, BB, .268
3b Jefry Marte 2 for 5, run, RBI, K, .280
ss Wilmer Flores 1 for 5, run, K, .313
2b Josh Satin 3 for 5, run, 2b, RBI, K, .379
1b Eric Campbell 2 for 4, run, BB, K, .269
lf Sean Ratliff 4 for 5, 3 runs, 2b, HR, 2 RBI, .289
dh Raul Reyes 2 for 4, RBI, BB, .250
cf Juan Lagares 1 for 5, run, 2 RBI, .265
————-

Couple questions from comments on my blog (MetsProspectHub):

re: my Jordany Valdespin rant/meltdown:

Q: If I remember correctly, they did a similar thing with Jordan Abruzzo last year. He was batting .300 in St. Lucie and then he went down to Brooklyn.

Where is Abruzzo anyway?

Answer: Abruzzo was released by the Mets.

Q: long time no speak.
i have to ask you, what are your feelings on fmart at AAA? personally, i think he should have repeated at AA this year. when a guy like the cards brett wallace is still at AA, it makes me believe that the mets, as usual, are rushing fmart for no good reason….curious to hear your thoughts

Answer: He had spent the last 2 seasons in AA, and was coming off ripping the DWL (which in my eyes is AAA level) to shreds, so in my eyes, it was justified to have him open up in AAA. Brett Wallace was just drafted in 2008, and had just 49 ABs in AA during last season. Starting him in AA was the smart thing to do.
Robert Carson 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2/7 BB/K, 3.48 era, W (2-2), 4:7:7
Wendy Rosa 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BBs, 9.58 era, 1:4:0
Eric Turgeon IP, H, ER, 5/3 BB/K, 2.45 era
Jimmy Johnson 0.1 IP, K, 1.42 era, SV (1)

Game Summary

The Mets (9-12) lost to the Florida Marlins (13-8)  4-3 who won the series and and got back to their winning ways. The Mets squandered another solid start, this time by Johan Santana who didn’t figure into the decision. The bullpen had another classic meltdown, this time by J.J. Putz who along with Sean Green have blown back to back saves.

Mets Pitching

Johan Santana deserved a win today, but instead he got another no-decision as the Mets bats and the revamped bullpen let him down. The Marlins got to Santana early when they scored two runs in the first inning, which included another homerun by Jorge Cantu that barely went over the leftfield wall. Santana went into shutdown mode after that and held the Marlins scoreless through the seventh inning. Overall, Santana allowed just the 2 runs on 5 hits and he struck out 7 batters. Tough, tough loss. 

What should have been a hard fought win for Johan Santana ended in utter disappointment thanks to another bad job by the bullpen. Today’s goat was J.J. Putz who immediately got himself into trouble by walking the first two batters he faced. Then, after a sacrifice bunt moved the runners over, Cody Ross singled through the middle scoring both runners. Terrible job by Putz… simply awful…

Frankie Rodriguez pitched the ninth without incident and I must say I am surprised at how many non save situations he has pitched in already, Billy Wagner would have never tolerated such a thing.

Mets Hitting

Fernando Tatis was the hitting star of the day going 3-4 with 2 RBI’s and and homerun that had put the Mets in front for the first time in the game. He is making the most of his opportunities and much like last year, he continues to hit in the clutch. Tatis also stole his second base of the season.

Ramon Castro also had a couple of hits, but was pulled for a pinch hitter in the ninth. You can read my thoughts on that in the segment below. The Mets did have 16 baserunners so getting on base was not an issue.

However, you’re not going to have too many hitting highlights when you leave 14 runners stranded on base the way the Mets did today. It was just another pathetic effort by the offense which continues to struggle despite all the daily lineup changes.

Random Thoughts

As much as I have grown to like Omir Santos and dislike Ramon Castro, I thought pulling Castro in favor of Santos in the ninth inning with two outs was a terrible call by Jerry Manuel. Castro was having a good game, while Santos had to haul ass from the bullpen to face a pitcher who throwing 99 MPH fastballs. It was just a bad case of over-managing by Manuel.

I also thought that the decision not to let Jose Reyes steal second in the eight inning was another bad call by Manuel. Having Reyes at second would have changed the entire complexion of the Alex Cora at-bat and his liner up the middle may have broken through for a base hit.

David Wright has officially become a liability right now. He should have been rested today so that he could have had two days off to get it together before the Phillies series. Another two strikeouts, a double play, and his fourth error of the season was kind of tough to take.

The Mets wasted another fabulous start by Johan Santana who could very well be 5-0 right now.

Game Ball

A game ball each to Fernando Tatis and Johan Santana.

Up Next

A very shaken up Mets team now head to Philadelphia to play the defending World Champion Phillies for a critical three game series. Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez and John Maine will all start in the big weekend series. LGM

Just another loss. Stop overdramatizing! Right?

Lest, I incur the wrath of amateur statisticians, let me just say the BP is fantastic, league-leading in fact, but it just so happens they’ve blown two good starting performances in two days. No need to worry, right? I mean, the BP is fixed—the first three weeks of April proved it.

