Mets get back to winning as R.A. Dickey and Ike Davis led the Mets to a 4-0 win over the Cardinals as the Mets take the series! R.A. Dickey continues to throw nothing but blanks as he now has thrown 17 shutout innings. Ike Davis also hits his 15th homerun of his rookie season and neither one of them show signs of slowing down their hot streaks.

Game Summary

R.A. Dickey has another dominant start today against the Cardinals. He showed no sign of pain after leaving his last start early with an injury risk. He definitely was throwing harder today and it helped keep the hitters confused. Dickey has been a legit starter since being brought up and has just been a savior for the ailing Mets. Dickey threw 8.1 shutout innings today, only giving up four hits. He walked two and struck out two as well. Dickey had four 1-2-3 innings in the game. He came close to pitching his first complete game in over seven years, but tired in the ninth inning and had to be taken out. I don’t blame Manuel for this move, it had to be done. Dickey gets his seventh win of the season and has now thrown 17 shutout innings. He has also lowered his ERA to an impressive 2.32. He is fourth for the lowest ERA in the NL behind names such as Johnson, Halladay, and Wainwright.

Frankie Rodriguez came into the ninth to get the last two outs of the inning. He got both hitters out and ever struck out one batter. He records his 22nd save of the season.

The offense was once again fueled by the likes of Ike Davis and Angel Pagan. They both had a hand in each of the Mets four runs in the game.

Ike Davis had one hit in the game but the one hit was a long three-run homerun to center in the third inning. That was his fifteenth homerun of his rookie season. At this pace he could reach between 25-30 homeruns before the season is over and over 80 RBIs on the season!

Angel Pagan went 2-3, scoring two runs and walked once. His average is now at .309 and has no sign of lowering any time soon.

Beltran came close to homering again but just fell short of the center field wall. He did have an RBI in the game. Hessman had a hit, walk, and was hit by another pitch. Thole also had a hit and walked twice, also did another great job behind the plate catching Dickey’s knuckleball.

Cora and Francoeur were the only two Mets starters not to get a hit in the game. Cora had a walk and Francoeur struck out once.

Turning Point

Ike Davis’ long three-run homerun in the third inning was plenty enough to get the Mets the win.

Game Ball

RA Dickey and Ike Davis continue to bring the Mets to victory. Dickey pitched 8.1 shutout innings and Ike had his 15th homerun this season.

Up Next

Mike Pelfrey will pitch for the Mets as they open a three game series at home with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs will have Ian Kennedy on the mound for them. These two faced each other in the first game of the Mets-Arizona series earlier this month where the D-Backs would go on to sweep the Mets in the four game series. Game time is 7:10 PM.

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com is reporting that Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt has agreed to a deal that will send him to the Philadelphia Phillies for J.A. Happ and two minor leaguers, Jonathon Villar and Anthony Gose. In other words, the Phillies keep their top two hitting and top two pitching prospects.

That would be the equivalent of trading Bobby Parnell or Jon Niese, plus Lucas Duda and Scott Moviel. Basically, Oswalt straight up for Niese or Parnell. <shakeshead>

Give it up for the Phillies GM, who once again swoops in and lands the biggest fish in the sea for his team and fanbase.

The Phillies mean business and they will stop at nothing to deliver another winner to the city of Philadelphia.

With their offense finally clicking and posting huge numbers again, Oswalt should just about seal the deal for the defending National League Champs, and barring inury or a Mets-like choke, they will once again be printing post season tickets for their fans come September.

The Astros will pay $11 million of the approximately $23 million Oswalt has guaranteed through 2011, and most likely the Phillies will exercise the 2012 option as part of the agreement.

That will give the Phillies a 1-2 punch of Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt through the next three seasons; two of the premier pitchers in baseball.

Cole Hamels goes from number two pitcher, to probably the best number three pitcher in the league if not the game.

If great pitching really does beat great hitting, and if pitching is 90% of the game, then the Phillies have just gotten a ton better.

Let’s ask Johan who the best pitcher in the NL East is again, because a lot has changed since last March.

Original Post 9:19 AM

According to KRIV in Houston, the Philadelphia Phillies have made a deal with the Houston Astros for Roy Oswalt.

The deal is now pending Oswalt’s approval as he would need to waive his no-trade clause.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com says Oswalt could require the Phillies to guarantee his club option for 2012 in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause. He does not want to go to Philadelphia, according to one source with knowledge of his thinking. But Oswalt told reporters earlier this week, “location doesn’t matter.”

Jon Heyman of SI.com via Twitter writes that the Astros and Phillies were discussing J.A. Happ, RHP Vance Worley, and two younger pitchers.

Obviously, if Oswalt approves the trade, this will bolster the Phillies for a strong finish and another post season run.

As for the Mets, they were never in it. They never spoke to the Astros about Oswalt and never had any intention of taking on his salary. In fact, several reports now say that they are not in the mix for Ted Lilly or Brett Myers.

More to come…

How good it feels to be home. Jonathon Niese went to the mound today and pitched six solid innings, getting out of trouble consistently and received plenty of run support as the Mets beat the Cardinals 8-2

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese went to the mound today and provided the Mets with some quality pitching to kick-off their trip home. Niese went gave up one run in six innings on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout. Despite him not striking out many batters, Niese was generating groundballs at nearly a 2.5 to 1 ratio. This was the case of his cutter eating up right-handed hitters and keeping the ball in play. Niese is solidifying his role in this rotation as a solid #3, and with that in tow the Mets may not have to make a major deadline deal for a frontline starter, and by just getting a mid-rotation guy they can have the pitching that they need.

The bullpen came out to preserve a large lead, and Manny Acosta did his best to do that. Manny Acosta pitched one inning, allowing one run on three hits. Raul Valdes would relieve Acosta and allow a baserunner to score, but even that was on a bases-loaded double play that scored the lead runner. Raul Valdes went one perfect inning. Since being called back up, Raul Valdes has allowed two runs in 12 1/3 innings, striking out eleven. Francisco Rodriguez came out for some routine work and pitched a clean ninth inning, striking out two

The bullpen has been good for the most part but lately has been taxed by a few extra inning games. It’d be nice to see the starters go eight innings or even the distance

The Mets offense struck while the iron was hot, scoring the first run of the game on an Ike Davis groundout that plated David Wright. With Jason Bay sitting out the game with a mild concussion after his phenomenal catch in the Dodgers series, Jeff Francoeur got the start in right with Angel Pagan playing LF and Frenchy made his presence felt, drilling a three-run home run in the fourth inning to put the Mets ahead for good. The Mets would plate two more runs in the 5th, on a David Wright sac-fly that scored Luis Castillo and then some aggressive base-running by Angel Pagan, stealing second allowed him to score on a Carlos Beltran seeing-eye single. The Mets would put the lead into another galaxy on a Jose Reyes blast into the Pepsi Porch in right field, making the score 8-1.

The Mets as a team drew 5 walks – with David Wright going 0-1 with 2 BB, 1 K and a sac-fly.

Carlos Beltran went 2-3 with an RBI, R and BB. Carlos looks like he may be getting more comfortable at the plate, and lets hope that rubs off into the field

Ike Davis went 1-4 with an RBI, R and 2 K’s. Even when Ike puts together good games, he racks up the strikeouts. Ike has NINETY strikeouts in 325 AB’s. Thats nearly a 27% strikeout rate.

Mike Hessman made his first appearance as a Met, and fouled out to third base in a pinch-hitting role.

Turning Point

The Jeff Francoeur blast invigorated a recently-stagnant Mets offense and lead to the explosion.

