Rightfielder Jeff Francoeur is on fire, and over his last eleven games, he is batting .451 with a .500 OBP, .559 SLG, and a 1.023 OPS. The streak coincides with the meeting he had with manager Jerry Manuel before the first game of the Phillies series. Manuel told Francoeur to tune out all the advice he had been getting and follow his own instincts, those same instincts that had him leading the Mets in nearly every offensive [...]

R.A. Dickey came out and pitched a solid game, and the Mets took the first game in this home stand from the Marlins 4-3 Game Notes R.A. Dickey went out today, and threw the most knuckle balls in one game that he has thrown in any game this season, going 6 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. Dickey was just laying knuckler after knuckler out there and begging [...]

In a stellar outing from R.A. Dickey, the Mets offense, especially Jose Reyes came alive and defeated the Phillies 8-0. Game Notes R.A. Dickey went out for his second appearance as a Met, and was dominant through 6 innings, giving up no runs on 7 hits with 3 walks to go with 7 strikeouts. The hits were scattered, mostly in the 2nd where Dickey loaded the bases and then got out of it, and in [...]

Johan Santana went seven strong innings, but an errant David Wright throw proved to be the difference in the bottom of the 9th as the Mets lost 3-2 to the Atlanta Braves. Game Notes Johan Santana had his second straight stellar outing, going 7 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4. Johan looked like he was going to be in trouble for the whole night, already [...]

As I’ve gotten older I’ve seemed to have become more and more nostalgic about my childhood. It’s only natural considering in September I’m going to be a father for the first time. I remember the lessons my dad taught me as if he sat me down yesterday. One lesson that made a huge impression was the importance of competition. Nothing ever worth having should come easy, he said. Now granted to me at the time [...]

Well I can’t say for sure whether Jeff Francoeur likes to eat apples or not, but he definitely likes to play for the Big Apple.  I figured today I would talk a little about a player for the Mets who is slowly becoming one of my favorite Met players of all-time.  Mr. Jeff Francoeur joined this team via a player swap with the Atlanta Braves for right fielder Ryan Church (and it is obvious who benefited from [...]

So Met Nation after another defeat, this time, at the hands of Josh Johnson and the Marlins, questions arise about different lineup concepts to get the offense rolling. Jerry Manuel, not the quickest hook to ever manage, must realize now that his “idea” of moving Jose Reyes to the three spot in the batting order has been a monumental flop. His comments following last nights’ game ensure that the lineup should, and will be altered [...]

Jeff Francoeur, who was struck on the left elbow by a pitch in the seventh inning last night, will be in the lineup this afternoon. Francoeur, who put on a personal one-man highlight reel against the Phillies, was later removed from the game, taken for x-rays and was diagnosed with a contusion on his elbow. He was expected to get a few days off, however, the gamer that he is asked in this morning, and refused to sit on the [...]

Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger just posted an update to his blog about the Mets being on the field for some early batting practice at Citizen’s Bank Park. Nothing big really, every team on any given day will have a few players go out and take in some early swings before the mandatory reporting time. But I couldn’t help noticing something that Costs added at the end of his post, It’s not unusual for the [...]

Maybe I should move more often.  My family moved from Tennessee to Wisconsin two weeks ago, and about that time the Mets were slipping deeper and deeper into a funk, starting out with a 2-6 record.  It looked like Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya might not last until the end of April with the team. But then something happened.  After Mike Pelfrey won a stunning 5-0 decision in Colorado, the Mets took one game out [...]

The pitching this young season has been great.  I don’t think that anyone can honestly say they thought the pitchers, be it the rotation or the bullpen would perform the way they have so far.  Every expert said that the Mets couldn’t contend in 2010 because of the starting pitching after Johan but the starters, especially Mike Pelfrey have proven those experts wrong.  The pitchers have stepped up this season, now it’s time for the [...]