The farm system may be in much better shape, and their projected 2014 payroll will be in the bottom of the majors for now – potentially opening a lot of financial flexibility going forward. However, is doom and gloom in store for the 2013 edition of the Mets? Or can they win the WAR?

While I´ll acknowledge that Wins Above Replacement is a somewhat flawed method of measuring talent – especially considering the flaws of defensive stats in this metric – it is still a sound way to judge a team overall.

So, the question is, what kind of an impact have this offseason’s transactions had on the team’s WAR compared to 2012? And how will it evolve in 2013?

Let’s examine the situation, and for those of you wondering, I’ll be using Baseball Reference’s version of WAR to conduct my analysis.

2013 Rotation: Net Gain 0.5 WAR

RA Dickey and his 5.6 WAR is gone, as are Chris Young (0.7 WAR) and Mike Pelfrey (0.9 WAR). In all likelihood, Chris Schwinden and his -0.6 WAR won´t return either. So, overall, 6.6 in WAR have to be made up and accounted for – a daunting task indeed.

Newly acquired Shaun Marcum posted a 1.3 WAR in 2012 and a 2.9 WAR in 2011. Splitting the difference, let´s assume his 2013 WAR will  2.1 as one member of this rotation.

The rest will have to be made up in-house.

Matt Harvey posted a strong 1.6 WAR in one third of a season. Since I very much believe in him, let´s assume he doubles his 2012 totals (tripling it would seem a bit outlandish). So, there´s a 3.2 WAR and thus a gain of 1.6.

Jonathon Niese had a 3.2 WAR in 2012. Let´s assume he matches that again this season and doesn´t take a step forward. Thus,.no change.

Dillon Gee posted a 0.8 WAR in 2012 while missing almost half the season. Let´s say he´s 100% back and almost doubles his previous total to a 1.5 WAR in 2013.

That leaves Johan Santana and his 0.1 WAR for 2012.

Santana’s WAR through June would was closer to 2.0 prior to his collapse over his final ten outings of the season. Let´s assume, he pitches to a modest 1.0 WAR for half the season and then gets replaced by Zack Wheeler for the other half who does half as well as Matt Harvey did in his debut. Overall, we can expect a 1.8 WAR from both of them combined.

Finally, we have Collin McHugh who made a few starts and posted a -0.9 WAR in 2012, thanks to a couple of atrocious outings late in the year while due to fatigue. Let´s assume he performs at a 0.0 replacement level.

Taking all of that conservatively projected data into consideration along with the historical data leads us to this conclusion.

The Mets needed to make up for the loss of 6.6 in Wins Above replacement.

When you calculate Marcum’s 2.1 WAR, plus the net gains of Harvey (1.6 WAR), Gee (0.8 WAR), the 1.7 WAR we could get from the Santana and Wheeler combination, and McHugh (0.9 WAR), it results in a total net gain of 7.1 in WAR.

So, overall, the rotation gains half a win vs. 2012.

2013 Bullpen: Net Gain 4.5 WAR

The Mets had one of the worst bullpens in the league in 2012.

Frank Francisco – in an injury riddled season posted a – 0.7 WAR and now seems DL bound for an extended period of time. Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez and Tim Byrdak (due to injury) are all gone from the 2012 cast and overall they combined for a 0.0 WAR last season. Manny Acosta and his -1.2 WAR is headed to Japan. Miguel Batista and his -0.2 WAR will write his poems for the Braves in 2013.

Meanwhile, the Mets have brought in Brandon Lyon (1.2 WAR in 2012), RH Scott Atchison (1.7 WAR in 2012), Pedro Feliciano (0.0 due to missing the season), Aaron Laffey ( 0.2 WAR) and LaTroy Hawkins (- 0.1 WAR). I´ll assume only Lyon, Atchison and Feliciano land a spot and replace Rauch – Ramirez – Byrdak. Conservative as I am, I´ll pencil in Lyon & Atchison for half as good a season and Feliciano as neutral. Gain: 1.5

Acosta is replaced in-house by either Jeurys Familia or Greg Burke. Since I like the latter ones quite a bit, I´ll project them as a +0.8 WAR reliever combined. Gain: 2.0

Finally, Josh Edgin posted a – 0.1 WAR in 2012 in his brief debut. Blessed with a power arm, he does modestly decent and finishes with a 0.4 WAR overall. Gain: 0.5

FF returns at some point and remains a disappointment. But instead of – 0.7, only is a – 0.2 reliever in 2013. Gain: 0.5

Parnell repeats his 2012 season as the new Mets closer.

Adding everything up, the bullpen turns from atrocious to a solid average. Yet, an overall gain of 4.5 Wins.

2013 Infield: Net Gain 3.5 Wins

Most of the 2012 Infield is back. David Wright – Ruben Tejada – Daniel Murphy – Ike Davis combined for a 10.5 WAR in 2012 – in spite of Murphy learning a new position,  Ike being limited by valley fewer, Tejada missing an extended stretch of time, and Wright being almost unprotected in the lineup most of the season.

The average age of the four regular infielders entering 2013 is 26.5 and thus pretty close to the prime years for a baseball player. Let´s assume Wright regresses slightly from 6.7 to 4.5, however Tejada improves from 1.9 to 2.5 over a full season, Murphy´s defensive improvements over the 2nd half of the season last to bring his WAR up from 1.2 to 2.0 while Ike finally has the break-out we´ve all been expecting and plays defense like in 2011 and 2010 to post a 3.0 WAR vs. 0.7 in 2012. Overall, that´s a gain of 1.5 Wins from these 4 players.

