Aardsma was originally drafted by the San Francisco in the first round of the 2003 amateur draft.

He has spent parts of seven seasons in the major leagues with five different teams. most recently with the Yankees in 2012.

Aardsma owns a career 4.22 ERA in 255 appearances all in relief. After the Yankees released him early last month, he signed with the Miami Marlins on April 13 and then was released again on May 15.

He will report to Triple-A Las Vegas. This might get ugly…

Byrd captured the attention of Mets fans and earned himself a spot on the roster with an incredible spring training, in which he hit .357 with a .965 OPS and a team-leading nine doubles, five more than anyone else on the team. However, once the calender turned and regular season play began, Byrd struggled, and was relegated to a lesser role. He finished the month of April with a .232 batting average and a .759 OPS.

Since May began, Byrd has turned it on at the plate. Despite having a diminished role, Byrd has hit .357 with a  .988 OPS this month along with two home runs in 29 plate appearances.

The reason for Byrd’s decline over the past two seasons (other than just getting a little bit older) may very well be his plate discipline. Byrd, in his best years, was swinging at pitches outside the strike zone somewhere in the range of 29 to 30% of the time. That number has increased to the high-30% range over the past few years. This year, he is swinging at a career high 40.9% of pitches outside the strike zone, but recently, has improved on that dramatically. He stuck out in almost 32% of his plate appearances in April, striking out at least once in almost every game, but has lowered that significantly, to just 24% this month.

Compared to the rest of the outfield recently, Byrd has been by far the best hitter. Here is how he compares to the rest of the outfield this month:

Byrd has been overlooked the entire season, when in reality, he one of the best options the Mets have on the 40-man roster. Remember, not too long ago, Byrd was a reliable 10-15 home run hitter with a .280-.290 batting average, which isn’t great, but it is certainly better than the struggling Mike Baxter.

The first game in that slide, April 18 at Colorado, and the one preceding it, April 12, at Minnesota, were played in temperatures in the high 20s.

I spoke personally to manager Terry Collins about that and he said the cold might have had a residual effect on Niese.

“I think there might be. He’s had some stiffness in his back,’’ Collins said when asked if there is a connection between working in the cold and his following ineffectiveness. “He’s had trouble getting loose and (prior to his May 5 start at Atlanta) he didn’t have a good bullpen session.’’

The only thing surprising about this issue with Niese is the injury wasn’t worse and there haven’t been more weather-related injuries. This has always been one of my pet peeves about playing in lousy weather. The owners have such steep investments in their players, and yet they have no qualms about playing games in precarious conditions. This is also an issue the Major League Baseball Players Association has glossed over. Playing conditions have never been high on the MLBPA’s pecking order in negotiating with the owners.

It’s usually about money and drug testing, but working conditions somehow get ignored.

Niese, who gave up eight runs in 4.1 innings in his start Saturday against the Pirates, said to compensate for the soreness and stiffness he developed the bad habit of dropping his arm angle during his release. Consequently, hitters have been able to pick up the ball out of his hand earlier.

“I think it’s to the point now where I created a bad habit with dropping down my arm angle, and I’m kind of opening everything up,’’ Niese said, adding he wasn’t bothered by pain today. “It’s something I’m going to work on in the bullpen to get it back.’’

Niese said there’s no deception in his delivery and hitters aren’t chasing the pitchers they normally might. They are able to pick up his release point earlier, and that split second makes a tremendous difference to the hitters.

Niese is hopeful of working his release point issue out in the bullpen this week before making Thursday’s start in St. Louis against Adam Wainwright.

His 5.93 ERA clearly shows that Niese is currently not the same pitcher who the Mets signed to a five-year deal before the start of last season. If things are going to get any better for the Mets, they’ll need the Jon Niese they thought they were getting.

“They rigged the signing of free agents. They got caught. They paid $280 million to the players. And I think that’s polluted labor relations in baseball ever since …”

In spite of Selig’s unscrupulous past he was able to corral enough owners to his side in an 18 to 9 vote of “no confidence” to force Vincent out. Now, you’d think it would be difficult for an owner with a history of impropriety to ascend to a position best suited to someone who might inspire trust from both sides, not so. Selig took the commissioner’s chair in 1992, passing control of the Brewers to his daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb.

Selig of course presided over the 1994 player’s strike. The 232-day work stoppage lasted from August 12, 1994, to April 2, 1995. What has since been described as the worst work-stoppage in professional sports history was precipitated by a collective bargaining proposal that included a salary cap. Tensions were exacerbated by the collusion attempts … Ownership dug in and the players didn’t budge. Eventually the 1994 season became a lost cause.

The strike damaged the game deeply, fans walked away in droves. There was a prevailing perception that the great American pastime had been irrevocably corrupted by greed. It was also during this time that steroids took root in MLB locker rooms. This issue was covered in a previous piece, so I will only note here that while it is true that the players shoulder a preponderance of blame, the owners did little to stop the spread of PED’s while they lined their pockets, and, in the end, the spread of steroids did occur on Selig’s watch.

The strike hurt the Montreal Expos more than any other team. Montreal had the best record in baseball at the time. The Expos were also lobbying for a new stadium, an effort that disintegrated with the work stoppage. Soon thereafter the Expos were sold to an art dealer named Jeffrey Loria who immediately demanded that the local government build him a new stadium. When this didn’t happen Loria eviscerated and sold the Expos to Major League Baseball for 120 million.

Loria used the proceeds from this sale to purchase the Florida Marlins. A suit was promptly filed by 14 minority owners of the Expos accusing Loria of conspiring with MLB (Selig) to dilute the minority partners’ share of the team from 76 percent to 6-to-7 percent. The suit went on to assert that Loria never intended to keep the franchise in Montreal and that he planed all along on flipping the Expos with an eye on the Marlins. Eventually the suit was settled with the former Expos owners receiving an undisclosed amount. As part of the settlement, none of the documents from the case were made public. This was in effect the second ruling against Selig in a 15 year span.

In the meantime Selig continued to pursue a contraction campaign focusing on the now MLB run Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins (for which there was a glaring conflict of interest since the Brewers and Twins shared the same market). Selig himself (who was good friends with the obscenely wealthy Pohlads) had managed in 2001 to get the city of Milwaukee to build Miller Park with $290 million in public funds, so he knew the drill — threaten and lobby.

Selig’s efforts to contract the Expos and the Twins failed as a result of a ruling requiring that the Twins honor their contract to play in the Metrodome. The Expos were subsequently sold and moved to Washington. What remained unresolved for many fans, however, were the exaggerated claims of losses on the part of baseball owners who at the time argued that the market was stretched thin and that teams were being pushed to poverty by player salaries and crumbling venues.

