Next year is going to be a tough year for the New York Mets.  There might not be a lot of fun to be had at Citi Field in 2011.  In October when the season is over it would be nice to look at some fun times that the 2011 season produced.  One of the few fun experiences for me at least in 2010 was the Mets Hall Of Fame Induction.  Seeing Darryl Strawberry, Dwight “Doc” Gooden, Davey Johnson and Frank Cashen is something that I’m glad I got to see at Citi Field in 2010.  It also gave me something to look forward to as the season was getting away from the Mets in 2010.

The Mets have only retired 3 numbers in their history.  37 for Casey Stengel, 14 for Gil Hodges and 41 for the Franchise Tom Seaver.  Of course the Mets like the rest of Major League Baseball have retired 42 for Jackie Robinson.  Only one of the numbers retired is from a player.  I believe Keith Hernandez deserves to be the next player to join that elite club.

Keith played before I can really remember watching baseball.  I know to some younger than I am they know him from his Seinfeld episodes as well as being part of the best broadcasting team on TV.  Keith was one of the best first baseman to ever play this game.  I personally think he should be in Cooperstown.  He helped Daryl and Doc when they came up.  There is no way the Mets would have won a World Series without Keith.  Today he informs and entertains us in the broadcast booth.  He’s a New York Met for life.

When I would see Fernando Tatis grounding into double plays wearing number 17 I wanted to pull my hair out.  Keith has earned the right to have his number retired. It would be fun to look forward to and I’m sure the ceremony would be fun to experience in 2011.  The Mets did promise that when they moved to their new park more numbers would be retired.  I think it’s time to retire Keith’s 17 once and for all.

Thankfully there are only 6 more games left of this horrible season.  That also means only 6 more games left of some jerryball.  Last year after the season ended the Mets did a bit of a media blitz that concluded with Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya and Dave Howard going on WFAN with Mike Francesa.  They made a bunch of promises and some excuses that for some reason had Mets fans hopeful for 2010.  I posted a blog here on this site the day after, which you can read here.  I didn’t like what I heard on Francesa’s show and I got blasted in the comments section. Unfortunately I was right to be skeptical as they lied to us.

Jeff Wilpon said the Mets were committed to building a championship caliber team and that spending would not be limited.  Well, after signing the bust that is Jason Bay the Mets didn’t spend much.  Gary Matthews Jr., Mike Jacobs and Frank Catalanotto were in the starting lineup on opening day.  For some reason Fernando Tatis and Alex Cora were still on this team.  I’m sorry but those guys don’t belong on a championship caliber team.

Omar and little Jeff said that there would be no more mishandling of injuries. Unfortunately that was a big old lie as well.  Look at how Jose Reyes’ oblique injury was handled.  Reyes was put into the lineup while suffering with oblique injury, and only allowed to bat from one side of the plate.  I don’t see how that is improving on handling injuries.  Jason Bay after hitting his head off the outfield wall in Dodger Stadium not only stayed in that game, he played the next one and then flew on a plane to New York and hasn’t played since.  Johan Santana’s injury was misdiagnosed as a pectoral problem.  Now I’m no doctor but I think the training staff might have missed human anatomy 101.  Plus Santana before being diagnosed correctly was allowed to throw and not even given an MRI.  They also promised to communicate better with the fans and media about the injuries.  Once Santana was diagnosed correctly, the Mets had a press conference where they tried to play down the severity of this shoulder injury by citing position players who came back from the same surgery.  They of course didn’t mention that pitchers who have had the same surgery as Johan has have yet to come back and throw a pitch in the majors.

I’m sure once this season is over the Mets will do another media blitz.  They will say things that sound good but in reality it will only be more cheap talk and hollow promises.

For those of you who don’t like the idea of Alex Cora playing everyday, have no fear as Luis Castillo will be making his return shortly, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.

Castillo will be playing his final rehab (0-2 in his first game) starts this weekend and will be returning to the Mets in time for the Los Angeles Dodgers series. The Mets have 20 days to activate him.

Mets reliever Sean Green began his rehab Thursday by throwing a scoreless inning for St. Lucie. The Mets now have only 30 days to activate him.

Fernando Tatis was placed on the 60-day disabled list after successful shoulder surgery yesterday. SNY is reporting that he is likely done for the season. I don’t see the Mets resigning him. So he may have had his last appearance as a Met.

Anthony McCarron of the Daily News is reporting that the Mets recalled left handed reliever Raul Valdes from Triple-A Buffalo and that he will be available for tonight’s game.

Valdes was 0-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 29.1 innings pitched this season.

The Wilpons are bad owners.  At times they have not been too involved with the baseball activities and other times they have been too involved.  Right now they’re too involved in the baseball operations of the Mets.  Many “insiders” claim this past off season Jeff Wilpon handcuffed Omar Minaya and told him to get more with less money.  The Wilpons the last few seasons continue to lower their payroll.  Most teams not all of them but most when they move into a new ballpark generally up their payroll.

Sure the Wilpons spent money but not wisely.  They gave Omar Minaya a huge extension in years and dollars even though he didn’t earn it.  They allowed Omar to sign guys like Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez to big, bloated contracts that they didn’t deserve.  Look at how they spent their money this off season.  Omar gave Cora $2 million dollars, Tatis got $1.7 million.  Some accuse them of being cheap but that was not the case from 2006-2008.  They didn’t spend their money wisely plain and simple.  They also refuse to eat contracts.  It’s no secret that this team for the last 2 years has been trying to get rid of Castillo.  I’m not a Luis Castillo hater; he has been good for the team last season and so far this season.  I object to his contract and how much he’s being paid.  If you don’t want the guy on the team just eat his contract.  The same goes for the $36 million dollar relief pitcher Oliver Perez.  Also Gary Matthews Jr. makes less than 5 million but the team will not eat that contract.