The backup infielder Cedeno (+ 0.3) is replaced by Hicks (-0.1) or Quintanilla (+0.5). Splitting the difference, this remains unchanged.

At Catcher, Josh Thole (- 0.1) gets replaced by John Buck (0.4 WAR in 2012) for a gain of half a win.

Backups Mike Nickeas (-0.7) and Rob Johnson (-0.2) are replaced by Anthony Recker (0 WAR in 2012) and Rookie Travis D´Arnaud. Being very conservative, I´ll give the latter two a combined 2013 WAR of merely + 0.6. Still, overall, that´s a 1.5 WIN gain vs. the terrible 2012 backup combo.

Adding things up, the catching improves by 2 Wins, the Infield by 1.5 wins for a total of + 3.5 wins.

 2013 Outfield: Net Gain 3.0 Wins

Ah, the outfield. A collection of rejects and suspects that has lost Scott Hairston (+ 1.5) and Andres Torres (+ 1.2) and Jason Bay (- 1.3 WAR in 2012). Total loss: 1.4 WAR.

Among newcomers, Collin Cowgill (+ 0.3 in limited action in 2012) figures to double his AB for a total WAR of + 0.6. Marlon Byrd (- 0.5 in 2012 but 1.7 in 2011) and Andrew Brown (-0.1) are competing for a spot. Let´s assume, overall they post a 0.4 WAR, so the new guys combine for 1.0 WAR.

That leaves things up to returnees.

Lucas Duda combined disappointing offense and horrible defense in RF for a – 1.4 WAR in 2012. With an easier assignment in LF and a better offensive approach, he emerges as a modestly solid player to post a 0.6 WAR – for a 2 WAR gain overall.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had his ups & downs and finished with a 0 WAR in 2012. At age 25, he´s poised for modest improvements and an expected WAR of a conservative 1.4 – which is still below average for a CF but certainly realistic.

Finally, Mike Baxter and his 0.3 returns to RF. He probably is what he is and remains unchanged.

Still doing the math, the outfield gains 3.0 Wins overall and “improves” from atrocious to well below average in 2013.

Overall Net Gain 11.5 Wins

Now of course, it only February 26 and a couple of the players here may change for a myriad of reasons as Spring Training battles are waged in St. Lucie, but we have a good case here to believe the Mets as currently constructed can out produce what they did in 2012. Even with the key losses of R.A. Dickey and Scott Hairston.

All included, the 2013 Mets gain 11.5 wins vs. their 2012 counterparts. Please note that these projections do not include monster-breakouts for anyone. Just gradual improvements which you´d expect for generally young players and no crippling injuries.

Adding 11.5 wins to a total of 74 wins in 2012, you get to 85.5 wins. Not good enough to beat the Nationals for the division and probably behind the Braves as well. But certainly good enough to challenge the Phillies for 3rd place in the NL East and thus compete for the second Wild Card in the NL. And if players such as D´Arnaud, Wheeler, Ike or Duda really happen to break out in a big way, there´s upside for an even higher total. But let´s stop dreaming and “only” look at a glass that could be a lot closer to “half full” than people realize.

This has been due in part to injuries, but it has also been the product of the Mets organization’s unwillingness to deal with mediocrity.

Jack Egbert, the “power-hitting” Jeremy Hefner, Chris Schwinden, Rob Johnson, Omar Quintanilla, Jordany Valdespin, Vinny Rottino and even Kirk Nieuwenhuis all started the year in the minors and weren’t expected to be big-time contributors this season.

Especially in the bullpen, we have seen much turnover. That’s because the bullpen has been the team’s Achilles heel all season.

Manny Acosta

Michael Baron of MetsBlog reports that the Mets bullpen is 12-14 collectively this year and that this is way too many decisions for a bullpen through the first two months of the season. Too many times, the bullpen has blown a late lead, which resulted in either a late win or, more often, a loss.

Recently, D.J. Carrasco and Manny Acosta were designated for assignment after their abysmal performances. Though both were under contract, the Mets brass grew tired of their underachieving, especially Acosta, who showed flashes last season of being a capable reliever.

Ramon Ramirez appears to be next on the list if he can’t right the ship. Elvin Ramirez is heading to Flushing, and spring training sensation Josh Edgin may get the call soon.

Baseball is a “what have you done for me lately” business. If a player—especially a role player—struggles, there is usually someone waiting in the wings to take his place.

In the case of Ike Davis, the team has been patient, since Davis has shown in the past that he can provide pop in the middle of the order. But as Davis continues to struggle and Scott Hairston and Mike Baxter keep hitting, maybe Davis gets sent down and Lucas Duda plays first base.

I would much rather see the young players—and even the minor league veterans like Rob Johnson and Vinny Rottino—get a chance than see the same guys struggle all year.

The injury bug seems to be biting the Mets, but it’s not as bad as what the Phillies are going through, especially with the most recent injury to Roy Halladay. The Mets have a chance to pull away from the Phillies, despite losing two of three to Philadelphia this week.

Let’s see where this uncanny cast of characters can take us this summer. We are likely to see even more names, like Chris Young and Jenrry Mejia, join the big club at some point.

