As the title says, the R.A. Dickey deal just keeps looking better and better for Sandy Alderson and the Mets – and that’s with the signature piece to the deal, Travis d’Arnaud, idling on the disabled list for nearly a month.

A post by Josh Chapdelaine of Around Citi brought to my attention just how bad things are going for the reigning Cy Young this season.

“The knuckleballer racked up his fifth loss of the year”, writes Chapdelaine. “Dickey allowed seven earned runs on six hits while allowing a staggering three home runs – including a leadoff home run to Michael Saunders and a Dustin Ackley grand slam – to balloon his ERA to 5.36 in 2013.”

That’s too bad for Dickey, but it just makes the decision to trade him one of the best moves this front office has made since taking over.

Making the deal even sweeter for the Mets has been the incredible production from catcher John Buck who hit his 10th homer of the season last night. That tied Buck with Carlos Delgado (2006) and Dave Kingman (1982) for the second-fastest (25 games) to double digits in franchise history to start a season. Kingman also holds the franchise record when he clouted 10 homers in his 23 games in 1976. Buck now leads the National League with 29 RBI.

“I can’t begin to tell you where we would be if Buck did not get off to the start he got off to,” manager Terry Collins said. “We could be five-and-whatever.”

What’s most remarkable about Buck, is that he was looked upon as the throw-in when the Mets initially acquired Travis D’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard and Wuilmer Becerra in exchange for Dickey, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas. Buck only came the Mets way because the Jays wanted him and his $6 million dollar contract included in the deal. I bet they regret that decision now.

Meanwhile, while D’Arnaud is still out with a foot injury, Syndergaard is having a sensational season so far for Advanced-A St. Lucie. The young right-hander now has 2.90 ERA in six starts, but has really turned it on lately posting a 0.47 ERA and allowing just one earned run in his last three starts while striking out 16 and walking 5 in 19.0 innings pitched.

No word yet on when D’Arnaud will begin baseball activities, but there’s no need to rush as Buck has got things well under control and may just be on his way to an All Star Game berth later this season at Citi Field.

“You spend all spring thinking you’re only going to be here a little while until d’Arnaud is ready,” Collins said. “Maybe Buck is saying, I will show everybody that I’m going to be here a little longer than that!”

This is so incredibly wild…

Despite the incredible effort by Jeremy Hefner on Tuesday night, the Mets were unable to get just three more outs as a ninth inning meltdown capped off by a Brandon Lyon wild pitch handed the Marlins their second straight walk-off victory against the Amazin’s and their first series win of the season.

Surprisingly enough, the Mets have become quite used to the demoralizing oddity known as the walk-off wild pitch. In fact, last night was the third time in four seasons that Flushing’s Finest have allowed the game-winning run to score on a pitch to the backstop.

On May 14 of the 2010 season, Johan Santana was on the mound in a premiere matchup with then-Marlins ace Josh Johnson. Santana went seven innings allowing just one unearned run on six hits and seven strikeouts. He left for a pinch-hitter with the game tied at one. After pitching a scoreless eighth, reliever Fernando Nieve took the hill to pitch a perfect ninth to send the game into extra innings. After getting Jorge Cantu to fly to left for the first out of the tenth, Nieve walked Cody Ross and quickly allowed a Ronny Paulino single to put Ross at third. Then on the first pitch to Dan Uggla, Nieve bounced it to the plate past Rod Barajas as Ross raced home to win it for the Marlins. The walk-off wild pitch would be the first victory for the Fish in what would be a four game sweep of the Mets.

Fast forward two years to July of 2012… Jon Niese is having a heck of a game against the Nationals Ross Detwiler. They both exit after seven, Niese surrendering one run and punching out eight, Detwiler spotless, giving the Nats a 1-0 advantage. They would go up 2-0 after a Steve Lombardozzi RBI double. Comes the top of the ninth, the Mets put up a three spot to go ahead 3-2. However the lead would be short lived as Bobby Parnell would blow the save, allowing the Nats to tie it and send it to extra innings. Josh Thole doubled to drive in Daniel Murphy and give the Amazin’s their second lead in as many innings. Tim Byrdak came on to close out the tenth and after a game tying, RBI triple to the rookie sensation Bryce Harper, he walked the bases loaded and was lifted for Pedro Beato. Beato, on a 1-2 pitch to Tyler Moore, threw a breaking ball that went right past Josh Thole, allowing Ryan Zimmerman to slide home and win it for the Nats by a score of 5-4.

