Please, join me as I throw a handful of dirt on the coffin of Jordany Valdespin’s career as a New York Met.

The one I used to call El Dramático for his ability to spark rallies and hit long home runs is getting playing time for one reason: he’s being shopped. Don’t expect him to be with the Mets past the trade deadline.

I’ve been a staunch defender of Valdespin since the Mets’ first intrasquad game. He had the tools to be a starter in 2013. He still has the tools. Whatever the case, it just hasn’t come together.

There are a plethora of reasons why Valdespin’s days are numbered. He’s batting .207/.264/..328 on the season with a 24/6 K/BB ratio and 4-for-7 in stolen base attempts. He’s 3-for-23 with five strikeouts and no walks since taking over the second base and leadoff duties. Additionally, he’s not playing well defensively and the positions he does play are better suited by other players on this year’s team (Juan Lagares and Daniel Murphy). The list goes on longer than his pimped out dingers. Even though his latest audition isn’t going well, I expect he’ll be sent somewhere for cash or packaged in a trade with some farm arms.

Saturday’s game was a microcosm of how he’s performed since receiving more playing time: a few defensive miscues and little offense. He threw a ball over Jonathon Niese’s head, something you’d see in a Little League game…maybe. He also had two force outs at second that could have seriously injured him. When a second baseman makes a force at second, he normally shifts his momentum toward the outfield to avoid a hard slide. Valdespin just planted on the bag and got upended by Cody Ransom twice. He’s just not doing the fundamentals.

Things could have been done differently during Valdespin’s time as a Metropolitan. He was mismanaged by Terry Collins, he handled situations poorly and every negative was put under a microscope by the media, myself included.

It pains me to say, but he’s poisoning the team. Whether it’s his fault or not is moot. I believe he has a long career ahead of him, but it won’t be with the Mets. He’ll probably be one of the many who leaves the Mets and enjoys success in another venue. Some players just aren’t cut out to play under the magnifying glass in New York.

He could thrive in a platoon role in hitter-friendly parks like Coors Field or Great American Bandbox. Just don’t expect there to be many more Valdespin No. 1 jerseys produced in orange and blue.

What are your thoughts on Jordany Valdespin’s recent one-week audition at second base?

The Mets scored three runs in the bottom of the eight inning to cap off a 4-2 comeback victory over the Atlanta Braves to salvage the third game of the series and avoid getting swept.

Shaun Marcum started for the Mets and was dealing in what was his best start of the season for the Mets. Marcum held the Braves scoreless through six innings before Dan Uggla tagged him for a two-run homer in the seventh. The righthander struck out a season high 12 batters, walked none and lowered his ERA to 5.77 for the season, but would not figure in the decision. It was a solid effort for Marcus and hopefully he can finally give the team a reliable starter out of the bottom of the rotation.

Latroy Hawkins held the Braves at bay with a scoreless eighth, and Bobby Parnell closed it out with a perfect ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.

With the Braves clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Mets offense came alive in the bottom of the eight when they broke through with three runs to take the 4-2 lead. Surprisingly, Ike Davis had the biggest hit of the night with a bases loaded single to drive home two runs – a hard grounder that just eluded the outstretched glove of Freddie Freeman. Catcher John Buck roared with approval and pointed to Davis as he scored the Mets fourth run. Davis was on base three times during the game – two singles and a walk.

Lucas Duda hit his ninth home run of the season off of Braves starter Julio Teheran in the fourth and had three hits for the night. Duda now has a 10-game hitting streak.

Here come the Bronx Bombers… The Mets now host the Yankees on Monday in the opener a four-game, two-borough subway series. First pitch is at 7:10 PM with Jonathon Niese (3-5, 4.80 ERA) opposing righthander Phil Hughes (2-3, 5.51).

Updated by Joe D. at 2:30 PM

Just caught this on MetsBlog who seems to have just caught on to what has been a two day debate here:

It almost sounds like Collins put Valdespin in a situation he knew would end up with a hit-by-pitch, maybe in an effort to teach Valdespin a lesson, right? If that’s the case, is that why Valdespin threw a ‘tantrum,’ as fans and media have described it?

Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Collins sent Valdespin up to hit knowing he’d be beaned, in a game down nine runs. And, there is no way to know if his teammates were really indifferent, even though that’s what it looked like. I hope this isn’t the case. I really hope Collins didn’t risk getting a player injured, just so the youngster could learn a lesson. I also hope Terry’s players don’t go on to question his leadership because of it, even if the guys understand his reasoning. In other words, I really hope this just goes away…

Matt, first welcome to the party. Also, you may want to read my post entitled, “This Team Is Fractured”. It has even more insights in it that will help you realize what’s going on.

One thing though, your closing comment, “I really hope this goes away.”

Sitting on one’s hands and saying ten Hail Mary’s is not going to make this go away. It’s Terry Collins who should go away and I believe you know the reason why.

Aren’t you the one who always says, “hope is not a strategy”?

It would be great if we could wish this into the cornfield, but a fractured clubhouse is not just going to go away all by itself. This is not the first time we’ve seen Collins divide a major league clubhouse…

Do you really believe that Valdespin was showing up the Pirates and not Terry Collins when he hit that homer? Watch it again… What do you see…

Do you think Collins didn’t know that bat flip was intended for him and not the Pirates?

Weren’t you right there at the post game?

“I know he’s trying to make a statement because he hasn’t been in the lineup. I know he’s trying to make a statement to everybody what he can do. If he keeps hitting homers, he can stand at home plate all he wants, I guess. As long as they start coming up at the right time.”

Collins sent Valdespin up there to get his just desserts as one of our readers pointed out.

It’s not as unbelievable as it sounds, it’s human nature to want to get even.

Luckily he wasn’t seriously injured.

That said, Valdespin needs some reprimanding, some friendship, some understanding, and some baseball etiquette. That much is also clear.

Original Post May 13, 12:00 PM

They say that the cream always rises to the top. Except of course when you don’t use it and just let it sit around and spoil.

That’s what continues to happen with Jordany Valdespin.

In the latest chapter of the New York soap opera titled “El Dramático,” Valdespin was intentionally hit by a pitch by Pirates reliever Bryan Morris. This stemmed from Valdespin’s prolonged admiration of his 426-foot moonshot into the Pepsi Porch in the latter innings of Friday’s lopsided loss.

It isn’t troubling that Valdespin basked in his bomb on Friday or that he even got hit by a pitch Saturday. What’s troubling is the lack of support from his teammates and the coaching staff.

In the often glorified unwritten rules of baseball, it states that a team is informally granted permission to peg a player if he showboats after a home run. I get that. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but it’s something I’ve learned to accept as a baseball fan.

What bothers me is that no one is there to have his back when it happens. David Wright went on the record after Saturday’s loss and offered a somewhat head-scratching statement about the incident.

“You’ve got guys that support Valdespin, and guys obviously are trying to help him,” Wright said. ”I think toning down some of his flair might be appropriate.”

So what he said is that guys support him, but he should tone it down? I don’t see how publicly concurring with the over-the-top perception of Valdespin is showing support. Wright was dubbed as the team’s captain to begin the season, but I’ve seen little in the way of upholding that title. Sure, he’s produced on the field this season, but as long as Valdespin wears that orange and blue uniform, he deserves the support of every player on that roster. It’s a captain’s job to ensure that.

That leads me to Terry Collins’ management. If there was any speculation as to Collins’ disdain for the Mets’ productive bench player, it seemed to be dispelled Saturday night. With the Mets down 10-1 in the 7th inning, Collins forced Valdespin into the game to receive what he thought Valdespin had coming to him. Sure enough, Valdespin was drilled in the right forearm.

“They threw at him,” Collins said. “I knew they might. It’s part of the game.”

Collins’ rationale was that he didn’t want to burn two bench players by using Mike Baxter. So at the expense of wasting an additional bench player in a bigger blowout than the night before, he threw Valdespin into the fray. The brief moment was a microcosm of the prodigious disconnects between Valdespin and the Mets.

Valdespin went on to “throw a fit” in the dugout after the inning ended according to SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, who was very boisterous about the incident over Twitter and showed his lack of support for the Mets utility man.

