With Ike Davis all, but assured of a trip to Triple-A Las Vegas, the easy part is done. The difficult part will deciding on how to replace him, in body only, at first base.

On the current roster, we already discussed some of the options available and they range from moving Lucas Duda from left field to first base, moving Daniel Murphy over to first, or giving Justin Turner significant playing time at first as well.

None of those options sound very appealing and each one opens up a new set of problems. Instead, the solution should come from the minors.

The simpleton’s choice would be to turn to Zach Lutz. However, he has struggled of late after getting off to a torrid start and is now batting just .271/.354/.421 in 140 at-bats. Only 12 of his 38 hits were for extra-bases. Scarier still, is the 42 strikeouts. How well do you think those metrics will translate at Citi Field? Not very well I can assure you.

The smart money would be on Josh Satin. Already the starting first baseman for Las Vegas, he is having a very solid 2013 season, batting .299 with six home runs and 24 RBI. His on-base is at .410 and he boasts a .470 slugging percentage. What I love about Satin and why I feel he would be the ideal choice is this… In 164 at-bats he’s struck out just 37 times, but he has also drawn 30 walks. This is someone who is obviously ready for the next challenge.

Additionally, Satin has regularly played first base (198 games) while the position is still relatively new to Lutz who has logged just 42 games at first base in his entire pro career.

Back on May 1, I wrote the following about Josh Satin:

Satin has always been a great and disciplined hitter and one look at his career .397 on-base in six minor league seasons should have the suits in the front office with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, as would his .466 slugging percentage.

I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of watching Ike Davis suffocate this offense and have been calling for a reduced role for him since the season began. He’s not suddenly going to magically begin teeing off against lefty pitching as a few lingering fans still believe. That’s a wooden bat he has in his hands, not a magic wand.

Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best. I’ve said that before and continue to stand on that position.

Josh Satin deserves a chance to prove he belongs. He’s paid his dues and has nothing left to prove in the minors. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long. Let’s give this kid his well-deserved shot.

The worst thing that a team as bad as the Mets could do, is to keep trotting out the same undeserving and underperforming ballplayers while some hidden gems waste away at Triple-A when they should be here instead helping the team score runs.

Before that on April 17, in a post entitled, “Time To Promote Josh Satin and Platoon Ike Davis“, I said:

Satin has been hitting the ground running from the moment he signed his first professional contract and has posted an.865 OPS during his minor league career with the Mets, and has made the Minor League All Star Team as the starting third baseman, first baseman or second baseman every season since 2009. Wow…

I think it’s time to call this and tell it like it is… Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best.

Enter Josh Satin, who despite the gaudy stats I already posted, is even better against left-handed pitching. He torches southpaws unmercifully like a demon from Hell. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long and give Josh Satin his well-deserved shot. The fact that it’s taking this long is a cardinal sin.

I was called nuts when I wrote that, but who’s nuts now? Some guy from Bayonne who knows baseball and can see things with his eyes, told me I lost my baseball mind and that Ike was fine and I should shut up about this.

Anyway… The choice is pretty clear as to what the Mets should do, but I’m certain it won’t go down that way. After all  we wouldn’t want to risk losing Robert Carson or Collin Cowgill off the 40 Man Roster to make room for someone who could actually help the team, now would we?

As we’ve reached a point in the year where where sample size is sufficient in predicting broader outcomes things don’t look quite as peachy, but it’s nevertheless a good time to take account of where this Met team stands in terms of their plate discipline.

The good news is we may not have to worry about a second half collapse this year — you all know that nasty little cloud of dread that appears above even the most optimistic Met fan around mid-season. The bad news is the collapse may have come early given a team that appears to be playing worse than many of us predicted, if that’s possible.

The bias dating back to last year among our fine announcers (especially Ojeda and Hernandez) has centered on blaming the lineup’s difficulties on a perceived tendency towards passivity. They take too many early pitches down the middle and strike out on balls outside the zone. Its hard to argue with this criticism because  on any given night you can watch a game and see this with your own eyes, but looks can be deceiving.

When you crunch the numbers the first sore thumb that throbs out at you conspicuously from this bruised and painful numerical array is BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play). Rock bottom, second to last is where the Mets currently abide at .271, with only the Marlins a few notches lower. So really, when you consider the Marlins are, well, the Marlins, you could argue the Mets have the worst BABIP in baseball. The Mets are still walking at a somewhat reasonable 8.5% rate which ranks 11^th in the league, but they are striking out on 22.6% of their at bats, which is 4^th worst (oddly enough the Braves and Nationals actually strike out more — but so do the Astros). The Mets are also third to last in batting average at .227. OBP has tanked as well at .297, 4^th worst in the game.

What’s odd is that the Mets went from a 9.6 walk rate and a 19.7% K rate in March and April to a 6.9% walk rate and a 24% K rate in May.  Again, the numbers seem to show that in spite of appearances, the Mets offensive malaise (the Mets currently rank 24th in runs) is not the result of a proclivity towards being more selective but rather a consequence of having abandoned the approach. Have the Mets been seeing more pitches in the strike zone in May than they did in March and April? Lets take a look at a chart with a comprehensive array of plate discipline metrics. The first column in each row is March/April the second is May, the Y axis is percent, the X is the metric itself.

The quick answer to whether or not the Mets are seeing more strikes is no, the Mets have not seen more pitches in the strike zone than what you might expect. They were about league average in that regard for the month of May. For March and April on the other hand, 47% of pitches they saw were in the zone, 4^th highest in Baseball. So for May they are actually seeing fewer pitches in the strike zone.

We can determine two distinct trends in the chart above (I debated whether to actually make two charts but for simplicity’s sake I combined them). First, the Mets swung more in May in every category than they did in April, and secondly, their contact went down, also in every category. So, contrary to what we may think, the Mets have swung the bat more in May, with clearly poorer results. At 31.6% the Mets did not swing at an inordinate number of pitches outside the zone in May, they did, however swing at 68% of pitches inside the  zone, (4^th best in baseball), so, while they were still fairly selective, their contact rates were awful, with a noted increase in swinging strikes for May.

What’s the take-away? Well, unless statistics lie, the philosophy remains a sound one. When the Mets were more patient the offense clicked, when they swing more, they strike out more, and their contact rates plummet. It’s not the approach, it’s the execution. The onus of blame, therefore, may be less on the strategy itself and more on the players and the coaches who are tasked with implementing it consistently. You can argue the coaching staff has done a poor job of preparing the players to see it through, but that’s a tough sell since the Mets came out the gate seeing lots of pitches and walking a ton and were better for it.

Perhaps better players would have been able to stick with the program, perhaps different players may have been more amenable to the approach itself. Regardless, the numbers don’t lie.

There are a couple of silver linings. First, it’s encouraging that the lineup as constituted has shown the propensity to score runs in the past, so there may be hope in their ability to regain some modicum of their early form. Secondly, their dreadful BABIP indicates that to some degree, the Mets have been unlucky, especially in May. I will go so far as to say the team should rebound, particularly if earlier trends in plate discipline can somehow be rediscovered or reinforced. I don’t believe the Mets are as bad as they’ve appeared over the past couple of weeks. They might not be much better, but I don’t think they’re this bad.

Unless statistics lie of course.

