Mets at Cubs Series Preview

The Mets are playing terribly, and they need a team to beat up on. They have played three out of their last four series against teams above .500 and have suffered badly, losing six of their last seven games. Luckily, they play the Cubs this weekend, who, even though they might be better than the Mets, they are certainly easier to beat than the Pirates and Braves.

The Cubs are rebuilding. That’s very, very clear. Theo Epstein and the rest of Chicago’s front office is trying to build a team from the talented young core they have in place. So far, their plan seems to be working out well. Anthony Rizzo looks like he is a future star and Starlin Castro is shaping up to be a cornerstone piece at shortstop.

The Cubbie pitching staff is getting younger and with Jeff Samardzjia and Jackson to build their rotation around, they have a solid foundation for a playoff team. However, while the Cubs are building, they are still far off from being a playoff contender. They are currently 22nd in runs scored, and don’t have too many offensive threats. They have been carried almost exclusively by Rizzo and David DeJesus this season, rak=nking 24th in On-Base Percentage as a club. If it weren’t for those two, the offense would be one of, if not the worst in baseball. On the pitching side, their starting rotation has been solid, even without Matt Garza, but the bullpen has been awful. Aside from Kevin Gregg, who has been fantastic as Chicago’s closer as of late, they have received almost no consistent production out of the bullpen. Carlos Marmol has been himself (and therefore awful) and Kyuji Fujikawa has been unable to take his place. The Cubs as a team rank 22nd in baseball in bullpen ERA, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to get any better.

Long-term, while the Cubs are on the rise, they are still a very weak offensive team and have a long way to go before they become contenders. While two of the three pitching matchups this series don’t look great for the Mets, the series should be rather close.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Matt Harvey, RHP (56.1 IP, 256 ERA+, 4.43 K/BB) vs. Edwin Jackson, RHP (43.1 IP, 66 ERA+, 2.10 K/BB)

Jackson has failed to live up to expectations after signing a four-year, $52 million deal with the Cubs this winter. His 6.02 ERA is the worst on the Cubs among starters. He has been uncharacteristically wild, walking 4.2 batters per nine innings. Although some of his walk numbers from early on in his career are ugly, he has kept them largely under control the past few seasons. At least until now. He has failed to go more than six innings in a start this season. In his last start on May 11, he gave up two runs on four hits in 5.1 innings against the Nationals, walking two and striking out three.

Game 2:  Jeremy Hefner, RHP (41 IP, 80 ERA+, 1.69 K/BB) vs. Scott Feldman RHP (42.2 IP, 156 ERA+, 1.94 K/BB)

Feldman, 30, is your typical journey man starting pitcher. He pitched with Texas for eight years, in which he had a 4.81 ERA in 204 appearances. He has been much better since coming to the Cubs. He has put together a string of four outstanding starts, including his outing on April 26 against the Padres in which he gave up only two runs on three hits in nine innings, striking out 12 and walking a single batter. In his last start on May 12, he allowed one run on three hits in five innings against the Nationals.

Game 3: Dillon Gee, RHP (39.2 IP, 60 ERA+, 1.69 K/BB) vs. Travis Wood, LHP (53.1 IP, 195 ERA+, 2.12 K/BB)

Despite posting mediocre numbers from 2010 through 2012, Wood has been incredible this season. He leads the team with a 2.03 ERA in eight starts and has given up only 5.4 hits per nine innings. What has been the key to his success? Most likely luck. Wood hasn’t changed anything significant in terms of his approach and none of his pitches have gotten significantly better. However, his .193 BABIP makes it seem like he might come down to Earth soon. Wood shut out the Rockies over seven innings in his last start, allowing just two hits.

Series Notes

The Mets snapped their six-game losing streak with a 5-2 win at St. Louis yesterday…New York is 3-7 in its last 10 games…The Mets are 6-11 on the road this year.

In addition to this three-game series vs. the Cubs, the Mets will return to Chicago later this year to play the White Sox in a two-game series (June 25-26).

The Mets will play four straight day games (yesterday in St. Louis and three in Chicago) for the first time since September 3-6, 2010 (three in Chicago and one in Washington)…New York is 7-10 in day games…David Wright is batting .379 during day games, the fourth-highest average in the National League.

Daniel Murphy went 4-4 with two doubles and a walk on Thursday…The four hits tied his career-high…It was the eighth time he’s collected four hits in a game, last on April 12 at Minnesota…Murphy is 10-for-his-last-16 (.625) over his last four games and currently has a five-game hitting streak (11-20, .550) …Murphy is batting .394 on the road this season, the best mark in the NL and is second in the majors.

The Mets scored five runs yesterday but have scored three or fewer runs in eight of their last 10 games and in 13 of their last 19 games…New York is averaging 4.34 runs per game, the fifth-most in the NL and the 14th-most in the majors.

New York is hitting .238 (15-63) with runners in scoring position over its last 10 games…The Mets are fifth in the NL and 12th in the majors with a .266 (76-286) batting average with RISP…The club has 11 home runs in such situations, tied for the fifth most in the majors…John Buck has four of those home runs, tied for second in the majors…

David Wright is hitting .441 (15-34) with RISP, the fifth-best mark in the National League…As a team the Mets have stranded 256 runners, including eight yesterday, tied for 25th in the majors.

John Buck had one RBI yesterday and is tied for third in the NL with 31 RBI…Buck’s 31 RBI lead all catchers…San Francisco’s Buster Posey is second with 22 RBI.

Marlon Byrd is 4-for-his-last 8 (.500)…He is seven hits shy of 1,100 for his career…Byrd has at least one hit in seven of eight games this month (10-27, .370) with two home runs and six RBI.

Bobby Parnell has three wins and two saves this month…Parnell has hurled 6.0 scoreless frames in May…He leads all relievers with four wins and is eighth in the NL with a 1.04 ERA (min. 17.0 innings).

Lately, it seems the only thing the Mets excel at is finding ways to lose.

Shaun Marcum had his first quality start as a Met, going 6.2 innings allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while walking one and punching out three. He threw 96 pitches, 65 of which for strikes, however fell to 0-4 on the year in easily his best effort for the Amazin’s this season.

After matching goose eggs with the Cardinal’s young phenom Shelby MIller, things got rocky in the bottom of the fourth. With Matt Holliday on first and two out, Jon Jay roped a double to Mike Baxter in right that went to the wall. Seeing that he didn’t have a play on Holliday, who came around to score, Daniel Murphy threw to third and pinned Jay in a run down. Apparently giving up, Jay stood almost still in front of Wright for a routine play to tag him. Wright went to lay the tag on, but dropped the ball. As it skidded into the infield, Jay was able to safely make it to third base, costing Wright just his third error on the year. Tony Cruz would follow up with a knock to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Looking overmatched at the plate, the offense was completely anemic against Miller who did not have his best stuff today. He held the Mets off the board through 5.2 frames before being relieved by Randy Choate for the last out of the sixth. In the seventh against Seth Maness, John Buck got himself on base with a one out single, setting the table Rick Ankiel. On the seventh pitch of the at bat with a full count, Ankiel took a 90mph sinker deep to center to tie up the ballgame at two. Maybe the Mets luck is finally starting to turn around right?