All the tweets to me saying the Mets need to protect Valdespin are lost. All he has to do is take the HBP, move to 1B, and move on (cont)..

— Kevin Burkhardt (@KBurkhardtSNY) May 11, 2013

Throwing a fit in the dugout just shows his lack of understanding of the game….

— Kevin Burkhardt (@KBurkhardtSNY) May 11, 2013

For the most part, I enjoy Burkhardt, but I think he’s the one who’s a little lost. I find it sort of unprofessional to go on the Internet and talk about a Major League baseball player’s lack of understanding. I mean, he did make it to the Major Leagues after all. I’d venture to say he has a pretty firm grasp on the game Kev-o, but thanks for your insight. It’ll be interesting to see Burkhardt’s postgame interview after Valdespin’s next walkoff.

Valdespin refused to address the media about the incident after the game.

If you don’t like the guy, trade him. If you can’t stand a guy for outwardly expressing his emotions on the field, tell him behind closed doors. Don’t make a mockery of him by having him walk the plank on national television and then telling the media he should tone it down. With teammates like that, who needs opponents?

I seem to recall a championship team in 1986 that had copious amounts of player tension. The Mets were also loathed for their frequent curtain calls and arrogant attitudes. That was their identity. Now their identity is the evident lack thereof.

The media circus that has surrounded this team is getting out of hand. I dislike having to spend the first half of the season contributing to this debacle. There are more disconcerting issues on this team.

Jonathon Niese’s consistent struggles are putting more pressure on Matt Harvey to perform. If Harvey doesn’t continue his unimaginable season, the fan base will alienate themselves further from the team. If Harvey does continue and the Mets don’t figure things out offensively, he could grow old of this team and be gone for good. I don’t know how many times you can expect a guy to throw nine innings of one-hit baseball without giving up a run and settle for a no decision. It’s those kinds of games that will make a guy lose interest.

Daniel Murphy is mired in a horrific 9-for-61 slump. He’s been a solid hitter for the Mets and they’re going to need his bat if they want things to get better.

Ike Davis has been so bad that he’s been seeing bench time. When he is playing, he still can’t get it together. Fellow MMO writer John Delcos expressed his feelings on the first baseman’s future:

“Davis’ slow start should definitely cause the Mets to resist the temptation of signing him to a multi-year extension. Davis is hitting a paltry .170 with a .270 on-base percentage. He already has 35 strikeouts with just 17 hits and 13 walks. He has four homers and eight RBI.”

I’ve gone on a little longer than I normally do. I haven’t been a Mets fan as long as many of you who go back to the sixties and seventies, but I can safely say this is the worst state I’ve ever seen this franchise in. What happened in that game ranks up there with Tom Glavine‘s meltdown in 2007 in the way it felt. A real punch in the gut.

It’s hard to tell where the Mets go from here. In all probability, this will be swept under the front office’s Persian rugs instead of being used as a way to band together. The only silver lining is a morbid one. Things can’t get any worse.

When you live on the West Coast, sometimes you have to listen to the other team’s broadcast. It can be excruciating. When your team starts winning, especially in clutch fashion, there’s nothing better.

That’s what happened to me while listening to the Braves announcers last night. When the Braves made a move, the Mets had an answer. Clutch offense was the theme of the game.

Evan Gattis hit a home run off Brandon Lyon and Mets fans released a digital sigh throughout the Twittersphere. They had read this ending before.

Then David Wright summoned his inner Walt Whitman and had fans singing, “O Captain! My Captain!” Wright hit a clutch 464-foot home run off Craig Kimbrel that tied the game at five in the 9th. Bobby Parnell bailed out Lyon after Lyon gave up a leadoff double in the bottom half of the frame and the Mets went into extras unscathed. The Mets have played seven innings of extra-inning baseball in the last four games.

Lucas Duda and Marlon Byrd went down consecutively and the top of the 10th looked all but over. Then El Dramático stepped to the plate…

Jordany Valdespin worked a walk to get on with two outs in the 10th. Then he stole second and furiously clapped his hands before calling for time. The spark was created. He had attempted to steal third, which had some viewers scratching their heads. Michael Baron wasn’t too impressed with Valdespin’s enthusiasm over Twitter.

It’s a good thing JV1 wasn’t thrown out at third for the last out in the 10th inning before Tejada got a chance to swing the bat, btw #Mets

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

I had assured him that El Dramático had the base stolen, but Mr. Baron still wasn’t having it.

@pacific_theme Look, its a bad play. And, if he gets a bad jump and gets nailed, you’re singing a different tune.

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

You’re right, but he did get a good jump and that’s why he went for it. Leave my tune singing out of it!

While fielding more questions, Baron at least tried to be positive. So, whatever, I guess.

@sonufrock he backs it up with his play. So, whatever, I guess.

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

The flair was in full effect.

Mike Baxter and Ruben Tejada followed up with a walk and a base hit to drive home Valdespin for a 6-5 lead. Valdespin, who leads the league in style points in the early part of the season, slid into home plate head first. I don’t know why. It was brought to my attention that on-deck hitter Daniel Murphy instructed him to, but it was fantastic nonetheless. Murphy followed things up with a much-needed insurance run and Jeurys Familia shut the door for his first career save.

It was a good game for the Mets and it sent a message that they haven’t given up yet even if the media and fans have. John Buck hit another home run and his stock is skyrocketing. He now has 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. Duda and Byrd also went yard and the Mets tallied four long balls in the 7-5 victory. I even have to give it up to Terry Collins for a couple savvy managerial decisions in this one. Even if it only happens twice a day, you still have to point out when I dead clock is right. As for the ubiquitous why-isn’t-Valdespin-starting-every-day question? I don’t know. We could be watching El Dramático start rallies like that in the 1st inning three or four times a week, but for whatever reason, we’re not. I’ve given up on coming up with a legitimate explanation because there really isn’t one anymore.

All I know is Jonathon Niese and Matt Harvey are back on the mound, which gives the Mets a good shot at taking the series on the road.

What are your thoughts on last night’s game?

The Braves acquired both Upton brothers this offseason.

The Braves made headlines this offseason with their acquisition of B.J. Upton in November, signing him to a five year deal worth about $75 million. However, just when the offseason was winding down and it appeared the Braves were done, they surprised everyone and acquired B.J.’s brother Justin from the Diamondbacks. The tandem added a boost to the Atlanta offense that they so badly needed, and had some experts picking them to challenge the Nationals for the NL crown.

Thus far, it appears the Braves made the right move, at least with Justin Upton. If the season ended today, he would be the unanimous MVP. Upton is leading the majors with 12 home runs, three more than anyone else. That, to go along with a not-too-shabby .287/.387/.693 has carried the otherwise mediocre Braves offense.

In reality, it has been the pitching that has carried the Atlanta Braves this season. Despite trading Tommy Hanson this winter, the Braves lead baseball in team ERA with an outstanding 3.10 mark coming into today’s action. More specifically, it has been their bullpen, which has been even stronger than last year’s. Craig Kimbrel has continued his dominance, striking out 15 batters in 10.2 innings. Kimbrel and Jordan Walden, who the Braves received in the Tommy Hanson trade, are among five relievers with at least ten innings pitched and an ERA under two. Compare that to the Mets, who have two such pitchers.

This Braves team is good (yes, even better than the Marlins if you can believe it) and will put up a very tough fight, especially in close games. The key for the Mets will be scoring runs off their starting pitching, because  if they trail in the late innings, the odds are stacked against them.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Shaun Marcum (5.2 IP, 50 ERA+, 1.33 K/BB) vs. Mike Minor (31.2 IP, 125 ERA+, 5.40 K/BB)

Minor, 25, was selected seventh overall in the 2009 draft by the Braves and quickly rose to stardom in their minor league system. Once he reached the big leagues, he never pitched like the ace some thought he could become. Minor came into the season with a career ERA of 4.37 in 302.2 career innings. This year, however, has been much better for him, at least so far. Over five starts, he has a 3.13 ERA and career-best 1.4 BB/9 rate. He was roughed up for six runs in 6.2 innings against the juggernaut Detroit offense, but had a 1.80 ERA in four starts coming into that outing.

