Dillon Gee had another good outing, but the bullpen struggled late and the Mets stranded 17 runners in their 3-2 loss to the Nationals.

Game Notes

Dillon Gee had another outing just short of quality, going five and two-third innings, giving up two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out five. Gee was strong for his whole outing, minus the sixth inning when he was hit hard for both of his runs. Gee hasn’t seemed to tire, and has become more of a pitcher. The only issue with Gee is the propensity in which he has issued walks.

As with most September baseball, lots of pitching changes. Pedro Beato, Dale Thayer, Tim Byrdak, Bobby Parnell and Daniel Herrera all saw work, and Thayer/Parnell were the least effective, with Thayer being charged for the run that Parnell allowed to score. After that, Parnell saw another one and one-third innings of work, and struck out three.

The offense stranded a large number of runners, and got both of their runs in the fifth on a Lucas Duda single, that scored Jose Reyes and then scored Ruben Tejada after a misplay by Nats RF Jayson Werth. A failure to bunt in two different situations by the Mets didn’t help the chances to push runs across.

Nick Evans – 0 for 4, with two strikeouts and five runners stranded. Nick has come down to earth as of recently, and whether its his expected performance or being exposed to more righties is to be decided

Lucas Duda – 3 for 4 with an RBI. Popped out in a big situation in the seventh on the first pitch. Still, a great day for Lucas.

David Wright – 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Uh-oh. Some bad defense seems to be working its way into David’s AB’s.

Jose Reyes – 3 for 4 with a run and a walk. Jose has reclaimed the batting title lead as of the publishing of this post.

Turning Point

Ineffective bullpen pitching by Dale “I Only Throw Fastballs” Thayer, and Bobby Parnell.

GOAT

Nick Evans. The bullpen gave up the run, but stranding a third of your teams baserunners is extremely bad.

On Deck

The Mets will have the third game of a four game series and send Mike Pelfrey to the mound and face off against Brad Peacock in his first major league start. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

What’s funny about the team this year is that seemingly, EVERYONE gets thrown at first base.  After Ike Davis took a freak-accident-spill on a routine infield pop-up earlier this season, like many Mets injuries, it didn’t seem like much…but he hasn’t played since.  Evidenced as such, the Mets have thrown four guys at first base not named Davis.  In fact, Daniel Murphy holds the lead with 46 games started at 1B, and 37 games for Lucas Duda.  Ike Davis played 36 games at first base, and Nick Evans has started 27 game at 1B (as of Tuesday).  If Evans finishes out the season at 1B, four guys could theoretically finish playing less than 50 games each at 1B.  The Mets have not had a ton of turnover at first base in its history, so this is significant.

You know what I find interesting?  That when Ike Davis is anticipated to return next season, the Mets find themselves in a position of strength: a lot of guys who can play first base. Bonus: all of them have proven they can hit and play the position well enough to be every day players or at the very least, in a platoon situation.

Clearly, the position is Ike Davis’ to lose come next year in Spring Training.  At least, this is how I am looking at things.  Lucas Duda has been pretty much hand-selected by Terry Collins to be his starting right fielder in 2012, and obviously for the remainder of the season.  Leaving us with Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans as the odd men out.  All of a sudden, the Mets and their Front Office have a position of value and strength to use as trade bait.

Who is the odd man out, singular, though?  In that respect, odd “men” and that would be Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy.

It’s funny with these two.  I’ve made no secret about my appreciation of Daniel Murphy, as I feel his defensive woes are much ado about nothing, plus he’s shown he’s at a position of strength as a first baseman.  If he had a more consistent position, whether first, second or third base…anything in the infield, really…he’d certainly be a big asset to any team.  Nick Evans is a bit limited to where he can play, as his biggest strength has been showcased at first base, but he also has experience at left field.  However, we all know left field is locked up by Jason Bay till 2013.  Unless he is traded.  But that’s not the hypothetical here.

Anyway, defensively and offensively, Daniel Murphy might have a slight leg up on Nick Evans on the Mets.  Yet, his value could be used to get more parts in return in a trade.

See where I am going with this?  Is Nick Evans more valuable as an off-the-bench guy in 2012 for the team?  Or is Daniel Murphy going to be counted on for the team in a bigger way?

Another thing to consider is the Jose Reyes situation.  If Reyes is not figuring into the long-term vision of the team, where Ruben Tejada plays in 2012 will impact how the Mets will look at the future of the aforementioned players.  Clearly, the easiest scenario is that Reyes will re-sign, Tejada will play second base and all is right in the world.  But if Reyes flies the coop, Tejada will easily be penciled in at shortstop next year.  Right now, while Daniel Murphy rests his legs, he’s also the only one of the previously mentioned with any regular second base experience.   Another item that would weigh in his favor of staying with the team than Nick Evans.

