Matt Harvey

It is accountability, which is the backbone to admit screwing up.

We certainly didn’t see any the past few days from the Knicks, so let’s turn to the Mets. After losing Thursday to the Reds, Harvey was front-and-center about his performance and threw high-heat at himself.

“It was a tough day – whether it was the changeup I couldn’t necessarily throw for a strike when I wanted to – and everything just crept over the middle,’’ Harvey told reporters at Citi Field. “It was one of those days. I didn’t execute. I didn’t do a good job. I’ve got to be a lot better than that. Nine hits is unacceptable for me. Obviously I wasn’t happy giving up any runs. We needed a big win, and I wasn’t able to do that.’’

What a reporter wants is for a player to be stand-up, to answer questions when the heat is on. Davis tried, although sometimes it seemed as if the listener would get frequent miles for following along with the answer.

I’ve never been enamored with Davis’ approach to hitting and explanations of his approach and thought process. This time, I didn’t care for his defensive explanation, although I appreciated the effort.

With runners on the corners in the ninth inning, Brandon Phillips dribbled a ball down the first base line. Davis, who misplayed a similar ball in the seventh that allowed a run to score, seemed confused on how to play the ball.

“I couldn’t get the guy at home,’’ Davis said. “[Shin-Soo] Choo runs really fast. And it was really slow to my backhand side. I was trying to get off the bag to get in the hole because it was a right-handed hitter.

“They usually don’t hit it down the line like that. The second bounce … I thought it bounced foul. In my head, I can’t turn two. I can’t catch it, touch the bag and then throw it to second and get the guy out, because then it’s a tag play and the guy [Choo] scores anyway.

“So, in my head, when I thought I saw it bounce foul, I pulled my glove back, because then we’d be 0-2 on Phillips [if it were foul] and the run wouldn’t score. That was my thought process on that. I still can’t tell if it was foul or fair on replays. But I definitely did think it bounced foul right before I got it. He made the call fair.’’

With no interpreters in the Mets’ clubhouse, let me attempt to boil it down: Davis said he couldn’t get the runner at home or get the 3-6-3 double-play, so he thought his best play was for the ball to go foul.

Only, Davis couldn’t tell if it was fair or foul. Given that, Davis’ mistake was letting the ball go and hoping for the right call. As a hitter, Davis wouldn’t stay at the plate and wait for the call, but run the ball out. So, why didn’t he do the same on defense? Why would he let the ball go on such a close play and hope for the best?

Maybe he wasn’t asked, but even so, he should have known what to do and admit the mistake of giving up on the play. What we got was a roundabout analysis that sounds like an excuse. Just catch the damn ball. If it is fair and a run scores, so be. Letting it go by opened the door for three to come in.

And, let’s cue the violins when he said, “everything that could go wrong for me now is going wrong.’’

Terry Collins is in a rough place, between telling the truth and not throwing his players under the bus. But, when his team is already ten games under .500, I’d like to see him go to the whip a little more. Didn’t he also promise a culture change and emphasis on fundamentals?

Where’s the fundamentals when all but two players in the normal starting lineup are on pace to strike out over 100 times? Where’s the emphasis on getting a good pitch to hit?

Two walks is a stretch in saying Davis is showing come-out-of-it signs. And, I don’t buy Collins saying Davis is not taking his offense to the field. His fielding has been miserable lately, so how could his offense not be a connection?

Collins didn’t get on Jon Niese for letting the first inning get away from him Tuesday. Nobody on and nobody out and he walks three and let three runs in. That’s inexcusable on any level.

Collins wasn’t forceful on getting on Jordany Valdespin last week when he should have been in full rip mode. And, I would have liked for him to get on Shaun Marcum more for not coming to camp in good condition. He did the previous spring with Ruben Tejada.

However, in fairness to Collins, it is hard to come down on a player if he doesn’t get the backing of the front office. Sandy Alderson, who over the weekend said the minor leagues wasn’t imminent for Davis, echoed that Tuesday, saying: “ … at this point we’re going to live with Ike for a little longer.’’

When Alderson came on the job, he promised a change in culture and stressed accountability. Immediately, we knew he was talking about Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo and both would be gone the following spring. Alderson also knew Jason Bay‘s lack of production after three years shouldn’t net him a fourth. Bay was a good guy, yes, but wasn’t hitting.

So, why be hesitant with Davis, especially if he’s considered a building block?

Alderson speaks like a lawyer with the way he dances around questions. All, I want to hear is: “I didn’t do a good job of putting together the bullpen,’’ and “I didn’t do a good job putting together the outfield,’’ and, “I should have handled things differently with Johan Santana this spring,’’ and, “If I stocked the farm system better, maybe I’d have more options to replace Davis.’’

And. ownership should show more accountability, if for nothing else, letting the Ponzi scandal distract the Mets and influence their off-season moves the past two years. Not to mention, signing off on contracts given to Perez and Bay.

And, don’t deny it hasn’t.

Be accountable. We deserve that much.

Major League Baseball has declined the Mets appeal to change an earned run charged to phenom Matt Harvey on Friday at Wrigley Field reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.

The move would have lowered the 24-year old’s ERA from 1.55 to 1.41.

However, it will remain the former as he takes the hill against the Reds for the series finale to avoid the sweep.

Original Post 5/18 1:00 PM

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets are appealing to Major League Baseball to slice Matt Harvey‘s ERA from 1.55 to 1.41, which would be within one point of the major league lead shared Clayton Kershaw and Shelby Miller.

Adam says that the thrust of the argument is that there should have been a straight error on Ruben Tejada‘s throw that bounced past Ike Davis and allowed Anthony Rizzo to score from second base in the first inning on Friday.

There has been a lot of bad scoring for the Mets this offseason, and I’m not so sure if it’s wise to defend one instance of it like they are doing here. There will be plenty more bad scoring as the season wages on.

This is baseball and it’s an imperfect game…

I’m thinking that if the Mets are going to this now, then they should do it for every other player who is denied a hit or an RBI or whatever moving forward.

With or without that earned run, Matt Harvey is still a great pitcher and everybody already knows it. Everything evens out in the end as the game is the great equalizer.

This is a bad idea in my opinion…

I bet Harvey, who is a team player, would say so too…

Updated Post 5/22

During Tuesday night’s Mets broadcast, general manager Sandy Alderson said he intends to stick with slumping first baseman Ike Davis for a little while longer, but added that there’s a chance that he might be better off going to Triple-A Las Vegas for some period of time.

Alderson said it’s hard to ignore what Davis did in the second half of last season, but the big difference is that the team is not playing well at this time and he needs production.

Davis went 0-for-3 during the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night and is 1-for-his-last-36.

The fans let him have it as they loudly booed him during each plate appearance. ”What are you going to do?” Davis said afterward.

He is now batting .149 with 48 strikeouts and a .478 OPS in 42 games this season.

Original Post 5/21

Perhaps Sandy Alderson knew of Andrew Brown’s strained oblique when he said there was nothing imminent about sending Ike Davis to the minor leagues. Assuming he did not, it is puzzling as to why he’s in no hurry to ship out his struggling first baseman.

Eventually, Alderson said, “everything comes to a head at some point,’’ but evidently it is not hitting .156 two months into the season. Either are Davis’ other miserable numbers.

