So on this Father’s Day, we are grateful to the many dads out there who taught us how to play America’s pastime.

With the Chicago Cubs in town for this past weekend’s series, a few of the visiting players shared their memories growing up learning the tools of the trade from their fathers.

Scott Hairston (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Following in Dad’s Footsteps

As the son of a Major Leaguer, former Met and current Cubs’ outfielder Scott Hairston recalls always being at the old Comiskey Park to watch his dad, Jerry Sr., play. Jerry Sr. spent 13 of his big-league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, so Scott grew up in Naperville, Ill., and always wanted to play for a Chicago team.

“My dad was a huge influence on me obviously being a baseball player,” Hairston said. “With his direction, the discipline I received from him made me the man I am today. I love my father, and I appreciate all the hard work he’s done to raise us five kids.”

Even though Scott is now a veteran, he finds that he calls his dad often to discuss the game. He said that his father is someone he can turn to in good times and bad times, and that’s important since the game of baseball has many ups and downs.

“My dad is always there for me,” Hairston said. “Everybody needs somebody to talk to. It helped me because my dad played a lot of years. What he’d been through, chances are I’ve been through.”

Teaching Work Ethic

Hairston’s teammate and fellow outfielder David DeJesus – who was born in Brooklyn – also has great memories of learning the game from his father. The family moved to Manalapan, N.J., and the first thing that David’s father, Heryk Sr., did was built an outdoor batting cage for his three sons: David, Michael and Heryk Jr.

David DeJesus (Photo by Jim Mancari)

Heryk Sr. never played organized baseball growing up in Puerto Rico, but he could tell from an early age that his sons had talent. In addition to the batting cage, the kids also took at least 400 swings per day – left-handed of course – in their basement. Heryk Sr. hung a blanket from the ceiling and stacked mattress pads behind it so his sons could get their work in. These sessions were often videotaped so the family could all review the tapes later on in the evening.

Heryk Sr. laid the foundation for David, and for that David is very grateful.

“The most important aspect was the work ethic,” DeJesus said. “Sometimes as a young high schooler, you don’t really want to go and hit. At five o’clock every day when he got home and the garage door went up, that’s when we knew we were going to the baseball field to go practice. It gave me that work ethic to work hard every day.”

Heryk Sr. was in the ballpark for all three games of the series and was able to spend some time with his son. David now has his own son, three-year-old Kingston, who loves baseball. David hopes his son’s interest in baseball continues to grow so he can share the same experiences he had with his father.

Baseball Comes First

Of all the stories these Cubs’ players shared, first baseman Anthony Rizzo has the best one. He spoke of the time his brother, John Jr., was making his first Holy Communion in Florida. However, with Anthony’s dad John Sr. as the ringleader, the family didn’t exactly make it through the whole ceremony.

Anthony Rizzo (Photo by Jim Mancari)

“He (John Sr.) snuck me out of there to go play a game,” Rizzo said. “From the Communion, we went straight to the field.”

John Sr. was able to be with his son at the 2013 World Baseball Classic while Anthony played for Team Italy. Rizzo said he and his father further bonded as he represented his Italian heritage.

Rizzo’s dad coached him all throughout Little League, through travel ball and right up until high school. Rizzo said that John Sr. served as a vital mentor in his path to the big leagues.

“He’s shaped me as a person,” Rizzo said. “Whether I do good or bad, it doesn’t matter as long as he knows I’m happy and as long as our family is happy.”

John Sr. was also at Citi Field the entire series, and the two got to spend some more quality time together.

Happy Father’s Day

It’s great to see that even players who reach the big leagues never forget where they came from. Each one of these players’ dads played a major role in helping their sons achieve their baseball dreams.

They each had some final thoughts to pass along to their dads.

“I love you, that’s it,” DeJesus said.

“Happy Father’s Day,” Rizzo said. “I hope he enjoys it. I hope to have another 50 or 60 Father’s Day’s with him.”

“Thanks Dad for being there for me and directing me during the course of manhood and being a baseball player,” Hairston said. “That appreciation will never die as long as I’m living.”

Rubin spoke with Scott Hairston who dismissed rumors that the Mets had made him an offer, but understood the situation and respected Sandy Alderson’s decision.

“There were times where I wasn’t sure what they wanted to do, so I waited. But as a player you can only wait so long, so I knew I had to move on and I had to move forward, and that’s just the way it was.”

Hairston, who was clear he wanted a two-year deal, did not get any offer from the Mets. Not even one year.

“There were reports that it happened, but the Mets never made me a one-year offer,” he said.

For what it’s worth, Hairston is off to a slow start and is batting just .125 in 48 at-bats with three home runs. But on the flipside, his replacement Collin Cowgill has already been demoted to the minors.

Read Adam Rubin’s full article here.

In other words, a cycle is a feat we regard with admiration primarily because it is COOL. It is so COOL that it even has a more refined version, the so-called “natural” cycle (single, double, triple, home run in order). This unique quality allows a cycle to actually transcend the game itself, remaining COOL even if your team loses the game in which it occurs, kind of like a consolation prize.

At this point in baseball history, only two teams remain cycle-less: the San Diego Padres (who also hold the distinction of being the only franchise not to have recorded a no-hitter) and the Miami Marlins whose relative youth as a franchise functions as something of an excuse. By way of contrast, the Red Sox have pulled off the feat an impressive twenty times.

Seven Mets had achieved the cycle prior to the day in July, 2004 when Eric Valent got one of his infrequent starts, spelling regular left fielder Cliff Floyd in a game against the Montreal Expos. Valent was a 27 year-old outfielder/first baseman who had been a late first round draft pick by the Phillies in 1998. After a couple of uneventful cups of coffee with the Phils, he was dealt to the Reds for catcher and future Met Kelly Stinnett in August of 2003. That winter, he was left off the Reds’ 40 man roster and was selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Mets timing was fortuitous, as Valent was about to turn 27, the apparent “magic” age for certain players when whatever baseball skills they possess coalesce long enough to produce some evidence to support their place on a major league team. The 2004 season would mark Eric’s high water mark as a player as he produced a respectable .267/.337/.481 slash line in 270 AB’s spread out over 130 games. He would hit all of his big league homers that season, including one that day in Montreal.

Facing Expos starter Rocky Biddle, Valent collected a single in the second inning and a double in the third. He then homered off reliever Sunny Kim, launching a shot that clanked off one of the speakers suspended from the roof of Olympic Stadium. That left him a triple short of achieving a cycle, generally regarded as the toughie of the bunch.

When he came to the plate in the top of the seventh, the Mets had opened a substantial lead in what would end up a 10-1 win for Al Leiter. Consequently, a discussion on going for a three-bagger had preceded his next plate appearance.  Mets coach Don Baylor had told Valent to expect third base coach Matt Galante to be “waving” him on anything hit down the line or in the gap.

When his subsequent at-bat produced a liner into the right field corner, “I just kept going when I hit it” Valent would say after the game

“When I hit the ball in the corner like that, I knew I was going to third. I just wanted to hit the ball hard. It was cool. There aren’t a lot of guys that can say they hit for the cycle, no matter how long they play. It’s a lot of luck.”

By virtue of that statement to MLB.com, we can trace an awareness of the cycle’s aforementioned “coolness factor” to the players themselves.