Overall, Evans took several years to prove himself, but with regular-ish playing time, he’s shown that he can keep up with the big boys.  Murphy though was able to smack the hell out of the ball from day one pretty much.  We’ll also need to consider that Evans is out of options.  Like, negative amount of options at this point with how many times he’s been put on waivers (Cot’s and MLB Contracts has no information on his current status unfortunately).  Daniel Murphy isn’t arb eligible until 2013 due to his injuries in the last few years.  This could go either way: he’s so cheap it makes sense to keep him around, or trade him while his value is high and let him become another team’s “problem.” (But he’s a good problem to have)

There is a surplus at first base for the Mets for 2012.  I guess on one hand, it’s good that the Mets have so many serviceable players to fill in when their every day players go down at this point.  On the other hand, the odd men out look to be Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans.  Either way, their value is at its highest and it would make sense at this point to see about the future without either of those players in the organization.

Chris Schwinden made his major league debut and was hit hard in the Mets 6-5 loss, and in the second game of the double header, Dillon Gee overcame early trouble to hand the ball to a bullpen that would cough up two more runs in the Mets second loss, a 5-1 defeat.

Game One

Chris Schwinden made his MLB debut, and it will probably not be a memorable one for many. Schwinden went five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, including a home run while walking one and striking out five. Schwinden was throwing strikes, but those strikes were being hit hard. While these next few starts will just be gauging if he is the real deal or a Quad-A pitcher, we shall see.

Daniel Herrera came out for two innings of work, and struck out two and gave up a hit. The fact he pitched two innings is a positive, considering he was a lefty. Possible crossover candidate next year? Ryota Igarashi came out and made a mess, loading the bases so Tim Byrdak could hit lefty Michael Bourn and drive in what would turn out to be the winning run. Bobby Parnell finished up, allowing a hit and striking out one in two-thirds

Yet again, why is Ryota Igarashi being used at all in the season is a bit curious to me. Do the Mets not want to call up a reliever who they have to place on the 40-man roster? If so, DFA Igarashi.

The offense today was primarily of two hits. Jason Bay, who has had a dissapointing season yet again, hit his second grand slam of the season, for his twelfth home run. The other run came on a Nick Evans sac-fly in the ninth, scoring David Wright

Jose Reyes – 1 for 1 in a pinch hitting appearance. As bleak as the Mets season is, Jose does have a fair shot at the batting title.

Jason Bay – 2 for 4 with four RBI. I guess any production is better than no production.

Ruben Tejada – 0 for 5 with a strikeout. Is this fatigue, or has Ruben been figured out again?

Turning Point

Igarashi being an ineffective reliever, putting Tim Byrdak in a difficult spot and giving up the winning run.

Goat Of The Game

Igarashi. No other reason than being completely ineffective.

Game 2

Dillon Gee faired much better than Chris Schwinden, getting charged for three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking two and striking out six in his six innings of work. Gee struggled in the first inning, but settled in for the middle innings. Gee shouldn’t be expected to be that mid-3 ERA guy, but if he could hold an ERA around 4, limit the walks and provide six innings, that would be a major plus for the 2012 Mets

Daniel Herrera went out for the second time today, and pretty much did the same thing he did the game before. Herrera pitched one clean inning. Pedro Beato was hit hard yet again in his two innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits including a home run, walk and one strikeout. Whether this is fatigue, or Beato coming back down to expected performance is to be decided

The offense managed seven total hits, none for extra bases. The only RBI was on a Jason Bay sac-fly in the first. Nick Evans managed to strand five of the 11 Mets baserunners. Not much else to say.

Jose Reyes – 1 for 4 with a run. Leading the league in average.

Duda & Evans – 0 for 8. Tough day at the dish

Turning Point

When the Mets couldn’t manage to get an extra base hit and played uninspired for the second game of the doubleheader.

Goat Of The Game

Nick Evans, 0 for 4 and stranding nearly 50% of the total baserunners in the game.

On Deck

The Mets travel back to Citi Field to take on the Cubs, sending Mike Pelfrey to the mound to face-off against Casey Coleman, who the Mets hit hard the last time they faced him. Game time is 7:10 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.

The offense, spearheaded by a David Wright three run shot in the first never let up, and R.A. Dickey pitched a quality six innings in the Mets 7-3 win against the Nationals.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey had a good outing and the definition of a quality start, going six innings allowing three runs on nine hits, striking out one. Dickey may have not had his strikeout stuff today, but allowing three runs is nothing to scoff at. This win has been the easiest win Dickey has had in well over two months.