Game Ball

Jonathon Niese, for navigating around trouble the whole game and assisting in holding the reigning MVP Albert Pujols to an 0-5 line. Kudos also goes to Frenchy for hitting his first HR in exactly a month.

On Deck

The Mets look to keep the winning ways going, sending Johan Santana to the mound and he will face off against rookie of the year candidate Jaime Garcia. This is a rematch of the two starters who began the 20 inning epic on April 21st.

If the above chart hasn’t blinded you, reading on may do the trick.  The Mets were in the middle of the pack in most of these categories throughout the first three months of the season but to say there has been a power outage in heat of Summer sounds like a bad 60′s song and is also a drastic understatement.  As shown above their 56 AB/HR in July ranks last in the majors and unfortunately sucks the life out of the marked improvement the team saw in the same category between May and June:

It would be nice to blame only Jason Bay or Rod Barajas for all the power struggles but everyone not named Pagan or Davis is having a horrific time putting the ball in the bleachers:

I would be more optimistic about ending the month on a high note with a couple more games against an Arizona team that has allowed the 4th most July homers (28) had the D-Backs not just swept the Mets while holding them to 7 runs in 3 games.  It’s painful to recap the struggles of this recent road trip but without recognizing our history we are doomed to repeat it……or at least that’s what I once heard.  But that’s o.k., recently called up Mike Hessman (18 HR in 64 games for the Triple-A Bisons) is the answer!!!!!!  On a serious note, how can you not pull for this guy as he gets another shot at some big league at-bats for the first time since September of 2008.  GO HESS!

For more of my thoughts on the Mets, visit Metszilla.com

I feel so weird this morning. You know that feeling you get when you just know something bad is going to happen, but you don’t know what it is? That’s how I feel about the Mets right now, and it’s something I can’t shake.

I had a lot of hope for this season, and I’ve managed to stay about as optimistic about this season as any Mets fan possibly can. But hope is fading fast and something even worse than pessimism is starting to grab a hold of me… a feeling of impending doom and gloom. I hope it’s just something temporary and that it will go away in a couple of days, or after a couple of wins, but I feel it’s grip and it may be too difficult to escape from its clutches.. It’s gnawing at me…

If there’s one thing I hate more than making a bad decision, it’s not making one at all.

I’m not happy with the total lack of indecisiveness that the Mets displayed yesterday. It was weak. I wanted someone to say, “we’re mad as hell and we’re not gonna take it anymore.” Instead, we got nothing… empty air and hollow voices…

Where are we as an organization? And more importantly, where are we heading?

Even if you could forgive the Mets for not giving us a sign that they are as angry about the 2-9 road trip as we are, it may be too difficult to forgive them if they do nothing at the trade deadline. If they choose not to be buyers or sellers at the deadline and leave the team and it’s totally spent fanbase in a state of purgatory, I’ll spend the rest of this season calling for the whole damned lot of them to get fired. I will unleash Hell. 

I need the Mets to give me something… I need to know that they are focused on the future… I need to know what that future is because I need something tangible to hang onto.

If they decide to be buyers and make some bold moves to make a serious run for the post season, I will be fine with that.

If they decide to be sellers and trade away some veterans in exchange for prospects, I will be fine with that too.

But please don’t sit on your pompous asses and tell me that you are unsure of what your status is… Don’t you dare do this to us.

I can forgive the fact that you promised us that your primary goal this offseason was to acquire a frontline starter and yet you showed up to Spring Training empty handed.

I can forgive the fact that you promised us that you wouldn’t slash payroll, when in fact you cut it by over $25 million dollars.

I can forgive the fact that you then promised you were saving that dough for in-season acquisitions, and then reneged.

I can forgive you for a lot more than all of that, but one thing I will not forgive you for is two more months of what we’ve seen in the last two weeks. Uninspired baseball.

The team may be guilty of not scoring runs in their last eleven games, it’s true that they haven’t produced as planned in the second half. But, your coaching, management and executive staff haven’t produced in almost four years, which is a much more serious offense.

After reading the tea leaves this morning from various sources, it upsets me to hear that the Mets are now in a state of mass confusion. They don’t know their identity. Some of the execs believe that they need to add a starting pitcher, others believe that the rotation is perfectly fine and that we need a reliever, while others still believe that they shouldn’t trade for anything at all because they don’t see the Mets as viable contenders for the rest of the season. What a freaking mess.

These Mets have no vision… a clear sign that they lack leadership… they are adrift at sea… rudderless…

As was the case in the last few seasons, while the ship was sinking and needed life boats and life preservers to sustain life, Wright, Angel, Johan and their teammates may end up sinking and drowning without any rescue attempts from the front office. Their hopelessness was quite visible on their faces and in their body language during the Dodgers series. Silent cries for help…

There’s now a very good chance that the Mets higher-ups will simply watch their team flail and struggle and scream, until they finally succumb to the bitter end of another dismal and disastrous season. Another wasted year of dashed hopes, shattered dreams and broken promises… And worse yet, no vision for 2011 and beyond… Just the emptiness of being stuck in the vastness of space.

Can this really be happening to us again?

I hope I am dead wrong, but like I said in the beginning of this post, I can’t seem to shake this feeling of impending doom in the pit of my stomach.

My choice for MetsMerized Player Of The Week is…Angel Pagan!

Our resident Angel in the outfield, Mr. Pagan is the man. Filling in a great 4th OF and posting nice numbers overall as a starter, Angel Pagan has developed into quite a decent player. He’s no All-Star but he is a serviceable MLB ready starter. I don’t think he’s untouchable in a trade like some fans do, but I do like what he has brought the team this year.

On this rough week for the Mets offensively, Pagan was one bright spot. He managed a .296 AVG ( 8-27 ; 1 2B, 2 HR) and posted a .296/.345/.556 line overall. He scored 3 runs and drove in 3 of his own. His 15 TB and 2 SB lead the Mets on the week.

There’s no place like home for Angel Pagan, who returned to NY in a trade from the Cubs and has found success here. We can only hope that he continues to mature into a better player as time goes along to complement the play of Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran. Congratulations to Angel Pagan!

Who’s Hot And Who’s Not

Johan Santana : 1 GS, QS, (ONLY) W : 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Raul Valdes: 8.2 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA

Jose Reyes: .313/.333/.375 (10-32 ; 2 2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB

Carlos Beltran : .083/.215/.083 (2-24), RBI, 5 BB.

Past Award Winners:

One Hit Wonders: Jeff Francoeur, Mike Pelfrey, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, David Wright.

So Nice He Did It Twice : Ike Davis, Angel Pagan.

Third Time’s The Charm: Jose Reyes.

Of Note 7/19-7/26

Rough week for the Mets where Johan Santana provided the only win. Mike Pelfrey and Fernando Nieve had ERAs above 11.

5 HRs and 13 RBI on the week for the Mets.

Make sure to send in your questions and comments to SatishRam1193@aol.com for this week’s mailbag! The first one should be good.

In a post to his blog on ESPN New York, Adam Rubin wrote that even though Omar Minaya declared manager Jerry Manuel’s job safe at the start of the Dodger series, he would offer no such assurances for hitting coach Howard Johnson and the rest of Manuel’s staff on Sunday.

Asked specifically if the entire staff would be in their current roles when the Mets return to action Tuesday at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals, Minaya offered no guarantee.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Minaya said. “I feel everybody here is trying hard. I could tell you the staff is trying hard. If you ask me [about] the overall performance that has happened, of course I’m not happy. Nobody is happy.