Of the ten Mets who have hit for the cycle (the most recent being Scott Hairston on April 27th of last year), Valent could be said to tie with infielder Mike Phillips of the 1975 team for “least likely.” After a few more desultory appearances with the Mets the following season, he was out of baseball, but in the record books. That moment of his career at least, was pretty cool.

Mets Who Have Hit For The Cycle

April 27, 2012, Scott Hairston at Colorado

June 21, 2006, Jose Reyes vs. Cincinnati

July 29, 2004, Eric Valent at Montreal

Sept. 11, 1997, John Olerud vs. Montreal

July 3, 1996, Alex Ochoa at Philadelphia

Aug. 1, 1989, Kevin McReynolds at St. Louis

July 4, 1985, Keith Hernandez at Atlanta (19 innings)

June 25, 1976, Mike Phillips at Chicago

July 6, 1970, Tommie Agee vs. St. Louis

Aug. 7, 1963, Jim Hickman vs. St. Louis

Updated on May 3 at 2:40 PM

The Mets have selected the contract of OF Andrew Brown from Triple-A Las Vegas and added him to the 40 man roster, the team announced.

The 28-year old was batting a sizzling .367/.440/.622 to go along with 13 doubles, three triples, and two home runs. He was leading the team in several different offensive categories including 27 RBI and 61 total bases.

To make room for him, the team optioned Collin Cowgill to Triple-A which is exactly what I figured would happen.

Cowgill batted just .157 with a .467 OPS in 51 at-bats after being named the Mets everyday center fielder on Opening Day. Maybe he’ll have better luck at the Black Jack tables.

Original Post May 2, 2013

According to what a source told Adam Rubin, the Mets will be promoting right-handed hitting outfielder Andrew Brown from Triple-A Las Vegas, where Brown was tearing it up at the plate.

Rubin says that Brown will be on hand for tonight’s game against the Braves in Atlanta.

Ironically, in our Mets Minors Report yesterday morning we wrote:

Andrew Brown went 3-for-5 last night with a home run, double and 3 RBI as he continued his “Seriously, call me up to the MLB team” tour.

The 28-year old was batting a sizzling .367/.440/.622 to go along with 13 doubles, three triples, and two home runs. He was leading the team in several different offensive categories including 27 RBI and 61 total bases.

They will have to make room for him on the 40 man roster and I’m betting Collin Cowgill will get the boot as I’ve been suggesting the past week and a half.

Brown probably won’t set the world on fire, but he’ll certainly be an upgrade over Cowgill and Mike Baxter. As one of our readers wrote yesterday, he has a chance to do what Scott Hairston did for us last season.

One thing to note is that Josh Satin took over for Andrew Brown in the outfield during last night’s game for the Las Vegas 51s. He’s another player the Mets could use right now and his ability to play first base, third base and outfield could pave the way for another roster move in the very near future.

The farm system may be in much better shape, and their projected 2014 payroll will be in the bottom of the majors for now – potentially opening a lot of financial flexibility going forward. However, is doom and gloom in store for the 2013 edition of the Mets? Or can they win the WAR?

While I´ll acknowledge that Wins Above Replacement is a somewhat flawed method of measuring talent – especially considering the flaws of defensive stats in this metric – it is still a sound way to judge a team overall.

So, the question is, what kind of an impact have this offseason’s transactions had on the team’s WAR compared to 2012? And how will it evolve in 2013?

Let’s examine the situation, and for those of you wondering, I’ll be using Baseball Reference’s version of WAR to conduct my analysis.

2013 Rotation: Net Gain 0.5 WAR

RA Dickey and his 5.6 WAR is gone, as are Chris Young (0.7 WAR) and Mike Pelfrey (0.9 WAR). In all likelihood, Chris Schwinden and his -0.6 WAR won´t return either. So, overall, 6.6 in WAR have to be made up and accounted for – a daunting task indeed.

Newly acquired Shaun Marcum posted a 1.3 WAR in 2012 and a 2.9 WAR in 2011. Splitting the difference, let´s assume his 2013 WAR will  2.1 as one member of this rotation.

The rest will have to be made up in-house.

Matt Harvey posted a strong 1.6 WAR in one third of a season. Since I very much believe in him, let´s assume he doubles his 2012 totals (tripling it would seem a bit outlandish). So, there´s a 3.2 WAR and thus a gain of 1.6.

Jonathon Niese had a 3.2 WAR in 2012. Let´s assume he matches that again this season and doesn´t take a step forward. Thus,.no change.

Dillon Gee posted a 0.8 WAR in 2012 while missing almost half the season. Let´s say he´s 100% back and almost doubles his previous total to a 1.5 WAR in 2013.

That leaves Johan Santana and his 0.1 WAR for 2012.

Santana’s WAR through June would was closer to 2.0 prior to his collapse over his final ten outings of the season. Let´s assume, he pitches to a modest 1.0 WAR for half the season and then gets replaced by Zack Wheeler for the other half who does half as well as Matt Harvey did in his debut. Overall, we can expect a 1.8 WAR from both of them combined.

Finally, we have Collin McHugh who made a few starts and posted a -0.9 WAR in 2012, thanks to a couple of atrocious outings late in the year while due to fatigue. Let´s assume he performs at a 0.0 replacement level.

Taking all of that conservatively projected data into consideration along with the historical data leads us to this conclusion.

The Mets needed to make up for the loss of 6.6 in Wins Above replacement.

When you calculate Marcum’s 2.1 WAR, plus the net gains of Harvey (1.6 WAR), Gee (0.8 WAR), the 1.7 WAR we could get from the Santana and Wheeler combination, and McHugh (0.9 WAR), it results in a total net gain of 7.1 in WAR.

So, overall, the rotation gains half a win vs. 2012.

2013 Bullpen: Net Gain 4.5 WAR

The Mets had one of the worst bullpens in the league in 2012.

Frank Francisco – in an injury riddled season posted a – 0.7 WAR and now seems DL bound for an extended period of time. Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez and Tim Byrdak (due to injury) are all gone from the 2012 cast and overall they combined for a 0.0 WAR last season. Manny Acosta and his -1.2 WAR is headed to Japan. Miguel Batista and his -0.2 WAR will write his poems for the Braves in 2013.

Meanwhile, the Mets have brought in Brandon Lyon (1.2 WAR in 2012), RH Scott Atchison (1.7 WAR in 2012), Pedro Feliciano (0.0 due to missing the season), Aaron Laffey ( 0.2 WAR) and LaTroy Hawkins (- 0.1 WAR). I´ll assume only Lyon, Atchison and Feliciano land a spot and replace Rauch – Ramirez – Byrdak. Conservative as I am, I´ll pencil in Lyon & Atchison for half as good a season and Feliciano as neutral. Gain: 1.5

Acosta is replaced in-house by either Jeurys Familia or Greg Burke. Since I like the latter ones quite a bit, I´ll project them as a +0.8 WAR reliever combined. Gain: 2.0

Finally, Josh Edgin posted a – 0.1 WAR in 2012 in his brief debut. Blessed with a power arm, he does modestly decent and finishes with a 0.4 WAR overall. Gain: 0.5

FF returns at some point and remains a disappointment. But instead of – 0.7, only is a – 0.2 reliever in 2013. Gain: 0.5

Parnell repeats his 2012 season as the new Mets closer.

Adding everything up, the bullpen turns from atrocious to a solid average. Yet, an overall gain of 4.5 Wins.