Then we have last night. A suddenly hot Jeremy Hefner came in to finish off a shutout, and came away with a loss as both the tying and go-ahead runs were charged to the 27-year old despite a meltdown by Brandon Lyon capped off by a wild pitch of his own that bounced off the glove of Anthony Recker and ricocheted towards the home dugout.

Before this recent stretch, the last time the Mets lost a ballgame on a walk-off wild pitch dates back all the way to 1981 when Mike Marshall let one fly at Houston. You have to go all the way back to the beginning of the Reagan administration for that one! Meanwhile all three of these most recent “wild” endings have occurred under the same commander in chief. 

Not a theme the Mets would like to continue, however with the quality–or lack there of–of arms they continue to acquire for the ‘pen, what can you expect? Sure Brandon Lyon is supposed to be a solid set-up man, however that hasn’t been the case up to this point. You get what you pay for; you get out of it what you put in. When you don’t go and add significant arms for innings seven through nine and beyond, losses such as those mentioned above are going to happen.

When the Blue Jays forced Sandy Alderson to take John Buck‘s $6 million dollar contract as a condition of making the deal for Travis d’Arnaud, many people including me groaned. I loved the fact that Buck could actually catch (unlike Josh Thole) and would be an asset overall, but six million samoans for Buck was simply too much for me to swallow.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and Alderson sure lucked out on this one despite holding his nose and agreed to take Buck in that Dickey deal.

Fast forward to April 9, 2013…

Through seven games, Buck is now batting .375 to lead the Mets and throw in three homers (tops on the team) and 12 RBIs (tops in the NL). Somebody get me a shot of Chivas…

Are there still a lot of skeptics out there? Of course and rightfully so, but that doesn’t faze the Mets catcher one bit.

“I don’t really care,” he said. “I figure if I just keep doing what I’m doing, they can be surprised at the end of the year.”

Before joining the Mets, Buck was merely a career .236 hitter over his nine years in the majors. He has bounced around from team to team and has logged time with Kansas City, Toronto and Miami before hitting the streets of Flushing.

The power however, shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone as Buck has belted 15 or more homers three times in his career. But what’s happening right now? This is a first…

Last night, he blasted a three-run shot off of the once great Roy Halladay and clinched the win for the Mets. But it’s not just his bat that has been impressive. Mets starters have the second best ERA in the majors when he’s behind the dish and calling the game. He’s been the complete package for the Amazins.

I have always said that Omar Minaya struck gold when he picked up R.A. Dickey off the scrap heap. John Buck could end up becoming Sandy Alderson’s first real nugget and ironically, he didn’t even want him in the first place.

As I said, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Sandy’s man, as I’m sure you’ve heard is Travis d’Arnaud, who is widely considered the best catching prospect in all of baseball.  Despite a season ending knee injury, it wouldn’t be surprising to see d’Arnaud break camp with the Mets come April, instantly bolstering the team’s roster at catcher.  Hitting for both power and average, while at the same time being considered above average defensively, d’Arnaud has the potential to solidify the Mets backstop needs for the foreseeable future.  If you ask most MLB General Managers, Travis d’Arnaud may have been too much to offer all by himself, but Sandy Alderson wasn’t done.

As a result, the Blue Jays’ number one pitching prospect, Noah Snydergaard, will also head south of the border and join the strong crop of young, hard throwing pitchers the Mets already have at the Single A level.  Although he may not find his way to the majors until sometime during the 2015 season, Snydergaard’s inclusion in this deal is the perfect example of Sandy Alderson maximizing what he has to work with.  For the second time in two years, Alderson pulled off a trade that no one thought was possible by waiting until what seems like the last possible minute to get things done.

Throw-ins on the deal also include backup catcher, John Buck, who will serve as a place holder for d’Arnaud if he isn’t ready for the start of the season, and eighteen year old Wuilma Buerra, who will look to come back from a broken jaw as a result of being struck in the face by a rogue pitch.  Neither play a major factor in the balance of this deal, but they do represent just how much value Alderson was able to squeeze of our Dickey’s Cy Young season.