Invited again to fully quash speculation regarding the coaching staff’s future, Minaya said: “That’s all I’m going to say.”

With the Mets finally completing what could only be described as a disastrous 2-9 road trip, and the prospects for a rebound and run for the division looking bleak, somebody has to pay the price.

The Mets have struggled tremendously at the plate and Rubin points out the current 16-inning scoreless drought, which comes after 24 and 17 inning scoreless ruts just on this West Coast road trip. They were shut out four times!

The Mets have averaged 2.1 runs per game on this trip and batted .196, and an even worse .103 average with runners in scoring position.

“We’re going to get back on the plane, me and Jerry, and talk some,” Minaya said. “Everything is fair when you have a trip like this. You have to sit down and assess how you’re going to get it right and what needs to be done to get it right. We’re just not going to sit back. All of us are going to work hard, and we are working hard to find a way how to get it straight.”

Obviously, Howard Johnson would be the primary target, but he may not be the only one. Manuel and Dan Warthen appear to be the only ones who are safe.

One thing to keep an eye on if HoJo does get fired, is how this will effect David Wright who is extremely close to him/

Andy Martino of the Daily News is reporting that John Maine underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out scar tissue from his right shoulder, and will miss the remainder of this season.

John Maine had arthroscopic surgery yesterday to clean scar tissue in his right shoulder. Out for season.

Maine was last seen pitching in a game against the Nationals on May 20. In that game, he was removed by Jerry Manuel after making just five pitches.

Despite saying that he was okay and having harsh words for both Dan Warthen and Manuel, he was placed on the disabled list two days later. Pitching coach Dan Warthen later said Maine was in denial, calling him a “habitual liar” regarding his shoulder being okay.

Maine finishes the season with a 1-3 record and a 6.12 ERA in 39 2/3 innings over nine starts.

He will surely be non-tendered after the season, so this probably ends his career as a Met, a career that began with such promise, but ended with a rash of poor performances and a few unfortunate injuries.

Update from Adam Rubin:

A little side note to this is that the surgery was performed by Dr. Michael Ciccotti in Philadelphia, near where Maine’s agent, Rex Gary, is based, rather than by doctors from the organization’s Manhattan-based Hospital for Special Surgery.

Instantly, my thoughts turned to former Mets manager and Dodger great Gil Hodges, whose #14 has been retired by the Mets. Then I wondered, “wait a minute, does that mean Gil Hodges’ number hasn’t been retired by the Dodgers?”

At first, I thought Hodges might have worn another number when he played for the Dodgers, so I did some research and found out that he did wear #4 when he was called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers as a teenager in 1943. However, that uniform only saw game action one time.

Hodges made his major league debut as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in the Dodgers’ regular season finale on October 3, 1943. Starting at third base (a position he didn’t play again until 1957), he made three plate appearances in the game, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. After the game, he did not return to the major leagues until 1947 due to military service for the United States Marine Corps.

When he returned to the major leagues in 1947, he came back as a catcher. He was Bruce Edwards’ backup during the season most known for Jackie Robinson’s major league debut. Hodges was still not at his customary first base position because Robinson was the team’s first baseman during his rookie season.

In 1948, Hodges began his second full season with the Dodgers, this time as their primary catcher. However, future Hall-of-Famer Roy Campanella was waiting in the wings, potentially leaving Hodges without a position. However, by that time, Jackie Robinson had already been playing some games at second base, shifting back and forth between first and second base as needed. So in one of his final moves before being let out of his contract to manage the New York Giants, manager Leo Durocher moved Gil Hodges to first base and Jackie Robinson to second base on a permanent basis on June 29. Three days later, Campanella became the Dodgers’ #1 catcher.

The move to first base launched what should have been a Hall-of-Fame career for Hodges. His first full season as a first baseman in 1949 produced the first of seven consecutive seasons in which Hodges drove in 100 or more runs. Prior to Hodges’ seven year stretch of 100 RBI seasons, the only National League player to have a longer streak of consecutive years with 100 or more RBI was Mel Ott, who accomplished the feat eight straight years for the Giants from 1929-1936.

The 1950s were owned by the Dodger duo of Duke Snider and Gil Hodges. Only two players in the major leagues hit as many as 300 home runs and drove in at least 1,000 runs over the decade. Those two players were Snider and Hodges. Snider was the decade’s top power hitter, collecting 326 HR and 1,031 RBI, but Hodges was not far behind, hitting 310 HR and driving in 1,001 runs in the 1950s.

For a time, Gil Hodges was the National League’s all-time career home run leader for right-handed batters. When he retired as a player following the 1963 season, his career total of 370 home runs was the tenth highest total in major league history. Only Jimmie Foxx had more home runs as a right-handed batter at the time.

Hodges’ exploits for the Dodgers were not limited to his performance at the plate. He was also an outstanding defensive player. From 1949-1961, Hodges finished in the top five in fielding percentage every year, leading all first basemen in fielding percentage in 1949, 1950, 1960 and 1961. For his defensive prowess, he was awarded with three Gold Glove Awards in 1957, 1958 and 1959. He could have won more Gold Gloves, but the prestigious award did not exist before 1957, meaning Hodges was the initial recipient of the award at the first base position.

It is clear from the information above that Hodges was not just a good player, he was a great player, one of the best in the 1950s. He was one of the premier sluggers of his era and was not one-dimensional, as evidenced by his defensive numbers and awards. Yet somehow, despite all his talent, the Dodgers have failed to retire his number.

The Dodgers have retired ten numbers over their long and storied history. Nine of the ten men who wore those numbers are in the Hall of Fame. The only man whose number has been retired by the Dodgers and has not been enshrined into Cooperstown is Jim Gilliam.

Gilliam, a teammate of Hodges from 1953-1961, had a good, but not great career in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. The 1953 National League Rookie of the Year started off strongly, scoring 100 or more runs in each of his first four seasons in the major leagues. However, in his final ten years n the majors, he was mediocre at best, never scoring 100 runs again, and only hitting .259 after 1956. He was even worse in the postseason. In 39 career World Series games (there were no divisional playoff series or league championship series prior to 1969), Gilliam hit a mere .211 with only 15 runs scored, despite the fact that he was counted on to be a tablesetter in the powerful Dodger lineup.

After the 1964 season, Gilliam became a player-coach for the Dodgers and became a full-time coach after his retirement as a player in 1966. He continued to coach the Dodgers, helping them to two National League pennants in 1974 and 1977, and was a part of the coaching staff on the 1978 team that eventually repeated as National League Champions. Sadly, Gilliam did not live to see the Dodgers return to the World Series that year. On September 15, he suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and lapsed into a coma from which he did not awaken. Gilliam passed away on October 8, one day after the Dodgers won the National League pennant. On October 10, right before the Dodgers played the opening game of the World Series, Gilliam’s #19 was retired by the team to honor his services as a player and a coach.

It is possible that Gilliam’s number might never have been retired had he not passed away when he did. He played 14 seasons for the Dodgers and was great in the first four years of his playing career, but only good over the final ten years. He only coached for the team, never managing them. Yet his number has been elevated to a level that Gil Hodges’ number has not.

Meanwhile, the Mets have retired Gil Hodges’ number. He played for the team in 1962 and 1963, but was already on the downside of his great career. He only played in 65 games for the Mets over those two seasons, compiling a .248 average with 9 HR and 20 RBI over 167 at-bats. His legacy for the Mets was cemented when he became their manager after he was traded by the Washington Senators to New York in November 1967.