John Bernhardt, one of our esteemed writers at MetsMinors.Net, co-hosts a radio show called “Tip Off” every Friday morning at 8:00 AM. John comments on the site under the moniker “B-Mets Fan” and always provides great insight – and you might also know him for his excellent work charting some of our pitching prospects in AA.

His guest this week is none other than myself! That’s right, I’m jumping on the show to talk about the world of blogging, my own life, and most importantly – Mets Minors! You can tune in through many avenues to check out what looks to be a fun exchange between John, his co-host Dawg, and myself. I’ll be on from 8:15 – 9:00 AM for you early birds out there who want to give it a listen.

• You can stream the show live by going here or here. John recommends the second link.
• For those of you who want to catch it later on in the day, you can use a free service on this website to have it recorded and sent to your email for your listening convenience.
• And for those of you in the Binghamton area, you can tune in to 91.3 FM WIOX Radio.

I can’t wait!

A high-ranking team official told he New York Post on Thursday that barring a setback, Zack Wheeler is expected to make 2-3 more starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and then join the Mets. If Wheeler remains on normal rest, that would put his Mets debut somewhere in the June 6-11 range.

“If not for the minor setback with the shoulder, he might already be here,” the club official said. “We are at the point where you can say it’s probably two or three more starts for Las Vegas.”

Kristie Ackert of the Daily News also adds this:

“He’s ready,” a team source told the News Thursday, but the front office will want to see him throw consistently after the injury.

Wheeler allowed three runs on five hits, two home runs, two walks and two strikeouts, over five innings pitched against Triple-A Iowa. It was his first start since May 11 when he was put on the disabled list for a sore clavicle. He received a cortisone shot in the AC joint of his throwing shoulder.

With as bad as the team’s doing, declining revenues, falling attendance, and SNY viewership down 22%, the Mets need Wheeler more than he needs them.

However, he’ll need to burst out of the gates like Matt Harvey did if they expect him to save their season from total financial loss.

Original Post 5/22

Zack Wheeler took the hill this afternoon for the first time after a brief stint on the disabled list due to inflammation in the AC Joint of his throwing shoulder. He received a cortisone shot, and missed his scheduled start this past Saturday.

Wheeler looked a tad rusty from the get-go. He didn’t have great command over his pitches, and in fact, he missed the strike zone wildly a couple of times. He got hit hard throughout his five innings of work, and ended up giving up two home runs and a triple that narrowly missed being a third home run.

The two strike outs that Wheeler got in today’s game was his lowest total of the season (opening day he had three). It was promising to see that even though he didn’t have great command, he only walked two batters. Wheeler gave up three runs on five hits, two of which, as I stated earlier, were home runs. It should be noted that the ball was flying out of the park in Iowa today, and through the sixth inning (when I am writing this), there have been a total of six home runs hit between the two teams.

Coming on the heels of what Sandy Alderson said about Wheeler needing about two or three more solid outings before he will be promoted, today’s start was a disappointing one. The good news is, it looked as though he was pitching without pain, and was clocked at 96 mph with his fastball. This outing seemed to be nothing more than Wheeler experiencing a little lag from not pitching in over a week, and I look for him to get back on track with his next start.

Have you checked out MetsMinors.net yet? What are you waiting for an engraved invitation? Come see why almost 5,000 different readers checked us out on Tuesday. We are rewriting the book on Mets minor league coverage and it will never be the same again. Over a dozen dedicated quality posts per day – each packed with insights and quotes we get from the players themselves. Come see what all the commotion is about and I guarantee you’ll be hooked…

You hear it all the time: it isn’t about velocity, it’s about location. And no one exemplifies that old adage more than Logan Verrett. The 22-year-old Texas native was taken in the third round of the 2011 draft and has been impressive at all three minor league stops.

Verrett dominated A ball in 2012 in both Savannah and St. Lucie, combining to make 17 starts and finishing with an ERA of 2.70, a WHIP of 0.968, and a strikeout-to-walk rate of 7.15 over 103.1 innings pitched. Beginning the 2013 at AA Binghamton, Verrett has seen a slight regression in his numbers, but a slight regression from dominating is still excellent. After nine starts in the Eastern League, Verrett’s logged 60.1 innings pitched, his ERA sits at a 3.28 ERA and his WHIP is 1.044, good for fifth in the league, and his K/BB is 3.21.

And he’s doing it all with a 91 mph fastball.

“I know I’m not going to blow guys away,” Verrett acknowledges, “so I put a lot of effort into locating all my pitches and being able to throw all of them in any count. I like to keep them off balance and hitting spots helps me do that, especially with all four pitches.

Verrett’s repertoire consists of his fastball, both two-seam and four-seam, a slider, curve ball and change up  His fastball has heavy sink on it and the slider is the out pitch.  He has great command of all four pitches and can throw each for a strike at any time.

“You don’t have to throw 100 mph to get hitters out,” explains manager Pedro Lopez. “Guys who throw harder than he does get hit harder, because of his location. His fastball command to this point has been good. He’s also been able to throw his secondary pitches at any time in the count down in the strike zone.”

“He’s very aggressive and makes pitches when he needs to,” adds pitching coach Glenn Abbott. “He’s very competitive and likes the challenge.”

Lopez agrees. “He’s aggressive with all his pitches. He’s not afraid of contact and as a starting pitcher, when you do that, you find yourself pitching deep into ballgames. He’s been able to pitch deep into games just because he goes after hitters. That’s what he does best. He goes after hitters and he puts it in play early.”

Verrett’s 60.1 innings leads the Eastern League, as does his 6.7 IP per start (minimum six starts).

“Efficient” is how Coach Abbot describes Verrett. “You know what you’re going to get with him. When he pitched against the Yankees [AA affiliate Trenton Thunder], he got through 8.2 innings in his 100 pitches.”

Teammate Jack Leathersich sees the same thing, and from a pitcher’s perspective, adds that Verrett’s deceptiveness also plays a part in his success. “He’s not a 95 [mph] guy, but his fastball jumps out of his hand. I feel like as a hitter, it would look harder than what it actually comes in at. His slider is very, very sharp and looks exactly like his fastball coming out of his hand. That’s kind of his bread and butter.

“He’s really polished,” continues Leathersich, “and that’s how he was in college in the Cape league when I saw him there. He’s pitching really well and giving us a chance to win every time he goes out there.”

Catcher Blake Forsythe really enjoys catching Verrett. “He makes my job a lot easier than it is. He stays in the zone and is able to throw four different pitches for strikes. He’s got a lot of late movement, which forces contact, but not a lot of good contact. His slider is such a late breaking pitch, you have to try and go the other way with it. Hitters have to adjust to so many different things.”

When asked whether or not he expected to start this strong, Verrett offered a humble, if not sheepish, half-smile and shrug. “You always expect things to go well, until they don’t. But I prepared very intensely this off season  I got to spring training a few weeks early. I was really able to get good one-on-one time with some pitching coaches. I was able to get an early jump on throwing. I think I took a really good approach during the off season and brought it with me to Spring Training and carried that into the season. That really helped with my confidence on the mound.