2013 Infield: Net Gain 3.5 Wins

Most of the 2012 Infield is back. David Wright – Ruben Tejada – Daniel Murphy – Ike Davis combined for a 10.5 WAR in 2012 – in spite of Murphy learning a new position,  Ike being limited by valley fewer, Tejada missing an extended stretch of time, and Wright being almost unprotected in the lineup most of the season.

The average age of the four regular infielders entering 2013 is 26.5 and thus pretty close to the prime years for a baseball player. Let´s assume Wright regresses slightly from 6.7 to 4.5, however Tejada improves from 1.9 to 2.5 over a full season, Murphy´s defensive improvements over the 2nd half of the season last to bring his WAR up from 1.2 to 2.0 while Ike finally has the break-out we´ve all been expecting and plays defense like in 2011 and 2010 to post a 3.0 WAR vs. 0.7 in 2012. Overall, that´s a gain of 1.5 Wins from these 4 players.

The backup infielder Cedeno (+ 0.3) is replaced by Hicks (-0.1) or Quintanilla (+0.5). Splitting the difference, this remains unchanged.

At Catcher, Josh Thole (- 0.1) gets replaced by John Buck (0.4 WAR in 2012) for a gain of half a win.

Backups Mike Nickeas (-0.7) and Rob Johnson (-0.2) are replaced by Anthony Recker (0 WAR in 2012) and Rookie Travis D´Arnaud. Being very conservative, I´ll give the latter two a combined 2013 WAR of merely + 0.6. Still, overall, that´s a 1.5 WIN gain vs. the terrible 2012 backup combo.

Adding things up, the catching improves by 2 Wins, the Infield by 1.5 wins for a total of + 3.5 wins.

 2013 Outfield: Net Gain 3.0 Wins

Ah, the outfield. A collection of rejects and suspects that has lost Scott Hairston (+ 1.5) and Andres Torres (+ 1.2) and Jason Bay (- 1.3 WAR in 2012). Total loss: 1.4 WAR.

Among newcomers, Collin Cowgill (+ 0.3 in limited action in 2012) figures to double his AB for a total WAR of + 0.6. Marlon Byrd (- 0.5 in 2012 but 1.7 in 2011) and Andrew Brown (-0.1) are competing for a spot. Let´s assume, overall they post a 0.4 WAR, so the new guys combine for 1.0 WAR.

That leaves things up to returnees.

Lucas Duda combined disappointing offense and horrible defense in RF for a – 1.4 WAR in 2012. With an easier assignment in LF and a better offensive approach, he emerges as a modestly solid player to post a 0.6 WAR – for a 2 WAR gain overall.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis had his ups & downs and finished with a 0 WAR in 2012. At age 25, he´s poised for modest improvements and an expected WAR of a conservative 1.4 – which is still below average for a CF but certainly realistic.

Finally, Mike Baxter and his 0.3 returns to RF. He probably is what he is and remains unchanged.

Still doing the math, the outfield gains 3.0 Wins overall and “improves” from atrocious to well below average in 2013.

Overall Net Gain 11.5 Wins

Now of course, it only February 26 and a couple of the players here may change for a myriad of reasons as Spring Training battles are waged in St. Lucie, but we have a good case here to believe the Mets as currently constructed can out produce what they did in 2012. Even with the key losses of R.A. Dickey and Scott Hairston.

All included, the 2013 Mets gain 11.5 wins vs. their 2012 counterparts. Please note that these projections do not include monster-breakouts for anyone. Just gradual improvements which you´d expect for generally young players and no crippling injuries.

Adding 11.5 wins to a total of 74 wins in 2012, you get to 85.5 wins. Not good enough to beat the Nationals for the division and probably behind the Braves as well. But certainly good enough to challenge the Phillies for 3rd place in the NL East and thus compete for the second Wild Card in the NL. And if players such as D´Arnaud, Wheeler, Ike or Duda really happen to break out in a big way, there´s upside for an even higher total. But let´s stop dreaming and “only” look at a glass that could be a lot closer to “half full” than people realize.

Almost everyone is going to pick the Mets to finish fourth in the division. That’s a given. They are looking up and down at team rosters, and giving their projections based on the players on those rosters. A roster is simply a list of names. It can’t tell you if a player is going to have an up year or a down year, it can’t tell you if a player is going to get injured or not, nor can it tell you if the guys on that roster have the heart and determination it takes to win baseball games. So while the analysts make their predictions based on names on a roster because those names are associated with better baseball ability, there is really no telling what can happen over the course of a 162 game season.

But who will replace Dickey’s wins???

Another flawed way to try and determine whether or not a team can win a specific number of games is by looking at the starting rotation, trying to project how many wins each pitcher will have, and then adding them up. Another major mistake is asking oneself who is going to replace the twenty wins that R.A. Dickey tallied in 2012.

This way of thinking is so fundamentally flawed that I don’t even know where to start. While pitching is very important, let’s not forget that there are still eight guys on that field playing the game. Dickey did not win twenty games by shutting out twenty opponents, his other teammates actually contributed as well. In fact, trying to ask where the Mets will get those twenty wins from is a waste of time. It’s safe to say that the average wins that the ace of a team gets is 17 in a season. That would mean the Mets really are only looking at making up three games at most from losing Dickey, not twenty.

Sticking with the pitching projections, if you add up all their predicted wins from the starting rotation you can’t forget to add all the wins that the bullpen accumulate throughout a season. Any wins that the many potential call-ups and spot starters accumulate also have to be included. But this really is a waste of time when trying to determine how many wins the Mets will garner in 2013.

So how can the Mets win 85-90 games in 2013?

The same way teams have been winning games for over a century: with solid pitching, good defense, getting on base, and timely hitting. It doesn’t matter who is on the roster if the team can’t accomplish those things.

The Mets have to break the game down incrementally into it’s simplest form: innings. They have to treat each inning as if it is a mini-game. The goal is to win more innings than your opponent. Baseball games are nine innings for a reason; if your team wins five innings, and your opponent wins four, you win the game. It really is a best out of nine series. The Mets have to take the season inning by inning, and then when all those innings are added up, it should translate in the win column. Met prospect Jack Leathersich actually said as much to Joe D. just last week in his interview with him.

Halfway through 2012, the Mets found themselves ranked in the top ten of the MLB Power Rankings.

How easily we forget that in 2012, the Mets were on pace at one point in the season to win over 80 games. They were winning games with solid pitching and timely hitting. That’s the classic recipe for winning baseball games. The Mets were ranked as high as ninth in the MLB Power Rankings and Mets fans started to believe that there could be a playoff run in the future. However, after the All-Star break, the team never did get back on track. I’m sure one of Terry Collins‘ goals in 2013 will be to get off to a hot start like the Mets did in 2012, but this season, keep his team motivated and finish the season just as strong as it starts.

Everyone complains about how awful the Mets outfield looks now, but did it honestly look much better before the 2012 season? Maybe a tad, but let’s not kid ourselves. Did you ever consider the Mets outfield in 1969 and more recently in 2000?

Scott Hairston had a great year, but nobody anticipated that. Aside from Hairston the Mets outfield was equally as awful in 2012. Who is to say that the Mets won’t get another outfielder to step up in 2013? Maybe this year the Mets will have two surprises instead of one. One of the great things about having a lot of youth in the outfield is that these guys will play hard because they want to stick with the team. That means the potential of one or two of the young guys stepping up in 2013 is actually promising. And while the outfield may still be a question mark, the Mets infield has the potential to be one of the best in the entire National League.