Like him or not, these types of deals are the reason Sandy Alderson was brought to Queens, and will be the reason he remains in Queens if he so sees fit.  Hamstrung by a reduced cashflow, only now, entering his third season as team General Manager can the hints of the master play start to take shape.  With two months remaining before Spring Training, his work certainly isn’t done if he hopes to field a semi-competitive team in 2013.   However, regardless of how this upcoming season plays out, Sandy Alderson has put several more pieces in play for what could be a promising young team in 2014 and beyond.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

Anonymous asks…

I think that if the Mets sign R.A. Dickey to that extension, they are almost certain to bring back Josh Thole as his personal catcher. True or false?

Sean replies…

As good of a rapport as Dickey and Thole have developed, their fates are not as linked as one would imagine. Thole is just inexpensive and fits into the Mets plans as a cost-effective backstop who will be arbitration eligible and is expected to receive a contract for below one million dollars. It makes Thole a perfect candidate for a platoon with a partner who could bring some power. There’s also the hope that Thole can return to his 2011 offensive output.

Thole does have some value as R.A. Dickey’s catcher, since he has the most experience catching the knuckleball, but he is no gold-glover behind the plate regardless of who he is catching. Barring a trade, Josh Thole will be with the Mets next season in some capacity, and with the farm system devoid of any better major league ready options behind the plate, he might still be around in 2014 if the price is right.

As a side note – Tim Wakefield had Doug Mirabelli as his personal catcher because despite his tremendous offensive potential, Jason Varitek was never a strong catcher on the defensive side of the ball. ‘Tek was more valued for his offensive ability out of the catcher spot and his leadership qualities.

Sherman said that Martin is already used to playing in New York and that the Mets are “desperate to add power, and Martin’s 21 homers were eighth among catchers in the majors this season.”

You can look at Martin’s gritty attitude and intangibles and the fact that he’s a three-time All-Star, but in the end, we better not see Martin in orange and blue in 2013.

Even Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton on WFAN this morning thought this idea was ludicrous. Why on earth would the Mets want to spend upwards of $7 million per season on a deteriorating catcher?

Not deteriorating, you may think? Well, just look at the stats from his days with Dodgers. He was a legitimate offensive threat in Los Angeles, but he has a combined .224 batting average in his two years in the Bronx.

Since reaching his career-high batting average (.293) in 2007, he’s progressively decreased in hitting each successive year before hitting a career-low .211 this season.

You may also be saying that Martin has tremendous power for a catcher. Well, he’s been the beneficiary of the short left field porch at Yankee Stadium. He hit 13 of his 21 homers at home this season.

Martin’s lack of offensive production has been overshadowed in a Yankees’ lineup that features eight other All-Stars. He usually hits eighth or ninth, and any offense from him is considered a bonus rather than an expected contribution.

Martin would be a defensive upgrade at catcher for the Mets, but frankly, the Mets would be better off saving the money than worrying about defense.

In the Mets weak lineup, Martin would most likely be hitting sixth and would be expected to be a run producer, which is something he’s not.

The Mets would be wise to stick with what they have over adding Martin. Kelly Shoppach’s career numbers are slightly below Martin’s, since Shoppach has been primarily a backup. However, Shoppach’s 162-game home run average (20) is higher than Martin’s (16).

While this move definitely doesn’t make sense for the Mets, letting Martin walk would make even less sense for the Yankees. With Jesus Montero in Seattle and prospect Austin Romine playing in just 31 games this season, there’s really no other potential starting catcher than Martin in the Yankees’ system.

But knowing the Yankees, they’ll probably let Martin walk then pull off a blockbuster deal for Buster Posey (obviously unlikely, but you get the point).

A Shoppach/Josh Thole platoon may not be the answer, but it’s a safer bet then gambling on Martin.

I have never put a lot of stock in the whole personal catcher debate. I guess it could possibly be more of an issue when you are dealing with a knuckleballer, and you have a guy who knows how to catch it. It is a difficult pitch to catch, and since Josh Thole has been relatively successful in handling R.A. Dickey, I guess he has some value in that regard.