Game 2: Jonathon Niese (32.2 IP, 112 ERA+, 1.31 K/BB) vs. Julio Teheran (28.1 IP, 77 ERA+, 2.50 K/BB)

Teheran has been a highly-regarded prospect since his breakout year in the minors in 2009. He worked his way through the minors fairly quickly, until stalling at Triple-A last season. Coming off a dominant season in Triple-A in 2011, Teheran failed to earn a job out of spring training, and was sent back. Once he was back in the minors, Teheran wasn’t the same pitcher. His 3.0 walks per nine wasn’t terrible, but his 6.7 strikeouts was a career-low. What was most concerning was the 18 home runs he gave up, doubling his previous career-worst of nine. Teheran has a 5.08 ERA in five starts, striking out 20 and walking eight in 28.1 innings.

Game 3: Matt Harvey (40.1 IP, 237 ERA+, 3.83 K/BB) vs. Tim Hudson (35 IP, 101 ERA+, 2.18 K/BB)

Even at age 37, Hudson continues to be the rock of the Atlanta rotation. In 11 of his past 12 seasons, Hudson has posted an ERA below four. This year, he has a 3.86 ERA in 35 innings over six starts. In his last outing, Hudson shut down the Nationals, holding them to one run on three hits in seven innings on only 96 pitches.

Series News & Notes

• The Mets sent down a struggling Collin Cowgill today in favor of the red-hot Andrew Brown, who has been tearing it up with the Las Vegas 51s. Brown was hitting .367 with a .440 On-Base Percentage and two home runs in 25 games.
• Jordany Valdespin slugged a three-run pinch-hit home run on Wednesday to give the Mets a 5-4 lead…It was the Mets first pinch-hit home run of the year and the sixth pinch-hit of Valdespin’s brief career…He is tied for second all-time on the club’s pinch-hit home run list.
• New York has scored three or fewer runs in eight of itslast 12 games and is hitting .202 (89-441) over that span…Overall, the Mets are seventh in the majors scoring 4.85 runs per game.
• Craig Kimbrel recorded his 98th career save Monday in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Washington…Kimbrel’s career save percentage of 89.1 (98/110) ranks fi fth all-time among pitchers with at least 100 save opportunities (see chart at right)…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the quickest anyone has ever reached 100 career saves was Eric Gagne, who did in his 104th opportunity, followed by John Smoltz (107th) and Joakim Soria (112th)…Kimbrel could tie Soria for third all time if he can convert each of his next two opportunities.
• The Atlanta bullpen’s homerless streak was snapped at 21 games last Friday (April 26) at Detroit when reliever Anthony Varvaro surrendered a three-run shot in the fourth inning…Since the franchise moved to Atlanta (1966), that was the furthest into a season (21 games) that a Braves team has gone without the bullpen allowing a home run.

Mets manager Terry Collins said he did not plan to disrupt the throwing schedule for Matt Harvey regardless of postponements in Denver. So Harvey continues to be in line for Friday’s game against the Washington Nationals, who are expected to start Stephen Strasburg in the series opener at Citi Field.

Original Post by Ed Leyro on 4/15

Although not nearly as grandiose as this historic matchup, Stephen Strasburg vs. Matt Harvey promises to be Must See TV.

Matt Harvey almost made history on Saturday for the Mets, coming within seven outs of pitching the franchise’s second no-hitter.  Although he didn’t keep the Twins hitless, he did keep them behind the Mets all day en route to his third consecutive victory to start the season.

Given the weather forecasts for Minneapolis today and Denver during the week, the Mets might have to shuffle their rotation if games get delayed or postponed.  If that happens, Mets fans might be in for a real treat next Friday when their beloved team returns to Citi Field to open a ten-game homestand against the division rival Washington Nationals.

Washington has already announced that their starting pitcher for Friday night’s game against the Mets will be Stephen Strasburg.  Because of the uncertain weather conditions the Mets face in Minneapolis and Denver, Strasburg’s opponent could very well be Matt Harvey.

As things currently stand, Dillon Gee is set to start today’s finale against the Twins.  Gee would be followed by Jeremy Hefner on Monday in Colorado, Aaron Laffey on Tuesday and Jonathon Niese on Wednesday.  Harvey would be in line to pitch in the final game against the Rockies Thursday afternoon.  However, if today’s game in Minnesota is rained out (and there’s a 90% chance of rain being forecast for Sunday afternoon), Gee’s start would be pushed back to Monday.

Of course, if the Mets have a game postponed over the next few days, manager Terry Collins could bypass Aaron Laffey’s spot in the rotation and continue to pitch the other starters on four days’ rest.  That would keep Harvey on pace to pitch Thursday.  But there is an 80% chance of precipitation for the Mile High City on Monday.  And on Wednesday night, the temperature is supposed to dip to a ridiculous-for-baseball 12°.  That’s 12° Fahrenheit, not 12° Celsius (which converts to a more baseball-friendly 53° F).

If any of the games in Colorado are postponed, we might get a pitching matchup to drool over on Friday night at Citi Field.  It’s such a juicy matchup, it deserves its own paragraph, italics, centering, boldface and a pair of photographs:

Matt Harvey vs. Stephen Strasburg

As Mets fans, we never want to see Mother Nature deny us the opportunity to see our beloved team on a day the schedule tells us that they’re supposed to play.  But the potential for a Harvey/Strasburg matchup at Citi Field is too intriguing to pass up.

Do yourselves a favor.  Pay a visit to your local bookstore and ask if they have a “Raindancing For Dummies” manual.  Then send it to a couple of displaced Mets fans living in Minnesota and Denver.  You won’t regret it if we get a pitching matchup of Harvey vs. Strasburg at Citi Field on Friday night.

Update:  It looks like the “Raindancing For Dummies“ manual worked.  As of Sunday morning, the finale of the three-game series in Minnesota has been canceled due to inclement weather.  The official New York Mets Twitter account has posted the pitching matchups for the four-game series in Colorado, and you might notice a specific member of the rotation who is not scheduled to pitch at Coors Field.

Rotation for the Rockies: Mon: Dillon Gee. Tue. Aaron Laffey. Wed. Jeremy Hefner. Thurs. Jonathon Niese.

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 14, 2013

Matt Harvey will not be pitching in Colorado this week, meaning he will indeed be starting the opener of the homestand against Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals.  If you were able to send one of the manuals to a displaced Mets fan in Denver, please contact them and tell them it’s defective.  That way, they won’t use it and we’ll get that epic matchup on Friday night.  Barring any other weather-related cancellations, it appears as if many Mets fans, as well as baseball fans in general, will be in love with this matchup on Friday night.

Of all the players I ran into over the weekend Niese somehow stood out. He carries himself well, he’s bigger than I thought (actually they’re all bigger than you think – they’re like on a different scale), he’s soft spoken and unassuming and just seems like a really nice guy.

Jonathon Niese was born on October 27th 1986, the day the Mets won their last World Series. Talk about cosmic coincidences. He was picked 209th overall in the 2005 draft, and he spent time at all three levels of the Mets minor league system where his numbers were good but not great. His best year was probably his 2008 season in Binghampton when in 22 games he had a 3.04 ERA. The season before in St. Lucie he’d gone 11-7 with a 4.19 ERA. At the age of 22 while at AAA Buffalo in the midst of a stretch where he’d pitched to a 3.82 ERA over 16 games he got the call.

My first impression of him was that he was ok, nothing special. He gave up a homerun to his first batter, Rickie Weeks, and ended up surrendering three runs in three innings. Not so good, I thought. Maybe a back end number 4 type guy at best. Then in his next start Jonathan Seagu … er, Niese, surprised me, pitching 8 shutout innings to beat the Braves 5-0. What I noticed was the sweet arcing trajectory of his beautiful southpaw curveball. A true hammer. Jonathon had defied my initial impression with that performance.