Alderson said he’s interested not in results, but good at-bats. Sounds good in theory, but that won’t happen if Davis’ thinking doesn’t change, and there’s no indication of it happening soon.

About the minor leagues, Davis said that would not help because he needs to learn to hit at this level. Davis insists he’s a home run hitter, that he likes to hit home runs and strikeouts are part of the equation.

I can’t scream “that’s crap,’’ loud enough. Davis is so married to his pull-everything approach that improvement is almost impossible to attain.

Davis’ extraordinary wide stance offers no alternatives but to lunge, and he doesn’t have the discipline to lay off breaking balls down and away and fastballs up in the zone. Davis’ mechanics and approach must be torn down and built back up. It could take a month for that to happen, and it shouldn’t be a month up here.

Incredibly, Davis said he’s having positive at-bats, that in Chicago he just missed driving a few balls. But, the fact is he missed those pitches so they can’t be considered good at-bats. It isn’t as if he’s hit a lot of balls on the screws or driven them to the warning track.

Davis was 1-for-24 on the trip to St. Louis and Chicago; is hitting .103 (4-for-39) with runners in scoring position; and is on pace for 177 strikeouts.

When he first came up, Davis showed a willingness to go to the opposite field. There’s none of that now.

Davis said he’s still playing good defense, but he’s delusional there, too. He should have been given an error when he short-armed Ruben Tejada’s wild throw in the dirt in Chicago. The ball did not take a short hop and was something he should have snared.

He was also flat out lazy Monday night on a obstruction call that opened the door to a big inning for Cincinnati in the first inning.

Davis’ head isn’t screwed on straight and he’s fallen into a myriad of bad habits that preclude good at-bats. Davis anticipates getting a month to work out of his funk, but how much lower will the Mets sink in that time?

For the past three years, the Mets had to settle for lousy at-bats and performance from Jason Bay because of his salary. Currently, Alderson plans to have the Mets settling from horrid performance from Davis despite a manageable contract.

OK, Brown is out, but what about Zach Lutz? What about making a move and adding Josh Satin to the 40-man roster?

It doesn’t matter what they do, except for standing pat, and Alderson hasn’t given a good reason for choosing that route. That decision is doing a disservice to the Mets and not helping Davis any, either.

Thoughts from Joe D.

What a waste of a month it’s been for Ike Davis. Had Davis been sent down to the minors at the end of April when I first called for such a move, he could of been back by now and contributing to the team again. But instead he continues to deteriorate statistically and it’s dragging the team down offensively AND defensively.

Check out this screenshot of his last ten games:

This is further evidence that Davis is still in a downslide and not making any progress at all. He has struck out in more than a third of his at-bats in his last ten games. His average has sunk from an already woeful .190 to .152 after batting just .080 in his last ten games.

What’s worse is how negatively this has affected him defensively. He’s stabbing at balls, lost much of his range, and mishandling throws to him.

He looked completely out of it yesterday when he was called for obstruction. His instincts are shot. His head is not in the game.

Send him down already before the situation becomes completely unsalvageable.

Murphy becomes the seventh player to be used in that spot by the Mets this season, joining Ruben Tejada, Jordany Valdespin, Mike Baxter, Collin Cowgill,Justin Turner and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. (ESPN)

Here is what Collins had to say about it:

“I’ll see how it goes. He’s swinging good. He’s swinging great. And we’ve got to get guys on ahead of David Wright.”

“I figured I’d give it a shot and get him up there enough times and maybe he can do some damage.”

Collins said he had given serious thought to batting Murphy leadoff as far back as Spring Training and realizes the team needs some help at that spot in the lineup.

Leadoff men have batted .185 for the Mets this season – worst in the major leagues. Their .255 on-base percentage ranks 29th in MLB.

It’s a double-edged sword for the Mets. Yes, they needed help at the top of the order, but in using Murphy they sacrifice a very hot middle of the order player to do it.

In my ideal lineup, I’d be batting Murphy third and Wright cleanup right now.

As to how long this new experiment lasts, you never can tell with Collins calling the shots.

Jeremy Hefner lasted just four innings and dropped to 0-5 on the season as the Mets took it on the chin in an 8-2 loss to the Cubs on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Hefner allowed four runs on five hits and three walks and quickly put his team in a hole. The right-hander now has a 5.00 ERA and the Mets are 0-8 when he starts a game.

“He just fell behind in counts,” said Terry Collins. “When he got behind, he had some three-ball counts that he didn’t have earlier. And then he had to come around the plate. When he came around the plate, they put it in play.”

The bullpen was no better as Robert Carson and Collin McHugh both pitched two innings each and allowed a pair of runs.

The Mets wouldn’t get on the board until the ninth inning when they were already down 8-0. John Buck singled and then center fielder Rick Ankiel hit a two-run homer, his second as a Met and seventh overall.

David Wright had two critical strikeouts and looks like he’s trying to do too much at the plate. Ike Davis went 0-for-4 and has about two weeks to straighten himself out or face a demotion to the minors. He is 1 for his last 30.

One bright spot came late in the game when shortstop Ruben Tejada made a spectacular diving stop and initiated an incredible 6-4-3 double-play.

The Mets were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base. They are now 0-9 the day after Matt Harvey starts.

Another day game for the Mets tomorrow as Dillon Gee (2-5, 6.13 ERA) opposes left-hander Travis Wood (4-2, 2.03) in the 2:20 PM rubber match.

Matt Harvey settled down after a rocky two-run first inning to produce one of his most impressive starts of the season in a 3-2 victory at Wrigley Field. The victory was the Mets’ second straight after losing six in a row.

ON THE MOUND: Flirting with perfection is one thing, but pulling it together when it isn’t going well is more indicative of what he’ll normally face. Harvey gave up three hits in the first inning and only two after, at one point retiring 14 straight.. … In 7.1 innings, Harvey gave up two runs on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts. … Bobby Parnell worked the ninth for his fifth save.AT THE PLATE: David Wright homered in the first, Daniel Murphy homered to tie the game in the fourth, and Harvey drove in the game-winner with a seventh-inning single. … Wright had three hits. He also stole his ninth base. … Ike Davis snapped a 0-for-25 slide with a single in the sixth.

IN THE FIELD: Davis missed coming up with Ruben Tejada’s one-bouncer that allowed two runs to score in the first. Amazingly, the official scorer gave Alfonso Soriano an infield hit and a throwing error to Ruben Tejada. … Marlon Byrd threw out Darwin Barney at the plate to preserve the lead in the eighth inning.

METS MATTERS: Zack Wheeler returned to Triple-A Las Vegas and resumed throwing today. He received a cortisone injection in the AC joint of his right shoulder Wednesday. … Terry Collins suggested a platoon with Justin Turner at first base and/or dropping him to fifth in the order if his problems continue.

THEY SAID IT:  “The run support has been lacking, but most of our starters can complain about run support the last couple of weeks. … Pitching, run support and defense; we got all three of those.’’ – Wright on Harvey’s performance.

BY THE NUMBERS: 18: First-pitch strikes thrown out of 27 hitters faced by Harvey.

ON DECK: Jeremy Hefner attempts to win for the first time in eight starts Saturday afternoon.

