Noah Syndergaard accomplished two important things on Sunday. He picked up his first win of the season and he pitched seven innings for the first time in his professional career. That according to Jonathan Raymond who got a chance to get up close to the Mets pitching prospect in his last start.

Syndergaard is trying to put that one bad start when he allowed seven runs over three innings completely behind him and he seems to be doing a heck of a job of it too. Since that forgettable outing all he’s done was manage to toss two starts without allowing an earned run. Combined he thrown 13 innings and held the opposition to just eight hits and three walks while striking out 11 of them.

“He really located his fastball really well over both sides of the plate. Kept the ball down and was pretty much in command of all his pitches,” St. Lucie pitching coach Phil Regan said. “He also had two strikeouts on curveballs and two on changeups, and these are the things we have been working on.

“And he went seven innings. It was an interesting thing, someone mentioned to him it was the first time he went seven innings this year. And he says, “Yeah, it’s the first time in three years, since high school.’”

After Sunday’s performance, Syndergaard has lowered his ERA to a respectable 3.24 ERA while striking out 26 and walking ten in 25 innings pitched this season.

“He’s really coming along well. I think he’s making a lot of strides,” Regan said. “He’s understanding a lot about pitching and he’s just a tremendous kid, soaks up knowledge and wants to learn. I think he’s done exceptionally well for his age and where he’s coming from. He’s not afraid, he goes right after hitters, aggressive on the mound. I think he’s got confidence in himself, and that’s all part of it.”

As we said in our Prospect Spotlight back in February, “Syndergaard is a perfect physical specimen for a pitcher and really looks like he can become a perennial all-star. Although there are some things that come into question – his command at times, his stamina, and as always, furthering the development of his third pitch, there is a lot to love about Noah Syndergaard.”

The seven innings pitched certainly shows positive gains with regard to his stamina, and Regan says that his curveball and change have improved and are becoming effective weapons as his command. That’s exactly what we were hoping for.

“He is aggressive on the mound and stays relatively emotionless,” is what we about said about him in our MMO Top 25 Prospect rankings. We also said:

If Syndergaard makes the move to AA during the 2013 season, I have faith that he will breeze through it. It is important not to put too much pressure or to rush the young prospect, as he represents a new wave of pitching prospects…or a changing of the Gaard. See what I did there? Good.

So far, out of our Top 5 Prospects, Michael Fulmer and Travis d’Arnaud are still on the disabled list, Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores are both trying to figure out the PCL for entirely different reasons, and Syndergaard has looked and played the part so far in the early going.

I know it’s early, but if I were handing out Monthly Report Cards like they did in Catholic School:

Syndergaard Gets an A-

Flores gets a B

Wheeler gets a C+

Fulmer and d’Arnaud get Incompletes.

Just saying…

It’s now been over seven years since that promising Opening Day in 2006, which was only day one of a season that took the Mets just a big swing away from the National League Championship trophy, and a visit to the World Series. With the exception of a few R.A. Dickey masterpieces, and a special no-hitter, there hasn’t been much cheering in Flushing since that magical run in 2006.

The Metropolitans are a team that has always been known for its pitching, with ace Cy Young winners like Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden leading the pack, career years from David Cone, and the aforementioned Dickey, are just compliments to the team’s rich pitching history. All of those Mets aces brought with them to the stadium every fifth day, great stuff, a great baseball mind, and of course big crowds.

With an ace, comes a crowd. With Matt Harvey, come the masses. He is in a word, phenomenal, and perhaps even more important to Flushing than the wins he brings, is the spirit he brings to the ballpark.

Matt began his pro career as a first round draft pick for the Mets in 2010, but hasn’t always been looked at as the ace type he has recently shown to be. Just last season before he arrived in Queens to play with the big boys, scouts as well as others around the organization, and around the league, had doubted Matt’s ability to be a front end pitcher.

Unlike his early success this season, Matt, although he performed well, did not dazzle as he has thus far in 2013. He finished the 2012 season at 3-5, with a 2.73 ERA; impressive, yet not startling.

Any bit of doubt that had yet to evaporate going into this baseball season, was gone after Harvey’s very first start of the year. If the season were to end today, the Cy Young Award would most definitely be spending a second consecutive year in the Big Apple, and it would say Harvey all over it.