Verrett credits a high school pitching coach for helping plant the seeds that would eventually become a blossoming professional career. “He was only 10-15 years older than me and just recently got out of the game, so he was really young. It’s my senior year in high school and I have this new age approach to pitching that I’m being taught. He was always giving me tips and tidbits in my sides and bullpens, and that’s in high school. Just to be able to have a pitching coach in high school was amazing, especially one that had just left the game maybe three years before. He knew what it takes and what’s expected at the professional level and that’s the kind of approach he brought to our high school team. That carried over to my Baylor career and I felt like I was real mature for a freshman.

He finished his Baylor career seventh in strikeouts, and third among those who only pitched three years. He ranks second and third in conference-play K/BB and ERA, respectively.

Verrett knows there’s more work to be done. “What makes me successful is my ability to put the ball where I want it with all four pitches. I need to get better at doing that every single time. Not having the three or four mistake pitches that I leave up in a start. Like last night, for instance, I had four or five pitches that I could look back and say, “Yeah, I left that ball up.” If I’m going to be successful in the big leagues, it’s eliminating those mistake pitches and I think I’m on the right path.”

(Photo Credit: Gordon Donovan)

Thoughts from Joe D.

First off, great job on this Xtreem… This is how you present an interview and do a focus piece on a prospect with supporting quotes from his teammates and coaches as well to add context and additional insight… Outstanding work…

Verrett has has been overshadowed by some of the bigger names in the system since being drafted and signed by the Mets in 2011. The truth is that if you put his numbers alongside any of our other top pitching prospects, you see someone who certainly belongs in the same conversation.

What I love most about him is that he knows who he is and what he needs to do to get to the majors. He’s focused on refining his already plus-command and understands that being able to spot any of his pitches will compensate for not having that 99 mph fastball. After only six starts in Advanced-A, he seamlessly made the jump to Double-A where he continues to succeed. Verrett is somebody you want to keep your eye on.

For more minor league interviews liked this and the best Mets Minors coverage you’ll find anywhere else, check out MetsMinors.net. Nobody is doing it better… Nobody…

Rice lowered his ERA to 3.05, and is now on pace for 99 appearances. That would surpass Pedro Feliciano‘s franchise mark of 92 games in 2010 and rank second all-time to Mike Marshall‘s 106 appearances for the Dodgers in 1974.

That is one heck of a workload to say the least, and to think that it’s coming from a pitcher who has toiled for 14 years in the minors before finally getting his shot in the majors makes this all the more amazing.

Rice, the 31 year old rookie, is proving to be the second best weapon in the Mets bullpen after closer Bobby Parnell. However, how long can he continue on this torrid pace before it all catches up to him and he begins to breakdown?

“Right now it’s early enough in the year”, manager Terry Collins said. “We’ve tried to get him some days off. But he keeps pitching four out of five, it’s got to be a concern. We’ve got to certainly pick up some of the workload with somebody else.”

Rice has no complaints and is enjoying every minute of his new-found life in the majors, but he also understands the risks.

“If my arm is feeling fine, I’m going to go out there and throw,” Rice said. “I’m going to be smart, and I know my body. I know how to take care of myself and prepare myself to throw every day.”

I’ve been pulling for Rice since back in Spring Training and was so glad for him when he made the team, but I never expected he would play such a significant role this season. Here’s to more great outings for this veteran rook, who definitely knows his place. He earned it the hard way.

Starting Lineup

1. Jordany Valdespin – RF
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. John Buck – C
7. Rick Ankiel – CF
8. Ruben Tejada – SS
9. Matt Harvey – RHP

Game Notes

The Mets’ 5-2 win against the Cardinals on Thursday was only the second time in their past 10 games they topped three runs. But when it’s rained, it’s poured for the Mets. They’ve scored seven or more runs in a game 10 times this season, tied for second in the National League with the Giants and Braves.

The Mets went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the victory against St. Louis after going 11-for-53 (.208) in those situations over its previous nine contests.

Terry Collins told reporters he will continue to use Ike Davis in the cleanup spot through their weekend series with the Cubs. The team has not discussed sending Davis to the minor leagues, according to reporters. Davis is hitless in his last 22 at-bats and is batting .157 with 4 home runs this season.

David Wright is batting .379 during day games, the fourth-highest average in the National League. Also, Daniel Murphy is batting .394 on the road this season, the best mark in the NL. Murphy has hit safely in five straight games, with three multi-hit efforts, including Thursday’s four-hit outburst.

Game Preview

The Mets stopped the losing yesterday afternoon as they beat the Cardinals by the score of 5-2 and avoided the sweep. This afternoon, the Mets look to repair their season by building off of yesterday’s win. Murphy was a big reason for success yesterday with a 4-4 day at the plate with 2 doubles and going an overall 11 for his last 17 (after going 0-17). In addition to Murphy yesterday, the Mets got some good starting pitching from someone not named Matt Harvey. Speaking of Matt Harvey, happy Harvey Day!

Matt is still 4-0 this season thanks to the Mets bullpen and really the Mets offense in his last several starts. It speaks to the season Harvey is having that we were disappointed with 7 inning, 2 ER, 4 K performance his last time out that actually raised his ERA to 1.44. This afternoon will be Harvey’s first time pitching in Chicago, pitching against Chicago and facing any batter on the Chicago roster.

The Mets bats will square off with Edwin Jackson who is 1-5 over the first 8 starts of the year with a 6.02 ERA over 43.1 innings of work. His last start wasn’t bad as he allowed 2 ER over 5.1 innings but in his previous two starts he has allowed 12 ER in 9.2 innings of work. Last season he was 1-1 against the Mets in three starts with a 3.32 ERA in 19.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Edwin:

Byrd 6-21, 4 2B, HR
Buck 3-13, HR
Wright 2-10
Murphy 1-9
Tejada 0-7
Davis 2-6, 2B, HR
Duda 1-6, 2B

Lets Go Mets!

Scott Atchison, who experienced numbness in his fingers while pitching Monday, has been placed on the disabled list according to Assistant GM John Ricco.

Atchison was examined Tuesday in New York by team doctors who said there is “no new structural damage.”

The 37 year old veteran reliever opted not to have Tommy John surgery last year despite a ligament tear in his right elbow.

Collin McHugh has been promoted from Triple-A and is in St. Louis. He will work out of the bullpen while with the team.

In eight starts for Las Vegas, McHugh was 3-2 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. In 49.1 innings, he’s walked nine and struck out 36.

Originally Posted at 9:00 AM

Mets reliever Scott Atchison took the mound pitched last night at Busch Stadium with numbness in the fingers of his right hand, which he classified as a side effect of his torn elbow ligament.

The Mets plan to send Atchison for tests on his elbow, although the reliever is not sure what that will accomplish. He has been pitching with a torn ligament since at least 2009, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

“It’s documented, obviously, with my elbow,” Atchison said. “Some of it’s, ‘What can I handle?’ I feel like I’ve been managing it pretty good all year, and today for whatever reason the tingling came back.”

Atchison, 37, missed more than two months last season after experiencing similar numbness, but opted against Tommy John surgery.

In 19 appearances spanning 18.0 innings Atchison has a 4.50 ERA and allowed 20 hits, 6 walks, six strikeouts and a 1.44 WHIP.

He said he could not feel his fingers last night when he failed to get an out and gave up three hits including a two-run homer to Matt Holliday.