Please follow me on Twitter @jdelcos

Lately, it seems the only thing the Mets excel at is finding ways to lose.

Shaun Marcum had his first quality start as a Met, going 6.2 innings allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while walking one and punching out three. He threw 96 pitches, 65 of which for strikes, however fell to 0-4 on the year in easily his best effort for the Amazin’s this season.

After matching goose eggs with the Cardinal’s young phenom Shelby MIller, things got rocky in the bottom of the fourth. With Matt Holliday on first and two out, Jon Jay roped a double to Mike Baxter in right that went to the wall. Seeing that he didn’t have a play on Holliday, who came around to score, Daniel Murphy threw to third and pinned Jay in a run down. Apparently giving up, Jay stood almost still in front of Wright for a routine play to tag him. Wright went to lay the tag on, but dropped the ball. As it skidded into the infield, Jay was able to safely make it to third base, costing Wright just his third error on the year. Tony Cruz would follow up with a knock to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Looking overmatched at the plate, the offense was completely anemic against Miller who did not have his best stuff today. He held the Mets off the board through 5.2 frames before being relieved by Randy Choate for the last out of the sixth. In the seventh against Seth Maness, John Buck got himself on base with a one out single, setting the table Rick Ankiel. On the seventh pitch of the at bat with a full count, Ankiel took a 90mph sinker deep to center to tie up the ballgame at two. Maybe the Mets luck is finally starting to turn around right?

Wrong. In the bottom half of the frame, Marcum got the first two outs but got himself into trouble with runners on first and third. After which he was lifted for this year’s go-to lefty, Scott Rice. Rice came on to face the former-Met Ty Wigginton, and on the first-pitch of the at-bat, threw a breaking ball that careened off John Buck and to the backstop, scoring the lead run in Daniel Descalso.

After the end of the seventh, the life was sucked out of the Mets. Carlos Beltran walked to lead off the eighth. Matt Holliday grounded into what would be a routine double-play, but the throw from Murphy sailed into the home dugout, allowing him to go to second. Allen Craig would also be walked to create a nice opportunity for Yadier Molina, who came through with a base hit to drive in the insurance run and make it 4-2.

After the wild pitch from Rice, the offense showed little fight as they went down 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth to end the game.

John Buck had a nice day at the plate, but a horrible one on the basepaths as he was doubled off on a Ruben Tejada liner that was caught, then made a boneheaded steal attempt, resulting in the slow-footed backstop being picked off at second. That plus the key wild pitch, and it was overall a night to forget for Buck.

The offense continues to be ice cold. Ike Davis and Lucas Duda both had 0-fers in this game.

The Mets just aren’t playing good baseball, it is as simple as that. They are giving opposing teams extra outs with sloppy D and giving away at-bats with an inept lineup.

Two positives to take away from this one however was the encouraging start from Marcum, and the solid offensive effort by Rick Ankiel.

The Mets have now lost six-games in a row for the second time this season and are 8-18 in their last 26 games. They now have the third worst record in baseball at 14-23, nine games under .500. Only Houston and Miami are worse.

Jonathon Niese (2-4, 5.93 ERA) opposes right-hander Adam Wainwright (5-2, 2.30) in the series finale on Thursday at 1:45 PM. The Mets look to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals which last happened in 1982 when Keith Hernandez played for St. Louis.

Updated by Joe D. at 6:30 PM

After making inflammatory remarks against Met fans yesterday that rubbed many people including those in the organization the wrong way, Terry Collins acknowledged that he misspoke and took back some of the things he angrily said about Met fans while a guest on WFAN today.

“The New York fans are maybe the most knowledgeable fans that I’ve ever been around,” Collins told Mike Francesa. “When the question was asked, it pretty much was … Look, as much as I respect everybody’s opinions, it’s my opinion that counts and what’s best for this club. I can’t be influenced by outside people who aren’t here, and that’s pretty much all I meant. Certainly I misused the words. I shouldn’t have said ‘fans.’ I should have just said ‘people.”

“Nobody spends more time with the fans and nobody goes out and does more with the fans than I do,” Collins said. “I respect the fans immensely. I tell everybody that it’s about the fans. I don’t care who you’re a fan of. If you’re a baseball fan, you’re a fan, and certainly I meant no harm, no disrespect to them. We’re doing the best we can to make the right decisions here to get our team better. I hope that’s cleared up.”

In the meantime, while he cleared up that mess there’s still the matter of the Mets losing five straight and 18 of their last 25 games.

How about we quit with all the players in the doghouse, and start giving less playing time to the players in the outhouse?

How about we start managing this team to win and not use games and writing lineup cards as a means to teach certain players lessons?

If you want to get through to someone, why not do it the old fashioned way and just call him into your office and clear the air?

Go win some games for crying out loud.

And if you’re looking for any sympathy from me, you won’t get any.

You’ve been in this game for over 40 years and you are your own worst enemy. We expect more from you!

Original Post 9:00 AM

Terry Collins did what no manager should do, especially one with a career losing record likely to be made a scapegoat for what figures to be the Mets’ fifth consecutive losing season.

Collins, who has been erratic and puzzling on several issues this season, took on the exceedingly frustrated Mets’ fan base Tuesday night, basically calling them clueless and he didn’t care for their perception of his team, which is rapidly falling out of relevance before June.

Not surprisingly, the catalyst for Collins’ anger was the lingering Jordany Valdespin issue. Neither Collins nor general manager Sandy Alderson has been able to get through to Valdespin, and both handled his self-glorifying home run and subsequent beaning poorly.

If the Mets were winning, it would have gone away. Because they are not and in the midst of a stretch that could blow up their season, Valdespin is an issue.

After Valdespin’s homer last Friday in a blowout loss, Collins alluded to the possibility of the temperamental outfielder getting beaned as payback. Collins spoke of baseball’s unwritten code, and how Valdespin’s attitude is the norm and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Basically, he left it up to the Pirates teach his player a lesson, when what he should have done was rip Valdespin’s actions. Collins could have also told Pirates manager Clint Hurdle he would handle Valdespin.

By not doing so, Collins invited the Pirates to throw at his player. After the plunking, Collins pretty much said, “that’s baseball,’’ and Alderson took the same milquetoast approach.

No Met approached Valdespin after his dugout temper tantrum, and only David Wright offered any verbal support. The perception is the Mets don’t have Valdespin’s back, and several nameless quotes say he is universally scorned in the clubhouse.

Collins was asked whether Valdespin is on an island and told reporters in St. Louis: “I don’t answer to fans. They don’t play this game. They have no idea what goes on. They have no idea what goes on in there.

“They have absolutely no idea what it means to be a professional teammate at this level. … I’ll tell you one thing: Jordany knew they were going to throw at him. He knew it. And you’ve got to go take your medicine. That’s part of being a big guy in this league.’’

If Valdespin knew he would get hit – and his reaction suggests he might be oblivious to the baseball code – then why would he put his player in that position?

Telling Hurdle he would handle things might have prevented the rib-banging pitch.

There are varying perceptions of the incident brought on by how Collins and Alderson handled things. Shipping Valdespin’s butt out the next day would have sent a strong message to the Pirates as well as his clubhouse his hot-dogging would not be tolerated.

