Adam says that the thrust of the argument is that there should have been a straight error on Ruben Tejada‘s throw that bounced past Ike Davis and allowed Anthony Rizzo to score from second base in the first inning on Friday.

There has been a lot of bad scoring for the Mets this offseason, and I’m not so sure if it’s wise to defend one instance of it like they are doing here. There will be plenty more bad scoring as the season wages on.

This is baseball and it’s an imperfect game…

I’m thinking that if the Mets are going to this now, then they should do it for every other player who is denied a hit or an RBI or whatever moving forward.

With or without that earned run, Matt Harvey is still a great pitcher and everybody already knows it. Everything evens out in the end as the game is the great equalizer.

This is a bad idea in my opinion…

I bet Harvey, who is a team player, would say so too…

The Los Angeles Dodgers were in town this week, taking 2 out of 3 games against the Mets. This was a fun series, that pictured two well pitched games on Wednesday and Thursday. I’ll even go so far as to say Wednesday night’s game was one of the most enjoyable ball games I’ve watched in a while.

Where’s The Spin: No doubt about who would lead of this edition. Jordany Valdespin wins the only game the Mets took in the series and then tells reporters afterward that the team won the game because of Mike Baxter‘s hustle. Nice. But, how come he was not in the lineup after hitting a dramatic game winning grand slam home run in the tenth inning the previous night?

Wright On: Wright gets a nod for his game tying hit in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. Wright did exactly what a captain should do. The Dodgers had some mojo going after Jerry Hairston‘s great catch on Daniel Murphy. Wright stepped up, two out Baxter on third and promptly laces a single to center. So much for the non-clutch label.

Heff Deserved Better: Jeremy Hefner pitched a gem on Thursday afternoon, going seven innings, giving up one run, three hits, and four strikeouts. Job well done, Jeremy. Unfortunately, he got no run support. Let’s hope he can string some back to back quality starts together.

Mattingly’s Moves: In the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s game, Donny Baseball decide to use an extra infielder, and play with only two outfielders. The problem I have with this, is it took way too long for the Dodgers to get set on defense. As Ron Darling mentioned on SNY, Terry should be out complaining about the delay. Second head-scratcher from Mattingly was using his ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw as a pinch hitter to bunt. I get it, Kershaw is a very good bunter. But, the Dodgers pitching staff has been hit hard with injuries, so why risk getting your ace injured on a bunt play? Is Donny that desperate to save his job?

Post Game Celebrations: Joe D. had a post here on Thursday about the pie in Valdespin’s face on Wednesday night being a cheap shot. Looking at it live, I didn’t realize it, but then saw Joe was 100% correct upon further review. There was more behind the pie incident than we fans will ever know about. Joe called for an apology, was criticized for it, but that’s exactly what Valdespin and the team got. Buck assembled them all before yesterday’s game and apologized to the team and then turned to Valdespin and said he was sorry in Spanish. Valdespin accepted, shook hands with Buck, and the matter is over. I don’t like the pie in the face, and I also don’t like the entire team crowding around home plate after a walk off home run like a bunch of little leaguers.

Where’s His Edge: On Tuesday, sophomore reliever Josh Edgin worked 1/3 of an inning, giving up four hits and two runs. On the season Edgin is 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA. Not good enough. His fastball has no life, his slider is flat, and it may be time to consider a trip to Vegas because he is not helping the team right now.

The Phillies are in town this weekend. Chase, Ryan, Cole, J-Roll….all our old friends enemies . Lets hope for the best, and Let’s Go Mets.

Last night, in the Mets 7-2 loss to the Dodgers, Juan Lagares entered the game in the top of the fifth inning to play center field as part of a double-switch – officially marking his major league debut.

Lagares led off in the bottom half of the fifth with a hard hit fly to the warning track in left field against Dodgers’ ace LHP Clayton Kershaw. In his next at-bat, Lagares singled against left-hander Paco Rodriguez in the seventh for his first major league hit. The first of what I’m sure will be many.

“When I got to the dugout, all my teammates said ‘Congratulations,’” Lagares said. “I really don’t know how to say it, but I am so excited to be here with the team.”

Lagares, 24, was promoted in place of outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who was optioned to Las Vegas after hitting .125 (2-for-16).

I appealed to the Mets to call him up only the day before they did after looking at his .346 (27-for-78) in 17 games with Las Vegas. The athletic outfielder started every game in centerfield and had already hit three home runs, three doubles and two triples in his 82 total plate appearances. His .929 OPS was second on the team.