In his initial campaign as Mets’ skipper in 1968, he led the franchise to their best season at the time, finishing with a 73-89 record. He shocked the baseball world the following season when he led the Mets to their first 100-win season and the World Series title. Although the team didn’t revert to its losing ways after their title, they were only mediocre in Hodges’ next two seasons as manager, finishing with identical 83-79 records in 1970 and 1971. Sadly, just before beginning his fifth season as manager of the Mets, Hodges died of a heart attack while playing golf with members of his coaching staff in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Despite the memorable 1969 season, Hodges’ record in his other three seasons as Mets manager was eight games below .500 (239 wins, 247 losses). Yet, he is regarded as the man who brought the Mets from lovable losers to confident contenders during his tenure as manager. For being an original Met and for leading the team out of the cellar in the National League, the Mets retired his number in 1973.

Since Hodges’ death in 1972, no Met has worn his #14 jersey. However, the Dodgers have given his number to journeyman players like Jamey Carroll. Other than Jim Gilliam, do the Dodgers only care about their great players, coaches and managers AFTER they get elected into the Hall of Fame?

Gary Carter’s number hasn’t been officially retired by the Mets, but ever since he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003, no Met has worn his #8. The Dodgers don’t have to retire Gil Hodges’ number if they don’t want to. They can choose to retire it if the Veterans Committee decides to enshrine Hodges into the Hall of Fame (he fell one vote short in 1993). But for the love of Tommy Lasorda, don’t give Hodges’ number to guys like Jamey Carroll.

Gil Hodges was a leader, both offensively and defensively, for a Dodger team that won seven National League pennants during his tenure with the team. He should be treated like one by the Dodgers. The Mets have honored their field general by respectfully retiring his number. Shouldn’t the Dodgers do the same?

Great pitching, timely hitting, and great defense, all added up to a much needed 6-1 win over the Dodgers last night. It snapped a streak of 13 straight games in which the Mets only scored four runs or fewer.

Game Notes

Johan Santana (8-5) was brilliant again. Last night he pitched seven innings and allowed one run on five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Over his last five starts, he has been lights out going 3-0 with a 0.71 ERA. He has allowed a run or less in 13 of his 20 starts, which is amazing.

The bullpen preserved a win for Johan, and even Frankie Rodriguez was perfect (finally), throwing a 1-2-3 ninth inning in a non-save situation.

Jason Bay had a solid game. First he made a highlight-reel catch, crashing face first into the LF wall, but hanging onto the ball. He is fine. At the plate he snapped a 10 game RBI drought with a huge three-run double to the right-center gap in the eighth inning that put the Mets up 6-1. Bay was in the batting cage early before the game and took part in an early batting practice as well. Looks like it paid off.

In addition to Bay, the Mets had plenty a couple of other spectacular defensive plays in the outfield. Right fielder Angel Pagan made a dazzling sliding catch in the fourth inning that sent him into the wall in front of the seats along the first-base line. And Carlos Beltran made a diving catch in shallow center field of a ball hit by Andre Ethier in the sixth. He has looked so much better in CF the last two games.

Ike Davis smacked a solo homer, his 14th, in the second and gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. He is now within one HR of David Wright’s lead in home runs and leads all rookies in homers. Anybody miss Dan Murphy?

Jerry Manuel was ejected for the third time this season after arguing an out call by Doug Eddings at first base that ended the top of the second inning. Replays confirmed Luis Castillo actually beat the throw from Rafael Furcal. It cost the Mets a run.

The Mets had everything working well in this one, a very well played game. With the win, the Mets picked up a game on the Braves who lost courtesy of Billy Wagner’s fourth blown save, and are now 6 ½ games back of the NL East lead.

Game Ball

It could have easily gone to Johan, but given the significance of Bay’s big night I’ll go with Jason. Hopefully it’s the start of something big for him.

Up Next

Mike Pelfrey (10-5, 4.01) looks to bounce back from the worst start of his career. He will go up against Carlos Monasterios (3-2, 3.61). Game time is at 4:00 PM and will be televised on Fox.

Updated 7/23 2:15 PM

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in a post to Twitter, the Kansas City Royals like Jeff Francoeur.

As I posted yesterday (see below), the Mets would like to trade Francoeur, and Royals GM Dayton Moore worked in the Braves front office when Francoeur began his major league career.

The Royals do have some interesting players the Mets might find useful and they could be compatible trade partners.

Francoeur is eligible for arbitration next season, but could be non-tendered this winter, thus making him a free agent any way. He is probably a platoon outfielder for most upper echelon teams, but could play everyday for many low market teams.

Original Post 7/22 7:00 AM

The 26-year-old told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork that he wouldn’t mind getting traded. Even if he stays in New York for the rest of the season, Francoeur may get a change of scenery this winter, since he’s a non-tender candidate. Francoeur has hit .247/.297/.380 this year, though he did post an .836 OPS after the Mets traded for him in 2009.

According to an exclusive report by Mike Puma of the NY Post, Jeff Francoeur’s days in a Mets uniform could be numbered.

According to an industry source, the team is trying to trade the right fielder, and could have a deal in place by the time the Mets finish their series in Los Angeles this weekend.

Francoeur would welcome a trade, according to a person friendly with the right fielder, if it gave him a chance to play every day.

Francoeur’s playing time has been diminished since Carlos Beltran’s return from the disabled list. Angel Pagan has assumed the starting right-field duties, with Francoeur coming off the bench for the first time in his career.

It’s not clear what the Mets would be able to get in return for Frenchy, but maybe they could come away with a reliable bullpen arm.

Sielski’s Thursday piece about the lineup not only made perfect sense but again makes you wonder even more about Jerry Manuel’s managerial acumen, or lack thereof. It wasn’t anything radical, like having Jose Reyes batting third (more on that in the chemistry section), it was more logical given the circumstances and the characters. We all know how Jerry has viewed his lineup since Beltran and Castillo have returned and, on the surface, it does make some sense: Reyes, Pagan, Wright, Beltran, Davis, Bay, Barajas or Thole, and Castillo. But Sielski has tweaked it into something he says “won’t transform them into the Cincy Reds of the mid-1970s but might ignite a spark” in a stagnant offense. Sielski’s lineup is: Reyes, Beltran, Pagan, Wright, Davis, Bay, Castillo, Catcher’s spot.

Obviously, the biggest change is in the two through four holes and I think Sielski’s lineup was definitely the way to go when Beltran came back. Unfortunately, Jovial Jerry was locked into seeing Beltran as the guy he was in 2008 and not the guy he is coming off a year-long hiatus. With Pagan and Wright clearly the two most productive hitters on the team, there was no reason to plop Beltran into the cleanup spot and put all that pressure on him out of the gate. Batting him second, then and now, would allow him to ease back slowly, allow him to see a lot more fastballs with Reyes in front and Pagan and Wright behind him (as opposed to now where he can pitched-around with a slumping Davis behind him). Besides, until Beltran starts showing his power stroke, he’s basically the same kind of hitter as Pagan; a switch-hitting gap guy, so they’re really interchangeable right now.

Pagan has become a prototypical three-hole hitter; a good contact, decent OBP, .300 hitter with gap power who might really thrive hitting between Beltran and Wright. Since David is clearly the Mets’ best RBI and power guy at this point (he shouldn’t be, but that’s another story), the cleanup spot should be his. Davis and Bay could be interchangeable depending on the opposing pitcher and who’s hot. You might say that Davis and Bay don’t offer Wright lineup protection but until Beltran starts scalding the ball consistently, it’s not as if Wright’s getting great protection in the order now anyway.