Today’s 4-3 loss to the Marlins was unforgivable, and the lineup and bench are to blame, too. Why Manuel sent for Santos in that instant with the confusion and lengthy trip to the plate given bases loaded. Ugh! It all seemed symptomatic of the disarray the 2009 Mets now embody. For the record, I like Santos, and I think he has real potential to be a fine catcher, but why would you bring to the plate someone so inexperienced in so pressure-filled a situation?! Of course, he’s been hitting well, had a grand slam…spare me.

Manuel is the goat for today. Santana threw a flawless 7th. His pitch count was about 115. It was not his best game; three walks, etc. BUT…he’s the best man on the team. I know the formula is Putz and Rodriguez when the game is close and your pitcher is tired. Yeah, they make lots of $ to prove this, too. It’s only April, so why stretch Johan? Here’s why: nobody but nobody on the team—excepting JS—is in any kind of a rhythm. The Putz-ROD combination has been used so infrequently till now that neither of these guys has any kind of dominating consistency with the Mets yet. The Mets, newsflash, are playing bad baseball. So, in my humble and uniformed opinion, this is the point at which a manager approaches his ace, and says: “Johan, I sure don’t want to tire you out, but we need this game badly, and you are just about the only proven commodity on my staff thus far. Since I can’t depend on my lineup scoring again for you (not like there’s a precedent for that), I would love it if you can give us one more inning. And if you put a man on base, I’ll replace you.”

Well, maybe JS said he was finished. If he didn’t, Manuel made a huge mistake with the BP again. This was a must-win game given our problems and issues of late. I don’t see the biting, scratching, and clawing at this point that allows a manager to trust or have confidence in the team’s lesser lights—the TEAM itself!

We were managed out of this game. Wow!

Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s redemption to be had against the Phillies who stink and are playing horrible baseball. Oh, no, that’s wrong. Shoot!

Now there’s something I didn’t expect to see when I got a glimpse of today’s lineup…

Daniel Murphy is not only playing leftfield in todays matinée, but he will also be batting third for the first time in his young Mets career.

 It doesn’t say much for Jerry Manuel’s confidence in David Wright lately as even with Carlos Delgado out of the lineup, Wright still finds himself batting in the five spot. Oh, how the mighty have fallen… I’m just kidding of course, but still this move says more about David Wright than it does about Daniel Murphy.

Incidentally, David Wright now leads the National League in strikeouts and is on pace for a 200 strikeout season.

Here is the rest of today’s lineup:

Jose Reyes, SS
Alex Cora, 2B
Daniel Murphy, LF
Carlos Beltran, CF
David Wright, 3B
Ryan Church, RF
Fernando Tatis, 1B
Ramon Castro, C
Johan Santana, P

Let’s hope this lineup shakeup works, and more importantly I hope it get Wright back on track because when Wright is on, he’s still the best number three hitter on this team.

Go gettem’ Johan!

I was thinking last night as the Mets had a comfortable three-run lead, that maybe, just maybe they have turned a corner and that I can write something positive today. But in the back of my mind I was thinking that a 3-run lead with a (let’s face it) still-shaky bullpen was not going to hold up against the Marlins.

Now with the rubber game today pitting our ace against Cy Johnson, I feel extremely uneasy. Johan will once again be expected to be his stellar self, and will probably deliver like the ace he is. But the Mets have not figured this Josh Johnson kid out, and I have a bad feeling it’s going to come down to a boneheaded play in the field again, with someone playing a position they have no business playing. You’re all thinking the same thing, aren’t you? With Murphy in left, we have to hope Johan makes the Marlins hit everything to right, or not out of the infield.  

I also scanned the USA Today stats yesterday, and I swear I was looking for positive things to say. But it’s ugly, folks, it really is. Through Sunday, Castillo is hitting .365 but only has 5 RBI. David Wright has one homer and 6 RBI, adding one last night. Ryan Church is hitting .357 but only has driven in 7 runs. The Mets are batting .283 as a team, third-best in the National League, but have driven in only 73 runs, 11th best in the NL. Their 11 homers is tied for worst in the league with the Giants, and only better in the entire league than Oakland’s paltry 7 (aren’t you all glad we didn’t get Matt Holliday?).

For team pitching, the Mets rank 13th with a team ERA of 4.60, which I’m sure took more of a hit last night as Babe Cantu continued his torrid hitting of Mets’ pitching. Dude is hitting .411 against our Mets this season and blasted two homers last night, including the dagger of a 3-run bomb off Sean Green. And did any of you feel like the Mets would overcome a 3-run deficit? I know I didn’t, and I don’t think Jerry Manuel did either.

 ”Three runs shouldn’t be something that’s insurmountable,” Manuel said. “It appears when we get in that position, it’s an insurmountable lead. We have to address that.”

 You’re telling me, Jerry.

 Are you all as nervous as I am about today’s game?