However, if we do decide to retain him as a Dickey’s personal catcher, then we have to watch his pitiful slap happy at-bats again in 2013. I’m sorry, but I think I have seen enough of Thole as an everyday player at this point. He is just not a major league caliber hitter, and should serve only in a utility role at best, if that. If he batted around .290, then maybe I would consider it even with his lack of power and run production.

A .261 career hitter, with seven home runs and 87 RBI spanning parts of 4 seasons? These numbers are just not going to cut it.

Thole is just 25 years old and is still young enough to develop some pop and increase his ability to drive in runs. But the fact is we struggle to score runs, and he was a major contributor to that this season  Our lineup was essentially seven men deep this season, with Thole and the pitcher being automatic outs almost every night.

If we are going to have someone be Dickey’s personal catcher, I think I would rather call Tim Wakefield and ask him for Doug Mirabelli’s number to see if he wants to come out of retirement.

All kidding aside, I could be okay with Thole coming back in a personal catcher capacity for 2013 . But I will not be happy if he comes back in a platoon situation. He should not get the majority of at-bats behind the plate next season. We need to bring in a legitimate starting catcher and that should rank right up there with all of our other top priorities.

The Mets were gauging whether or not Shoppach would fit in with the team philosophy, and hopefully bring a little more thump to the lineup. Shoppach was with the Mets for a little over a month, and already has more home runs (3) than Thole did all season (1). Shoppach has also had a few clutch hits for the Mets, but I think everyone would agree that his offensive production was not much better than what the Mets were already getting from the catcher position in 2012.

The most amount of games Shoppach has ever started in a season was back in 2008, when he started 94 for Cleveland. That was his most productive offensive season, batting .261, and hitting 21 home runs. He also has thrown out 29% of base stealers over his 8 year major league career, which is slightly better than Thole’s 27%.

When looking at Shoppach’s 2008 stats, the offensive potential is there. Plug him into the eight-hole in the lineup, and turn him loose. Maybe we get a .250 average and 20-25 home runs out of him if he starts 100 games in 2013. For that reason, a voice says and says lock him up for 2013. But there is another little voice whispering not so fast my friend.

Shoppach’s 2008 season is awfully similar to Scott Hairston’s 2012 campaign. Eerily similar…their offensive numbers are practically identical. On the surface, the numbers say one thing, but the things you see occurring in games keep reminding you why they were never really everyday players. The numbers are promising, but you just don’t feel confident having them as everyday players.

Regardless of how you feel about Shoppach, I think he has shown enough to bring him back for 2013. I don’t know, there just seems to be something about him that makes it easy to cheer for him. Maybe it’s because he seems like a throwback, blue-collar catcher to me. He has the full grown beard, and just fits the mold. I like that he provides a heck of a lot more pop than Thole as well. Like I said earlier, stick him in the eight-hole and let him swing for the fences.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the Mets have so many question marks facing them this off-season you would think the Riddler was the general manager. There are outfield questions…bullpen questions…and catcher questions. Robin might be confused when posed with all these questions, but Batman would solve the catcher riddle by re-signing Shoppach.

R.A. Dickey had a great outing, notching his 18th win of the season, and the Mets offense showed up today in their 6-2 win.

R.A. Dickey took the hill today in the rubber game, and was strong through six and two-third innings. Dickey allowed eight hits and two runs, while walking one and striking out five. R.A. gave up three of his eight hits in his final inning of work so the line looks a bit skewed. The only major blemish was the HR he allowed to opposing pitcher and “Mr. Curveball” Adam Wainwright

The bullpen continued its strong play, with Josh Edgin, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco combining for two and one-third scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two batters. It is a shame that the bullpen came together late and for the most part struggled in the middle of the season

The offense struck early, with a Josh Thole RBI single in the second inning. Lucas Duda would walk with the bases loaded for the second RBI, in the third inning. Ike Davis would continue his hot play since the ASB, hitting a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Andres Torres added an insurance run in the eighth inning on an RBI single.

The Mets offense was aggressive today, striking out 13 times over the course of the game, but the aggressive approach did pay dividends early, knocking out Wainwright by the fifth inning.