As far as Castillo hitting seventh as opposed to eighth, I think most Met fans would prefer his slot in the order be “left out.” But as long as we’re stuck with him, Sielski is figuring the Mets might as well maximize him. His average and on-base percentage are clearly better than what the catchers, especially Barajas, would produce. Thole appears to be the kind of hitter who would be disciplined no matter where you put him and if Barajas is going to swing at anything anyway, he might as well be slotted in the order where he’s going to be pitched around with the pitcher behind him.

Speaking of Barajas, that brings us to today’s Sielski piece about the sudden drastic change in the team’s chemistry and demeanor that was really an indictment of Manuel’s maneuvering more than anything else.

Remember the heady days of May and June–which seems so long ago now–when the Mets were playing gritty and inspired baseball and everyone was lauding their spirit and team chemistry? The credit for that welcome change in attitude on the field and in the clubhouse was going to the “new guys”, especially Francoeur and Barajas. It also helped that the atmosphere was temporarily purged of the dour foursome of Beltran, Castillo, Perez and Maine, but the sense that the Mets were now a more upbeat, resilient team was palpable. Of course, chemistry always feels better when the catalysts of said chemistry are also producing, as Frenchy and Barajas were doing for most of the first half. But that doesn’t mean the mixture blows up just because guys go into slumps.

Sielski frames the sudden debate about whether to go with a veteran catcher or the hot-rookie in Thole as a question of loyalty and that if the manager (and by extension the GM) don’t display that loyalty–no matter how the players are producing on the field–it can filter down to the rest of the team and lead to the sudden malaise the Mets have been experiencing since right before the All-Star break. While the Puerto Rico road trip and Reyes’ injury certainly led to the team slumping, it clearly was exacerbated by the notion that Beltran, Castillo and Perez were on the way after the break to mess with the mix.

While Sielki acknowledges that Thole’s “savvy and frequent line drives have been a revelation,” he also got Barajas to offer this revealing quote that is sure to be picked up by the blogosphere the next couple of days.

“To give up on somebody after what they’ve done to help the team, for me, it’s not a good thing,” Barajas said. “It’s not the way a team wants to see their teammates treated.” Later in the piece, Barajas says, “I don’t want to say it in a bad way, but if you look at the scenario, how we got here and how we got in this situation, whatever we were doing before worked. We’ve gotten to where we are because of a certain system we’ve had in place. For me, once you start changing the landscape of the team, it could go either way.”

Now I know a lot of MMO readers and SNY commentators would probably answer with, “Hey, just shut up and produce and you’ll play.” But it’s not as simple as that. With the addition of Thole and Beltran (and to a certain extent Castillo) back into the lineup, Manuel didn’t just replace a couple of slumping players, he was replacing two of the most popular and respected players in the locker room; the two guys credited with helping improve the Mets culture in the clubhouse and get them to over-achieve this year on the field. Other players see that and wonder if it can happen to them and that is not a good thing. Another issue that relates to chemistry: Why would any rational-thinking baseball man take a player like Jose Reyes–not a very cerebral player to begin with–coming off a year-long struggle with injuries, his baseball mortality, and his confidence and take him out of his comfort zone and ask him to bat third? Was it a totally ridiculous thought? Not really, when you consider the rest of the roster. But given the player, his value to the team as a lead-off hitter, and when he was being asked to make the adjustment, it was an incredibly misguided decision. In fact, Manuel’s handling of Reyes has been terrible since he took over the team last year. Add to all that the combustible decision to reinstate Oliver Perez–an awful player who would not accept a minor-league assignment for the good of the team–and you can understand why the Mets’ formula has become baseball version of Jerry Lewis’ alter egos in “The Nutty Professor.”

Which is as apt a name for the current Mets manager as any. We’ve gone from “The Old Professor” to the nutty version; a nice man who in the desperate quest to save his job, changes his opinions about players at the drop of pop up and–as Barajas intimates–with his lack of loyalty to his players has clearly lost the clubhouse. For goodness sakes, doesn’t it show on the field during this road trip? A baseball team doesn’t suddenly lose its “grittiness” overnight. A whole team doesn’t just suddenly forget how to hit all at once, I don’t care how good the opposing pitchers are. The Mets may have not given up on the season, but they’ve given up on their manager because of his management of the players (not to mention his poor strategy and his mishandling of the bullpen and injured players) and Omar and the Wilpons better get that message soon. I, for one, want someone else writing the lineup card next week or the Skill Sets can forget about getting any ticket money out of me the rest of this year.

There’s plenty of blame to go around, but make one thing clear, this isn’t just an ordinary team slump, this team is sinking fast.

All the good vibes and great clubhouse chemistry that seemed to fill the back pages in the first half, had disappeared in one fell swoop. One Met player told the NY Post last night, that “things are desperate”.

A closed door meeting before the game did little to fire the team up. The fact of the matter is that they rolled into Arizona and played dead against a team who hasn’t swept a three game series in almost a year. The worst bullpen in the last 50 years silenced the Mets bats and rendered them impotent.

There are so many things that are terribly wrong right now, it’s hard to find a starting point.

The Mets have registered just one win since Carlos Beltran’s return. He looks great at the plate and rusty in the field, but the players around him went into the tank almost immediately after his return to center field.

Jason Bay has been a flat out disaster and after nearly four months, has hit just six home runs. Last season, the Mets got 20 home runs out of left field between Gary Sheffield, Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy and Angel Pagan who all logged some time there. In 2010, the Mets decided they would upgrade, but that has hardly been the case.

The return of Oliver Perez has hovered over this team like a black cloud. He pitched an inning and a third and looked terrible despite the scoreless stint. If you look beyond that you saw a pitcher struggling to hit 84 MPH with his fastball, with no control, and the good fortune of some terrible situational hitting by the D’Backs who got Perez off the hook.

A rag tag rotation has delivered plenty of quality starts in recent weeks, most of them ending up in the loss column. Their ace Johan Santana should have a 13-4 record to go with his 2.87 ERA, but thanks to some ill-advised calls to the bullpen by Manuel, he has just seven wins despite allowing two runs or less in 13 contests.

There are no signs of life or motivation in the lineup. Anyway you slice it, that has to fall on the manager whose job it is to keep the energy and morale high. Yesterday, Manuel joked that his next stop might be the street after last night’s 14 inning loss. It reminded me of when Willie Randolph joked that Omar was in his office with a machete, a few days later in Los Angeles he was fired. Omar Minaya is meeting the team in Los Angeles for the Dodgers series. It sounds very ominous to me.

The Mets have needed a number two starter for two years now, and Minaya has either chosen to ignore that fact or is prohibited from adding any additional payroll. Over $20 million dollars has been slashed from last year’s budget with the promise that it would be there for in season additions. However, given the chance to take on Roy Oswalt, the Mets made it clear they were out before they were even in. The same goes for Cliff Lee. Instead their searching the scrap heaps where the quality of available pitching is no better than what they already have, giving the Mets a net result of zero. They will pay for this costly error with thousands more of empty seats at Citi Field after this dismal road trip that has felt like a slow and grueling torture for the fans.

When the first half ended, I implored readers to enjoy the ride in the second half. I had no idea we would be sliding down a 50 foot rusty razor blade.

I had a conversation on Twitter a few nights ago about Minaya, actually, about this very topic.  Our consensus was while we thought him to be a great talent evaluator, as far as the “executionary” part of his title as General Manager, he falls short quite a bit.