The Twins did eventually get their stadium (with 250 million in public funding), and on the day of its unveiling in April of 2010, Selig, strangely, brushed aside questions about contraction by brazenly stating, “there was a lot of mythology” to it. These comments left many feeling as if contraction was an elaborate ruse to secure support from legislators for stadium funding, a ruse Selig’s old conspirator Jeffrey Loria went on to perfect in securing public funding for a new stadium in Miami. An endeavor that eventually left Miami-Dade County with a 2.4 billion dollar debt, an empty stadium, and a massive abomination of a fish sculpture.

What does all this have to do with the Mets? There’s a pattern of influence and impropriety here that stretches back quite a ways. Wilpon was able to wrest the Mets from the more belligerent and restive Doubleday with Selig’s blessing (and a handy low-ball MLB appraisal). Selig has also presided over an office designed, ironically, to help maintain the integrity of the game, turning it instead into a vehicle for charting new profit streams. In the business world Selig is considered by many to be the greatest commissioner ever, having overseen an era that saw profits increase by 400%. But if there is one thing we know about Bud, it’s his long-standing desire to undermine free agency and level the playing field for smaller markets.

Bud Selig may have seen a unique opportunity to bring down spending and bolster parity by recommending a high level MLB operative (known for his ability to slash budgets and operate on a shoe-string), for the position of GM of the NY Mets. What better place to promote a small market paradigm than the biggest stage in the world?

In 2010 two crises were raging in MLB. Frank McCourt of the Dodgers was running his team as a personal bank account during divorce proceedings that had brought him to the brink of bankruptcy, and the Wilpons in N.Y. were in danger of losing the Mets as a result of a massive stadium bill and a disastrous association with Bernie Madoff and his ponzi scheme. Selig all but guaranteed that McCourt would sell by imposing a heavy-handed MLB takover, while he quietly supported the Wilpons with loans and votes of confidence.

In the fall of 2011 Frank McCourt filed a lawsuit against MLB, accusing Selig of forcing bankruptcy on the Dodgers by rejecting a contract with Fox Sports. The Fox contract would have allowed McCourt to retain possession of the Dodgers, but as the Dodgers were under MLB control by then, Selig was within his bounds to reject it — even though it was similar in principle to contracts signed by many other MLB teams. The court sided with MLB, but not without a stern warning to Selig. Again Bud had deftly maneuvered borderline illegal practices with impunity. Selig knew the Dodgers would fetch an obscene sum in sale and he also knew that any buyer would have deep enough pockets to pour truckloads of cash into the franchise. The Mets on the other hand would receive the austerity plan, a painful rebuilding process focusing on cutting payroll and rejuvenating their farm … the polar antithesis of what transpired with the Dodgers.

A friend who was in San Diego during Alderson’s tenure there warned me, “Alderson,” he said “would chop the team up piecemeal and sell off the parts for prospects, it’s what he does.” I didn’t believe him. “This is N.Y.” I countered “Here you have to spend money to make money, the fans wouldn’t stand for it …” After losing, in successive seasons, Beltran, Reyes, and Dickey, with a budget effectively halved, I can only admit he was ostensibly on the mark.

The more pressing question, however, is one of influence. Selig has exerted his influence over the years with mixed results. His approach in 1994 backfired as the players hit back, and his attempts at collusion resulted in a 280 million dollar settlement against MLB … but his influence was largely successful in both the migration of the Expos as well as the funding of numerous new venues on the public’s dime. The real defeat he’s never been able to undo is his failure to limit free agency and his inability to institute a salary cap.

Bud Selig is friends with Fred Wilpon, but given Selig’s commitment to the almighty dollar don’t let a personal relationship fool you. Selig would just as soon pop open a can of Milwaukee’s finest than hesitate to throw Wilpon under a bus if it meant more money in the coffers. His reasons for coming to the rescue of the Wilpons while moving to oust McCourt, can only be explained with an eye on profit. You could argue this is contradictory, how would the “Met austerity paradigm” mean more money for baseball when the Dodgers just boosted values of MLB franchises across the country by raising the bar with their sale price?

It’s all about parity. As Jason Stark recently pointed out, MLB now features more parity than the NFL. If a small market approach can succeed in a big market it would effectively establish an operational model that could be duplicated in any number of cities big and small. Increased parity means more money across a broader spectrum of markets, precluding the need for revenue sharing mandates. Why didn’t Selig attempt a similar austerity program with the Dodgers? McCourt was himself imbued in impropriety and was openly hostile to MLB, his was a hopeless cause where the only resolution was a forced sale.

If Selig’s plan proceeds according to design, the Mets will benefit from a self sustaining minor league feeder system what will propel them to perennial contention while the Dodgers dig out from an array of bad contracts … but, there are no guarantees. Selig lost control of the Dodger situation once the winning bid was accepted. The Mets on the other hand were under his influence in so far as he was able to impress upon both the Wilpons and Sandy Alderson that they needed to cut payroll. Granted, under the circumstances the Wilpons didn’t have much choice, but when you consider Selig’s history and the fact that he got his man on the GM’s seat in NY, you have to believe he was pleased.

Whether or not this experiment benefits the Mets remains to be seen. Given the volume of pitching the Mets have been able to accumulate you have to feel good about the team’s prospects, no pun intended. The Dodgers on the other hand appear to be a flawed, injury prone, aging, and above all expensive mess. As far as business models, you can bet there will be lots of baseball minds keeping an eye on the Mets and Dodgers in the coming years.

Philadelphia recalled left-hander Joe Savery to temporarily take Halladay’s place on the 25-man roster. A replacement for Halladay’s spot in the starting rotation will be named before Friday’s game in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. Candidates to make the start include Triple-A left-hander Adam Morgan and right-hander Tyler Cloyd.

After allowing nine runs in 2 1/3 innings in a 14-2 loss to the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, Halladay revealed that his shoulder had been bothering him.

“It started the morning after I pitched against Pittsburgh [on April 24],” Halladay said Sunday. “I woke up and didn’t really think anything of it. It was just kind of regular soreness. This kind of progressed over the last two weeks or so. It’s right-shoulder discomfort.

“This is something new this spring. I felt good all spring. I felt good all year. I just got up after that start against Pittsburgh and had soreness in there and wasn’t able to get rid of it.”

Even the 195-strikeout pace Davis is on wouldn’t be as excruciating if the 26-year-old would demonstrate a hint of humility after getting punched out time after time.

But that’s the issue. He hasn’t. Through his four MLB campaigns, Davis seems to believe he’s entitled to borderline calls at the plate, which—for better or worse—are not given to players in their early 20s all that often. Although there is a way to eradicate that unwritten rule: to get on the umpiring crew’s good side. MLB Etiquette 101.

Either Ike isn’t aware of that, or believes he can complain his way to the benefit of the doubt. Four seasons, 364 games, and nearly 1,500 plate appearances into his Major League career, and Davis still can’t grasp the very simple concept of taking his lumps and sitting down quietly. This, unfortunately, is what deserves an entire post.

Davis has been prone to strikeouts over his career—that cat was let out the bag years ago. But it’s never been more apparent than in 2013. His strikeout percentage is up around 30 percent (chart via Fangraphs), which is more than five percent higher than in any prior season.