Wrong. In the bottom half of the frame, Marcum got the first two outs but got himself into trouble with runners on first and third. After which he was lifted for this year’s go-to lefty, Scott Rice. Rice came on to face the former-Met Ty Wigginton, and on the first-pitch of the at-bat, threw a breaking ball that careened off John Buck and to the backstop, scoring the lead run in Daniel Descalso.

After the end of the seventh, the life was sucked out of the Mets. Carlos Beltran walked to lead off the eighth. Matt Holliday grounded into what would be a routine double-play, but the throw from Murphy sailed into the home dugout, allowing him to go to second. Allen Craig would also be walked to create a nice opportunity for Yadier Molina, who came through with a base hit to drive in the insurance run and make it 4-2.

After the wild pitch from Rice, the offense showed little fight as they went down 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth to end the game.

John Buck had a nice day at the plate, but a horrible one on the basepaths as he was doubled off on a Ruben Tejada liner that was caught, then made a boneheaded steal attempt, resulting in the slow-footed backstop being picked off at second. That plus the key wild pitch, and it was overall a night to forget for Buck.

The offense continues to be ice cold. Ike Davis and Lucas Duda both had 0-fers in this game.

The Mets just aren’t playing good baseball, it is as simple as that. They are giving opposing teams extra outs with sloppy D and giving away at-bats with an inept lineup.

Two positives to take away from this one however was the encouraging start from Marcum, and the solid offensive effort by Rick Ankiel.

The Mets have now lost six-games in a row for the second time this season and are 8-18 in their last 26 games. They now have the third worst record in baseball at 14-23, nine games under .500. Only Houston and Miami are worse.

Jonathon Niese (2-4, 5.93 ERA) opposes right-hander Adam Wainwright (5-2, 2.30) in the series finale on Thursday at 1:45 PM. The Mets look to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals which last happened in 1982 when Keith Hernandez played for St. Louis.

The concept of fault lines in the media is something we all witness on a daily basis, but rarely recognize. Fault lines are a tool that help shape the perception of ourselves, others and events around us. The ones most are familiar with are culture and gender, but they can also contain factors of age, socioeconomic status and geographical location of the subject.

Some of these categories can help us in understanding the enigma that is Jordany Valdespin.

As I surf around the web at the plethora of voices representing the Mets, I can’t help but notice one underlying theme: Valdespin bothers people. That’s fine. This is nothing new. We’re all entitled to our own opinions, myself included.

Valdespin was the subject of another Mets controversy when he didn’t attend a batting practice session before Friday night’s game in Atlanta. Here’s what we know from recent reports:

• Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork reports Valdespin was asked to attend batting practice before Friday night’s game and did not show up.
• Rubin also reports that Valdespin said to ESPNDeportes’ Marly Rivera that he had been told not to attend by a coach.

The rest is speculation. It’s safe to say general consensus is that Mets fans and media are upset. Rubin went on to say that “team insiders” said the Mets were “irked” by the incident.

“Anyway, it is all part of the Valdespin package,” Rubin writes.

Let me come full circle in regards to fault lines. I’m 24 years old. Valdespin is 25. I’m not here to speak on behalf of Valdespin because we’re a year apart in age, but let me present this analogy:

If one of my professors told me that coming to a class was voluntary, I might not go. That shouldn’t besmirch my academic track record or define who I am as a student. That doesn’t represent the Nelson “package.” I currently hold a 3.7 GPA and consider myself a good student. That doesn’t mean I’m going to show up to every extracurricular activity that’s asked of me. I have a life outside of school.

I’m willing to acknowledge that there’s a difference between going to college and playing baseball. I pay for school and Valdespin gets paid to play baseball, but the principle is the same. We both possess lives outside of what we spend a majority of our time doing. We shouldn’t immediately make a decision about Valdespin because of media priming. If you ask me to attend something voluntary, there’s a chance I might not go.

Maybe Valdespin felt the need to rest a nagging injury. Maybe he wanted to hang out with his friends. Maybe his dog died. Who knows? My point is that this seems more like a matter of opportunity cost than being mature. I’ll do my best to attend most extracurricular activities, which we have no reason to believe Valdespin doesn’t as Michael Baron of MetsBlog writes:

“Now, Valdespin has participated in early batting practice many times since joining the Mets last year, and he has done so on the road as well.”

But sometimes I need a break from the grind. Baron also writes:

“Perhaps if he conformed to the culture and practices of the team consistently, he would reap the rewards of his performances and talents and be respected a little more as well…”

This is where the cultural fault line comes into play. If I own a store and want someone to show up to work then I tell them to show up. I don’t turn it into a test and then get upset when the person doesn’t pass. That’s not an acceptable culture by any rational standards.

I’ve spent a lot of time tutoring international students around my own age and most take instruction quite literally. A coach told Valdespin not to come to practice so he didn’t go. That’s all we have to go on. Apparently that makes him immature. That seems a bit unfair. I would even venture to say that it’s immature of the Mets to be upset that Valdespin didn’t pick up on a hint that they think he should have taken.

At the end of the day, many who think unfavorably of Valdespin won’t read this. If they do, they’ll quickly click away. It’s called the cognitive dissonance theory and it basically means that people will go out of their way to imbibe information that conforms to their already established belief systems to prevent conflict of thought. It just seems like El Dramático gets thrown under the bus quite often and if I or other MMO contributors don’t step out and say something, he’ll fall victim to the throws of negative media. Such is the world we live in, I suppose.

What are your thoughts on the portrayal of El Dramático?

The Braves acquired both Upton brothers this offseason.

The Braves made headlines this offseason with their acquisition of B.J. Upton in November, signing him to a five year deal worth about $75 million. However, just when the offseason was winding down and it appeared the Braves were done, they surprised everyone and acquired B.J.’s brother Justin from the Diamondbacks. The tandem added a boost to the Atlanta offense that they so badly needed, and had some experts picking them to challenge the Nationals for the NL crown.

Thus far, it appears the Braves made the right move, at least with Justin Upton. If the season ended today, he would be the unanimous MVP. Upton is leading the majors with 12 home runs, three more than anyone else. That, to go along with a not-too-shabby .287/.387/.693 has carried the otherwise mediocre Braves offense.

In reality, it has been the pitching that has carried the Atlanta Braves this season. Despite trading Tommy Hanson this winter, the Braves lead baseball in team ERA with an outstanding 3.10 mark coming into today’s action. More specifically, it has been their bullpen, which has been even stronger than last year’s. Craig Kimbrel has continued his dominance, striking out 15 batters in 10.2 innings. Kimbrel and Jordan Walden, who the Braves received in the Tommy Hanson trade, are among five relievers with at least ten innings pitched and an ERA under two. Compare that to the Mets, who have two such pitchers.