In the offseason leading up to 2006, it seemed like everything Minaya touched turned to gold.  While he executed a deal for Xavier Nady to get rid of surplus outfielder Mike Cameron, some questioned the move, but the deal paid off in dividends right away on Opening Day that season as Nady quickly endeared himself to Mets fans.  Trading Kris Benson for a “bag of balls” that included Jorge Julio, who was turned around for Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, and for “throw-in” John Maine, who quickly became a mainstay in the pitching rotation.

He fleeced the Florida Marlins in their fire sale, getting super slugger Carlos Delgado and fireball Paul LoDuca while giving up what amounted to be spare parts, vaulting the Mets from perennial Wild Card contender to immediate National League East Champions.  I was probably first in line, willing to drink whatever Kool-Aid the Mets and Omar were serving.  Looking back, though, since the Marlins made those chips available (along with Josh Beckett, who was traded to the Boston Red Sox that same offseason), I think that any sane person could have made those deals.  You and me included.

Then there was the “panic deal” in response to losing Duaner Sanchez to a season-ending freak car accident injury, he turned Xavier Nady around to get Roberto Hernandez and reclamation project Oliver Perez. We all know how well THAT deal has worked for them.

Minaya has been heralded by fans and beat writers (not to mention bloggers) for his propensity of the “deal not made,” which includes the non-deals and non-overpayment of the likes of Barry Zito, not to mention passing on Alfonso Soriano who is locked up with the Chicago Cubs for several seasons (truth be told, I am pretty sure he was never even close to being a Met, like, ever).

For example, when Zito signed a gargantuan contract with his native San Francisco Giants, everyone applauded Minaya for not overpaying simply to make a DEAL after falling short that season.  I have to say that if your only “panic move” is to orchestrate a trade for Oliver Perez, well, barring the residual (having him take up an unnecessary roster space because the management is too stubborn to admit they made a mistake), that’s not a terrible thing.

Sometimes the deal not made is the best thing.  Panic moves are never a good thing since it seems like the seller always seems to win somehow.  However, I wonder just how the sense of urgency is with Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon, who signs the checks and presumably is approval-stamping any and all potential deals that will be made.  If any.

I am not encouraged, due to the non-moves in the past at the trading deadline, particularly under Minaya’s reign.

In 2005, the big story was that the Mets were going to get Manny Ramirez.  That didn’t happen (of course the rumors of Manny-to-Mets never quite ended, even though he is gainfully employed by Mannywood themselves, the Los Angeles Dodgers).

In 2006, several “stories” surfaced, mostly by bored beat writers, about then-Mets prospect Lastings Milledge potentially involved in a big deal netting Barry Zito (see: aforementioned payroll-and-year usurping contract in San Francisco).  Personally I never believed any of those stories.  For one, Billy Beane stated ON RECORD that he never spoke to Omar Minaya.  If anyone read Moneyball, you’d know that to be true.

MIlledge was again the centerpiece in a potential three-way deal that would have brought Roy Oswalt to the Mets in 2007.  Of course, being that they brought in a third team with a crazy owner (Peter Angelos), the deal did not get done.  One good thing came out of it though: Oswalt signed yet a long payroll-and-year usurping contract with the Houston Astros that same year.  Well, good for Oswalt, bad for the Astros: he now is heavily involved in trade rumors once again.

The interesting thing in two of those scenarios is that a third team was needed to suit the needs of the team the Mets really wanted to conduct a deal with (the Rays were brought in to appease the Red Sox in 2005, Baltimore Orioles in 2007 for the Astros).  This leads me to believe that Omar Minaya is either a.) not confident in his own scouting abilities to send his own prospects/players to another team for a big chip or b.) overvalues his own prospects/players in a deal that other teams do not wish to deal with him as a businessman.

Judging from their style of play since the All-Star Break, and the dozen or so games leading up to it is that the Mets have been playing lackluster.  They are playing to the level (or beneath) their competition, they are not playing with any sense of urgency…heck, they even LOOK lethargic on the west coast.  They can’t use jet lag as an excuse…they’ve been out there for over a week.  I can tell you from experience, it’s much easier to adjust to their time than coming back here.

I’m not buying the whole “chemistry” thing either.  I do believe in a period of adjustment with Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo returning to the team.  Ultimately, they will get into a groove.  Who else do they have to look forward to returning now though?  Oliver Perez?  If that’s true, just shoot me.  Okay, don’t.  But you get the point.

My feeling is this, and I think we all need to be prepared for this.  Omar Minaya will not make any moves to help the team…nothing major anyway that we’d like to see and immediately help the team.  Today’s big news is that a deal is in place with pitcher Chad Cordero, whom as reports have shown Minaya has coveted since his Washington Nationals days.  Oooh, happy happy.  Not.  Too little, too late, as far as I’m concerned.  However, Cliff Lee is off the block, being he was traded just a few weeks ago.  Oswalt is as good as a Phillie.  Dan Haren’s not leaving the Diamondbacks (which is unfortunate, since I believe he’s the best fit for the Mets right now).

Yes, as history has dictated, Omar Minaya is not a move-to-make-a-move type of guy at the trading deadline.  Sometimes, that’s all well and good.  However, it’s unfortunate this season, because for the Mets to be fully competitive in the second half and the rest of 2010, a deal MUST be made.  A pitcher, a bat, who knows.  They need some kind of shake up and a thought outside-of-the-box, as fellow MMOer Stephen Hanks wrote yesterday, like trading Carlos Beltran (so long as he waived his NTC of course). Personally, I am a fan of packaging Angel Pagan.  I know, he’s been an MVP for the team so far.  Outside of Beltran, he is an incredibly valuable chip.  We can’t have it both ways, keeping valuable chips and getting talent in return.

I’m afraid the fans are going to be the only people who see that though.  I’m not sure if I should be scared, sad or just think it’s plain stupid.

It’s probably a combination of all three.  I’m hoping, of course, that Omar Minaya proves us all wrong and does not render this team dead on arrival on July 31.

While the offense might have been inconsistent, the bullpen not always reliable, and the manager a strategic misfit, the Mets still boasted some brilliant starting pitching, the resurgence of Wright and Reyes, and the most spunk, heart and personality we had seen in years. If they weren’t quite as talented as the 2006 or 2007 teams, they were certainly better than the 2004 team that the front office misguidedly saw as a contender and forced that regrettable trade-deadline deal with Scott Kazmir.

With the current team still in the post-season discussion, the question the last few weeks has been what kind of starting pitcher or relief help does Omar shoot for before the deadline. Well, here’s the reality: If Jose Reyes continues to show he can break down at the drop of a bunt, Jason Bay provides no signs he will return to Red Sox form, K-Rod always a late-inning accident waiting to happen, and Mike Pelfrey reverting to his former psychological mess, no deadline deal will give this team a chance at meaningful October baseball.

But in spite of all those obvious problems, which may never abate, we still shouldn’t throw in the towel on this season, especially since the team can’t be eliminated from the race on July 31. If Omar can bring in a Ted Lilly or a Jake Westbrook and an Octavio Dotel (or reasonable facsimile) without trading top tier prospects, he should do it. However, he also should be pro-active and consider dealing guys on the current major league roster who might bring back some valuable pieces to build on for next season. It’s time for Omar Minaya to really get creative and make the Mets buyers AND sellers.

Here’s a list of six players Omar should consider moving who could bring back some building blocks without necessarily ending the team’s chances to win a wild-card this season.