Game Notes:

Ike Davis hit his 26th homer of the season, and is at a solid pace to hit 30 home runs this season, and has an outside shot at 90-100 RBI. If that happens, the only remembrance of a horrible first two months would be his batting average

Josh Thole was 2 for 4, and while any hitting is good at the moment, he is in a position he has never been in before. At this point, all of his value is tied into his rapport catching R.A. Dickey.

Justin Turner was 2 for 4 on the day, spelling David Wright and raising his season average to .289.

Player Of The Game: Who else? R.A. Dickey. Not his finest outing, but he has raised his own standard so high that allowing two runs in less than seven innings is just “good”

On Deck: The Mets will have Thursday off, but travel home Friday to begin a series against the Atlanta Braves at 7:10 P.M. Jonathon Niese (10-8, 3.55) will take the mound against Paul Maholm (11-9, 3.79)

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 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

Johan Santana had a good, albeit short outing, the offense provided no support and the bullpen was wild in the Mets 4-0 loss to the Nationals.

Game Recap

Johan Santana took the mound today, and despite some early-inning control trouble, managed to navigate his way through five innings. Santana was much more dominating then his stat-line will attest to, going five innings allowing one run (that scored on a wild pitch) on five hits, walking three and striking out eight. Santana continues to look better and better with each start, from spring training until now. While his velocity was around 88-90 MPH for the day, he was using all of his pitches and avoided trouble until the fifth. To boot, Santana went four pitches beyond his 95 pitch limit.

Manny Acosta was brought in after Santana walked his first batter, and proceeded to walk the next two batters. In an act of serendipity, he got former Met Xaiver Nady to line into a double play, and Daniel Murphy flicked it to Ruben Tejada to complete it. Acosta would get out of the inning with a line-out to center to end the sixth. Acosta would return for the seventh and allow one hit and a walk before his day ended. Acosta’s final line was one and one-third innings, three walks and one hit, no strikeouts. Terry Collins called in Ramon Ramirez from the bullpen, and then was ejected for probably arguing the inconsistent strike zone. Ramirez would strike out his first batter, but then walk in a run and induced a pop-out. Ramirez would finish his day allowing one run on two hits, walking two and striking out one. Jon Rauch come out for two-thirds of an inning and pitched a clean line. Miguel Batista came out for the ninth, gave up a hit, hit a batter and then walked another. Tim Byrdak was brought into a bases-loaded, ninth inning jam, got two outs and then walked home ANOTHER runner before getting a flyout. Byrdaks final line is 1 IP, 0 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout.

The bullpen was horrible today. Walking seven, hitting a batter and walking in two of the four runs.

Offensively, the Mets couldn’t buy a hit off of Stephen Strasburg. Ruben Tejada had a hit in the first at-bat of the game, and the Mets wouldn’t get another hit until the sixth inning. Strasburg was wildly effective, walking three and hitting Ronny Cedeno. The Mets were a victim yet again of inability to drive in runners in scoring position, or even get runners on base. The batters were just out of sync, making weak contact when any contact was made at all.

Turning Point

Every misplay of a ball by Josh Thole. Those misplays lead to extra bases, a run scoring and even a loss of a strike.

Player of The Game

Johan Santana deserves the player of the game, more than any one player deserves to be the goat. Johan pitched an admirable five innings, and the lack of offense and poor bullpen showing left Santana winless for the 2012 season

Game Notes

Josh Thole had a poor game blocking the baseball, but did manage to throw out Danny Espinosa at third base.

The Mets outfielders and infielders have not been good on the year in hitting the cut-off man and making the correct throws. They are allowing extra bases to be taken, and routinely the cutoff men are dropping the throws and getting lucky the runners don’t advance

The umpiring today was horrible for both teams. Strikes in previous innings became balls in later innings, and on a Jason Bay at bat in the sixth, strike 2 was about 4 inches outside, and strike three was in the opposing batters box.

Despite losing two of the last three, the Mets are tied for first place with the Nationals.

Up Next

The Mets will have off on Thursday, but will travel to Philadelphia for their first road series to face off against the Phillies. R.A. Dickey will face off against Cliff Lee, and game time is 7:05 P.M.