The bullpen got a fair amount of work today, and most of it was displaying new faces. Tim Byrdak came out and continued to impress, striking out two in his two-thirds of an inning. Ryota Igarashi came out for one-third of an inning, and gave up a hit and struck out a batter. One of the two new bullpen arms called up to the Mets, hard throwing righty Josh Stinson went one and two-third innings, giving up two hits and striking out two. His stuff does look impressive, and his control wasn’t that erratic today, throwing 15 of 20 pitches for strikes. The second lefty in the bullpen now, Daniel Ray Herrera came out, and struck out the only batter he faced.

The only plus of roster expansions & being out of the playoff race – get to test the competence of your farm system, and in the Mets case rebuilding the bullpen from within.

The offense today was hot from the start, as David Wright sent a three-run homer into the left-center bleachers. Nick Evans agreed with David’s decision, and sent another ball into the left field bleachers for a solo shot. Angel Pagan hit a two-run single, scoring David Wright and Lucas Duda and the last long ball belonged to Mr. Duda when he deposited a ball into deep right field. Today, the offense ran on all cylinders and was not going to let R.A. Dickey pitch another good game and suffer a loss.

Justin Turner – 1 for 5 with three strikeouts. Tough day.

Jason Bay – 0 for 4 with two strikeouts….and Bay has cooled again.

Mike Nickeas – 0 for 4. Not up here for his bat.

Turning Point

When the Mets came out swinging for the fences, and connecting. As dissapointing as it is to say, the three best power-hitters on the team all went yard today.

Game Ball

Lucas Duda – 2 for 4 with two runs, a solo home run and a strikeout. Duda has been on fire this entire month, and if this is Duda “figuring it out” then next year can only improve

On Deck

The Mets will continue the series against the Nationals and send Dillon Gee to the mound against Tom Milone, making his MLB debut. Game time is 7:05 P.M.

For Mets thoughts, responses to the game, and news about the Mets in general follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny

Jonathon Niese had possibly his worst outing of the season, and the Mets offense could not figured out Phillies starter Vance Worley yet again in their 9-4 loss.

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese only made it into the fifth, but was completely ineffective today. Niese allowed eight runs on ten hits, walking one and striking out six, while allowing two home runs. Niese was effective until the third inning, and then he was rendered useless. The Phillies were drilling everything he was throwing, and by the time he walked his first batter, that would be his last batter. Hopefully this wasn’t fatigued and may have been attributed to the back tweak he suffered in his last start.

Pedro Beato came out, and allowed all of Niese’s baserunners to score, and one of his own. Beato has looked extremely overmatched and just not able to stop the bleeding. As the season is progressing you see Terry Collins working him into a middle-relief role. Ryota Igarashi & Tim Byrdak came out and combined to pitch a scoreless inning.

The offense tried to mount some offense early on, but was silenced for the middle innings and didn’t manage a run until a seventh inning RBI groundout. The first eight Mets accounted for five baserunners, and after that they didn’t manage one baserunner until a Nick Evans double. Lucas Duda sent a two-run home run out in the eighth on a ball that was absolutely skyed into the RF bleachers.

Angel Pagan made a HORRIBLE play in the outfield completely misreading a ball in both distance and side, coming in on a ball that sailed over his head and to his right.

As awful as the Mets were, only Wright & Bay didn’t manage to get at least one hit for the Mets.

Nick Evans – 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Not a bad day for Nick, and if he can prove himself capable offensively then maybe next year he can get a shot somewhere for the Mets

Turning Point

Jonathon Niese becoming ineffective in the third inning and pretty much being about as horrible as one pitcher can be for three innings.

GOAT of the Game

Jonathon Niese – Bad stat line not reflected by poor defense, inability to throw out runners or anything out of his control. Just a poor outing.

On Deck

The Mets will look to salvage at least one of the games from the series, sending Mike Pelfrey to the mound against the Phillies and Kyle Kendrick at 1:10 P.M. EST at Citizen’s Ballpark

Mike Pelfrey went a quality six innings, but the Mets defense didn’t do him any favors and the offense didn’t either in their 4-2 loss against the Giants

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey had a quality start today, and if it weren’t for the third inning the outcome of this game could’ve gone in another direction all together. Pelfrey went six innings and allowed two runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out five including the side in the sixth. He had good control today, but was hurt by a lackluster defense that included errors from Angel Pagan and Daniel Murphy. Pelfrey has had two straight good starts, but even in allowing two runs today, this start was significantly better then his start versus the Dodgers.