Through April 28, eight of Of Davis’ 26 Ks in 2013 have been punchouts. That equates to 31 percent of his strikeouts coming with the bat on his shoulder, which is a five percent increase from 2012 and seven percent higher than the league average.

I broke down the tape of those eight backwards-Ks, and found that Ike did his very best to show up the home plate ump on six of the eight strike-three calls. That comes out to a 75 percent Ike-Davis-Being-Immature rating—yeah, you can call me a sabermagician.

Note: One GIF from 4/10 vs. PHI was lost in the heat of battle . Davis has also struck out looking twice since 4/28 that I haven’t been able to retrieve video from. With or without the missing clips, the point still stands. Ike won’t be getting the close ones any time soon.

Included are strikezone plots for corresponding at-bats from Brooks Baseball.

Example 1: April 4, Inning 1

Example 2: April 4, Inning 8

Example 3: April 7, Inning 8

Example 4: April 16, Inning 1

Example 5: April 20, Inning 2

I hate to exert this much energy ranting against Ike, because I’ve been on his side of the Keep-Davis-or-Keep-Duda argument all along. His second-half numbers from 2012 are downright scary, and I didn’t think it was outrageous to expect the ball to continue rolling in that direction in 2013. Perhaps I was wrong.

The point here is that sometimes Davis has a legit gripe with the home plate ump. But acting out like a spoiled child leaving the toy store empty handed isn’t exactly the way to present an argument to an umpire (a grown man).

It’s an issue that Davis was approached about as early as 2010 as a rookie. Nearly three years later, it’s still an issue.

Ike’s struggles during his ABs are one issue—and don’t be mistaken, they’re plentiful—but its the lack of judgement after them that are especially concerning as he transitions from a precocious neophyte to a whiny veteran.

Follow me on Twitter at @JSDorn6.

Stats and graphics obtained from Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, and Brooks Baseball.

Matt Harvey was named the Pitcher of the Month for April, the first Met to win the honor since R.A. Dickey last did so in June, 2012.

Harvey, 24, went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and 46 strikeouts in six April starts. His four wins tied for the National League lead, while his 1.56 ERA is third in the league for the month. His 46 strikeouts are tied for fourth in the league.

Harvey became the first pitcher in since 1900 to win his first four starts of the season, while allowing no more than 10 hits combined in those four starts.

This the second honor for Harvey this season as he was named National League Player of the Week during April 8-14. That was the week when he flirted with a no-hitter through 6.2 innings against the Twins in a frigid Minnesota.

Harvey now stands at 7-5 with a 2.26 ERA in 16 career starts, having given up only 63 hits in 99 2/3 innings.

It’s the first career monthly award for Harvey, who was selected ahead of pitchers such as Pittsburgh’s Jason Grilli, who logged 10 saves and a 0.82 ERA; San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner, who posted a 3-0 mark and 1.55 ERA; and Adam Wainwright, who went 4-2 with a 2.03 ERA.

In what has been a month full of questions, concerns and a losing record to start the season, seeing Harvey win this award is certainly one of the bright spots.

Congrats Matt, may you win many more. Hey, if he keeps this up he may even win a Cy Young.

My first reason is Ike Davis’ ceiling is far greater than any alternative in the Mets system. The Mets don’t have a player right now who has the potential to be an impact player. The Mets do have Josh Satin, but he has a limited upside. He doesn’t have a lot of power potential, and he is an average at best defender. His numbers also seem less impressive when you take into account that he’s a 28 year old in AAA hitting in Las Vegas, which is a notorious hitter’s paradise.

Who else do the Mets have? Zach Lutz is hitting .218 in Las Vegas and has very limited experience playing first base in the minors. Justin Turner is a nice bench player, but he’s not good enough to be an everyday starter. The Mets could also move Duda to first and call up an outfielder, but with the organization’s lack of quality players at the position, it is unlikely that they have an outfielder that could come up and make a significant impact.
The reality of the situation is that the Mets have no one else who can legitimately be an impact player at first base. While Davis has been inconsistent throughout his young career, he’s had many stretches where he has been an impact player. Davis had a solid season in 2010. He was great in the early part of the 2011 season before he suffered a season ending injury, and last year he had an outstanding 2nd half. If Ike Davis makes the right adjustments, he has a far greater upside than any other alternative the Mets have.

My second point is if Davis could rebound and have a solid second half last year, then why can’t he have a similar rebound this season? In the 2nd half last season, Ike was one of the best power hitters in the league. Davis hit .269/.351/.562 with 27HR and 68 RBI after June 10th of last season. Davis’ problems at the plate are eerily similar to last season, so Davis has proven he is capable of making the necessary adjustments to turn his season around.

My third point is that it’s too early to panic. While it’ certainly not too soon to be concerned about Davis, it’s way too soon to make a drastic decision like sending him down. It would not be a wise decision to send down a player because of one bad month. Many good players have bad months during the course of a 162 game season. Davis’ early season struggles are more pronounced because his slump is happening in April. If Davis is batting sub .200 in August for example, many people would not notice.

The Mets need to exhibit patience with Ike Davis. The Mets should not make a shortsighted decision by sending him down. He has the ability to turn his season around, and he has a higher upside than any alternative in the system. If his problems continue to persist later on during the season, then sending him down will be an option. But as for now, he should continue to be the Mets everyday first baseman.

Just call him Mr. Clutch or as our own Daniel Nelson likes to refer to him, “El Dramatico”. Yes, of course we’re talking about the incredible Jordany Valdespin who came off the bench once again and delivered another dramatic pinch-hit home run to help the Mets beat the Marlins 7-6 and salvage the final game of the series.

Valdespin continues to display an uncanny ability for rising to the occasion whenever the Mets need a big hit, and in the last two seasons, no player in baseball has delivered more pinch-hit home runs than El Dramatico.

His five pinch-hit homers last season set a franchise record, and only one month into the season he’s already launched his second big knock of the year.

The Mets were trailing by three when David Wright opened the sixth with a leadoff double. Marlon Byrd followed with an RBI single and after another Ike Davis single, Valdespin took reliever A.J. Ramos deep with three-run homer. It was incredible and even more so was watching Spin pumping his fist as he rounded the bases. It put the Mets up 5-4.

An inning later, the Mets would tack on two more runs thanks to a two-run double by John Buck who begins the month of May the much in the same way he ended April. Buck now leads the league with 27 RBI.

David Wright had a great game with a dazzling play at third base and he homered, singled, and doubled at the plate.

Dillon Gee started the game and delivered a very rocky performance in which he was tagged for four runs on nine hits and two walks. It could have been worse if not for some nifty plays in the field.

Things got dicey in the bottom of the seventh when Lucas Duda misplayed a fly ball by Justin Ruggiano off reliever Scott Atchison allowing two more Marlins run to score and make the score 7-6. But the bullpen held down the fort the rest of the way, and Bobby Parnell pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the victory and end the Mets’ six game losing streak. For Parnell it was his third save of the season.