If everyone pulls their weight, we could be seeing the makings of an improbable playoff run forming before our eyes.

The 2012 New York Mets season has already seen its share of injuries, tough luck losses  and just outright poor, frustrating play. However, the positives in defeat, losses and watching players fail is you can determine what are your weaknesses as a team, and how can it be improved. So far, some hitting flaws have been exposed, some hitters have adapted better to new roles under the tutelage of Dave Hudgens while others have struggled to combine patience with a selective approach. Some bullpen pitchers have seen their stars fall, while others have capitalized on learning new pitches to help equalize the competition.

Ike Davis has come out of the gate, and been just about as bad as someone could have hoped. After yesterday’s game, Davis is hitting .170 with five home runs, 20 RBI and a 11/46 BB/K ratio. Ike has been getting killed on breaking balls, seeing less and less fastballs while swinging at more breaking balls on the outside corners and in the dirt. Defensively, Ike has been as stable but a few times it seems his struggles have come with him into the field.

The Verdict: The fans and possibly management itself overplayed how ready someone with just over 600 at-bats would adapt after a long lay-off. Ike has shown some signs of resurgence, but consistent ability to make quality contact has killed him. The BABIP will have to rise (.208) which is well below league-average.

Andres Torres went down on opening day with a flare-up of the calf injury that kept him out of the majority of the spring training games. While many Mets fans were prepared to see some combination of Hairston/Baxter/Bay patrolling center (yeah, looking back that was crazy), the Mets did something many fans wished they would, and called up Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Despite a major problem with striking out (53 on the season, tied for fifth with Cincinnati Reds CF Drew Stubbs), Kirk has managed to make his contact count, still hitting .288 with a .358 OBP and some solid, if not great center field defense. The performance merits playing time, but once Jason Bay returns, it will be interesting to see the utilization

The Verdict: Kirk was infact MLB ready, and the strikeouts are the only issue, but most expected him to have a high strikeout total. With better knowledge of how MLB umpires call games, Kirk will turn the strikeouts into walks and hits. While he may not be an All-Star, Captain Kirk is one of many reasons these Mets are six games over .500

Bobby Parnell, who has witnessed his stock and future role with the Mets waver every year came into the season expecting to be a situational righty,  especially with the additions of Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez and Frank Francisco. What he has become is the most consistent right-handed option in the bullpen who has finally learned to harness his stuff, as evidenced by his 3/21 BB/K ratio over the course of the young season. His ERA of  2.75 is only bested by Tim Byrdak’s 2.57, but Byrdak has been a machine himself. The knuckle-curve he learned from Jason Isringhausen seems to have made a difference, as hitters are forced to guess in any strikeout count: Will he throw me a fastball anywhere from 92-101, or paint a corner with an 83 MPH curve?

The Verdict: Parnell pitches much like a hitter hits – in streaks and stints. Parnell hasn’t really had any poor outings yet, and four of the six earned runs he’s allowed have come in two different outings. Bobby just may have figured out how to pitch now, and increased his value in the Mets bullpen drastically.

This isn’t to say there aren’t other stories to be spoken about such as the emergence of Mike Baxter as the best pinch-hitting option off the bench, Manny Acosta rendering himself incapable of getting out MLB hitters, Johan Santana returning to his old form or David Wright borrowing MJOLNIR from Thor to become one of the best hitters in the NL. It just means, when all things were assumed bad – there was an upside to it. Finding out what we thought we know wasn’t true, and finding out what we didn’t know was a lie.

An introduction is not necessary as the title does all of the justice. Statistically, he has faltered in every role this season, from set-up man to mop-up guy. Acosta has almost as many walks as innings pitched, allowed more runs then innings pitched and has allowed a run in 10 of his 18 games pitched. So, logical readers of MMO – why is the man still up north occupying a roster spot, and who could produce a better ERA than Mr. Acosta who is in our minor leagues? The answer is virtually anyone,  but focus will be placed on why he is here.

The 2012 Mets have shown they will endure the growing pains of the early season if players seem to show life, and sadly despite his horrible ERA, Acosta did not have too poor of a May, but nothing someone would write home about either. Acosta was marginal in 2010, great in the latter portion of 2011, and has been atrocious during the 2012 season all together. If yesterday’s outing wasn’t enough of a sign that Mr. Acosta hurts the team, he entered a 6-1 game, his offense gave him two more runs, and he promptly gave the Padres back three. Acosta cannot locate his pitches, and when they are in the zone they are belt-high and right in the middle of the plate. The man is a hard-throwing, batting practice pitcher this season.

Who can outdo Manny Acosta’s 10.80 ERA over 18 games that is in the Mets farm system? Realistically, anyone in the Buffalo bullpen, and quite possibly a few arms in the Binghamton pen could challenge for that same title. Realistically, the names that Mets fans may expect to hear being called up to the big show sooner than later are Joe D’s personal favorites, RHP Jack Egbert and RHP Elvin Ramirez. What happened to LHP Josh Edgin and RHP Fernando Cabrera, early season front-runners set to find their way to Flushing by June? Josh Edgin has had trouble keeping runners off the bases, but is still striking out a ton of batters. Edgin has been decent against lefties with a 4/9 BB/K and 1 ER against lefties in 5.1 innings, but 3/7 BB/K and 7 ER in 9.1 Innings against righties. Fernando Cabrera has allowed two runs each in four of his last six outings, while struggling with his control.