This Braves team is good (yes, even better than the Marlins if you can believe it) and will put up a very tough fight, especially in close games. The key for the Mets will be scoring runs off their starting pitching, because  if they trail in the late innings, the odds are stacked against them.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Shaun Marcum (5.2 IP, 50 ERA+, 1.33 K/BB) vs. Mike Minor (31.2 IP, 125 ERA+, 5.40 K/BB)

Minor, 25, was selected seventh overall in the 2009 draft by the Braves and quickly rose to stardom in their minor league system. Once he reached the big leagues, he never pitched like the ace some thought he could become. Minor came into the season with a career ERA of 4.37 in 302.2 career innings. This year, however, has been much better for him, at least so far. Over five starts, he has a 3.13 ERA and career-best 1.4 BB/9 rate. He was roughed up for six runs in 6.2 innings against the juggernaut Detroit offense, but had a 1.80 ERA in four starts coming into that outing.

Game 2: Jonathon Niese (32.2 IP, 112 ERA+, 1.31 K/BB) vs. Julio Teheran (28.1 IP, 77 ERA+, 2.50 K/BB)

Teheran has been a highly-regarded prospect since his breakout year in the minors in 2009. He worked his way through the minors fairly quickly, until stalling at Triple-A last season. Coming off a dominant season in Triple-A in 2011, Teheran failed to earn a job out of spring training, and was sent back. Once he was back in the minors, Teheran wasn’t the same pitcher. His 3.0 walks per nine wasn’t terrible, but his 6.7 strikeouts was a career-low. What was most concerning was the 18 home runs he gave up, doubling his previous career-worst of nine. Teheran has a 5.08 ERA in five starts, striking out 20 and walking eight in 28.1 innings.

Game 3: Matt Harvey (40.1 IP, 237 ERA+, 3.83 K/BB) vs. Tim Hudson (35 IP, 101 ERA+, 2.18 K/BB)

Even at age 37, Hudson continues to be the rock of the Atlanta rotation. In 11 of his past 12 seasons, Hudson has posted an ERA below four. This year, he has a 3.86 ERA in 35 innings over six starts. In his last outing, Hudson shut down the Nationals, holding them to one run on three hits in seven innings on only 96 pitches.

Series News & Notes

• The Mets sent down a struggling Collin Cowgill today in favor of the red-hot Andrew Brown, who has been tearing it up with the Las Vegas 51s. Brown was hitting .367 with a .440 On-Base Percentage and two home runs in 25 games.
• Jordany Valdespin slugged a three-run pinch-hit home run on Wednesday to give the Mets a 5-4 lead…It was the Mets first pinch-hit home run of the year and the sixth pinch-hit of Valdespin’s brief career…He is tied for second all-time on the club’s pinch-hit home run list.
• New York has scored three or fewer runs in eight of itslast 12 games and is hitting .202 (89-441) over that span…Overall, the Mets are seventh in the majors scoring 4.85 runs per game.
• Craig Kimbrel recorded his 98th career save Monday in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Washington…Kimbrel’s career save percentage of 89.1 (98/110) ranks fi fth all-time among pitchers with at least 100 save opportunities (see chart at right)…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the quickest anyone has ever reached 100 career saves was Eric Gagne, who did in his 104th opportunity, followed by John Smoltz (107th) and Joakim Soria (112th)…Kimbrel could tie Soria for third all time if he can convert each of his next two opportunities.
• The Atlanta bullpen’s homerless streak was snapped at 21 games last Friday (April 26) at Detroit when reliever Anthony Varvaro surrendered a three-run shot in the fourth inning…Since the franchise moved to Atlanta (1966), that was the furthest into a season (21 games) that a Braves team has gone without the bullpen allowing a home run.

What can be said about last night’s Mets game that hasn’t already been said about my high school prom.

It was long, nobody could score and it turned out to be a huge waste of time.

They say hindsight is 20/20, but my foresight in this one wasn’t so bad either. There were a few poor decisions that were easily predictable.

I’m still flabbergasted by Terry Collins’ inexplicable decision to take Jordany Valdespin out for defensive purposes and put in…Collin Cowgill. Huh? The move proved costly after Cowgill misplayed a routine fly ball in centerfield that lead to a game-tying run.

It’s a good thing no one was actually at the ballpark to see this exercise in futility. For all the Mets fans on the East Coast who stayed up past midnight, I offer my condolences. Luckily, I live on the West Coast and only had to keep my eyelids open till 9:45 p.m. They often fell closed because my brain refused to subject myself to this horrendous game willingly.

Truth was stranger than fiction in this one. Matt Harvey looked off, but still pitched well enough to keep the Mets in it to win. The bullpen played great except for Bobby Parnell. Parnell has been the only solid arm in the ‘pen thus far, but blew the save. They Mets offense just couldn’t get anything going offensively and went 1-18 with RISP and left 14 men on base. Ugh. I haven’t seen so many people stranded since I watched Shutter Island.

Baseball is a team sport and the team was collectively bad. Shaun Marcum had a chance to get his first win of the season, but blew a one-run lead in the bottom of the 15th, adding further insult to an already downtrodden Mets rotation.

There were some bright spots though. Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada put in good days at the plate. John Buck is continuing his incredible April with another home run off that God-awful sculpture in left-center. As I’ve been saying, he could be a valuable trade chip down the line. Harvey didn’t have his best stuff, but it’s easy to tell he’s an elite pitcher because his off days are better than most pitchers’ on days.

I’m not sure where the Mets go from here. You can’t get much more rock bottom than this. I imagine other teams are laughing at the Mets. Losing 4-3 in 15 innings to the Marlins is definitely a low point. I doubt opposing team get too fearful when they see the Mets coming up on the schedule. It’s not even the end of April and the towels already look ripe for throwing in. It already feels like June.

Oh, well. I guess I’ll put my Mets hat back on and watch people pass me by as they look at it in obscurity. Such is being a Mets fan I suppose. It’s getting harder to find the silver linings these days. The Mets are on pace to lose 90 plus games this season. It’s still early, but if I have to make any more comparisons to my forgettable years in high school, I might start taking peoples heads Robb Stark-style.

What did you think of last night’s game?

The only decent player on Miami’s roster is Giancarlo Stanton, of course, but even he has been on-and-off this season. He didn’t hit his first home run until his 18th game of the season two nights ago against the Cubs. He went on to hit two on Sunday, but his power numbers still have left much to be desired. His walk numbers and BABIP are at normal levels for Stanton, so perhaps it’s the shoulder contusion that Stanton suffered a few weeks ago which has been bringing down his production.

Overall, the Marlins are a team the Mets should handily beat. Although some cynics predicted the Mets to compete with the Marlins for last place, that seems unlikely with the way the Marlins have started the season. Hopefully the Mets will be able to use this series to get back on track.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Matt Harvey, RHP (35 IP, 233 ERA+, 3.90 K/BB) vs. Jose Fernandez, RHP (20 IP, 84 ERA+, 2.38 K/BB)

The Mets saw Fernandez make his big league debut against them on April 7, when he allowed one run on three hits in five innings while striking out eight. He has had one good start and two iffy ones since then. In his last start, which came against Minnesota, he gave up four runs on six hits in five innings. In his start before that, he gave up five earned in four innings against the Reds. One thing to take note of in game one of this series will be Fernandez’s pitch count. The Marlins have coddled him thus far, keeping him around 8- pitches in each of his starts.