The perception of that would have been clear and decisive. If nothing else, it would have shown Collins and his front office were in sync.

Instead, Collins put himself in position to handle another question of which its answer could grease the skids on his exit.

“I don’t care what the perception is,’’ Collins said. “All I know is what goes on here. I’ve been doing this for 42 years. I don’t care what anybody on the outside thinks.

“I know how to get it done in the clubhouse. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than a lot of people. He’s fine. He handled it great, I thought, the way he went about it. He went to first base. He didn’t throw his bat any place. … He did it the right way. And now it’s over. Now we move on.’’

Easier said than done, because Valdespin did not handle it the right way. No, he didn’t throw his bat or charge the mound, but he did slam his helmet, which prevents moving on.

Collins then went on to make excuses for Valdespin, saying he had a tough background. He also said Valdespin has to be careful not to alienate his teammates, which might already be the case.

One day, Collins spoke of baseball’s code and another made excuses for his polarizing player. You can’t help but wonder how Valdespin’s teammates might be annoyed by that defense.

Valdespin was not in the lineup Tuesday, and for a team struggling for offense, the perception is clear he’s on the outs. So, why is he still here?

Yes, Collins has been in the game for over 40 years, and in that time one would have thought he would have learned a few things.

One, managers are hired to be fired, so don’t align yourself with a seemingly lost cause like Valdespin, because by the time he gets it, you’ll be gone.

Secondly, this fire keeps on burning because Collins refused to put it out. He knows he could have given a neutral answer with the Cardinals media in the room, then after the session gathered the New York writers into his office for an off-the-record briefing. That way, his ripping the fans never gets out.

Finally, don’t take on the fans, as they always have the last word. That word is “boo,’’ and Collins will hear it loudly if things don’t change fast.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I get emails all day long asking me why don’t we let the story die. My answer to them is that we are not the story. The Mets are the story and we do what we’ve been doing for nine years now, which is to report and debate things as they happen.

Three months ago there were plenty here who told me that it was a non-story when I wrote that there was something amiss between Jordany Valdespin and his teammates in the clubhouse.

I picked up on that during the start of Spring Training when two players came into the clubhouse to find their lockers and said, “Thank god I’m nowhere near Valdespin’s locker.”

“Joe D. you are reading too much into things.”

I commented on the jokes that were made when Valdespin was hit right in the groin and lied on the ground in pain.

Then there was the pie.

All I did is what any rational and reasonable person who reports would do and that was to connect the dots. Rule number one if you are going to follow and report about this team? Take anything and everything you hear from management and their SNY wing with a grain of salt. They are all on the same team – Team Wilpon.

Now it’s a full blown controversy and the only story that anyone is talking about.

How can you hope it goes away when the General Manager only two days ago added more fuel to the fire by saying he wasn’t hung out to dry, and then learning that Valdespin ask out of going to the plate a second time after being plunked the first time. A fact that Collins even admitted to shortly after he ripped into the fans.

The Mets create the stories and it’s on the Mets to stop feeding us the stories, not me. I don’t have the power to keep players, coaches and management from saying things that are better left unsaid. I can fault the players for saying silly and inappropriate things, but when management does it how can you find that to be acceptable and professional behavior.

I agree with Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post regarding Collins who said:

Collins probably knew, as soon as he said this, he shouldn’t have said this. He knows the fastest way to be packing your belongings in boxes — faster than losing games in bunches — is to take on fans. Fans are undefeated. Fans are a franchise’s lifeblood. Fans …

Well, fans allow you to stay relevant, long past your expiration date. I’ve believed, and written, that Collins deserves a full and fair accounting before his time is done here. But Collins has also found trouble in Houston and Anaheim when the losing became too much for him. In both cities, he lost the players, and that’s bad enough (and judging from the listless way the Mets mailed in another game with the Cards last night, 10-4, that may be happening again).

My big concern right now is that the Mets are blind to their own problem. That means nothing is being done to keep more incidents like this one from taking place. The best way to fix a problem is to admit you have one. So far management seems to think everything is hunky-dory when it’s clearly not.

How many dog houses does Terry Collins have and why was Ruben Tejada apparently in one of them last night when the manager decided to scratch him from the starting lineup before last night’s trouncing at the hands of the Cardinals?

That factoid came from Eddie Coleman who is not known for exaggerating the truth and conjuring up false storylines. Eddie is as straight as an arrow.

Is there anyone else residing in these dog houses aside from Jordany Valdespin and Ruben Tejada and when are their parole dates?

I don’t make the stories, I just talk about them and ask the tough questions and am usually the first to do so. Ahh the benefits of having an independent Mets site.

Look, I can give you the same regurgitated stuff you can find on any other Mets blog if that’s what you want. But I try to be different. I like to play devil’s advocate. I enjoy ultra analyzing the things I hear and try to wrap it around a unique post that doesn’t always stay inside the lines.

I could just post everything Adam Rubin reports and make our jobs here easy-peasy, but what do you the reader gain out of that? Where is the uniqueness? Where are the insights? This blog is meant to be the antithesis to MetsBlog and it always has been. That’s never gonna change. We serve hard liquor here.

Starting Lineup

1. Mike Baxter – 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. Shaun Marcum – RHP

Game Notes

The Mets scored four times in the sixth inning last night. It was the first time in eight games the Mets had plated more than three runs. New York has scored three or fewer runs in 12 of their last 17 games.

Marlon Byrd had a double and two-run homer for the Mets Tuesday night, and hopes the team can finally begin to generate some offense after breaking a string of scoring three runs or less in their seven previous games. “It’s been tough for us,” he said. “We’re still working and we have to stick to our approach. We know we can score runs. We did in April. We just have to get back to that.”

Dillon Gee saw his record fall to 2-5 after allowing nine hits and six runs, five earned, in four innings of work. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “I didn’t feel all that bad tonight. I’m a ground-ball guy and I think seven ground-ball hits got through. I don’t know what else to do. That’s what I’m trying to do. It seems like a recurring thing right now that every single one of them finds their way through.”

Justin Turner made his 14th career start at shortstop Tuesday and didn’t make an error, though he appeared to dive over a ball hit by Pete Kozma in the third inning that resulted in a run. Turner was taking the spot of Ruben Tejada, who is hitting .229 this season.

Shaun Marcum will make his fourth start for the Mets, still seeking his first victory. He also has never won a game in St. Louis, in his home state, having not earned a decision in two career starts at Busch Stadium. His last start came last September, for the Brewers, when he gave up first-inning home runs to Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran. Marcum grew up and graduated from Excelsior Springs High School, near Kansas City, and then attended Missouri State in Springfield.

Josh Edgin will join Triple-A Las Vegas, according to Binghamton Mets beat reporter Lynn Worthy of the Press & Sun-Bulletin. Edgin is no longer with the Binghamton Mets team and is will join the 51s tonight.

Relief prospect Jack Leathersich struck out four over 2.0 scoreless innings for Binghamton (AA) vs. Akron to earn his first win of the year…Leathersich has struck 33 over 17.2 innings in 13 appearances. He has a 2.0 4 ERA (four earned runs/17.2 innings) with three holds and one save.