Mom’s Day Starting Lineup

1. Ruben Tejada – SS
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Ike Davis – 1B
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. John Buck – C
7. Mike Baxter – RF
8. Juan Lagares – CF
9. Matt Harvey – RHP

Game Notes

In three of his first 17 career games, Matt Harvey has allowed one hit and thrown at least 7.0 innings…That is the most such games in the major leagues since 1916…Five other pitchers (Anibal Sanchez, Chris Nabholz, Mat Latos, Wally Bunker and Vida Blue) had two such starts in their first 17 career games.

The Mets have recalled RHP Greg Burke from Triple-A Las Vegas and have placed RHP Jeurys Familia on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis, the team announced. Familia will report to the Mets facility in Port St. Lucie to begin rehabilitation.

Ike Davis will bat cleanup Sunday. Davis hasn’t hit there since April 19 and has been hitting out of the No. 7 spot lately. Manager Terry Collins said he wants to put his run producers at the top of the lineup. This comes after a bit of an outburst by Davis after yesterday’s game vowing to ditch the Mets philosophy and hit a first pitch fastball whenever he pleases.

Reliever Frank Francisco is headed to the Binghamton Mets as part of his injury rehab. Francisco should be activated this week.

Numerous Mets will use Louisville Slugger pink bats along with pink batting gloves, cleats and sweatbands today as Major League Baseball honors Mother’s Day and raises awareness and money for breast cancer research. Every team across the league will also use commemorative pink stitched Rawlings baseballs. The game used items will be auctioned off on mlb.com with proceeds going towards MLB charities in support of breast cancer.

Nicole Malato, from Toms River, NJ will be the Mets’ honorary bat girl. Malato was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, 2011. She will take the lineup card out to home plate with Mets Manager Terry Collins. In addition, an all-female military color guard will be on hand for the National Anthem and the Mets will feature Mother’s Day vignettes on CitiVision.

Game Preview

In a common theme this year, Matt Harvey finds himself playing the role of stopper today as he tries to put the Mets back on a winning path. Yesterday the Mets dropped another game to the Bucs due to bad pitching from Niese and another lackluster day at the plate. At least it was Banner Day though. Against Harvey will be Jeanmar Gomez.

Matt had an unbelievable game last time out allowing only hit over 9 shutout innings while striking out 12 batters. Sadly, the Mets couldn’t score any runs, so he was saddled with the no decision. On the season he is 4-0 with a 1.28 ERA while striking out 58 batters of 49.1 innings of work. He has a 0.63 ERA in his last two starts while striking out 19 over 14.1. He has never faced the Pirates and has never faced anyone on the Pirates roster.

The Mets bats look to get things moving for Harvey day as they go up against Gomez who is 2-0 this season over 7 games, 2 starts and 22.2 innings of work with a 2.38 ERA. As a starter, he has pitched 9.0 innings allowing 2 ER and striking out 8 batters. Last season for the Indians he was 5-8 with a 5.96 ERA over 90.2 innings. He has never faced the Mets but has faced Buck, who is 0-3 against him.

Let’s Go Mets!

A year ago today the Mets were 18-13 and tied for the lead in the second wild card spot, but by the All Star break they found themselves a half game out of the wild card hunt at 46-40.  By the time August 1st rolled around the Mets were descending further out of the playoff picture at 8.5 games back and would eventually end the season at 14 games out of a Wild Card berth. If you looked at the team you felt they never had a chance to gain any wild card spot.  But the opportunity was there if they just played hard enough, or had the talent to compete.

The Mets with all their pitching and hitting woes will keep them from even considering making the playoffs, but you have to wonder what is going through the minds of the Wilpons. I mean they play in NY, so why wouldn’t they want to provide a good product on the field? Why wouldn’t they want to have a winning team?  Winning baseball fills the stands, excites the fans.  In the hunt for one wild card spot gives hope, but now with two spots to grab, it should force a team to do whatever they need to, to reach the goal. Why settle for just mediocre baseball, don’t the fans deserve better? It just doesn’t make sense to me.  If a playoff run is not in the plans for 2013, is it in the plans for 2014? Will better moves be made or are the owners still recovering from bad investments? We the fans hold our end of the bargain, we buy tickets to the games, we buy merchandise and all we ask for is a team that will compete for the playoffs, a team that is exciting to watch and will continue to get better not worse.

What is funny is that before I started writing for MMO, I saw the glass as half full.  I would watch the Mets from my home in Florida and never really understood why things weren’t happening for us. But with the great followers that our site has and the knowledge of our writers, it has shown me a different side to the one and only team I have rooted for my whole life. Was I that blind to the reality of Mets baseball, could only a month of following and writing for MMO truly show me a different side of the game or the business part of it. I couldn’t be that naïve could I?

We all want a winner, we want an organization that will do whatever it takes to put a great product on the field, to have a team that will compete with just about anyone.  In my earlier post “The Youth Movement has Fully Begun at Citi Field”, I felt good about watching the young studs call Citi Field their home, it felt like the right thing to do.  Start from the bottom up and build a championship team, but that just doesn’t seem to be what is happening here.  I mean, I am not giving up on my team, I have seen the good times and a lot of bad times, but in the end, I am a fan, I bleed Orange and Blue, I suffer through the rough seasons with the hopes that they will finally get it together, but with how Jordany Valdespin has been treated, with how the pitching staff has just been patched together and the talent on the field nothing near what a fan would want to see, it just boggles my mind how the Mets wouldn’t do all it needs to do to try and put a team together worthy of a playoff run.

Back in the 80’s the team that finished second, went home, there weren’t any extra games for them to try and get in the playoffs.  If you won 90 games and finished second, you received nothing and the season was considered a failure, but now with the two wild card spots, more opportunities are there so are they willing to do what it takes to try and make the playoffs. I am really not sure these days.

Spending the money doesn’t guarantee anything, as the 2012 Miami Marlins and so far the Toronto Blue Jays have shown, but making an effort to put a talented and winning team on the field does make a difference in the mindset of the fans. We want a winning team and I just feel that as fans we deserve one.

Starting Lineup

1. Ruben Tejada SS
2. Daniel Murphy 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. John Buck C
5. Justin Turner 1B
6. Marlon Byrd RF
7. Andrew Brown LF
8. Juan Lagares CF
9. Dillon Gee RHP

Game Notes

New York will play consecutive four-game series (vs. Pittsburgh and at St. Louis) for just the third time since 2008. The Mets played two straight four-game sets last year, July 26-August 2 at Arizona and at San Francisco. The Mets played two four game road series, July 1-6, 2008 at St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Over the club’s last nine home games, the Mets have scored 22 runs (an average of 2.4 per contest) while hitting .181 (51-282). They have scored two runs or less in six of those games. Overall, the Mets have plated 71 runs in 17 home games (4.2 runs per game).

The Mets are averaging 4.70 runs per game, the third-most in the NL and the eighth-most in the majors. David Wright is tied for third in the majors with 23 walks and Lucas Duda is tied sixth in the majors with 21 walks. The Mets are sixth in the National League with 106 walks.

The Mets are fourth in the NL and 11th in the majors with a .272 (62-227) batting average with RISP. The club has 10 home runs in such situations, tied for the third-most in the majors. John Buck has four of those home runs, tied for the major league lead. David Wright is hitting .414 (12-29) with RISP, the seventh-best mark in the National League. As a team the Mets have stranded 203 runners, including seven last night, ranking 27th in the majors.