Niese got called up again in 2009 after Oliver Perez got hurt. He pitched to a 4.21 ERA that year making only 5 starts before he suffered a complete tear of his hamstring and had to miss the rest of the season. Niese went 10-9 in 2010 with a 4.20 ERA and 11–11 in 2011 with a 4.40 ERA and it was looking like my initial assessment was maybe not so far from the truth, middle to back end of the rotation kind of guy.  But like Jonathan Seagull’s doubters (a seagull cannot fly like a hawk!)  I was focusing too much on his limitations …

Niese had rhinoplasty after the 2011 season at the urging of ex-teammate Carlos Beltran. I knew what this was. Nasal deformity can result from skeletal hypoplasia or skeletal asymmetry and can cause an assortment of breathing problems up to and including sleep apnea. The problem can also affect nasal resonance (hyponasality), which can distort speech. I found it a little odd that a number of early stories found humor in Niese’s “nose job.” When you look at some older pictures of Niese, his nose deviated severely to his right. Functional rhinoplasty is actually a vital procedure for those who suffer from obstructed and malaligned nasal passages.

The surgery likely addressed some lingering asymmetry that was obstructing his airway. I’d learned about this stuff during a graduate practicum at the University of Minnesota’s Craniofacial Clinic (one of the top institutions of it’s kind in the nation). I knew that if the breathing was repaired it could potentially make a big difference in his O2 intake as an athlete, not to mention the far more significant effects of improved sleep (if apnea was an issue). Sure enough he had the best season of his career, going 13-9 with a 3.40 ERA. Jonathon was on the move again, defying expectations, ascending.

Jonathon pitched a hell of a gutsy game the other night. With brutal near blizzard conditions at game time the Mets came out and pounded Vance Worley with 5 quick runs in the first. Worley’s command was off, his pitches all appeared to be some version of a straight fastball, he had nothing. The Minnesota weather was brutal, I couldn’t imagine trying to grip a baseball in this stuff when you could barely feel your hands.

I had my fingers crossed when Niese came out and sure enough he ran into some trouble with a walk and a hit. Niese appeared to be having trouble locating his signature cutter. Buck went out and chatted with him and Niese seemed to settle down after that, sans the cutter. He relied mostly on his fastball and change with a few breaking balls thrown in for good measure. In the end, Niese gutted out 5 innings for the win with 4 earned runs, 4 walks and a strikeout, which, under the circumstances was nothing short of amazing. This quiet kid from Lima, Ohio is something else I thought. Pitching like a true ace, Jon Niese has become resilient, able to do what he has to to win even when his stuff isn’t there and the conditions are stacked against him.

On Saturday, the morning after Niese’s start, as the groundskeepers were doing their thing and hosing down the infield, Niese was the first guy out of the Met clubhouse doing laps. He was working on that conditioning that had made all the difference for him in 2012.

This kid has gone from the ninth pick of the 7th round of the draft, from his average days in the minors, from an uninspiring start to his major league career, to what he is now, which is one of the best starters in the league with a true knee-buckling curveball that has to be one of the toughest breaking pitches in the game.

I wouldn’t put anything past this guy. Like Jonathan Seagull, he is on a stratospheric trajectory. There’s no ceiling in sight for Mr. Niese, and I don’t think he’s set any limitations on where he may end up, so I certainly won’t.

I was on the phone with Joe D. as I was driving to the park and he asks me if I think they’ll get the game in? I look out my window, light snow showers, “I think so,” I tell him. “Just some light snow at the moment.”

I hadn’t been off the phone for more than 30 seconds when the snow got harder, then it started doing something that I think they call sleet, then more snow and some frozen ice pellet things, then even harder snow and it began to look like maybe there wouldn’t be a game.

Fortunately the snow tapered off just enough as game time approached and the temperature dipped to 34 degrees. It was the coldest game time start since the opening of Target Field.

Now even though 34 degrees is downright balmy when you consider what the past couple of months have been like out here — it gets so bad you have to be careful not to keep your eyelids closed for too long because they can freeze together – it’s not exactly baseball weather. You wouldn’t want your eyelids to freeze together while you’re trying to track down a fly ball… you could run into a wall, or Lucas Duda.

It was a strange night. The Mets came out swinging the big boy bats and pummeled their old National League adversary Vance Worley with a 5 run first that had to feel like a cold slap in the face when the wind chill is 12 degrees. Worley left with his ERA having snowballed to 10.5.

Command appeared to be an issue for both pitchers and they struggled to grip the ball. Worley left pitch after pitch over the plate while Niese uncharacteristically walked several batters in the first few innings. Neise and Buck smartly decided to give up on his cutter after the first inning as Niese was unable to get a feel for it.

“We went to more the 4 seam, changeup and curveball,” Said Buck. “Canned the cutter because it was backing up, it was hard for him to control, obviously we all know it’s his bread and butter, so those runs we got up front definitely helped us be more aggressive, pounding the strike zone, make them hit their way back in the ballgame. We knew were were going to give up a couple of hits, it’s kind of what the game called for, with the conditions.”

The Mets tacked on another 5 spot in the second with Buck hitting a bomb 386 feet over the left field wall with the bases loaded. Worley didn’t get an out in the second.

Murphy had 4 hits with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. David Wright had 3 hits with 4 RBI and 2 runs, Valdespin had 2 hits with an rbi and 3 runs, Buck had a run a homer and 4 rbi. All in all the Mets left the Twins out in the permafrost this nigh with Terry Collins smartly plugging Aaron Laffey in for 9th inning duty to save his bullpen. The bullpen, incidentally was outstanding as Atchison, Burk, and Laffey contributed 4.0 innings of shutout ball.

Game time: 3 hours 24 minutes
WP Niese
LP Worley

Thoughts from Joe D.

Despite the most deplorable playing conditions one could ever imagine for a baseball game, the Mets braved the snow and freezing temperatures to defeat the Minnesota Twins 16-5 tonight at Target Field.

Leadoff hitter Jordany Valdespin got on base three times and ignited three big rallies for the Amazins as the team exploded for ten runs in the first two innings and knocked out Twins starter Vance Worley faster than you could say Winter Wonderland. By the way, I thought it was a nice tough when Andy Williams started blaring over the PA system singing his Holiday Classic, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” as the Mets baserunners kept crossing home plate.

The Mets torched Twins pitching all night long and racked up 15 hits as they put their two game losing streak in Philadelphia in their rearview mirrors.

Catcher John Buck continues his torrid home run streak and tonight walloped a grand slam in the second inning that iced the game for the Mets. It was his  fourth home run in four games, and sixth this season to lead the league.

David Wright finally broke out of an 0-for-8 slump and racked up three hits falling a home run short of the cycle and driving in and four. But it was second baseman Daniel Murphy who led this hit parade with a 4-for-5 performance including a pair of doubles and he now has 12 RBI for the season, second only to Buck who leads the NL with 19 ribbies.

Jonathon Niese started and didn’t bring his A game, but still pitched well enough to win. He allowed a season high five runs but picked up the win anyway. I’m chalking this up to frostbite. Great job by the bullpen as Scott Atchison, Greg Burke and Aaron Laffey combined to toss four scoreless innings. Nice…

Hey the Mets won and improve to 6-4 for the season and Matt Harvey takes the mound today which bodes well for another win.

Lets Go Mets…

This one was over early when the Phillies scored four runs in the second and three more in the third off Dillon Gee.

Ryan Howard, Michael Young and John Mayberry all homered within five pitches. The game wasn’t worth watching after that explosion in the Phillies’ 8-3 rout over the Mets.

ON THE MOUND: In losing his second straight start, Gee authored the worst outing by a Met starter this season. Gee threw 56 pitches, many of them hit hard, in giving up seven run on ten hits.

AT THE PLATE:  John Buck hit a two-run homer in the fourth, but that was pretty much it off Cliff Lee. Both Buck and Daniel Murphy had two hits. … Lee pitched 8.2 innings.

METS MUSINGS: Mets assistant GM John Ricco told ESPN that Buck was always considered a significant piece of the R.A. Dickey because of the Blue Jays intent to shed his $6 million salary. … WithKirk Nieuwenhuis not getting much playing time the Mets might consider recalling reserve infielder Omar Quintanilla. … Although Ike Davis did not play last night, manager Terry Collins never considered starting Lucas Duda at first base. … The Mets’ starters in Minnesota this weekend will be Jonathon Niese (against Vance Worley), Matt Harvey (no starter named yet by the Twins) and Gee (against Kevin Correla). Former Met Mike Pelfrey, started Tuesday and was rocked in Kansas City, won’t face his former team.