Game 2: Jeremy Hefner, RHP (21 IP, 70 ERA+, 1.09 K/BB) vs. Kevin Slowey, RHP (29.2 IP, 155 ERA+, 3.50 K/BB)

After spending an injury-riddled 2012 season with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, the once top prospect Slowey got another shot with the Marlins. Slowey has been their best pitcher so far, putting up a team-best 2.43 ERA. It’s hard to say long-term whether Slowey can hold up, but he has been very good so far and keeping his walk numbers down, which he has always been known for. In his last start against the Cubs, Slowey gave up three runs in six innings while striking out six and not walking a batter.

Game 3: Dillon Gee, RHP (25.2 IP, 61 ERA+, 2.00 K/BB) vs. Wade LeBlanc, LHP (24.2 IP, 61 ERA+, 2.00 K/BB)

LeBlanc was traded to Miami for John Baker in November 2011 after four years with the Padres. LeBlanc spent last season as a starter and reliever for the Marlins, posting a 3.67 ERA in 25 games, nine of them starts. He hasn’t been as terrible as his numbers might say. His ERA is inflated from his April 15 start in which he let up seven runs in 3.2 innings against the Nationals. He has otherwise been decent. In his last start against Chicago, he gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings.

Series News & Notes

• Adeiny Hechavarria, who you might remember from the last series these two teams played, suffered a bruised elbow on April 16 and was placed on the disabled list the next day. Hechavattia went 4-for-10 in the last series against the Mets in early April.
• New York embarks on its second road trip of the year with three games in Miami and then three contests in Atlanta…The Mets will play 13 of their next 19 away from Citi Field…New York went 3-5 on its first road trip of the season…The Mets were 38-43 on the road in 2012.
• David Wright is tied for second in the majors with 19 walks and Lucas Duda is tied for fourth in the majors with 18…The Mets have drawn 87 walks, tied for the fifth-most in the majors.
• David Wright is day-to-day with a stiff neck. He will miss the first game of the series.
• The Mets have hit at least one home run in 17 of their 23 games and 25 on the year, tied for the sixth-most in the National League…The Mets have hit three grand slams to lead the majors.
• John Buck’s eight home runs tie him for the third-most by a Met during the month of April with Dave Kingman (1982), Jeff Kent (1994), Todd Hundley (1996) and Mike Piazza(2001)…Carlos Delgado (2006) and Dave Kingman (1976) hold the club record with nine home runs in the month of April.

El Dramático

I felt so good after last night’s game that I decided to write two posts. This begins my official campaign to nickname Jordany Valdespin.

It’s a great feeling to hit your first home run of the season. That’s not enough for Valdespin though. He has to hit a walk-off home run. Yeah, that should be good enough for ‘Spin, right?

Wrong.

His first home run of the season has to be a walk-off grand slam because that’s just who he is. He’s flamboyant. He’s eccentric. You love and hate him in the same breath, but you can’t deny his flair for dramatics. With that being said, I hear by dub him (in my best Spanish accent): El Dramático.

Just look at him. Whenever he walks into the batter’s box, you know there’s a chance of him launching a ball about 500 feet. The way he shuffles his feet like an experienced salsa dancer to escape a pitch, the way he kicks his back leg out behind home plate on his aggressive swing—it’s all so dramatic, wouldn’t you say?

He makes shoestring catches and sliding grabs, almost as if he envisions himself being replayed in slow motion over a televised broadcast. Some call his demeanor “showboating.” Others, like me, call it personality. It’s something the Mets have lacked or had it be detrimental and alienating in the past.

El Dramático has a more human side too. He cares for his teammates. I’m not sure if anyone caught it, but at one point during the game, Matt Harvey walked into the dugout and was greeted by ‘Spin, who was waiting for him with a Gatorade cup and a pat of the back. It was a small moment, but he isn’t sulking in the corner wondering why Terry Collins refuses to give him playing time. He’s more involved and engaged. When his number was called, he was ready.

His night started on the bench, but El Dramático finished it under a sea of blue pinstripes.

It’s time we started embracing ‘Spin as one of our own. He will have his off games, as even the greatest players do. When he is on stage, you can’t help but watch and see what the next act has in store. So let this campaign go forth with the moniker: El Dramático.

What are your thoughts on El Dramático so far?

The New York Mets (9-8) bounced back from a disappointing 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday, and took the series with a convincing 2-0 win this afternoon at Citi Field. The team is once again, a game over .500 for the year.

Dillon Gee bounced back from a couple of brutal starts and tossed 5.2 innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out six. All three walks came in the sixth inning, when Terry Collins called for LaTroy Hawkins to come in and get the last out of the inning.

This was by no means a dominating start for Gee, but it was certainly an improvement and a step in the right direction. One thing Gee did well was use his changeup very effectively, and he definitely had it working today. We’ll need to see more efforts like this from Gee before we can sit back and relax. I like Gee, but to me he is a solid number five pitcher who the Mets have slotted in the three slot.

The Mets got on the board in the second inning thanks to a 450 foot blast by John Buck of Nats starter Jordan Zimmermann. The Mets catcher launched a solo shot into the second deck in left field, otherwise known as “no-man’s-land” – or as Gary Cohen called it, “Bryce Harper Territory.”

Mike Baxter plated the second run when he lifted one to center field to score David Wright on the sac-fly in the fourth.

The road trip that began with a stumble in Philadelphia mercifully ended with a fall this afternoon in freezing Denver. The Mets left Citi Field at 4-2 and will arrive home tomorrow at 7-7. After losing two of three to the Phillies, the Mets won two in Minnesota in brutal conditions, then lost three games in Colorado, including today’s 11-3 mauling of Jon Niese, and of course, the bullpen.

ON THE MOUND:

Niese was not effective, and in his worst start of the season gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk in six innings. Technically, that’s a quality start, but Niese would agree that it was not. The Rockies ripped the Mets’ pen for six runs after two outs in the seventh. For the series, the bullpen gave up 18 runs on 22 hits in 11 innings.

AT THE PLATE:

David Wright went 2-for-3 with two RBI. The top three in the order, Jordany Valdespin, Daniel Murphy and Wright each had two hits. The Mets had eight total. … Ike Davis went 1-for-4 to raise his average to .146. No, they did not stop the game to give him the ball after the hit. … Since his grand slam last Friday in Minnesota, John Buck has gone 2-for-16.

METS MUSINGS:

Matt Harvey wasn’t around to watch the carnage as he took an early flight to New York in preparation for Friday’s start against the Washington Nationals.

Frank Francisco pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday night in a rehab assignment. There is no timetable for his return.

Terry Collins said not to expect any prospect be brought up soon.

Shaun Marcum threw 41 pitches today in an extended spring training game today in Port St. Lucie. He was scheduled to throw 65 pitches. Collins said Marcum must throw 90 pitches in five days, and then possibly another game before he’s activated. The Mets aren’t scheduled to need a fifth starter until April 27.

Lucas Duda did not play because of tightness in his back. The Mets wouldn’t say if he would be available Friday.

Lefty reliever Josh Edgin gave up two runs and has been hit for six in his last two appearances.

