However, last night’s USA-Puerto Rico elimination match was compelling, far more interesting than your average Mets-Marlins spring training game. That interest was generated by the passion in the stands. The WBC means more in terms of national pride to the teams and fans in Asia and Latin America than to the United States.

Puerto Rico is now in the international sports spotlight. The American players who are always in the spotlight can now return to their major league teams and big contracts.Nationalism represented some of the motivational fuel for Nelson Figueroa, a journeyman pitcher who has toiled for six teams in parts of nine years – including the Mets – but pitched like a star last night in sending the United States home for the third straight time.

Figueroa was special, doing what he used to do at times with the Mets, which was burn innings. But, last nigh he gave Puerto Rico six shutout innings in his 80-pitch allotment. Working both sides of the plate effectively with everything but an electric fastball, he gave US hitters nothing to hit.

Putting on a show was the rest of his motivational fuel.

“We were supreme underdogs against that lineup,’’ Figueroa told reporters. “It was motivation to show them what kind of pitcher I was.’’

Maybe he showed what kind of pitcher he can be to somebody with the power to make a decision on his career as so many other have done.

Figueroa was signed by Arizona to a minor league contract as organizational depth in December. If Figueroa were higher on the pitching food chain, but not good enough to be a given, he might have been better off in spring training.

However, in this case, showing what he could do against major league hitters should count for more points than a couple of innings against the Dodgers minor leaguers.

Sometime this year, the Diamondbacks or somebody else, will have a sudden need for an arm and think back at how Figueroa toyed with the US lineup.

Figueroa is not flashy. He does not have a great fastball or singular dominant pitch. What he has is command of the corners and guile. When both are on he’s tough to beat.

“I don’t throw very hard, but I pitch inside,’’ Figueroa said, giving us his personal scouting report. “It was a great exhibition of what can be done without a plus fastball. It was an opportunity to demonstrate that good pitching beats good hitting.’’

That’s the way it always has been and always will be. From a fundamental perspective, that’s baseball’s essence. From a human perspective, Figueroa is also the essence of the sport.

History has given us far more Figueroas in the game than Matt Harveys or Stephen Strasburgs. Harvey and Strasburg have power potential and will always get a shot. Things must break right for Figueroa to get his.

Figueroa has bounced around the globe in search of a job, last pitching in the major leagues with Houston in 2011. He’s been with the Phillies. Toronto and the Yankees released him without his cup of coffee. He has pitched in the winter leagues, for Mexico, for just about anybody who would give him the ball and a few dollars.

Figueroa pitches because that’s what he does. The sport is in his blood, rushing through his veins and consuming his soul. Until he’s physically unable, or run out of teams, Figueroa will pitch. It is players like him, perhaps even more than players like Justin Verlander, as the reason we watch.

Verlander is elite. Figueroa is more like us, who once dreamed of the big leagues. However, unlike us, he persevered through rough times, rejection and defeat to get the taste we will never.

The Phillies designated pitcher Nelson Figueroa for assignment to make room for Brad Lidge, tweets MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.  Figueroa, 36, was claimed off waivers from the Mets on April 7th and tallied nine games for the Phils.

Last year for the Mets Figueroa compiled a 4.09 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 70.3 innings.  Figueroa has spent most of his second career Phillies stint in the bullpen, and the strikeouts disappeared.

Is this coincidence, or did the Mets have some sort of foresight into the situation?

I don’t wish the downfall of the man, but Figueroa going to the Phillies is like dating your ex-girlfriend’s best friend just for spite.

I guess you can go to Japan now Figgy.

I was never sold on John Maine after seeing him in spring training.  He’s recently had a few positive starts, though those were against weak hitting NL teams and at the friendly confines of Citifield when the Mets were hot.  It’s a mystery as to why John was striking so many guys out with an 87 MPH fastball which he was throwing 90% of the time.  Now his good fortune has disappeared.  He’s walking guys and giving up home runs.

Jon Niese is injured and probably will go on the disabled list with a bad hamstring.  Mets fans had high hopes for him this year, especially after he pitched so well against the Phillies two weeks ago.  But since then, he’s basically shown us very little.  Too many walks and too many hits means too many baserunners.  That doesn’t add up to many wins for an offensively challenged team.

Oliver Perez is a bum.  What more can you say.  When he is eventually given his unconditional release, he will probably not be picked up by any major league team.

So where do the Mets go from here.  R.A. Dickey and Ken Takahashi will get the first shots to enter and maintain a spot in the starting rotation.  There is no reason to think that Dickey can be successful in the major leagues.  He never has.  And ideally Takahashi should stay a long reliever.

Many laughed at me for campaigning all spring for Figgy to make the Mets roster.  It didn’t appear that they needed him.  The starting pitching was solid, other than Perez.  The relievers were outstanding.  Oh how things have changed.

You still might deride me for championing his cause.  But given the opportunity to start every fifth day, Nelson Figueroa could give the Mets some quality starts and some consistency which Maine, Niese and Perez haven’t been able to do.  And he wouldn’t walk the park either.

I hope that the Phillies ailing pitchers, Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson, can re-join the team soon.  Then Figueroa could be designated for assignment.  The Mets might be desperate enough to resign him and put him in the rotation.  Last year they were desperate enough to give him a shot and he pitched well.

I doubt he will ever play for the Mets again.  However it’s been proven now two years in a row that even if Figueroa is your eighth best option when the season starts, he is good insurance to have.  And certainly the Mets should know that they need plenty of insurance.

To begin, we already know what a big mouth Jimmy Rollins has, but get a load of what he said while a guest on the Dan Patrick Show. Patrick asked Rollins why the Phillies didn’t elect to keep Cliff Lee. (A loaded question?)