This wasn’t a picture perfect win, but after a week of grim and disheartening losses, I’ll take it. After a day off on Thursday, the Mets will head to Atlanta to begin a weekend series with the Braves on Friday night at Turner Field. Shaun Marcum will make his second start of the season and will oppose the Braves’ Mike Minor at 7:05 pm.

Starting Lineups

Game Notes

Last night’s 15-inning game was the longest in Mets-Marlins history. The two teams had played two 12-inning contests, last on September 6, 2011 when the Mets won 7-4 in Miami. Last night’s game was the longest in club history since a 2-1 win over the Cardinals in a 20-inning affair on April 17, 2010 in St. Louis. New York is 1-2 in extra frames this year after going 3-7 last year.

John Buck hit his ninth home run of the year last night, tying a major league record for home runs by a catcher before the end of April. Johnny Bench (1971 Reds) and Charles Johnson (2001 Marlins) also clocked nine home runs before May 1. Buck’s nine home runs tie him for the most by a Met during the month of April with Carlos Delgado (2006) and Dave Kingman (1976).

Met catchers combined to hit five home runs last year after hitting six home runs in 2011. New York catchers combined had 17 home runs in 2010, led by Rod Barajas, who had 12. John Buck had 12 home runs and 41 RBI last year for the Marlins in 106 games.

Collin Cowgill said he misread Rob Brantley’s swing in the ninth inning and initially stepped backward on a ninth-inning fly ball that dropped in front of him. The critical miscue put the tying run on third base and ultimately played a large part in Bobby Parnell suffering a blown save in the ultimate 4-3, 15-inning loss to the the Miami Marlins.

New York has scored three or fewer runs in seven of its last 11 games and is hitting .193 (72-373) over that span. Overall, the Mets are sixth in the majors scoring 4.92 runs per game.

New York went 1-18 with runners in scoring position last night. Over the five-game losing streak, the club is batting .105 (4-38) with RISP. Overall, the Mets are fifth in the NL and 10th in the majors with a .269 (54-201) batting average with runners in scoring position. The club has eight home runs in such situations, tied for the fourth-most in the majors.

The Mets left 14 runners on base last night and over their last five games have stranded 38 runners. New York ranks 16th in the majors with 170 runners left on base.

Game Preview

Last night’s game was terrible. No way around it. The Mets got a good start from Harvey who didn’t have his best stuff, but left the game with the lead. The bullpen only faltered twice from that point, which was amazing because they had to go from the 6th inning until the 15th inning. The Mets bats just went cold, silent and it was just bad. Anyway Hefner gets the start today as he goes against Kevin Slowey.

Jeremy Hefner is coming off of a good start where he pitched 7 innings allowing 1 ER while walking 3 batters and striking out 4. He has now pitched 21.0 innings over 5 starts with a 5.14 ERA. His first start of the season, his second best start, was against the Marlins where he pitched 6.0 innings allowing one earned run while walking 2 and striking out 3. The Marlins have the following numbers against Hefner:

Stanton 1-10
Solano 2-6
Pierre 3-6
Polanco 3-7
Ruggiano 0-5
Dobbs 1-6, HR

The Mets bats will try to find their bats against Kevin Slowey who has been pitching well this season. Over his first five games, he’s 0-2 over 29.2 innings with a 2.43 ERA. He’s coming off of his worst start of the season where he allowed 3 ER over 6 innings of work. He has made one start against the Mets in his career where he allowed 5 ER over 6 innings who have the following numbers against him:

Buck 3-11, 2B
Byrd 1-3
Davis 1-3
Wright 2-3, 2B, HR
Tejada 1-2, 2B

Lets Go Mets!

After another three-strikeout performance, Davis now has 29 Ks in 82 at-bats and is on pace for over 195 strikeouts.

Back on April 17, I stated that Davis has shown himself to be nothing more than a platoon player at best throughout his major league career. I suggested that the Mets promote Josh Satin from Triple-A at the time and looking at each of their numbers now, almost two weeks later anevat the end of April, everything I wrote back then has been completely validated.

The right-handed hitting Satin can give the Mets what they need desperately right now as his .333/.429/.550 batting line would attest. A product of the PCL? Not on your life. Satin has always been a great and disciplined hitter and one look at his career .397 on-base in six minor league seasons should have the suits in the front office with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, as would his .466 slugging percentage.

Collins is playing favorites. You see, Ike Davis is gritty so he gets to play and avoids the same kind of treatment that Lucas Duda got when he was sent to Triple-A last season. After all. we wouldn’t want to piss Ike off… Him and Wright are besties…

I’ve now gone from clamoring for a platoon at first base to now sending Davis back to the Minors. Yes, Ike, that’s where hackers like you belong.

We’ll miss your occasional bomb that you sandwich in between a dozen or so strikeouts, but we won’t miss you .159 batting average which has sucked the life out of our offense. I know many a Met fan who wasn’t this patient with Jeff Francoeur despite his gaudy defense. So what’s the big holdup here?

Right now Davis is a negative impact player.

It’s time to release the Kraken.

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?

Welcome to the first post in a weekly series called “Who’s Hot, Who’s Not,” in which we look at the hottest and coldest players in the Mets’ minor league system from the past week. Here’s a look back at the week that was. NOTE: Stats are from April 20 through April 27.

Who’s Hot

• Jayce Boyd 1B (SAV)- Boyd has come out of nowhere this season, hitting .405/.490/.583 through his first 22 games with two homers and nine doubles, the same number he had in 54 games with the Brooklyn Cyclones last year. With Brooklyn, Boyd hit just .239/.320/.368 with five home runs. The 2012 sixth-round pick batted .500/.581/.769 with a home run and four doubles. 
• Kevin Plawecki C (SAV)- Boyd and Plawecki have led the offensive charge for Savannah this season and are two big reasons why they have gotten off to such a hot start. The power-hitting Plawecki already hit four homers through his first 21 games, including one last week. Las week, Plawecki batted an impressive .440/.483/.680 with three doubles to go along with his home run.
• Rafael Montero RHP (BIN)- Montero has been terrific thus far for Binghamton,putting up a 1.99 ERA in 27.2 innings and a ridiculous 11.6 K/9 rate, having some Mets fans calling for a promotion to the big leagues. While that is unlikely, Montero may soon earn a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas. This past week, Montero, in two starts, allowed two runs in 11 innings while striking out 14 and walking just two.

Honorable Mention: Domingo Tapia RHP (STL)- It was almost a toss-up between Rafael Montero and Domingo Tapia. Both put up very impressive numbers this week. Tapia tossed 12.2 innings in two starts, allowed four runs (only two earned) and struck out 11. He has a 2.51 ERA in 25.1 innings over five starts.