RHP Jack Egbert has done nothing but pitch to contact, limit the walks and when needed turn it up to get his strikeouts. Egbert has allowed three runs and one walk in May, an amazing feat. Elvin Ramirez, who was returned to the Mets after the Nationals took him in the 2011 Rule 5 draft, has been aces since his promotion to Buffalo. When I mean aces, the man has an ERA of 0.00, allowing 3 hits and one walk in 10.2 innings, striking out twelve. What makes this even more amazing? He walked his first batter yesterday. Ramirez has been lights out so far, and has the power stuff required to thrive in a bullpen.

Robert Carson is still up with the big club, but it seems unlikely that Terry Collins would rather keep an unproven lefty with a heavy platoon-split in his MiLB career as opposed to a righty who can get ground ball outs and who doesn’t pitch too poorly against a lefty.

So why, oh why, is Manny Acosta still here? If I was a gambling man, I would bet it was to allow Elvin Ramirez to get some more innings under his belt coming off of a 2011 arm injury. With this last poor outing, however it seems more and more likely that a new arm will be joining the bullpen before the weekend

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

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

Honorable Mentions

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

Mike Baxter

Lucas Duda

Miguel Batista (Now on DL)

Tim Byrdak

Rob Johnson (Catcher in Relief)

Not So Hot

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

Manny Acosta

Jon Niese

Jon Rauch

Dillon Gee

Mike Nickeas

Andres Torres

Ike Davis

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

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

1. David Wright – 3

T2. Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1

T2. Johan Santana – 1

T2. Andres Torres – 1

Trivia

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

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

And the Mets still lost.

After Nieuwenhuis started a two-run inning for the Mets in the fourth inning with a single, Niese continued to pitch shutout ball before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.  Ramon Ramirez relieved Niese hoping to protect the lead.

Triple.

Home run.

Game tied at 2.

The Mets regrouped as they have been wont to do during the first month and a half of the season.  Against Marlins’ closer Heath Bell in the ninth, the Mets got a one-out double from Daniel Murphy, Doubles Machine.  Two walks later (including an intentional walk to Mike Baxter, who carried a .438 batting average as a pinch-hitter into the at-bat), Justin Turner whacked a double to right to score two runs.  Then Frank Francisco came into the game to save it and give the Mets a series victory.

Triple.

Walk.

Single.

Hit the showers, Frank.

Stop sniffing yourself, Frank. We all know you stink.

That was all for Armando Benitez-lite.  Frank Francisco was removed from the game by manager Terry Collins, but not before he stopped by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor to wish his mother a Happy Mother’s Day.  (At least I thought I heard him say something about Tichenor’s mother.)  Manny Acosta was summoned into the game to stop the bleeding but was “Acosta-ed” by the Marlins.

Sacrifice fly.

Tie game.

Pop out.  (I guess you can’t put ‘em all on base.)

Walk.

Hit by pitch.

Giancarlo Stanton.

Say hello to my little friend.

The Mets will now retreat to Citi Field after a 4-2 road trip against the Phillies and Marlins.  If you had asked me before the season started that the Mets would win four out of six against the two teams expected to compete for the NL East title, I would have been thrilled.  But I’m not.

I’m mad.

Very mad.

Smoke coming out of my ears mad.

Paul LoDuca mad.

Paul LoDuca SMASH!!

Something has to be done about the bullpen situation.  Sandy Alderson did not have much money to work with during the off-season.  But what money he had, he used to upgrade the bullpen.  That “upgrade”  has now had a part in several late-inning meltdowns.

Both losses to the Marlins this weekend were charged to Frank Francisco.  Prior to Friday night’s loss, the Mets’ last loss was a 5-4 setback to Arizona on May 4.  That game was lost by Jon Rauch, who allowed three hits, two inherited base runners to score and a run of his own.  What about Ramon Ramirez?  He’s allowed 31 base runners (21 hits, 10 walks) in only 19⅓ innings.

Even a certain holdover, wearing Oliver Perez’s old No. 46, has pitched like dookie.  (And I’m not talking about Orlando “The Dookie” Hernandez, although I think he’d have better success right now than the current members of the Gasoline Brigade.)  Including Sunday’s series finale, Manny Acosta has faced 85 batters this year.  Almost half of them (36) have reached base.  Four of them reached base and then continued running around them.  That includes Giancarlo Stanton, who touched Acosta for a game-ending grand slam.

The Mets have done quite well so far.  That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t play angry after games like this.  There should be 25 mad men in the dugout on Monday against Milwaukee.  They should let it be known to each other that losses like this will no longer be tolerated.  The bullpen must improve.  The team must improve.  They’re better than that.  And they should know it.

Dillon Gee struggled through his outing today, but the Mets would put across nine of the ten runs they scored after the sixth inning, and the Mets walked out of Philly with a three-game sweep, winning today 10-6.

Game Recap

Dillon Gee had a mixed outing today, giving up four runs on ten hits, while striking out four. Gee was leaving most of his pitches over the plate, and he was paying for it. The most surprising fact about Gee’s outing – all of the RBI’s he gave up were from the eighth and ninth hitter. If you can’t get out the lower portion of the order, but can the top maybe you are taking too much off.