“That, I have no idea,” Rollins told Patrick. “I’m sure we could afford him. We turned nearly four million people through the turnstiles last year. I don’t know. You should have [Phillies general manager] Ruben [Amaro Jr.] on here.

“When the trade happened, I actually got a text from Jayson Werth and he was like, ‘What are we doing?’ And I was like, ‘Didn’t we get Halladay?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, but we traded Lee.’ And my mouth dropped like, ‘That wasn’t part of the deal.’ I really don’t know. I thought we had enough to keep him. I thought we could have done enough to keep him. I guess that’s just a move the Yankees do. … That’s just the truth. The Yankees would have been like, ‘Hey, we got a chance to keep both of them. We’ll pay them both for a year or two and we got a chance to win a championship.’”

Amaro declined comment Thursday.

Next, as you all know by now Nelson Figueroa is indeed a Phillie. Today he made his first appearance for them against the Nationals, and with the score tied 5-5 in the seventh, Figueroa allowed a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Alberto Gonzalez. Nyjer Morgan bunted Gonzalez to second and Gonzalez scored the go-ahead run on Ryan Zimmerman’s double which made Figgy the losing pitcher. 

Speaking of Figgy, check out this Mets Fan Walk brick that has been making the rounds in the Mets blogosphere today. It comes from Metsie and if you check out his site, you’ll see the full size pic with accompanying alternate text.

Update 4/7 1:30 pm

The Phillies have claimed right-hander Nelson Figueroa off waivers, according to ESPN NY.

He is expected to join the Phillies immediately and is likely would be the team’s long man and spot starter.

The Mets designated Figueroa for assignment over the weekend.

Figueroa went 3-8 with a 4.09 ERA in 16 games (10 starts) last season for the Mets. He had a 4.61 ERA in Spring Training.

Original Post 4/6 1:00 pm

Nelson Figueroa, who the Mets designated for assignment after he was deemed him unfit for their  25-man roster, could be heading to the “City of Brotherly Love” according to this item on ESPN.com. (Damn you Philadelphia Phillies!)

Figgy is expected to clear waivers on Wednesday at which time he is free to either sign with a new team, or accept a minor-league assignment from the Mets, or consider a move to Japan as he warned midway through spring training.

The Phillies could use Figueroa’s versatility after getting hit hard with injuries. They have started the new season with three of their key pitchers hitting the disabled list; closer Brad Lidge, set-up man J.C. Romero and starter Joe Blanton. (How does it feel?!?!)

Figueroa had one of the best springs among all Mets pitchers, but it seemed as though he was never really in the Mets plans and even Figueroa surmised as much toward the end of camp. It would seem that he had easily beaten Sean Green for the final spot, but unfortunately for Figgy that wasn’t the case. (It was unfortunate for the Mets too, but they haven’t realized it yet.)

In his two years with the Mets, Figueroa went 6-11 with 4.28 ERA in 32 appearances (16 starts). Compare that to Oliver Perez, John Maine and Mike Pelfrey, and you can easily see the problem with his ill-advised release.

If he does sign with the Phillies, at least they finally get themselves a player with some class.

After a near perfect run this spring, you would think that Figueroa might have jeopardized his chances to secure a roster spot after allowing seven runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Marlins on Friday. Figgy called it “unfortunate timing” and said the performance should be “rolled up and thrown in the garbage.”  In his defense, Figueroa was implementing a new delivery as prescribed by pitching coach Dan Warthen. The change was designed to afford his sinker more movement and make his changeup more effective. Nice try, maybe next time Danny boy…

Warthen later said that no other pitcher left in camp is better suited to handle the “staff-saver” role. Staff saver? Apparently the term “staff-saver” is just another way of saying ”mop-up man.”

Jerry Manuel went one step further referring to Figueroa as a “strike-thrower,” which is a big deal on a staff that ranked 29th in most walks allowed last season.

Regarding the “staff saver” role, Manuel said, “Not everyone can handle the role. You need a guy with a resilient arm and a willingness to do what the team needs. He’s the right man for the job”

Figueroa was quick to add, ”I feel that I can handle two roles with one arm. I’m planning on making the team.  My suit is pressed, and I’m ready to go… I’m ready to fill any role with this team.”

This may be a little premature with nine games left to play in my opinion. I’m not saying to completely discount Figueroa, and as a matter fact I’ve supported Figgy many times this offseason. But with the emergence of Japanese import Hisanori Takahashi, I’d rather wait before locking Figgy in.

Hisanori Takahashi will get his first start of spring today. He has been without question the Mets’ best pitcher this spring with 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball, striking out 10 and not walking a single batter.

You want a strike thrower? That is exactly what Hisanori is about and is regarded as one of the best strike throwers in the league back in Japan.

It’s okay to go through spring training and identify those players who might be in the lead in a certain spring battle, but I dislike it when winners are declared only two-thirds through the competition.

Lets keep an eye on Hisanori’s start this afternoon against the Washington Nationals. The game will be televised on WPIX at 1:00 PM.

Jon Niese - 7.71 ERA, 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 4 ER, 5 K  

Considered by many including Jerry Manuel to be the #5 starter and will have to pitch himself out of the job to lose it to anyone else on this list. It may take a big collapse to push him out of this spot. His big league experience is slim, but he did pitch admirably for the big league team when called up. He pitched 6 games in 2 years. He’s healthy and has shown no ill effects from the leg injury that derailed his season. All he needs to do now is pitch his tail off. The consensus pick.

Fernando Nieve – 6.00 ERA, 6 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 4 ER, 2 K

The dark horse in the race for the 5th spot. He sported a 3-3 record in 7 games (2.95 ERA) last year at a time when the team really needed him desperately due to pitching woes. Now that he’s over the leg injury that put him down last year, he could very well upend Niese for the final spot. The only true difference between them is that one is a lefty and the other is a righty. Sounds trivial? That may make a huge difference as the Mets could use competent lefties in their rotations to offset the lefty heavy lineup in Philly, for one. Plus, Nieve is out of options and Niese is not.