Who’s Not

• Brandon Nimmo OF (SAV)- After a very hot start, Nimmo has gone ice cold, hitting well under the Mendoza line at just .091 over the last week. His .286 On-Base Percentage and .182 Slugging Percentage are also far worse than what we saw earlier in the season from Nimmo. Hopefully he can turn it around soon.
• Cam Maron C (STL)- Maron also started off the season well, hitting .286 through ten games but has struggled since. His batting average has now dropped below .240. This week, he hit .154/.1185/.154.
• Collin McHugh RHP (LAS)- McHugh has allowed only one earned run through 18 innings this season before two bad starts this week. Over 12.1 innings, McHugh got walloped for 20 hits and nine runs allowed, striking out just seven. This kind of week happens to every Vegas pitcher, and isn’t something to be concerned about unless it carries on over his next few starts.

JAYSON WERTH WHIFFS: Sit your ass down, sucker!

You know that feeling when Scott Rice walked the first two batters in the 8th inning yesterday with the Mets clinging to a 2 run lead? Kind of a helpless sense of doom and despair where you can’t bear to watch? With a little help from Jayson Werth the result didn’t turn out like so many other late-inning debacles have, but as I exhaled and wiped the sweat from my forehead it got me thinking about the psychological effects of these recurring meltdowns.

Lets consider for a moment a couple of researchers who tortured some dogs for the sake of behavioral science. Like Pavlov only more twisted … they conditioned these animals to expect an electric shock after they heard a tone. Initially the dogs would leap and jerk and look for escape in an attempt to avoid the shock, but after a while the dogs became conditioned to the stimulus and quit trying to avoid it. Once the animals were thus acclimated, the researchers observed that even when the animals were presented with a lowered wall in their boxes they made no attempt to jump over it. Even with a clear avenue of escape, they did nothing to avoid the shock. The researchers were Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier, who went on to develop a theory they called “Learned Helplessness.”

Now lets look at an unpleasant set of random shocks that the Mets have experienced over the past six seasons:

September 27, 2007

After a 3-0 loss to the Saint Louis Cardinals the Mets are tied with the Phillies atop their division. Between the beginning of their September 14th series against the Phillies and the start of last night’s game against Saint Louis, Mets relievers have given up 30 earned runs for a 6.54 ERA. The Mets are 4 and 10 in their last 14 games.

September 21. 2008

With 7 games to go and the Mets clinging to a shot at the post season, Aaron Heilman gives up a two-run double to Martin Prado that gave the Braves a 7-4 lead rendering Carlos Delgado‘s two-run home run in the ninth inning irrelevant. It was the 16^th blown save since the All-Star break.

August 21, 2011

After another masterful performance by R.A. Dickey, Manny Acosta walks Nyjer Morgan to start the inning. With runners on first and third and two runs in, Tim Byrdak is brought in to pitch to Prince Fielder who hits a routine double play ball to second base. Justin Turner makes a wide throw on the double play attempt as the winning run crosses the plate. The Mets fall to 6 games under .500.

July 18, 2012

With the Mets only 5 games out of the wild card, Miguel Batista in relief of Chris Young comes in and gets two quick outs. He then allows two singles to Jesus Flores and Roger Bernadina before allowing a 2-run double to Steve Lombardozzi putting the Nationals ahead 4-1. Riding a 6 game losing streak the Mets bullpen ranks last in the Majors with a 5.03 ERA.

April 18, 2013

The Mets are swept in a weather-shortened three game set in Denver as Met relievers give up 18 runs to the Rockies.

April 20, 2013

After coming back from three runs down in the 4^th inning to take a 5 – 3 lead, the Mets bullpen gives up 4 runs as the Nationals win 7 – 6 on a Saturday game following an inspiring win by Matt Harvey.  The Met bullpen has given up 28 earned runs so far this season. As of this writing the Mets have the worst bullpen ERA in baseball.

No escape … Learned Helplessness.

The “D” adjectives keep coming … disheartening, demoralizing, deflating … Met fans have been stuck in a perpetual electro-shock holding pattern for the greater part of a decade owing primarily to this organization’s persistent inability to construct even a league average bullpen. We know this, we’ve been over this ad nauseam … the above list is just a sampling, there were other grueling losses, too many to list.

In May of 1978, Diener and Dweck published a fascinating analysis of Learned Helplessness in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in which they concluded that helpless children showed marked decrements in performance when put in situations where they failed, whereas children who were oriented to mastery focused more on self-monitoring and self-instruction. The study looked specifically at the attribution of failure in these learners. It was posited that for helpless children (their “helplessness” was based on how they perceived the tasks), failure was internalized and attributed to a lack of ability (even when that wasn’t necessarily the case), while mastery oriented children tended to engage in more positive behaviors following a failed attempt.

Learners who are conditioned to fail, show performance decrements with each failure. They give up, they stop trying, even when subsequently presented with tasks that are well within their ability, they stumble. Like the dogs in the electrified pens, they neglect to look for a solution, they acquiesce to their condition.

Baseball players are only human and they reflect the same patterns of response to failure that any of us might, but bullpen meltdowns are unlike other kinds of failures in some very important ways. They tend to be games that were “in the bag” at some point – which is to say many other aspects of the team’s play (namely starting pitching and offense) were successful for the greater part of the contest. The team played well, the team should have won, but the game unraveled somehow at the very end. These losses are gut punches to morale, exasperating in that they reinforce a sense of helplessness … no matter how well you play, no matter how many runs you drive in or how well your starting pitcher performs, you become conditioned to believing that the bullpen will find a way to give it up.

Players can only suffer through so many games of this sort before they stop investing their heart and soul into a game’s outcome – if only to preserve their sanity. You might call it developing a thick skin, letting failure bounce off of you, turning the page — there are lots of clichés to describe moving past failure — but, in the end, acclimating to failure increases the likelihood that it will recur. As shown in the study above, failure itself can be toxic — individuals conditioned to fail show decrements in performance relative to individuals oriented towards success even when their ability levels are commensurate.

This should not be confused with the notion that a good reliever has to have the temerity to ignore the occasional bad performance … that trait is advanced by the innate confidence that the reliever will return to his successful norm. The above has more to do with players who experience repeated failure, and thus begin to expect it.

Take two kids of equal ability who are learning to play shortstop. With player one you hit 20 hard smashes always just out of his reach. Then you bounce 20 routine grounders to player two. Follow that up by giving both players an identical set of grounders at a variety of difficulty levels and you will find that the player conditioned to failure is likely to make more errors than the player who handled the easy grounders. This is why coaches like to end sessions with a few successful reps.

Over the past few seasons the Mets have been conditioned to the late inning (and the late season) collapse. Beyond the hard work and talent unquestionably necessary to reverse this malaise of the spirit, this team needs individuals who refuse to turn the page, individuals who do not accept the loss. Sometimes all it takes is one guy. In 1967 it was Tom Seaver, perhaps Matt Harvey can act as this sort of catalyst in 2013. We need more Matt Harveys, we need players who refuse to acquiesce to failure.