They also wait too long to take action.  Look at last week as a perfect example.  Jeff Wilpon flew down to Atlanta for an emergency baseball meaning.  He said himself he was not there to fire anybody as it was “too soon” in the season.  If someone is not doing a good job, i.e. Jerry Manuel what does it matter if it’s 40 games or 70 games into the season?  Did he forget that both in 2007 and 2008 the Mets failed to make the playoffs by just 1 game?  In 2008 they had plenty of time to fire Willie Randolph if that’s what they wanted.  There was that horrible series against the Padres but they gave him a little more time and turn it into another mess.

To conclude you can fire Jerry Manuel, you can send Omar on his way, get rid of some players but the Wilpons will be here for the foreseeable future.  They need to take a lesson from the baby bosses over in the Bronx.  We know how involved George was but his sons are now in charge, they for the most part are very quiet now and they let the baseball people run the team.  They sign the checks, Cashman runs the team, that’s pretty simple and the Yankees are benefiting from that.  Wilpons need to fire Omar, get some good baseball people and just sit in their luxury boxes signing the checks.  Otherwise there will be new faces but this will still be the same old Mets.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey went out for his first Mets start, going a solid 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 4 walks and two strikeouts. His knuckleball was dancing around the plate, and getting some swings-and-misses. He seemed to be in control minus the 4th inning, but a great effort none the less. Could R.A. hold a spot in the rotation? It really depends on the Mets ability to score runs – knuckleballers will get hit around.

The bullpen seemed out of it today, with 4 pitchers needed to finish off the last 2 innings. Raul Valdes began the 7th inning and gave off a double to the new Met killer Roger Bernadina. Fernando Nieve came out, and just looked awful, giving up the inherited runner from Valdes and two runs of his own. Oliver Perez, in his first relief appearance since Sept. 2002 (When he had talent?) walked Adam Dunn and then convinced Josh Willingham to line-out to Luis Castillo. Manny Acosta worked a 7-pitch perfect 8th inning. This bullpen is beginning to look tired, especially Nieve.

David Wright received the day off, and Fernando Tatis started in his place and went 1-3 with a possible rally-igniting home run off of Nationals close Matt Capps in the 9th. Angel Pagan, showing off his wheels hit his 3rd home run of the season the hard way – by running the bases hard and scoring. The only other player to account for an RBI was Jeff Francoeur with a sacrifice fly in the 6th inning. No Met player had more then one hit today.

The Mets batting order 1-4 (Reyes, Castillo, Bay, Davis) went 1-15 with a run, a walk and 2 strikeouts both courtesy of Ike Davis.

Livan Hernandez and his junkballing ways just seem to perplex the Mets hitters, making this his 2nd quality outing against the mets this season, allowing 2 runs over 13.2 innings. The Mets need to kill these soft-tossing pitchers if they want to utilize their speed.

Game Ball

R.A. Dickey, hands down. Could Jerry Manuel have asked for anything more? He delivered the definition of a Quality Start.

Special Moment

Angel Pagan making the shoe-string catch and initiating the triple-play in the 5th that got the Mets out of trouble.

Up Next

The Mets will send John Maine to the mound with the hope he will not repeat his last performance, and he will square off against Luis Atilano of the Nationals. Game Time is 7:10 PM

Update 4:55 PM – According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Fernando Tatis is in fact re-signing with the Mets.

“Fernando Tatis will be rejoining the Mets, so Carlos Delgado will have to sign elsewhere. Scouts see him only as a DH.”

This isn’t as bad as some may think. Tatis hit .282 in 340 at bats for the Mets last season, with eight HR and 21 doubles. The 13 double plays was a fluke. 

Tatis could be a good compliment to Daniel Murphy at first base, and between the two of them we might get a season that looks like: .278 – 20 HR – 85 RBI – 80 RS 

That’s not so bad, and if we get the power upgrade from Bay in leftfield and a return to form by Wright, we still have a very productive lineup.

* * * * * Original Post * * * * *

According to Mike Puma of the NY Post, the Mets are close to re-signing utility player Fernando Tatis.

Omar Minaya is deep into negotiations with Fernando Tatis for a return engagement, and could have a deal complete within a matter of days, according to a baseball source. That development would seem to eliminate the possibility of Carlos Delgado returning to the Mets next season, because Tatis has been told by Minaya that he is wanted as part of a first-base platoon with Murphy.

Tatis made $1.7 million last season and I’m curious if the Mets are going to overpay him more. I guess we’ll see.

So basically, Alex Cora, Omir Santos, Angel Pagan and Fernando Tatis will once again man the bench in 2010.

What’s that saying? Oh yes, I got it. If you keep doing the same things, you’ll keep getting the same results.

Tatis batted .282 with eight homers and 48 RBIs last season, and led the team by hitting into 13 double plays.

This pretty much locks in Murphy/Tatis as our first base tandem this season.

2009 was a bounce back year for Castillo.  Castillo finished 2009 with a .302 batting average, a vast improvement from 2008’s .245 batting average.  Castillo had a slight spill down the steps of the dugout late into the season but he did avoid the disabled list something that most of the Mets can’t claim.  Of course Met fans won’t forget the dropped fly in that Yankee game but 2009 was a good season for Castillo.

