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…

In 31 plate appearances so far this season, Buck is batting .393/.387/.464 with four home runs and an NL leading 14 RBIs in eight games.

Buck did not hit his fourth home run of the year last year until May 13 (25 games) and did not drive in his 14th run of the season until June 24 (50 games).

He is the first Mets player with four home runs in the team’s first eight games of season since Mike Piazza in 2001.

I tossed the following question out on Twitter and what follows are a few of the many responses.

Some Met fans are excited about Buck because it keeps the Mets in contention. Others are excited because we can trade him at deadline and get more for him if he keeps this up. Where do you stand?

@metsmerized I love what he brings to the young pitching staff. I think that’s valuable then what we could receive in trade at the deadline.

— Ben Yoel (@Ben_Yoel) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized trade, he keeps it up they could get a nice return

— Bosco (@bosco86) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized He’s without a doubt a deadline trade

— Michael C DeLuca (@MiaFins1) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized Dam ngood question. Think I’m the latter, hoping that if they are in contention d’Arnaud can keep them there.

— E.J. (@TheHappyRecap) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized The only answer to this question is . . . both.It all denoends on timing and circumstance.

— Scott M. Dolan (@ScottMDolan) April 10, 2013

@metsmerized keep buck and sign him. Good 1-2 punch behind the plate; maybe Buck can play 1st against lefties when d’arnaud arrives

— anthonynap (@anthonynap) April 10, 2013

Damn… What the Buck will the Mets do….

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

Pedro Beato had a rough game last night for Buffalo.

On a night when Wally Backman had only relief pitchers available, he had a tough task available. As expected from a team with a reliever starting a game, things didn’t go so well with the Bisons losing 10-4 to the SWB Yankees.

It was Pedro Beato who got the “start” for Buffalo. The majority of Beato’s appearances this season have lasted two innings or more, often taking upwards of 40 pitches, but not much more than that. He was really the closest thing the Bisonss have to a long man, especially with Garrett Olson and others on the big league club. However, despite dominating Triple-A this season, Beato struggled against the Yankees. Beato gave up a leadoff home run to Chris Dickerson, immediately giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Bisons would fight back in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead on a two-run home run by Josh Satin.

In the bottom of the second, Mike Nickeas knocked in a run with an RBI-single to extend Buffalo’s lead to 3-1 after Beato had pitched a scoreless second. However, when he stepped back onto the mound the next inning, it got ugly.

The Yankees staged a rally with no outs in the inning. Eduardo Nunez drove in two runs with an RBI-single, tying the game at three and knocking Pedro Beato out of the game. In came Elvin Ramirez, who would allow a run to score on a ground ball, handing a lead to the Yankees that they wouldn’t relinquish.

From that point on, the Yankees simply overmatched the Buffalo bullpen, scoring six more runs. On the other side, despite a few early runs, the Bisons only scored one more run against Ramon Ortiz. For the Busons, Elvin Ramirez, Robert arson, Scott Patterson, and Justin Hampson all gave up runs, leading to an eventual rout and a 10-4 final score.

Herd Rumblings: A few notes significant to the big league bullpen came out of this game. C.J. Nitkowski made his third appearance with the Bisons, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames. He has allowed one run in 8.1 innings between Binghamton and Buffalo. Scott Patterson, another recent signee,allowed two runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. On offense, Josh Satin had the home run and was 1-for-3 with a walk. Matt den Dekker was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Zach Lutz and Mike Nickeas each drove in a run. Jenrry Mejia will get the start today against the Yankees. First pitch is at 7:05.

Jeurys Familia struggled again last night for the Bisons.

On a night when Jeurys Familia was struggling, the Bisons offense overcame an early deficit and powered past the Syracuse Chiefs last night by a score of 13-7.

It seemed as though Familia had started to turn it around last month, pitching three stellar games in a row towards the middle of the month. However, in his last two starts before last night, Familia had allowed a total of ten earned runs in 7.2 innings pitched. He continued to struggle last night as well.

The night started off pretty well for Familia, as he tossed a perfect first inning. However, it proved to only be the calm before the storm. After the Bisons took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run by Lucas Duda, the Chiefs struck in the top of the second. Familia allowed two hits, two walks, and a sacrifice bunt in the inning, allowing the Chiefs to jump ahead 3-2. That wasn’t the end for Familia’s struggles. He allowed two solo home runs in the top of the third before finally being taken out of the game. He left after throwing just 2.2 innings and allowing five runs on five hits and three walks. When he exited, the Chiefs were leading 5-2, and it would only get crazier from there.

In the bottom of the third, the Bisons tried re-take the lead with a huge rally of their own. Fred Lewis singled up the middle to lead off the inning. A few batter later with Lucas Duda and Lewis on base, Lutz drove Duda in with an RBI-single, cutting the Syracuse lead to 5-3. The next batter, Josh Satin, rocked a three-run home run to cap off a huge inning for the Bisons, grabbing a 6-5 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bisons pulled away, extending their lead with three more runs. Zach Lutz and Josh Satin both came up big again, this time with doubles.

With a big lead in hand, it was smooth sailing for Buffalo the rest of the way. They tacked on two more runs in the seventh and eighth innings, including one on a two-run homer from Mike Nickeas. That sealed the deal for the Bisons, who would win 13-7.

Herd Rumblings: A big story in last night’s game was the injury to Kirk Nieuwenhuis. He reportedly tore the plantar fascia in his foot and will be examined by team doctors on Saturday. He has not been placed on the disabled list yet, however. R.A. Dickey suffered a partially torn plantar fascia last May, but didn’t miss a start… Jeurys Familia has gone a total of 10.1 innings over his past three starts, allowing a total of 15 earned runs. He has also struck out only six batter over his last three starts after striking out nine in a brilliant start on July 18, when he tossed eight innings of one-run baseball against Toledo. While Familia struggled, the offense had quite a day. Zach Lutz was 3-for-4 with three RBI. Josh Satin was 4-for-5 with four RBI. Lucas Duda and Mike Nickeas also had two-RBI nights. Jenrry Mejia (1-2, 3.57 ERA) will make the start for Buffalo tomorrow against the Chiefs. First pitch is at 7:05.

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?

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.

The third September call-up will join the Mets here on Thursday. His name is Mike Nickeas. He is a 27-year-old catcher who began the year in Double A.

To make room for Nickeas on the 40-man roster, the team transferred John Maine to the 60-day disabled list. Maine underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in July.

He is likely to be non-tendered at season’s end.

Nickeas will provide some insurance for starter Josh Thole and backup Henry Blanco. He was batting .279 with Binghamton and Buffalo this season.