But you absolutely have to have a bullpen that will hold it’s own and prevent these recurring gut-wrenching morale-killing failure-conditioning losses, because one thing is certain, you can only take so many late inning meltdowns before the dog decides to just stay in the box.

“On a cold night you have to hit the ball 25 feet farther. So, in other words, if the fence is 338 feet and you hit the ball 338 feet, you’ll be 25 feet short.” – Ralph Kiner, attempting to explain the effect of cold weather on the flight of a baseball.

The New York Mets and Minnesota Twins played last Friday night’s game in between snowflakes. According to Major League Baseball, the game time temperature was 34 degrees. Pitchers were licking their fingers and blowing hot air into their balled up fists. Infielders were wearing ski caps. The dugouts were filled with hoodies and heated benches. Toasty, right?

“But when you got outside the dugouts, it’s pretty stinking cold,” Mets manager Terry Collins told the media.

In April 1982 a massive snowstorm hit the northeast, wiping out games almost the entire first week of the baseball season in New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. The weather was so poor the Yankees returned to Florida while their scheduled opponent, the Texas Rangers, worked out under the stands at Shea Stadium. Meanwhile, the Mets beat the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, 7-2, in the season opener. It was all downhill sledding after that.

The Mets moved on to Chicago, where two snowstorms blasted the city just days before the Cubs scheduled opener. It was 34 degrees – and windy – at first pitch. The maintenance teams shoveled the snow into piles under the seats at Wrigley Field. Not a good idea.  Fans pelted Mets players with snowballs, prompting the Cubs public address announcer to appeal to the 26,091 fans: ”Please refrain from throwing snowballs on the field.”

Snow, in April, at the ballpark, isn’t new, but it certainly is unusual looking. David Wright looked like he was posing for a Christmas card …

The cold weather can be dangerous, too.

Former Mets catcher Rick Cerone remembers playing in Toronto in April 1977 as a member of the Blue Jays. The weather was so cold he suffered frost bite on his right hand and he never fully recovered.

”It snowed the first five innings,” said Cerone. “Ever since my hand got frostbitten that day, I’ve had bad circulation in it. Whenever it’s the least bit cold, I had trouble feeling the ball. I use heat packs to keep my hand warm. But that’s what cold weather can do. It’s not just how the cold affects you that day, it’s how it can affect the rest of your career.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Dave Winfield remembered how the cold weather nearly cost him his career. ”My junior year at the University of Minnesota, I was a pitcher as well as an outfielder. We were playing Michigan State in snow flurries and 30-degree weather, when I heard something pop in my elbow. For the next five months, I couldn’t throw a ball 30 feet. I thought I might be through, but lucky for me, my arm came back.”

Standing in the snow, Sandy Alderson looked across the field searching for the infield diamond. He couldn’t spot it. Earlier in the day he was on Twitter suggesting the conditions were more football than baseball. So, he wondered out loud, if the Mets and Rockies might still play later Monday night?

“There isn’t a bright line test,” he said. “Is it 30 degrees? Twenty-eight? Twenty-six? I don’t know where you draw the line.”

The answer: No. We found our bright line. A winter storm warning means no baseball in Colorado. The storm will remain in effect until 6am Tuesday morning.

The Boys of Summer will attempt to play a day-night doubleheader Tuesday at Coors Field. The weather forecast: Cloudy with a chance of snow in the morning. A chance of rain and snow in the afternoon. Highs 37 to 43. Sounds like they’ll be walking a fine bright line again.

I was told that nobody cares about anybody else after I asked SNY why all they only ever talk and write about the same 4-5 prospects as if the other 200 players in the Mets system meant nothing. Are Wilmer Flores, Rafael Montero, Jack Leathersich and Logan Verrett pariahs I asked? “Average Mets fans don’t care about them”, I was told. Really? Four of the best prospects in the Mets entire system? I’ll have much more on that later. Much, much more…

As one who was the first site back in 2005 to post daily minor league reports and have been for the eight years since, I found some of the things said to be very insulting to me and to Mets fans as a whole.

Meanwhile, for the less than 1% of Mets fans out there that do care about the Mets minor league system, or so I was told, and those of you who ARE excited about the future of this organization, this one’s for you.

Meet Josh Satin, professional slugger extraordinaire…

In previous Mets Minors Reports this week, the best Mets Minors Report you’ll ever see anywhere, I’ve been calling for the Mets to promote corner infielder Josh Satin. I wrote about my disappointment during the end of spring training when I learned he wouldn’t be making the team. I look at what he’s doing now and shake my head wondering, “what more does this kid have to prove by being in the minor leagues?”

Selected by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California-Berkeley, Satin wasted no time at all proving to all that his bat was legit, his intensity strong, and his determination was off the charts. However there was one slight problem, Satin was a third baseman, and a great one at that, but how was he going supplant the fixture at that position – face of the franchise and team captain David Wright?

“The guy’s the best third baseman in the game, and I happen to be a New York Met,” said Satin. “Even though that’s probably my best position, it’s not going to happen.”

Give Satin props for seeing and understanding the obvious. If he was going to crack the Majors, he was going to have to do it as a first baseman or even a second baseman perhaps.

The math was simple, if he pulled it off he could at least become a useful corner utility player for the Mets and perhaps even start a game or two when a left-hander was on the mound in light of Ike Davis being the everyday first baseman.

“I’ve kind of realized that if I’m going to be a player on this team, that’s the kind of role that I have to take.”

However, here we are in 2013, Satin now 28, and yet he still toils away at Triple-A… What’s wrong with this picture?

Lets check in on him and see how Las Vegas is treating him so far this season:

Satin currently leads his Mets Triple-A squad in Batting Average (.383), Slugging Percentage (.723) and On-Base (.473), as well as Runs Scored, Home Runs, RBI, Hits and Total Bases.

A fluke?

Not a chance… Satin has been hitting the ground running from the moment he signed his first professional contract and has posted an.865 OPS during his minor league career with the Mets, and has made the Minor League All Star Team as the starting third baseman, first baseman or second baseman every season since 2009. Wow…

The fact we have Ike Davis batting .136 this far into the season is fast becoming a concern. Some might say it’s too early, but what about his performance against left-handed pitching in his last 200 starts and 380 plate appearances?

Would that be a big enough sample size for you?

It would seem so to me and so I ask you non-believers to please explain his dismal .214/.277/.362/.619 output against southpaws throughout his career? And it’s only gotten even worse this season.

I think it’s time to call this and tell it like it is…

Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best.

Enter Josh Satin, who despite the gaudy stats I already posted, is even better against left-handed pitching. He torches southpaws unmercifully like a demon from Hell.

My conclusion?

Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long and give Josh Satin his well-deserved shot. The fact that it’s taking this long is a cardinal sin.

To the 99% of Mets fans who don’t care about the Mets minors, my deepest apologies…

The world awakens this morning seeking to right itself after a pair of explosions rocked Boston yesterday afternoon.  Lost are three souls, with no fewer than another one hundred and thirty-two injured.  Also lost in the day’s events, a nation’s sense of security when it comes to sporting events.