Nelson Figueroa – 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 9 K

What’s to say? Figgy has been up and down and all around and rumor has it that the Buffalo to La Guardia Shuttle will be named after him, Figgy helps his cause this spring by pitching eight scoreless innings in his three appearances this spring. Figgy (and the Mets) know that if he is sent down once more, he may have seen his last opportunity in a Mets uniform. He clearly has been verbal about playing in Flushing and wants to remain with the team. He’s pitching, not only like he wants to stay as a Met, but like someone who intends to make it really hard for the powers-that-be to choose anyone else for the 5th spot.

Who do you like for the 5th spot? I’m going to say Figgy should be given the spot, allow Nieve to be the long man, and bring Niese along slowly. This gives the Mets room to move if Niese has to be sent back down since he has options left. Figgy and Nieve can be interchanged at the 5th and the long relief spot but I think Figgy deserves one last chance to make an impact. That’s my perspective. What’s yours?

Many people would characterize Nelson Figueroa as a very good AAA player.  He can start or relieve, help the team win some games, and fill up seats in the minor league ballpark.  Nelson is probably looking at this kind of scenario again in 2010; one in which he starts the season in the minors, then due to injuries or ineffectiveness on the major league squad, he is called up and gets another opportunity to show his stuff.

Figueroa has been hanging around professional baseball for fifteen years now, occasionally having some success in the major leagues.  But to me he is not the typical borderline major leaguer of whom most fans would never hear or care about.

Figueroa will turn 36 years old in May.  He was born and lives in Brooklyn.  You might recall the large family contingency he’s had at most of his home starts.  I will always remember him because on one hot summer day in 2001, I was at Shea when he pitched for the Phillies against the Mets.  The Mets won, he pitched credibly, and got a no decision.  After the game I saw him outside the park crowded around by about twenty family members.  He was at the time a 27 year old rookie living the dream and having the time of his life.  My eight year old son came away with a lot that day.  He got Nelson Figueroa’s autograph on his brand new Mets floppy hat.

Nelson played baseball at Abraham Lincoln High School and then at Brandeis University.  He was a 30th round draft pick by the Mets in 1994.  For the Mets he played in Kingsport, Capital City and Binghamton.  Then he moved on to the Diamondbacks, and then the Phillies organization which is where he broke into the majors.  He had a short major league stint with the Pirates in 2004 but hadn’t been seen or heard from since, until he surfaced with the Mets in 2008.  In between, he spent a year each playing for the Long Island Ducks and Chihuahua of the Mexican League.

One thing you can say for sure about Figueroa is what you can also say about hundreds of guys like him.  It’s that he loves baseball more than anything.  He has never given up his love for the game and the competition and thrill of getting batters out, regardless of the level at which he is playing.  He is truly a lifer and my guess is that he will be in the game in some capacity for many years to come.

I wouldn’t call it a crossroads but Figueroa is at an interesting point of his career.   Oddly, in 2008 at the age of 34, and after 4 years away, he made it back to the majors with the Mets.  He pitched in 16 games starting 6 of them and finished with a 3-3 record and 4.57 ERA.  Lo and behold, in 2009 he pitched even better.  Although his record was a poor 3-8, his ERA dropped to 4.09 and he struck out 59 batters in 70 innings.  His K/9 ratio was over seven.  He beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field; pitching 7 innings, allowing 1 run, and striking out 10.  And in October, he pitched a complete game shutout against the Astros, giving up 4 hits and striking out seven.  In 6 of his 10 starts he gave up 2 runs or less.  In addition he was lights out at AAA Buffalo and again this winter in the Dominican League.

Maybe I shouldn’t be making such a big deal about Figgy.  But I like the guy and am rooting for him.  Last year despite pitching well for the Mets he was twice designated for assignment and subsequently not picked up by a single team.   Each time he returned to AAA Buffalo and continued to pitch well.  It’s hard to believe that there was not one major league team that needed Figgy to fill in for awhile and start a couple of games, while getting paid the league minimum.  As a 5th starter, I’d take a wild guess that he would be better than 33% of other teams 5th starters.

I want Figgy to play for the Mets in 2010.  Having grown up a Mets fan, I think he’d like to continue playing here too.  And I think he’s good enough to make the team as the long reliever if not the 5th starter.  However, he could end up being the odd man out in a numbers game with Jon Niese, Fernando Nieve, and others all vying for the last spots on the staff.  It’s likely that Figgy will be let go again.  It’s a shame because at the age of 35 he is pitching the best baseball of his career.

This time I would wager that he will be claimed by another major league team giving him a shot to start every fifth day.  Finally, with another team, maybe Figgy will get the respect he so rightly has earned and deserves.

Check out my other stuff at Danny Baseball.

My Choice for the MetsMerized Player Of The Week is…Nelson Figueroa!

The final MMO Player Of The Week award had to go to Nelson. I’ve developed alot of respect for Figueroa. He’s a workhorse type pitcher even though he’s never really gotten a full shot in MLB. He’s a good guy and he’s not a terrible pitcher by any regard. When the games didn’t matter, Nelson stepped in like a professional and did his job. Even if he’s not on this team next year, he should be respected by Met fans for the work he’s done over the last two years.

Nelson Figueroa started two games this week, compiling a 1-1 record. Of course, that’s not the whole story. His E.R.A.? 1.20 (2 ER in 15 IP) His win was a CG SHO on the last game of the season (WHERE WAS THAT THE LAST TWO YEARS?!). In 15.0 IP, he allowed 10 H and posted a 3/12 BB/K ratio. He only allowed one HR and pitched fairly well on teh week overall.