The Mets also received virtually no offensive output from the catcher position in 2012. In 2013, this trend should change. Travis d’Arnaud should be arriving some time in May, and should easily be able to out-perform the Mets catchers from 2012. He will inject at least fifteen home runs into the lineup over the course of the season, and the healing process for the fans that were heart-broken when Dickey was traded will begin.

If the analysts projections were correct every year, then what would be the point of playing the season out? They could all save us a lot of time and hand out trophies based on rosters. However, this is not a contest for putting together the best roster on paper, this is about winning ball games. The Mets can win over 85 games in 2013 if they stick to the winning formula: solid pitching, good defense, getting on base, and timely hitting.

While one prominent Mets site has Policed the situation, concluded his investigation, and determined that there is no evidence to suggest that the Mets can replace those 20 wins from Dickey, I say this Mets team is still innocent until proven guilty.

There is a lot to look forward to in 2013 as Mets fans. There are some exciting young prospects waiting in the wings and if the Mets stay healthy, they are going to sneak up on a lot of teams this year. This is going to be an exciting season of Mets baseball.

2013 New York Mets Prediction:

88-74, 2nd Place N.L. East

For better or worse, Michael Bourn fell off the New York Mets radar Monday when he agreed to a four-year, $48 million deal with the Cleveland Indians.

Mets/MLB beat writer Anthony DiComo suggests, if history is any indication, Sandy Alderson committed an error.  DiComo wrote:

The 11th overall Draft pick has a bizarre history of busts relative to the picks around it. Of the 48 players in history taken 11th overall, only five have amassed more than 10 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to Baseball Reference … 17 of the 48 players never made the Majors …

Couldn’t that be said about the eighth pick? How about the six pick? Or, the 12th pick? DiComo’s logic is founded on coincidence, not any legitimate connection that the 11th pick is cursed. If there is truth in this logic, there is legitimacy in black cats, walking under ladders and idea that a Billy goat holds the key that unlocks the Cubs future hopes of winning a World Series.

Nonsense.

Metsmerized Online writer Connor O’Brien takes a more common sense approach, claiming the Mets suffered from “lack of preparedness.” Alderson was “too passive,” he wrote. The Mets GM needs to be “more aggressive.”

To those three claims: Maybe. OK. I guess.

Doesn’t Alderson’s inaction reflect a consistency in his approach? Since 2010 the Mets GM has systematically dismantled and rebuilt the organizational infrastructure. In are: J.P. Ricciardi and Paul DePodesta. On the field, Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Matt Harvey, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jenrry Mejia, Josh Edgin, Jordany Valdespin, Zack Wheeler (eventually), Travis d’Arnaud (soon). Out are: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez, Angel Pagan, R.A. Dickey, Scott Hairston, Mike Pelfrey. (these lists are not exhaustive)

Younger, talented, building success from within, or as the Mets GM said, “We’re going to strive for consistency, but above all, excellence.”

This was the promise, right?

“I’ve always had a preference for holding on to our own talent and seeing how far it can go,” Alderson told the media at Citi Field in November 2010. “If it succeeds and realizes its full potential, we benefit. If it doesn’t, I think we’ve still made the right decision in terms of our fan base.”

Instead of analyzing decisions we can’t control, how about we ask a really intriguing question: Who will the Mets select as the 11^th overall pick in the June 2013 MLB Draft? Imagine being that guy!?

The good news: That guy will be fresh out of high school (or college) and he will have the distinct honor of calling himself a first round pick in the MLB June Draft. There’s a story for your grandchildren one day.

The bad news: Will that guy have to live in the shadow of Alderson’s decision to keep the draft pick instead of signing a legitimate MLB center fielder? Will he feel pressure? New York alone has wilted the careers of both young and established veteran ballplayers, but this scenario will create a new level of expectation for No. 11.

The jury is out – and will be for a couple years – on whether or not Sandy Alderson made the right call on letting Bourn slip away for the price of a first-round draft pick.

Still, I wouldn’t want to be that guy. Would you?

Paging the New York Mets Front Office…Grady Sizemore is still available.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has reported that Grady Sizemore could be ready as soon as opening day (most likely mid-season), but he is likely to hold off signing until whenever he is fully recovered.

This could be bad news for the Mets fans who hope that Sizemore will once again regain his All-Star form in a New York Mets uniform.

If Sizemore is waiting until he is fully recovered to sign, it is telling the baseball clubs that he is not interested in being low-balled by teams looking to take advantage of his unfortunate situation. He’s trying to tell teams that he is still the player he once was, aside from all the injury issues.

This all but eliminates the Mets, since it sounds as if there is no chance that Sizemore agrees to a minor league deal, and it seems like that is all the Mets are willing to offer players these days.

All kidding aside, the Mets should definitely be keeping a very close eye on Sizemore’s recovery.

Sizemore may be holding off signing to try and build his market price, but the fact is he will still have to sign a team friendly deal and then prove he is still the player he once was. After a full season off, he should come back fully rested and recovered. That makes him a very tantalizing option for the Mets.

Original Post – 10/16/12

This is not breaking news – the Mets are in need of a lead off hitter and outfielders as we move towards the 2013 season. Some people may be ready to close the door on Grady Sizemore’s career, but there is still value there. We are still talking about a player that was on his way to super stardom before some injuries side tracked his career.

After missing the entire 2012 season, Sizemore should be fully healed, rested, and ready to finish what he started a few seasons ago. There isn’t a team in a better position to take a risk on Sizemore than the New York Mets.

Many people will scoff at my last statement and argue that the reward isn’t worth the risk in Sizemore’s case. They will argue he’s too injury prone. Seriously…who cares at this point? Beggars can’t be choosers. With the outlook of the Mets outfield in 2013, adding Sizemore would bring Mets fans a glimmer of hope, and add another player with superstar potential to help David Wright out (pending him re-upping with the team).

The bottom line is the Mets are going to have to take some risks if they want to be able to get competitive again, and fast. The Mets are a Moneyball team now, right? Well, if my memory serves me correctly, one of the main story lines in Moneyball was that they went after a player in Scott Hatteberg, who other teams were avoiding due to injury risk, because they saw value there. Even Billy Beane, lord Moneyball himself, understood that there has to be some sort of risk involved if you are ever going to achieve greatness.

Signing Sizemore on the cheap screams Moneyball.

When you think about it, how much risk is really involved with Sizemore anyway? Sign him to a one year deal for $1.5MM or $2.0MM, and there isn’t much risk involved. Get creative with incentives and bring him to Flushing. We aren’t talking a long-term investment here until he proves that he is worth a long-term investment. But at this point, it seems logical that the Mets would take a flier on Sizemore. If healthy, he solves two problems for the Mets – a lead off hitter, and a centerfielder. If not healthy, they cut ties with him at a minimal cost to the team.

Signing Sizemore is a no-brainer at this point.

It’s time for the Mets to start taking a some calculated risks. Sizemore may be a risk, but oh the reward the Mets would receive for taking that risk if Sizemore is even 2/3 the player he was in 2008. Cleveland seems ready to finally part ways with Sizemore who is a free-agent this off-season. MLBTradeRumors.com reported in August that two scouts said that Sizemore is worth signing if there isn’t much guaranteed money at stake. Hopefully one of those scouts was from the New York Mets.

Let’s Go Mets…sign Sizemore…play some Moneyball.

You can Follow Mitch Petanick on Twitter clicking here.