Today’s bullpen usage was awkward, but could possibly work in future iterations. Jonathon Niese came out to work the seventh, and after Lucas Duda caught and dropped a ball (it was scored a single, not an error) and after an out Niese gave up a double on a hanging curveball. After that, D.J. Carrasco came out and allowed both of Jon Niese’s baserunners to score, but then got out of the inning. Manny Acosta came out to work the ninth

The offense today just couldn’t put any runs across in the early innings. The Mets managed extra base hits, including a Lucas Duda triple but they just couldn’t push runs across. The problem has been being patient and waiting for a good pitch when the situation calls for it. The Mets are still walking at a good clip and wearing pitchers down, but when runners are in scoring position now, the Mets who are patient are becoming first pitch swingers.

Random Facts

Nick Evans now 2 for 19 with eighth inning pinch hit home run.

Justin Turner went 4 for 5 with an RBI. Positive offensive output from Justin going into the break.

Beltran – 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk. One of the few off games for Carlos.

Turning Point

D.J. Carrasco allowing the two inherited baserunners to score. 2-0 is easier to overcome than 4-0.

Game Ball

Mike Pelfrey, for pitching a good game that allowed his team a chance to win. Its just a shame he got absolutely no offense.

On Deck

All Star break, recaps will not return until Friday when the Mets return to Citi Field to play the Phillies at 7:05 P.M.

The Mets have been playing great baseball, working as a team, getting timely hits and playing at least adequate defense in the field. The combination of Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada and Justin Turner have combined to plug the holes in the lineup, get key RBI hits and hold their own at their respective positions. This is all fine and well, but with David Wright expected to return after the All-Star Break, what is going to happen when he returns.

With the very recent news that Jose Reyes will miss three weeks, the plan may not be altered much, but here are a few scenarios:

Harris demoted, Turner/Murphy platoon at 2nd, Duda mans first

The Mets have no quality first baseman backups that are right handed, and both Turner and Murphy have their upsides. Duda has yet to show off his power stroke, but he has proven to get big hits when needed and not embarass himself at first. The Mets have a plethora of left-handed outfield options in both Harris and Pridie, and keeping them both while they have both been underperforming is hard to believe. Murphy has not regularly played second since the Ike Davis injury, and has mostly been manning the corners since David Wright went out.

Duda demoted, Turner/Murphy play 1st & 2nd.

This one seems unlikely, since the Mets front office has openly said they will not keep any of their prospects up at the MLB level if they do not have at-bats to give them. Duda hasn’t done anything wrong to be demoted, and has played about as even keel as one could expect. This option only seems viable if one of Murphy/Turner seems to cool down with the bat.

Tejada & Duda demoted, Turner plays 2B/SS upon Reyes return, Lutz plays 1st

This one is a bit of a reach, but Zach Lutz has been raking as long as he has been healthy, similar to Reese Havens. Lutz is a righty with some power and ability to hit, and right now the only righties on the Mets bench on any given day are Ronny Paulino and Scott Hairston. A Murphy/Lutz platoon at 1st makes some sense, but demoting Duda would take a catastrophic drop in either his fielding ability, or how he has been hitting.

While all of these scenarios seem pretty farfetched at the moment thanks to the Reyes announcement, it is believable that at least one of the four players could return to Buffalo. Duda seems to be on the short end of this leash, since he can only play the corner OF spots and first, and Bay, Pagan and Beltran have those spots held down. Tejada is a better defensive 2B/SS then Turner and Murphy, and Turner’s ability to fill in at SS is adequate at best. Only time will tell, and this may not happen for a few weeks. As Alderson has mentioned, he is only playing the game in two-week intervals. If Duda or Tejada cooled down enough, and Reyes returned one of those players could see a demotion.

Oh, BTW – Nick Evans is returning…again. He of the .000 average in 17 PA.

For more Mets news, notes, ideas, thoughts and useless info, follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny

BUFFALO 8, PAWTUCKET 1: The Buffalo Bisons (3-3) climbed back to .500 this season, defeating the Pawtucket PawSox, 8-1, Tuesday night. Dillon Gee (1-1) went seven innings, giving up three hits and one earned run to get the victory. Gee struck out four and walked two. Dale Thayer contributed two scoreless innings in relief. Offensively, Zach Lutz went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo homer with two RBIs. Nick Evans also hit a solo home run with two outs in the second inning. The Bisons did all the damage in the first three innings, scoring three in the first and four in the third. Lucas Duda went 1-for-4 in his second game back in Triple-A. BOX SCORE

