In a conference call Wednesday evening, Mets GM Sandy Alderson addressed several issues surrounding the team. Here are some of the things he told us:

• Catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud will not be allowed to block the plate. The reason for that is obvious – his health.
• The leadoff spot is still up in the air but Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who is the leading candidate, still has a lot of work to do.
• If Nieuwenhuis plays full-time he will strikeout over 100 times that could give the Mets four players with over 100 strikeouts when you consider David Wright, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda. While strikeouts are a concern, hopefully they will be offset by an increased on-base percentage and run production.
• If the Mets are competitive this summer, he knows he will face the dilemma of trading pitching prospects to acquire an outfield bat and it’s not something he’s looking forward to do, but he may not have a choice.
• Alderson said how the Mets handled Matt Harvey last year should buy him patience from fans wanting to rush Zack Wheeler. He added there’s no sense in force-feeding a young player if he’s not ready. If the rotation pitches reasonably well there will be no obligation for him to bring up Wheeler when he can only benefit by more development.

These and other issues from Alderson’s conference call will be explored in greater detail in future posts.

MURPHY BREAKOUT: Terry Collins told us that Murphy is still a week to ten days away from returning to the lineup. Knowing the scrappy player and how he never wants to miss a start, it must be killing him not to be on the field as it is Collins. Joe D. reminded me that this is the first Spring where he’s not learning a new position and I agree with him that this will lead to a much improved season at the plate including a spike in home runs.

DUDA CONCERNS: If the Mets could take one positive out of Wednesday’s 12-4 waxing at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, it is that Lucas Duda broke a 0-for-7 slide with groundball single. No, they did not stop the game to give him the ball. Duda finished 1-for-3 with one strikeout, so it isn’t as if he’s found it all of a sudden. The Mets like his power potential, but must be concerned about his wasted at-bats. He had 120 strikeouts with only 51 walks in 459 plate appearances last season.

PEDRO HAS HEART: The Mets and Pedro Feliciano got some good news the lefty reliever’s heart tests came back clear, and that he can resume baseball activities. I’m happy to hear the good news. Pedro’s been fun to cover, one of the nicest players the Mets have had and always greets reporters with a smile and a hello.

CAPTAIN WRIGHT: Wright returned to the lineup with two singles. He’s not scheduled to play Thursday, but is Friday against Detroit at Port St. Lucie. David Wright hopes to play third instead of DH in that game. On Saturday he leaves for the World Baseball Classic. Collins is polling the clubhouse for opinions on Wright’s potential captaincy and wants this done prior to Opening Day, It’s impossible to think his teammates will vote him down.

JOHAN DOWN BUT NOT OUT: You have to feel bad for Johan Santana who was frustrated after his last bullpen so much so that the team decided to let him shut it down and work on some issues locating his pitches. The good news is that Adam Rubin reported yesterday, that he will throw off a mound on Friday with the hope that he’ll be getting ready to make a Grapefruit League start in about ten day.

ZACK WILL BE BACK: Zack Wheeler was scratched from yesterday’s start with a slight strain of his right oblique. Although the Mets have not said anything, expect him to miss at least another start. It’s precautionary and considering his value to the organization it’s the smart move. This front office has made a noticeable and improved difference in how seriously they take a players injuries no matter how minor. In all honesty, I couldn’t say the same thing about the last regime.

SPRING AHEAD: Four more days until I check into my hotel in St. Lucie and will begin covering the team again from Mets camp. It’s been a strange and new experience reporting about the team while being 500 miles away, and I look forward to covering them the old-fashioned way again beginning next week. I promised Joe D. some exclusive player interviews for MMO so look for those. And I look forward to bringing you some more insights from Sandy and his staff as well. Be good everybody.

Terry Collins won’t have much to look up to in 2013.

Jon Rauch was one of the few dependable arms in the Mets bullpen last year.  But in 2013, his 6’11″ inch frame will be casting shadows on the mound at Marlins Park.

Various sources have reported that Rauch has signed a one-year, $1 million contract to pitch for the stripped-down version of the Miami Marlins.  He will more than likely pitch in Miami for a few months, get a few tattoos, then get shipped off to a pennant contender for a bunch of prospects at the trade deadline.

Rauch’s departure, coupled with the non-signing of 6’10″ Chris Young and the non-tendering of 6’7″ Mike Pelfrey will make the Mets a much shorter team in 2013.  In fact, as of this scribbling, no player on the Mets’ 40-man roster is taller than 6’4″.