Long thought to be a potential target, major sporting events are often subjected to increased security measures.  To date, the United States had been successful (or lucky depending upon your point of view) to avoid such disasters, however April 15, 2013 will live on in infamy as the day the sports world was no longer immune to a direct attack.

The aftereffects of yesterday’s events remain to be seen, but as families, the city of Boston and the nation as a whole mourn this loss, its fair to assume that our shattered sense of security will send ripples through the sports world.  Decreased attendance can only be countered by increased protection in an effort to reassure fans that they’re safe.  At what point will your trip to the stadium resemble a tour through your local prison system?  At what point are fans treated like inmates? More importantly, at what point is such treatment necessary?

Long gone is the innocence of physically attending a game, ruined by the majority of fans who feel the price of admission grants them the freedom to drink like a fish and curse like a sailor without repercussion.  That arrogance, until yesterday thought by most to be the worst you could encounter during a trip to the ballpark, is now miniscule by comparison to the violence seen in the past twenty-four hours.  So what now?

Ultimately, too much energy is lost debating the successes and more frequently, the failures of our favorite sports franchises.  That faux pas takes place on a daily basis throughout social media and on sites just like this one.  I’m just as guilty as many of your reading this.  We’re debating a game..something that shouldn’t be life or death.  Its unfortunate that it takes such tragedy for things to fall in line once again, but it has become apparent that this is the world we live in now.  So remember, the next time your headed out to Citi Field, be cognizant of those around you, because not everyone is on the same team.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.

Sandy Alderson and Jay Horwitz chat before start of today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balasis, MMO)

Updated by Joe D. on April 15 at 12:00 PM

The reaction to Matt’s interview with Mets GM Sandy Alderson has been stunning. Over 25,000 different visitors have read the post and as I was telling Shannon of Mets Media Relations, it’s been talked about on WFAN and posted or linked to on over two dozen mainstream sites including MLB Trade Rumors, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo, USA Today, MetsBlog and the Daily News to name a few.

In all fairness, regarding the Giancarlo Stanton rumor which originated with Andy Martino of the Daily News, and was covered on MMO in a post that eclipsed 300 comments, Martino offered a reply to Alderson’s denial that there were any recent conversations and wanted to add his comments here:

Just updating our item from last Thursday on the Mets’ interest in Miami outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Two pieces of news trickled out over the weekend that both confirmed the Mets’ end of the story and moved forward the Marlins’ end beyond what we wrote.

In the original column, I reported that Sandy Alderson and Marlins GM Larry Beinfest spoke at a minor league game in Jupiter, Fla. This was probably early March. One good Mets source told me that two discussed Stanton, and that “there was heat there.” He was not talking about the temperature in Florida, but his team’s strong interest in the young slugger.

But another Mets person, also reliable, said he wasn’t sure if Stanton came up in the conversation that day. Alderson did not return a phone call seeking clarification, so I wrote what I knew to be accurate: One source said they talked Stanton, one said they talked about something or other. Regardless, we know the Mets are eyeing Stanton in their search for a marquee outfielder.

This weekend in Minnesota, Matt Balasis of Mets Merized Online spoke to Alderson. The GM, in a backhanded way, acknowledged that the teams had talked during spring training (he also said there was nothing happening now. To be clear, I never reported, suggested or implied that the teams were talking now).

To be clear, Alderson said they haven’t talked since “early spring training”. So we are talking about well over a month ago. Also, as Matt tells it, the exchange as it took place told more than just the words alone:

I wish I had video footage of the interview. When I mentioned Stanton for Wheeler and D’Arnaud he scoffed and just said “No,” then there was an awkward pause.

I followed up and said, “So there’s nothing to the rumors?”

And that’s when he said they hadn’t spoken since early spring. He was very, very clear that there was nothing to the recent rumors.

Anyway, both Andy and Matt added more context to the story regarding the Stanton rumor. Though while it was incredibly fun to consider, it was never nothing more than a longshot at best and one that ran out of steam over a month ago.

Original Post by Matt Balasis on April 13 at 8:00 PM

I had a chance to chat with Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson today during batting practice before the game at Target Field. I thought he gave me some very interesting answers on a number of different Mets topics. My thoughts follow the interview. Enjoy…

MMO: On the Stanton rumors, they’ve been all over the news, are there any truth to them?

Sandy: No, no we haven’t had any conversations with them since early spring.

MMO: Will adding players and payroll at the break be based on how well the team is doing or whether revenue is up?

Sandy: You mean adding players? If we feel the team is doing well we will add players.

MMO: Adding payroll, will you base that decision more on revenue or performance or both?

Sandy: Performance, but if we are winning, revenue will be up.

MMO: How do you feel about organizational depth as a whole? This is an organization that’s had poor organizational depth for a long time.

Sandy: It’s getting better. We are starting to see some effects of improved depth and we should be seeing more in the near future.

Sandy Alderson watching his team take batting practice before today’s game. (Photo: Matt Balsis, MMO)

MMO: If Buck keeps hitting the way he has been, how will you handle it when D’Arnaud comes up? Will you keep playing Buck or will he take on more of a mentor’s role?

Sandy: We’ll find a way to play both of them.

MMO: Any chance you will trade Buck?

Sandy: No. We are not trading Buck.

MMO: How do you feel about the bullpen, this team has struggled with bullpen depth for the greater part of the past decade?

Sandy: The Bullpen seems to be doing well, we still have Fransicso rehabbing and Familia down there so we feel we have some good depth there.

MMO: How do you feel about the team’s performance as a whole?

Sandy: Well it’s only been 10 games.

Thoughts from Matt

I got the sense that there is nothing to the Stanton rumors at all. A lot of the press around me seem to agree as well. Totally unfounded …

Overall I get the impression from watching Sandy interact around his players that while he does appear to be a consummate professional and an exemplary administrator, this is not the uncaring hatchet man he’s been accused of being.

The players joked around a lot (especially Justin Turner) with Horwitz and Collins, but with the exception of a short exchange between Wright and Sandy, there was little fraternization between Alderson and the players.

Nevertheless, he was intent and focused on the players and I would venture to say passionate even, which came out more during the interview when it was obvious the guy cares about this team.

As fans it’s probably difficult for us to distinguish between the job’s specifics and the person. A good General Manager can’t get too attached to his players, a good GM will deal a player when it improves the team.

As much as many of us have lamented the loss of some of our favorite players, this young season has been a case in point for why big long contracts and players whose game is dependent on their legs are risky propositions.

We want to thank Sandy for being gracious enough to answer a few questions for us. It was a pleasure to hear him respond to so many of the questions on many Mets fans minds. We appreciated the time he took to answer them.

I’ll be back at Target Field again on Sunday, and hope to have more video, pictures and maybe a surprise interview or two.

Chad Zurcher had it going last night.