Triple-A catcher Travis d’Arnaud will be in New York Friday to have his broken left foot examined. GM Sandy Alderson said he doesn’t know if surgery will be required. That should be determined tomorrow.

ON DECK:

The Mets are home Friday to start a three-game series against Washington, beginning with the marquee match-up of Harvey against Stephen Strasburg.

Car-Go was a one-man wrecking crew on Tuesday.

After losing the first game of their doubleheader with the Colorado Rockies 8-4, it looked as though the Mets might pull out a win in the finale after taking a commanding 8-1 lead through the top of the fifth. But it all fell apart as the blunders, errors and shoddy pitching saw the Rockies mount a shocking 10th inning 9-8 comeback victory to send the Mets reeling and gingerly walking back to the comfort of their warm and quiet clubhouse.

Mets reliever Greg Burke was called upon to pitch to the dangerous Carlos Gonzalez with two outs in the 10th and ended up walking the slugger to set the stage. Then Michael Cuddyer hits a sharp grounder that deflected off of the outstretched glove of David Wright at third base and into left field as Cargo hustled his way to third, to set up Jordan Pacheco‘s game-winning single. Originally scored an error on Wright, it was later changed to a hit after the game ended.

The Rockies tied the game in the eighth inning courtesy of two huge Mets errors. With two outs and nobody on, reliever Brandon Lyon booted a grounder back to him for an error, and then Ruben Tejada committed his sixth error of the season in 13 games played. In what should have been the third out, Tejada threw high and wide to first base, allowing two runs to score.

“I was freezing to death. It’s tough, tough to play in that weather but you have to play,” Tejada said. “It was a bad throw, a really bad throw. With that situation with the game on the line, it’s a really bad error.”

There weren’t many shining moments for the Mets in their twinbill sweep. Well maybe just one – and it came in the middle of the eighth inning of the second game, when Coors Field started playing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”, the Boston Red Sox anthem, in recognition of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. It was a nice touch to an otherwise lackluster evening for the Amazins.

Manager Terry Collins refused to blame their disappointing sweep on the wintry conditions.

“I know our guys were freezing at the end of the game,” Terry Collins said late Tuesday, after the sweep. “Freezing. But they had to play. And they did the best they could. We lost two games. We had a chance to win the second game. It would have been a little easier to take. But I’m not going to use weather as an excuse.”

Post Game Notes

The Mets used seven relievers in the nightcap after Aaron Laffey lasted just four innings. Laffey has already been assured that he will start Saturday’s game against the Nationals in the next homestand.

The Mets took an 8-2 in the second game thanks to a five-run fifth in which they sent eleven batters to the plate. Marlon Byrd drove in two with a single, while Justin Turner, Tejada and pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin also added RBI hits.

David Wright homered twice for the Mets in the first game while walking twice in the nightcap. He scored a combined four runs and drove in three on the day. Collin Cowgill had a three hit game in the nightcap  to raise his average to .199.

Justin Turner continues to make the most of his opportunities and with two more hits his average now stands at .450 for the season. he also drove in a pair.

Lucas Duda’s back tightened up on him again and he was pulled from the second game in the fifth inning. He later minimized the issue and vowed to be back in the lineup today. We’ll see.

Mets pitching allowed 17 runs on 25 hits and walked 11 batters. The backend of the rotation and the bullpen is starting to become a huge concern.

The Mets will likely makes some roster moves before their homestand which begins on Friday. Expect to see Omar Quintanilla get called up and Kirk Nieuwenhuis demoted, and possibly a couple of pitching moves as Shaun Marcum and Pedro Feliciano are about ready to return.

Early afternoon at Target Field.

Jon Niese taking an early jog around the the park.

Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson watching batting practice at Target Field.

Marlon Byrd is waiting for his turn to take some hacks.

None of the players goof off whenever Jay Horwitz is close by.

Justin Turner says, “Hey you’re Metsmerized… I know you guys!”

Sandy glares right at me and says, ”There’s those crazy guys from MMO again.”

Here is a video I shot from Terry’s presser and a clubhouse interview with John Buck.

More to come later, guys….

Mets Starting Lineup

1. Collin Cowgill – CF
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. John Buck – C
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. Marlon Byrd – RF
7. Ike Davis – 1B
8. Justin Turner – DH
9. Ruben Tejada – SS

Matt Harvey – RHP

Game Notes

The Mets had three players with four RBI last night, Daniel Murphy, David Wright and John Buck. It marks the second time in franchise history that the Mets had three or players with four or more RBI in the same game. New York tied a major league on June 27, 2012 at Chicago-NL when four players had four or more RBI (Wright, Murphy, Ike Davis and Scott Hairston) accomplished the feat.

After tallying three hits on Wednesday against the Phillies, center fielder Jordany Valdespin was slotted into the leadoff position in the Mets’ lineup Friday for the second straight game. He finished the game going 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Jon Niese saw his streak of 22 consecutive starts of six innings or more end last night. The grueling wether conditions played a big part as Niese lost the feel for the ball and was not able to get a proper grip on most of his pitches.

John Buck has hit a home run in four straight games (April 8 – present) extending his career-best. David Wright was the last Met to hit a home run in four consecutive games during the 2007 season. Richard Hidalgo holds the franchise record with a home run in five straight games from July 1-5, 2004.

Game Preview

The Mets and Twins play the second game of their series this afternoon as the Mets look to win their third series of the year. Last night the Mets stormed into the Twin Cities by putting up a 16 spot on the scoreboard with a grand slam by John Buck. Yep, that is the forth game in a row where John Buck has hit a homer, putting up 19 RBI’s in his first 10 games as a Met. Anyway the Harvey show goes on the road today as he faces Scott Diamond in his 2013 debut.

Matt Harvey has been tremendous this season with a 2-0 record over 14 innings allowing only 1 ER and 19 strikeouts. One of the moments from his last start that really sticks out in my mind occurred after Harvey walked the first batter. He responded by striking out the side! As you probably can imagine, Harvey has never faced the Twins, nor has faced any batters in the Twins organization, so there are no statistics to report here.

Scott Diamond is making his first start of the season today. Last year he went 12-9 over 27 games he pitched 173.0 innings while posting a 3.54 ERA. In that stretch he walked 31 batters and struck out 91 while boasting a WHIP of 1.243. In 2011 he went 1-5 over 7 games while pitching 39.0 innings with a 5.08 ERA. Diamond has never faced the Mets but he has faced Colin Cowgill who is 3-3, all singles against Scott.

Let’s Go Mets!

After discussing my earlier post with me on Twitter, Mike Newman of FanGraphs conducted his own polling to one of the largest trafficked sports sites on the web. There are the results.

My conclusion?

Too many Mets fans are prospect drunk…

I would speculate that a similar poll on MMO would be somewhere in the middle with the majority of them pulling the trigger on such a deal without hesitation.

Original Post 9:00 AM

I am well aware of how every Mets’ site has their own readership of Mets fans, especially so when it comes to their commenting community, for those few sites like ours fortunate to have a steady commenting community. The differences are stark.

I was very surprised this morning when I saw the results on a poll Mets Blog took yesterday on if they would swap prospects d’Arnaud and Wheeler in exchange for Giancarlo Stanton. Actually, the word “surprised” might be a bit too mild, I think “stunned” would be a better choice.