Frank Francisco pitched 1.0 scoreless inning yesterday for St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League vs. Daytona. He did not allow a hit, issued two walks and recorded two strikeouts. Francisco has not permitted a run in five rehabilitation outings with St. Lucie. He’s worked 5.0 innings, allowed one hit, issued two walks and fanned six.

Matt Harvey will be presented with his NL Pitcher of the Month Award for April in a pre-game ceremony. Harvey will also receive an engraved watch for his Player of the Week (April 8-14) honor. In April, Harvey’s 1.56 ERA ranked third, his 46 strikeouts were tied for fourth and he limited opposing hitters to a .153 batting average, the lowest mark in the NL…He was one of only two NL starters to post four wins in April without suffering a loss.

Game Preview

The Mets fresh off of a split with the White Sox start a four game series with the Pirates tonight. Last night the Mets offense was flat, and too little too late. It wasn’t until the end of the game where the Mets started to get hits but they still couldn’t get runs. Anyway, Pittsburgh comes to town today and they are second in the NL Central with a 18-15 record. Tonight Dillon Gee will go up against Jeff Locke.

Dillon Gee is 2-4 this season over 6 games with a 6.16 ERA and 30.2 innings of work. In his last two starts he has allowed 8 ER over 11.0 innings of work. Gee hasn’t faced the Pirates since 2011 where he was 2-0 in as many games pitching 15.0 innings with a 2.40 ERA. The Pirates have the following numbers against Gee:

Tabata 4-10, 2B
McCutchen 1-9
Jones 2-7, 2B
Martin 0-5
Harrison 2-4
Alvarez 0-2
Barmes 0-2

The Mets will get a look at Jeff Locke today, who is in his 3rd season in the majors. This is the season where Locke is starting to put it together pitching 33.2 innings over 6 starts with a 3.21 ERA. At the start of the season, he wasn’t doing too well as he allowed 9 ER over 15.2 innings but in his last three starts he has allowed 3 ER over 18 innings. He has made one start against the Mets where he allowed 5 ER over 3.2 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Buck 1-3
Murphy 2-3
Tejada 3-3
Davis 0-1
Duda 0-2
Recker 1-2, HR
Wright 1-2

Let’s Go Mets!

Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler headline a handful of budding young pitchers who hope to one day bring the New York Mets organization back to relevance again. Harvey,  in his first full season, is doing his best to do just that–as exemplified by his near-perfect, nine shutout frames in Tuesday night’s walk-off victory by the Whitestone kid, Mike Baxter–and Wheeler is knocking on the door to crack the big-league rotation soon enough. As both develop, the pair continuously leads a youth movement in the organization that look to achieve what this franchise has yet to celebrate in 27 years; a world championship.

Not only someone who was a key cog of a dominant Mets rotation and an integral part of that champion 1986 club, but also someone who interacts and analyzes the likes of Harvey and the team on a daily basis, Ron Darling offers intricate insight on these young arms and his thoughts on their first months of the 2013 season thus far.

Sitting on the back patio of the Irish Circle Tavern in Rockaway Park, Queens — who hosted a luncheon for Hurricane Sandy Relief in which he was a guest of honor with Mike Baxter – -Darling describes to me the way in which he goes about evaluating a pitcher.

“The three things that I benchmark, that I judge pitchers by.” said Darling as jets from the nearby JFK International Airport fly loudly overhead, giving the conversation a true Citi Field vibe. “Their ability to throw fastballs on the corner and both sides of the plate, they can throw a breaking ball over the plate behind in the count, and they have a bulldog and a competitive mentality.”

After explaining his methods of evaluation, Darling goes on to explain how Harvey and Wheeler fit into his equation.

“Harvey has all three.” said Darling. “Wheeler has all three now but not at the major league level. You can’t judge minor league pitchers until they pitch on this stage because it’s just such a big jump. You’re pitching now against people that used to be on your video games. Until that happens I think it is tough to judge guys.”

As shown by his bloody-nose inning and simply his pure demeanor on the mound, the competitive prowess of Harvey is rarely questioned. When it comes to Wheeler however, his “bulldog” isn’t always quite as outwardly apparent. The intangible “bulldog” factor of Darling’s evaluation, he says, comes in all types and varieties.

“A bulldog comes in many shapes and forms. said Darling. “In my day, Dave Stewart was considered a bulldog with the stare, but so was Orel Hershiser without the stare. It comes in a lot of different ways. A lot of guys try to fake it, you can see through it. Zack might have a different way of doing it; he might be quieter about it, as opposed to Matt who may be a bit more overt about it. Matt’s from the East Coast, and East coast kids tend to be a little more overt anyway, and Zack might be a little quieter. It doesn’t mean that they both can’t be pitching assassins in their own way.”

Wheeler’s toughness in-game had begun to come into question, to an extent due, to his rough first month of the season in which he allowed 18 runs in 23.1 innings. Since then, the 22-year old has put together back-to-back dominant efforts and appears to be getting his season on track. Darling, who says he has seen Wheeler pitch live on roughly six occasions or so, believes the slow start was due to his lack of innings in Port St. Lucie after being sidelined with an oblique strain.

“What happened to Zack is that he had a shortened Spring Training, he was playing catch up, and that’s why he had the first bad outings.” said Darling. “Terry Collins said if you want to come up here you’ve got to throw strikes and he has, so sometimes you just need some gentle prodding and I think that was the best thing that happened to him.”

While Collins and the Mets await the proper time to give Wheeler that call to come up, they have been able to revel in the incredible season so far from the Amazin’s other distinguished young arm in Harvey, who has continued to draw up a significant stir across baseball that hasn’t been seen for a rookie arm in Flushing in some time. His career is merely 16 starts long between 2012 and 2013, however Darling explains that the praise for Harvey is well-deserved.

“If he continues the way he’s going, we’re talking about a young man in his first full season having the chance to pitch or start in his home ballpark at the All-Star Game.” tells Darling. “That’s a pretty amazing feat.”

Of the attention in particular,  the now weekly Met holiday known as Harvey Day has become one of the most popular celebrations of the young workhorse.

“You say Harvey Day, I was thinking about Paul Harvey, the great radio icon who used to say ‘good day’ to end his broadcasts.” said Darling, in reference to his chuckle when I mentioned the term Harvey Day in my question. “That’s what Matt Harvey does with his innings when he ends with strikeouts: ‘Good day.’”

Both Harvey and Wheeler will look to have more ‘good days’ than bad as they continue their respective journeys towards making their presence known and leaving those such as Darling “so impressed” in what hopes to be two long, successful major-league Met careers.

I just wanted to thank the Mets, Citigroup and the Irish Circle Tavern for putting together a wonderful luncheon to benefit the continued effort to rebuild following Hurricane Sandy. I would also like to thank Ron Darling who amid a room of fans, reporters and officials not only took time out to  speak privately with me, but gave exceptional insight on two of the Mets greatest young talents.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Las Vegas edged out Round Rock, 3-2. 
• Binghamton dropped to Trenton, 5-1. 
• St. Lucie blasted Daytona, 13-3. 
• Savannah topped Hickory, 9-6. 

