KEEP YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER!

Team News and Notes

Atlanta Braves (17-9)

Justin Upton launched his major league leading 12th home run of the season this week. He hit just 17 a year ago, and is currently on pace to shatter his career high of 31 back in 2011. The same can’t be said for his brother B.J. Upton, who has just three home runs, and is hitting a paltry .143 on the season. Freddie Freeman has not made much of an impact since returning from the DL eight games ago, as the first baseman has just one extra base hit during that span. The great start to the season by Paul Maholm came to an abrupt end in his last start. The lefty took his minuscule 1.03 ERA into Detroit, and was battered around to the tune of eight earned runs, and left with a 3.30 ERA. Tim Hudson earned the 200th win of his career on Tuesday, as he pitched a gem against the Nationals. Hudson continues to pitch well despite being 37-years of age, and owns a career record of 200-105.

Washington Nationals (13-14)

How scary is Bryce Harper? Harper hit 22 home runs in his rookie season, and is already almost half way there with nine, and we are only one month into the season. The 20-year-old has been on a tear of late, hitting .353, with four home runs, seven RBI, four doubles, and a triple over his last 11 games. Harper leads the team with a .344 batting average. The Nationals had an injury scare with Stephen Strasburg, and pulled him early from his last start due to forearm tightness. The big guy says he will make his next start, but the Nats might take precautions and skip a start. The Nationals who were expected to be a powerhouse team, continue to struggle, and are under .500 after one month of the season.

Philadelphia Phillies (12-15)

The Phillies starting catcher Carlos Ruiz returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing 25 games due to an amphetamine suspension. The Phillies backstop had a great year in 2012, hitting .325 with 16 home runs and 68 RBI. Delmon Young was activated from the DL on Tuesday, and had two hits including a home run in his season debut. Ryan Howard has been heating up of late, and is showing flashes of his old self. Over his last eight games, the lefty slugger has a .300/.290/.633 slash, with two home runs, 10 RBI, and four doubles. Kyle Kendrick is quietly having one of the best seasons on the Phillies pitching staff. He recently completed a three-hit shut out against the Mets, and owns a tidy 2.41 ERA through five starts to begin the year. Roy Halladay was rolling until he ran into Cleveland on Tuesday, and lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up eight earned runs. I was going to say that he was almost all the way back this week, but apparently he’s not.

Miami Marlins (8-19)

Marlins stud outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was beginning to come around, as he finally tallied his first home run of the season this past week. Stanton was red hot before he strained his hamstring on Monday, as he finally turned the power on hitting three jacks, while also driving in eight runs.  The rest of the Marlins remain in a coma offensively, ranking at the bottom of the majors in home runs, runs, and RBI. Jose Fernandez hasn’t made it into the fifth inning in two of his last three starts, while Kevin Slowey leads the team with a 2.15 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.

Injury Report

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg might miss his next start, after being pulled from his most recent outing with forearm tightness. Ryan Zimmerman is ready to play in rehab games, and after a few tune ups this week, he should be activated from the DL on Friday. Jayson Werth was out of the lineup on Tuesday, as he is dealing with hamstring and ankle ailments. Wilson Ramos was activated from the DL on April 29. Reliever Christian Garcia remains on the DL with partial tear in his forearm.

Braves: Jason Heyward who was placed on the DL after having an appendectomy on last Monda, is hoping for a late-May return. Brian McCann (offseason shoulder surgery) began a rehab assignment on Friday, and is all goes well will be activated on May 6.. Jonny Venters (elbow) will begin throwing on Tuesday. Brandon Beachy (Tommy John surgery) is still recovering and could return by midseason.

Phillies: Delmon Young made his return to the lineup a little earlier than expected, as he was activated on April 30. John Lanna remains on the DL, and could miss 6-8 weeks due to a strained quad.

Marlins:  Giancarlo Stanton was placed on the DL with a grade 2 strain of his hamstring, which should sideline him a minimum of three weeks. Joe Mahoney was also placed on the DL with a hamstring injury. Adeiny Hechavarria was placed on the DL with a bruised elbow, is ready to begin rehab games. Casey Kotchman who is on the DL with a strained hamstring may return by mid-May. Logan Morrison is recovering from a torn patella tendon that required surgery last September, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on May 10. Henderson Alvarez is throwing and could return by early May, while Nathan Eovaldi remains out indefinitely, and was transferred to the 60-day DL.