Game Preview

For the second time this season, the Mets have lost 5 games in a row. Last time the streak went to 6 games and hopefully the Mets bats and Shaun Marcum can prevent that from happening tonight. Last night the Mets bats seemed beat against the rookie pitcher until the 6th inning when they scored 4 runs in the inning. It was the first time since May 5th they scored more than 3 runs in a game and the first time since May 1st that they scored 4 in an inning. Gee and Carson made it difficult last night as well as they allowed 5 and 4 each early on. Tonight Marcum will face off against Shelby Miller.

Shaun Marcum is 0-3 to start off his Mets career with a 8.59 ERA. He hasn’t been pitching deep into games and overall he hasn’t looked effective on the mound at all allowing hit after hit after hit. Last year he faced the Cardinals once allowing 4 ER and 8 hits over 5 innings of work. The Cardinals have the following numbers against him:

Wigginton 4-17
Holliday 4-14, 2 HR
Jon Jay 7-14, 2B
Molina 3-12, 2B
Freese 2-10, HR
Beltran 1-6, HR

The Mets bats will look to build off of the 6th inning yesterday as they go to battle with Shelby Miller tonight. This year Miller has been 5-2 with a 1.58 ERA over 45.2 innings while striking out 51 batters – Harvey-esque stats. Last year he came in relief against the Mets allowing one hit and no runs over 2 innings of work while striking out 4 batters. The Mets have the  following numbers against Miller:

Baxter 0-1
Duda 0-1
Davis 0-1
Murphy 1-1
Tejada 0-1

I know, lets blame batting coach Dave Hudgens and his approach to work the count, be selective, and get a pitch and drive it.

That’s it, his approach is wrong. It is why they are striking out so many times. They are taking, taking, falling behind, and then whiffing. Damn, it’s Hudgens’ fault.

That’s the current analysis of the Mets’ offensive woes and it is nonsense.

There is nothing wrong with the approach, the game plan, if you will. It is fundamental baseball, and it only doesn’t work if you don’t have the hitters with the ability to make it work.

There is nothing wrong in working the count and taking a strike. What IS wrong, is taking that strike if it is a pitch you can drive. This is about pitch selectivity and recognition, and Mets hitters don’t have it.

Remember when Yankees-Red Sox games lasted close to four hours? The approach from both teams was to run up the count. For the Yankees, when they faced Pedro Martinez, the magic number was 100. Once Martinez reached that number he became less effective.

Surprise, surprise, it works that way with all pitchers on a consistent basis. Some games they’ll have the stuff to go long, but usually they’ll break down.

It worked because those teams had hitters capable of recognizing their pitch and reacting. Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill and Manny Ramirez. The term used is “professional hitter.’’

Trouble is, when you look at the Mets, you don’t find many. David Wright, sure. You can even make a case for Daniel Murphy, but he’s in a dreadful slump, which happens to everybody.

We knew going in Ike Davis and Lucas Duda were strikeout machines. Looking at their roster, so is everybody else.

Of their most-used lineup, only Murphy and Ruben Tejada are projected to finish with less than 100 strikeouts, and their numbers of 93 and 79, respectively, are high for supposed “contact’’ hitters.

For all the talk of John Buck’s hot start, he has come to Earth average-wise and his power numbers have cooled. But, not his strikeouts; on pace for 162.

Here’s the projected numbers for the rest: Wright (106, which is a marked improvement from recent years), Duda (153), Rick Ankiel (154), and Marlon Byrd (139).

Even in his limited at-bats, Jordany Valdespin is on pace to whiff 65 times. Give him full time at-bats and it would be over 100, also.

Given this, then why have an approach of taking pitches?

Answer: Because that gives them the best chance to succeed, if they have the ability to do so.

Early in the year we were thrilled about Duda taking walks and having a high on-base percentage. What went wrong is two-fold: 1) he fell back into bad habits and started chasing, and 2) he didn’t swing when he got his pitch.

Too often, Mets’ hitters still swing at garbage. In fact, they aren’t taking enough. Consider Davis’ last strikeout Sunday against Pittsburgh when he flailed at three pitches outside the zone, either low or away, or both.

If the Mets had a roster of guys such as Wade Boggs or Barry Bonds, who knew how to wait out a pitcher and what to do when he got his pitch, this wouldn’t be an issue.

But, they don’t. They have a roster of guys who aren’t major leaguers.

Pitchers know the Mets are taking, so they adjusted and are throwing down-the-middle strikes early and hard-to-reach strikes late in the count.

If the first pitch is there, swing at it. The approach isn’t about taking until you have two strikes. It is about driving one strike. Sometimes, that’s the only good pitch you’ll get.

Outside of Wright, who is getting better, few Mets know how to protect the plate with two strikes, which is shorten your swing, foul off pitches that are close, and go to the opposite field.

No, the problem isn’t the approach. The problem is a roster of hitters who don’t understand the fundamentals of hitting.

The problem is also general manager Sandy Alderson, who is about the funky stats of Sabermetrics and has settled for a roster of players not able to hit, but oh boy they can walk.

But, the easiest thing to do is blame Hudgens, who after all, is only trying to get his hitters to understand Hitting 101.

Please follow me on Twitter @jdelcos

Look at that scoreboard and count all of them zeroes!

What an amazing game tonight by the ace of the staff Matt Harvey who tossed nine scoreless innings tonight as the Mets beat the Chicago White Sox by the score of 1-0 on a tenth inning walk-off double by pinch hitter Mike Baxter.

The Mets phenom took a perfect game into the seventh inning until Alex Rios hit a grounder deep in the hole to Ruben Tejada who turned fired to first, but not in time as Rios beat the throw by half a step. Damn it!

Still, it was just another dominating performance in what has been a season full of them for Matt Harvey. The young right-hander struck out a career high twelve batters on the night and was absolutely electric.

The Mets offense was silenced most of the night by White Sox starter and Newark, New Jersey native Hector Santiago who was matching zeroes with Harvey and going toe to toe with him.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the tenth that the Mets broke through after a walk by Ike Davis who was then sacrificed to second on a perfect bunt by the rookie, Juan Lagares.

Terry Collins called on Mike Baxter to pinch hit and he quickly laced the ball into the right field corner as Ike Davis raced home and scored the winning run.

It was one of those games that you were happy to not have missed and hopefully all of you were tuned in and as amped up as I was. This one gave me goosebumps!

The Mets wrap up their short two game series tomorrow evening at 7:10 PM with Jeremy Hefner on the mound.

When you live on the West Coast, sometimes you have to listen to the other team’s broadcast. It can be excruciating. When your team starts winning, especially in clutch fashion, there’s nothing better.

That’s what happened to me while listening to the Braves announcers last night. When the Braves made a move, the Mets had an answer. Clutch offense was the theme of the game.

Evan Gattis hit a home run off Brandon Lyon and Mets fans released a digital sigh throughout the Twittersphere. They had read this ending before.

Then David Wright summoned his inner Walt Whitman and had fans singing, “O Captain! My Captain!” Wright hit a clutch 464-foot home run off Craig Kimbrel that tied the game at five in the 9th. Bobby Parnell bailed out Lyon after Lyon gave up a leadoff double in the bottom half of the frame and the Mets went into extras unscathed. The Mets have played seven innings of extra-inning baseball in the last four games.