Prospect Pipeline

• It was supposed to be an epic matchup of top pitching prospects in Trenton, between the B-Mets and the Trenton Thunder yesterday — the Double-A version of the Subway Series. Rafael Montero was on the hill for Binghamton, while Jose Ramirez took the hill for Trenton. If you look at the box score, it looks as if Ramirez did the share of dominating, but it was Montero who bounced back, and looked masterful for six innings. Montero now has 48 strike outs to just eight walks this season. You can read my recap on Montero’s performance last night, here.
• Montero wasn’t the only pitcher that bounced back last night. Collin McHugh was even more dominant, pitching seven complete innings, while giving up no runs and compiling five strike outs and no walks. Round Rock only managed five hits against McHugh. I actually had to double-check to make sure Las Vegas didn’t build a dome after seeing those numbers.
• Eudy Pina makes his Mets Minors Report debut today, and with good reason. Pina smacked two home runs in Savannah’s win yesterday morning. He also added a double and compiled four RBIs on the day.
• Phillip Evans has been flirting with the Mendoza Line, but he erupted for three hits in yesterday’s game, one of which was his first home run of the season.
• Cesar Puello provided all of the B-Mets offense with one swing of the bat yesterday. He crushed an 0-2 hanger from Jose Ramirez over the left field fence, which also extended his hit streak to 14 games.
• Travis Taijeron has been named Florida State League player of the week. Taijeron, an 18th-round pick in 2011 from Cal Poly Pomona, hit .474 with one homer and six doubles in six games through Sunday.
• Third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez also has heated up with the FSL club. Rodriguez is 7-for-17 with two homers and nine RBIs in his past four games, which has upped his season average to .218. (Rubin)
• Right-hander Jeff Walters, whose eight saves with Binghamton lead the Eastern League, has an interesting distinction. Walters was drafted five times — out of high school, twice out of junior college, then after his junior and senior years at the University of Georgia. He signed after being selected in the seventh round by the Mets in 2010. Told getting drafted five times must be some type of record, Walters said he actually knows another person who experienced it — his former high school pitching coach, Randy O’Neal, who ended up being the 15th overall pick in the 1981 draft by the Detroit Tigers the final time. (Rubin)
• Jack Leathersich now has 27 strikeouts in 15.0 innings pitched for Double-A Binghamton. For his young pro career in the Mets system, he now has an insane 166 K’s in 99.2 innings.
• Matthew Bowman pitched six innings and struck out seven to earn his first win in his Florida State League debut as the Mets defeated the Daytona Cubs 13-3 on Tuesday. Bowman was promoted from Savannah, where he went 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA in five starts.
• We want to welcome Matt Musico and Wally Murphy to MMO Minor League Team! Matt was formerly the Executive Editor of Rising Apple where he led the site to great heights. Wally has been covering the Savannah Sand Gnats for eight years and has never missed attending a home game in all that time. Two powerhouse additions to an already great minor league team. Welcome Aboard, guys!

Stat Lines of the Day

Eudy Pina: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

Phillip Evans: 3-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB

Collin McHugh: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K 

Transactions/Injuries

The Mets are taking it slow with Michael Fulmer as he returns from surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Fulmer has not pitched again in a game since throwing two innings in an extended spring training game last Monday.

Right-hander Luis Mateo is making progress with a throwing program after leaving his Double-A debut April 15 with elbow inflammation. He was due to throw a bullpen session either yesterday or today.

Brandon Nimmo still has not returned to the lineup since April 29 because of a hand contusion. The Mets now consider it more serious than initially thought and will have him seen by team doctors with a possible MRI as well. DL stint looming.

Carlos Vazquez assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from St. Lucie Mets.

C Xorge Carrillo assigned to St. Lucie Mets from Brooklyn Cyclones (This one confused me, why not promote Kevin Plawecki?).

St. Lucie Mets placed C Albert Cordero on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to May 6, 2013.

Quote of the Day

The quote of the day comes via Twitter and was in response to Rafael Montero‘s performance last night:

In my three seasons of covering minor league baseball, tonight’s effort by Rafael Montero is the most impressive that ive seen

— Matt Kardos ⚾ (@mattkardos) May 8, 2013

I really can’t stress enough how impressive Montero was yesterday. It was easily the best start I saw from a pitcher this year. Most people were busy watching Matt Harvey, and didn’t get to watch Montero, and the box score doesn’t give Montero any justice. Watching Montero attack the hitters and be able to put the ball where he wanted made it look like he was a man among boys — he just looks like he doesn’t belong (in a good way). He has fluid and smooth mechanics that almost seem to put the hitters to sleep at the plate. Before they know it, Montero’s 94 mph fastball just went by and nipped the black ever so slightly…Strike Three! This guy is the goods.

Photo of the Day

Wow, these Mets Minors Reports are hot.

Starting Lineups

Game Notes

The Mets held the White Sox to one hit over 10 innings last night. It was the second 10-inning one-hitter in team history. Terry Leach hurled a 10-inning one hitter on October 1, 1982 at Philadelphia in a game the Mets won, 1-0. Luis Aguayo had a fifth-inning triple in that game. The last 10-inning one-hitter in the majors was May 28, 2011 when the Twins won 1-0, holding Anaheim to one hit. Last night was the 37th regular season one-hitter in Mets history. Since 1962, only the Dodgers (42) have more one-hitters

Mike Baxter singled home Ike Davis with one out in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 1-0 win last night It was Baxter’s first career game-ending RBI and the Mets’ third walk-off win of the year and first since Jordany Valdespin’s pinch-hit grand slam on April 25 vs.Los Angeles. The Mets had six walk-off victories in 2012.

Jordany Valdespin is leading off tonight and is batting .300 (9-for-30) with two walks as the team’s leadoff hitter this season. Ruben Tejada, Collin Cowgill, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Mike Baxter, and Justin Turner have combined to hit .194 (18-for-93) with eight walks and 22 strikeouts out of the leadoff spot.

Matt Harvey wasn’t credited with a victory, since the Mets won the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. But he remains undefeated on the season (4-0), is second in the National League in ERA (1.28), and leads the NL in strikeouts (58). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Harvey is the only pitcher in the last 100 years with at least 125 strikeouts and 25 or fewer earned runs allowed in his first 17 career starts.

The Mets are taking it slow with Michael Fulmer as he returns from surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Fulmer has not pitched again in a game since throwing two innings in an extended spring training game last Monday.

Game Preview

The Mets look to take the series tonight as they play their second game against the White Sox. Last night was definitely a Matt Harvey Day as Matt threw 9 innings allowing one hit and striking out 12 batters. Sadly, the bats were not able to help him out at all and the game went to extras where Mike Baxter knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. The Mets look to continue the good pitching and hope to find their bats tonight as they take on Jake Peavey behind Jermey Hefner.

Hefner is 0-3 on the season over 6 games, 5 starts, while pitching 29.0 innings with an ERA of 4.34. He has been on fire in his last two starts allowing 3 ER over 15 innings, and that number could have easily been lower. His two runs in his last start came in the 9th inning when he allowed the first two batters on in the inning and the bullpen imploded behind him. During those 15 innings, he struck out 12 batters.  Hefner has never faced the White Sox but has faced two batters. Wise is 0-1 while Greene is 0-3.