The good doctor, Mr. Dwight Gooden has already given the Mets 24 year old ace his blessing. Gooden tweeted to his 35,000+ followers on twitter Saturday, that the Mets now have “The Real Deal” in town, and Gooden likes what he sees.

Citi Field has a very different aroma on “The Real Deal” days, instead of Amazin’ fans chowing down on some delectable delights during innings, Mets fans are paying close attention to each and every time Harvey serves up one of his out pitch – that devastating high fastball.

The fans rise on each two strike count, and they get behind their, so far, 4-0 ace every time he needs that extra bit of adrenaline from the Citi Field faithful. He is certainly a special player to say the least, and there is absolutely no doubt from anyone in baseball that there is much more from Matt “The Real Deal” Harvey, yet to come.

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This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader, Michael Feldman. Follow him on Twitter at @michael4ny. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 16,000 Mets fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to GetMetsmerized@aol.com. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.

No-Han was everything any Met fan could have ever hoped for last season and it surpassed all our expectations. And when it happened there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Some viewers were even passing out in the aisles, while most of them danced and jumped around them.

But the followup to last year’s box-office hit is already looking like a box-office flop and it could cost the team millions.

SPOILER ALERT!

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana is officially going to start the season on the disabled list. Worse yet, it may be months before he makes it back to the Mets rotation. The fact is nobody knows, the only constant is that he currently can’t pitch. (What about that whole WBC thing?)

The Mets announced that Santana continues to experience weakness in his left shoulder and there is no timetable for when he will pitch off a mound again – that’s assuming if he ever does pitch off a mound again. The critics are already weighing in and are giving No-Han 2.0 a resounding two thumbs down each.

His outlook is so bleak that he still is not past the stage of throwing on flat ground at a short distance and even that’s a chore for him.

“I’ve just got to stay here and work out and get ready,” Santana told reporters Saturday morning.

“I’m making progress. It’s just I don’t know when I’m going to be pitching again.”

I don’t know when I’m going to pitch again? This is more frightening that Friday the 13th – Part 6 only with less gore…

Santana, like all top-grossing actors, will get his big payday to the tune of $25.5 million dollars regardless of how No-Han 2.0 plays out, but that doesn’t keep the bad taste of it from our mouths.

The Mets thought it best to let their 34-year old ace rest up for three months after shutting him down because of a bum ankle… Make that eight months…

According to Adam Rubin, team doctor David Altchek says that Santana’s shoulder is structurally sound. That’s great, but if that were actually the case, then why the delay? And why is he limited to tossing only marshmallows at 30 paces?

“When I talked to him, he said everything was fine,” Santana said. “The shoulder is not feeling good or it’s just not strong.” Santana described his current activity as a “slow process.”

A slow process indeed and only getting slower… It reminds of the ending to LOTR: Return of the King – the longest ending in Hollywood history. 

Now might be a good time to leave your seat and go grab a refreshing drink and another bucket of popcorn (extra butter) – this intermission is going to take a while…

The curtain is coming down quickly on Johan Santana’s 2013 season and it doesn’t look like there will be a good ending to this rotten tomato.

In short, Santana will not break camp with the Mets next week and the team is unsure when he’ll pitch again this season.

That’s too bad…

For a young guy like Matt Harvey working on a pitch, those teams don’t have to worry about the film as they can see him first hand. I’ve always wondered if that’s a disadvantage to the pitcher.Johan Santana once made his final exhibition start against a minor league team rather that against the Marlins, a team he would face in the first week.

Harvey is busy working on his change-up, which was flawless in his last start. He has no choice but to keep throwing against a team he could face five times this season.

“It’s usually the last pitch that comes around,’’ he said. “Everything went well with all my pitches the other day.’’

Considering he worked into the fifth and didn’t give up a hit, that’s kind of an understatement. While nobody expects no-hit ball every time out, the expectations for Harvey are enormous. When talking about Harvey’s low pitch count, he said that’s imperative if he’s going to pitch over 200 innings.

That’s one of the things that first struck me in talking with Harvey. He’s very unassuming and keeps an even keel, both on and off the mound. I covered Mike Mussina for years, with Baltimore and the Yankees, and I see similarities in their demeanor and confidence.

Mussina didn’t let things rattle him and had a methodical plan of doing things. Harvey is the same way in that he knows what he wants, and just as important, knows how to get it.

