The Mets offense jumped on Nationals starting Chien Ming Wang early, and Dillon Gee pitched a quality game in their 8-5 win.

Game Notes

Dillon Gee was on point today, and without one defensive miscue may have only allowed one run for his entire outing. Gee went six and two third innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking four and striking out five. Gee was a little wild, hitting two batters but could’ve gotten out of the seventh if not for a Daniel Murphy misplay on a double play ball. He was obviously gassed at the end of the sixth, but Terry Collins left him out their to gut it out and build his character.

The bullpen by committee today saw Ryota Igarashi to come out and clean up Gee’s mess by getting a deep fly ball to close the seventh. Bobby Parnell came out for the eighth and allowed two runs on three hits in one-third of an inning. Parnell had trouble locating his fastball today, and had two hit right back up the box. Tim Byrdak came out to get a lefty out, and promptly allowed two singles, allowing one of Parnell’s runners to score. D.J. Carrasco uncharacteristically came out to finish off the eighth and struck out Danny Espinosa and got Ryan Zimmerman on a check swing third strike. This might have been the best Carrasco has looked, and he didn’t dissapoint.

Izzy came out for the ninth, and struck out one in one inning of work, notching his fifth save on the year.

The offense today just exploded on Chien Ming Wang, making his first start in quite some time. Wang had no control, but the Mets manufactured four runs and got the last out of the inning on a baserunning play. The Mets put across two more runs in both the fourth and the sixth innings of the game. The Mets as a team have been piling on the hits, as they hit double digits in hits again with twelve.

Mets only struck out three times – two by Dillon Gee.

Ronny Paulino – 3 for 4 with two runs and an RBI. Paulino has been hitting both righties and lefties lately, and has been the much better catching option from an offensive standpoint

Lucas Duda only Met starter without a hit, but still had a run and an RBI.

David Wright – 2 for 4, but hit the ball hard everytime and was robbed of a sure-double against the wall by Rick Ankiel.

Turning Point

The first inning for the Mets. When you set the pace with four runs and run yourself out of the inning, the game becomes much easier

Game Ball

Jose Reyes – 1 for 3 with two RBI, a walk and a run scored. Jose doesn’t only have to run wild on the bases to make a difference.

On Deck

The Mets will look to keep the five game winning streak alive, facing Jason Marquis and the Nationals again. R.A. Dickey will start for the Mets, and game time is 7:10 P.M.

Mike Pelfrey had four good innings, but was punished in the fifth inning and the bullpen failed to stop the bleeding and a late-inning push couldn’t save the Mets as they lost the game 8-5, and the series to the Phillies

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey had a bad outing, getting through four innings relatively unscathed, then getting smoked for a home run. Pelfrey’s final line was four runs on six hits, walking one and striking out two. These uneven outings really do make the Mets decisions to the deadline more difficult. Biggest sign to worry about Mike? 16 HR allowed this year, 12 all of last season.

The bullpen came out and did nothing spectacular. Pedro Beato had no control, D.J. Carrasco underperformed as is expected, Ryota Igarashi allowed runs to score with the bases loaded and the bullpen overall underperformed, with only Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak leaving unscathed.

The bats couldn’t manage hits, or to drive in runners against Kyle Kendrick. They managed to draw walks, but couldn’t knock in big hits. Doubles by both Daniel Murphy and Ronny Paulino were held in the yard thanks to the high walls of both LF and RF. The run barrage/comeback the Mets attempted didn’t happen until a Scott Hairston RBI single in the seventh. In the eighth, with the bases loaded the Mets struggled to get across the runs, with a Lucas Duda double-play RBI groundout accounting for one run,a Ronny Paulino RBI single and an Angel Pagan RBI single scoring another. Ruben Tejada should’ve scored on the play, but Phillies RF Dominic Brown fielded it quickly. A Lucas Duda triple in the ninth drove in another run, but that would be the end of the Mets rally.

Justin Turner – 0 for 5 – he has been very cold lately, and his defense hasn’t been anything major. Tejada may grab some of the starts at 2B once Reyes returns, and Turner may be relegated to the bench when Wright returns.

Jason Bay – 0 for 4 with a walk. May not look so awful, but left five on base.

Turning Point

When Pelfrey gave up the three-run home run to the light hitting Michael Martinez. That took some of the wind out of the Mets sails.

Game Ball

Daniel Murphy – 2 for 3, two runs and two walks. Murphy also just missed a home run by 5 feet against tough lefty Antonio Bastaro

On Deck

The Mets will look to bounce back from todays loss, facing the Florida Marlins and Clay Hensley at Citi Field and will send Chris Capuano to the mound. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Despite the fact the Mets lost yesterday to the Dodgers, 6-0 , there were a few plays in the late innings that nearly crushed any chance at a rally.