Random note is that Nelson was 2-2 in fielding opportunies this week. Folks, the season’s over for the Mets and it’s time to start focusing on 2010 and the future past that. With the final POW, I not only give kudos to Nelson, but to all the award winners and the effort they put in every week.

Honorable Mentions:

John Maine: 1 GS, QS. W, 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 1.29 ERA.

Angel Pagan: .385(10-26; 4 2B, 1 3B), 6 R, 1 RBI, 16 TB, 1 SB.

Past Award Winners:

One Hit Wonders: Ryan Church, Johan Santana,  David Wright, Fernando Tatis, Nelson Figueroa.

Been There, Done That Twice: Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan, Daniel Murphy.

Three’s Company: Jeff Francoeur.

Of Note 9/27-10/4 (And of all MMO POTW awards)

Ryan Church is the only one of the list who is no longer with the team. Jeff Francoeur is the only player to win the award three times. Luis Castillo won the first award. Nelson Figueroa and Johan Santana were the only pitchers to win the award.

John Maine’s start was very encouraging.

Jeff Francoeur’s production down the stretch is worth something, right? The outlook is bright for next year, at least in his direction.

Josh Thole’s alright, but give him a year in AAA.

Daniel Murphy does deserve a spot in the Mets Organization. It may be in AAA to start the year, but I don’t think he’ll end it there.

What a season it’s been. I think Matt Cerrone put it best when he said “I’ll still be sad there’s no Mets game tommorow.”

Nelson Figueroa’s best pitching performance in a Mets uniform and Angel Pagan’s perfect day at the plate helped the Mets finish the season on an up note.  Today’s 4-0 victory completed a sweep of the equally disappointing Houston Astros and helped the Mets avoid their first under 70-win season since 2003, although it might have been somewhat appropriate had the Mets finished the season with 69 wins as one final (unwanted) tribute to the ’69 Mets.

On a beautiful day at Citi Field, Nelson Figueroa took the hill and was masterful from start to finish.  In pitching his first career complete-game shutout, Figgy allowed only four hits and did not walk a batter.  He also struck out seven Astros while throwing 113 pitches.

Angel Pagan was equally impressive, going 4-for-4 with a single, two doubles and a triple.  The four-hit game boosted his average to .306.  He also showed his tender side when he politely brought the ball to Astros’ catcher Humberto Quintero as he slid across home plate with one of the two runs he scored on the day.  (see photo below for Pagan’s peace offering to Quintero)

Not to be forgotten was the three hit day by catcher Josh Thole.  His two singles and one double raised his average to .321 after his September call-up.  He showed that he could hit the ball to all fields and made good contact, as shown by his low strikeout total (only five strikeouts in 53 at-bats).

With the victory, the Mets finished the season with a 70-92 record.  Truth be told, even without all the injuries, this team was probably not going to compete with the Phillies for the division title.  However, if they could just bottle up the good pitching and hitting from this weekend series against the Astros, perhaps 2010 can serve up a few more happy recaps.

Tomorrow’s game will start 182 days from now when the 2010 season opens up at Citi Field on April 5.  Thanks to all the readers for making this season tolerable with all your comments and support.  I leave you with a short poem.  Happy recaps to all and to all a good night!

Two years ago in the season finale

The Mets fell short with nary a rally

When we Shea’d goodbye in 2008

The Marlins returned to seal the Mets’ fate

It’s been a year since Shea was razed to the ground

But with playoff hopes gone, no choke could be found

At least this year’s finale produced not a weep

As Angel and Nelson came through for the sweep!

The Mets have no direction and worse yet, they seemed to have lost the will to fight. The injuries are one thing, but this seemingly apparent loss of focus is a whole different animal. Apparently, these Mets will not go down swinging, they’ll just go down.

Nelson Figueroa started for the Mets and got torched for six runs on nine hits in just five innings. The big blow being a three-run homer by Brian McCann that broke a 3-3 tie and sealed the Mets fate. It wasn’t so much that he gave up the homer, any pitcher could have done that, but according to Anthony DiComo of Mets.com, Figueroa was warned not to throw McCann a first pitch changeup during his pregame scouting report. He threw him a first pitch changeup anyway. Doesn’t that just burn you up?

Why do the players continuously ignore the message that is coming from Jerry Manuel and the rest of this organization?

Anyway, Figueroa’s ERA now stands at 5.21 and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but check out how many Mets starting pitchers have ERA’s that are north of 4.00 this season…

Pat Misch – 4.21
John Niese – 4.21
John Maine – 4.45
Mike Pelfrey – 5.09
Nelson Figueroa – 5.21
Livan Hernandez – 5.45
Tim Redding – 5.52
Bobby Parnell – 5.60
Oliver Perez – 6.82

All of that supreme inferiority coming from a rotation that pitches in one of the largest ballparks in the Major Leagues. At least three of those names, and quite possibly four, will be in the rotation next season.

As for the rest of the game, Dan Murphy collected three hits. The same Dan Murphy that is on the verge of getting yanked from the first base job due to an overwhelming amount of fundamental mistakes committed on the base paths, at the plate, and in the field. He has done little to prove he is deserving of an everyday job in the majors in my opinion… maybe the Pirates or Royals.

This team as presently constructed has problems… big problems… huge problems.

The Mets fell to the Phillies Friday night in what once considered to be the biggest series of the season for the Mets back in June. Four games in three days against their number one nemesis in mid September. But alas, the only significance this series and all the other remaining series hold now, is to see if anybody emerges victoriously from early open tryouts for the 2010 season. Consider these games to be much like spring training games, as any able-bodied player who is still standing competes for a spot on the opening day roster. That’s what this season has come down to.