ST. LUCIE 3, FORT MYERS 1: Mets first-round pick Matt Harvey had another quality start for Single-A St. Lucie Tuesday night. Harvey went six scoreless innings — increasing his scoreless innings streak to 11. The big right-hander issued two walks and struck out eight. Through two professional starts, Harvey has lasted 11 innings, given up eight hits, struck out 17 and walked four. In the top of the sixth inning, Jefry Marte reached base after being hit by a pitch and later scored on a Rafael Fernandez sac fly. In the top of the eight, Juan Lagares hit his first home run of the season with two outs. A few batters later, Fernandez scored on a Rylan Sandoval single. All the damage was done with two outs. St. Lucie is now 5-1. BOX SCORE

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

Spring Training is only about two weeks old, but already some players are starting to leave an impact on the new manager, Terry Collins.

Regardless of a 2-3-1 record, the team seems to be coming together nicely, especially since the main focus of this offseason dealt with off-the-field issues.

Stats really don’t mean too much in spring. Rather, a player’s quality of at-bats and defensive presence get noticed more.

A few of the young players have impressed Collins so far.

Nick Evans, who is fighting for a bench position, is making a strong case to make the team. Evans is out of options, so he would have to go through waivers to be sent to Buffalo. Another team would snatch him up in an instant.

He’s been hitting the ball hard and will look build on his strong performance from early this spring.

Another young stud of the spring has been Ruben Tejada. We know Tejada is great with the glove. However, it’s been his bat that has been holding him back.

Not only is Tejeda hitting well this spring (4-for-8), but his hits are clutch. On a few occasions, he’s driven in runs with two outs and runners in scoring position. He’s not going be be a power threat, but he could be a solid contact hitter.

I do like the plan the Mets have set forth with Tejada. Due to the uncertainty surrounding Jose Reyes, they will need a back-up plan, whether it be this year or next year.

However, if the second base experiment isn’t working out, I wouldn’t mind Tejada getting the call. He looked good in his limited time at second last year, but I agree with Collins in that he should be playing everyday in the minors to begin with.

I say this with my fingers crossed, but Fernando Martinez is looking like the prospect that he’s been hyped up to be for his entire career.

Martinez is hitting the cover off the ball early this spring. He hit that clutch two-run homer in the first game and laced a double a few games later.

Unlike Evans, Martinez can be sent back to the minors no problem. He’ll start at AAA where the Mets hope he can play a full season of productive and, just as important, healthy baseball.

Martinez still factors into the future plans of this club, and he may even be with the team sooner rather than later.

Daniel Murphy has been playing excellent defense, albeit at third base rather than second base. Watch out David Wright, Murph is coming for you! I would like to see more of Murph at second though.

That leads me to Carlos Beltran. We all get on Beltran for always being injured or being unproductive or sometimes shying away from the media, but this guy has always been a class act.

His move to right field has highlighted the first few weeks of spring. Now we just need to see him out there in action.

The Mets will arguably have one of the best defensive (and hopefully offensive) outfields in the majors, assuming everyone stays healthy.

While these have been some of the early positives, Met fans hope that this list continues to grow over the next month. Opening day is officially 30 days away.

Get excited!

Follow me on Twitter @JMMancari.

Mike Pelfrey went seven and one third innings of quality baseball, and key offensive contributions from David Wright and clutch hitting from Ruben Tejada gave the Mets the win, 4-3 versus the Brewers.

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey went seven and one third innings today, giving up three runs on five hits, walking four and striking out two. Pelfrey was wild today, throwing roughly half his pitches for strikes. Pelfrey gave up a long home run to Corey Hart in the sixth inning. Pelfrey has been given a lot of slack by Jerry Manuel to throw well over 100 pitches, even this late in the season.

The bullpen brigade did its usual routine, with Pedro Feliciano going two-thirds of an inning and Elmer Dessens pitching a perfect ninth inning. In a season that has been a roller coaster, sans a week or two the Mets bullpen has been great.

The offense was consistently hitting today while missing a few key pieces. Angel Pagan was injured or had the day off, and Carlos Beltran left in the sixth inning with apparent knee problems. That didn’t matter, because David Wright blasted a home run down the left field line, giving him 98 RBI for the season. Many bloggers and fans believed that David would never hit more then 20 home runs again, but David hit his 27th home run of the year. Ruben Tejada provided the game-winning 2 RBI double, after Ike Davis obliterated a double to the 415 mark in right center and Josh Thole hit a bloop single to shallow left field. Luis Castillo was brought in to pinch-run for Thole, and even as he scored the run Luis Castillo still seemed upset by his role on the team

Nick Evans, 0-4 with 1 K and played the ninth inning in center field, getting one put out. The outfield defense of Duda, Evans and Carter could’ve possibly been the worst defensive outfield the Mets could’ve possibly played

Ruben Tejada, 3-4 with two RBI. Ruben was the only Met with more then one hit.