I was pro Hudson last year and I’m still pro Hudson.  It’s not because Orlando Hudson is not Luis Castillo, it’s because Hudson is the better player.  Looking at their offensive stats some would argue that but here is where I see Hudson helping us:  He has more power than Castillo and he can hit a single to the outfield.  If you really watch Castillo’s at bats most of his singles are either infield singles or they are just out of reach of the infielders which results in outfielders playing a shallower outfield against Castillo which means runners on base can only advance one base.  With Orlando Hudson batting that will force both the infield to back up and the outfielders to play deeper in the outfield.  Hudson will most likely bat behind Jose Reyes who we all know has a lot speed and on a deep single Jose can run 1^st-3^rd or from 2^nd-home, thus allowing more runs scored.

Another reason I’m so high on Hudson is his defense.  Castillo as he has gotten older has lost a bit of range each year in the infield.  This is really important now because of our 1^st base situation.  Reports from the scouts in Puerto Rico on Carlos Delgado are that the very little range he had is gone.  Now those same scouts are reporting that Delgado has been seen limping after playing 1^st in winter ball and that the Mets might pass on Delgado.  If that is true Daniel Murphy will be our first baseman with a possibility that Tatis will play 1^st.  For those that don’t know that is Tatis’ worst position.  Now Murphy was good at 1^st last year, he made some nice plays but he lacks the instincts of a 1^st baseman since he hasn’t played the position that long.  The Mets are going to need a 2^nd baseman to pick up the slack and Hudson is that guy.

I don’t think right now as of this writing the Mets will get Hudson.  First they have to trade Luis Castillo who makes a lot of money the next two years.  If I was a general manager I would be worried that last year was a bit of fluke and Castillo revert back to 2008.  Furthermore he is and will be an injury risk for the rest of his career.  The Mets would have to pay most if not all of his salary for the rest of his contract.  I think it will be financially irresponsible of the Mets to trade Castillo, pay most of his salary and have to pay Hudson for this year.

If the right trade was offered and if the money was not an issue I would hope the Mets pull the trigger on Castillo and then sign Hudson but that will not happen this year.  I think Castillo will not revert back to 2008 but I also think that hitting .300 will not happen again.  I would be ok with that if it wasn’t for the fear I have that his defense is going to hurt the Mets more than his skills at the plate.  Only time will tell, hopefully I’ll be proved wrong.

The prevailing wisdon is that Tatis would be able to platoon with the left-handed Daniel Murphy at first base.

As most of you know, I’m not thrilled with the idea of bringing back Delgado for reasons that I’v already explained on numerous occasions.

In an interesting post, James Kannengieser of Amazin Avenue, says that bringing back Fernando Tatis for 2010 was never a bad idea, and that it became especially attractive after the Gary Matthews Jr. acquisition. He also writes,

Tatis can play the corner outfield and infield positions ably. This flexibility would make him more valuable than signing an outfield-only player like our beloved Endy, or an infield-only player like Ryan Garko.

In 340 at-bats last season, Tatis hit .282 with eight homers and 48 RBIs. One thing that stood out was his glaring propensity to hit into double plays which he did 13 times last season. James K. considers it an anomaly, as do I. It could very well be that Francoeur or Bay leads the team in that dubious category this season, and it’s just one of those things nobody can predict.

Another option would be free agent Ryan Garko who was released by the San Francisco Giants this off season after being acquired before the trade deadline from the Cleveland Indians. 

At the time of the trade, he was batting .285 with 11 homers and 39 RBI in 78 games. Not bad really, but after the arriving to San Francisco, Garko’s performance went into the tank batting just .235 with two homeruns in 115 at-bats.

Garko, who is predominantly a first baseman, but has logged a few games as a corner outfielder, had his coming out party in 2007 when he batted .289 with 21 homers and 61 RBI. He followed that up with 14 homers and a team leading 90 RBI’s in 2008. Despite the terrible finish with the Giants, Garko still terrorized left-handed pitching to the tune of a .308 batting average, a .391 on-base, and a .479 Slugging percentage. He has a career .887 OPS and .392 OBP against southpaws.

Until his short stint in San Fran, the 29-year old Garko was consistently good, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t revert to form.

Tatis has already proven that he can handle the pressure of playing in New York and has provided some memorable moments as a Met, but at 35 he is six years older than Garko and could be in decline.

I thought this would make for an interesting debate. What are some of your thoughts?

Dirt was thrown at everybody from the ownership down to and through the medical staff, the Minor League organization and most obviously the Manager Jerry Manuel and the General Manager Omar Minaya . Nobody was as critical of these two so called professionals than me. I gave them some credit for their valiant try to finish on top in 2008 and even went so far to say that the team overachieved in getting down to the last day to decide their fate for the playoffs.

I wrote at least four articles on websites for the Mets to resign Pedro Martinez. Their rotation was a disaster coming out Spring Training and although I like and enjoy the World Baseball Classic it’s timing last season couldn’t have been worse for the Mets as 17 players left camp to play for their countries. Was it a big surprise that so many of those players who did go to the WBC come down with critical injuries during the season? I will address the WBC situation at another time.

The Mets fans and media as well wants the Mets to make a splash in the off season for two reasons. One, many of us feel the Mets still need help in a few areas including left field, second base, and adding depth to an already suspect rotation. The second reason for the need to make a splash is for the Mets ownership to show the fans that they willing to do what it takes to pay for high quality free agents and compete with the other big money teams in pursuit of these players.

For all accounts prior the the winter meetings the Mets were going to be all in on pitcher John Lackey, as well the two top outfielders, Matt Holliday and Jason Bey in the free agent market. What they didn’t expect was these players just might not want to come to Citi-Field and have their offensive numbers wind up somewhere around mid-toilet.