Tim Byrdak came out for a third, and got the Mets out of the sixth and nabbed the win thanks to his effort in the seventh while the offense was rallying. Manny Acosta came on for the seventh and gave up one hit while striking out one batter. Jon Rauch would come out to essentially mop up the game, and would allow a run on two hits, striking out one. Rauch will live or die by contact, as he has struck out six batters in 14 innings. D.J. Carrasco received his first work in mop-up duty, and gave up one run on two hits, striking out one in his inning of work.

The Mets offense today was struggling early on, with a Daniel Murphy RBI double in the first and a David Wright RBI single in the sixth being the only runs the Mets would push across the plate off of Cliff Lee, fresh off a DL stint and on a pitch-limit. However, once Lee left is when the game, as most games in this series have blown open. The Mets would push across three in the seventh to get into the lead on a Justin Turner RBI double, a Lucas Duda HBP and an Andres Torres RBI groundout. The eighth inning would be much of the same, with David Wright scoring on an RBI double by Scott Hairston, and the hibernating Ike Davis obliterating a three-run home run off the facade in RF to give the Mets a 9-4 lead at the time. Andres Torres, now in a 9-5 game belted a solo shot, the first of his Mets career.

Game Notes

- Five Mets had two hits, which is always a good sign for life in an offense.

- Vinny Rottino was 0-2 with 2 strikeouts. Why would Rottino survive the cut expected on Friday for Ronny Cedeno being 0 for 5 on the season, but Valdespin would be sent down?

- Ike Davis appears to have broken out of his slump possibly, going 2 for 4 with a HR, three RBI, two runs and a strikeout. The most positive thing about Ike is seeing him be aggressive on pitches in the zone, and spitting on breaking balls that are in the dirt.

- Andres Torres continues his hot hitting since his return from the DL, going 2 for 4 with a HR, a walk, two RBI and two runs. Also made a great catch in the first to get Dillon Gee out of a jam.

Player Of The Game

For the sole purpose of this being the first game where he has looked like his former self, Ike Davis. It takes a good day against a good team to jump start some people, and he has grinded to hopefully see the light. Lets keep it up, Ike.

On Deck

After the sweep in Philly, the Mets will have Thursday off and travel to Miami to face the Marlins at 7:10 P.M. Johan Santana will face off against lefty Mark Buerhle.

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?

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

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

Despite not having any wins this week between his two starts, the Mets won both games. Santana had an absolutely stellar start Tuesday against the Marlins, holding them to 1 run through 6.2 innings, striking out 11. Yesterday, the Mets finally scored with him on the mound, spotting him a 4-0 lead, which he left with, but the bullpen blew the lead and he wound up with two non-decisions this week.

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.

David Wright

Lucas Duda

Ruben Tejada

Not So Hot

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

Ike Davis

Frank Francisco

Manny Acosta

Miguel Batista

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.

T1. David Wright – 1

T1. Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1

T1. Johan Santana – 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: Pittsburgh Pirates. Alex68 was the first person to correctly answer the question. So here is this week’s question:

What Met was traded for himself?

R.A. Dickey was lights out, the Mets offense managed to score some runs late, and #5 David Wright became the Mets all-time leader in RBI’s in their 5-1 win, ensuring a series victory against the Marlins.

Recap

R.A. Dickey came out today and had his best outing of the season, going seven innings allowing one run on three hits, walking one and striking out seven. Dickey’s only run allowed was on a home run to Omar Infante, but outside of that he was spectacular. Not only was R.A. pitching great, but he made a few great defensive plays that helped assure he could hold the lead. The movement on his pitch was great, as was his control.

Jon Rauch came out to pitch the eighth inning, and gave up a single to Jose Reyes, but that was between two outs. Bobby Parnell was brought out to pitch to Hanley Ramirez, and struck him out looking. Tim Byrdak & Manny Acosta split the ninth after the Mets added three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Byrdak gave up a hit to the only batter he faced. Manny Acosta struck out Giancarlo Stanton, gave up an infield single to Omar Infante and then got a double-play to end the game.

The Mets offense saw another pitcher who was dealing today, and they did their best job at scattering five hits off of Buehrle, but none was bigger then the David Wright two-run homer that moved him into sole possession of first place on the Mets all time list. Lucas Duda drove in an insurance run in the eighth with a single that was misplayed by Giancarlo Stanton, and Mike Baxter drove in two more with an opposite field double.

The Mets, despite fielding a primarily lefty lineup got four of their seven hits from the left side of the plate, which shows that they can have success against the guys who throw with the wrong hand. The Marlins had good control, so two walks were earned today, one intentional to Wright and one unintentional to Scott Hairston

Notes

- Ike Davis had an 0-4 performance, dropping his average to .123. If there is any bright spot to this, Ike hit a ball off Buerhle to right-center pretty far in his second to last AB, and smoked a ball to center in his last AB.

- Kirk Nieuwenhuis & Ruben Tejada, batting 1 & 2 – went 1 for 7 with three strikeouts.

- David Wright made his first error of the year, and it wasn’t of the throwing variety.

- Something You Don’t See Every Day: Josh Thole, after catching strike three for the third out of the eighth, went to throw out Jose Reyes who was going on the pitch. The ball sailed into center, but I guess it is better Josh is prepared.