Nelson Figueroa got the start and he wasn’t that bad, but he wasn’t that good either. He allowed 15 base runners in just 5.1 innings, including two runs on nine hits and five walks and one hit batter. He did his best to keep the Mets in the game, so I’ll give him points for that. For Figgy, it’s his fourth solid, but unspectacular start in a row. His ERA now stands at 4.57.

The bullpen allowed two runs in 2.2 innings of relief with Elmer Dessens and Brian Stokes giving up a run each. Stokes who many believed would be a mainstay in the bullpen, has seen his ERA rise to 3.96.

The Mets scored two runs late and mustered up nine hits, with Jeff Francoeur accounting for three of those hits.

Aside from Jeff Francoeur who went 3 for 4, the Mets offered Figueroa no support offensively against Cole Hamels, who defeated the Mets for the first time since 2006. He is now batting .306 as a Met with 7 homers and 33 RBIs. Prorated over a full season, it would come to .306 – 22 – 100. In 22 games, Francoeur is batting .318 with 3 homers and 15 RBIs batting cleanup with a .523 slugging percentage. Obviously, Frenchy has cemented his spot as the Mets opening day rightfielder, regardless of the nonsense you may have read that he would be non-tendered.

That was about it offensively for the Mets as the top of the order (Pagan, Castillo, Wright) went 1-10. Pagan was hitless, ending his career high ten game hitting streak.

The Mets have a 4:00 PM start today and can be seen on Fox, where Howie Rose will join Tim McCarver in the booth. The young and erratic Mike Pelfrey will oppose the ageless Jaime Moyer.

In particular the starting pitching staff has been decimated by injuries. Three of the team’s top pitchers (Santana, Maine and Perez) are all currently on the disabled list, and only one of them (Maine) has any chance of coming back by the season’s end.

The replacements for this trio are the tandem of Nelson Figueroa, Tim Redding and Pat Misch or as Ron Darling has coined them “The Fab Three”.

Let’s take a look at these players and examine whether or not they are worthy of a role with the team in 2010.

Nelson Figueroa -

In the words of SNY personality Adam Schein, Nelson Figueroa is “my guy”.

Despite riding the Heath Bell express throughout his two years in the big apple, Figueroa has generally been reliable to make a spot start or a long relief appearance.

He maybe 35 years of age, which makes him no youngster, but Figgy has shown this year he can still pitch effectively at the major league level.

As a matter of fact in his one of his recent starts against the Chicago Cubs, Figueroa pitched one of the best games in his career when he struck out ten batters and held the opposition to only one run.

In 38 innings pitched this year, Figueroa has maintained a 4.74 ERA, which is just a hair above his career average (4.62).

One thing to keep in mind with Nelson is that he is not a lights out pitcher, and he generally does not pitch very deep into games.

What makes Figueroa so attractive is the bevy of international experience this player has. He has pitched all over the globe and has found success pretty much everywhere he has been.

Verdict:I like what Figueroa has done for the depleted ball club this year, however I would not give him a guaranteed major league deal, which he has been seeking the past few seasons. What I would offer him, though, is another minor league deal that way he could possibly help the club later on next season if injuries strike. The rest of the decision would be left in his hands.

Tim Redding -

It’s been a rough year for The Honeymooners star, Joyce Randolph’s grand-nephrew, Tim Redding. Sidelined by a foot injury in Spring Training that resulted in arm trouble later on, Redding has had a tough season to say the least. To add insult to injury had it not been for the rash of injuries, Redding would have been released a couple of months ago.

Luckily, for him he has strung together three strong outings in his past three starts, including holding the potent Philadelphia Phillies lineup to just one run over five innings. Redding brings to the table veteran experience and has had some success at the major league level with both Houston and Washington.

This year with the Mets, Redding has appeared in 25 games and started 12 of them. Over that period of time he has pitched to a 5.70 ERA with a 60:37 K:BB Ratio.

Looking solely at the stats it would appear that Redding is an easy candidate to be let go at the year’s end, but he does make a case to stay.

Despite, being ridiculed by both the fans and the media, and even being shunned by his own teammates Redding has still kept his head up and remained professional.

Also, as field reporter, Kevin Burkhardt, pointed out, Redding is still arbitration eligible, which could improve the chances of him being brought back.

Verdict: Even with a strong showing down the stretch I don’t see Redding pitching in a Mets uniform. It’s a shame because he seems like a good guy overall and a good teammate, but it is what it is. I think he will find work at as back-of-the-rotation starter on another NL team.

Pat Misch -

Pat Misch has been quite a bargain for the Mets, since they claimed him off of waivers from the Giants earlier in the year. Before joining the Mets, Misch had spent two seasons as both a starter and reliever in San Francisco. At that time it appeared Misch did not have big league stuff.

However, Pat has put all that behind him and cherished the change of scenery from one coast to the other. In his brief Mets tenure Misch has been rather impressive.

In 17 games this year with New York, Misch has posted a 2.48 ERA. This includes two appearances as a starter, both of which lasted seven innings.

Misch is not a hard thrower and doesn’t strike out many batters. As a matter of fact his K:BB ratio with the Mets is practically 1:1 (18:14). Instead of trying to baffle hitters he pitches to contact and induces many fly outs.

His pitching style fits Citi Field rather well because the ballpark does not yield many home runs due to it’s deep dimensions.

Although Misch is pitching very well as a starter right now, I do not see that being his role with the team for the long term.

As Ed Ryan at Mets Fever points out, Misch’s career numbers as a reliever (2.85 ERA) are far better than those in the twelve games he has started (6.32).

Thus, I see him as a long reliever, who can also take some of the burden off of Pedro Feliciano when it comes to getting left-handed hitters out.