It’s possible the Mets just thought the 34-year-old Rauch was getting up there in years.  Perhaps they believed Chris Young was about to break like an outfield wall in front of Rodney McCray.  Or maybe they expected Mike Pelfrey to eventually bite off his tongue while throwing a pitch.  For all we know, perhaps the Mets just found a new way to cut costs by spending less money on fabric for the tall players’ jerseys.

But one thing’s for certain.  The light stanchions at Citi Field will be the only things casting shadows on the mound now that Rauch, Young and Pelfrey have all cautiously lowered their heads under the home bullpen gate for the last time.

Jon Rauch will be soaking rays in Miami in 2013.  Mike Pelfrey will be dodging snowballs and line drives in Minnesota.  Chris Young will be trying not to get hurt wherever he winds up.  None of these behemoths will be pitching for the Mets in 2013.   It looks like a long season just got a little shorter for the Mets.

First and foremost, the team’s pitching staff desperately needs another overhaul.  To a certain point, that will come in the eventual promotion of the Harvey, Wheeler, Familia and Mejia contingent.  That however won’t get it done in the long run.  While RA Dickey has proven himself as one of the game’s elite (albeit awkward) pitchers, the rest of the starting staff has been disappointing.  Jon Niese remains inconsistent and Johan Santana has been a mess since in June no-hitter.  Then we get to the bullpen…  The truth is bullpens are always in flux as its historically difficult for many relief pitchers to maintain a high level of play from year to year, but the Mets have had extremely poor luck.  From the current crop, its realistic to think only Francisco, Edgin and possibly Rauch find themselves on the roster next season.  That’s a great deal of turnover for a team supposedly headed in the right directly.

A look at the rest of the roster finds a variety of players who were being counted on to take a step forward, but ultimately failed miserably.  Here is a look at just a few:

• Andres Torres, who was acquired last winter as a band-aid in center field, has been repeatedly hampered by injury and has struggled at the plate all season.  For much of the season, he has found himself second fiddle to rookie, Kirk Nieuwenhuis.  Definitely not the situation Mets’ brass hoped for when envisioning the 2012 season in their head.
• Lucas Duda was handed the spot in right field in an effort to find a place for his bat.  His offense, unfortunately, has abandoned him.  That, combined with his defensive liability and what has been described as a poor attitude has found him beached in Buffalo with his opportunity wasted and his value shattered.
• Jason Bay…oh where do we start.  More inuries and more ineptitude at the plate have finally cost Bay his everyday spot in left.  Batting well under .200 this season, Bay is likely on his way out despite what Sandy Alderson recently said about the $19 million he is still owed on his current contract.
• Josh Thole was the Mets best bet coming into the season behind the plate.  As is the case with everyone else on this list, he hasn’t gotten it done.  A team can stomach a singles hitter if they justify their spot on the roster with their defense.  Thole has repeatedly struggled to keep the ball from going to the backstop and can’t throw anyone else on the base paths.  He’s not an everyday major league player, no matter what way you try to cut it.
• Ike Davis has probably been the biggest surprise disappointment this year.  Mired in a terrible slump for the first two months of the season, Ike has never really turned it on this year.  The saving grace to his season will be his power numbers, which have not slumped nearly as much as his average and will ultimately salvage his spot for the time being as the Met’s first baseman of the future.

Much of this didn’t rear its ugly head until the team fell off the pace, but now it has become clear that the organization still has a great deal of work to do before they become a legitimate contender again.  With that said, the resurgence of David Wright is most positive thing to come out of 2012.  He has once again solidified himself amongst the best third baseman in baseball.  Moving around the remainder of the infield, Ruben Tejada’s patient approach at the plate and stout defense have proven to be a quality replacement for the departed Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy has come a loooong way at second base.

The issue remains that outside of those guys, and RA Dickey of course, the Mets as a whole haven’t improved much.  It was fun to field fully home grown lineups, but its obvious the answer to the team’s woes aren’t within the organization right now. The 2012 season hasn’t yielded the results any of us had hoped.  There is no reason to believe the Mets are only a few players away from success and an argument can now be made that the organization has actually gone backwards this year.  Yes, despite the successful first half, the 2012 season has proven to be a costly one for the New York Mets.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

Through the use of the scorecard, let’s take a look at how David Wright did this week:

Wright continues to impress everyone this year, and his batting average for the entire year sits at .412. His strikeout count has decreased quite a bit this year, he is not chasing many pitches out of the zone and thus is also getting more walks this year.

Honorable Mentions

These players, although not winning the Player of the Week award, had a very strong showing this week and deserve to be recognized. We will also show how strong a showing they had through the use of the scorecard.

