It doesn’t matter that Daniel Murphy hit the game-winning homer Sunday afternoon, or that he’s the Mets’ hottest hitter, he should be in the leadoff spot going forward for the Mets. Because of Murphy’s high on-base percentage, batting him leadoff is something I have advocated, and I’m glad Terry Collins was thinking outside the box enough to make the move. “He gets on base, because he can hit,’’ Collins told ESPN.com. “And, when he’s swinging good, he can get [...]

Mets manager Terry Collins, has Daniel Murphy batting leadoff today against the Cubs. Murphy becomes the seventh player to be used in that spot by the Mets this season, joining Ruben Tejada, Jordany Valdespin, Mike Baxter, Collin Cowgill,Justin Turner and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. (ESPN) Here is what Collins had to say about it: “I’ll see how it goes. He’s swinging good. He’s swinging great. And we’ve got to get guys on ahead of David Wright.” “I figured I’d give it a shot and [...]

Any enthusiasm and energy the Mets may have had when they broke camp in St. Lucie and headed north have slowly dissipated. The visions of grandeur that Jon Niese would be the ace of the team, that Lucas Duda and Ike Davis would have breakout seasons, that Collin Cowgill would be the leadoff hitter they haven’t had since Jose Reyes, that Kirk Nieuwenhuis would rake in right field, that the bullpen couldn’t possibly be worse than [...]

Round Rock 12, Las Vegas 6 The Las Vegas 51s surrendered 20 hits Friday in a 12-6 loss to visiting Round Rock at Cashman Field in the final game of a four-game Pacific Coast League series.D.J. Mitchell struggled in this one, allowing six earned runs over just 4.1 innings pitched. Eric Campbell went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Las Vegas, which also received two hits from Zach Lutz and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. [...]

Last Night’s Quick Scores Las Vegas knocked off Sacramento, 6-2.  Binghamton topped Harrisburg, 6-1.  St. Lucie nipped Daytona, 1-0.  Savannah had their game postponed due to rain.  Prospect Pipeline Zack Wheeler had his second solid start in a row yesterday against Sacremento. In six innings pitched, he sacrificed three hits while only waling one. He held Sacremento to no runs. It was a nother step in the right direction for Wheeler, who the Mets could [...]

Las Vegas 14, Reno 8 Carlos Torres got the start tonight and wasn’t very sharp. Torres had traffic on the base paths all night long, allowing a total of 12 base runners. The 30-year-old gave up a hit and a walk to start the game, but was saved by a pickoff at first base.  In the second, he loaded the bases to start the inning, but limited the damage and gave up just two runs. [...]

Las Vegas 9, Reno 5  D.J. Mitchell‘s last start was marred by bouts of wildness, but tonight’s outing was much better, as he did not allow a run over the first five innings. He dodged in, and out of trouble a few times, including a bases loaded no out jam in the second inning. After two singles and a walk, Mitchell buckled down and got a pop out, strikeout, and a ground out to end the inning. [...]

  Tacoma 8, Las Vegas 2 For Collin McHugh on Saturday night, it was a tale of the first inning…and the rest of the game. McHugh allowed six hits in a row, three of them extra base hits, in the first inning which led to five earned runs. Remember that the ball tends to carry a little more in Las Vegas before you make a judgment on that. I have openly admitted to being on [...]

Tacoma 10, Las Vegas 1 The Las Vegas 51s managed just four hits Friday against visiting Tacoma in a 10-1 loss at Cashman Field. The 51s allowed double-digit runs for the second straight game and dropped their third straight overall. Partially responsible for that huge run total was starter Carlos Torres, who was rocked for six earned runs over five innings. Dylan Owen struggled as well, allowing three earned runs over his two innings of [...]