Do I want the Mets to pick up either Matt Holliday or Jason Bay? Of course I do. Do I now think they are going to get either one of them? The answer is No. There are lots of secondary outfielders out there that have power and lack defensive skills necessary to play in a big ball yard. On the flip side there are excellent gloves that could make the starting outfield the best defensive unit in baseball but they can’t hit their weight.

So, what are the Mets to do? In what appears to be in a no win scenario, I am going to propose a plan which is going to be vastly unpopular with my guess being around 97% of Mets fans and media coverage out there.

Let’s talk specifics. I believe the club needs both youth and experienced veterans who are willing to run through walls if necessary to get the job done. A guy who can hit .280, knows how to move a runner from first to third, can steal a base, lay down a good sacrifice bunt and willing to bust up a double play. When a veteran like Alex Cora with two busted thumbs does that, guys like Fernando Martinez take notice. There are plenty of those gritty type players out there that won’t bust the Wilpon bank, but will put people in the seats into a ballpark that will lose many visitors if 2009 is even remotely duplicated.

Let’s break this down and remember you’re not going to to like it. I think Daniel Murphy has the potential to be an excellent defensive first baseman, hit third in the order and remind people of Keith Hernandez. Will he do all this in 2010? No. The answer here is to re-sign Carlos Delgado. I can hear the screaming starting now. Carlos Delgado is as proud a man than just about any ballplayer I have watched for the past 60 years. No clearer indication of that was in 2008 when finally recovered from a wrist injury where he compensated not to re-injure his wrist, He put on a second half performance the likes of which hasn’t been seen south of the Bronx in a very long time.

He started off 2009 where he left off the previous fall and if he had played a full season his numbers would have duplicated 2008. But of course that never happened. Carlos is exactly like Pedro. He feels his mission in New York will not be complete until he has a ring. Have him play 130 games at first base and let the Super Sub Daniel Murphy fill in not only there, but he can be occasionally back up David Wright, and yes even stick him in left or at second for a game or two. Could it be any worse then having Tatis at those positions?

Next, at second base we must say goodbye to Punch and Judy, Luis Castillo. Having as good a year that was possible for him, he now has value for some teams who need players who can get on base. My problem with Castillo believe it or not was not his bat in 2009 but his defensive play at second base. It was, to put it in one word, awful. He has lost his range and played the game with his head not always on his shoulders. He did prove his point and gave the Mets a spark they needed last year and for that I hope another team sees value in him. If Orlando Hudson is available and he’ll take a two year contract then by 2012 Reese Havens should be ready for Major League play.

I’m not at all concerned about the left side of the infield. I expect David Wright to have that bounce back year and with his partner Jose Reyes getting on base, stealing bases and keeping everyone on the edge of their seats we will once again see the old David Wright smashing the ball all over the yard. Jerry Manuel however has to be smart and not change where he places David in the lineup. If it’s 3rd then keep him there. If it’s 4th or 5th, then keep him there. One of Jerry’s biggest shortcomings last year was juggling that lineup so badly everyday that no one knew their role.

The catching situation is already out of hand and it looks like their next move is to have an open casting call for all catchers to try out for the Mets. Right now they have four catchers. Santos, Thole, Coste, and Blanco. Wonderful, and Bengie Molina is trying to secure a three year deal at 35 to be the next catcher. Oh my!

I say right from opening day to go with the youth, and platoon Santos and Thole and if either one of them breaks out of the gate fast let’s stick with him. Thole in his short stay looked no better or no worse than the more heralded Matt Weiters of the Baltimore Orioles. Thole should and could be the Mets catcher for the next ten years.

I would have no problem with a one year deal for Pat Burrell or Marlon Byrd or Johnny Damon or any number of other second level left fielders. Personally I would like to see, if healthy, Fernando Martinez in left field on opening day. He has been our top prospect for 5 years, and now may be a good time to see what he’s got for us or to showcase him as major trade bait.

Beltran and Francoeur can roam the outfield for the next 4-5 years and provide the power and defense we need in spacious Cit-Field. Angel Pagan is a very serviceable 4th outfielder and some may argue that he deserves a starting spot in left field for opening day. Personally I’d rather see Martinez there.

So here is my opening day line up.

Reyes                    SS
Hudson                  2B
Beltran                   CF
Wright                    3B
Delgado                 1B
Francoeur              RF
Martinez                 LF
Thole                     C
Santana                SP

If you’re already mad at me and think I’m ridiculous you’re really not going to like this. There are only two starting pitchers out there in the free agent market that I would even entertain a look at. They are Joel Pineiro and Ben Sheets. When healthy, and I think we can say that about any pitcher, these two guys could do a great deal to solidify the staff. I’d also keep on eye on Wang, Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang. But let’s say the Mets don’t get any of these pitchers for whatever excuse they come up with, then this is a do or die year for the Mets rotation.

Santana can’t make 162 starts so where does that leave us? I believe John Maine is more of a number 2 than Mike Pelfrey. I would push Pelfrey down to the 4 spot and allow Oliver Perez to move to the number 3. If I am sure of one thing this off season it is that Oliver Perez will come to camp in the best shape of his life. He has been working vigorously in the off season on both his physical and mental sides.

That leaves the number five spot open to some very healthy competition for Jonathon Niese, Bobby Parnell, Pat Misch and Fernando Nieve. Once again I believe we could do no wrong signing Pedro Martinez to a two year deal. I think he certainly proved himself down the stretch for the Phillies and he can not hurt this team. His veteran leadership in the Mets clubhouse can not be measured. This rotation last year before the season started was picked by many to be enough to compete with the Phillies for the NL East.