Today’s Hero

R.A. Dickey takes the cake today, with easily his best outing of the season. Only allowing four baserunners in seven innings is great, and striking out seven to boot doesn’t hurt. Honorable mention to David Wright on becoming the Mets RBI leader.

On Deck

The Mets will look to sweep the series on Thursday in a day game, sending Jonathon Niese to the mound as he faces off against the Marlins and their starter, Ricky Nolasco. Game time is 1:10 P.M.

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.

Miguel Batista had another good outing spoiled by a blown save, but Nick Evans had a huge day in the Mets 7-4 win.

Game Notes

Miguel Batista took the mound, and pitched another surprising game, but was not as sharp as his last outing. Batista went six innings, allowing one run on five hits, walking four and striking out three. Batista wasn’t hit hard, but he had Marlins batters chasing bad pitches consistently. While some Mets fans are upset Batista is taking away starts from prospects, Batista may have a chance to be a useful bullpen piece next year, at an inexpensive price.

The bullpen today was solid, but Manny Acosta was charged with an unearned run after another Angel Pagan misplay in the outfield allowed the runner to advance to second on a single. Acosta still got out of the inning without much damage, but it was to be expected. Jason Isringhausen came in for the eighth inning, and exhibited absolutely no control, walking three batters and consistently falling behind. However, when needed Izzy struck out Jose Lopez with the bases loaded, and struck out Emilio Bonafacio to end the inning. Bobby Parnell blew another save, giving up a two run double in the ninth. Tim Byrdak & Pedro Beato combined for two scoreless innings, and Josh Stinson nailed down his first MLB save in the 12th inning.

The offense today was quiet, but did manage to get hits when it was needed. Justin Turner hit an RBI single in the fifth, Nick Evans an RBI single in the sixth and was thrown out trying to advance to second, and Evans yet again in the eighth with an RBI single. In a bit of insurance, Angel Pagan hit a double right off the first base bag, scoring Jose Reyes and moving David Wright to third. The Mets rallied in the 12th inning, thanks to RBI singles by Nick Evans & Jose Reyes, and a bases-loaded walk by Lucas Duda.

Jose Reyes – 3 for 6 with a walk, an RBI and a strikeout and a strikeout. Jose has struggled since his return from the DL.

Justin Turner – 3 for 4 with two walks and an RBI. Any production right now is good, because he is playing for next year.

David Wright – 0 for 6 with two strikeouts and an intentional walk. Rough game for David, not many of these since return from DL.

Turning Point

The 12th inning comeback, showing the offense hadn’t died

Game Ball

Nick Evans – 3 for 6 with three RB, a walkI and a good play on a ball to force the runner at second on a bunt. Nick has been hot as of late, and as most Mets prospects is playing for a spot on the team next year.

On Deck

The Mets will finish the series against the Mets, sending R.A. Dickey to the mound against rookie Brad Hand of the Marlins. Game time is 5:10 P.M.

R.A. Dickey pitched a strong seven innings, but the bullpen combined to give up four runs in the last two innings in their 6-2 loss to the Brewers.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey looked great today, and had another quality outing. Dickey went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking none and striking out four. Dickey would’ve gone more innings if not for the Brewers manager walking Ruben Tejada in the bottom of the seventh to force Terry Collins to bring in a pinch hitter.

The bullpen failed horribly for the second day in a row, with Manny Acosta, Tim Byrdak, Jason Isringhausen and Pedro Beato combining to allow another four runs. The bullpen has been god awful, and it can only get better hopefully. Not one arm has been able to shut things down or stop the bleeding.

The bats didn’t do much today, outside of two big hits that were back-to-back, a Lucas Duda two-run blast to the deepest part of the park and a Jason Bay double to LF that was two-feet short of being a home run, and would’ve been out in any other park. Another weak offensive day, with six total hits and only one walk.

Angel Pagan – 2 for 4. Angel has been hitting much better, but over-ran a ball in the fifth and missed a catch.

Lucas Duda – 1 for 4 with a two-run homer. Oh, three strikeouts too. Great way to break up the golden sombrero.

Thoughts

Justin Turner continues to struggle defensively, making an extremely poor throw that cost the Mets two outs, and prolonged the inning.

Ryan Braun stole two bases, and neither throw by Josh Thole was accurate or strong.

Turning Point

Making Terry Collins play for the win in the seventh and pulling his extremely effective starter.

Game Ball

R.A. Dickey, the victim of poor run support/bad luck. Great outing, usual expected outcome. R.A. Dickey is the best 5-11 pitcher in the MLB.

On Deck

The Mets will travel to Philly to face off against Cliff Lee and the Phillies. Dillon Gee will take the mound and game time is 7:05 P.M.

Dillon Gee pitched a great game and the offense didn’t manage many hits, but a big David Wright hit ensured the 7-3 Mets win.