Upcoming Schedules (4/29-5/5) 

Nationals: (ATL, 4/29-5/2), (@PIT, 5/3-5/5)

Braves: (WSH, 4/29-5/2), (NYM, 5/3-5/5)

Phillies: (@CLE, 4/30-5/31), (MIA, 5/2-5/5)

Marlins: (@MIN, 4/29-5/1) (@PHI, 5/2-5/5)

Yes I know Reyes has been the brightest light in an otherwise dark season for the New York Metropolitans. In what will end up being yet any wasted season in Flushing, Reyes has been unarguably the most exciting player in baseball. On pace to shatter the Mets triples record and also hitting .354. Why would anyone in their right mind want him injured?

Oh yeah he is on pace to get paid 100+ million dollars after seasons end. And oh yeah the team trying to re-sign him has as much money as MC Hammer. Some team is very likely to offer Reyes 150+ million if he continues having the Hall of Fame like season he’s been having. I mean hell Jayson Werth got 120 million dollars and he’s not half the player Reyes is.

Reyes has done everything he possibly can to make sure his value is at an all-time high. Having unquestionably the most productive season in his career. And the key part of it all is he has stayed healthy. More than his production, health is the true factor teams are looking at as Jose Reyes continues his 2011 season. I mean who is going to give an often injured player (which Reyes has been his whole career) a 100+ million dollar contract?

Enter Hamstring injury. Does everyone remember why Fred Wilpon said Reyes “Won’t get Carl Crawford money”?

It was because he believed no team would be willing to commit that type of money to a player with Reyes injury history. So what does Reyes do? He plays an uninterrupted 2011 season without injury. Until Saturday that is. This hamstring injury furthers Fred Wilpon’s thinking. Reyes just can’t stay fully healthy for a whole season. And as good as his numbers have been all season, this injury will be the first thing to decrease his value. And as a Mets fan who desperately wants Reyes back (and thinks he will be back), this is the first time I’ve seen Reyes go down where I truthfully wasn’t disappointed. In the big picture, it may be a good thing.

# 10 Giving Mike Pelfrey A 4-Year Contract Extension

I like Pelfrey… I like him a lot… But all we really know about Pelf is how wildly inconsistent he really is. He can have a good game one day and then come back five days later and throw a stinker. He can have a solid season, and follow it up with a bad one.

Currently, he’s under Mets control for a further three years, and is set to go to arbitration this offseason. Let him. I’d rather take my chances and pay him the market value for pitchers at his level, than to lock him up and possibly overpay him for an excruciatingly bad season or worse yet, seasons. No thanks.

If Pelfrey has another season similar to this one or even better, we can talk extension a year from now. But for now let’s see if he can do what he hasn’t been able to do yet, that is throw back to back solid seasons.

# 9 Signing Free Agent Jayson Werth

For some strange reason, signing Werth to play right field has been gaining a lot of steam lately in the Mets blogosphere. We had an intense debate about it last week on Twitter and I felt I wanted to post some of the reasons why I believe it would be a terrible mistake.

First of all, much of this Jayson Werth hysteria centers around the premise that the Mets will trade Carlos Beltran, something that most of my readers know I am vehemently against. But that’s a topic for another rant. Let’s assume for the purpose of this post that there is an opening in right field.

I see Werth as a product of cozy Citizens Bank Park. He does have some home run pop in his bat, but no more than lets say a Jeff Francoeur or Ryan Church. His OBP has been impressive and in the .380 range as a Phillie, but just .330 before that.

At age 32, I don’t see him improving on his recent production, and with Werth playing half of his game in the vastness of Citi Field, it could be another recipe for disaster. Haven’t we already had enough of those?