“He’s the future,” Mets manager Terry Collins said before Tuesday’s game. “A great defender. Got some power. There are people in this organization that think he’s a better outfielder than Matt den Dekker. That speaks a lot.”

Initially an infielder, Lagares converted to the outfield in 2009 and has only gotten better according to Wally Backman.

Collins said Lagares will start Wednesday with the Dodgers starting left-hander Ted Lilly.

Welcome to The Show, kid…

In the top of the third inning, a comebacker struck Niese on his leg sending him to the ground writhing in pain. Niese sat down in the dirt along the first base line and grimaced as the Mets trainer helped him to his feet after a minute or so and exited the field. X-rays were negative and Niese left with a bruise. The Mets said he was day to day.

“We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. But I should be able to throw a bullpen and make my next start,” Niese said.

“I’m glad it’s not as bad as what it could have been,” he added. “Everything kind of locked up down there. I couldn’t move my toes. It was kind of scary at first.”

The Mets scored twice in the third after Clayton Kershaw retired the first two batters. Robert Carson, who took over for Niese, walked in his first big league plate appearance and set up RBI singles by Daniel Murphy and David Wright. But that would be all the scoring for the Mets who had just had four hits, all singles, on the night.

The Dodgers put the game away in the eighth inning after reliever Josh Edgin was tagged for two runs on two singles and two doubles.

One Mets bright spot was when Juan Lagares made his big league debut during a double switch in the fifth inning. The center fielder was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day and flied out to the warning track against Kershaw in his first at-bat.

Then Lagares singled his next time up for his first big league hit. ”When I got to the dugout all of my teammates said congratulations. That, for me, feels good,” he said.

Right-hander Matt Harvey will try to snap the Dodgers’ five game winning streak at Citi Field tonight at 7:10 PM. We’ll be live blogging the game from the press box at Citi and hope you’ll join us.

Mets Starting Lineup

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

Game Notes

The Mets lead the National League, averaging 5.82 runs per game, narrowly ahead of the Colorado Rockies (5.78). Imagine if we had a legitimate backend of the rotation? We’d have at least 11-12 wins with that kind of run support. (Joe D.)

Juan Lagares, who was promoted to the Mets from Triple-A Las Vegas today, will be available and wear Uniform No. 12 which was last worn by Scott Hairston. Wally Backman has always spoken highly of Juan Lagares who has a .282 minor league average. (Joe D.)

The Aaron Laffey era is officially over as he was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays on waivers this afternoon. Laffey had a 7.20 ERA, allowing eight earned runs on 16 hits with four walks and nine strikeouts in 10 innings for the Mets. And so it goes… (Joe D.)

Left-hander on the mound and Ike Davis on the bench. Does Terry Collins read MMO too? It’s about time Terry… (Joe D.)

Mets minor leaguer Christian Montgomery has been suspended 50 games for a second positive test of a drug of abuse, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.

Game Preview

The Mets and Dodgers start a series tomorrow night as the Mets look to build off of a series win against the Nationals. The Mets are catching the Dodgers at a good time as several players are struggling and moral is low. The Dodgers catch the Mets at an interesting time as they just beat two of the better pitchers in baseball (Strasburg, Zimmermann) and the Mets will get another challenge tonight in Clayton Kershaw.

Jon Niese had two rough starts in a row in two cold weather environments. In his first two starts, he was 2-0 over 12.2 innings with 9 strikeouts and a 2.13 ERA. In his next starts he was 1-1 after pitching 11.0 innings allowing 8 runs with 7 earned. Tonight he looks to channel the first two starts. He had a no decision in one start last year against the Dodgers allowing 3 ER over 7 innings. The Dodgers have the following against Niese:

Uribe 0-11
Hairston 1-10
Kemp 4-9
Ethier 4-9
Cruz 1-5
Punto 0-5

The Mets batters will try to rough Kershaw tonight who is 2-2 with a 1.88 ERA in his first four starts on the season. He started off the season with 16.2 scoreless innings which he followed up with 6 ER over 12.2 innings. He had one start against the Mets last year and he allowed 3 runs, 1 earned over 7 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against Clayton:

Wright 2-12, 2B
Buck 1-8
Turner 1-10
Byrd 6-9
Tejada 3-5
Davis 1-6, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, righthander Chien-Ming Wang tossed six shutout innings to lead Chinese Taipei to a 4-1 victory over Australia. The 2013 World Baseball Classic is officially underway.