Wow, almost two thirds would say NO to the younger and more established Stanton who is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

“In a heartbeat,” said one Mets official, who is not in general manager Sandy Alderson’s inner-circle of decision makers but has a voice in discussions. “Nothing against those kids, but it’s Giancarlo.”

Stanton put up those gaudy numbers at ages 20-22. He just turned 23 and is still four years away from his prime 5-6 years of peak production.

I asked no less than – I don’t know – 10-12 different media types from Rosenthal to Callis to Heyman and not one said they wouldn’t pull the trigger. I asked three Mets players who requested to remain anonymous and one said, “Do you really have to ask?”

That is the majority sentiment on MMO as well. That poll up there just showed me the difference between MetsBlog regulars and Mets Merized Online regulars. The two couldn’t be more different.

Almost 75% of MetsBlog readers would rather keep the two unknown quantities rather than adding a proven 23-year old superstar even under the current Mets outfield situation… Wow!

To all of our MMO daily readers… All 16,000 of you… Well 17,000 if you just go by Monday… Have I ever told you how much I love you? :-)

I think it’s cool that when hot button issues come up like this one, that we have two megalithic sites for Mets fans that offer a nice contrast and together comprise the whole of the entire fan base.

Original Post 3/11

The Mets “retain an unfilled craving for a marquee outfielder,” writes Andy Martino of the Daily News.

Martino says that the team is monitoring star outfielders such as Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.

One Mets person told Martino “there is heat there,” in regard to the team having a preliminary discussion with the Marlins about Stanton, suggesting serious interest.

There is no evidence that GMs Sandy Alderson and Larry Beinfest have discussed a Stanton deal, only speculation. But it does sound like there’s some serious interest on both sides.

This adds to what Ken Davidoff of the New York Post said in a different report yesterday, where he said Stanton, Gonzalez and Andre Ethier are among seven outfielders the Mets might consider acquiring this season or next winter. I didn’t much care for the other four outfielders on his list. Soriano? No thanks.

If the Mets are truly serious and this isn’t just them blowing some smoke up our behinds, they must know it would cost them likely two of their top prospects, namely starting pitcher Zack Wheeler and catcher Travis D’Arnaud.

Surprisingly, someone close to Alderson’s told Martino the the Mets GM does not have any particular attachment to either of those players, simply because he traded for them.

The Mets had already considered, but then declined on trading Wheeler to get Justin Upton or Wil Myers, during the Winter Meetings.

There’s nothing  close here so don’t get the wrong idea. But usually where there’s smoke there’s fire so let’s keep an eye on this.

That said, the Mets obviously need a marquee outfielder and they have to stop playing pretend with this current group of flawed outfielders, many of whom wouldn’t be starting on a lot of teams not named the Mets.

He’s kept criticism at bay and been one of the bigger surprises for the Mets in the early part of this season. Buck continued his hot streak with another home run in yesterday’s loss to the Phillies 3-7. He’s is batting .375/.371/.875, has five home runs, 15 RBIs and a savvy veteran demeanor in the dugout.

As the season progresses, one can only guess what lies ahead for the journeyman catcher. I can’t help but point out what looms in the minds of Mets fans: if Buck keeps playing like this, he could be a valuable trade chip at the deadline.

The two sides of me—the Mets fan and the rational thinker—have gone back and forth with the concept for the last couple days. The Mets fan says:

“Buck has been great and will compliment Travis d’Arnaud when d’Arnaud is ready to come up.”

Then the rational thinker chimes in and says:

“You know the Mets won’t keep him if he keeps playing like this. He’s 32. He’s not part of the rebuilding process. D’Arnaud is the Mets future backstop. If Alderson is willing to stick to his guns and trade Dickey, you think he’s not going to try and move Buck to a contender needing a catcher for more young pitching?”

Who could blame him if he did? It would make perfect sense. Terry Collins can say whatever he wants about competing this year. That’s his job. That’s what he’s paid to do. He’s going to do so even more knowing that teams are watching him as he comes off contract.

But my inner Mets fan keeps screaming in my ear saying:

“Dan, you idiot, the Mets can’t just trade Buck if they have a good record by the deadline. You don’t just throw away a potential winning season.”

To which the rational thinker rebuts:

“Yeah, you do. It’s called having a long-term strategy. Doesn’t that scenario seem familiar? A team with a good record by the All-Star break doesn’t mean its playoff bound. I don’t care if Buck has 30 home runs and 80 RBIs by then. If Alderson can make another worthwhile trade with Buck as the centerpiece, he’s probably going to do it.”

Even if Buck is an NL MVP candidate, he’s still a stopgap player. You unload stopgap players at the trade deadline A) so you don’t have to pay their full freight and B) so you can get some young talent for a player you weren’t going to keep anyway.

Of course, none of this matter unless Buck continues to produce at a high level. Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t  Time will tell. Here I am, nine games into the season, talking about what’s going to happen at the trade deadline. It’s still incredibly early, but don’t be naive and think that this won’t be a topic of discussion down the line if Buck holds up.

At any rate, it’s good to see another Mets catcher doing well at the plate. It reminds me of the great seasons with Mike Piazza and the late Gary Carter. Let’s hope things continue to get #BuckWild.

What do you think about Buck and the Mets?

The pre-game buzz was Matt Harvey being a growing hot property and Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay on a downhill slide. Both bandwagons got a little more crowded Monday night as Harvey was superb as his Mets pounded Halladay, 7-2. The Mets also received big nights from John Buck and Ruben Tejada in winning their third straight game.

ON THE MOUND: Harvey gave up a run in seven innings, giving up three hits and striking out nine to win his second start and lower his ERA to 0.64. With bullpen worked hard for 4.2 innings Sunday, the Mets received the innings they needed from Harvey. Harvey has struck out 89 in his first 12 starts.

AT THE PLATE:  Buck hit a three-run homer in the second and the Mets never looked back. … Tejada hit a two-run single in the fifth when the Mets broke the game open. … David Wright and Lucas Duda also drove in droves. … Daniel Murphy doubled twice.

METS MUSINGS: Manager Terry Collins said Aaron Laffey could be in the rotation indefinitely. His next start will be a week from Tuesday at Colorado. … Shaun Marcum threw today in Port St. Lucie, but Collins said he’s not close to pitching in a game. … Also not close is reliever Frank Francisco. Collins said he must twice throw in consecutive games to prove he’s ready.

Thoughts from Joe D.

Wow, what a game and what a start to Matt Harvey‘s season – he’s already 2-0. We have something very special here and even guys like Ron Darling and Bobby Ojeda are amazed. Tonight, Bobby-O said, “Harvey has everyone that has seen him pitch in awe.”

Harvey now has a 0.64 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 14 innings this season.

John Buck has been a revelation and now has a mind boggling 12 RBIs in seven games – that is an incredible pace. Obviously it won’t last, but at this point is it a stretch that he’ll have a 20 home run season with 80 RBIs? That begs the question, what about Travis d’Arnaud  Honestly, I have no idea. Buck is the second highest paid player on the team after David Wright, and if he keeps getting great starts out of our rotation and continues to hit like this, d’Arnaud will not push him to the bench this season.