Last Night’s Quick Scores:                                                                 

• Savannah vs Rome was postponed due to inclement weather.
• St. Lucie (5-2) dropped a game to Palm Beach, 7-4.
• Binghamton (4-3) dropped a game to New Hampshire, 3-1.
• Las Vegas (5-3) defeated Fresno in a blowout, 14-3.

Prospecting For Gold (Joe D)

1. Baseball America didn’t have any Mets prospects on this weeks Hot Sheet (damn them!), but they did have rafael Montero in the team picture saying, “The rapid rise of Mets 22-year-old RHP Rafael Montero continues. In his first two starts for Double-A Binghamton, Montero dominated (11.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 15 SO), showing the stuff to be a potential mid-rotation starter with good control and solid stuff across the board.”

2. Binghamton Manager Pedro Lopez doesn’t really care about bruised egos when it comes to his approach to managing. His goal is to produce major leaguers and he’ll do whatever it takes,

“Probably at the end of the year they’re going to hate me,” said Lopez, who led St. Lucie to the Florida State League championship series in 2011. “But guess what? If that means they’re going to get to the big leagues, so be it.”

3. Speaking of Binghamton, B-Mets starters has posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 48-to-13 so far in 2013. The 13 walks are the fewest given up by any pitching staff in the Eastern League. The starting rotation boasts a 34-to-5 strikeout-to-walk mark.

4. St. Lucie pitching coach Phil Regan got his first look at Mateo on Tuesday when the right-hander threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in his Florida State League debut and couldn’t stop raving about him. ”His changeup is outstanding,” Regan said. “His fastball is plus. He has three plus pitches. His slider was almost unhittable tonight.”

Regan said the right-hander’s fastball sat around 93-95 mph and featured heavy sink, and his slider — which reportedly hit 90 mph last year — was a go-to offering.  Regan, a former Major League pitcher, sees a clear-cut big leaguer in Mateo, noting most of his remaining weaknesses are periphery adjustments.

5. A little story from my Minor League Analyst Teddy:

Hey Joe… Here’s a story about Zach Lutz I want to share. You know how Albert Pujols was found? It was a scout roving around certain community colleges, walking through the batting cages, listening in on balls being hit, when he heard a different sound, a louder bat if you will, coming from Albert. A certain boom and sound of hitting the ball harder that you never heard many others do. He turned out to be the best first baseman in the past decade. When scouts came to see Lutz, they heard the same thing. Just wanted to let you know that one if you hadn’t.

You see why I love our guys?

Back to you, Gare….

Stat Line of the Night:

Zach Lutz: 2-for-5, HR, 5 RBI, R (2-out Grand Slam)

Tweet Of The Day:

Happy Birthday to Tomas Nido, who turns 19 today…

Today … I’m 19 jeez I’m getting old #birthdayboy and it s Gameday!!!!

— Tomas Nido (@tnido24) April 12, 2013

Probable Starters:

Las Vegas lets Carlos Torres (0-0, 3.18) toe the rubber for them tonight against former MLB pitcher Aaron Cook. This is the Vegas home opener at 10:05 ET tonight.

RHP Tyler Pill (0-1, 7.20) will start for the B-Mets against RHP Tyson Brummett (0-0, 0.00) for New Hampshire tonight at 7:05 ET.

St. Lucie sends Jacob DeGrom (1-0, 0.00) to the mound tonight against the Bradenton Marauder’s Matt Benedict.

Savannah has yet to announce their starter after the postponement, but they will play Rome at 7:00 ET tonight if the weather clears.

There is five inches of snow with more forecast in Minneapolis where the Mets play tonight. The high for the series is forecast at a blustery 43 degrees. It will be colder with the wind.

I would love to see Twins owner Jim Pohlad sit with Commissioner Bud Selig in short sleeves tonight in a vain attempt to convince us the weather is fine. But, it isn’t and probably won’t be much better next week in Denver, where it also snows any time.

It is true scheduling isn’t about one team but all 30 and you can’t predict the weather. However, it is also true MLB created this issue, and first did so with the increase to 30 teams from 20 when the Mets were born in 1962.

The insistence of a 162-game schedule stretched the season from the first week of April into October. Factor increased playoff rounds with the last two – including World Series – lasting up to seven games and we’re brushing against November.

There’s too much money to be made over 162 games and the playoffs – the vehicle for the networks to shill for their programming – so they won’t think to cut there.

Nonetheless, Major League Baseball made things more difficult for itself with interleague play, and now, interleague play every day of the season.

With interleague play comes the unbalanced schedule, which means not every team runs the same race in a season. By definition, that means the schedule has no integrity to it, thereby making it unfair.

Unfortunately, Selig loves interleague play, so that won’t change, either. Interleague play has become part of Selig’s legacy, and I don’t think in a good way.

I don’t believe MLB’s economic growth is directly attributable to interleague play as it is to the steroid era which brought on the great power numbers; the construction of new stadiums in both leagues; almost 15 years of the Yankees and Red Sox on top which increases everybody’s attendance and TV ratings; better television deals because of cable; and to Selig’s credit, the international marketing of the sport and continued labor peace.

The great influx of money made MLB, its teams and the Players Association willing to accept the playing in horrible conditions, where injuries and pitcher’s arms are at risk. Instead of improved conditions, the players union settled for more money. Seriously, don’t worry about ending a career because you’ve got enough money to retire for life at age 32.

Things happen and weather is unpredictable, but MLB can still do things to put the odds in its favor while keeping most everything it has going for it now, things that came with the cost of tradition.

First, what genius approved an open-air stadium in Minneapolis? There’s inclement weather this time of year in the Northeast and Midwest, but Minnesota is a different animal. It can snow there for another week or so and almost any time in mid-October.

If they weren’t smart enough to build a dome where it snows seven months in the year, then play the Royals or Indians or White Sox in April, teams that are easier to reschedule later.

Yesterday, the Yankees were out of their division and had a rainout in Cleveland for a second straight day. They now will have a doubleheader on an off-day and play 17 games in 16 days. That makes for tired players and poor pitching, but who cares about putting the best product on the field?

“I don’t think you can go to cold weather cities in April if you’re only going to go there once,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I know the schedule’s not easy to make, but if you could just stay in your division longer or go to some warmer weather cities you might be able to get by a lot of this.’’

From a business standpoint, the Indians can’t like playing the Yankees in April, when the crowds are down. They’d rather play them later when there’s a chance for a sellout.

It’s pounding a square peg into a round hole to play interleague and non-divisional play in April. The first two weeks of the season should be within the division so make-ups are easier to reschedule.

I’ve suggested this several times, even talked with players and club officials who believe it is a good idea, and that is the scheduling of day-night doubleheaders.

In this case, MLB can make the unbalanced schedule work to its advantage. Because you’re playing 18 games within the division, have several day-nighters each month. Not only does this give the owners the gates they want, but provides more off-days to make rescheduling easier.

Nobody likes to play in horrible weather conditions, and nobody likes to sit in them, either. However, this is an issue because MLB lacks the willingness or foresight to change something within its control.