As the tournament kicks off, the sentiment from most fans I run into is that they view the WBC as a “big pain in the ass”. Some fans resent the fact that their team’s top players have bolted their Spring Training camps in Arizona and Florida just so that they can begin training and competing in the WBC. “What a damned nuisance.”

I beg to differ.

I believe the WBC should be embraced by MLB fans and players alike. It’s in the game’s best interest to promote our national pastime throughout the world and open it up to new markets for a variety of reasons. The least of which is uncovering new and brighter stars from an ever-increasing talent pool. We’ve seen this happen before.

In the history of baseball, breaking the color barrier in the late 1940′s and expanding the game to Latin America in the 1960′s did more to popularize the game and produce more stars than anything else MLB has ever done. The WBC can be another watershed moment for baseball.

In an interesting article about the this subject by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, he mentioned that the WBC Championship Game in 2009, was the sixth most watched sporting event that year, drawing more than 82 million viewers world-wide. And yet fewer MLB stars will participate in 2013 than in 2009. Many of the stars who were invited to participate decided to opt out. Too bad.

Many Mets fans moaned yesterday when it was reported that David Wright had left Port St. Lucie to represent Team USA. Not me. I applauded him.

“Of course, I’ll miss being here and I’m sure I’ll have to catch up a little bit once I get back,” Wright said. “But for me, the chance to represent Team USA, to go play for your country, was something that I just couldn’t pass up. I had so much fun the last time. I wanted to do it again.”

By the way, before Wright left, he took care of business and lined a two-out single to plate Justin Turner with the go-ahead run in the Mets 6-2 win over the Tigers.

One more thing. Rosenthal makes a great point in his article when he said the U.S. loses on every level when its stars decline to participate.

“The reluctance of aces such as Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and David Price is understandable, given the fragile nature of pitching. But position players such as Buster Posey and Prince Fielder? And youngsters such as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper? C’mon.”

The WBC isn’t a nuisance. It’s an opportunity.

I’d like to express my thanks to Joe D. for posting this article for me on such short notice. It’s an honor to contribute to such a prestigious site for Mets baseball.

This Fan Shot was contributed by Robert J. Loewen.

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For the most part, Mets fans were pleasantly surprised with the production of the Mets pitching staff in 2012. The bullpen kept us on the edge of  our seats the majority of the season, but the starters were one of the bright spots for the Mets. None shone brighter than the ace of the staff, RA Dickey. Some injuries prevented the Mets starting rotation from reaching its full potential, but when all the starters are healthy, it is easily the strongest aspect of the New York Mets. But what will we find out about the Mets Pitchers if we break them down statistically? Statistically speaking, the Mets pitchers may not be as strong as we thought.

The best statistical measure I have come across when evaluating pitchers is the Factor12 (F12) rating. The majority of readers out there are asking, what’s the Factor12 rating? Well, it’s probably best if I let one of the co-creators of the F12 rating explain it to you in his own words:

The Factor12 Rating uses the league average performance to calculate the value of MLB pitchers in a given season. The theoretical average pitcher will have a F12 Rating of 24.000. Elite pitchers will post a 30.000+ seasonal rating. F12 is calculated by comparing each pitcher to the league average in ten ratio statistics, and two counting statistics. – Sven Jenkins

I know. Some of the readers are still scratching their heads. Many are still questioning why this rating is so great. Still not convinced? I will include the entire description of the F12 rating below, so you can get a better feel for why this rating is the best way to analyze a pitcher’s success. You can also find this information on their website:

The Factor12 Rating (F12) is an analytic measurement utilizing league average performance to compare the value of all MLB pitchers.

F12 consists of the following twelve statistics incorporating every aspect of pitching.

Innings Pitched (IP); Strikeouts Minus Walks (SO-BB); Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP); Earned Run Average (ERA); Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP); Home Runs per 9 innings (HR/9); Walks per 9 innings (BB/9); Strikeouts per 9 innings (SO/9); Opponents Batting Average (OBA); Opponents On-Base Average (OOBA); Opponents Slugging Average (OSLG); Modified Base-Out Percentage (MBOP) has been adjusted to include wild pitches and balks.

F12 produces a numeric total value using the percentage difference equation for the ten pre-defined ratio categories. Each pitcher is ranked according to league average performance using 2.000 as the baseline. Categories have a maximum value of 4.000 and a minimum of 0.001.