Verdict: Misch should absolutely be brought back next season. He’s cheap, young and has good stuff. The Mets cannot count on him to be a starter, but I think he would be very successful out of the bullpen. In the event of an injury Misch would be available to slide in and provide the team with a player, who has the ability to pitch quality outings.

The Mets jumped out to an early lead against Cubs’ starter Rich Harden.  Cory Sullivan hit his second home run in as many days to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the second inning.  The game remained 1-0 until the fourth inning when Lee and Ramirez combined to give the Cubs the lead.  Lee started the inning with a base hit off Figueroa, bringing up Aramis Ramirez.

Ramirez entered the game with a career batting average of .417 (5 for 12) and a home run against Figueroa.  His second career home run off Figueroa came in the fourth inning after Lee’s single.  The blast gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead.

The lead was short-lived as the Mets struck back in the bottom of the fourth.  Cory Sullivan drew a one-out walk from Rich Harden and went to second on Harden’s errant pickoff throw.  After recent call-up Josh Thole’s single put runners at the corners, Anderson Hernandez tied the game at 2 when he reached on an infield single.  However, the Mets left the potential go-ahead run in scoring position when Nelson Figueroa and Angel Pagan struck out to end the threat and the inning.  The two strikeouts gave Harden nine strikeouts through the first four innings of the game.

The Cubs half of the fifth inning was the time for Derrek Lee to shine.  After handing out his “it’s a boy” cigars to his teammates in the dugout while Kosuke Fukudome singled to left, he promptly launched the first of his two proud poppa blasts into the left field landing at Citi Field, giving the Cubs a 4-2 lead.

Speaking of poppas, with apologies to Big Poppa (the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.), these altered song lyrics should best describe what happened Saturday at Citi Field.

Figgy, Figgy, Figgy, can’t you see?

Sometimes your pitches just hypnotize me.

Unless your name is Derrek Lee.

Then they end up in the left field landing.

The Mets were able to cut the Cubs’ lead in half in the seventh inning when Aaron Heilman made his Citi Field debut for the Cubs.  Yadier Molina’s BFF continued to show why he was so reviled in the minds of the Flushing Faithful.  Sole surviving member of the Three Fernandos (seems like ages ago when they had their heyday), Fernando Tatis led off the inning with a single.  He later advanced to second on a wild pitch by Heilman.  Tatis reached third on a base hit by Angel Pagan and scored on a sacrifice fly by the smaller-helmeted David Wright.  The fly ball cut the Cubs lead to 4-3, leading to an early trip to the showers for Heilman, who exited to a growing crescendo of boos. (or were they Cubs fans saying Lou Piniella’s first name as he took Heilman out of the game?)  The Mets were not able to tie the game as John Grabow was able to get Daniel Murphy to ground out to second base to end the inning.

The failure to pile it on when Aaron Heilman was in the game came back to haunt the Mets just one pitch into the next inning.  Elmer Dessens was called upon to pitch to Derrek Lee, who responded by claiming the left field landing in the name of Lee.  So prodigious was the blast that a man attempting to catch the hot potato literally fell head over heels down the stairs while making the play.  Despite the inability to remove the “wow” from his lips after Lee’s homer, Dessens settled down and retired the next three batters to get out of the inning.

The Mets had one more good scoring opportunity in their half of the eighth but could not replicate the five-run eighth inning of the previous night.  They loaded the bases against Grabow and closer Carlos Marmol with two outs in the inning.  Angel Pagan was able to work the count to 3-2, but popped up to center to end the threat and for all intents and purposes, the game as well, as Marmol was able to retire the Mets in order in the ninth inning.

Nelson Figueroa did not pitch badly in his six innings of work, giving up seven hits and two walks to go along with eight more strikeouts (18 Ks in his last two games).  However, the four runs he gave up on the two-run homers by Ramirez and Lee were sufficient for the Cubs to end the Mets’ winning streak at two.  Still, Figueroa showed that his recent success at Triple-A Buffalo was not a fluke, as he has been very good since his call-up from the Bisons.

Tomorrow is the rubber game of the series, as the Mets hope to finally win a series for the first time since late July.  Mike Pelfrey will try to reverse his recent stretch of poor performances against Randy Wells.  Game time is at 1:10 PM.  The Cubs have had difficulty scoring in this series if not for the long ball.  If Pelfrey’s sinker is working on Sunday, the Mets might finally have that long-denied series victory.

Figueroa had never struck out more than eight batters in a major league game, but he had already surpassed that total by the fourth inning.  He gave up a run in the first inning, but recorded all three outs via the strikeout.  It was the only run he’d give up all afternoon.

The Mets came out swinging against Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs.  They turned that early deficit into a lead by scoring two runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth.  They didn’t need to take their pitches or hope for a bad call by the umpires. They just came out hacking, getting a combined nine hits in the two innings that they scored runs.

Angel Pagan started the rally in the third inning by using a prototype version of his new reflecto-glasses to blind Carlos Zambrano on the mound.  His ingenious tactics worked perfectly as Zambrano gave up a one-out single to Pagan.  The next three batters (Castillo, Murphy and Francoeur) also singled to give the Mets a 2-1 lead.  Zambrano did not help his own cause as he committed an error trying to pick off Pagan at second base.  Perhaps he was still blinded by Pagan’s shades.  The Mets could have done more damage in the inning, but Jeremy Reed (making a rare start in left field) lined into a double play to end the inning, as Daniel Murphy was doubled off second base.

In the fourth inning, the Mets kept their hitting shoes on, continuing to do their best to give the Big Z a Big L.  Five consecutive hits in the inning, including an RBI triple by Anderson Hernandez and an RBI single by Nelson Figueroa (he of the .333 average) chased Carlos Zambrano into the Wrigley Field showers.  No word on whether the Gatorade coolers survived his departure.