It is premature to say Harvey will have a career like Mussina, or Roger Clemens, or a Roy Halladay. But, spring training is for imagining such things.

Speaking of Clemens, Dan Martin of the Post has a very interesting piece where he got Frank Viola to compare Harvey to Clemens. Viola, a former Met, was Clemens’ teammate for three years in Boston.

Said Viola: “On the field, you knew Roger was the man and he showed you why he was the man. Matt’s the same way.’’

Let’s hope the comparisons end there.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I’m usually the one that tells fans to temper their expectations, but not where Matt Harvey is concerned.

While one of my colleagues said Harvey will never win a Cy Young Award, I envision more than just one for this kid.

I have seen his determination and I have witnessed the fire that burns within him.

I have seen him stare down some of the biggest and most feared hitters in the game without so much as breaking a sweat.

Matt Harvey has got the stuff to do it, nobody disagrees there. But more importantly, Harvey has got that edge  - that “Eye of the Tiger” – that fearlessness that sets him apart from everyone else… You all know what I’m talking about…

Harvey, the next big thing? Hell yeah, I can see that…

With the news that the Mets and Dickey appear to be some distance apart on both years and dollars, something will have to give for this to work itself out before spring training.  That ‘something’ will likely have to be the Mets’ front office if Dickey is to continue hurling his knuckleball in Queens past the 2013 season. In reality, as long as he doesn’t experience a significant fall from grace, Dickey is almost assured to receive a deal of three years or more from another team come this time next year.  So how should the Mets proceed?

Whether or not RA has earned a three year extension in excess of $30 million dollars can be debated, but that’s not my point.  The Cy Young hopeful is the definition of why teams take flyers on journeyman pitchers each year.  On the off chance that a player can finally piece it together, an organization can find itself with a diamond in the rough, as the Mets do with Dickey right now.

Entering the final year of his current contract, the Mets have only three possible avenues from here.  Stroke the eclectic knuckler the extension he so desires, trade him away at the height of his value or bring him back for the final year of his career and hope he eases his stance on mid-season negotiations.  Only the latter of the three would be a loss for the Mets.

You see if the team signs Dickey to another extension, they retain not only a Cy Young Award caliber pitcher, but also a personality that transcends the game.  That personality, as much as his talent drives fans into the ballpark and provides the organization with a unique opportunity on a roster devoid of most other star power.  If the team were to trade RA, they’d be doing so at the perfect moment.  Coming off the best season of his now storied career, the Mets could likely demand, and receive, a king’s ransom that would go a long way in repairing the rest of the roster next season and beyond.

Yes, the only way the Mets lose here is if there is no finality to Dickey’s situation when the team reassembles in Port St. Lucie in five months time.  As they should have learned with Jose Reyes’ departure, the uncertainty of what lies ahead can snowball out of control, grip the fan base, and drive yet another rift between the team and its fans.  Move forward, with or without Dickey, but do so with conviction.  Either lock up the front of your rotation for a few more years, or bring in the talent to make the “team” better by trade and use the $10 million plus elsewhere.  Either way, do it now, and avoid the proverbial no win situation the team seems to always worm it’s way into.

Follow me on twitter at @RobPatterson83.

You can go to any site and find comparisons between the two.  Anyone will tell you that Gonzalez leads Dickey by one win and that Dickey leads Gonzalez in innings pitched, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, shutouts and complete games.  But what about the stats you didn’t know that should swing the Cy Young vote completely over to Dickey?

Here are those stats.  Once you read them, you’ll have no doubt that R.A. Dickey should claim the top prize as the best pitcher in the National League.

R.A. Dickey is a knuckleball pitcher, but is only averaging 1.7 walks per start.  Only five pitchers in the National League (Edinson Volquez, Tim Lincecum, Aaron Harang, Yovani Gallardo, Carlos Zambrano) have walked more batters than Gio Gonzalez.

Despite not possessing a 90-mph fastball, R.A. Dickey has allowed only three stolen bases in six attempts.  Meanwhile, opposing base runners have a 92% success rate against Gio Gonzalez, going 11-for-12 against the Nationals’ ace.

