Put It In The Books! The Mets 2011 season is finally over! What can I say about the Mets 2011 season except thankfully it has finally come to an end. Coming into this season I didn’t expect much and in turn we didn’t get much from this team Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins put out there this year.

I know there are people who will for some reason say this was a good season. I honestly can’t fathom what is so good about a team that finished their season 77-85, just 5 games out of last place. In fact the Mets actually finished worse than last year. That is not what I would call good. Far from it in fact!

I guess the writing was on the wall on how the season was going to go when our GM didn’t offer Jose Reyes, who won the NL batting title yesterday, an extension last off season. In fact he didn’t do much at all last offseason to improve this team. There were some free agent signings of course, bad free agent signings like Chris Young who after starting just 4 games had season ending surgery. That was no shocker, I fully expected to see him wind up on the DL. I know the Alderson defenders will cite that he was cheap but what does that matter? He was brought here to pitch for the season and if the season was only a month then it would’ve been a great signing but that’s not the case. How can we forget the great signing of Taylor Buchholz who went home and was never seen again? Let’s not even get into the mind-boggling 2 year deal that was given to D.J. Carrasco. Capuano was another bad signing by Alderson. R.A. Dickey was not deserving of a 2 year deal for one good year in 2010. Not good!

I know everyone just loves the trades Alderson did for K-Rod and Carlos Beltran. Paying most of K-Rod’s contract for what we got back was a horrible move! These guys are nowhere near worth that kind of money. In fact Alderson got played by Milwaukee. As soon as K-Rod got there, the Brewers got K-Rod to waive his option as K-Rod obviously wanted to test free agency at a year younger. It should’ve been obvious that K-Rod wanted to be a free agent next year when he enlisted the services of Scott Boras.

Beltran’s trade is another instance of paying too much. I thought Alderson was supposed to be great at saving money? Wheeler, a Single A pitcher is not worth 4 million or so dollars. If he was a Triple A pitcher on the cusp of the majors then I wouldn’t have minded so much, but of course Alderson botched this trade, I wouldn’t expect anything else from him.

Normally I would say I’m excited for the World Series to end and wait until next year, but we have to be realistic, Sandy Alderson is not a big market GM. Next year is already off to a bad start. With DJ Carrasco and Tim Byrdak returning to the pen and Terry Collins guaranteed to be back there’s not much hope. Adding to the Mets woes will be the departure of one of the best position players in this franchise’s history Jose Reyes and it wouldn’t surprise me if David Wright is traded.

In conclusion this year was bad and we should expect an even worse one in 2012.

Mike Pelfrey had one of his usual one inning explosions, and the Mets offense couldn’t hit with RISP in their 6-1 loss to the Brewers

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey took 86 pitches to get through two difficult innings, and three fairly clean innings. Pelfrey’s final line was five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits, walking four and striking out four. Pelfrey didn’t seem to have good control at all, but a nearly three hour rain delay can have that effect on pitchers, especially ones like Pelfrey. Pelfrey couldn’t get Prince Fielder out, and Fielder killed the Mets

D.J. Carrasco didn’t help the situation much, allowing two runs on three hits, walking one and striking out one. Carrasco has been exactly as advertised, a middle-reliever, nothing more. A wild pitch helped score a run, and the Mets bullpen will need some work in the offseason considering Igarashi & Carrasco may not be viable options. Iggy & Byrdak each pitched a clean inning, walking one and striking one

The Mets offense managed some hits off of Brewers starter Shawn Marcum, but couldn’t manufacture the runs from second home. The Mets only drew one walk, but that is more a product of Marcum pitching in the zone and trying to limit damage. The defense continued to vex the Mets, as a David Wright error in the first lead to a run, and caused Pelfrey to throw more pitches. Angel Pagan tried his Jose Reyes impersonation in the first, only to be thrown out trying to steal.

Angel Pagan – 3 for 4 , good day for Angel but still skeptical on whether or not he fits on the 2012 Mets.