ON DECK: The Mets conclude this series in Philadelphia tomorrow with Jeremy Hefner against Kyle Kendrick.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I vote for a two man rotation – Jon Niese and Matt Harvey. Who’s with me?

We can still win the series tomorrow… LGM

1. Collin Cowgill CF
2. Daniel Murphy 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. John Buck C
5. Marlon Byrd RF
6. Lucas Duda LF
7. Justin Turner 1B
8. Ruben Tejada SS
9. Dillon Gee RHP

Game Notes

The Mets have hit at least one home run in each of their first seven games, the longest such stretch to open a season since the 1987 team opened the season with a home run in their first eight contests. This current streak is tied for the second-longest in team history to begin a season. The 1962 Mets had a home run in their first seven contests. This year also marked the first time that the Mets have hit a home run in their first six home games of a season.

The Mets have hit nine home runs in their first seven games this year, the most by the club since 2005 when New York had 10 home runs after its first seven contests. The Colorado Rockies are the only other team in the majors to hit a home run in every game they’ve played this year (seven games).

Aaron Laffey should get several starts in the rotation in place of Shaun Marcum, although the Mets plan to wait until next Tuesday at Colorado for Laffey’s next turn. The Mets are unlikely to pursue Aaron Harang, writes Mike Puma in the Post. Harang was obtained by the Colorado Rockies and then designated for assignment.

Daniel Murphy is hitting .308 a week into the season, despite getting only 10 Grapefruit League at-bats because of an intercostal strain on his right side that sidelined him for several weeks of spring training.

Matt Harvey became the second pitcher in franchise history to open a season with consecutive starts of 7.0 or more innings while allowing three or fewer hits. Nolan Ryan opened the 1970 season with three straight such games.

Harvey has 19 strikeouts in his first two games, tied for the third-most in the majors with the Pirates’ A.J. Burnett. The Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija has 22 and the Rangers’ Yu Darvish has 20. He also became the third pitcher in team history to begin a season with nine or more strikeouts in each of his first two starts of the year. David Cone also accomplished that feat in 1992, notching 20 strikeouts and Pedro Martinez had nine or more strikeouts in each his first three games in 2005 (30 strikeouts over 22.0 innings).

This season, Mets starters have combined to post a 1.87 ERA (nine earned runs/43.1 innings pitched), ranking second in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (1.32). The staff of Jonathon Niese, Matt Harvey, Dillon Gee, Jeremy Hefner and Aaron Laffey has tossed six quality starts in seven games and have combined for 40 strikeouts, the third-most among NL clubs.

Game Preview

The Mets beat the Phillies last night and look to repeat the results tonight. Yesterday Matt Harvey had another excellent start racking up 9 strikeouts while dominating the Phillies line up. On the other side, the Mets batters were able to rough up Halladay and get to the Phillies bullpen to pour 7 runs on the scoreboard. Dillon Gee looks to follow up Matt Harvey’s performance tonight as the Mets bats try to encore against Cliff Lee.

Dillon Gee was the hard luck loser in his last start as he allowed only one run in 6.1 innings of work while allowing only 3 ER, walking 3 and then striking out 4 batters. It was Dillon’s first start after being sidelined for half the year last year, where he went 6-7 over 17 games and 109.2 innings while posting a 4.10 ERA. Last season he allowed 6 ER over 12.1 innings against the Phillies, where the Phillies had 16 hits, only 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. The Phillies have the following numbers against Gee:

Mayberry 2-9, HR
Rollins 6-9
Utley 2-8, 2B
Howard 2-7, 2 HR
Young 2-3, HR

The Mets batters get their first 2013 crack against Cliff Lee who picked up the win in his first start of the season, shutting out the Braves over 8 innings, allowing only 2 hits and striking 8 batters out. Last season he was 6-9 over 211 innings where he posted an ERA of 3.16 (so in other words, don’t let the record foul you). He faced the Mets a lot last year totaling 5 starts and 35.0 innings where he posted an ERA of 3.09, a 2-1 record, 31 hits, 5 walks and 39 strikeouts. The Mets have the following numbers against Cliff:

Buck 14-48, 3 2B, 3 HR
Byrd 7-21, 3 2B
Wright 6-21, 2B
Murphy 6-19, 3 2B
Duda 5-16, 2B, HR
Tejada 6-13, 2 2B
Turner 0-10

Let’s Go Mets!

Check 213 Miles From Shea!

Jose Fernandez will make the jump from A-Ball to the majors when he makes his MLB debut against the Mets on Sunday afternoon.

The Mets begin their second series of the season against the new-look Miami Marlins today, in the first game of what will be a three-game set.

The Marlins, for the second offseason in a row, blew up what they had and started over. Last winter was a little different, as the Marlins were the team adding expensive talent. Now, it’s as if they’re begging teams to take any major league caliber player off their roster. The club that had eight players with salaries of at least $5 million now has just one. Their payroll has been sliced in half, from over a hundred million to just fifty, and that’s including the money they paid to other teams to take on highly-paid players. Take that away and their payroll is under $40 million.

The only player of much worth on the Marlins roster is Giancarlo Stanton, who may end up being traded at the deadline as well this year. The 23 year-old put up unbelievable numbers, hitting 37 home runs and putting up a 5.7 WAR rating in only 123 games. He is the one and only threat left in the lineup.

Overall, if some of the newly-acquired prospects don’t pan out immediately, the Marlins could challenge the Astros for the worst record in baseball.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Jeremy Hefner (93.2 IP, 76 ERA+, 3.44 K/BB) vs. Alex Sanabia (career: 83.1 IP, 113 ERA+, 2.89 K/BB)

Sanabia was pushed out of the rotation last year, pitching in the minors for the entire year. In 18 Triple-A starts, he posted a 3.93 ERA in 91.2 innings. The 24 year-old only pitched 11 innings in the majors in 2011, and made 12 starts in 2010. He had decent success in 2010, putting up a 3.73 ERA (112 ERA+), 5.8 K/9 rate, and a 2.0 BB.9 rate. His mediocre peripherals, however, tell us that he probably isn’t anything special. Just another future journeyman.

Game 2: Jonathon Niese (2012: 190.1 IP, 113 ERA+, 3.16 K/BB) vs. Ricky Nolasco (2012: 191 IP, 88 ERA+, 2.66 K/BB)

Nolasco is currently the highest-paid player on the Miami roster at over $11 million, but nothing he has done over the past few years indicate that he has earned that salary. Nolasco signed a three-year, $26.5 million extension after the 2010 season, but has been dreadful since. In his first start against the Nationals this week, he gave up two runs on three hits while striking out five in six innings of work.

Game 3: Aaron Laffey (100.2 IP, 94 ERA+, 1.30 K/BB) vs. Jose Fernandez (2012 A/High-A: 134 IP, 1.75 ERA, 4.51 K/BB)

The Marlins are taking a huge risk with Fernandez bringing him up this early. The 20 year-old has no experience in either Double-A or Triple-A and while he had an excellent season in the minors last year, is nowhere near ready for the majors. This has David Clyde written all over it. Fernandez, a righty, was listed as the fifth best prospect in baseball by Baseball America and 7th by MLB.com.

Series News & Notes

• Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison is recovering from knee surgery and was put on the 60-day DL on March 22. He hit .230/.308/.399 with 11 home runs and 15 doubles in 93 games last season.
• Nathan Eovaldi, acquired in the Hanley Ramirez trade last season, is on the DL with shoulder inflammation. He was a top 100 prospect before last season, when he posted a 4.30 ERA with dismal walk and strikeout rates.
• Casey Kotchman is on the disabled list as well with a hamstring injury. He batted .229/.280/.333 in 142 games with Cleveland last season.
• Just looking at fWAR, the players the Marlins lost this winter were worth 18.5 wins last year while their additions totaled just 3.6 wins. Keep in mind this was a 69-win team with those players on the roster for most of the season.

If you are like me, you look forward to a time when the major rebuilding is done and the Mets can (hopefully) embark on an extended period of high level competitiveness and play meaningful games (to borrow a phrase) each fall. Assuming that time is near (2014? 2015?), what will the team’s roster look like? I offer a speculative peek from one fan’s perspective that will focus on internal options:

FIRST BASE: This should be easy. Assuming no blockbuster deal or career derailment, Ike Davis looks to be a lock to hold this position for years to come. In a year Ike will be entering his prime seasons (ages 27-32) and should provide steady defense and left-handed thump on a regular basis. Expect a move by management to sign him to a long-term deal fairly soon.