1.) Justin Turner swinging at a 2-0 pitch in the eighth

While this play was a microcosm of the game and showed the Mets impatience at the plate, this play signified more then that. With men on first and second, and a chance to get Carlos Beltran up to the plate or to even advance the runners, Turner swung at an ill-advised inside pitch that he popped down the right field line. Where as Turner has been patient as shown by his OBP amongst rookies, this was clearly Turner trying to make something out of nothing, and that one pitch could have bought him a much fatter one to swing at

2.) Ruben Tejada stealing third

For a disclaimer note, and as I said on twitter, Ruben Tejada is not Angel Pagan nor Jose Reyes, and them stealing third with two outs in the eighth inning would have been inexplicable as well. But Ruben Tejada, he of 0 stolen bases until yesterday charging hard for third and luckily getting the call in his favor, one has to wonder what was going through his mind. He was already at second, so he was in scoring position. If he gets the last out at third, he kills Beltran’s chance to hit with RISP and probably gets a piece of his hide removed by Terry Collins. That was obviously Ruben taking the base on his own.

3.) Ronny Paulino taking huge cuts in the last at-bat of eighth.

Clayton Kershaw had already been over 100 pitches and Paulino had a chance to draw Kershaw into a much better count. I cannot fault Paulino here for wanting to swing momentum, but Paulino has shortened his swing in key RBI situations before, and that would have been the much better approach. Kershaw was filthy yesterday, but that changeup was diving from jump street, and an emergency hack probably could’ve wasted the pitch.

4.) Lucas Duda’s strikeout in the ninth.

Less again, cannot fault Duda for wanting to draw blood with the bases drunk. Kuo is a filthy lefty with a mid-90′s fastball, but he does have his control issues and as with most hard throwers, gets chasers. Duda has gotten by with some good hits, and possibly punching a single in for two RBI’s to bring up Pagan may have been much wiser.

Overall, the Mets lost because they couldn’t put together hits when needed and didn’t manage one extra base hit all game. That is not a recipe for the win. Also, it didn’t hurt that the umpire Gibson blew another more obvious call in the second inning.

To follow my rage from yesterday and other Mets thoughts, follow me on twitter @TheSeanKenny

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

Game Notes

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

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

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

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

Turning Point

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

Game Ball

Flat game today, nobody really deserves a game ball.

Random Thoughts

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

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

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

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

On Deck

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

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

R.A. Dickey pitched a good outing, but left in the fifth inning with a glute injury and the Mets offense rallied late against the Yankees to prevent the series sweep, 3-2.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey pitched a quality five innings, but was removed for a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth after he walked off the field gingerly after pulling his left glute muscle. R.A’s final line is five innings, one run allowed on two hits, with two walks and three strikeouts. Dickey had great control today, and had a no-hitter until the fifth when he gave up the double to Robinson Cano. Dickey has just been continually unlucky this year.

The bullpen got a heavy load today, with Pedro Beato, Jason Isringhausen and K-Rod coming out today. Beato had another great outing, going two innings allowing one hit and striking out one. Beato has looked much better recently, challenging hitters to beat him. Izzy came out today, and wasn’t particularly sharp, allowing two hits and one run in one inning. The pitch that Gardner hit for a triple was a good pitch, but it needed to be in a little more. Izzy has been uneven recently in his outings, and if this is fatigue-related or just people getting hip to his style. K.Rod had his longest outing of the season and earned a win, going two innings allowing three hits and walking one (intentionally)

The bullpen has had bouts where it is good, and some where the performance is lackluster. K.Rod is still being hit pretty hard, and that isn’t a good sign.

The offense today was slowed yet again, scoring a run in the first on an RBI single by Daniel Murphy. The Mets had chances to score, but a few rallies were killed by double plays. The Mets decided the dramatics were the way to win a game, waiting until the ninth inning off arguably the best closer of all time. Jason Bay drew a walk, advanced to third on a Lucas Duda single and scored on a Ronny Paulino RBI single. The game was almost won in the ninth, when Ruben Tejada hit a ball through Ramiro Pena’s legs and Lucas Duda tried to score from second. Duda had no business running at that point, but I guess you play aggressively and he poorly read the play.

The big blow came in the tenth inning, when former Met Luis Ayala walked Scott Hairston who moved to second after an Angel Pagan sacrifice. Justin Turner would be hit by a pitch, and Daniel Murphy reached base after Ramiro Pena made his second error in as many innings. Everyone’s favorite Met, Jason Bay decided to put the game in the books and hit a walkoff RBI-single.

The offense today seemed to struggle against Freddy Garcia, which has been a common theme with “junkballer” pitchers.