1. Oliver Perez: I admit this is going to be a tough road to hoe. Who really wants a guy who gives head cases a bad name? Well, I would trade our problem child in Perez for the Cubs’ drama king Carlos Zambrano in a heartbeat. The Cubs want to unload the hot head and his hefty contract and they’d get salary relief even if they took back Perez’s contract. Zambrano still has upside if he gets a change of scenery and could help next year, if not this one.

2. Luis Castillo: I admit I’m not up on which contenders need a second baseman right now, but if there is one out there, I’d send them Luis for a prospect and eat some of his money in the process. Classic addition by subtraction.

3. Rod Barajas: His early season slugging helped the team get taken seriously in the race and he’s great in the clubhouse (although I think his backstopping prowess is overrated), but he’s completely collapsed offensively (he had plenty of holes to begin with) and at his age there is no future for him on this team. Did anyone ever think he was anything more than a stop-gap to begin with? The Mets have been floundering in the catching department since Piazza was done and the time has come to either develop Josh Thole or trade for a young catcher to build around. Thole and Blanco are more than adequate to get the job done for the rest of this year.

4. John Maine: I don’t know what we can get for him at this point, especially since he won’t be able to establish that he’s overcome his problems by the deadline. But given his mound demeanor, lack of command and poor secondary pitches, I’d get him out of here for a bag of balls.

5. Pedro Feliciano: Yes, I agree he has been abused by Jerry, but this guy couldn’t get a good right handed hitter out if his life depended on it and is probably one of the most overrated relief pitchers in the game. Yet he would still have tons of value to a division contender in a pennant race as a situational lefty. Honestly, would Takahashi or Pat Misch in the lefty relief role really be much of a downgrade, if any? Move Pedro now, get a mid-level prospect or two and give the job to one of those guys.

At this point, we pause because you’re probably thinking that number six on the list is going to be Jeff Francoeur. Well, we can’t really trade Frenchy. One, even if a team felt he had some value as a stopgap to replace an injured player, I don’t think that we can get much for him. Two, we would need him to play right field the rest of this year because the sixth player we should move is:

6. CARLOS BELTRAN: You heard me right. This is the scenario I’d been hoping for since Beltran’s operation; that he would come back before the trade deadline and get enough at bats to show teams he still had something in the tank. You want a pitcher to slot in behind Johan or a big time catching prospect or a future closer, then this is the guy who has to go. I’ve always respected Beltran’s talent but his passion has always been lacking and he hasn’t exactly provided inspiration since his return. He could be one hard slide into second base away from a career-ending injury. But do you think the Yankees would take him to play centerfield? In a heartbeat. How about Jesus Montero and that second base prospect Adams? How about moving Beltran to one of those contenders in the NL West, especially the Padres and Giants who desperately need a bat and have pitching chips to trade?

The Mets were as many as 9-11 games over .500 when Beltran was out. Let’s not screw around with Angel Pagan, keep him in centerfield, muddle along with Frenchy in right until the end of the year, and bring in a significant young player or pitcher for Beltran. Not to mention getting out from under the last year of that contract so we might be able to actually sign a GOOD free agent next year.

Omar, it’s time to think out of the box or you’ll be thinking on the unemployment line in October.

As for the Mets, we haven’t gotten the results I’ve been wanting and we haven’t looked so hot lately. But with Reyes back, Beltran back, and Wright looking solid, things could change and be looking up for the Mets in a hurry.

My choice for MetsMerized Player Of The Week is…Ike Davis!

The Mets did not have a good weekend down by the bay where they lost 3/4 and almost lost the 4th had a competent umpire been behind the plate. I could blame K-rod too, but he probably got enough bashing from the fan base when he blew another save. The one constant over the 4 game series was Ike Davis.

The hard hitting rookie has been a major asset to this team from the second he was called up. He’s on pace for 20+ HRs and I must admit he has impressed me with his glove as well as his bat. Over time, I think he is going to develop into a very respectable first baseman and probably make an AS appearance or two.

On the week, Ike batted .313 (5-16 ; 2 2B, 2 HR) with a .313/.313/.813 slash line overall. Scoring twice, Davis had 5 hits and drove in 5 runs, both tops on the team for the week. Add in 13 TB to that impressive 4 games and subtract the sad fact that he didn’t have a walk, and you’ll still get some good numbers for Davis. So congrats to Ike!

Who’s Hot And Who’s Not

Johan Santana : 1 GS, QS, ND : 8.0 IP, ER, 8 H, BB, 5 K.

R.A. Dickey : 1 GS, QS, L : 7.0 IP, ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K.

Angel Pagan : .071/.133/.143 ( 1-14 ; 2B), RBI, SB.

Rod Barajas : .000/.000/.000 (0-7, 1-17 last 17 ABs), K

Past Award Winners:

One Hit Wonders: Jeff Francoeur, Mike Pelfrey, Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, Johan Santana, David Wright.

So Nice He Did It Twice : Ike Davis.

Third Time’s The Charm: Jose Reyes.

Of Note 7/12-7/19

The All-Star game! Nice showing by David Wright, 2-2. Nice to see the NL pick up a win there.

We cannot blow this road trip.

Diamondbacks and then the Dodgers? Let’s do this!

LGM.

The Mets were able to walk away with the 4-3 victory over the Giants in the tenth inning to avoid the sweep. Santana pitched great but Frankie blew the save and Johan’s chance for his eighth win. Ike Davis shows that he is a clutch hitter with a big RBI double in the tenth inning to give the Mets their first win in the second half. Bittersweet victory, but a victory none the less.

Game Summary

Johan Santana couldn’t have given the Mets a better opportunity to win. He delivered another amazing start, but ends up with the no-decision because of the same two usual reasons: not enough offense and Frankie Rodriguez. This story is getting old and Santana deserves better. He pitched eight strong innings, only giving up one run on eight hits. He walked one and struck out five. He had 115 pitches after the eighth inning and I highly doubt he could have gone out there for the ninth, but the Mets still should have gave him the opportunity to win the game himself. I mean, come on Jerry, how many times have you seen the bullpen cost Santana a win? Seriously! Nice job Santana, sorry the Mets couldn’t give you your well deserved win.

Where to begin with Francisco Rodriguez? He gave up two base hits before getting the first out in the ninth inning. Followed by a two-run single to Ishikawa to tie the game and saddle him with his sixth blown save of the season. If it wasn’t for Francoeur, it would have been the end of the game. K-Rod would later come back to pitch the tenth inning. He was able to get the first two batters out, but followed up by allowing a two out double. Manuel signaled for Frankie to intentionally walk the next batter, who would have been the winning run. (Uh, what was that all about?) However, Frankie was able to strike out the last batter, and after all the dust settled, the Mets walked away with a bittersweet victory in the tenth inning.

Terrible job by the home plate umpire whose many bad calls screwed both teams. He had a bad call on a Frankie pitch that was a strike, but called it a ball and got plenty of heat about it. He followed that up  by calling the Giants runner out at home plate, when he was safe by a mile. This did save the Mets the losing run, however. Of course, those two poor calls were not to be overshadowed by a ball that Huff hit in front of home plate and everyone was confused on whether the ball was fair or foul. Blanco threw it to first anyway and got the runner out to send the game into extra innings. However, the home plate umpire (who called the ball fair) let the third base umpire call the ball foul and sent everybody into a tizzy about the call that shouldn’t have been the third base umpire’s call to begin with. Damn this is confusing. The umps made such a mess of this game and were soundly booed after the game.

Back to the Mets… The offense did not score runs in bunches for Santana as usual, however, they did give him enough run support that could have given him the win if K-Rod’s ninth inning disaster didn’t happen.