The Mets will get a look at Jake Peavey today who is putting his career back together in Chicago. He was fantastic as a Padre, found himself with the White Sox via trade. His career in Chicago was thrown off a bit by injury at the start but over the last two seasons he is starting to look like shades of his former self. This year he is 3-1 over 5 starts with a 3.38 ERA. In his career, he is 5-2 over 10 games and 62.0 innings against the Mets with an ERA of 3.48. The Mets have the following numbers against Jake:

Wright 2-14, 2B
Byrd 3-10, 2B
Buck 3-6, 2 HR
Murphy 1-2, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

BUY METS TICKETS!

Jordany Valdespin

That’s irrelevant now that Sale was moved up to pitch on Monday and will not pitch against the Mets after all.

Michael Baron of MetsBlog pointed out that against left-handed pitching, Valdespin is hitting just .182 with a .545 OPS. But what he failed to mention was that he only has 11 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season and an average fan will just look at those numbers and say he can’t hit LHP and nothing could be further from the truth.

Ike Davis, who has three times as much playing time against LHP this season is batting .138 with a .435 OPS.

I just wanted to throw that in to be fair to Valdespin while providing some actual context.

You don’t get better at something until you get more opportunities to learn and improve. Davis has gotten those opportunities and done nothing with them.

Valdespin, on the other hand, hasn’t been given enough time to make a judgement on him or write him off against left-handed pitching. In Spring Training, Valdespin batted .429 against LHP and led the team overall with a .883 OPS. Valdespin batted .276 against LHP from 2010-2012 in the minors.

Blue chip pitching prospects are professional sports’ most delicate flower. Except, unlike a flower, no scientifically proven method has been established regarding proper cultivation.

There’s no “right” way to bring a teenager up through an organization’s system while still absolutely maximizing his production at the major league level. And in the back of everyone’s mind lingers the possibility to a debilitating injury that is always one pitch away.

For every David Price or Matt Moore who’s appeared to have bloomed with relative ease, a dozen Mark Prior or Joba Chamberlain clones lay crumpled on muddy soil.

Coddling a prospect by hawk-eyeing his pitches and innings hasn’t proven to do more bad than good, but it hasn’t proven to do more good than bad either. Once a prospect is inside the system, fertilization can be a high stakes game of roulette.

Should he start? Should he come out of the pen? Should more pitches be added to his arsenal? Should he focus on developing a curve? Is he throwing too much heat?

But the lure of what a young blue chip pitching prospect brings to an organization is enough to make all the stress worth it. Even though they only contribute once every five days, a sturdy starting pitcher is any good baseball team’s foundation.

Momentum will never be strong enough to overcome ace starters like Justin Verlander or C.C. Sabathia once they take the mound. The fear they instill in the opposing team is unmatched.

The New York Mets are lucky enough to be holding two aces in their hand right now: Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey. The former is currently sporting an ERA of 4.80 in Pacific Coast League Triple-A, while the latter is making major league hitters look like kids on a sandlot, and through the season’s opening month is arguably the National League’s best starting pitcher.

Harvey is 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA, and, well, despite averaging 10.62 strikeouts per nine innings in 10 starts last season (a number that would place him in the top 10 so far this season, where he happens to be anyway, with 10.2 strikeouts per nine), those numbers are still a little shocking.

In 2012 he averaged nearly four walks per nine innings. This season his control has been even better, as he’s down to 2.68.

That’s not all he’s shown.

So far this season, Harvey ranks fourth throughout baseball in Wins Above Replacement (second behind only Clay Buchholz among pitchers), fifth in ERA, third in WHIP, second in hits per nine innings, and eighth in strikeouts.

He’s throwing an impractical 90 mile per hour slider about once every five pitches, and is dominating with his high heat, which averages 95 mph and tops off at about 98 mph.

Before the year began, most projections had him as a solid starter in New York’s rotation—after all, the process of bringing along a prospect with Harvey’s skill is supposed to be slow and careful—but through the first month he’s blowing by everything anyone thought he could accomplish so soon.

Wheeler is two years younger than Harvey, and has yet to throw one pitch at the Major League level. But he’s striking out 10.8 hitters per nine innings through 30 minor league innings this season (six starts), despite having trouble gripping the ball.

Harvey appears to have already come along, and Wheeler should be following soon enough. If the Mets can successfully oversee both of them reaching their full potential for years to come, it’ll be viewed as a serious job well done. Two flowers are always better than none.

* * * * * * * *

This Fan Shot was contributed by Michael Pina who is also a writer for ESPN’s TrueHoop Network. His work has been published on The Classical and ScoreBig. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelVPina.

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Tampa 7, St. Lucie 3

Continuing a suspended game from last night, the St. Lucie Mets started the game down a run and never came back, losing to the Tampa Yankees by a final score of 7-3.

Domingo Tapia had the start yesterday, however after pitching one inning, the game was called due to rain and lightning. His day officially ended with the Mets prospect surrendering one run on no hits while walking one. He would take a tough loss in this one, but he technically had a no-hitter going? Yeah…no.

Marcos Camarena came on in relief, or rather to start the suspended game, and had a meltdown in an inning. After allowing five of his six batters to reach base, he was lifted for Estarlin Morel who, after walking in a run, retired the side. In the fourth, Morel was less effective as he served up a two-run bomb to Mason Williams to make it a 6-1 game. Gary Sanchez came up to bat in the seventh against Wanel Vasquez and doubled home the Yankees’ seventh and final run of the ballgame. Not a great day for St. Lucie pitching all around.

The offense wasn’t much too write home about either with the exception of a few moments. Native New Yorker Cam Maron drove home the first St. Lucie run on a two out knock in the fourth. In the top of the sixth, Rylan Sandoval scored from third on a Dustin Lawley RBI groundout. Finally, in the ninth, in a futile attempt at a late inning rally, T.J. Rivera reached on a fielding error with two outs to score Maron and make it 7-3, but that would be all she wrote.

The other game of Wednesday’s double-header and series finale with the Tampa Yankees was postponed.

Key Stats

Rylan Sandoval: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB

Dustin Lawley: 1-for-4, 1 RBI

Cam Maron: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R

Travis Taijeron: 2-for-4, 1 2B

Domingo Tapia: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Marcos Camarena: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 ER, 1 K

Estarlin Morel: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 ER, 3 K

Wanel Vasquez: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 2 K

A couple of weeks ago I profiled Josh Satin and called for him to be promoted and at the very least platoon have him with Ike Davis at first base as he continues to struggle against left-handed pitching.

Rob Brender, a contributor to Mets Minor League Blog, got a chance to ask Satin a few questions last night and spoke to him about his early-season success and what he needs to work on to get back to the major leagues.

Rob Brender: You’re having a great season so far, batting .346, which is second on the team to Andrew Brown (.357 BA). You must feel pretty good about the way you’re swinging the bat?

Josh Satin:  Yeah, I changed a few things up last year to make myself feel more consistent. I was a little too hot and cold last year and in previous years. I like where I’m at right now. I’m still working on a few things but I like where my swing is right now.

Rob Brender: You’ve hit four home runs and seven double (this season). Have you noticed that the home runs have come as a result of your approach at the plate or is some of it because of the altitude?