Ruben Tejada – 2 for 3, good bat Ruben. Now if only you could hit a few doubles.

Harris, Wright, Duda,Baxter, – 0 for 14 with two K’s and a walk. Yet again, can’t win when your 2 through 5 hitters don’t manage a hit

Turning Point

Pelfrey’s exploding fifth inning. When it happens, its like a re-run of a TV show. You’ve seen it, but you watch it anyway just to make sure its the same

Game Ball

Angel Pagan – 3 for 4, best day of any of the Mets hitters/fielders/pitchers. Maybe half a ball for the groundskeeper?

On Deck

The Mets will play a 4:10 P.M. game today, and send Chris Capuano up against the Brewers’ Randy Wolf at Citi FIeld.

Jonathon Niese started rough, but settled into a groove but a poor umpiring call in the seventh inning erased a possible rally and a baserunner, and the Mets lost 5-1 against the Yankees

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese had a rough beginning to the start, but seemed to settle in during the later innings. Jonathon went six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out seven. Niese was hit hard in the first, struggled through the next three but seemed to find his footing in the fifth and sixth innings. It was a shame he was pulled, but it was in a key pinch-hitting spot. These quality starts are beginning to become expected from Jon.

The bullpen today was…adequate. Pedro Beato went a solid inning, and had an unearned run allowed when Daniel Murphy didn’t strech enough for a throw and allowed the runner to reach base safely. Beato’s final line was an inning, unearned run, walk and two strikeouts. Tim Byrdak came for one out, and got it. Bobby Parnell came out for two thirds of an inning, and allowed a hit and struck out a batter. Parnell throws gas, but the lack of breaking ball will kill him. D.J. Carrasco came out, walked a batter, gave up an RBI double to A.Rod that missed being an HR by 10 feet, and then got out of it. Carrasco hasn’t looked good…roughly all year. He’s looking like a good mop-up guy.

The offense today pretty much didn’t exist. The only run that scored was on a Ruben Tejada RBI single in the second. Other then that, the offense was fairly quiet in terms of big hits. The Mets went from being juggernauts to struggling to put together hits period, and key hits.

Jose Reyes – 2 for 5 and was called out after an aggressive baserunning play left him phantom-tagged by A.Rod to kill a possible rally in the seventh. Jose is still scorching hot.

Justin Turner – 3 for 5 – Justin seems to have simplified his swing to some extent, and it is paying dividends.

Daniel Murphy – 0 for 3 – walk, strikeout in a key situation and that mental error by just not reaching up a little higher or stretching.

Turning Point

Jose Reyes being called out in the seventh inning. That deflated the Mets and allowed the Yankees to have no fear in pitching to Beltran and going after Murphy.

Game Ball

Jonathon Niese. Pitched a good game, definition of quality start. Victim of NO run support.

On Deck

The Mets will look to rebound from tonight, sending Dillon Gee to the mound against Bartolo Colon. Game time is 4:10 P.M. and it will be shown on FOX .

For my anger, thoughts on the game and other Mets related news, follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny

Dillon Gee had his worst major league outing, and the bullpen didn’t fare much better as the Mets lost to the Oakland Athletics, 7-2

Game Notes

Dillon Gee had a horrible outing, and it isn’t shown by the basic stats. Dillon Gee allowed four runs on three hits, striking out one but walking SIX. Gee walked in a run, and just got burned by an inability to put batters away. With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, the Mets took out Gee for pinch hitter Scott Hairston. It was a combination of walks and no offense, but this was a horrible outing for Gee.

D.J. Carrasco apparently ate at the same place as gee, giving up three runs in two innings on four hits, walking two and striking out none. With the Mets keeping the walks in check, this game just showed how easily a game could unravel. Nine walks to ten hits equals seven runs. Manny Acosta went one inning allowing a hit. Tim Byrdak went an inning, striking out two. Byrdak has looked much better recently. Bobby Parnell came out and threw the ball hard for an inning, walking one and giving up two hit. If only Bobby could throw a changeup..slower then 90 MPH. Parnell was saved by a great 5-3 double play.