Daniel Murphy is going to have a breakthrough season with his new focus on driving the ball and not hitting everything to the opposite field. Collins told him he wants him to pull the ball more and so far it’s looking like a stroke of genius.

Crazy thought of the day? The Mets have beaten Halladay and got a win against him for the first time since 2001. Umm.. That’s sick….

Hey, the Mets are 5-2. Yes it’s April, but who cares, they are playing fun and exciting baseball and anything can happen.

Ryan Howard is not the player he used to be.

The Mets begin a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight at Citizens Bank Park, their first road series of the year and their first against a decent team.

Tha Phillies are currently at a crossroads. Where health and age meet talent. The Phillies are getting older, and this may be their last year to make a run at the World Series, although it’s very unlikely. The Phillies went 81-81 last season, spending half the year without Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. They have both back this year, but neither is the same player they used to be. Howard struck out in a career-high 33.9% of his plate appearances, while batting just .219. 57.1% of the balls he hit last year were ground balls. That’s significantly higher than his 39.4% career average, and a bad sign for a slugger. Utley has been slowly losing his power. His Isolated Slugging Percentage (ISO) was just .173 last season, compared to a .213 career average. A healthy spring training does not necessarily mean a better year for those two either, as they are both another year older and another year slower.

The pitching staff isn’t looking much better, either. After losing Joe Blanton and Vance Worley, the Phillies’ once-great rotation is lacking depth. And although it appears Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels are as good as ever, Roy Halladay is showing signs of age. He had a 4.49 ERA in 25 starts last year, and hasn’t looked much better this year.

While there is an outside chance the Phillies make the playoffs, it’s unlikely. They are only a shell of the group that dominated the division a few years ago, and they will only be getting worse from here as their expensive assets become less tradeable with age. Nonetheless, they are probably about on-par with the Mets right now, which will make this series a fun one to watch.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Matt Harvey (2012: 59.1 IP, 141 ERA+, 2.69 K/BB) vs. Roy Halladay (2012: 156.1 IP, 89 ERA+, 3.67 K/BB)

Halladay hasn’t been himself lately, struggling this spring and in his first start, in which he went 3.1 innings, allowing five runs and two home runs. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com talked to a scout about Hallday. Here is some of what he said:

“If you didn’t know it was Roy Halladay out there,” he said, “you would say, ‘This guy looks like a journeyman.’”

A journeyman. For more than a decade, that would have been the last word anyone ever would have attached to a description of Roy Halladay. But now he finds himself a few weeks from his 36th birthday with more than 33,000 pitches on the odometer. And all of a sudden, the same scout said, “he looks like a guy who doesn’t have a whole lot left in his tank.”

“I didn’t see anything alarming,” the scout went on. “Nothing where you’d say he’s doing this or doing that, and that’s what was wrong. I just think he’s thrown a lot of pitches over the years. He’s always kept himself in great shape, so it isn’t that. But you’ve only got so many throws in that arm.”

He may be right: this may be the end for Halladay

Game 2: Dillon Gee (2012: 109.2 IP, 94 ERA+,3.34 K/BB) vs. Cliff Lee (2012: 211 IP, 127 ERA+, 7.39 K/BB)

Lee was horribly unlucky last season. Despite posting a 3.16 ERA and 3.06 xFIP (first in baseball), the Phillies lost most of the games Lee started. His win-loss record from last year is completely misleading. He is still one of the best in the game, walking only 1.219 batters per nine while striking out 8.8. In his last outing, Lee tossed eight shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out eight.

Game 3: Jeremy Hefner (2012: 93.2 IP, 76 ERA+, 3.44 K/BB) vs. Kyle Kendrick (2012: 159.1 IP, 103 ERA+, 2.37 K/BB)

Kendrick has proven himself to be a solid option at the back of the rotation with an occasional stint as a long man. With a career 4.7 K/9 rate, he doesn’t dominate, but he doesn’t walk too many hitters either, with a 2.61 BB/9 ratio. Kendrick allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings in his last start against Kansas City.

Series News & Notes

• Carlos Ruiz, who batted .325 with a career-high of 16 home runs is still serving a 25-game suspension for violation of Major League Baseball’s drug policy.
• The Mets have hit at least one home run in each of their first six games, the longest such stretch to open a season since New York hit a home run in six straight games to begin the 1987 campaign. That team went on to hit home runs in their first eight games.
• David Wright played his 61st consecutive game without an error yesterday, extending the franchise record for third basemen. Lenny Randle is second on the list with 54 consecutive errorless games.
• In his final start in 2012, Harvey allowed a leadoff home run to Jimmy Rollins on September 19…That was the only hit and run allowed by Harvey over seven innings as he racked up seven strikeouts in a no-decision…the Mets lost, 3-2.

There are a lot of indicators for a successful team and the Mets did several of them today in beating the Miami Marlins, 4-3, Sunday. Among them are winning close games, being able to come from behind, clutch hitting and solid relief work. The bullpen kept the Mets in the game until aggressive base running by Ruben Tejada and Kirk Nieuwenhuis set up Marlon Byrd’s game-winning, two-run single off Marlins’ closer Steve Cishek.

ON THE MOUND: In his Mets’ debut Aaron Laffey gave up three runs on 10 hits, but did get into the fifth inning. … Greg Burke, Josh Edgin, Scott Atchison, LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Rice combined for 4.2 scoreless innings. … Atchison came into the game with one out and runners on second and third in the seventh and was able to get out of the inning.

AT THE PLATE:  Daniel Murphy homered again. … Tejada was hit by a pitch and Nieuwenhuis singled and took second on the throw to set up Byrd for the game-winner. … The Mets overcame 13 strikeouts and going 1-for-8 with RISP.

IN THE FIELD: Lucas misplayed a ball near the wall, but was bailed out by Atchison. … Murphy is getting better at second, starting two double plays.

POSTGAME NOTE: With today’s win, the Mets have won their first two series of the season. The last time that happened was in 2006.

ON DECK:  A tale of two pitchers heading in opposite directions in their careers when Matt Harvey (1-0, 0.00 ERA) goes against Roy Halladay (0-1, 13.50).

Please follow me on Twitter at @jdelcos

Mets Lineup

1. Collin Cowgill CF
2. Daniel Murphy 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Ike Davis 1B
5. Mike Baxter RF
6. Lucas Duda LF
7. Ruben Tejada SS
8. Anthony Recker C
9. Aaron Laffey LHP

Game Notes

The Mets optioned RHP Jeurys Familia to Triple-A Las Vegas. They also moved Johan Santana to the 60-day disabled list and removed him from the 40-man roster. The Mets will make a corresponding move tomorrow.

David Wright has now played 60 consecutive games without an error after Saturday’s win against the Marlins. He continues to extend the franchise record which was once held by Lenny Randle who played in 54 consecutive games without an error during the 1978 season.

John Buck contributed four RBIs and Daniel Murphy produced a tiebreaking triple in the seventh that plated Mike Baxter as the Mets beat the Marlins, 7-3, Saturday. He will get his first day off today and a well deserved rest. He has an NL-leading nine RBI’s through his first five games.