With Roy Halladay now just 90 miles south and for the Mets to have to face him at least 4-6 times a year is an uphill battle at the least but in a head to head with Johan Santana I’ll take my chances.

Finally, if the Mets get out of the gate slowly I would look to replace Jerry Manuel after 40 games. As much as I feel that he caused many of the on the field problems for 2009, I am willing to give him just enough rope to hang himself. And as far as Omar is concerned, unless some miracle can be pulled out of a hat, this will be his final year for sure.

That’s a good number if we’re talking about the 1975 Mets.  But this is 2009, and 100-plus RBI seasons are much more common now.   In 2008, Wright himself drove in 124 runs, while Carlos Delgado had 115 and Carlos Beltran 112.  In 2007, Beltran had 112 and Wright 107.  2006?  Wright 116, Beltran 116, Delgado 114.  All of that makes 2009 just look ridiculous, and here is what I’m talking about.  Behind Wright’s 72 RBI, you have Daniel Murphy with 63 and Fernando Tatis with 48.  Carlos Beltran also drove in 48 in just 81 games, so you could argue that he would have hit the century mark.  Well even if he did, Wright would have likely been second with his 72.  And either way, the numbers are what they are, and they are pathetic.  Here, we were all so worried about the Mets’ bullpen going into 2009, but who would have predicted such a horrid run production decline, injuries or not.

For the record, five teams drove in fewer runs than the Mets, but only the Pirates’ Andy LaRoche (64 RBI) had less driven in than Wright as a team leader.  But that’s the Pirates, a team that hasn’t been competitive in almost 20 years.  Wright leading the team with 72 is like Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers with a 15-point scoring average.  It’s just baffling.  You can argue the Citi Field dimensions holding in home runs, but you can’t make a good argument for the RBI other than the Mets just stunk it up in 2009.

Yeah, I know, we need to get healthy.  That was a huge part of the production issue.  But Wright did play in 144 games, and if Carlos Delgado is re-signed, he’s still going to be almost 40.  We need some more productive bats in this lineup—to compete with the Phillies and everyone else.

Following his first career complete game shutout on Sunday against the Marlins, Misch won his second consecutive decision.  Before rain put an abrupt end to his workday, Misch had thrown only 61 pitches entering the sixth inning.  He gave up one run and five hits while walking no one.

Following Friday night’s 14-hit outburst against Wandy Rodriguez and the Astros’ bullpen, the Mets banged out another ten hits on Saturday against Yorman Bazardo and his band of merry men. This barrage included multi-hit efforts by Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis and Josh Thole.  Although the Mets did not hit any home runs today, half of their hits went for extra bases (four doubles and one triple).

David Wright and Carlos Beltran were not in the starting lineup as Jerry Manuel wanted to give Wright a break and Beltran was feeling ill.  Manuel did expect to pencil both of them into Sunday’s starting lineup.  The Mets did not need their services today as their replacements, Fernando Tatis and Cory Sullivan, (Angel Pagan moved from left field to center field to play in Beltran’s stead) combined to go 3-for-7 with three runs scored, two runs batted in and two stolen bases.

The Mets were clinging to a 2-1 lead as the rain began to fall sporadically by the third inning.  Needing to play 4½ innings to make the game official, Misch carved his way through the Astros lineup quickly and effectively.  After the game became official when Miguel Tejada grounded out to Luis Castillo to end the top of the fifth inning, the rain began falling in earnest.  However, before the umpires decided they couldn’t swim, they allowed the bottom of the fifth inning to be completed.  The Mets added two insurance runs on a two-run single by Fernando Tatis.  The timely hit gave the Mets a 4-1 lead and brought the grounds crew out to cover the field.

After making us wait (by us, I mean me and the other thousand or so fans who are also Mets-ochists) through a 2 hour and 20 minute rain delay for a meaningless game to resume, the Mets gave us a special treat.  Fans were allowed to move down into the field level seats for the final four innings of the game.

Unfortunately, not much action happened after that.  The Mets did add another run in the seventh inning when Fernando Tatis hit a two-out double off the left field wall.  This was followed by an RBI single by catcher Josh Thole.  The latter hit gave the Mets a 5-1 lead.

After two Astros reached base in the top of the ninth inning,  Francisco Rodriguez was called upon to get the last out.  It was Frankie’s first appearance since his colossal meltdown on Wednesday in Washington.  This time, the results were much better as he got speedster Michael Bourn to fly out to Jeff Francoeur to end the game for his 35th save.

Pat Misch will probably not be in the starting rotation in 2010, but his last two starts have showed that he can be a serviceable fill-in should one of the Mets’ regular starters get hurt (Johan Santana), become ineffective (John Maine) or both (Oliver Perez).  It was a nice finish for Misch in the next-to-last game of the season.

Tomorrow’s season finale will not have everything on the line as the previous two seasons did.  That means the Mets might actually win the game.  Nelson Figueroa will face the Astros’ Wilton Lopez at 1:10 PM.  It’s almost time to say “th-th-that’s all, folks” to the 2009 season.  Hopefully, the Mets can go out with a sweep of the Houston Astros.

Useless stat of the day (because useless seems to go with the Mets this season): When Jose Thole tripled in the fourth inning, it was the Mets’ 48th triple of the season, setting a new franchise record.  The previous high of 47 was achieved by the 1978 and 1996 teams.  Why is this a useless stat?  Because the 1978 Mets finished the season with a 66-96 record and the 1996 team went 71-91.  It should come as no surprise that this Mets team will finish with a similar record to those triple-happy teams.