Lucas Duda and Marlon Byrd went down consecutively and the top of the 10th looked all but over. Then El Dramático stepped to the plate…

Jordany Valdespin worked a walk to get on with two outs in the 10th. Then he stole second and furiously clapped his hands before calling for time. The spark was created. He had attempted to steal third, which had some viewers scratching their heads. Michael Baron wasn’t too impressed with Valdespin’s enthusiasm over Twitter.

It’s a good thing JV1 wasn’t thrown out at third for the last out in the 10th inning before Tejada got a chance to swing the bat, btw #Mets

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

I had assured him that El Dramático had the base stolen, but Mr. Baron still wasn’t having it.

@pacific_theme Look, its a bad play. And, if he gets a bad jump and gets nailed, you’re singing a different tune.

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

You’re right, but he did get a good jump and that’s why he went for it. Leave my tune singing out of it!

While fielding more questions, Baron at least tried to be positive. So, whatever, I guess.

@sonufrock he backs it up with his play. So, whatever, I guess.

— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) May 4, 2013

The flair was in full effect.

Mike Baxter and Ruben Tejada followed up with a walk and a base hit to drive home Valdespin for a 6-5 lead. Valdespin, who leads the league in style points in the early part of the season, slid into home plate head first. I don’t know why. It was brought to my attention that on-deck hitter Daniel Murphy instructed him to, but it was fantastic nonetheless. Murphy followed things up with a much-needed insurance run and Jeurys Familia shut the door for his first career save.

It was a good game for the Mets and it sent a message that they haven’t given up yet even if the media and fans have. John Buck hit another home run and his stock is skyrocketing. He now has 10 home runs and 29 RBIs. Duda and Byrd also went yard and the Mets tallied four long balls in the 7-5 victory. I even have to give it up to Terry Collins for a couple savvy managerial decisions in this one. Even if it only happens twice a day, you still have to point out when I dead clock is right. As for the ubiquitous why-isn’t-Valdespin-starting-every-day question? I don’t know. We could be watching El Dramático start rallies like that in the 1st inning three or four times a week, but for whatever reason, we’re not. I’ve given up on coming up with a legitimate explanation because there really isn’t one anymore.

All I know is Jonathon Niese and Matt Harvey are back on the mound, which gives the Mets a good shot at taking the series on the road.

What are your thoughts on last night’s game?

Wow, this was a great game for the Mets who just beat the Atlanta Braves 7-5 in extra-innings at Turner Field tonight. I hope you caught all the action because it was one of the best games and biggest wins of the season for the Mets. Jordany Valdespin once again sparked the big inning and continues to make Terry Collins look like a fool whenever he’s out of the lineup. More on him later.

Shaun Marcum made his second start for the Mets and had a very uneven performance, lasting just 4.1  innings and allowing three runs on six hits and three walks. His ERA is now 7.20 for the season and he needs to start stepping up his performance real quick. LaTroy Hawkins relieved Marcum and aside from letting one inherited runner to score, he gave the Mets 1 2/3 effective innings of relief. At this point the score was knotted at three after five.

The Mets got two of their first three runs on another John Buck homer – a two run shot in the first inning and his tenth big fly of the year. In the second inning, Lucas Duda belted his sixth homer of the season and he seems to be heating up again.

Things got dicey for the Mets in the seventh when Scott Atchison allowed two walks and a run to give the Braves the lead. Then after the Mets tied the game again in the eighth, Brandon Lyon gave the lead right back again after coughing up a solo home run to Braves catcher Evan Gattis in the bottom of the inning to put the Braves up 5-4.

Enter the captain David Wright who hit an absolute bomb off one of the best closers in the game, Craig Kimbrel, in the ninth inning to tie the game at 5-5. It was Wright’s fourth homer of the season and this one was as clutch as you can get.

The Braves tried to mount a walk-off win in the ninth after a leadoff double, but in came closer Bobby Parnell who slammed the door with some major league heat and kept Atlanta from scoring to send the game into extra innings.

In the the top of the tenth inning, El Dramatico – Jordany Valdespin  - ignited the a two-run rally with a clutch pinch-hit walk. Spin then takes off for second base and gets in safely to get himself into scoring position. Ruben Tejada follows up with line-drive RBI single to plate Valdespin with the lead run and put the Mets up 6-5. Daniel Murphy would follow that up with an RBI single to give the Mets an insurance run.

Jeurys Familia came in to close it out and notched his first big league save after mowing down the heart of the Braves lineup with a scoreless 1-2-3 tenth inning.

It was an amazing game with lots of excitement from start to finish. The Mets refused to lose and they got some clutch performances at the plate and out of the bullpen which was great to see. Valdespin is the most exciting player on the team and is always making things happen!

Valdespin Races Home To Score The Winning Run In The 10th Inning!

Bob Klapisch of The Record, mirrors my post from Monday that the Terry Collins watch has begun:

The countdown on Terry Collins began on the first day of pitchers and catchers and nothing so far has made it any easier to believe he’ll be back with the Mets in 2014. Of course, Collins has handled his lame-duck status with grace and maturity — he’s an honest guy, good with people — but that hasn’t stopped Sandy Alderson from letting his manager continue to drift away from the mother ship.

Collins, no dummy, knows he would’ve already received a vote of confidence, even in private, if Alderson and Jeff Wilpon were entirely sold on his body of work. Both men know what job security — or its absence — does to a manager’s standing in the clubhouse. Without a commitment from ownership, Collins looks like a short-timer on a bad team, a latter-day George Bamberger. The current six-game losing streak, including embarrassing back-to-back losses to the Marlins, doesn’t help his cause, either.

Collins seems to be making one bad decision after another during this current losing streak. It’s hard to ignore his bad calls and the become more glaring especially with the team losing 10 of their last 13 games.

Last night, in a critical save situation – in a game the Mets needed so desperately to win – he called upon Brandon Lyon while his regular closer Bobby Parnell was armed and ready to go.

Lets just say that it didn’t work out too well for the Mets…

Reportedly, Parnell was pissed off after the game and was angry that he didn’t get the chance to preserve the win for Jeremy Hefner who pitched the game of his life and deserved a better fate.

Tick, tick, tick, tick….

Original Post 4/29

After getting off to a 7-4 start to the season, the Mets have now lost nine of their last 12 games and aside from when Matt Harvey and Jon Niese are on the hill, you don’t get the sense that the Mets will win that day.

Part of the problem was a middle to back end of the rotation that was ill-conceived from the beginning. The ever so reliable R.A. Dickey was replaced with Shaun Marcum who has already missed nearly a month of the season. Not surprising coming off an injury plagued season in 2012.

The bullpen, which has been among league’s worst for two years in a row, is in familiar territory once again and sporting the highest ERA in the league and the second worst mark in baseball. While Bobby Parnell has made advances in the closer role, the league is batting .324 against LaTroy Hawkins, Josh Edgin and Glen Burke have already been cut, and Scott Atchison, Brandon Lyon and Robert Carson each have ERAs over 4.00.