Percentage difference equals the absolute value of the change in value, divided by the average of the 2 numbers, all multiplied by 100. To illustrate, the average MLB pitcher compiled a 3.94 ERA in 2011. Clayton Kershaw finished his Cy Young campaign with a 2.28 ERA: =((3.94-2.28)/((2.28+3.94)/2))*100. The Factor12 Method adds: /100+2 to utilize an easy number less than, greater than, or equal to 2.000. As a result, Kershaw received a 2.536 F12 value for ERA last season.

The Innings Pitched (IP) and Strikeout Minus Walks (SO-BB) categories utilize a percentage change formula, which does not contain a fixed range. Percentage change represents the relative change between the old value and the new one. For example, the average MLB pitcher totaled 65.75 innings pitched in 2011. Clayton Kershaw compiled 233.33 innings pitched: =((233.33-65.75)/65.75)*100. The Factor12 Method adds: /100+2 and Kershaw earned a 4.549 value for IP last season.

A pitcher’s F12 is the sum of the percentage difference/change value of the twelve statistical categories. The league average performance is 24.000 and the  minimum is 0.001. Pitchers recording zero innings pitched will receive a 0.000 F12 Rating. Elite pitchers will accumulate a 30.000+ seasonal rating.

Pitchers completing less than the average yearly innings (i.e. 65.75 in 2011) will have their F12 Rating weighed by the percentage of innings completed in relation to the league average (i.e. Sergio Romo 48 IP/65.75). This adjustment enables starting pitchers and relievers to be compared together based on different workloads for the season.

Factor12 rates yearly performance, with the potential for future projections. Weekly updates were available during the 2012 season to quantify every pitcher in Major League Baseball using F12.

Sounds simple enough right? I think a good way of explaining the F12 rating is by saying that it gives us a better idea of which pitchers actually control the strike zone the best. That’s why I prefer to use the F12 when analyzing pitchers statistically. We can sometimes get caught up in strikeouts, and ERA, but those aren’t always the best ways to analyze how well a pitcher is actually picthing. The F12 rating gives a better overall picture of how a pitcher is performing.

Now that you understand a little more about the rating, and how it works, we can look at how some of the Mets pitchers performed in 2012 by using this rating system. I asked the guys at 60ft6in.com if they could create a spreadsheet of all the pitchers that pitched in a game for the Mets this year. I asked them to provide us with their F12 rating, as well as how it ranked up against every other pitcher in the MLB. Aside from Dickey, you may be surprised about how the other Mets pitchers stacked up against the rest of the league.

I don’t think anyone is surprised that Dickey is at the top of the list for the Mets. Dickey is ranked fourth in the MLB using the F12 rating – only Justin Verlander (31.422), Clayton Kershaw (31.219), and Felix Hernandez (30.914) were ranked higher. Even F12 agrees that Dickey has a great chance at being the 2012 National League Cy Young winner. Something that was surprising to me when looking at the spreadsheet, was that only two Mets pitchers ranked in the top 100. I figured to see more than two pitchers in the top 100. I was also surprised to see that Bobby Parnell, every Met fan’s nightmare, was actually the third best Mets pitcher according to the F12. That kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I will let it slide.

I can’t be the only person who thought the Mets pitching was pretty good this year (not taking the bullpen into consideration). But according to the F12 rating, they actually weren’t too good at all. The theoretical average F12 rating for pitchers in 24. That being said, the Mets had three average pitchers in 2012 (Parnell, Gee, Santana), one slightly better than average pitcher (Niese), and one elite pitcher (Dickey). The rest of the pitchers were considered below average. It makes you realize how bad the rest of the team must have been in 2012 to make the pitching staff look so good to the fans. However, after a little elbow grease by the guys at 60ft6in.com, and some analysis, we see that the Mets pitching staff is not as strong as it seems.

Regardless of F12, we had some memorable moments from the pitching staff in 2012. Dickey became the first twenty game winner in a Mets uniform since 1990, and is up for the Cy Young award (hopefully some voters check out his F12 rating). Johan Santana maybe injury prone, and average according to his F12 rating, but he pitched the first no-hitter in New York Mets history. When it’s all said and done, the Factor12 can’t measure those things…and those are the things the Mets fans will remember about the 2012 baseball season.