It’s really hard to believe, but the Mets have gotten worse this off-season. They haven’t done anything to improve on their 2012 season. In fact, they lost a couple of players that helped them to their mediocre performance in 2012.

There was a reason why the Mets waited until the Winter Meetings to sign David Wright to his extension, and have him stroll into that press conference in the awesome new uniform. All of a sudden, the fan base was focused on David Wright and the cool new uniforms, and not the fact that the Mets did nothing to improve this entire off-season.

This winter has been nothing but a diversion. Sandy Alderson was trapped in a corner surrounded by Mets fans asking for “significant changes,” and he pointed to the sky and said “look, what’s that?” We all looked, and he snuck away. It was a very clever move by Alderson to sign Wright and make a spectacle of it at the Winter Meetings.

He knew from day one that Wright was re-signing. But if they signed him before the Winter Meeting, everyone would have been questioning what the Mets accomplished during the meetings in order to improve the team. Everyone gave them a free pass after Wright was signed.

Locking up David did nothing to improve the Mets in the short-term. It probably didn’t do anything to improve the team in the long-term. It was all just an illusion. Sure, David will probably retire as the greatest Mets player to ever wear the blue and orange. That makes some people happy. But most fans would be happier with progress. What we are seeing is not progress.

R.A. Dickey was great in 2012, but trading him was one of the few opportunities the Mets had to improve this off-season. Unfortunately, the Mets blew it by forgetting he is 38-years old. There is still too much risk for teams to take on a 38-year old pitcher, regardless if he won the Cy Young award or is a knuckleballer.

Being a knuckleballer doesn’t help sell his age, it simply clouds his success as teams wonder if a knuckleballer can maintain that level of success year after year. So while the Mets would have been able to sell high on Dickey coming off his great year, they were never in the driver’s seat. The fact that the Mets are holding strong at two years for $20M, and are hesistant to give Dickey the extra $6M he is requesting says it all.

If all the Mets accomplish this off-season is signing two players that were already under contract for 2013, then how can we say it was a successful winter? We can’t. In fact, we have gone backwards.

The issues in the outfield have not been addressed, and with the potential loss of Hairston, have gotten worse. The bullpen is still a giant question mark – an even bigger question mark is why Bobby Parnell was labeled “untouchable.” The catching situation is as nauseating as ever. It begs me to ask, what is the direction of this team?

Are the Mets rebuilding? It sure doesn’t seem so. Do they have a win now mentality? Absolutely not. What’s the deal?

If the Mets re-sign Hairston, that means the Mets who were supposed to undergo “significant changes” would have done nothing more than sign three players from the 2012 team that only won 71 games. That isn’t very promising.

At least in 2012 we had the excitement of the first no-hitter in Mets history and the magical season of R.A. Dickey to help the fan base get through the season.

What do we have to look forward to in 2013? Oh yeah…those awesome new uniforms.

It was great to see Scott Hairston hit a home run yesterday to reach the 20-home run plateau in a Mets victory on the final day of the season.

Hairston was a consistent performer this season as he set a new career-high in games played with 134.

He hit extremely well against left-handed pitching so he earned time as a platoon player, but based on the Mets lackluster offense, Hairston found himself in the lineup often regardless of the opposing pitcher.

As the Mets begin their search for outfield help, where does Hairston fit in the mix?

Yes, he had a nice season, but he’s really not an everyday player at this point in his career. He will be 33 next May, and his .239/.281/.457 line against right-handers in 188 at-bats isn’t too impressive.

He would definitely be a cheap option, since it seems the Mets won’t be pursuing B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn or Shane Victorino (who would even want Victorino anyway?).

But he’s not an everyday center fielder, which is really what the Mets needs.

Here’s a scenario to consider. The problem is Jason Bay will be on this team Opening Day and will be given every chance to succeed (or fail miserably). The team still appears to have hope for Lucas Duda as well.

It seems as though Bay and Duda will platoon in left field to start the season. If the Mets do decide to bring back Hairston as a platoon player, maybe a Hairston/Mike Baxter platoon in right field could work. Baxter isn’t exactly Roberto Clemente in right field, but he can be a decent complimentary player if given the chance. Before he made that stellar catch in Johan Santana’s no-hitter, he was hitting well and playing great defense.

Of course, having two platoons going on in the outfield with basically the same cast of characters may not be considered a he upgrade. But if everyone involved understands their roles and the Mets somehow bring in a good center fielder, maybe it all can work.

As of this moment, it looks like Andres Torres is long gone, leaving Kirk Nieuwenhuis as the only somewhat-MLB-ready candidate to take over in center. It’s looking like Jordany Valdespin will be looked at as solely an infielder from now on.

This team has so many needs and not enough funds to fill all those needs, so as Sandy Alderson has been saying, the team needs to be creative. Maybe they can pull off a trade with the Red Sox for Jacoby Ellsbury or (more of a long-shot) Justin Upton. But for now, we need to be thinking of cost-effective options that can get the job done.

Duda/Bay and Hairston/Baxter platoons are certainly not ideal, but if they can all settle into their platoon roles and the Mets bring in a new center fielder, maybe it can all work out.

Hairston may not be the sole solution to be an everyday corner outfielder, but he can be part of the overall solution, especially if the Mets can improve in other areas.

Andres Torres, Scott Hairston and Ike Davis all hit home runs to support Jeremy Hefner in the last game of the season, a 4-2 win against the Marlins

Jeremy Hefner had a good outing, going seven and one-third innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking two and striking out seven. Hefner continually coaxed poor contact, and has continued to show that he may have a role in the 2013 bullpen because he has shown the ability to get MLB hitters out. Hefner may have been one of the unsung heroes, being bounced around and still managing to put together solid starts. While they did not come without their growing pains, he still finished strong for someone who wasn’t on the OD roster

Elvin Ramirez continued his wildness show, giving up a hit and walking two in one-third of an inning. Elvin will need a quality spring training in 2013 to crack the 25-man roster. Manny Acosta relieved Ramirez, and pitched one-third of an inning. As usual, Acosta has had a great second half after a horrible, horrible, horrible first half.

Bobby Parnell came out in the ninth to get the save

The offense today was all thanks to the four-base hit, as Andres Torres hit a solo-shot, his third on the year. Scott Hairston hit a two-run homer, his 20th on the season and Ike Davis added another for good measure, an opposite-field shot for his 32nd on the season. Only two Mets had multiple hits (Davis, Tejada) and three starters went hitless.

Game Notes

Ruben Tejada finishes the season hitting .289, slowed by a quad injury. While this season could have been what cemented him as the shortstop of the future, he will need another season to prove he is ready for the grind of a full season

Davis finished the season with 32 homers, while Hairston reached 20. Hairston became the second player in franchise history to reach that plateau in fewer than 400 plate appearances, joining Richard Hidalgo.

Justin Turner hit his first career triple today

The Mets’ final record: is 74-88, three games worse than last season and good for fourth place for a fourth straight season.

The last game ball of the year goes to the entire 2012 Mets team. It was a rough season, but they gave it their all and didnt finish in last. Hooray!

LETS GO METS!

The Mets were gauging whether or not Shoppach would fit in with the team philosophy, and hopefully bring a little more thump to the lineup. Shoppach was with the Mets for a little over a month, and already has more home runs (3) than Thole did all season (1). Shoppach has also had a few clutch hits for the Mets, but I think everyone would agree that his offensive production was not much better than what the Mets were already getting from the catcher position in 2012.