That was all Nelson Figueroa needed to pick up his second victory of the year.  He was removed in the eighth inning after a blown call by the second base umpire allowed Milton Bradley to reach base on an infield single.  Figueroa’s final line was much like Johan Santana’s lines from the early part of the 2009 season:  7+ innings pitched, one run, six hits, two walks, 10 Ks.

Jon Lovitz came into the broadcast booth to schmooze with Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen after Figueroa’s departure, but his Mets debut was short-lived as Brian Stokes needed only six pitches to get three outs in the eighth.  He induced Derrek Lee to ground into a double play and got Aramis Ramirez to pop out to Luis Castillo.  Yeah, that’s the ticket!

The Mets barely broke a sweat in the ninth inning as Francisco Rodriguez needed only eight pitches to pick up his 28th save of the season.  It was only his fifth save in seven attempts since the All-Star Break.  That means the Mets spent $36 million on Oliver Perez and $37 million on Francisco Rodriguez, or as I like to call them, a win streak killer and a bullpen seat filler, respectively.

The Mets have a day off on Monday as they prepare to take their one-game winning streak into Colorado to face the Rockies.  The Rockies were the last team the Mets won a series from, when they took three out of four at Citi Field in late July.  In the month of August, the Mets lost seven series and split two others.

David Wright will be activated from the disabled list on Tuesday.  As has become the tradition with the Mets, they have decided to take a man who suffered a concussion and activate him for a series at the home of a team that plays its games in the thinnest air.  Way to go, Mets!  The follies continue Tuesday night at 8:40 PM when Mike Pelfrey takes on Josh Fogg.

In the past two years, the Mets entered the final month of the season hoping it would be a September to remember.  Now that the Mets are far from playoff contention, they can only hope the team can make it through the month in one piece so that it doesn’t become a September to dismember.

The game was scoreless until the Mets came to bat in the fourth inning.  Jeff Francoeur made his return to the lineup after missing one game with a thumb injury to his non-throwing hand.  He took advantage of Jeremy Hermida misplaying his fly ball to right and turned it into a one-out double.  Fernando Tatis followed that up with an RBI single, giving the Mets an early 1-0 lead.  That would be the only run the Mets would give Nelson Figueroa on the evening.  Figgy was stingy with the Marlins, but his defense was feeling a bit charitable.

Hanley Ramirez led off the Marlins’ half of the fourth inning by getting hit with a pitch.  After a Jorge Cantu out, John Baker came up to bat and Daniel Murphy decided to play Santa Claus.  Murphy’s fielding error allowed Baker to reach first base safely and his second error of the play, this time on an errant throw, allowed Ramirez to reach third base.  The Marlins now had runners on first and third with one out.  Figueroa needed a ground ball double play to get out of the inning and was able to induce the grounder from Dan Uggla.  However, a slow turn around the horn enabled Uggla to beat the relay throw to first.  Ramirez scored on the play to tie the score at 1 on the unearned run.

In the next inning, the Marlins were able to take the lead.  Jeremy Hermida led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice by pitcher Sean West.  After recording the second out, Figueroa was unable to retire Ross Gload, as Gload lined an RBI single to center field, scoring Hermida with the go-ahead run.

The only good opportunity the Mets had to score came before the Marlins took the lead.  The Mets had loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth inning for their best remaining hitter, Jeff Francoeur.  However, West got Francoeur to foul out to first baseman Gload who made a fine catch leaning into the stands, followed by a three-pitch strikeout of Fernando Tatis.  The Mets never threatened again.

Sean West was brilliant for the Marlins, holding the Mets to one run on six hits in his six innings of work.  Nelson Figueroa was Santana-like in his five innings of work, giving up two runs (one earned) on only four hits, while walking no one.  He was the hard-luck loser, as his defense failed him.

The day couldn’t be considered complete if there wasn’t another on-field injury.  Gary Sheffield was forced to leave the game after injuring his back while walking down to first base after drawing a base on balls.  That’s right.  He got hurt while drawing a walk.  Nothing should surprise us anymore.  Sheffield did say after the game that he should be okay to play tomorrow night, but Jerry Manuel might hold him back unless he realizes that he has to play him because he doesn’t have anyone else on the bench to play in right field.  (Dang injuries!)

Billy Wagner is gone.  So is Johan (for the season).  However, the Mets can’t throw up the white flag just yet.  Major League Baseball does not have a mercy rule, so the Mets are forced to play their remaining 36 games.  The first of those games will be played Wednesday night at Land Shark Stadium when Mike Pelfrey takes the hill against Josh Johnson.  Pelfrey must bring his A-game if his D-teammates are going to have a chance to defeat Josh Johnson.  Johnson is 12-3 this season, which includes a 2-0 record against the Mets in three starts.  The Mets’ team batting average against him is .238, but some of that was accomplished by the A-squad.  They’ll need the D-team to be a little more productive if they’re going to have a chance to defeat Johnson.  They’ll get their chance tomorrow night at 7:10 PM.

Nick Evans played for the Mets earlier this season after Fernando Martinez got injured.
Nick Evans is batting .250 with 1 homerun and 6 RBIs.

Pat Misch was recently sent down after activating Wagner, but will be called back up.
Misch has a 4.09 ERA in 22.0 innings pitched with 13 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Also Nelson Figueroa will be taking Santana’s spot in the rotation for now.
Figueroa is 1-2 with a 6.30 ERA in 20.0 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts and 8 walks.

Nelson Figueroa was called up to make the start after compiling a string of solid starts for Buffalo. I was one of those who was hoping to see the Mets give him another shot in the rotation, but alas it wasn’t meant to be.

Figgy was lambasted by the D’Backs who teed off on him like he was pitching batting practice. It was so brutal that Jerry Manuel had to pull him out of the game before he could complete the second inning.