Game Notes

Dillon Gee was in control both figuratively and literally up until the seventh inning, after being hit on the right knee in an at-bat the inning before. Gee went six and two-third innings, allowing one run on five hits, walking four and striking out five. Two of the hits Gee gave up on the night came in the seventh. By Gee’s recent standards, this was an outstanding game and its good to see a productive outing from Dillon Gee

The bullpen today was stable, with Tim Byrdak coming in to face a righty and walking him. Manny Acosta came in with the bases loaded and struck out Jason Bartlett on a 96 MPH fastball. Bobby Parnell pitched a quality eighth, striking out one and allowing no hits or walks. Ryota Igarashi came out, and did his usual routine of being wild, then allowing a hit and two runs to score, and then striking out Jasn Bartlett to end the game

Both offenses overall struggled, but that didn’t matter since David Wright decided today was a good day for the long-ball, sending a three-run homer to LF in the third. Ruben Tejada scored on an Angel Pagan RBI groundout in the seventh. The Mets had an offensive outburst in the eighth inning fueled by walks and scored two runs on an Angel Pagan two-RBI single and another run on a Willie Harris RBI single. The offense did come alive, and finally got through to the Padres relievers who have been worked hard this entire series.

Jason Bay – 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and a walk. Currently in an 0 for 19 streak.

Jason Pridie – 0 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts. Pridie hasn’t hit much and I imagine he’s up here as the defensive outfielder, with Harris being the pinch-hitting option.

Turning Point

Getting out of the seventh inning only allowing one run. Kudos to the bullpen for holding when needed.

Game Ball

Dillon Gee/David Wright. Big game pitched for a needed series win after the sweep at the hands of Arizona. David Wright had a key hit, and its always good to see David hit the ball with authority either pull or opposite way

On Deck

The Mets have off tomorrow as they travel back to New York to face the Brewers on August 19th (my birthday, coincidentally). Mike Pelfrey will face off against Shawn Marcum. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Dillon Gee had a shaky start, and Bobby Parnell blew the game in the eighth inning as the Mets lost 5-4 to the Marlins.

Game Notes

Dillon Gee had a rough outing, giving up three runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out three. It took Gee 96 pitches to get through five innings, and he consistently found himself in trouble. The Marlins were being patient, and making Gee work to even get outs. This doesn’t appear to be a step-backwards, but it is slightly disheartening.

Manny Acosta came out today, and looked the best he has all year pitching two clean innings while striking out three. The goat on the day is Mr. Bobby Parnell, who managed to both let the game get tied, and then lose it in the same inning. Parnell allowed a home run to Logan Morrison, and then an RBI double to John Buck. Parnell gave up two runs on three hits, striking out one.

The offense today existed in spurts and bunches, and a Carlos Beltran sacrifice fly in the first was all of the Mets scoring until the sixth inning. Jason Bay had an RBI single to bring the Mets within one run. David Wright who has looked like the old David Wright at the plate at least, sent a ball into left field for a two-run home run.

Reyes & Turner – 3 for 10 with five strikeouts and one run. Reyes who has been THE most difficult batter to strike out, K’d twice. Both Reyes and Turner struck out to end the game.

Pagan – 0 for 2 and left the game due to dehydration. Was replaced by Jason Pridie.

Turning Point

Bobby Parnell’s inability to hold the lead in the eighth.

Game Ball

David Wright – 3 for 4 with two runs, two RBI, a home run and a strikeout. Good offensive day.

On Deck

The Mets will look to rebound from today’s tough loss and will go to Cincinnati to begin a series against the Reds. R.A. Dickey will take the mound against Reds starter Mike Leake. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Jonathon Niese had a good outing, but two errors in the fifth inning lead to two unearned runs, and the Mets offense struggled today in its 6-2 loss to the Cardinals

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese pitched a good game, but his pitching line will not show that. Jonathon went six innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on five hits, walking one while striking out seven and giving up a two-run HR to Albert Pujols in the first. Niese was victimized by poor defensive plays in the fifth, because outside of the HR, he only allowed one other run. The defensive struggles of Lucas Duda and Angel Pagan have been evident for the last few weeks, with Pagan struggling to field balls cleanly and Lucas Duda struggling at first base.

The bullpen today was essentially mop-up, with D.J. Carrasco pitching two clean innings, striking out one. Manny Acosta came out for the first time in five days, and gave up one run on two hits walking one and striking out one. Hopefully, this was rust and not his usual #AcostalypseNow routine

The bats today were fairly quiet, and the only run scoring hits were a Justin Turner RBI groundout scoring Jose Reyes and a Jason Pridie RBI single scoring Lucas Duda. Other then those hits, not much damage was managed against Jake Westbrook, who gave up four hits and walked one in eight.

Reyes, Turner, Beltran – 2 for 11 with an RBI, a walk and two strikeouts. As the top of the lineup goes, so do the Mets.

Lucas Duda – 2 for 3 with a run, but that big error in the fifth could have been inning-ending.

Turning Point

The aforementioned Duda play. Ends the inning, game is 3-1.

Game Ball

Carlos Beltran, not based on his day at the plate, but because there is a pretty good chance this was his last game at Citi Field. Carlos, you were maddening sometimes, injury prone and probably slightly overpaid, but when you performed, you turned in huge seasons. You will be missed

On Deck

Tommorrow, the Mets will begin a big road trip in Florida, and will see the return of David Wright at third base. Mike Pelfrey will face off against fellow maddening sinkerballer Chris Volstard and the Marlins. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Dillon Gee was hit hard in five and two-third innings and the Mets offense struggled in the 6-0 loss to the Dodgers.