The offense couldn’t put together hits against Josh Outman, putting his back against the wall on a few occasions and then failing to capitalize when it mattered. Ruben Tejada’s sac-fly with the bases loaded proved to be the only major offense until the sixth inning home run by everyone’s favorite Met, Jason Bay hit his third home run of the year. Mr. Bay would add an RBI triple that missed being a home run by a glove (literally).

Mets 1 through 4 hitters – 1 for 18 with a walk and four strikeouts. Never a good recipe for success.

Scott Hairston – 0 for 1 with a pop-out in a big situation. .263 against lefties this year with fourteen K’s. All Scott’s HR’s this year? Against righties. eek.

Mets received major help in the fourth from Jemile Weeks with two bad plays that allowed baserunners.

Turning Point

When Dillon Gee couldn’t throw strikes. So…inning one?

Game Ball

Jason Bay. 3 for 3 with a walk, home run, triple, a run and two RBI. This is hopefully a turning point for Bay.

On Deck

The Mets will look to rebound from two straight losses tommorrow at 7:10 P.M, sending Gio Gonzalez to the mound to face off against R.A. Dickey.

Any fan watching the early games could have told you that, though. However, they are in worse shape than I ever thought they’d be in. Through the first ten games, their pitching as a whole has been absolutely horrendous.

I’m not going to lie and say I expected Pelfrey to pitch like an ace. However, he’s not only not pitched like an ace, he hasn’t even pitched like someone who belongs in the Mets rotation. Over three starts, his ERA is over 10, and his WHIP is well over 2. He’s averaging 14 hits per 9 innings, and striking out less than 5 over the same span. I doubt the Mets could even trade him unless he picks up his game. With his 7 walks per 9 innings, it seems like he’s been possessed by Oliver Perez.

The rest of the starting staff isn’t as worrisome, though that’s not to say they’ve performed adequately, either. Jon Niese had an excellent first start against Florida, but faltered against Philadelphia. Over 4 innings, he was hit for 6 runs. On the bright side, he did strike out 7 in 4 innings as well. Niese’s ERA may be rather high, but there’s still a lot more potential to uncover, and I’m not going to give up on him yet.

Dickey and Capuano also had rough outings, but I want to put them in the same category as Niese. They have to pitch better next time out, no doubt about it. However, Dickey already had an excellent start vs Washington. Capuano also fanned 8 in his start, but his 4 runs over 6 innings, with 2 home runs allowed, was a little unsettling.

Chris Young is the brightest spot of this Mets rotation thus far. 12.1 innings, 2 runs allowed, and 12 strikeouts. Hopefully, he can keep a consistent level of production all season.

Finally, the bullpen. I was surprised at how early Boyer was let go. Under the old regime, the Mets would have held onto him, tried to work with him, let him get more work, and shuttle him between the majors and Buffalo. I’m encouraged by the fact that Alderson put his foot down early and got rid of him after performing terribly. I’m disappointed, though, with DJ Carrasco. He had several good seasons out of the bullpen before coming to the Mets, and I expect him to find his game and be a solid contributor out of the pen.

The Mets, ladies and gentlemen, are in trouble right now. However, the trouble is not fatal. Hopefully, if Pelfrey can find his game, and Niese and Dickey stay consistent, the Mets will have a solid, although not great, rotation this year and will be able to be relevant further on into the year.

Chris Young was dominant today, allowing one hit over seven innings but the bullpen blew it in the eighth, and then in the eleventh and the Mets lost 7-3, losing the series as well.

Game Notes

Chris Young looked excellent today, allowing one run on one hit over seven innings, walking two and striking out five. Young was exactly as advertised, having a 14:1 fly out to ground out ratio today. Young was consistently putting hitters in awkward positions, coaxing Jayson Werth into 3 foul pop-ups. When Young is in control and not laboring, he looks very confident on the mound.