Terry Collins said the outfield won’t be as consistent as predicted only a week earlier. Baxter, who reached base three times and scored twice while batting in the leadoff spot, should start again Monday against Halladay in Philly, according to the manager. The outfield will be in flux most of this season and you can call it an outfield by committee.

Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton tallied a pair of singles in Saturday’s loss to the Mets. The base knocks boosted his batting average to .222 (4-for-18), though the right fielder is still in search of his first homer of the year.

Game Preview

The Mets find themselves in a rubber game situation today as they bounced back from a two game slide yesterday. In their last game, the Mets and Marlins traded runs until it was a 3-3 game. After that, the Mets scored 4 unanswered run, 3 in a rally. The difference for the Mets in yesterday’s game was timely hitting and being aggressive on the base paths. Twice in one inning, a Mets runner stole second, forced a bad throw/reception and was able to move ahead to third base. Both of those runners would score. Today at Citi-Field, Aaron Laffey will be making his Mets debut as he faces Marlins phenom Jose Fernandez.

Fernandez, 20, will make his big league debut on Sunday, despite having never pitched at a level above Class A. The right-hander, ranked No. 7 on MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospect List, was the Marlins’ first-round Draft selection in 2011 and was selected after the Mets took Brandon Nimmo with the previous pick. He’ll be the youngest hurler in team history to appear in a game.

Aaron Laffey was with the Blue Jays last year where he had a 4.56 ERA over 20 games, 16 starts and 100.2 innings. In that stretch he walked 37 batters and struck out 48. For the Mets in Spring Training, he allowed 12 runs over 4 games. This is his first time in his career being on a National League team, thus it is also his first time facing the Marlins. The has faced a few batters on the Marlins roster:

Kotchman 9-12, 4 2B
Polanco 4-12, 2B
Olivo 2-10, 2B
Pierre 0-5

The Mets will be facing one of the prized prospects in the Marlins organization, Jose Fernandez. Baseball America ranks him as the #5 prospect in baseball and MLB.com ranks him as #7 (between d’Arnaud and Wheeler). Most people, basically everyone, expected to see Fernandez in the major leagues some time next year, maybe at the end of this year. However, the Marlins are going to do what the Marlins do and promoted the 20 year old phenom to the majors without reaching AA. Over 25 starts last year between low A and high A (or A and A Advanced, whatever it’s called now), Fernandez was 14-1 with a 1.75 ERA over 133.0 innings. In that time, he walked only 35 batters and struck out 155. He only pitched 2 innings in official spring training games this spring, allowing 1 hit, no runs and striking out 2. Today will be an interesting day.

Check 213 Miles From Shea!

Opening Day was impressive, but today might have been the Mets’ most complete victory in this young season. Jon Niese gave the Mets their fifth straight strong start, the offense came from behind twice and the often-criticized bullpen shut the door on the Miami Marlins in a 7-3 victory in a sparsely crowded Citi Field.

That answers the question: If the Mets win in an empty ballpark does it still count?

It does, and the Mets, after losing two straight, are now back over .500, and will try to win their second straight series tomorrow.

ON THE MOUND: Niese gave up two runs in six innings for his second quality start. He wasn’t as sharp as in the opener as he gave up eight hits and two walks. He threw 100 pitches again, but did not give the Mets the length he wanted. … The bullpen gave up one run in three innings (credited to Scott Atchison). … Bobby Parnell earned the Mets’ first save of the season and Josh Edgin was awarded the win.

AT THE PLATE: John Buck drove in four runs on a double and two sacrifice flies. … David Wright and Ike Davis broke out of slumps, getting three and two hits, respectively. … Daniel Murphy tripled in what proved to be the game-winning run in the seventh. … Collin Cowgill, who did not start, hit his second homer of the season. That should return him to the lineup tomorrow.

IN THE FIELD: Ruben Tejada committed his fourth error in five games (he should have five). … Mike Baxter and Kirk Nieuwenhuis started in right and center, respectively. … Tejada made a sparkling play on a deflected ball to end the game.

ON DECK: The Mets conclude this series with the Marlins Sunday, with RHP Jose Fernandez going against LHP Aaron Laffey, at 1:10 p.m., SNY/WFAN.

Mets Lineup

1. Mike Baxter – RF
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. John Buck – C
6. Kirk Nieuwenhuis – CF
7. Lucas Duda – LF
8. Ruben Tejada – SS
9. Jonathon Niese – LHP

Game Notes

Terry Collins is backpedalling on his pre-opening day statement that Collin Cowgill and Marlon Byrd would pay everyday in his outfield. Today, he told reporters he now intends to mix-and-match in the outfield based on matchups and that his outfield is not set right now.

John Buck is off to a great start with the Mets. He is the only catcher in the majors allowed to have personalized art on his catcher’s mask. Wilson, which supplies the catcher’s masks for MLB, now bans artwork, but Buck is grandfathered in and is permitted to have the personal touch according to Newsday.

After being swept by the Nationals to open the season, the Marlins finally broke into the win column Friday with a win over the Mets. The victory marked the first of its kind for the club after its roster underwent a total makeover in the offseason.

The Mets have hit at least one home run in each of their first four games for the first time since 2006.

Game Preview

The Mets dropped their second game in a row last night as the Marlins beat the Mets by the score of 7-5. In the first two games of the season, the Mets had excellent starting pitching and timely hitting. In the second two games of the season, the Mets still had excellent starting pitching, but the hitting fell apart. Earlier on yesterday’s game the Mets had a ton of chances to score earlier in the game and couldn’t get it done. When the Mets started to score, the Mets bullpen simultaneously fell apart. This afternoon Jon Niese will be making his second start of the season as he goes up against Ricky Nolasco.

Jon Niese picked up a win in his first start of the season pitching 6.2 innings allowing 2 ER and 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 4. Terry attempted to pull Niese out of the game after 6, but Niese insisted to stay in the game. Last season Niese had a 13-9 record over 190.1 innings while posting a 3.40 ERA. Against the Marlins he totaled 25.1 innings over 4 starts with a 1-1 record allowing 9 ER, which would be a 3.20 ERA. The Marlins have the following numbers against Niese:

Polanco 11-32, 5 2B
Kearns 5-15, 2B
Stanton 3-12
Coghlan 2-10, 2B
Nolasco 0-4
Ruggiano 2-5
Brantly 0-3

Nolasco was the hard luck loser in his first start of the season against the Nationals. He allowed only 3 hits over 6 innings of work. Sadly for Ricky, two of those hits were solo homers to Bryce Harper. Last season Nolasco was 12-13 over 31 starts and 191.0 innings while posting a 4.48 ERA. He picked up one loss in three starts over 18.1 innings against the Marlins. Rickey allowed 9 earned runs and 19 hits during that stretch, which is a 4.34 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Nolasco:

Wright 25-63, 6 2B, 6 HR (.397 BA)
Murphy 8-25, 3 2B
Davis 3-20, 2 2B
Duda 2-14
Tejada 2-12, 3B
Kirk 3-5, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!   Check 213 Miles From Shea!