SECOND BASE: This is not an easy call. We have a convergence of players that can fit here including Daniel Murphy, Jordany Valdespin, Wilmer Flores, and Reese Havens. Most of this crew are somewhat challenged defensively, and Havens’ ability to stay healthy is a major concern. Murph has the hustle we all love and flashes the potential of a high-average hitter. Consistency is the key here. Valdespin (if he doesn’t ultimately wind up in the outfield) has the most speed of the group to go with surprising pop. The leather may remain an issue as well as what can charitably be described as a somewhat mercurial personality. Flores is a bat in search of a position. Third would likely have been his best bet, but we know what the deal is with that. I like his potential but my instincts tell me “trade bait.” Havens inability to stay on the field makes him an enigma, and at age 26 he’s getting a bit long in the tooth for prospect status. Still, he could certainly surprise. The verdict: Murphy, whose drive will improve his defense to “acceptable” and whose bat should produce enough line drives to offset his relatively low walk totals.

SHORTSTOP: Well, if the organization keeps drafting guys at this position, I guess they’ll find somebody they like. Really, the guy we ought to have is up in Toronto now but that’s a story for another day. Ruben Tejada has been steady, if not spectacular, and at 23 is young enough to take a few steps forward in his game. Speed is not part of the package, but he has a good eye at the plate and could develop a bit more power in time. Still, he’s likely to remain more of a “pesky” hitter than anything else. If he can bring his OBP up another 10% or so, he’d be more of an offensive component. The glove is fine. So, should we look for Gavin Cecchini, T.J. Rivera, German Rosario, Phillip Evans, or Wilfredo Tovar to supplant Tejada in the next two years? Doubtful, but ya never know. From what I read, Cecchini, Rosario, and Evans have potential, but they are years away (read 3-4), Tovar projects as a utility guy and Rivera, despite an eye-catching batting line at two levels of A ball last year, is a bit older for his level of competition and generally not rated as a top prospect by those rating the organization’s farm system. The verdict: Tejada, who will hopefully raise his offensive game a notch or two.

THIRD BASE: David Wright. ‘Nuff said.

CATCHER: If I put anyone here but Travis D’Arnaud, I’d be called anything you could imagine including late for dinner. Still, Kevin Plawecki has some intriguing skills (good eye, low strikeout rate, some evidence of mid-line power), so perhaps he’ll be in the picture as a backup. Francisco Pena has good bloodlines but hasn’t hit. So Travis it is.

OUTFIELD: I was reading today that the Mets haven’t sent a left fielder to the All-Star Game since Cleon Jones went 43 years ago. I also remember reading about the Red Sox having only three left fielders over a 50 year time frame (Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice). All of which makes me wonder when we will find the slugging stalwart we’ve been waiting for. I find Lucas Duda to be a likable type, and would love to see him blossom into…I don’t know, the next Greg Luzinski?

Barring a trade or (gasp) a Free Agent Signing, the outfield remains either a semi-barren rock garden or a fertile field, waiting for planting depending on your viewpoint. There isn’t a whole lot to work with here as far as players close to the majors, made worse with the injury to Matt den Dekker. The consensus is that his glove is great but his bat requires a season of adjustment per level to catch up to the advanced pitchers he has faced. Like Havens, age is an issue as he’ll be 26 in August. Essentially, he projects as Kirk Nieuwenhuis with more spectacular fielding chops and I don’t know if either of them will hit enough to break out of role player/4th outfielder status.

As for the best of the rest, Brandon Nimmo may be the real deal but is unlikely to figure in the picture before 2016 at the earliest, Juan Lagares and Cesar Puello (he of the looming PED suspension) show tools but doesn’t appear to be close to major league ready, and the intriguing names from the low minors such as Alonzo Harris, Travis Taijeron, Cory Vaughn, and the near-legendary Vicente Lupo are simply not in the picture at this time.

So…we gotta hope that Duda develops and that we catch lightning in a bottle with someone in the current group.The wild card is Valdespin who can force his way in through sheer production. I’m looking for the Wilpons to step up and maybe import Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam Jones, or Shin-Soo Choo to hold down a position in 2014. And maybe management parlays some spare parts with value (e.g. Flores, Murph, etc.) into a legitimate outfield bat.

ROTATION: At last, something to regard as a strength. There are arms up and down the system and everyone already has visions of a potential starting five that will include Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Jonathon Niese, Noah Syndergaard and Dillon Gee, with a plethora of promising choices to fill in if needed. Me too.

In the next few years, I expect that Jenrry Mejia, Luis Mateo, Rafael Montero, Michael Fulmer, Domingo Tapia, Hansel Robles, Jacob deGrom, Cory Mazzoni, et al. will feed the 25 man roster either as fresh arms or as trade fodder to maybe help shore up that pesky outfield. I have my doubts about Mejia from a durability standpoint, but the little I’ve seen of Mazzoni and Montero this spring looks quite promising. I think we can actually count on primarily in-house options here.

BULLPEN: Will Bobby Parnell emerge as the closer we’ve been waiting for? If he does it will represent a change in trend for a team that has imported players for this position consistently for decades. I think he can do the job now that he’s demonstrated an approach that relies more heavily on changing speeds and locations and less on sheer velocity. If Jeurys Familia can harness his control (where have I heard that before) then another home-grown option may loom. From the port side, Robert Carson and Josh Edgin look to have potential, and farther down the line Jack Leathersich seems to be one to watch along with Adam Kolarek. The bullpen is one area that the team seems to re-make almost entirely each off-season without a ton of success, so maybe the current crop of up-and-comers can lend some stability in the near future.

So there you have it. Do the Mets project as a possible dynasty team in the next few years? I think it is possible, but whether it will be a team that resembles the ’69-’73 Seaver/Koosman/McGraw and “enough” offense Mets, the mid-80’s Doc/Darling/Keith/Straw powerhouse, the late ‘90’s Bobby V/Piazza/Leiter/Ventura outfit, or the Pedro/Beltran/Delgado/Reyes/Wright group of a few years back is dependent on a host of factors.

When I look at this organization as currently comprised, I remind myself that the SF Giants have won consistently with gaping holes in their offense and a dominant rotation. I could see a similar evolution here, but I sure wouldn’t mind a bit more offense. Here’s hoping.

* * * * * * * *

This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader, Gerry Silverman.

Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 15 thousand Mets fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to GetMetsmerized@aol.com. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.

The Mets had an absolute field-day this afternoon with an 11-0 romp over against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.

Jonathon Niese got the start against Detroit and continues to roll, tossing four and two thirds innings of scoreless ball and allowing just one hit while walking four. Niese has yet to allow a run this Spring. It won’t be long until he ‘s officially tapped as the Opening Day starter. I sense a big season in 2013 for the southpaw.

Matt den Dekker played a big part in preventing any damage with yet another spectacular grab in centerfield. His solid effort on that play did not go unnoticed by his teammate Niese. “Oh, it was amazing. He plays a great outfield. It’s great to have that defense behind you.”

If Den Dekker can find a way to show Terry Collins that he could hit better than Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis (still nursing an injury), Marlon Byrd or Collin Cowgill, the lefthanded human highlight reel would stand a good chance to make the team. But after two more strikeouts today, he now has ten in his last 27 at-bats and for a team starving for outfield offense, his chances are slim to none.

SPIN THE THROTTLE: Jordany Valdespin wasted no time making news today after leading off today’s game with home run off Tigers ace Justin Verlander. Later in the game during the fifth inning, Verlander drilled Valdespin with a 95 mph fastball right in the groin (ouch!). But the kid just laughed it off and then created some comic relief on Twitter when Mike Puma of the NY Post asked him where the pitch hit him. “On my d*ck,” replied Valdespin, who could probably star in his own reality show at this point. He leads the team with three homers and is batting .370 this spring.