Jesus Feliciano K’d twice and has looked overmatched. Don’t expect to see him in Flushing next year.

David Wright, you now hold the Mets single-season strikeout record with 157 strikeouts!

Turning Point

The Ike Davis double to lead-off the ninth inning invigorated the crowd and the Mets, sparking the walk-off comeback.

Game Ball

Goes to the fans. I attended the game, and the fans were still in the game. They reported the attendance in the 24,000 range but that is difficult to believe, seeing as how empty seats littered the stands.

On Deck

The Mets will go to work on an afternoon/night double header, sending R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese to the mound.

R.A. Dickey was spectacular tonight and the Mets offense went ballistic in the beginning of the game to secure at least a series tie in beating the Pirates 9-1 on Tuesday.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey was great today, going for the complete game win, his only run allowed on an RBI groundout in the ninth inning. R.A. allowed five hits and struck out four and walked three in his complete game victory, and even threw 128 pitches. As the season wears on, its slightly humorous to see Jerry let his pitchers go out and give it there all now when the games don’t matter.

Bullpen didn’t pitch…so A+ for bullpen!

The offense was great today. Angel Pagan had three RBI, Nick Evans and Carlos Beltran went deep and the offense put the game out of reach by the fourth inning. The righty-heavy of the Mets lineup seems to annihilate pitchers and score lots of runs, and that can be attributed to Beltran’s knee batting left-handed, Chris Carter and Lucas Duda struggling to put together offense and the black hole of second base. The Mets lack of a consistent bench has hurt them as well, with Mike Hessman being as good as gold for an out via the K.

Ruben Tejada was 3-4 with two runs pushing his average over .200 to .206. He isn’t gonna hit .320 and win silver sluggers, but if he can make his hitting respectable he could be useful to the 2011 Mets.

Ike Davis, 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Still hot in September

Nick Evans went 2-4 with two runs and his first home run of the season. Useful for 2011? Maybe.

Turning Point

The Angel Pagan bases-clearing double in the second inning. Major play.

Game Ball

R.A. Dickey. He’s been great this year. In a perfect world, R.A. Dickey gets a three-year extension for twelve million and pitches to a low-to-mid three ERA. In a Mets world, they take him to arbitration and undervalue his emergence.

On Deck

The Mets will look to win this series and send Jenrry Mejia to the mound and try out for his 2011 roster spot. Mejia will face off against Paul Maholm. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Game Summary

Dillon Gee continues to impress with another great start tonight. Manuel wants to limit him with innings but he still made it to over 100 pitches in the game. Gee was dominate with six innings pitched, only giving up five hits and walking four batters and striking out three. Three of those five hits were kept to singles with only two guys getting doubles. Gee’s ERA through his first two starts is 0.69. That’s impressive!

The bullpen continues to keep it together as Dessens, Feliciano both pitched a scoreless inning, with a strikeout each. While Takahashi pitched two scoreless innings with a strikeout and a walk.

The Mets rally together seven hits in ten innings tonight. Gee, Ike and Tejada all hit doubles with Nick Evans hitting the only Mets RBI in the game for a walk-off hit.

Lucas Duda went 0-3 tonight. His average has dropped to .031 for his rookie season.

Turning Point

Nick Evans walk-off RBI to win the game.

Game Ball

All the pitching today kept the Mets in the game while the offense fell flat. Gee and the bullpen pitched great.

Up Next

R.A. Dickey starts game two of the home series with the Pirates. Pittsburgh has Zach Duke on the mound for them. Duke only pitched one inning giving up four runs. Game time is 7:10 PM.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets are expected to add right-hander Dillon Gee, left-hander Raul Valdes and first baseman/outfielder Nick Evans to the active roster on Monday in time for the series opener in Washington against the Nationals.
 
Gee went 13-8 for the Bisons with a 4.96 ERA and currently leads the International League with 165 strikeouts. He was just named Buffalo’s Comeback Player of the Year.

Evans batted .294 with 17 homers and 55 RBIs in 88 games with Double-A Binghamton, and then hit .314 with six homers and 25 RBIs after a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo.

Valdes was 2-3 with a 4.73 ERA and one save in 31 appearances with the Mets earlier this season.

Note: Gee would have to be added to the 40 man roster meaning the Mets would have to make room for him with a corresponding move.

Remember Nick Evans?