Paul LoDuca, Brian Schneider, Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco and Ronny Paulino are just some of the catchers to suit up behind the dish.

Last season, the Mets handed the mask to young Josh Thole, and he seems to be the No. 1 guy again for this season, though Terry Collins has made it a point to Thole that he has to earn his spot.

The Mets are seeking a right-handed hitting complement to Thole for the backup catcher’s spot. Mike Nickeas has been with the organization for a while and could be the favorite for this spot. He’s solid defensively but needs to improve his hitting to see extended time.

One catcher that has impressed so far in spring training is Lucas May. Though spring stats don’t really mean too much, they are important for players on the bubble. May is hitting .313 in 16 at-bats, including two doubles and three RBI.

But even the outs he’s made, he consistently hits the ball hard.

May has been a career minor-leaguer since 2007. He didn’t appear in more than seven MLB games until last season, when he played in 14 games for the Kansas City Royals.

It may still be a little early to anoint May as the team’s backup catcher. Collins will give Nickeas every opportunity to win the spot, but if May continues to impress, it likely won’t go unnoticed.

Having a little pop at the catcher’s position is always a plus. Thole has shown he can be a good contact hitter, but May can be called on to pinch hit late in games and then remain behind the dish.

We were spoiled all those years with having an offensive-minded catcher like Piazza. Of course, even the combination of Thole and Nickeas or Thole and May wouldn’t be expected to produce like Piazza.

But it’s that the team got from production from the catcher’s spot. May could be a sleeper pick to crack the roster.

That’s partially because the Mets will try hard to keep Reyes and also because the team is still not financially sound.

When we think of the Mets roster, we immediately say we need pitching, pitching and more pitching.

However, a strong catcher is key to a good pitching staff.

If the season started tomorrow, Josh Thole and Ronny Paulino (assuming he’s offered arbitration) would once again split time behind the dish. Mike Nickeas would be the right-handed hitting option if the team moved on from Paulino.

The main factor here is Thole. In his short career, he has garnered a reputation as being an incredibly streaky player.

He goes through stretches at the plate where he just doesn’t make outs, and then he’ll strike out four consecutive times.

Defensively, he’ll call a great game one night, and then drop routine balls the next. One thing he certainly needs to work on is throwing out base stealers.

When looking at the numbers, Thole hit a very respectable .268 on the year. He’s not a power guy or a run producer, but he’s a strong contact hitter.

As for Paulino, it was really a lost season. He missed games due to his suspension for performance enhancing drugs and due to injury. He drove in just 19 runs in 78 games.

Based on the Mets pressing needs in other areas and the lack of any dynamite catchers on the market, the Amazins’ might be best off just letting Thole, who is still only 24, continue to work through his mistakes.

Defensively challenged Ryan Doumit, the aging Ramon Hernandez and Jason Kendall, and the ancient Pudge Rodriguez highlight the catcher’s market. Most of the other free agent catchers are basically all backups.

The thing with Thole is that he’d be a perfectly respectable option for a team with a strong lineup. When Jason Bay is batting fourth for your team, guys like Thole are expected to be offensive forces, which they simply are not.

So while we may not hear too much from the catching front this offseason based on the situation, the position could use an upgrade.

But for now, Thole is our guy.

Chris Capuano had by far his best outing of the season, and possibly the best outing for a Mets starter in their 6-0 win against the Braves

Game Notes

Chris Capuano was lights out from the jump, and the Braves couldn’t put anything together against Cap. Capuano had a complete game shutout, giving up two hits, walking none and striking out thirteen. Capuano’s changeup was absolutely filthy, and his cutter and fastball were painting corners mercilessly. Outings like this show potential in what Capuano can be on his good days, with some adjustments. His ability to hold his effectiveness until the late innings were something Mets fans haven’t seen all season.

The offense was quiet, but did manage its hits against Tim Hudson when needed. The Mets manufactured two runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Nick Evans and Josh Thole. After the Braves got themselves into trouble in the seventh, Justin Turner hit a two-RBI double to make the game 4-0. After the Braves intentionally walked David Wright with Angel Pagan on third to face Lucas Duda, Duda made the Braves pray drilling a 415 foot double to left center against lefty Jonny Venters.