HEFNER IS THE MAN: If you haven’t figured it out already, Terry Collins made it crystal clear when he said that Jeremy Hefner will be the replacement for Johan Santana if he ends up on the DL to start the season. ”We’re getting Jeremy Hefner ready,” Collins said. The Mets will now focus on stretching Hefner out so that they can get 6-7 innings out of him when he gets the nod. So far, the righty has 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched and has held opposing batters to a .189 average.

NO NO-HAN: There is nobody in camp that believes Johan Santana will avoid the DL to start the season. Even though there has been no official announcement yet, it looks like Sandy Alderson is the only one holding out any hope, while Collins is planning to start the season without him.

SWELTERING HOT: Ike Davis smacked a two-run single to right in the fifth and is now batting .364 in Grapefruit League play. Catcher John Buck went 2-for-3 and scored twice while notching a pair of doubles. After Valdespin was removed from the game, he was replaced at second base by Brian Bixler who had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs, including an eighth-inning solo homer. Three deuces beats aces and kings all the time.

THE WRIGHT STUFF: If you’re concerned that David Wright isn’t getting enough work in while competing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, put your mind at ease. Wright is batting .455 with five RBIs through three games and carried his team through their last two victories. Team USA has advanced to the Semi-Finals and faces the very tough Puerto Rican team on Tuesday at 8:00 PM.

ON DECK: The Mets are off tomorrow, but RHP Matt Harvey looks to continue his hot start against the Washington Nationals squad at 1:05 PM on Wednesday. Harvey is coming off a four and a third hitless innings in his last appearance. Word has it that Harvey won’t ever win a Cy Young Award so temper those expectations.

CONGRATULATIONS: The Mets, SNY and the local papers are stealing all our talent on MMO so far in 2013. Just kidding, I think it’s a credit to all of us at Metsmerized. Our latest congratulations go out to Elliot Chester who recently wrote this post on Collin McHugh last week for MMO. Elliot was chosen to intern for the Mets Media Relations Department this Summer. We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him at the park this season. Say hello to Jay, Shannon, Danielle and Ethan for us.

At the start of the show…

Yes. That title is for real. We have been so busy ridiculing the man for his cost-cutting style of management, that we are not taking the time to take a step back and see the big picture.

You could sit and watch the thirty minute episodes of Bob Ross’ show, which featured him painting, and witness him scratching and poking away at that canvass, switching from brush to brush and color to color, and wonder what the heck he was doing. It looked about as far from anything considered art at that point as you can imagine. I would often wonder if he actually had his paintings planned out, or if he would just get up there in front of his canvass and get his paint on.

The viewing audience finds themselves sitting there, trying to figure out what in the world Ross is painting, because all you see are some lines, some blotches of paint here or there, and are simultaneously being hypnotized by the soothing sound of Ross’ voice. Then, all of a sudden, everything starts coming together.

A couple of those lines become a barn in a field. Those blotches, they become clouds in the sky and a snow capped mountain. Then there is the “happy tree” that always seems to tie the Ross paintings together. He blots the brush on the canvass to create the effect of leaves on the tree, and if you tried it, would look like someone just blotted the brush on the canvass aimlessly. If you’re lucky, you will see him throw in a pond which reflects the image of the snow capped mountain. And finally after thirty minutes, we have a work of art.

The problem is if you turned off the show ten minutes in, you would have no clue as to what Ross was painting.

Similar to a viewer who tunes in to the first ten minutes of The Joy of Painting and thinks Ross is a terrible painter, Mets fans, only seeing some blotches and lines scribbled on the canvass, have wrongly judged Alderson’s plan after the first ten or twenty minutes of his episode. But now we are getting closer to the end of the episode, and things are starting to take shape with Alderson’s plan.

We are seeing some top flight prospects materialize before our very eyes. It doesn’t matter how they got here—they’re here. And they arrived on Alderson’s watch. The outfield doesn’t look spectacular right now, but it won’t be as bad as people are making it out to be. I went out on a limb a couple of weeks ago and said the Mets could win over 85 games, and I’m sticking by that prediction.

David Wright, Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, Bobby Parnell, Jonathon Niese, Matt Harvey, Josh Edgin…

The Mets have a young core of guys that want to win and have something to prove. That can be an incredible driving force and motivating factor that can make a difference in the win column. The Mets minor league system has improved, and I am now convinced it will continue to improve as long as Alderson is the general manager.

This quote from Alderson in the New York Times sums it up nicely:

We’ve got the basic building blocks. We’ve got some talented players. We’ve got a lot of pitching depth in our system. And I think we’re going to have some financial flexibility; we’re not saddled with even two-year contracts. But, ultimately, you’ve got to put it all together, too.

It may have taken me awhile, but I’m coming around. It’s time to believe in the plan and the man behind the plan. I’m a Mets fan…always have been and always will be. Nothing will ever change that. This team needs the fans’ support if they are going to be contenders, no matter what the circumstances are. Either that, or we can continue complaining about the crappy painting, and change the channel ten minutes into the episode before it starts to take shape.

It’s time to be grateful for what Alderson has done so far and have faith that this team is in the right hands.

Niese was coming off a few year in a row in which he was unable to finish a season pitching well or healthy. In 2010, he posted a 7.57 ERA over his last seven starts after pitching very well for most of the season. He was clearly showing signs of wear and tear. In 2011, he missed all of September with injury. It was very important for Niese to finally be able to pitch (and pitch well) down the stretch in 2012.

Niese’s overall numbers last season are actually a bit deceiving, and don’t quite tell the whole story. He finished the year with an above-average ERA of 3.40, 14th in the National League. However, he actually pitched much better than that mark would suggest. His ERA was inflated by two terrible starts, one in May against Toronto and another right before the All-Star break against Chicago. In those two games combined, he gave up 15 earned runs in 10 innings pitched. If you remove those starts from his statistics, his ERA is 2.84, which would have been fifth in the National League.

Since he has become a full-time starter in the big leagues, Niese has shown steady improvement, but last year was an even bigger step forward and has me excited for his future. He is mixing his pitches much better than in years past, and is also pitching remarkably better out of the stretch. With men on, opponents had a meager .272 on-base percentage with Niese striking out 3.52 batters per walk. In 2010 in those situations, hitters had a .358 on-base percentage and Niese struck out only 1.94 batters per walk. That’s a very promising trend and shows that last year was no fluke.

Overall, Niese has a very bright future ahead of him. Last year was not a fluke, but genuine improvement. He has turned himself into one of the better young lefties in the National League. With his new team-friendly contract, if he continues to pitch like he did last year, he will be immensely valuable to the Mets in the years to come.

2013 Projection:

3.50 ERA, 205 IP, 7.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 3.8 WAR

Jonathon Niese had a great outing and Ruben Tejada notched his first homer of the season

Game Recap

Jonathon Niese struggled in the first inning, but after that seemed to get his bearings and really settled into a groove. Niese would wind up going seven innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out five. The only downside to Niese this entire season has been giving up the long-ball to righties, as he gave up his 17th homer of the season to the batters who hit from the common-side.

The bullpen had a shorter day, with Tim Byrdak and Jon Rauch combining for a clean eighth inning. Bobby Parnell came out and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out one.

Offensively, the Mets started the scoring early with Ruben Tejada hitting a solo home-run, his first in over 600 at-bats. The Mets put a second run on the board on a Jordany Valdespin RBI groundout with the bases loaded. The Mets squandered many chances with runners on base, thanks to some poor base running and also getting caught stealing twice. The four through seven hitters had a struggle, and only David Wright and Ruben Tejada had more than one hit.

Player Of The Game

Jonathon Niese. Seven great innings, walking two batters both in the first inning and settling down after that.

Game Notes

David Wright went 2 for 3 with a walk, a strikeout, a steal and his 10th error of the season. While the error was charged to him, it was a throw that Ike could have gotten. Ike Davis drew his first walk since July 22nd, and did it twice. Jason Bay struck out twice while going 0 for 5 on the day. Over/Under on Bay being benched/platooned? Next Tuesday. The entire Mets offense was anemic in driving in runs, and being able to grab a win out of this was amazing in itself. The Mets stole four bases, and were caught twice.

On Deck

The Mets will look to win the series tomorrow, sending Chris Young (2-5, 4.58) to the mound to face off against the Giants and Barry Zito (8-7, 3.89). Game time is 3:45 P.M.