The Mets came out of their corner firing quick punches at Jamie Moyer.  The first five batters of the game all collected base hits, with the biggest hit coming off the bat of Carlos Beltran.  His two-run homer (the first since his return from the disabled list) gave the Mets an early 4-0 lead.  However, the all-or-nothing Phillies flipped the switch to “all” and Mike Pelfrey was the victim of their booming bats.

Home runs by Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley and Raul Ibañez gave the Phillies the lead by the third inning.  Pelfrey could not build upon his strong start last Sunday against the Cubs, when he gave up one run in eight innings of work.  Today he pitched six poor innings, allowing eight runs on ten hits, raising his ERA back over 5.00.  When Pelfrey was relieved of his duties, the Mets were staring at a four-run deficit.  However, the Mets weren’t going to be the only team to blow a four-run lead in this game.

In the seventh inning, what appeared to be a meaningless stolen base by Daniel Murphy ended up being a key play in the game.  Murphy hit a one-out double to center and then stole third base.  He later scored on a groundout by Wilson Valdez.

After another run by the Phillies in their half of the seventh inning gave them a 9-5 lead, David Wright came up to bat in the eighth inning after a double by Fernando Tatis.  By the power of Grayskull, Wright hit his first home run since August 5.  The blast cut the deficit in half as the score was now 9-7.  After singles by Carlos Beltran and Omir Santos, Daniel Murphy was able to cut the deficit to one on an RBI single.  The score was now 9-8 and that’s where it remained until the climactic ninth inning.

Brad Lidge was not called upon to get the save in the ninth inning as his recent failures have made Armando Benitez look like a vintage Dennis Eckersley.  Instead Ryan Madson was given the ball in the ninth inning to protect the one-run lead.  Things started out well for Madson as he retired the first two hitters he faced.  Fernando Tatis then came up and ripped his fourth hit of the game, setting the stage for He-Man himself, David Wright.  On the first pitch he saw from Madson, Wright launched his second home run of the game, a two-run homer that gave the Mets a 10-9 lead.

Francisco Rodriguez came in to get the save in the bottom of the ninth and made easy work of the Phillies.  He retired all three batters he faced, including two via the strikeout route to notch his 31st save.

This game was won by the Mets’ 2-3-4 hitters.  Tatis, Wright and Beltran combined for ten hits, including three home runs.  They also scored eight runs and drove in eight runs.  It was a great showing by those three hitters, as without their heroics, this game would be more remembered for Mike Pelfrey’s awful performance.

The only thing missing was Howie Rose saying “put it in the books” during the FOX telecast of the game.  Too bad Bob Murphy wasn’t around.  After all, with a final score of 10-9 in Philadelphia, you would have expected him to say “the Mets win the damn thing!”

Tomorrow is a day-night doubleheader for the bitter rivals.  John Maine will be making his long-awaited return from the disabled list to start the first game.  He will be opposed by Kyle Kendrick in the 1:05 PM start.  In the nationally televised nightcap, Tim Redding will start against former Met Pedro Martinez.  You can be sure the national spotlight will be on Pedro’s mind when he faces the Mets.  The second game will begin at 8:05 PM.

A comeback win, the return of David Wright’s power, a He-Man flashback, the opening weekend of football and a day-night doubleheader on Sunday.  It looks like a good weekend for sports and hopefully, a good weekend for the Mets.

My choice for MetsMerized Player Of The Week is… Fernando Tatis!

Fernando Tatis. This is a guy who had one great season and has since then bounced around, amassing time with 5 MLB teams. Coming to New York last year, Fernando became the King of Clutch, as his clutch hits helped the Mets win a few games. However, through most of this season, Fernando had been playing as the King Of Double Plays, much to the dismay of Met fans. But Fernando has turned it around lately.

Batting .405 (11-27) on the week, Fernando slugged a home run and drove in 5 runs, while scoring 3 times. Of those 11 hits (which led the team), he managed two 2B, and put together 16 total bases on the week, which also led the team.

Tatis also put together a nice week on defense filling in for David Wright, as he only had one error but fielded the position fairly well. The 2008 NL Comeback Player of the Year has toughed it out this year and played hard, so Kudos to Fernando Tatis!

Honorable Mentions:

Jeff Francouer: .320 (8-25; 4 2B) 5 RBI, 3 R, 12 TB

Anderson Hernandez: .435 (10-23; 2 2B, 1 3B) 3 RBI, 3 R, 14 TB, .609 SLG

Nelson Figueroa: 2 GS, 1-1. 12 IP, 1.50 ERA, 10 H, 2 ER, 12 K.

Past Award Winners:

One Hit Wonders: Ryan Church, Daniel Murphy, Johan Santana, Jeff Francoeur, David Wright, Fernando Tatis

Been There, Done That Twice: Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan.

Of Note 8/23-8/30

I’m not sure what genius wants Wright to fly with the team to Colorado, but I guess it’ll happen regardless. Beltran seems to be on the path to returning; No news on Reyes. But can we put Francouer on the DL or something? He’s playing injured for no reason.

Whopping 2 HRs for the Mets this week (Pagan, Tatis) but 16 2Bs.

Lance Broadway’s up! Is he gonna start? He deserves a shot. Parnell can hit the pen for a while.

Conformation that Thole’ll be up when the MILB season ends. Keep his ABs limited and against RH-pitching seems to be the plan and I agree.

Billy Wagner most likely pitched his last inning as a Met this week. I wish him the best in Boston, because he was a great player.

Early on, the game was a back and forth affair, as the Mets and Cubs exchanged leads on a number of occasions.  The Mets scored two runs in the first inning when Jeff Francoeur and his torn thumb ligament roped a double to left field, scoring Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy.  The lead was short-lived as the Cubs scored one in the second and two more in the third, wresting the lead away from the Mets.