Pagan/Tejada/Duda – 9 for 14 with two RBI & four runs scored. That is a great way to win a game, when your 1,2 and 4 guys are going good. Wright looked decent, but drew two walks and struck out twice.

Evans – 1 for 3 with a strikeout and two walks. Nick buys into Moneyball.

Jason Pridie – 2 for 3 with a walk. Anything is better than Pridie striking out 1/3rd of the time.

Turning Point

Justin Turner’s two-RBI double to give the Mets a four run lead in the seventh.

Random Facts

This is the first shutout for the Mets this season, and Capuano set a new career high in strikeouts with 13.

Hero Of The Game

Chris Capuano, amazing game, pitched like an ace and went out there and was efficient and effective.

On Deck

Hurricane Irene means no baseball until Monday, when they will begin a day/night doubleheader against the Marlins beginning at 4:10 P.M. The Mets are slated to send Dillon Gee out for the 4:10 game, and R.A. Dickey for the second game. The Marlins will be sending Ricky Nolasco and Javier Vazquez respectively.

R.A. Dickey pitched a great game, and a big home run in the ninth by Scott Hairston put the Mets ahead and they would go on to win, 5-2 against the Giants.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey went out and pitched a very good game, fighting through his injury to keep the Mets in the game and also manage to not injure himself further. Dickey’s only major mistake was the shot he gave up to Nate Schierholtz in the sixth, because other than that, no runners really came close to scoring. His final line was – two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts, zero walks and one home run allowed in seven innings pitched. It’s a great stat line for Dickey, showing he had control and was able to minimize the hits.

Tim Byrdak came out, got a lefty out, and then walked the other lefty. He was relieved by Beato who threw one pitch and induced a tailor-made double play. Thanks to the Hairston home run, Beato earned the win with K-Rod earning his 23rd save after a perfect 1-2-3 ninth.

The Mets went through another bout of the LOB’s , stranding ten runners. They failed to capitalize on a wild Ryan Vogelsong who walked five. The biggest hit came when Angel Pagan sent an absolute blast over the RF wall for a two-run home run, his third of the season.

In an awkward play to advance Beltran to third, Daniel Murphy batting cleanup bunted him over, with no outs, in the fourth. Odd to say the least. Scott Hairston played the hero today, sending an absolute moonshot out to LF for the go-ahead run off the HR, and this time the Mets would hold the lead for good.

Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy both had big games with three hits a piece. Beltran also collected his 58th RBI of the season which ranks 6th in the NL and puts him on pace for 120 RBIs this season. 

Turning Point

Scott Hairston’s home run in the ninth turned the tide.

Random Things

R.A. Dickey with an injured glute managed to leg out an infield single that got lost in Miguel Tejada’s glove.

Jason Bay had two walks, and Nick Evans got his first hit of the year with an RBI single in the ninth inning, breaking an 0 for 23 slide to start his season.

Josh Thole continues to struggle, leaving three on base including a key GIDP with men on first and second.

Game Ball

R.A. Dickey – he pitched a great game for seven innings, and if it weren’t about the matchups probably would’ve gone another inning at least.

On Deck

The Mets will continue their series against the Giants, sending Chris Capuano to the mound against Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. Game time is 9:05 P.M.

For thoughts, reactions and other chatter with Met bloggers, follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny

Jason Bay & Carlos Beltran had grand slams in consecutive innings, and R.A. Dickey had another quality outing in the 14-3 blowout of the Detroit Tigers

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey came out today and seems had the luck on his side and was blessed with run support. Outside of that, R.A. went seven innings, allowing three runs on ten hits, including two home runs while walking three and striking out six. Dickey had some good stuff, but when he did make mistakes, he was punished. In prior outings, anemic offensive showings left Dickey on the short end, but today he couldn’t have tried to lose.

Bullpen got some light usage today, with Bobby Parnell pitching a clean inning. Manny Acosta pitched the ninth, in a beyond low-leverage situation and pitched a clean inning, striking out one. Manny Acosta has found his calling, and it involves becoming Elmer Dessens redux.

Weird play in the bottom of the seventh however, Ruben Tejada and Justin Turner both went to cover second to receive a possible double play throw from R.A. Dickey, and ran into each other. They got the force out, but the humor in that sight is something I haven’t seen since, well softball.