The outfield, which many thought would be better than last year’s version, is producing at the bottom of the MLB barrel again. Collin Cowgill is batting a gritty .169, and Marlon Byrd is providing a veteran presence to go with his .235 average. Those two were announced as everyday outfielders on Opening Day and experiment that lasted all of three games. Adding to the folly is the scrappy Mike Baxter and his .229 average. After a solid start, Lucas Duda has been mired in a slump and is batting .233 in his last ten games. Jordany Valdespin is probably the Mets’ best option, but is still relegated to bench and spot duty. He didn’t even merit a start a day after a game winning grand slam.

You have a mixed bag in the infield with David Wright holding up his end of the bargain with a .309 average and a .506 slugging, and Daniel Murphy continues to defy his skeptics offensively and defensively. Ike Davis has been a sore spot all season long and as I said two weeks ago it’s time to bring up Josh Satin who leads the organization with a 1.10 OPS and platoon him at first. Ruben Tejada hasn’t cut it defensively or offensively and yet somehow he frequently finds himself batting leadoff.

This team has gaping holes everywhere. Today on MetsBlog, Matt Cerrone provided a glimmer of hope:

“A Zack Wheeler and a Travis d’Arnaud there, an Ike Davis hot streak there, and things can turn around quick.”

I don’t see that changing the climate in Flushing. The Mets were at their worst last season when Davis got hot, Wheeler can’t seem to find the strike zone in Vegas, and D’Arnaud has missed nearly the first month of the season on the DL.

Yesterday on Twitter, I posted this message:

Mets won’t do anything to draw negative attention before All Star Game. I think Collins will be chopped after that if things don’t improve.

— Mets Merized Online (@MetsMerized) April 28, 2013

I put much of the blame on yesterday’s loss on Terry Collins. His decision to remove Niese when he did was a terrible one, and the worst part was what he said afterward:

“I knew they were going to put Howard in,” Collins said. “Scott Atchison‘s breaking ball is really difficult to hit. I don’t care who it is.”

He knew Mets killer Ryan Howard would come in and yet he proceeded as Scott Atchison is the second coming of Dennis Eckersley.

He also replaced Juan Lagares with Collin Cowgill and as one reader pointed out, that Howard two-run double probably would have been caught with the speedier and more agile rookie who Collins himself said was better than Matt den Dekker defensively.

Is it too early to call for Collins’ head?

Probably, but while we can fix the bullpen, the outfield, the infield or the backend of the rotation, you can’t fix stupid. As I said, the Mets won’t do anything now with the All Star game closing in at Citi Field, but there’s a reason why Sandy Alderson opted to let Terry Collins go into this season without an extension and as a lame duck manager.

Is it time for some Wally Ball at Citi Field?

What can be said about last night’s Mets game that hasn’t already been said about my high school prom.

It was long, nobody could score and it turned out to be a huge waste of time.

They say hindsight is 20/20, but my foresight in this one wasn’t so bad either. There were a few poor decisions that were easily predictable.

I’m still flabbergasted by Terry Collins’ inexplicable decision to take Jordany Valdespin out for defensive purposes and put in…Collin Cowgill. Huh? The move proved costly after Cowgill misplayed a routine fly ball in centerfield that lead to a game-tying run.

It’s a good thing no one was actually at the ballpark to see this exercise in futility. For all the Mets fans on the East Coast who stayed up past midnight, I offer my condolences. Luckily, I live on the West Coast and only had to keep my eyelids open till 9:45 p.m. They often fell closed because my brain refused to subject myself to this horrendous game willingly.

Truth was stranger than fiction in this one. Matt Harvey looked off, but still pitched well enough to keep the Mets in it to win. The bullpen played great except for Bobby Parnell. Parnell has been the only solid arm in the ‘pen thus far, but blew the save. They Mets offense just couldn’t get anything going offensively and went 1-18 with RISP and left 14 men on base. Ugh. I haven’t seen so many people stranded since I watched Shutter Island.

Baseball is a team sport and the team was collectively bad. Shaun Marcum had a chance to get his first win of the season, but blew a one-run lead in the bottom of the 15th, adding further insult to an already downtrodden Mets rotation.

There were some bright spots though. Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada put in good days at the plate. John Buck is continuing his incredible April with another home run off that God-awful sculpture in left-center. As I’ve been saying, he could be a valuable trade chip down the line. Harvey didn’t have his best stuff, but it’s easy to tell he’s an elite pitcher because his off days are better than most pitchers’ on days.

I’m not sure where the Mets go from here. You can’t get much more rock bottom than this. I imagine other teams are laughing at the Mets. Losing 4-3 in 15 innings to the Marlins is definitely a low point. I doubt opposing team get too fearful when they see the Mets coming up on the schedule. It’s not even the end of April and the towels already look ripe for throwing in. It already feels like June.

Oh, well. I guess I’ll put my Mets hat back on and watch people pass me by as they look at it in obscurity. Such is being a Mets fan I suppose. It’s getting harder to find the silver linings these days. The Mets are on pace to lose 90 plus games this season. It’s still early, but if I have to make any more comparisons to my forgettable years in high school, I might start taking peoples heads Robb Stark-style.

What did you think of last night’s game?

I feel bad for all you die-hards who stood up till 12:45 AM like I did to watch the Mets lose to the Marlins 4-3 in 15 innings.

I’m dead tired so this recap will be a quickie…

After the Mets took the lead in the top of the 15th on a Lucas Duda double followed by a passed ball and then a clutch Ruben Tejada RBI infield single after they intentionally walked Ike Davis, I thought this game was over. Wrong…

Shaun Marcum blew the save and took the loss in the bottom of the inning with Justin Ruggiano scoring the winning run on a sac fly to Lucas Duda.

The Marlins tied the game in the bottom of the ninth against Bobby Parnell who now has two saves and two blown saves. A botched play by Collin Cowgill in center field, allowed the Marlins to put runners on first and third, with the lead runner coming home on sac fly a batter later.

Matt Harvey tossed a career high 121 pitches to get through 5.1 innings allowing one run on seven hits, two walks and striking out seven,

The Mets were 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left 28 men on base. Lots of chances to break it open, but a total lack of execution by everyone except you know who….

John Buck‘s two-run bomb in the fourth inning was the highlight of the game for the Mets. He matches a franchise record with his ninth homer of April.

The Mets (10-14) have lost five straight and are now a season-worst four games under .500.

This was just an awful loss. The Mets will go back at it with the Marlins again with Jeremy Hefner (0-2, 5.12 ERA) opposing right-hander Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.43) at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday.

Hey on a positive note, we brought back our game chat sometime around the ninth inning and logged over 600 comments from 36 users in two hours. Not bad considering it came back without much fanfare.

DAVID WRIGHT, 3B

MMO PLAYER OF THE WEEK

David Wright is officially rolling, and despite the lack of production and support around him, he continues to produce and be the leader of this team. Wright batted .300/.400/.350, with six hits, a double, a sacrifice fly, five RBI, and a stolen base as he helped lead the Mets offensive attack last week.

Wright reached base in all six games the Mets played this past week, with six hits and four walks. Taking it a step further, the 30-year-old has reached base safely in 21 of the Mets 23 games this season.

Terry Collins shook up the lineup this week and moved Wright into the cleanup spot for a few games, before moving him back into the three-hole. The third baseman has not yet begun to show much in the way of power, having just two long balls on the season. However, he continues to hit and drive in runs seemingly on a nightly basis. To date, the Mets captain is batting .309/.436/.506, with two home runs, four doubles, three triples, and 19 RBI. He has an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 15:19, and has already swiped six bases.