The most amount of games Shoppach has ever started in a season was back in 2008, when he started 94 for Cleveland. That was his most productive offensive season, batting .261, and hitting 21 home runs. He also has thrown out 29% of base stealers over his 8 year major league career, which is slightly better than Thole’s 27%.

When looking at Shoppach’s 2008 stats, the offensive potential is there. Plug him into the eight-hole in the lineup, and turn him loose. Maybe we get a .250 average and 20-25 home runs out of him if he starts 100 games in 2013. For that reason, a voice says and says lock him up for 2013. But there is another little voice whispering not so fast my friend.

Shoppach’s 2008 season is awfully similar to Scott Hairston’s 2012 campaign. Eerily similar…their offensive numbers are practically identical. On the surface, the numbers say one thing, but the things you see occurring in games keep reminding you why they were never really everyday players. The numbers are promising, but you just don’t feel confident having them as everyday players.

Regardless of how you feel about Shoppach, I think he has shown enough to bring him back for 2013. I don’t know, there just seems to be something about him that makes it easy to cheer for him. Maybe it’s because he seems like a throwback, blue-collar catcher to me. He has the full grown beard, and just fits the mold. I like that he provides a heck of a lot more pop than Thole as well. Like I said earlier, stick him in the eight-hole and let him swing for the fences.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the Mets have so many question marks facing them this off-season you would think the Riddler was the general manager. There are outfield questions…bullpen questions…and catcher questions. Robin might be confused when posed with all these questions, but Batman would solve the catcher riddle by re-signing Shoppach.

Scott Hairston: 334 AB, .266 AVG, 24 2B, 19 HR, 52 RBI, .834 OPS

It has been widely speculated that Nick Swisher will be seeking out a deal similar to Jayson Werth’s seven-year, $126M contract, when he hits free-agency at the end of the 2012 season. I’m no mathematician, but that means Swisher would be making about $18M per year if he gets what he wants. Jason Bay made $18M in 2012, so it strengthens Swisher’s case, but I just don’t see him as a $15M+ per year player. And if Swisher is looking for this kind of money, it makes me wonder what Scott Hairston is really worth?

Scott Hairston? Why Scott Hairston? Because his numbers are surprisingly comparable to Swisher’s, and he had about 150 less at bats under his belt. Some would actually argue that Hairston has had a better year statiscally than Swisher because of that.

Nick Swisher: 497 AB, .260 AVG, 33 2B, 21 HR, 83 RBI, .802 OPS

He’s Swisher the sailor man…sorry couldn’t resist after seeing that picture of Swisher making his Popeye face.

Back to the evidence at hand – Swisher really only trumps Hairston in the RBI category, which is expected since he was on a team that scored a heck of a lot more runs, and he had more at bats to accumulate them with. Swisher also strikes out more than Hairston – 26.9% of the time for Swisher, versus 22.8% of the time for Hairston. So why is Swisher worth close to $20M per year, and Hairston closer to $4M per year? Better yet, why would the Mets even consider looking for a free-agent to play right field in 2013, when they already have a guy on their roster putting up similar numbers to one of the biggest free-agents that will be available at season’s end?

Re-sign Scott Hairston at a discount (compared to what Swisher will be getting), and make him the starting right fielder for 2013. Hairston isn’t perfect, but he has earned the opportunity to be an everyday major league player. If Hairston ended the season with about 500 at bats, he probably would’ve ended with a .250 avg, 30 HR, and 75-90 RBI. I’ll take that coming from a guy that will cost us less than $5M per year to sign. Leave it to the Yankees to pay Swisher triple the amount, for the same sort of production.

As I sit here watching Shark Week, I can’t stop thinking about how I wish the Mets would be more aggressive. I know their financial situation isn’t the greatest, but as fans, why do we have to suffer for the bad investment choices of a few? It doesn’t seem right.

The saddest part of the story is, much like the poor seals that swim off the coast of South Africa, there isn’t much relief in sight for New York Mets fans.

As the Mets struggle to draw fans to the stadium, their financial woes will continue. New York is a very unforgiving city, and the fans will show their disdain with declining ticket and merchandise sales. The secondary market for tickets has to be killing the Mets right now. The Mets are being undersold by their own fans as they sell their tickets at discounted prices, trying to recoup some of the big money they spent on them before the season started. Now that the Mets are no longer in the playoff hunt, this trend will continue for the remainder of the season. If fans aren’t coming out to the games, the Mets miss out on the opportunity to lure fans into spending even more money once they have you within the gates of the stadium. I wonder if they’re making up foam fingers with the hand holding up four fingers, instead of one, because that’s where they’re going to finish this season in the NL East.

It already seems like the last thing the Mets want their fans doing is watching the game. Take a stroll out behind center field wall at Citi and you see distraction after distraction – a dunk tank, a booth to see how fast you throw, even an area to play Xbox. These things are better suited for Brooklyn Cyclones games. What ever happened to going to a ball game and filling out a score card? In other words, actually watching the game. I don’t know, maybe those gimmicks are the only reason why people are coming to the stadium these days.

It’s hard enough to draw fans out to the stadium when you are competing with high definition broadcasts. Personally, I would rather sit in the comfort of my own home and watch the game versus go to the stadium – and that’s when there is a formidable team on the field. I opt to watching games at home, but when I see Scott Hairston hitting cleanup, even I have trouble not changing the channel. There has to be a reason to keep the fans watching, and coming to the ball park. And with all respect to the season he’s having, it’s not Scott Hairston. Maybe that’s why they want to trade him now? Hmmmm…

Now the only question that remains is how do the Mets get the fans to start coming to games again?

I have a borderline controversial answer to that question. I think there is one player out there, that the Mets can sign, that will draw the fans out of the woodwork. But this player is going to cost them – that’s the rub. This player has the potential to be as polarizing as Tim Tebow was coming to the Jets. This player will put butts back in the seats at Citi Field, and fans will have a reason to actually watch the game, instead of squeezing in a game of MLB2K13 out behind the center field wall. This player will steal the back page from the Yankees. That player is none other than Josh Hamilton.

Josh Hamilton is arguably the greatest player in the game today. Josh Hamilton is a risk I would love to see the Mets take. Josh Hamilton will bring respect back to the Mets. Josh Hamilton will take the city by storm. I can see record breaking jersey sales, an instant boost in season ticket sales, and bragging rights as the Mets can proudly claim they have the best player in New York on their roster. Hamilton certainly comes with his baggage, but his upside far outweighs the downside.

Jim Mancari noted earlier in his segment From Left Field that the Mets have “a significant amount of building blocks in place.” In other words, things aren’t as bad as they seem. Maybe Josh Hamilton is exactly what is needed to pull all those building blocks together. While it’s not likely we will see Hamilton in a New York Mets uniform, it sure would be something special. With Hamilton wearing the Mets blue and orange, I can’t guarantee you they will be winners, but at least they will be watchable. And as an added bonus for the Wilpon’s, they may actually start making money again.

Amazin’ Solutions is a segment I will be covering for Mets Merized Online going forward. It will take an in depth look at the different issues the Mets are facing, and provide solutions for those issues. Sometimes, when the issues are so complex that they may not have a solution, I may just have a little fun. 