The offense today struck early, and continued its rampage, scoring in bunches and using small ball – until the fourth inning. Josh Thole notched his first HR of the season on a well-hit ball to As has been well documented, the Mets hadn’t hit a home run in roughly two years. Jason Bay changed that with a home-run to left field that just squeezed itself in front of the foul pole for a grand slam. An inning later, #SelfishBeltran aka #RBIWhore, Carlos Beltran decided to go for the second grand slam of the game, and notched it. The Mets have only had two grand slams in a game once before, and they were both in the same inning in 2006 with Cliff Floyd and…Carlos Beltran.

This offense has been beyond potent, scoring like an AL team and looking like world beaters. The return of David Wright, the possible thought that Jason Bay has a clue with a scorching hot Jose Reyes in addition to the forever consistent Carlos Beltran could be a force in the NL East and could challenge for the wild card.

Every Mets starter had at least one hit.

Jose Reyes – 4 for 4 with three runs, a walk and a stolen base. Jose reached base every time, finished an HR short of the cycle and was pulled for a pinch-runner, Ruben Tejada in the seventh.

Angel Pagan – 3 for 3 with two runs, one RBI, one stolen base and two walks. Angel, you may not be good at hitting lefties, but when those righties come up your doing great.

Turning Point

The fourth inning when the Mets decided to blow the game open and not leave any margin for error.

Game Ball

Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran split the game ball with a grand slam each. Carlos was 2 for 4 with two runs and four RBI thanks to the grand slam. Jason went 1 for 4 with a grand slam, one run scored and four RBI and one strikeout. This could be a turning point for Jason Bay.

On Deck

The Mets will look to continue the offense in a lefty battle, with Chris Capuano coming out after leaving his last outing early with pain in his abdomen to face off against former Yankee and current Tigers lefty Phil Coke. Game Time is 7:05 P.M.

Follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny to read my random thoughts during, before and after games about anything Mets related

Dillon Gee had another stellar outing, going eight innings and the Mets offense kept it rolling in the 8-1 slaughter of the Pirates

Game Notes

Dillon Gee had another outstanding inning, and outside of a troublesome first inning, Gee pitched masterfully. Gee’s final line was eight innings, one run allowed on eight hits with NO walks and five strikeouts. Gee did receive some help from his defense with some great plays by Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy, but Gee was great today. What more, is Gee’s record is 7-0 and he has lowered his ERA to 3.05.

Tim Byrdak cleaned up the ninth after Gee had already reached 100 pitches and struck out Neil Walker, gave up a hit to Lyle Overbay and got pinch-hitter Wyatt Toregas to ground into a game-ending double play.

As was mentioned in the broadcast, if Gee keeps this up, an All-Star selection isn’t out of the question. He is the only undefeated starter in the majors and has been consistent.

The offense today struck early, with a first inning run brought in by an Angel Pagan RBI groundout. Lucas Duda, fresh off the bus from Buffalo hit an RBI single to center that scored Angel Pagan, and then advanced to third on the throw to the plate that got passed the catcher. Josh Thole would knock him in with a single, and after that Justin Turner hit a laser off of Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton to score Ruben Tejada and Dillon Gee. For some salt in the wound, Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Jose Reyes. Lucas Duda would add a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth, and Mr. Jose Reyes sent a shot out of the yard in the sixth for his second HR of the year.

The offense today just kept piling on single after single, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop

Josh Thole – 3 for 5 with an RBI. A bad baserunning play lead to Thole being caught in a rundown, and him being slow lead to him being forced out on a bunt.

Daniel Murphy – 1 for 5, stranded five. Not a great day for Murph with the lumber. With the leather? Very good.

Angel Pagan – 2 for 5 with two runs and an RBI. Nice Angel

Turning Point

Top of the fourth eruption.

Game Ball

Dillon Gee and Jose Reyes get the game ball. Reyes was setting the table all day, and is locked in right now. Dillon Gee is doing about the same.

On Deck

The Mets will look to keep the momentum going, sending R.A. Dickey to the mound to face the Pirates and James McDonald. Game time is 7:05 P.M.