He was a healthy scratch from the lineup for AA-Binghamton leading Adam Rubin to believe he may soon be joining the Mets.

On Wednesday, Mets manager Jerry Manuel indicated that he wanted a right handed batter on the bench in anticipation of the Braves series that starts today.

Evans, 24, is having a solid bounce-back season and is hitting .290/.363/.518 with 24 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBI in 303 AB for Binghamton.

Evans has progressed at the plate as evidenced by his 10.5% walk rate and his 16.7% strikeout rate, both the best marks in his career.

Update 4:00 PM

The Mets have recalled Nick Evans from Double-A Binghamton, and to make room they have demoted Ryota Igarashi to Single-A St. Lucie.

The Mets currently have Daniel Murphy rehabbing at AAA, and with Brandon Wood struggling as well at 3B for the Angels, could he be a fit?

Murphy could platoon between 1B and 3B and possibly be a good trading chip with a team the Mets have already dealt with earlier in the season (Thanks GMJ).

If not Murphy, then Mike Hessman, who is leading AAA in home runs could possibly be another name that could fetch a piece or two. Of course, this is just speculation on my behalf, but considering the other trading options (Ty Wigginton, Lance Berkman, Paul Konerko) the Mets would seem to be the least demanding in terms of getting a great return back.

If it could happen, the Angels have a few hard-throwing bullpen pieces to replenish a fatigued bullpen, and possibly a few starters who could possibly help with another prospect being bundled in the deal (Nick Evans, anyone?)

However, the Buffalo Bisons (5-3) have a first baseman-turned outfielder, Chris Carter who is hitting 10/26 (.360), 4 doubles, 2 triples, a home run, 7 RBIs, and only struck out 4 times. Yeah, you’re reading that right. Chris Carter is hitting better by himself than the Mets two first basemen combined.

Chris Carter lost the Mets final bench spot to the former first baseman, Frank Catalanotto. Manuel chose Catalanotto over Carter because he has played more positions during his 13-year career. I’ll give him that. He’s played every position and can do it without any hesitation, however, the Mets seem to hesitate to use him. Catalanotto has only 8 at-bats, not getting a single hit in any of them and striking out in three of them. Is his defensive versatility really the only thing that is keeping Frank with the Mets over Carter? Seems like it.

However, the conspiracy theorist in me believes that the Mets are afraid that if Carter played well, they wouldn’t know what to do with Murphy. Imagine if Carter was the “temporary” first baseman, and he hit .350 with 7 homers in the months of April and May? What do you when Murphy is ready to return from the DL?

Chris Carter of course, is not the only better choice to play first base for the Mets. Ike Davis is tearing it up in Buffalo as well batting .346 with three doubles, two home runs, two RBIs, and five strikeouts. He too is hitting better than both Jacobs and Tatis. However, as much as I love Ike and want him to play, I know he needs to be in AAA right now. Developing his offensive and defensive skills should be the top priority.

Finally, there is still one more first baseman who is hitting very, very well in the minors. He’s been trying to make it with the Mets for the past three years. I’m talking about the Mets’ original future first baseman even before Davis burst onto the scene… Nick Evans. He’s hitting .364 with four doubles, three home runs, ten RBIs, and five strikeouts with AA-Binghamton.

So who’s the better choice? Well, basically any of them would be an improvement over Jacobs and Tatis. Honestly, I’d rather have Evans, but Carter has a better chance to make the team, and I’m all for that.

Consider this lineup…

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Jeff Francoeur RF
5. Jason Bay LF
6. Chris Carter 1B
7. Rod Barajas C
8. Angel Pagan CF
9. Pitcher

It may not look like much of an improvement, but I’m sure they would account for more wins than the status quo until Carlos Beltran is back and healthy. Also, it’s time to move Jeff to the cleanup spot. Bay still hasn’t found his groove so until he does lets bat Frenchy fourth and give Wright some much needed support. I love all the walks Wright is drawing, but I love extra-base hits better.

Let’s Go Mets!!! Shut down Albert “The Machine” Pujols!

Back in 2008 the Mets were desperate to shake up the lineup and get guys to play harder. They decided to bring up the young first baseman Nick Evans. He was dominating in AA and got the call to play left field for the Mets to replace the injured Marlon Anderson. In Evans’ first career at bat, he doubled off Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis. He finished the game with three doubles, the first Met to hit three extra-base hits in his major league debut since Kazuo Matsui in 2004. Yet more people were more excited when Josh Thole hit a single for his first career at bat.

Evans was optioned back down to Binghamton on June 6 after batting .174 in nine games when the Mets decided to call upon Abraham Núñez for infield depth. Evans was again recalled on July 8 after Ryan Church went on the disabled list.