Mike Baxter

Lucas Duda

Miguel Batista (Now on DL)

Tim Byrdak

Rob Johnson (Catcher in Relief)

Not So Hot

The Not So Hot area mentions a few players who did not have a good week this week.

Manny Acosta

Jon Niese

Jon Rauch

Dillon Gee

Mike Nickeas

Andres Torres

Ike Davis

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

This area shows the scoreboard of the Players of the Week, and who has won already this season and how many times.

1. David Wright – 3

T2. Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1

T2. Johan Santana – 1

T2. Andres Torres – 1

Trivia

To finish off the Player of the Week announcement each week, I’ll be asking you a trivia question. The answer will be announced during the next Player of the Week announcement, as well as the first person who answered correctly. Another question will then be asked. Last Week’s Answer is: 16 wins for Tom Seaver in 1967. Adam was the first person to correctly answer the question. So here is this week’s question:

When did David Wright make his Major League debut and against what team?

Through the use of the scorecard, let’s take a look at how Andres Torres did this week:

I honestly don’t think I’d ever expect to say Andres Torres would win the Player Of The Week award, but he did well this week and produced for the Mets. While I still don’t feel he should replace Kirk Nieuwenhuis, he did quite well this week. I will also note he had a stolen base.

Honorable Mentions

These players, although not winning the Player of the Week award, had a very strong showing this week and deserve to be recognized. We will also show how strong a showing they had through the use of the scorecard.

Daniel Murphy

David Wright

Ruben Tejada

Frank Francisco

Bobby Parnell

Ramon Ramirez

Not So Hot

The Not So Hot area mentions a few players who did not have a good week this week.

Jon Niese

Chris Schwinden (now demoted)

Manny Acosta

Jon Rauch

Josh Thole

Ike Davis

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

This area shows the scoreboard of the Players of the Week, and who has won already this season and how many times.

David Wright – 1

Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1

Johan Santana – 1

Andres Torres – 1

Trivia

To finish off the Player of the Week announcement each week, I’ll be asking you a trivia question. The answer will be announced during the next Player of the Week announcement, as well as the first person who answered correctly. Another question will then be asked. Last Week’s Answer is: Harry Chiti. Alex68 was the first person to correctly answer the question. So here is this week’s question:

When the Mets won Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, what Met pitcher was warming up in the bullpen to pitch the next inning if Mookie Wilson had made out?

Dillon Gee pitched a strong six innings, but the bullpen failed yet again in the Mets 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Recap

Dillon Gee went six strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six, walking three and hitting a batter. Gee didn’t seem to have his best command on the day, but he managed to get the anxious Dbacks hitters to swing at numerous poor pitches and relied on a few good defensive plays. Dillon’s ERA was only victimized by a Cody Ransom home-run. As long as Gee can pitch and induced weak contact, easy fly-ball outs and strikeouts he will be in good company.

Once Gee gave way, however the bullpen began its true struggle. Parnell pitched an inning and allowed an unearned run on an Ike Davis error. Tim Byrdak went one-third of an inning, striking out one, allowing a run and walking one. Jon Rauch came out for two-thirds of an inning, allowing three hits, a run and a strikeout to take the game from no decision to the Mets on the losing side.

The Mets bullpen has been overworked, or overmatched, but either way they have not put together quality innings as a group in quite some times. It will be interesting to see how Terry Collins plays this bullpen from now on, knowing Bobby Parnell is his most effective reliever, period.

The offense struck early, but then never re-appeared. A big third inning accounted for all of the Mets runs, on a Scott Hairston RBI doubler, an Ike Davis RBI groundout and an Andres Torres RBI single. After that, the Mets offense put runners on base but couldn’t manage to drive them in, as has been the theme of lately.

Game Notes

-David Wright extended his hitting streak to 10 games, while going 1 for 2 with two walks. The most inspiring thing about this season isn’t David’s high average which is being held up by an unsustaniably high BABIP, but his ability to draw walks.

-Andres Torres went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Although seeing Kirk displaced as the CF is something many Mets fans are not fond of seeing, seeing the man replacing him hit takes away some of the sting

- Lucas Duda has looked significantly better as of lately in handling the outfield, squaring balls off the bat much better. Although it is a slight improvement, it is always better to see improvement than regression

GOAT of The Game

Jon Rauch struggled with his control, allowing three hits that scored an inherited runner, as well as one of his own. If Jon cannot keep the ball down in the zone, pitching him with runners on base does not become an option anymore

On Deck

The Mets will continue the series tomorrow at 4:05 PM, sending Johan Santana to the mound against Diamondbacks rookie Patrick Corbin.