The bullpen today was….inconsistent. D.J. Carrasco came out,  and in two-thirds of an inning allowed two runs on two hits walking one, and spoiling the chance for a Chris Young win. Taylor Buchholz came out, and after walking two to load the bases, got Mike Morse to strike-out on three straight curveballs.  Taylor’s final line was two-thirds of an inning, three walks and one strikeout. Tim Byrdak came out and pitched one-third of an inning, striking out one. K-Rod came out and got one out to end the top of the ninth. Blaine Boyer came out for the tenth, got out unscathed, then he was annihilated in the eleventh, giving up four runs, including a three-run blast. Boyer’s final line is four runs on four hits in two innings with no strikeouts.

The offense today existed in spurts, with the damage being done in the first inning by David Wright, scoring Jose Reyes and the second being an Angel Pagan single scoring David Wright. The Mets continued some offense in the fifth, with an Ike Davis broken-bat single scoring Willie Harris. After the fifth, the Mets couldn’t muster any offense, striking out sixteen times.

The offense today was confused by the Washington pitching, with Chris Young striking out three times, Willie Harris striking out 4 times and Brad Emaus striking out twice. Willie Harris has struck out 10 times in 24 at bats. Thats nearly 40% of his at-bats.

Jose Reyes, 3 for 5 including a lead-off bunt single. When Jose goes, the Mets go.

Ike Davis, 2 for 4 with an intentional walk, an RBI and two strikeouts.

Josh Thole, 0 for 4 with a few easy outs to second base and two strikeouts.

Scott Hairston, strikes out again. 7 K’s in 14 AB’s.

Turning Point

When Boyer Blew It.

Game Ball

Chris Young. Great game pitched, sorry about the lack of offense and the overworked bullpen. They killed you.

On Deck

The Mets will begin a serious against the Rockies, sending Mike Pelfrey to the mound against Jason Hammel. Game time is 7:10 P.M. and hopefully I can take some good pictures from my seats.

Mark Simon of ESPN New York just put some scary thoughts into my head this morning. While he has some good things to say about the Mets acquisition of D.J. Carrasco, there’s one thing about him that looms ominously over his career.

But there is a kryptonite that has plagued Carrasco throughout his major league career, and it’s one that reminds us of one of the Mets most significant statistical issues from last season.

It’s his opponents batting average with the bases loaded. It’s so hideous, I can’t even bring myself to type it as a number. The first digit is a four. The second digit is a four. The third digit is a six. It gets worse. His opponents OPS with the bases loaded is 1.181.

It’s a case of the more men on base, the merrier the opposition gets, he concludes. Suddenly all those grand slams from last season are racing through my mind, all twelve of them. Scary…

Carrasco has the second highest batting averageallowed with bases loaded among all active players in the major leagues.

Speaking of bases loaded, another factoid from Simon,

Wright’s batting average with the bases loaded.  2004-2007  – .462   2008-2010 – .227

On a brighter note, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, spoke with the newest Met, D.J. Carrasco by telephone and by the sound of it, he’s excited to be with the Mets.

Carrasco is very willing to do whatever is asked of him, but made clear that he needs a lot of work to remain sharp.

“I’m capable of doing whatever they ask. I’d prefer to be in games that are going to lead to wins and holds and stuff like that — that the games are going to be winning games as opposed to blowout games. I can do the multiple inning kind of deal. I want to be used quite a bit. That’s what keeps me sharp. That’s another thing I told him. He had mentioned they would be using me a lot. That’s exactly what I want. I want to be able to stay sharp.”

The Mets will finalize the two-year deal after Carrasco completes his physical in New York on Thursday.

I enjoyed his comments about Citi Field and Mets fans:

“It was a beautiful field,” he said. “I actually went there for the first time in my career last year when I got traded to the Diamondbacks — on two hours of sleep. I’m excited to play in the new park and with some passionate fans.”

Carrasco, 33, had a 3.68 ERA in in 78.1 innings with the White Sox and Diamondbacks last season.

Welcome to New York D.J. and Good Luck!