Well Met fans, if you were looking for a true test of this 2011 Amazin’ ballclub, you’ve got one. Starting Thursday, the Mets will face some of the games best pitching for seven-straight ball games. They will face Clayton Kershaw, Ryan Vogelsong, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels over the next week. All seven were elected to the 2011 All-Star Game and now in seven consecutive contests, one of them will [...]

  With a Mets bullpen that has been consistently inconsistent since late May, blowing countless leads, letting close games get out of hand and collapsing when it counts most, the Amazin’s need some change in the pen. So when a veteran pitcher that was sent down to work on his stuff is dominating, you may want to consider making said change sooner than later. That veteran is Ryota Igarashi. The 32-year old Japanese native after a disappointing 2010 and [...]

With all the news surrounding Jose Reyes and his incredible season that he is having, we often forget the main-man driving him in, Carlos Beltran. Beltran, after two injury-riddled seasons, was expected to have an above average season at best in 2011. But the 34-year old now right fielder has not only exceeded what anyone expected, but has been nearly the caliber of player as he was in his prime. Many predicted Beltran for 15-20 home runs and [...]

After a brief hiatus, the NL East report is back by popular demand! Here is what is going on all around the NL East: Phillies: The Philadelphia Phillies continue to show why they are the best team in baseball, winning seven of their last 10 games. -Roy Oswalt was pulled from his start against the Cardinals early after experiencing “back tightness” and will miss his next start. This is significant not only because he was placed on the 15-day DL [...]

ESPN reports that the Washington Nationals will name Davey Johnson as their new manager, according to a source familiar with the situation. Johnson, 68, will manage the team for the rest of the season and next season, subject to league approval. He has been a senior adviser for that ballclub since 2006, and last managed in 2000 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. I wonder why Johnson was never considered by the Mets when they were interviewing candidates? [...]

In the last week or so, Jason Bay has looked like his old all-star form. Yes, he has looked exponentially better at the plate, blasting one, nearly two, home runs against the A’s Tuesday night, but if you look at his split stats over his disappointing tenure as a Met, you will see a common theme that could be the reason for his recent hot streak. In interleague play in 2010 and 2011, Jason Bay has [...]

It may seem like a distant memory at this point, but earlier this season, before the unfortunate collision with David Wright that has left him in a boot for the past month, Ike Davis was off to one hell of a season. If Wright had not barreled into Davis in Colorado, especially now after Albert Pujols out with a broken arm, could the young first baseman have gone to Arizona this July? I think so. Davis was on fire to start the season. [...]

Mets slugger David Wright played catch and took some ground balls from his knees yesterday, a welcomed first step in his recovery process. This was the first baseball-related activity Wright has done since going on the DL in Mid-May. [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/ESPNNewYork/status/82570185525039105"] Wright said afterwords that he “felt good” and he will see a doctor late in the week to hopefully get the green light to begin his rehab in Port St. Lucie. “It’s weird and disappointing that I [...]

Mike Pelfrey has not exactly been consistent over the past one and a half seasons, but more often than not, when Pelfrey is locked in and pitching well, 60 feet, 6 inches away is a veteran backstop calling the game. Pelfrey has always been a pitcher that has trouble stopping the bleeding once the going gets tough, and having a catcher who has been around the block a few times works well for Pelfrey. Someone [...]

Another scary moment for the Carter family last night as Hall-Of-Fame catcher Gary Carter was rushed to the hospital last night for severe coughing which was eventually diagnosed as bronchitis and released early this morning.  According to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN, Carter’s daughter Kimmy said that: there was speculation that Carter might have blood clotting or pneumonia. But those fears were eased when the results showed that he had something less substantial. Carter is currently: in a [...]