Here is another thing to consider about Werth…

Last week, Werth fired his agent and hired Scott Boras as his new agent to handle his impending free agency. Perfect timing huh? Just like the career high .903 OPS he has posted this season…

Many surmise that Werth will command a contract similar to the one the Mets gave left fielder Jason Bay last offseason, that is a four-year $66 million dollar contract with an easily attainable $17 MM option. But Boras is already hinting that it will take a lot more,

“Jason Bay suffered in the marketplace because of a predisposition about his medical condition, creating questions. That does not exist with Werth. And with Bay you were talking about a left fielder who was definitely not in the class of a Gold Glove outfielder. Werth is a totally different type of player. He’s an athlete who can play center field, run, steal bases, be a Gold Glove type outfielder.”

After seeing how sour the Jason Bay foray went this season, even before the concussion, why would we want to delve into another potential land mine at the other corner outfield position? 

Furthermore, I believe this team has all the offensive talent it needs to compete in the NL East so long as everyone plays to their expectations and talent level while remaining healthy.

The Mets have 53 home runs, worst in the majors.  The Phillies have 126 and the Yankees 136.  Gary Sheffield leads the team with 10 homers, and David Wright still only has 5.  FIVE. 

Speaking of Wright, while he’s batting a respectable .322, his 5 homers and 44 RBI puts him in the company of guys like Jacoby Ellsbury (5, 29), Freddy Sanchez (6, 34) or Pat Burrell (5, 32).  Those are decent players, but Wright is supposed to be more in the company of guys like Ryan Braun (16, 58) or Albert Pujols (34, 90).  In fact, Wright has similar power numbers to teammate Daniel Murphy (5, 29).  What the hell is that?

The Mets have 814 hits and 362 RBI.  The Phillies have 804 hits and 457 RBI.  Think about that….less hits, but almost 100 more runs batted in? 

The Mets have one complete game, and it’s not by Johan…it’s by Livan.  The Giants and Royals each have 8 complete games to lead the majors.  The GIANTS and ROYALS.

Mets’ pitchers have given up 361 walks, trailing only Washington (365) for worst in the majors.  And of course, their 10 balks leads the majors by far, thanks mostly to Pelfrey’s “yips.” 

The Mets could have had Raul Ibanez, who has 24 homers, 65 RBI and is batting .316 for you-know-who.  

The Phillies’ notable rookie this year is pitcher JA Happ, who is 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA and 65 strikeouts.  The Mets’ notable rookie is F-Mart, who is batting .176 with one homer and 8 RBI. 

Amazingly, the Mets’ hitters have only struck out 501 times, which is best in the majors.  But I guess power hitters strike out more, and the Mets have almost no power, so in that context it makes sense. 

The Phillies’ top home run hitters are Ibanez (24), Ryan Howard (23), Chase Utley (21) and Jayson Werth (20).  The Mets’ top home run hitters are Sheffield (10), Carlos Beltran (8), and Wright (5).  Oh, and Jeff Francoeur also has 5, but he hit most of those with the Braves. 

I probably just made you all sick, and I’m right there with you.  I can’t wait for this season to be over so we can move on!

Werth will join his fellow Phillie outfielders Raul Ibañez and Shane Victorino in St. Louis for the All-Star festivities.  Ibañez was voted in by the fans as a starter while Victorino made the team this week as the winner of the Sprint Final Vote.  Werth enters tonight’s action with a .268 batting average, 20 HR, 54 RBI, 59 runs scored and 12 SB.  He has been on a power tear, hitting home runs in four consecutive games.

Werth joins teammates Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and the aforementioned Ibañez as only the second foursome in baseball history to each hit at least 20 HR before the All-Star Break.  The 2000 Toronto Blue Jays were the first team to accomplish this feat when Tony Batista, Raul Mondesi, Jose Cruz Jr. and Carlos Delgado all hit 20 long balls before the break.

While Werth’s numbers are certainly deserving of an All-Star nod, this just adds more insult to injury (no pun intended) to the Mets and their fans.  Charlie Manuel is already managing the National League All-Star team.  Imagine if he chooses to have all three of his outfielders play at the same time.  With Ibañez being activated from the disabled list today and able to play in the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, it could very well happen.  Looks like I won’t be watching much baseball on Tuesday.

The three days off were supposed to serve as a temporary respite from all the negativity surrounding the Mets over the past few weeks as their position in the standings kept moving south.  Now the Mets and their fans will have to watch the Phillies all over the TV screen on Tuesday.  I’m already seeing red because of the Mets’ recent play.  Do I have to be forced to see so much red on the TV as well?