I would like to give a special thanks to Sven Jenkins for taking the time to help out with this article. If any readers want to learn more about the Factor12 rating, or get pitching scouting reports, check out 60ft6in.com. As always, please share any thoughts in the comment section below – was anything surprising to you when looking at the F12 ratings? Do you buy into the F12 rating? Let’s hear it…

Legend has it that the Mets were never quite the same after Dr. Evil himself, M. Donald Grant, traded away the Franchise, literally and figuratively, for some spare parts. It was true, in a way, but then again, so was the dynamic changing in baseball. Indirectly relating to the trade of Tom Seaver was the underlying notion that he wanted to be paid up, suckas.  Grant didn’t think Seaver was above the Mets name, and subsequently got rid of him by planting some unfavorable quotes in the NYC sports “tabloids,” if you will.

But the dynamic was also changing because of the era of free agency. And to that, I ask, is the “franchise player” still relevant?

You know who that is: the guy who is known for playing for one team; who made his mark with one team; who may have played for another team, but was never quite the player he was with that synonymous team. I think the closest we might have today is Albert Pujols. That, however, may change this offseason due to his contentious situation with being the best player in baseball (well, maybe Alex Rodriguez takes umbrage with that) and being a free agent. I think his brand with the Cardinals is significant, but as my friend Bill Ivie has said, the Cardinals were a great franchise before Pujols, they’ll still be a great franchise without him. Time will tell.

But then look at Carlos Beltran. Perhaps one of the most divisive Mets in recent memory, his injuries may prevent him from ever making the Hall of Fame. Yet, I had a Twitversation the other day with some other Mets fans about him playing a few more years, uninjured. I think if it walks and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck, and Beltran cannot stay healthy. I said, the harsh reality is he could be another Moises Alou, a great player whose injury-marred seasons keep him from getting his call to the Hall. However, someone said, if he DID come around with great numbers and played into his 40s without as many injuries, it would be hard pressed to have him go in as a Met, even though he did play seven years with them.

I guess I am raising these questions because of the Mets’ own “Franchise Players” and “Faces of the Franchise,” David Wright and Jose Reyes.

The Mets and those of us who live, breathe and eat any information surrounding the team have a contentious situation on their hands, especially regarding Reyes’ status as a free agent after the 2011 season. Couple that with David Wright, which is another contentious situation in and of itself. While not a free agent, he has an option that he can decline if he gets traded (which makes him a less attractive trading candidate), but then he’s had a noticeable drop off, but on the flip side he’s had one of his first injury-plagued seasons in recent memory (he’s been relatively healthy, considering all the injuries this stupid team has had in the last three years).

It gives me pause because they are still young and productive, yet I wonder if perhaps we all need a change of scenery. Meaning we, as fans, with the same “cornerstone” players, and the players themselves. M. Donald Grant may have been a clueless idiot, but perhaps he was prophetic in trying to set with us, that a player isn’t above the Franchise. Well, he was wrong in the case of Seaver, but the dynamic of the game has changed since then.

Look at the Dodgers. Their two franchise players, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, are essentially the equivalent of our Reyes and Wright. They even have an A+ starter in Clayton Kershaw. And they STILL can’t provide a winning season (or make money)!  I would say that Ryan Braun is probably the closest to a “Franchise Player,” since the Brewers see him as part of their long-term plans (and also since it appears Prince Fielder is going to go to the highest bidder in the offseason).

Look, the Mets situation is precarious, and perhaps I am too close to it. I was discussing on Twitter the other day with my friends over at the Daily Stache about the Reyes situation. Basically, I feel like the issue is now that the Mets are mailing it in (something that Terry Collins is NOT happy about), we are going on our third straight losing season, our legs and asses are cramped up from wanting to jump for joy but we can’t because there is nothing making us do that, and now the prospect of losing guys we feel should be in Mets uniforms forever is something we are nonchalant about. “Whatever” has been my philosophy at this point.

I know things will change once the postseason is over, and who knows, maybe the Mets and Reyes will come to an agreement and we’ll all be happy. But I think what will make us happier is WINNING. Reyes and Wright certainly have not been enough. The onus is on the personnel to seriously evaluate the team and not attend to what the fans want. Yes, I know Reyes makes us a lot of us happy. And his injuries are a cause for concern, especially since they basically have said his running game (what makes Jose Jose) has been halted because of his hamstring issues this year.

I know I would hold onto Reyes simply for emotional reasons because I love him and want him to be a Met forever. The other more rational side of me says that the time is not now. This team is a few years away from winning, and would it make a huge difference to lose with him or without him.