The lead changed hands again in the top of the fourth inning.  The Mets were able to load the bases against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster on a single by Jeff Francoeur, a walk to Cory Sullivan and a single by Fernando Tatis.  Brian Schneider followed with a line drive double into the right field corner, easily scoring Francoeur and Sullivan to give the Mets a 4-3 lead.

The Mets appeared to have a big rally going.  Razor Shines had stopped Tatis at third base, setting up a second and third, no out situation.  However, Tatis inexplicably restarted his engines just in time to pose for this lovely picture.

In becoming the latest victim at home plate (kids, collect all sixteen!), Tatis left the Mets with only one runner in scoring position and one out.  The Mets did not score again in the inning, despite an infield hit by the next batter, Anderson Hernandez.  Bobby Parnell sacrificed Hernandez to second for out number two and Angel Pagan grounded out to end the inning.

Parnell was still in the game when the Cubs came to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning.  They had two outs and two on, leaving Parnell one out to go to qualify for the victory.  Aramis Ramirez ended any hopes of that when he picked up an RBI single to knot the game at 4.  Jerry Manuel could have taken Parnell out of the game at that point, but did not.

After starting off Kosuke Fukudome with two strikes, Parnell lost him.  Fukudome walked to load the bases.  Did Jerry pop his head out of his Cubbie hole?  Nope.  The hell caused by Parnell was left for him to quell.  Again, Parnell started off the next hitter, Jake Fox, with a two-strike count.  Instead of wasting a pitch in the hopes that Fox would get himself out, Parnell throw a cookie that Fox munched on all the way to the left field bleachers.  It was the first grand slam in Fox’s young career and marked the end of the day for Bobby Parnell.  In 4.2 innings, he threw 109 pitches, giving up eight runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out two.  The failure to retire Fukudome and Fox after starting them out with 0-2 counts were his undoing.

Ken Takahashi gave up a run and Lance Broadway gave up the final two runs, but the last insult was tossed by Cubs’ reliever Aaron Heilman.  After being claimed off waivers, Heilman proceeded to pitch two effective innings against the team that traded him away during the offseason.  His only blemish was a meaningless two-out single to Mr. Impatient, Fernando Tatis in the eighth inning.

Today’s loss was the 21st in the Mets’ last thirty games.  For Bobby Parnell, his record dropped to 3-7 overall and 1-4 since being inserted into the starting rotation.  His recent outings have made me long for the days that Fernando Nieve was coming in to pick up victories.  Tomorrow the Mets will send out Nelson Figueroa against the Cubs’ resident headcase, Carlos Zambrano in a 2:20 PM start.

The championship of the Little League World Series will take place at about the same time as Sunday’s series finale between the Mets and the Cubs at Wrigley Field.  That game seems more appealing to me than watching the Little Leaguers currently disguised as Mets players.  Unfortunately, Fernando Tatis will be unavailable to watch that game, but perhaps someone can DVR the game for him.  Maybe that way he can bone up on some pointers on how to pick up his third base coach in order to score a run properly without running his team out of a rally.

The Mets put on an Amazin’ exhibition of power and offense for the two fans who showed up this afternoon at Land Shark Stadium to see the Mets beat the Marlins 10-3.

Tim Redding started and allowed three homeruns, and yet somehow these Miracle Mets were able to pull off the upset victory and avoid a sweep in Miami. Redding was fortunate that all three bombs were of the solo variety. He ended up pitching 6.2 innings and allowing just the three runs on five hits, for his second consecutive decent start. For his effort, he earned his second victory of the season while reducing his ERA to 5.94. Let’s bring him back next year, or better yet, give him a three-year extension!

The Marlins cheerleaders did a great job of cheering up their two fans who had the place to themselves. As you already know, the Marlins are locked in a great battle for a spot in the post season. In Marlins fans’ defense, I’m sure at least 500 fans were watching on TV and at least twice that many were tuned into their AM radios.

Offensively, the Mets were as good as you can get. As a matter of fact, every Met hitter in the starting lineup had two or more hits. They pounded out 17 hits, 5 doubles, 4 walks, and Angel Pagan and Fernando Tatis each homered in the game. The hit total was a season high.

Not bad for a rag-tag patchwork team… Daniel Murphy had some words of wisdom afterward,

“We really were locked in at the plate. It’s one of those things that is so contagious. It just starts rolling, and everybody starts putting together really good at-bats, and all of a sudden those good at-bats are with runners in scoring position with two out, and those are backbreakers.”

Of course it’s always helpful when the opposing pitcher has a 5.25 ERA in his last 19 starts.

Hey, it’s a win right?

We’re off to Wrigley Field to take on the Cubs starting tomorrow, and Pat Misch will make his first start of the season. Hopefully, the Mets saved some of that offense for him.

Oliver Perez started the game and quickly put the Mets into a 2-0 hole courtesy of a Troy Tulowitski homerun. He would later allow a solo homer to Clint Barmes, but that would be it for the Rockies in the game. Perez was pulled after five innings and allowed just the three runs on five hits, but walked four. He managed to get out of some tough jams in the game, so there was something positive to be taken from his 103 pitch effort.

Jeff Francoeur launched another homerun in this one, but it was Fernando Tatis who had the mighty blow when he hit a pinch hit grand slam in the bottom of the eight to break the tie and put the Mets up 7-3. For Tatis who had been mired in a 4-31 slump, it was a reminder of just clutch he was last season. Maybe this will get him going again.

The bullpen has been pitching great of late, and tonight they were once again spectacular as Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano and Frankie Rodriguez combined to throw four scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out five. Feliciano picked up the win in relief.