Right now, Wright is doing the best he can with the pitches he is seeing. There is no real fear of any of the hitters behind him, so pitchers can be careful how they pitch him. They are fine with giving him a free pass, or having him slap a single to left or center. With John Buck cooling off a bit, and Lucas Duda and Ike Davis yet to provide the protection Wright needs, he will continue to see limited pitches that he can drive.

Honorable Mentions

Matt Harvey

Harvey had his worst start of the season, and it wasn’t even that bad. The big righty gave up three earned runs over six innings of work, while striking out seven. Harvey makes two starts this coming week, and if he keeps rolling like this, I will be hard pressed to not hand him his second MMO player of the week honor.

Ruben Tejada

The young shortstop began to pick things up with his bat this week. Tejada had a .300/.417/.450 slash, including three doubles, an RBI, and scored four runs. Tejada returned to the top of the order this week, which is where he spent almost all of last season. The move paid immediate dividends, as Tejada is currently riding a five game hitting streak, and seemed to return to his old self at the plate. Tejada is batting a measly .163 in the eighth spot in the order, while he is hitting a combined .341 when he bats first, second or seventh.

Jeremy Hefner

Hefner may not have many quality starts as the season goes along, but he pitched a gem in his last outing. Hefner went seven innings, gave up just three hits, one earned run, and struck out four batters. The righty did not receive the victory, and remains winless on the year. I hope that the 27-year-old has more starts like that to offer this season.

Jordany Valdespin

Valdespin has a flare for the dramatics, and his walk off grand slam was a great moment early in this season. Spin makes the honorable mention list mainly because the big hit, but aside from that, he did not do much else during the week. The 25-year-old batted just .167, with five RBI, a double, and the game winning grand salami against the Dodgers.

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

1. David Wright – 2

2. John Buck - 1

2. Matt Harvey - 1

Boy, I’ll tell ya… Karma? It’s a bitch…

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Mets 5-1 this afternoon at Citi Field to complete the sweep and send the Mets reeling to their fourth loss in a row.

Jon Niese was the hard luck loser despite a solid performance from the Mets’ southpaw. He gave the the team more than they could have hoped for, but was let down by defensive miscues, a terrible decision by Terry Collins, and a forgettable outing by reliever Scott Atchison.

Niese was cruising through 6.2 innings and locked in a 1-1 pitching duel with Phillies starter Cole Hamels. After getting two quick outs in the seventh, Laynce Nix hit a foul popup that should have been the third out. But catcher John Buck dropped it for an error and Nix responded a single to ignite a rally.

After another single, Collins decides to bring the right-hander Atchison in. That prompted the dangerous Ryan Howard to come out as pinch-hitter and he immediately drove a two-run double to the wall to put the Phillies up 3-1. Chase Utley followed with another single to score Howard and that pretty much sealed the deal for a Philadelphia win.

It was an awful decision by Collins who should have known that Charlie Manuel would send up Ryan Howard to pinch-hit with a right-hander on the mound. Niese deserved a better fate and should have been allowed to get out of the inning himself after a hard-fought, well-pitched game to that point. Brandon Lyon allowed the fifth Phillies run to score in the eighth.

Offensively, the Mets fired blanks aside from Ruben Tejada who doubled twice and had two of the Mets’ three hits on the day. Ike Davis went 0-for-3 and is now batting .169. Lucas Duda continues to slump and after another hitless game his average is now down to .250. Marlon Byrd also took the collar and saw his average fall to .235 for the season.

In addition to the Buck error, the Mets committed two other errors in the first inning, including one by David Wright who saw his record errorless streak for third baseman come to an end at 77 games.

The Mets hit the road and open a three-game series with the Miami Marlins tomorrow night at 7:10 PM. Matt Harvey will face off against rookie phenom Jose Fernandez. It should be a good one. Maybe not. Oh hell, I don’t know… Harvey’s pitching, just watch!

Trouble is, he’s not hitting or fielding. He’s not even just holding his own; he’s been poor at both, actually terrible. Tejada has committed six errors in 13 games – a pace for just under 80 – and the Mets have already lost a couple of games directly attributed to his defense.

Tejada’s .905 fielding percentage is the worst among shortstops as are his errors.

It matters little if David Wright believes he’s a Gold Glove caliber shortstop. What matters is if Tejada can catch the ball, and if he does, keep it out of the stands. Both Tejada’s glove and arm have been erratic. It was a throwing error Tuesday night that opened the door for a late-inning collapse. His throwing has been especially poor. Is Tejada going Steve Sax or Chuck Knoblauch on us?

Yes, it was cold and miserable, and yes, the pitchers needed to regroup to get the following hitters, but that doesn’t change the fact Tejada’s defense is hurting the Mets and they have little answers.

They would like to bring up Omar Quintanilla, but would need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.Wilmer Flores is on the 40-man roster, but the Mets don’t think he’s ready, otherwise a Flores-for-Tejada swap would be considered. The Mets certainly don’t want to bring up Flores to have him languish on the bench.

Neither Collins nor Tejada blamed the error totally on the weather, but both said it was a contributing factor because the cold made gripping the ball difficult. News Flash: It’s not going to get better tonight or tomorrow.

Blaming the weather might be easier to accept if Tejada hasn’t been so awful this season. What’s wrong with him? Was last year a fluke? Is there an injury we don’t know about?

Mike Puma of the New York Post says the Mets intend to stay with Ruben Tejada at shortstop, despite his early season problems.

“I’ve seen this guy play too much, and I’ve never seen this — never,” Collins told Puma. “So had I seen this in the past at some time I may be concerned about it, but I’m just saying the conditions have been unfavorable for what’s going on here.”

“He’s putting a lot of pressure on himself,” David Wright said, according to Puma. “You can just tell he’s thinking about a lot of things instead of just playing. The ones that are reactionary plays, he’s fine with. It’s the on

Whatever the reason, his current play is unacceptable and wouldn’t be tolerated if the Mets had a ready backup. If Tejada continues at this rate and the Mets tank in the second half, perhaps they should consider force-feeding the position to Flores or go shortstop shopping in the offseason.

After all, according to the Mets they will be ready to spend and contend next season. They can’t be competitive with a hole on the left side of the infield. Will they need to add a shortstop to their list?

Yesterday, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that the Mets decided to send Omar Quintanilla to Triple-A Vegas to start the season so they could minimize the risk of losing him to waivers early in the season. Quintanilla is not currently on the 40-man roster.

Collins said the Mets were wary of carrying Quintanilla out of spring training in part because if they ever needed to free a spot on the major league roster and Quintanilla was the casualty, he would need to be exposed to waivers and the Mets would risk losing a valuable piece.

The Mets decided to carry Kirk Nieuwenhuis as an extra outfielder to provide another option to a weak outfield configuration.

It was a logical decision by the Mets who felt that they could get by for a week or two without having to rest the younger Ruben Tejada. But now it’s time to shore up the infield and cut loose one of the six outfielders.

Kirk has options remaining so he’ll be the one to go whether it’s deserved or not.