He wound up lasting just 1.2 innings and allowed six earned runs on ten hits, three of which were homers. Yuck!

If there was one bright spot in this game, it was definitely the amazing job by the bullpen. Under the worst of circumstances, they came out and combined to pitch 7.1 scoreless innings. Tim Redding led the way with 3.1 solid innings, followed by two strong innings from Bobby Parnell. Feliciano and Stokes finished up.

The Mets got on the board in the third inning thanks to a lead-off double by Omir Santos followed by Angel Pagan’s sixth triple of the season.

In the fifth inning, the Mets had a chance to blow the game open when Luis Castillo singled with the bases loaded to plate two, followed by a single from David Wright who drove in another run. The Mets would only score three runs as Gary Sheffield grounded into an inning ending double play.

After the inning, Castillo and Cora both confronted Angel Pagan for stopping at second base instead of easily taking third base. Had he gone to third, Castillo would have ended up on second base with a double, and both would have easily scored on the David Wright single to tie the game. It was the second base running blunder by Pagan in this series.

Daniel Murphy led off the sixth with his seventh home run against Dan Haren to bring the Mets within one run at 6-5, but that would be all the offense the Mets would muster for the rest of the game.

It was nice to see the Mets fight back like they did despite being in a six run hole after two innings. Give them credit for turning a laugher into a pretty good game.

The loss does set the Mets back further in the wild card standings as they fall to eight games behind and seven teams still remain ahead of them.

Tomorrow, the Mets begin a four game series against the Cardinals. Johan Santana goes up against Joel Pineiro.

According to MiLB.com, Jon Niese was named International League pitcher of the week after compiling a 1-0 record and 1.06 ERA in two starts for the Bisons. Niese, who allowed 10 hits and struck out 14 in 17 innings, has rebounded to go 4-1 in his last six starts with a 1.04 ERA.

After a terrible start to his season, Niese has rebounded nicely and has lowered his ERA to a more respectable 4.31 after a 8.67 ERA in his first six starts that had everyone in the organization very concerned. In 81 innings pitched he has allowed 85 hits and 23 walks while striking out 75 batters.

It’s interesting to note that lefthanders are hitting .290 against him, while right handers are hitting just .259. He has allowed 3 homers in 16.1 innings pitched to lefthanders, and just 4 homers in 65 innings pitched to right handers.

There seems to be a growing sentiment in the Mets blogosphere that Niese is long overdue for another shot in the rotation, but I’m still a little skeptical.

I would rather see Niese string together a few more solid starts before yanking him from the minors and feeding him to the lions. His six impressive starts do not erase his other eight starts, and he hasn’t exactly blown away AAA hitting.

When he puts runners on base, he still seems to make matters worse as he did in his first tour of duty with the Mets. His ERA with runners on base is 8.97, and hitters are batting .310 against him. Those numbers should be expected to climb against major league hitting.

Truth be told, at this point I would trust Nelson Figueroa in the rotation more than I would Niese.

Figueroa is having a solid season and has already proven on many occasions that he can succeed at the major league level. He won’t exactly blow you away with his arsenal, but he can limit the damage and keep you in the game.

With runners on base, Figueroa holds hitters to a .183 batting average, not .314 like Niese.

The only Bisons player going to the AAA All Star game has a 2.67 ERA in 82 innings pitched and allowed just 68 hits and 22 walks while striking out 68 batters. That’s a 3:1 K/BB ratio and a 1.09 WHIP.

The obvious answer seems very clear to me my friends.

Jon Niese simply has more to prove in AAA before we thrust him back into the rotation, while Nelson Figueroa has earned a promotion because of a season long track record of success.

I hope the Mets make the right choice the next time they make the call to Buffalo.

By the way, in an interesting post on Amazin Avenue, James K. took a solid common sense approach toward deciding what constitutes a number one pitcher or a number five pitcher. He contends that if a pitcher is in the top 1/5 of starters in his league, then he should be called a #1 starter.  The next 1/5 are #2′s, the next 1/5 are #3′s, etc.  He compiled an informative list that you may find surprising.

Immediately after the game, the Mets designated Figueroa for assignment and came close to losing him as Figueroa refused the assignment and opted to test the free agent waters. Nothing happened for Figgy so he sucked it up and went back to Buffalo. Figueroa is 3-4 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. In 76 IP he has allowed just 63 hits and has a solid 58/21 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was just selected to be the Bisons’ lone representative in the AAA All Star game. Wow…

One little tidbit that is missing from this drama, is that fact reliever Darren O’Day was released to make room for that one and only start by Nelson Figueroa. Remember him?

The 26-year old righthander was originally signed by the Mets after they selected him in the Rule 5 Draft in November. O’Day had a terrific spring and made the trip up north on opening day. He only appeared in four games for the Mets and pitched three scoreless innings before the Mets designated him for assignment.

Two days later he was picked up by the Texas Rangers and he is now one of the biggest weapons in their bullpen.

The young side-armer and former Angels top prospect, has established himself as the Rangers’ premier setup man and currently sports a 1.27 ERA. In 29 innings pitched he has allowed just 21 hits and 8 walks while striking out a whopping 27 batters. His 1.02 WHIP leads the bullpen and he has two wins, one save and nine holds for the Rangers.

Teams and GM’s make mistakes like this all the time. Every team can name one or two costly cuts they never should have been made. But what makes the O’Day cut so bad was how the Mets thought so little of him that they cut him just for one Nelson Figueroa start. In fact the Mets came close to losing both pitchers in a matter of 24 hours with nothing in return to show for them.

So every time you look at the mound and see a Jon Switzer or a Ken Takahashi, remember what we could have had instead.

Remember what we did have and let slip through our fingers.