Game Notes

Dillon Gee went to the mound today, went pitch-for-pitch with Clayton Kershaw and then fell apart in the sixth. Gee’s final line will read six runs (five earned) on five hits in five and two-third innings, walking one and striking out two. Gee was handling the Dodgers, until the sixth when he continued to give up hit after hit. It is difficult to explain how he unraveled so quickly, but a single, SB and then error on the throw, allowing Tony Gwynn Jr. to advance to third couldn’t have hurt.

Manny Acosta came out and promptly gave up an RBI triple to Dioner Navarro, but the run was charged to Gee. Acosta’s final line would be one and one-third, two hits, one walk and three strikeouts. The line doesn’t really express the trouble he got himself into and then out of. Izzy came out for a clean inning.

Kershaw was dealing, so the Mets didn’t really put much offense together. Six baserunners in eight innings, no extra base hits. Pagan managed a steal in the first, but thats about the most interesting offensive thing to happen today. The biggest threat was in the eighth, and even that was two singles and a walk.

Pagan – 2 for 4 with an SB and took a bad route on a ball that made it passed him in the inning Gee exploded.

Turning Point

Gee’s explosion in the sixth inning really put the game out of reach.

Game Ball

Flat game today, nobody really deserves a game ball.

Random Thoughts

Nick Evans came into the game 0-12 with six strikeouts and five walks. In Triple-A? Evans was mashing. Now? 0-15 with EIGHT strikeouts and five walks.

Ronny Paulino hit cleanup for the fourth time this year, and was hit – literally. Also, struck out in a key spot, against Kershaw with the bases loaded in the eighth.

The umpire blew a call in the second inning when Juan Uribe was called safe at home. Replays showed he was obviously tagged out prior to touching home, but Greg Gibson of yesterdays 1st base infamy returned to cause more chaos.

Ruben Tejada stole a base. Unfortunately, it was third base, with two outs, down by six, in the eighth inning. Inexplicable.

On Deck

The Mets will continue their West Coast swing, facing off against All-Star Ryan Vogelsong and the San Francisco Giants, sending R.A. Dickey to the mound even with the strained glute. Game time is 10:15 P.M.

To read my thoughts during this game or other Mets news, follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny

Mike Pelfrey was hit hard early, but stabilized and Manny Acosta made sure the game was out of reach in the Mets 8-1 loss to the Rangers

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey went six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out three. Big Pelf gave up three of those runs in the first inning, and after that seemed to get his bearings and keep the Rangers to one run over the next five innings. As noticed, Pelfrey has allowed more HR this season then he has all last season, as evidenced by his love affair with his four-seam fastball. While this isn’t a horrible Pelfrey outing, giving up three in the first inning is a bit demoralizing.

Manny Acosta came out, decided that he likes allowing XBH to righties, specifically doubles and then home-runs to light-hitting utility men. Acosta went one and two-third innings, allowing four runs on five hits walking two and striking out one giving up two home runs. Acosta, for the most part has been atrocious this year. He has allowed more runs than innings pitched, and more hits while only striking out four. A trip to Buffalo seems in the cards, maybe upon the return of Taylor Buccholz. D.J. Carrasco got the last out of the eighth.

The offense was stifled by Matt Harrison, consistently struggling to make solid contact. Their only run was scored when Ronny Paulino doubled, advanced to third on a Daniel Murphy IF single and then scored on a Ruben Tejada single to center.

Jose Reyes – 0 for 3 with a walk. Grounded into a DP on a laser beam that Adrian Beltre ate up. Jose is beginning to hit the ball into the air a lot more, and that is when trouble ensues.

Scott Hairston – 0 for 3 – two fly outs (barely leaving the infield) and a tailor-made GIDP. With the Mets carrying six OF’s (Pridie, Pagan, Bay, Beltran, Harris, Hairston) how much longer until Hairston gets the axe?

Turning Point

Manny Acosta doing his best impersonation of a bad pitcher. Or, himself. Either/Or.

Game Ball

Jason Bay – 3 for 4 with a strikeout. They may be singles, but contact is contact. At some point, these singles may become doubles. Baby steps.

On Deck

The Mets will head into tomorrow to face Rangers righty Alexi Ogando and will send out Jon Niese. Game time is 4:10 PM. In other notes, I wonder how the Mets will respond to the intense Texas hit in the middle of the day.

BUFFALO 4, SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE 0: Jenrry Mejia tossed six scoreless innings helping the Buffalo Bisons win its second straight game. Mejia (1-0) struck out five batters and walked three while rendering three hits. Manny Acosta pitched a scoreless ninth inning and gave up one hit. Jason Pridie and Justin Turner each collected three hits. Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, and Pride each had an RBI. The Bisons scored three runs in the sixth inning. BOX SCORE

BINGHAMTON –, ERIE –: Postponed.

ST. LUCIE 5, FORT MYERS 3: The St. Lucie Mets improved to 6-1 this season after a 5-3 win over Fort Meyers Wednesday afternoon. Mets 21-year-old pitching prospect Jeurys Familia started for the A-Mets, going six innings, striking out six and walking two batters. Familia gave up one earned run. Brandon Sage earned the win for the Mets — he threw 1.1 scoreless innings. In a tie game, St. Lucie scored two runs in the top of the ninth. Pedro Zapata began the inning with a single and Wilmer Flores later drove in a run on a single to right field. Matt Den Dekker finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Flores also went 2-for-5 and added two RBIs. BOX SCORE

Compiled from team reports.

Email Andrew O’Brien at aobrien7@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @aobrien7