Through the use of the scorecard, let’s take a look at how David Wright did this month:

David Wright only missed three games this month, all due to a fractured finger, and during those three games, the Mets went 1-2. He had 3 home runs. This year, he has looked stellar.

Honorable Mentions

These players, although not winning the Player of the Month award, had a very strong showing this month and deserve to be recognized. We will also show how strong a showing they had through the use of the scorecard.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Josh Thole

Ruben Tejada

Daniel Murphy

Johan Santana

Jon Rauch

Jon Niese

Not So Hot

The Not So Hot area mentions a few players who did not have a good month.

Ike Davis

Frank Francisco

Manny Acosta

Miguel Batista

Player Of The Month Leader List

This area shows the winner for each month of this season.

April: David Wright

Jon Rauch has been outstanding for the Mets in the bullpen this year.  After getting credit for his team-leading third victory in the Mets’ 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins last night, Rauch has now pitched 9⅓ scoreless innings in ten appearances.  But the zero in the runs allowed column is just the beginning of the story.

Rauch has faced a total of 32 batters over his first ten relief outings, retiring 28 of them.  The line against him (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) is so ridiculously low, you’d think there was a typo or three involved (.097/.125/.129).  But it’s true.  Jon Rauch has been that dominant.

Prior to this season, Rauch was a good, but not great, reliever.  In 477 appearances, he had a 3.76 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.  But he was always good against the National League East.  In fact, his 3.50 ERA against the Mets was his highest against any NL East team.  But now he pitches for the Mets – not against them – and the NL East is about to discover just how special he is.

Last night’s 1-2-3 inning against the Marlins lowered his career ERA and WHIP against Miami.  Here are his career numbers against all the NL East teams he will be facing as a member of the Mets.

• vs. ATL: 1-0, 3.09 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, .189 batting average against, .220 on-base pct.
• vs. MIA: 4-2, 3.07 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, .200 batting average against, .240 on-base pct.
• vs. PHI: 2-2, 2.87 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .238 batting average against, .289 on-base pct.
• vs. WAS: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .211 batting average against, .286 on-base pct.

• Combined: 8-4, 2.89 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, .210 batting average against, .253 on-base pct.

We’re not talking about a small sample size here, either.  Rauch has appeared in 107 games against those four teams, pitching 121⅓ innings.  In those 121⅓ innings, he has allowed only 95 hits.  He has also struck out 115 batters while walking only 27.  Simply stated, Jon Rauch has dominated the division.

After a 2011 season in which the Mets relief corps was spotty at best, it’s good to have a dependable arm for a change.  Of the three new bullpen acquisitions made by Sandy Alderson this past off-season, Jon Rauch has clearly been the best.  But looking at his past history against the NL East, should his early season success surprise you, especially considering that all but four of the Mets’ first 17 games have come against their division rivals?

We’ll have to wait and see how he performs against NL Central and NL West, but as far as his team’s own division is concerned, Jon Rauch is and always has been an NL East killer.  As long as the unbalanced schedule remains in play, Rauch will be one the key players in the Mets bullpen.  It’s quite refreshing to have complete confidence in a reliever for a change.

Through the use of the scorecard, let’s take a look at how David Wright did this week:

Despite missing three games due to a pinkie injury, Wright still had two home runs, five runs batted in, and a .571 batting average. During those three games he missed, his impact was noticed, as the Mets went 1-2 without him, while going 5-1 with him. This is the David Wright that we all want playing out there, week in and week out.

Honorable Mentions

These players, although not winning the Player of the Week award, had a very strong showing this week and deserve to be recognized. We will also show how strong a showing they had through the use of the scorecard.

Ruben Tejada

Daniel Murphy

Johan Santana

Jon Niese

Jon Rauch

Frank Francisco

Not So Hot

The Not So Hot area mentions a few players who did not have a good week this week.

Ike Davis

Jason Bay

Miguel Batista

Ramon Ramirez

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

This area shows the scoreboard of the Players of the Week, and who has won already this season and how many times.

1. David Wright – 1

Trivia

To finish off the Player of the Week announcement each week, I’ll be asking you a trivia question. The answer will be announced during the next Player of the Week announcement, as well as the first person who answered correctly. Another question will then be asked. So here is this week’s question:

In the 2000 NLDS, most Met fans remember that Bobby Jones won the clinching Game 4 with a one-hitter, and many fans remember that John Franco saved Game 2 for winning pitcher Armando Benitez to even the series when he struck out Barry Bonds. But what pitcher won game 3 of that NLDS for the Mets?