Josh Satin: I really think it’s learning how to hit better. Home runs come in certain counts and when you give yourself certain opportunities to take a chance. In previous years, especially the beginning of my career, I didn’t really know how to take a chance and never really did, so every homerun I hit was kind of a mistake. It just happened. This is my fifth year in professional baseball so I’ve learned when and how to take a chance better.

Rob Brender: Does playing in the high altitude of Las Vegas give you any added confidence as a hitter?

Josh Satin: I personally don’t think that Vegas has been that much of a hitters park at this point. It hasn’t been that warm. I know it’s going to get better. I think the only advantage so far is the ground is so hard that balls get through. I don’t know if the pitchers have a fear of letting the ball getting in the air. As a hitter, it’s definitely a better feeling knowing that if you square a ball to the opposite field you’re going to get better results.  Sometimes last year in Buffalo the wind would blow in from right field off the water and I would get scared to hit the ball the other way because I thought it was an out. It’s definitely a welcomed change that that’s not the case.

Selected by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California-Berkeley, Satin wasted no time at all proving that his bat was legit. The big right-hander hit the ground running from the moment he signed his first professional contract and has posted an.865 OPS during his minor league career with the Mets. He has made the Minor League All Star Team every season since 2009.

The first baseman is a huge part of the Las Vegas 51s offense and is batting .330 with a .427 OBP, .545 SLG and ranks second on the team with a .973 OPS. Satin is pacing the team with four home runs and has 17 RBI and 20 runs scored in 88 at-bats this season.

Satin has always been a great and disciplined hitter and one look at his career .397 on-base in six minor league seasons should have the suits in the front office with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, as would his .466 slugging percentage.

I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of watching Ike Davis suffocate this offense and have been calling for a reduced role for him since the season began. He’s not suddenly going to magically begin teeing off against lefty pitching as a few lingering fans still believe. That’s a wooden bat he has in his hands, not a magic wand.

Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best. I’ve said that before and continue to stand on that position.

Josh Satin deserves a chance to prove he belongs. He’s paid his dues and has nothing left to prove in the minors. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long. Let’s give this kid his well-deserved shot.

I know some of you would rather see Andrew Brown called up before Josh Satin, but as bad as the Mets outfield and first base situations are right now, it shouldn’t be a question of one or the other – both of them need to be on the Mets roster and there’s plenty of dead fish that needs to be tossed overboard already. (Lets start with Collin Cowgill and Mike Baxter)

The worst thing that a team as bad as the Mets could do, is to keep trotting out the same undeserving and underperforming ballplayers while some hidden gems waste away at Triple-A when they should be here instead helping the team score runs.

After yesterday’s 2-1 ninth inning loss, David Wright didn’t blame the bad call at third base and instead pointed the finger of blame for the loss on himself and the rest of the offense.

“Sometimes the calls go your way. Sometimes they don’t. What we need to do a better job of is offensively going out there and scoring more runs. We can’t expect to win games 1-0. Offensively we need to do a better job … It seems like the better teams, they go through a rut like this and it only lasts a series or two. We can’t allow it to kind of consume us and take over for a week, two weeks. We’ve got to snap out of it. That starts offensively and going out there and having good at-bats.”

As I wrote in my recap last night, Anthony Recker should have fired the ball to first base to get the easy out and keep the winning run from getting on base. Seems like Recker understands now that he screwed up:

“He dropped it pretty much right in front of the plate for me,” Recker said. “I knew we needed to get an out. I just tried to make a play I probably shouldn’t have tried to make. We talked about it before the bunt — ‘get an out.’ But he laid it in front of the plate. My instincts told me to go to third. Obviously the throw was a little bit high. If it was a good throw we might have had him. I probably don’t need to make that play. I just need to get an out.”

Recker’s passed ball before the play at third base also had a lot to do with how things unravelled as that was what got Chris Coghlan to third base in the first place. Maybe subconsciously the Mets catcher was thinking he could erase that ply by getting him out, but regardless it set up the chain of events that eventually led to the loss.

As for Wright, what he says is true, The team needs to score more runs. By my count they’ve scored 11 runs in their last six games. That’s not going to translate into many wins no matter how good your starting pitching is.

But beside the lack of runs, the Mets bullpen must shoulder much of the blame. They can’t seem to hold a lead of any kind including a recent four-run lead. Reportedly, Bobby Parnell was pissed that he wasn’t called upon for the save opportunity last night. He of course had the blown save the night before and has registered just two saves on the season thus far. He has a good beef. Brandon Lyon was just plain awful and as I wrote yesterday, he has been for the last two weeks. Hope he treated Jeremy Hefner to a great meal after the game as he cashed in his $100K bonus check he picked up before the game.

Noah Syndergaard accomplished two important things on Sunday. He picked up his first win of the season and he pitched seven innings for the first time in his professional career. That according to Jonathan Raymond who got a chance to get up close to the Mets pitching prospect in his last start.

Syndergaard is trying to put that one bad start when he allowed seven runs over three innings completely behind him and he seems to be doing a heck of a job of it too. Since that forgettable outing all he’s done was manage to toss two starts without allowing an earned run. Combined he thrown 13 innings and held the opposition to just eight hits and three walks while striking out 11 of them.

“He really located his fastball really well over both sides of the plate. Kept the ball down and was pretty much in command of all his pitches,” St. Lucie pitching coach Phil Regan said. “He also had two strikeouts on curveballs and two on changeups, and these are the things we have been working on.

“And he went seven innings. It was an interesting thing, someone mentioned to him it was the first time he went seven innings this year. And he says, “Yeah, it’s the first time in three years, since high school.’”

After Sunday’s performance, Syndergaard has lowered his ERA to a respectable 3.24 ERA while striking out 26 and walking ten in 25 innings pitched this season.

“He’s really coming along well. I think he’s making a lot of strides,” Regan said. “He’s understanding a lot about pitching and he’s just a tremendous kid, soaks up knowledge and wants to learn. I think he’s done exceptionally well for his age and where he’s coming from. He’s not afraid, he goes right after hitters, aggressive on the mound. I think he’s got confidence in himself, and that’s all part of it.”

As we said in our Prospect Spotlight back in February, “Syndergaard is a perfect physical specimen for a pitcher and really looks like he can become a perennial all-star. Although there are some things that come into question – his command at times, his stamina, and as always, furthering the development of his third pitch, there is a lot to love about Noah Syndergaard.”

The seven innings pitched certainly shows positive gains with regard to his stamina, and Regan says that his curveball and change have improved and are becoming effective weapons as his command. That’s exactly what we were hoping for.

“He is aggressive on the mound and stays relatively emotionless,” is what we about said about him in our MMO Top 25 Prospect rankings. We also said:

If Syndergaard makes the move to AA during the 2013 season, I have faith that he will breeze through it. It is important not to put too much pressure or to rush the young prospect, as he represents a new wave of pitching prospects…or a changing of the Gaard. See what I did there? Good.

So far, out of our Top 5 Prospects, Michael Fulmer and Travis d’Arnaud are still on the disabled list, Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores are both trying to figure out the PCL for entirely different reasons, and Syndergaard has looked and played the part so far in the early going.

I know it’s early, but if I were handing out Monthly Report Cards like they did in Catholic School:

Syndergaard Gets an A-

Flores gets a B

Wheeler gets a C+

Fulmer and d’Arnaud get Incompletes.

Just saying…