Evans finally received his first Major-League start at first base, his natural position, on August 7, 2008 after only previously playing one inning there with the Mets. I was ready to see what the first baseman could provide defensively. In his first game at first base he made a stellar diving stop when Castillo made a throwing error. Evans not only stopped the ball but also got the runner out at first. Yet that was all forgotten by the next inning.

On August 31, 2008 Evans hit his first career Major League home run against the Florida Marlins off pitcher Scott Olsen. He later hit two more during the 2009 season. Our future home run leader showed us what he’s got, or so we thought..

In 2009 when Nick Evans strode to the plate for the first time in 11 days after being kept in some sort of storage, the scent of mothballs and Sucrets was palpable. It was too much for Tim Byrdak to take, as it reminded him of his grandmother’s room. He threw a meatball down the middle and Evans launched it for a triple. But what people don’t know is that the only reason Evans even reached the plate to pinch hit is that Jerry Manuel was distracted by the most recent webisode of The Office.

For those who forgot, Nick Evans was called up four months before Daniel Murphy was shown the light of day in the majors. Murphy also started out in left field but was moved to first last season and the rest was history.

Now I bring you to present day.

The Mets are taking a long look at prospects Ike Davis, Josh Thole, and Jerry Mejia. Daniel Murphy is fighting for – and will probably win – the opening day first baseman job. But where is the Mets former top prospect Nick Evans?” Well he is in fact in Port St.Lucie for Spring Training. However, looking to see how he’s done, I was surprised when I saw that he has had only ONE at-bat which is last for all of the Mets position player so far in spring training. (Did you see too? It was in Sunday’s game against the Nats. If you blinked you missed it.)

You have players who undoubtedly will not play a regular season game next season, getting multiple at-bats while Evans is sitting on the bench. If you look close enough you will see him next to the bat boy. Yeah, the bat boy is getting more of a work out than Nick Evans is this spring training.

This all of course is not Nick Evans’ fault. Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya are playing head games with Mr. Evans and giving the young first baseman/left fielder little hope of playing with the Mets next season.

Why on Earth is Nick Evans not getting his well deserved at bats during Spring Training?

I understand it’s only a few games in but only ONE at-bat? I think he deserves them more than most of the prospects the Mets have. I know Evans will not beat out Murphy, and maybe not even Jacobs for the first base job, but he could definitely rival Ike Davis for the job. Yet you have some of my fellow writers and fans wanting Davis to be “brought up north” after seeing him hit one — impressive — home run during Spring Training off a no name pitcher. Davis has had countless errors already, while Evans has only one error in his 80 career games.

This post is in no way intended to downgrade your opinions on Ike Davis or Daniel Murphy. However, I don’t think that Evans should get thrown into the wood chipper or put on the shelf simply because the Mets now have new faces to look at. Evans should get the respect he deserves. Mets either should get him more and more at bats to prove himself or to just trade the guy to a team who will actually use him.

MMO has learned that first baseman Nick Evans will be one of several Mets that will be playing winter ball this off season. David Ponte met up with Evans this past weekend and asked him what his plans were for the off season.

Q- What positives if any can you take from this season?

A – I think it’s definitely a good learning experience for everybody to go through struggles like this. Hopefully we all learn from it and be ready for next year.

Q – What are your plans for this off season; one baseball thing and one non baseball thing?

A – I’m going to be in Winter Ball all off season working on stuff. So I’ll pretty much be spending most of time down there. I’m pretty much focusing on “all baseball” this off season.

You can listen to the audio here:

Nick Evans has lost some of his shine this past season. I believe a lot of it had to do with not making the team out of spring training. He went to AAA-Buffalo and got mired in a terrible slump that had him batting .211 and it led to a demotion to AA-Binghamton.  He was hardly impressive for the B-Mets, batting .276, but earned a callup after the Mets placed Johan Santana on the DL. Once considered the heir apparent to first base, especially after the Mets traded Mike Carp in the J.J. Putz deal, Evans may have to reinvent himself this winter if he wants to get back on the Mets radar for the short and long term. He’s still young, but the Mets do not have the luxury of time on their side as they look to quench the thirst of an unhappy fanbase.

The Mets have yet to officially announce which players will be playing winter baseball, but we have learned that first baseman Ike Davis and shortstop Ruben Tejada will be playing in the Arizona Fall League.

Ike Davis is also participating in the World Cup in Europe after being selected for Team USA, as we reported last week.

David Ponte contributed to this report and you can follow his take on the Mets and all New York sports at NYsportSpace.

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.