Luis Castillo and David Wright both remain hot and had two hits and two runs each. Francoeur also scored two runs and drew his first walk, albeit intentional.

I’m of the belief that this season is far from over, and the Mets continue to gain confidence each day. They seem to have moved on from feeling sorry for themselves because of the injuries, and are actually believing in themselves again.

Great win! The boys are back in town!

Tomorrow, Pelfrey looks to make it four straight wins. Don’t stop believing!

“minaya, manuel have been told by mets boss jeff wilpon they wont be fired over this painful season.”

This organization continues to amaze me. The past 2 seasons have ended with the Mets missing the post season by 1 game, losing that important 1 game the last day of the season.  The Wilpons decide before the Madoff scandal broke that they want a lower payroll than last year.  They figured with the same team, a team that couldn’t score more than 5 runs in a 3 game series with each game a must win that this team suddenly had the ability to win in 2009.  Omar Minaya got a big extension and Jerry Manuel even though he managed the Mets to yet another collapse was brought back for the 2009 season.  Some are willing to let Jerry slide because of the injuries, I don’t like it, I would love to see Jerry fired but I do see their point.  However Omar has been relying far too long now on what he has done for the Mets in the past and not what he has done in the present.   Let’s take a short look for the last season or 2 at what the inept GM has done for this team.

Omar Minaya:

• Last season signs Luis Castillo to a $25 million dollar contract, a guy who can’t catch a routine pop up by the way.  His range is gone, he calls himself a switch hitter but lets face it when he bats lefty he slaps the ball.  His knees are bad, you can see him wince in pain when has to run hard.  He’s with the Mets for the next 2 years.  The Mets could have just cut him loose like the Tigers did with Sheffield and the Jays have done with B.J. Ryan, signed Orlando Hudson to play 2nd base but Omar refused.

• Signs Ollie Perez to a $36 million dollar contract.  Perez had never shown he was worth that kind of money.  He at best is a number 3 in the rotation guy.  He comes to the Mets after signing this undeserved contract out of shape and lazy, not willing to work on getting back to game shape.  He is downright horrible when the season starts.  The Mets ask him to take a minor league assignment to work on his game, he runs to his agent and squashes it, forcing the Mets to add him to the DL.

• He turns down a trade that would have gotten the Mets Jason Marquis.  Jason Marquis this past weekend became the first pitcher to win 12 games this season.  Johan Santana, Oliver Perez, C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay among other pitchers.

• Signs Fernando Tatis to a 1.7 million dollar contract.  Fernando Tatis when he comes up to bat with runners on you know it’s a double play waiting to happen.  Tatis knows his swing is different from last year yet we never see or hear of him working on it before the game.

• Tim Redding who was coming off of an injury and was still injured gets a guaranteed contract worth $2 million!  He comes to Spring Training and is still injured.  His ERA is over 7 and is now doing bullpen duty.

• One of the biggest guys on the trade market this season is Blue Jays pitcher Roy “Doc” Halladay.  This season Halladay is currently 11-3 with an ERA of 2.73.  He has pitched so far 4 complete games.  Among many of the teams rumored to be after Halladay are the Phillies, the Mets biggest rival in the NL East.  The Blue Jays according to Jon Heyman offered the Mets the following deal:

“#mets rejected request of package of f-mart, niese, parnell and ruben tejada for halladay”

• How can you not jump on that deal?  F-Mart might be a good player but I’m not holding my breath on that.  Niese I still think is overrated, no matter what he’s doing right now at AAA, Parnell is at best a # 4 starter, perhaps a setup guy some day and Tejada has a lot of potential but the Mets already have a good shortstop whose young, they don’t need him in the immediate future.  I wonder if it was perhaps Murphy and Evans instead of F-Mart and Tejada the deal would have been done.

Let’s not forget the guys he could have gotten for cheap in the off season but didn’t pull the trigger.  Omar has done a horrible job building up the farm system which is evident this past season with all the injuries and the terrible players currently on the team.  Met fans this is starting to feel like the 90′s again to me.  2006 was a fluke, time to accept and move on.

Why does Jerry continue to trot out double play machine Fernando Tatis? I know Tatis was comeback player of the year last year, but how many guys have had decent seasons the year after they won comeback player? Maybe its time to just release Tatis, and either platoon Murphy and Evans at first, or bring someone up from the minors. Tatis is batting a whopping .253 this year, eleven points less than his lifetime batting average.

Next, its time to give Jeremy Reed some substantial playing time. Reed is a decent outfielder and he’s batting .280 so far. For reason, known only to Jerry, Reed rides the bench most nights. Completely unacceptable.

Why is Fernando Martinez still here with his .176 batting average and sore leg? Omar, wake up here. The kid is NOT ready. His leg hurts, why is he taking up a spot on the roster? I just looked at the Buffalo roster. There are two outfielders down there, Cory Sullivan (.297 BA), and Jesus Feliciano (.300 BA). Lets get Martinez out of here and bring one of these guys up here. They can’t be worse than F-Mart has been so far.

For those of you who watched tonight’s game, did you see how Torre’s Dodgers worked the count. How they made Mets pitchers throw strikes? Did anyone on the Mets bench notice this? All the years Torre’s teams have won championships they always force the opposing pitchers to throw strikes. When the Mets are at bat, they swing like they have 11:00 PM dinner reservations and they don’t want to be late. Its time for Hojo to go. Its time for the Mets to stop this silly notion of bringing back coaches from 1986 for nostalgia’s sake.

We all hear about the errors the Mets make on defense, but on offense they are making plenty of mistakes too.