The Amazin: Where would we be without Scott Hairston?  He is so scary good against lefties that he bats cleanup for us against them. Scott has arguably been the best signing by Sandy Alderson in the two years since he arrived. However, he is basically a one trick pony and is mostly a dead pull hitter. As the season has gone along he has started to go the other way more, and has recently been driving the ball to right field. Hairston is a guaranteed keeper for 2013 if the price is right. But even Alderson acknowledged last week that Hairston may have priced himself out of the Mets plans for 2013. Sadly, Hariston is really not a starter and is much better suited to thrive off the bench.

The Good: Kirk Nieuwenhuis did a great job for the first few months.  He put on a nice display offensively showing both home run and gap power, not to mention batting for a nice average. His defense was outstanding and he showed he may even be better than Torres in center. After a while the league began to catch up to him and he appeared overmatched at the plate. It eventually led to a demotion to Triple-A to work things out. Now things are up in the air about whether he can contribute consistently at this level or if he will just be another bench option.

Andres Torres has been solid, but not spectacular defensively. But offensively, Torres has been spotty. He has not been the threat on the bases we had hoped for, totaling just 10 steals and 37 runs scored on the season. Torres was initially brought in to be a table-setter at the top of the order, but instead he only bats there on occasion. That said, Torres has been on kind of a tear of late, batting .323 in the last 30 days and .345 in the last ten games with an .873 OPS. He has been a force against left-handed pitching and has a slash of .304/.427/.441 in 124 plate appearances against them this season.

The Dude’s power went out in 2012

The Average: Lucas Duda did not hit like he did last season. His power numbers came in spurts, and his defense was…..well……we won’t go there. He tried to learn the outfield at the Major League level and that has proven to be a difficult task for him. He still has a very good shot to earn a spot next season, but he needs to improve drastically on the defensive side. His offense also left much to be desired. He showed flashes of what we hoped he would be, but for the most part was very inconsistent. He had extended slumps and long power outages. His bat needed to make up for his poor defense, but that was far from what happened. The Dude Abides in the minors for now.

The Horrific: Jason Bay has lost his way. He can’t make consistent contact, he seems scared at the plate, and teams are now walking players to get to him. Even when he hits the ball on the barrel it dies at the warning track and lands in the outfielder’s glove. In 149 plate appearances, Bay is batting .154/.248/.245, and he has a .696 career OPS with the Mets since signing his $66 million dollar deal.

The Wild Card: Jordany Valdespin has the most dynamic skill set of any Major League ready player we have on our 40-man roster. He came up as an infielder, but with Murphy and Tejada raking it appears his future may be in the outfield. He has the skills to play out there and with nobody set to man a particular spot in 2013, he basically has his pick of where he wants to play. All he has to do it hit and play a decent outfield and he should be a shoe in as a starter in 2013. If he takes a nose dive offensively in the second then we are in big trouble.

We still have two months left to go, so hopefully some of these players can rebound a bit to show the Mets brass that they should still be considered for a spot on the 2013 roster. Someone needs to step up, because it will be really difficult to bring in three starters from the outside.

Thoughts from Joe D.

We are in dire straits when it comes to the outfield. Two of our potential options for 2013, Lucas Duda and Jordany Valdespin are not even outfielders by trade. While the athletically gifted Valdespin has a chance to evolve into an average centerfielder, let’s not ignore the fact he’s batting .260 with a .288 OBP and is hitting .172 in his last ten games. Lets also not ignore the fact that Torres will be 35 next season, or that Hairston probably wont be back. Jason Bay? As long as he’s still here, you have to count him in for 2013. He makes more than Castillo and Perez combined and cutting him won’t be as easy as it was cutting them two. There was supposed to be the money saved from not bringing back Reyes… Where did that money go? I haven’t seen it, have you? Nobody is on the way in the minors. Den Dekker might be a September callup in 2013. Wilmer Flores is still bouncing around all over the infield and the thought of him as a potential left fielder and replacement for Jason Bay hasn’t even crossed their mind yet. The outfield is a mess right now.

Chris Young had a good outing but ran out of steam in the seventh, and the bullpen faltered in the 9-2 loss against the Phillies

Game Recap

Chris Young went to the mound and has kept with the theme of quality outings, going seven innings allowing  three runs on five hits while striking out three and walking none with all of his runs allowed in the seventh inning. Chris gave up two big home runs back-to-back, and the issues as mentioned on the SNY broadcast is that Chris doesn’t seem to tire as much as his repertoire becomes predictable. The only concerns with Chris Young are durability and exactly how many innings is Chris Young good for per start.

The bullpen received some work today, with Miguel Batista coming out for the eighth inning to face one batter, and gave up a hit and a run. Tim Byrdak relieved him and gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning on one hit while walking one. Jeremy Hefner came out to do the heavy lifting, giving up three runs on five hits in one and one-third innings including a home run.

The pen has been horrible. Outside of Francisco or Parnell, the Mets do not have another pitcher they can rely on in a situation of any leverage to get a key out, less in fact a strikeout.

On offense, the Mets hitters were fooled by Phillies starter Cliff Lee for most of the game, minus a Scott Hairston solo home run and a sixth inning that saw a series of singles capped off with a David Wright RBI single. After that, the offense was victimized by Cliff Lee and called third strikes on the day.

Game Notes

Mets one through six hitters each had one hit, with Andres Torres and Mike Nickeas both struggling. Torres struggles have been noted, but with the recent development of Kirk Nieuwenhuis and his hand possibly sending him to the DL, he looks to be the starting center fielder for the foreseeable future.

Ruben Tejada went 2 for 4, continuing his hot hitting since his return from the DL. Ruben’s average on the season is now at .331.

Miguel Batista ended June with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Beato-watch 2012 looks like: after the ASB.

Jordanny Valdespin was called up and took the place of LHP Justin Hampson. Whether this is a precursor to a possible DL stint for Kirk or just to avoid playing with a short bench will be decided.

Turning Point

When the bullpen surrendered six more runs. In only two innings of work.

On Deck

The Mets will look to win the series tomorrow, sending all-star pitcher R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.15) to the mound to face-off against the Phillies and Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.08). Game time is 7:10 P.M.

Daniel Murphy hit two home runs, Scott Hairston hit a grand slam and the Mets offense had a banner day in their 17-1 win against the Cubs

Game Recap

Jonathon Niese had a great outing, allowing one run on eight hits while walking one and striking out six in seven innings. Niese consistently drew weak contact, and after allowing a second inning run, settled in to hold the Cubs scoreless for the next five innings. With the offensive eruption, Niese was afforded a large margin for error. Ramon Ramirez pitched two mop-up innings, allowing one hit in two innings while striking out two. A quality pitching effort from the Mets staff today.

Now, for the true story of the day – the Mets offensive. Daniel Murphy broke his home run drought stretching to July 2011 by hitting two home runs, Ike Davis added a three run homer and for good measure Scott Hairston hit a grand slam to add to the ever growing score on the Mets side of the scoreboard. Every Mets starter got on base, and only Lucas Duda didn’t manage a hit, but walked three times on the day. Scoring 17 runs on 16 hits with ten extra base hits is a great way to win.

Notes

Andres Torres stole his fifth base in four games, going absolutely crazy on the basepaths. As long as Kirk continues to struggle, Torres will see more time in the outfield.

Lucas Duda may only be hitting .258, but his OBP is nearly 100 points higher at .349 and his ability to not be rendered ineffective against lefties does add to his value.