Gio Gonzalez has been lifted from three games this year in which the Nationals did not have the lead at the time of his removal, but got credit for the win when his offense gave him the lead in the half inning immediately following his removal.  Dickey has only earned one win in this way.  If not for the Nationals’ timely hitting after his removal, Gonzalez would only have 17 wins, one less than the 18 Dickey would have if not for the sole occasion the Mets bailed him out.

The Nationals have scored seven runs or more in half of Gonzalez’s 20 victories.  The Mets have scored five runs or less in thirteen of Dickey’s 19 wins.

Gio Gonzalez has 21 quality starts (six or more innings pitched allowing three earned runs or less) out of his 31 starts.  He has also failed to get through the sixth inning in seven starts.  Dickey has 25 quality starts and has pitched at least six innings in all but two of his 31 starts.

Finally, Gio Gonzalez has 20 wins, but he’s done it for the the team with the best record in baseball.  R.A. Dickey has won one less game than Gonzalez for a team that has 24 fewer wins.  Similarly, Gonzalez has two more losses on a 59-loss team than Dickey has for an 83-loss team.

When in doubt, vote for the guy who makes a Dickeyface when he throws a pitch.

More often that not, the MVP Award goes to a player with the most impressive numbers on a team that’s at or near the top of its division.  This is not always the case for the recipient of the Cy Young Award.

Five of the last six Cy Young Award winners in the National League played for teams that failed to make the playoffs, with the sole exception being Roy Halladay in 2010.  Two of those five winners pitched for teams that finished with losing records.  (Brandon Webb won the award in 2006 for the 76-86 Diamondbacks, while Tim Lincecum earned his hardware in 2008 for a 72-90 Giants team.)

The award is not called the Most Valuable Pitcher Award.  It’s called the Cy Young Award.  It’s given to the best pitcher in each league.  Gio Gonzalez has had an excellent season, one that is usually worthy of the league’s top pitching honor, but R.A. Dickey has been the best pitcher in the National League this year.

Let’s hope the voters consider every bit of statistical information available to them before they cast their votes and don’t turn the Cy Young Award into the MVP (Most Valuable Pitcher) Award.  They’re more than welcome to use the statistical facts from this piece to help them make their decision.

The team has little to play for the rest of the way, and the majority of the team has probably started booking some off-season vacations. The one player who still has a lot to play for is RA Dickey. With a potential Cy Young Award hanging in the balance, we can only hope the Mets will put those off-season plans on the back burner, and focus on playing mistake free baseball while Dickey is on the mound the rest of the way.

Image Credit: Charles Miller

Dickey, with all of his success this season, still seems like an underdog to win the Cy Young this year. The reason is obvious – he is a knuckleballer.

Early Wynn won the Cy Young in 1959, and used the knuckleball as part of his arsenal, but he was never considered a knuckleballer. Famed knuckleballer Joe Niekro only finished as high as second in Cy Young award voting. Could this be the year that a knuckleballer finally gets recognized as the leagues best pitcher? Mets fans, don’t get your hopes up just yet.

The knuckle ball is still considered a gimmick pitch. Baseball traditionalists will tell you that the art of pitching is changing speeds, moving the ball around the strike zone, and keeping hitters off balance. It’s a game of cat and mouse, and the pitcher is usually the cat. The pitcher holds a huge advantage over hitters because the hitter has no idea what the pitcher is going to throw next. The hitter has to decide whether to swing at a pitch in the blink of an eye when that ball is released from the pitcher’s hand. Hitting a baseball is still the most difficult thing to do in sports, and as the old adage states, good pitching beats good hitting any day of the week.

When a pitcher is on that mound, putting the ball wherever he wants, mowing down hitter after hitter, it’s like hearing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. It’s a masterpiece. You don’t get that same feeling when it’s a knuckleballer. There is just something about that knuckleball pitcher that doesn’t feel right. It’s almost as if a pitcher was striking guys out using the eephus pitch. In the MLB, you have pitchers…then you have knuckleballers. That says it all. Just like in football you have football players…and then you have kickers. Kickers are important, teams rely on them to win games for them, they wear helmets and pads, have to make tackles like the other football players…but they’re kickers, not football players.

Will knuckleballers ever gain the respect they deserve? Maybe if Dickey wins the Cy Young Award this year, they will for a little while. But it will be short lived. The knuckle ball will always be viewed as a gimmick pitch, and knuckleballers will never receive the type of respect that traditional pitchers do. They will always be the kickers of the MLB.