Daniel Murphy hit two home runs, Scott Hairston hit a grand slam and the Mets offense had a banner day in their 17-1 win against the Cubs

Game Recap

Jonathon Niese had a great outing, allowing one run on eight hits while walking one and striking out six in seven innings. Niese consistently drew weak contact, and after allowing a second inning run, settled in to hold the Cubs scoreless for the next five innings. With the offensive eruption, Niese was afforded a large margin for error. Ramon Ramirez pitched two mop-up innings, allowing one hit in two innings while striking out two. A quality pitching effort from the Mets staff today.

Now, for the true story of the day – the Mets offensive. Daniel Murphy broke his home run drought stretching to July 2011 by hitting two home runs, Ike Davis added a three run homer and for good measure Scott Hairston hit a grand slam to add to the ever growing score on the Mets side of the scoreboard. Every Mets starter got on base, and only Lucas Duda didn’t manage a hit, but walked three times on the day. Scoring 17 runs on 16 hits with ten extra base hits is a great way to win.

Notes

Andres Torres stole his fifth base in four games, going absolutely crazy on the basepaths. As long as Kirk continues to struggle, Torres will see more time in the outfield.

Lucas Duda may only be hitting .258, but his OBP is nearly 100 points higher at .349 and his ability to not be rendered ineffective against lefties does add to his value.

Ike Davis has homered in three of his last five games, all while finally raising his average to .201. This season will more then likely wind up with Ike hitting below .270, but the improvements in June and patience seem to be paying off now

Player Of The Game

Daniel Murphy went 3 for 5 with two home runs, two runs scored and four RBI. Murphy may be showing some signs of life at the plate, and if he can keep going in the right direction, then the Mets will be significantly better on the offensive side of the ball.

On Deck

The Mets will travel to Los Angeles to begin a series against the now-floundering Dodgers. The Mets will send Chris Young (1-1, 3.42) to the mound against former Met Chris Capuano (9-2, 2.60). Game time is 10:10 P.M.

Jonathon Niese had a great bounce back outing after his last start, and the Mets scattered three runs in the early innings to take todays game from the Pirates, 3-1 and the series as well

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese looked spectacular today, going seven and two-third innings, giving up one run on five hits, walking two and striking out five. Niese was generating groundballs galore, and today was just one of those days when those ground balls weren’t finding holes. His pitch location was good, his control was excellent today as his second walk was to the second-to-last batter he would face.

The bullpen had a much shorter day today, with Bobby Parnell required for a key out in the eighth, and delivered as needed with a huge strikeout looking of Andrew McCutchen. Frank Francisco came out for the ninth, and pitched a clean frame with two strikeouts for his twelfth save of the year.

The offense today managed some hits, but most of the damage was done early. A Lucas Duda RBI single in the first scored Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and in the fifth a sac-fly by Captain Kirk drove home Rob Johnson, and David Wright continued his torrid hitting, scorching an RBI double off the 21 foot wall, missing a home run by about two feet. Kirk was the only Mets player to have more than one hit on the day.

Turning Point

When Bobby Parnell got the last out of the eighth. After a great throw behind the runner from C Rob Johnson, Ike Davis couldn’t handle it and it allowed the runners to advance to second and third. A single could have possibly tied the game, but Parnell flipped a nice pitch for the third strike looking.

Random Stuff

Daniel Murphy is on a 2 for 20 slide, dropping his batting average to .304. However, his defense has improved noticeably, and the double play turn is looking much better.

Ike Davis went 1 for 4, but is still hitting .159 – probably due to him striking out on a pitch that hit him. Ike also committed an error in a key situation in the eighth. As Joe D has mentioned…he seems to need a few days off, or a nice vacation in Buffalo.

Player Of The Game

Jonathon Niese – was one batter away from finishing the eighth inning, and was surgically disecting the Pirates today.

On Deck

The Mets will come home for a game tomorrow against the San Diego Padres for their longest home stand of the season. Jeremy Hefner will take the mound for his first MLB start, and he will face off against the Padres Eric Stults. Game time is 7:05 P.M.

Last we learned that the Mets were close to giving Jon Niese an extension on his current contract.The Mets have now made it official. The deal is worth five years, $25.5 million dollars with team options for 2017 and 2018 that could bring the total value to $46 million.

I think the Mets made a mistake are to sign Niese to an extension this soon. I don’t understand why this front office would rush to sign a pitcher who is still under team control for another three years, and one who has never pitched 200 innings in a season, or posted an ERA under 4.20, or had a winning record. What was the big rush?

Don’t get me wrong, I like Niese. I think he has a lot of potential, and back when there were some trade rumors surrounding him this past winter, I was 100% against the thought of trading the young left-hander. That said, Niese has yes to convinced me that he’s worth that kind of financial commitment.

For starters he has never pitched over 173 innings in his short career. During his last ten starts in 2010, Niese became physically exhausted and struggled mightily. His struggles were attributed to poor conditioning and he finished the season with a 9-10 record.

Last year, Niese was inconsistent and very unimpressive at times. He finished the season on the disabled list with a ribcage injury and wound up with a record of 11-11 and a 4-40 in 157.1 innings pitched. Opposing hitters batted .286 against him.

Niese, 25, has also shown that he has trouble staying healthy. In 2009 Niese completely tore his hamstring. In 2010, he missed even more time after suffering another hamstring injury in a game against the Marlins. Last year, was the third consecutive season Niese missed significant time due to injury. I’m worried that this trend will continue since Niese has yet to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season.

I understand this extension buys out a couple of arbitration years and one year of free agency, but Niese has not yet risen to a level that would warrant such a significant deal – the largest deal Alderson had dished out sine becoming GM.

It might have been more prudent and a wiser decision to simply wait until the end of this current season to see if Niese improves his performance on the mound, and prove that he can play a full season without getting hurt.

Hopefully, this won’t come back to bite the Mets.

Though it’s unlikely the Mets trade Niese, he said it’s a matter in which he has no control.

“Obviously, it’s not my decision where I pitch,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll stay here with the Mets, and I’m looking forward to it.”

And we as fans are surely looking forward to a full, healthy season of Niese. He said that his goal is to pitch more than 200 innings in 2012 and has been working on his cardiovascular endurance to help him achieve that goal. He’s had injury troubles in his brief career so wants to stay in good shape to avoid any future problems.

Jonathon Niese at the Mets Kids' Holiday Party

Niese said he will not add anything new to his repertoire, but he will instead try to master the four pitches he has. He wants every pitch to be 100 percent and wants to make sure that he feels confident in using them all so he can mix his pitches well.

Having Johan Santana back (hopefully) will also be a nice boost for Niese, who has already learned so much from the veteran lefty.

“He’s [Santana] a huge force,” Niese said. “With an injury, you can never tell, but we’re looking forward to have him back. Just his presence alone will help on our staff a lot.”

Niese enjoyed being teammates with another lefty, Chris Capuano, but Capuano is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Niese said he would miss Chris very much.

“Those moves happen; you just got to move on,” said Niese.

Though Niese has absorbed what veterans R.A. Dickey and Chris Young have told him, he likes learning from fellow lefties.

“Obviously as a lefty, you’d like to talk to other lefties to see how they get hitters out,” he said.

Additionally, Niese likes the team’s new additions to the bullpen. The organization believes Ramon Ramirez, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco will sure up the end of the game.

“I think they [the front office] filled the holes that needed to be filled,” Niese said. “I look forward to meeting the guys and working with them.”

Niese anticipates his matchup against former teammate Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins. He said he is very excited for the challenge.

“Watching him hit for a while…hopefully, I picked up enough to learn how to get him out,” said Niese.

As a pitcher, Niese said the new Citi Field dimensions would not change the way he pitches. He will still try to get ground balls and doesn’t think the new dimensions will be a big issue for the staff. He does think that the defense will improve in the ballpark.

“All those bloop hits that fell…I think those are going to be caught this year,” he said.

Finally, Niese anticipates the day where he will pitch in meaningful games late in the season. He had a brief taste in 2008 when he made a few spot starts, but he said the goal of every pitcher is to pitch in the postseason.

“Hopefully, if things go right for us,” Niese said. “We can reach that.”