3 Up, 3 Down: Houston? We Have A Problem.

Come on, you knew when the Mets lost the first two games of this series, this 3 Up & 3 Down entry would be called “Houston We Have A Problem”, how could it not be? Our guys lose 2 of 3 to the Astros, and their record is now 6-13. The 3 Ups all come from the Met’s win on Thursday night, while the three downs will come from the two losses.

3 Up

1. Chris Capuano: On a cold night at Citifield, Capuano was just great. He went 7 innings, giving up only one run. He looked like the Capuano of old. For the Mets to do anything this year, they need both Capuano and Young to be what they once were. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the two really good starts this week by both Jon Niese, and R.A. Dickey. All three starters this week went deep and pitched well enough to win.

2. David Wright: After the Braves series, Wright was my #1 “Down”. On Thursday night he broke out hitting a big home run in the fourth inning, and a double driving in two runs in the fifth. A big night for David, let’s hope he keeps it up!

3. Mike Nickeas: Tough call here, but I have to give it to Mike. He hit his first major league home run in the 3rd inning to give the Mets the lead. He also did a great job catching Chris Capuano. A hat tip though to both Jason Bay for scoring on a misplayed fly ball that went for a four base error, and Ike Davis for hitting a monster two run homer in the 8th inning.

3 Down

1. Pinch Hitting Hu Monday Night: This is the only move made by Terry Collins that I totally disagreed with in this series. Late in the game Monday night, with runners on 1st and 2nd, Terry went with Hu, over Murphy as a pitch hitter. Lu struck out waving at three pitches.

2. Josh Thole: On offense, Josh just hasn’t been much of anything, but Wednesday night Josh was really bad news. Loafing after a wild pitch allowing the Astros to score a run, and once he found the ball he tossed it underhand to Dickey covering the plate. In the ninth inning Wednesday night with Reyes on first, Thole was called on to bunt. He popped the bunt up, and Reyes got doubled off first base.

3. Bobby Parnell: On Tuesday night, Parnell had yet another terrible outing, promptly balking in a run. After Tuesday night’s game we learned that Parnell has numbness in his middle finger and he was placed on the 15 day disabled list. We all wish Parnell the best, but when he returns from the disabled list, maybe a trip to Buffalo will do him some good.