Francoeur, Tejada, and Blanco all had 0-fer’s with Francoeur striking out three times. Thole needs to be starting everyday now and Tejada is not likely to be sticking around in the majors when Castillo returns on Monday.

David Wright had one hit, a solo homerun to left center, his 15th of the season. Justin Turner had one hit, the first double of his career, also his first hit of the season. Jason Bay had a three hit night, however, all of them were singles.

Ike Davis had the biggest offensive output once again. He had three hits and two RBIs, including a clutch double in the tenth inning to score Bay and give the Mets the lead and the win. Ike has shown that he is legit, and not just with his power, but the way he hits the ball into gaps and off of the walls. He would have had a homerun if the wall in right field was three feet shorter. We Like Ike!

Turning Point

The Ike Davis RBI double in the tenth inning gave the Mets their winning run.

Game Ball

Ike Davis deserves high praise, however, I’m giving the game ball to Johan Santana. Seeing as it’s the only thing Santana is able to walk away with.

Up Next

Mets head to the desert as they begin a three game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mike Pelfrey (10-4) will start the first game going up against Ian Kennedy (4-7). Kennedy was very impressive in his last start going eight innings, only giving up one run, three hits and striking out nine against the Giants. Game time is 9:40 PM.

Here’s something I read this morning by Steve Popper of The Record who also happens to be one of my favorite beat writers covering the Mets.

Steve caused me to chuckle when he started out this morning’s column with a warning to his readers,

I’m going to make the most common sense argument – and one that is going to irritate a lot of Mets fans. The Mets should give Jerry Manuel an extension.

Did you chuckle or did you throw up a little in your mouth? I figure those are the only two reactions that would come from a Mets fans after reading those lines. All kidding aside though, I thought this would make for an interesting Sunday morning debate on MMO. Steve does put up a strong case in defense of an extension, and the idea may not be as crazy as it sounds.

Manuel is managing the team under the pressure that each new day may be his last. It’s not an easy environment to succeed in, and for most managers it almost always is doomed to failure, something Manuel has not allowed to happen.

Steve gives you the long and short of it, and even criticizes Manuel for how he’s dealt with the Jose Reyes injuries, but in his closing argument for an extension, he writes:

So Manuel has shown little patience for struggles of any individual player, desperately trying to mix and match. Mike Jacobs, the opening day cleanup hitter? Gone. John Maine and Oliver Perez? A long shot that you’ll see them again in the rotation. Development of kids? If you can play today, you’re in. Welcome aboard Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada — immediately.

You can’t blame Manuel. But it was a situation that Willie Randolph was in before him.

The only power that a manager has in a players game is longevity — the knowledge that he will be here longer than the player. Today, no one in the Mets’ clubhouse would believe that.

So for Manuel to be able to make the right decision the Mets need to take that out of the equation. If he’s “the Man,” let the team know. Let Manuel know.

Yesterday, I read a few comments from our readers who I know would have a differing opinion on the matter. To add some balance to this argument, I wanted to include a couple of them here in case you missed them.

Tomterif wrote: The upside of what could become a disastrous road trip? Jerry might be canned before coming back to Citi Field. At least I hope the Wilpons are ballsy enough to cut the cord on this guy this late in the season. I’m not wishing for the Mets to have a horrid trip but if it they can lose enough to cost Jerry his job yet still stay in the race, I’ll take it. Anything to get this guy out of here (and Omar too, if he doesn’t come up with anything on the trade front).

Kranepool7 wrote: Is there anyone, players included, that exuded with confidence after seeing the lineup Manuel posted before last nights game? Manuel is a first class moron, and I cant believe you failed to mention him as one of the culprits in your blog. First of all, how do you give your worst offensive player Tejada, the most at-bats by putting him at leadoff? Then, Jason Bay who hasn’t hit a lick in over a month is batting second? I would rather have Thole batting second because throughout his major and minor league career, he has proven to be a pure contact hitter and patient at the plate, a perfect number two.

I wonder how they feel about giving Jerry Manuel an extension?

As for me, I would rather let the season play out before making that decision. I always felt that it was unfair to judge Manuel last season because of the record amount of injuries, and that he deserved at least one full season under somewhat normal circumstances before making the decision to fire him or giving him an extension.

Game Summary

Hisanori Takahashi probably needs to be back in the bullpen where he has shown that he is a reliable seventh and even eighth inning man. Since his start against the Yankees, he hasn’t shown that he can keep the Mets in the game. He gave up six runs on seven hits including two home runs in just 2.2 innings pitched. He walked one and struck out two batters. Takahashi is a bullpen guy and the Mets need a replacement starting pitcher. Possibly a trade, possibly bringing up Pat Misch, maybe bringing up Oliver Perez?! It’s a possibility.

Fernando Nieve came in to aid the ailing Takahashi and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, and stuck out two. Haven’t seen Nieve pitch much lately, maybe Manuel is giving him all of the rest he didn’t get in April.

Raul Valdes pitched 2.1 innings in relief. Less emphasis on the relief, however. He gave up two runs on three hits, walked one and struck out three. Francisco Rodriguez pitched his first game in three days. “He needs the work.” He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out two batters.

Carlos Beltran and Ike Davis provided most of the offense in the game. Beltran went 2-4 with his first triple and a run scored. Ike Davis also had a two hit night, belting a pair of long homeruns. He picked up three RBIs and scored two runs. When he hits homeruns, he really hits ‘em. The first one went into McCovey Cove, while the second one went to straight center. This is Ike’s second two homer game of the season. His first time was also against the Giants.

David Wright, Josh Thole, and Chris Carter each had a hit. Wright went 1-3 with an RBI, while Thole and Carter both had pinch hit singles.

Ruben Tejada continues to be a target for pitchers as he got plunked in the shoulders during the ninth inning. That is his sixth hit-by-pitch this season.

Interesting note: At one point Matt Cain was standing on third. I wonder if Wright and Cain had a conversation about Cain plunking him in the head last year that sent him to the hospital.

Turning Point

The Buster Posey solo home run in the third inning was the big blow that pushed the Giants too far for the Mets to comeback.

Game Ball

Ike Davis hit two huge homeruns and knocked in three of the Mets runs tonight.

Up Next

Johan Santana looks to avoid the sweep as he will be going up against Jonathon Sanchez. Both pitchers are looking for their eighth win of the season. Should be a good lefty vs. lefty match up. Game time is 4:05 PM.

Ollie certainly didn’t endear himself to manager Jerry Manuel with his unwillingness to work out his problems in AAA, and opting instead to waste a roster spot in the back of the bullpen as a seldom used mop-up man.

Since beginning the 30 day clock on his minor league rehab, many fans wondered exactly how the Mets would handle his imminent return. Now we may have an answer.

Adam Rubin of ESPN NY has reported that the Mets are now trying to trade Oliver Perez according to an American League source.

In one scenario, the Mets approached the Kansas City Royals about exchanging Perez for right-hander Gil Meche (0-4, 6.66 ERA in nine starts). Meche hasn’t even pitched since May 25 because of shoulder bursitis. Meche’s contract, like Perez’s deal, runs through 2011 and is for an identical $12 million a season.

Perez will make his final rehab appearance on Saturday for Triple-A Buffalo. Even if he fares better than he did in his last starts when he walked five, hit two batters and had two wild pitches in five innings, it looks like Ollie’s days with the Mets are numbered. In fact, I’d even go as far as saying that if they can’t unload Perez in a trade, the odds are 50/50 that he could be released.