Ike Davis has homered in three of his last five games, all while finally raising his average to .201. This season will more then likely wind up with Ike hitting below .270, but the improvements in June and patience seem to be paying off now

Player Of The Game

Daniel Murphy went 3 for 5 with two home runs, two runs scored and four RBI. Murphy may be showing some signs of life at the plate, and if he can keep going in the right direction, then the Mets will be significantly better on the offensive side of the ball.

On Deck

The Mets will travel to Los Angeles to begin a series against the now-floundering Dodgers. The Mets will send Chris Young (1-1, 3.42) to the mound against former Met Chris Capuano (9-2, 2.60). Game time is 10:10 P.M.

Chris Young looked good in his first start since May of 2011, but a comedy of errors lead to a thrilling game that was decided in the twelfth in the Mets 7-6 loss.

Game Recap

Chris Young coming back to the Mets in his first start in over a year pitched admirably, going five innings while giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits, walking one and striking out two. Young consistently coaxed weak contact, and was only victimized in the fifth inning, when a serious of mistakes that ended in an Omar Quintilla throwing error lead to an unearned run. Young maintained the velocity he had pre-operation, pitching around 84-86 MPH with his fastball. The key factor to remember with Young is that it isn’t about velocity, but it is about location and sequencing.

With the short bullpen today due to Jon Rauch getting a few days off and the Mets going with a six man rotation, Miguel Batista fresh off his DL stint came out and pitched two very effective innings, allowing no hits while walking one and striking out two. Tim Byrdak came out for one-third of an inning, and allowed one hit. Byrdak just barely missed getting a double-play, but the transition was fumbled by Murphy and only turned into one out. Frank Francisco came out for a five-out save and after getting one out, gave up an RBI single that was charged to Tim Byrdak to tie the game in the eighth. Francisco pitched a solid ninth after blowing the save, getting two strikeouts and allowing one hit. His final line would read one and two-third innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Bobby Parnell came out in the tenth to save the game, and his defense was very unkind to him. Parnell gave up an unearned run, allowing a hit and a walk, striking out two. Elvin Ramirez came in and after allowing a leadoff walk, struck out the next three hitters. Ramirez had much more trouble in the twelfth, giving up two doubles including one for an RBI, a wild pitch and a walk-off RBI single.

The Mets offense was quiet until the sixth inning, when Jordany Valdespin had his third hit of the season, which was also his second pinch-hit home run on the season. David Wright hit his seventh home run of the season shortly after, bringing the Mets to within one run. Andres Torres hit a two-RBI triple in the eighth to put the Mets ahead. Scott Hairston got a leadoff single in the tenth, stole second, advanced to third on an out and scored on a wild-pitch. Scott Hairston would come through with another heroic blast in the eleventh inning.

Game Changing Moment: Elvin Ramirez losing any effectiveness in the twelfth inning.

Player Of The Game: Scott Hairston, coming through in a huge way today going 2 for 2 with three runs, a home run and a stolen base. Scott had his best performance as a Mets player today.

On Deck

The Mets will continue the series against the Nationals tomorrow at 7:05, and will send RHP Jeremy Hefner (1-2, 5.60) to the mound against RHP Edwin Jackson (1-3, 3.17).

Dillon Gee pitched a strong six innings, but the bullpen failed yet again in the Mets 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Recap

Dillon Gee went six strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six, walking three and hitting a batter. Gee didn’t seem to have his best command on the day, but he managed to get the anxious Dbacks hitters to swing at numerous poor pitches and relied on a few good defensive plays. Dillon’s ERA was only victimized by a Cody Ransom home-run. As long as Gee can pitch and induced weak contact, easy fly-ball outs and strikeouts he will be in good company.

Once Gee gave way, however the bullpen began its true struggle. Parnell pitched an inning and allowed an unearned run on an Ike Davis error. Tim Byrdak went one-third of an inning, striking out one, allowing a run and walking one. Jon Rauch came out for two-thirds of an inning, allowing three hits, a run and a strikeout to take the game from no decision to the Mets on the losing side.

The Mets bullpen has been overworked, or overmatched, but either way they have not put together quality innings as a group in quite some times. It will be interesting to see how Terry Collins plays this bullpen from now on, knowing Bobby Parnell is his most effective reliever, period.

The offense struck early, but then never re-appeared. A big third inning accounted for all of the Mets runs, on a Scott Hairston RBI doubler, an Ike Davis RBI groundout and an Andres Torres RBI single. After that, the Mets offense put runners on base but couldn’t manage to drive them in, as has been the theme of lately.

Game Notes

-David Wright extended his hitting streak to 10 games, while going 1 for 2 with two walks. The most inspiring thing about this season isn’t David’s high average which is being held up by an unsustaniably high BABIP, but his ability to draw walks.

-Andres Torres went 3 for 4 with an RBI. Although seeing Kirk displaced as the CF is something many Mets fans are not fond of seeing, seeing the man replacing him hit takes away some of the sting

- Lucas Duda has looked significantly better as of lately in handling the outfield, squaring balls off the bat much better. Although it is a slight improvement, it is always better to see improvement than regression

GOAT of The Game

Jon Rauch struggled with his control, allowing three hits that scored an inherited runner, as well as one of his own. If Jon cannot keep the ball down in the zone, pitching him with runners on base does not become an option anymore

On Deck

The Mets will continue the series tomorrow at 4:05 PM, sending Johan Santana to the mound against Diamondbacks rookie Patrick Corbin.

Jonathon Niese went five and one-third innings, and Bobby Parnell ruined a comeback attempt in their 3-2 loss against the Nationals

Game Notes

Jonathon Niese looked very good for five innings, and then came unraveled in the sixth, allowing three straight doubles. Jonathon’s final line was five and one-third innings, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out six. Niese looked good, but seemed to lose his location and that summoned his early exit. Niese was pulled only after 78 pitches, but sometimes the pitch count doesn’t matter.

Ryota Igarashi came out to clean up Niese’s mess, and struck out both batters he faced in his two-thirds of an inning. Pedro Beato went an inning and two-thirds, allowed one hit while walking one and striking out one. Beato has not had as good control as he did earlier in the season, so hopefully its just fatigue and not an injury. Byrdak came out to do his LOOGY duty and struck out ex-Met Alex Cora in his one-third of an inning of work. Bobby Parnell came out for the ninth, and gave up a hit, then hit Rick Ankiel, then threw a wild pitch and Rick Ankiel scored on a chopper right passed the pitcher.

The Mets offense was victimized by a bad baserunning play by Daniel Murphy in the third and an inability to get hits with RISP. Scott Hairston hit a solo HR that was scorched into the LF bleachers, which was his third pinch-hit HR of the season. The Mets spent too much time at the plate watching called third strikes. With Scott Hairston up, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he sent another blast to LF to tie it up.

Willie Harris – 1 for 4 with two K’s (both looking)

Pagan & Bay – 1 for 8 with four strikeouts. Never good when your 5 & 6 hitters do this.

Daniel Murphy – 2 for 4. Bad baserunning play really stands out.

Josh Thole – 0 for 3 with a strikeout. Also fouled two balls of of his shin in two separate AB’s.

Turning Point

When Jonathon Niese fell apart in the sixth inning.

Game Ball

Scott Hairston – 2 for 2 with two HR, both solo shots in key situations

On Deck

The Mets will be returning home to face the Marlins on Monday. Mike Pelfrey will oppose Javier Vasquez, and game time is 7:10 P.M.