Pagan & Turner – 0 for 7 with a walk and a strikeout. Turner had an ugly error that could’ve been much worse and been an inning-ending double play.

Daniel Murphy – 3 for 5 with an RBI. Murphy has been in a good groove, hitting .303 for the year. Is this what Daniel Murphy can be? A .290-.300 hitter with some pop and versatility? Lets hope so.

Willie Harris – Came back after the unfortunate event that occurred to him and his wife. Drew a walk in the rally that could’ve happened in the eighth.

Turning Point

Mariano Rivera apparently forgetting how to close games in the ninth/Paulino’s RBI single.

Game Ball

The game ball today goes to…Jason Bay. If the power doesn’t come around, but he can hit when it matters, that is good enough.

On Deck

The Mets will travel to the west coast to face off against the Dodgers and Rubby De La Rosa. Chris Capuano will be taking the mound for the Mets and the game will start at 9:10 P.M.

Happy Fourth of July to all MMO readers.

For thoughts on the Mets, during, before and after games follow me on Twitter @TheSeanKenny

It seems like just two years ago, a 53 at bat appearance from an apparent non-prospect catcher Josh Thole showed the Mets their backsto of the future, hitting .321 with nine RBI and a 4/5 BB/K ratio. He had plate discipline, a short swing and was not named Brian Schneider. 2009 saw the Mets go out and sign two backstops while seemingly forgetting about Josh Thole. Despite this, after the trade of Rod Barajas, Josh Thole received the majority of the starts and turned in a .277 line with 3 home runs and 17 RBI, with a 24/25 BB/K. The patience was still there, and the three home runs showed that maybe Josh Thole wouldn’t be a light-hitting catcher. And behind the plate? He was apparently making great advances and calling good games, everything you’d expect from a catcher.

What a difference a year makes.

So far this season, Josh Thole is hitting .225 with 17 RBI, a 15/24 K/BB ratio and only six extra-base hits, all doubles. Josh has looked overmatched at the plate, consistently grounding out to the 2B/1B or seemingly forgetting his line-drive swing and trying to smash the ball out of the yard when that isn’t his game. He has grounded into five double plays, and some in key situations in Mets rallies. His 66 OPS+ puts him well below league average and says we could be trotting about any out there, and they would be playing better then Mr. Thole.

It isn’t the offense where Josh is struggling. Defensively, Josh has looked bad as well, coughing up seven passed balls and only throwing out 19% of runners. Teams are using this to there advantage, and it has been working. Thole has yet to find consistency in catching, so badly to the point Terry Collins sat Thole for a few games and played Ronny Paulino against both righties and lefties, when he is equally inept at hitting righties. If this doesn’t say how far from grace Josh Thole has fallen, think of it this way – he has ten hits and nine RBI since May 1st, and hasn’t been above .260 since April 19th. Thole was flirting with the Mendoza Line as recently as last week.

What is wrong with Josh? Is it the pressure of being “the man” at catcher, the duties of an everyday catcher taking away from his skillset, or was Josh a marginal player who was getting by on smoke and mirrors until the league finally got the book on him and pitched him accordingly? Whichever is the answer, the main question becomes – even if the farm system has no one better at the moment, how much longer does Terry Collins keep trotting out Josh Thole knowing he is trotting out a liability?

A combination of Chris Young and the bullpen held the Phillies to one run in fourteen innings, and Ronny Paulino made a big Mets debut, including the game winning hit and the Mets won the game in the fourteenth inning, 2-1.

Game Notes

Chris Young was lights out today, going seven quality innings while giving up two hits, walking three, striking out seven and allowing ZERO runs. What is more amazing is most columnists/bloggers figured Chris Young would cease effectiveness in the micro-park known as Citizens Bank, but outside of a Brian Schneider double, nothing was hit hard. He seemed to fatigue in the seventh when he walked two of his three batters and hit another. He was efficient for the whole game, and sadly due to lack of run support didn’t get the win.

The bullpen today was AMAZING overall. They would go seven innings, allowing one run, giving up five hits and three walks and only one run. That run was made possible by Jason Isringhausen issuing two walks and Tim Byrdak coming in to get Ryan Howard out, and having Howard hit an opposite field single that would score John Mayberry. The run was charged to Izzy, but Byrdak’s inability to be lights-out against lefties is leaving room to believe if he falters against lefties, the Mets may call up a lefty to see if he can be effective. K-Rod came out after Byrdak gave up the hit and would finish the inning. He would then come out for the ninth, and gave up two singles and struck out one in his one and one third innings of work. Pedro Beato came out and gave THREE quality innings in a 1-1 game, giving up two hits and striking out two. Beato may not strike out the world, but the man does not like walking batters, having walked three in seventeen innings. Taylor Buchholz came out, and pitched two quality innings, getting the win while allowing no hits and striking out two. Buchholz has looked much better as of late, and may be the steal of the offseason. That last pitch he struck Mayberry out on was nasty.

The bats today were great at producing hits, but atrocious at scoring them. The Mets stranded 32, yes 32 baserunners. Outside of the Carlos Beltran double that scored David Wright from first, the Mets couldn’t get runners across if their lives depended on it. This cannot occur if the Mets hope to win any games, and at any time the Mets could’ve had this game won in the early innings.

Ronny Paulino – 5 for 7 with an RBI in his first Mets start. Welcome to the team, Ronny.

David Wright – 3 for 6 with a walk, both Mets runs, a steal and a strikeout. Good outing for David, but its against a lefty so its expected.

Jose Reyes – 2 for 6 with a walk and two steals. Thats eight walks against 11 strikeouts and ten stolen bases. Lets go Jose.

Hu & Harris – strikeouts in pinch hitting appearances, both with runners on second. Sigh. Oh productive bench, where are you?

Ike Davis – 0 for 6 with a walk and two strikeouts, both looking. Major flyball that advanced David Wright in the 14th inning though.

The Mets drew seven walks and stole four bases. Only good things to come from that combination

Turning Point

The Mets 14th inning, getting hits off an obviously fatigued Kyle Kendrick.

Game Ball

Ronny Paulino/The bullpen. Paulino was on the entire game, and minus the Izzy/Byrdak eighth, the pen was stellar.

On Deck

The Mets will get a well deserved day off, and then travel back to Citi Field to open a series against the Giants on Tuesday. The Giants, as Yahoo is showing will be sending out Ryan Vogelsong and he will be going up against Mets legend/Internet Meme king R.A. Dickey. Game time is 7:10 P.M.

The Mets are looking at signing Ronny Paulino to back-up Josh Thole which would form the catching tandem for the 2011 season.

I know this post might be a little off topic with all the Hot Stove murmurings going on, but I felt that it would be a good time in lieu of the Mets possibly signing a catcher to remember the career of Mike Piazza.

Piazza burst onto to the scene with Los Angeles Dodgers and won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1993. He put up big numbers for the Dodgers through five full seasons.

Then on May 22, 1998, the improbable yet remarkable happened for Met fans. The Mets sent Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Piazza, who had been traded to the Marlins only a week earlier.

Todd Hundley had gone down with an injury so the Mets desperately needed a catcher. Piazza arrived with a bang and immediately became a fan favorite.

The Mets locked him up to a seven-year, $91 million contract in 1999, which was a huge contract at the time.

In eight years with the Mets, Piazza hit .296 and clubbed 220 home runs, second on the all-time Mets list to Darryl Strawberry. He was a hero to so many Mets fans, young and old.

He wasn’t exactly a defensive wizard, especially throwing out runners, but he more than made up for that with his potent bat.

Sadly, time caught up with Piazza. His body could no longer take the beating of a catcher, so the Mets experimented with him at first base. It didn’t go so well, and after one more year behind the dish, the Mets let him walk.

He actually put up decent numbers at age 37 in his one season for the Padres. He retired as the all-time home run leader among catchers, a feat he accomplished with the Mets. His legacy will never be forgotten.

So that leads us to the question: How have the Mets went about filling Piazza’s enormous shoes?

They acquired Paul LoDuca from the Marlins before the 2006 season, and he turned in an All-Star caliber season, hitting .318. He never had the power of Piazza, but he held his own at the plate and brought much needed fire to the team. But even LoDuca began his decline in 2007, signaling the end of his Mets tenure.

The Mets saw Brian Schneider as the answer at catcher and traded Lastings Milledge to acquire him and Ryan Church. Schneider was a good defensive catcher but was a very weak hitter.

Granted, the Mets constructed their offense so that they didn’t need Schneider to produce, but after seeing Piazza for so many year, we fans grew accustomed to seeing production out of the catching position.

Ramon Castro was a good backup to Piazza and a good backup to Schneider. Omir Santos chipped in nicely in 2009, but the Mets never saw him as more of an insurance plan.

They brought in Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco for last season, and in the beginning, those deals looked great. Both guys got some big hits in big spots.

But Blanco began wearing down and Barajas hit a cold spell, forcing the Mets to promote Josh Thole. Thole is a solid contact hitter and could develop some pop.

He and Paulino would form a serviceable tandem for 2011, if they are both healthy. Paulino always seemed to get a big hit against the Mets when he played for the Marlins so hopefully he would continue that, just against the other teams.

Piazza has been sorely missed for the past few years, but if the other position players can produce, the production of Thole/Paulino would fly under the radar.