I caught that in Adam Rubin’s Morning Briefing today on ESPN New York.

I guess if you go by their won-loss records you could certainly make that claim, but it’s not that simple.

With all the latest reports now confirming what we’ve all been waiting for since Carlos Beltran was shipped off almost two years ago, the question now is:

If Zack Wheeler is in, then who’s out?

Obviously, Jon Niese is safe so the choice will come down to either Jeremy Hefner (5.00 ERA), Dillon Gee (6.04 ERA) and Shaun Marcum (6.59 ERA). The early consensus has the one with the lowest ERA as the odd man out, Hefner’s 0-5 record I’m sure will weigh heavily in the decision, but he also has a lot less experience than the other two and we all know how Terry loves his veterans… Right, Ike?

Jared Diamond of The Journal calls Hefner “unlucky,” and to a point he’s right. “Jeremy Hefner pitches for the Mets on Friday,” he writes. “Therefore, the Mets probably won’t win.

“Baseball isn’t always fair, especially when you play for the Mets. All eight of Hefner’s starts this season have ended in a Mets loss, putting him in an unfortunate and lonely club: He is the only regular starter in the majors whose team has lost all of his starts.”

Honestly, Hefner hasn’t been nearly as bad as his record would indicate, and as Diamond points out, after a tough first couple of games his ERA has been just a tick above league average which is exactly what one would expect or hope for from their fifth starter. The right-hander has has a 4.06 ERA over his last five starts, while the National League average comes in at 3.77.

The Mets’ offense hasn’t exactly had Hefner’s back whenever he takes the mound, averaging about three runs a game whenever he pitches. He could just as easily be 3-2 instead of 0-5 when you examine a few of his last five starts, especially his April 30 start when he took a shutout into the ninth inning against the Marlins. In his start before that, he tossed seven solid innings against the Dodgers and allowed just one run. Of course the Mets lost both of those superbly pitched games.

I do agree with the majority opinion and that Hefner will indeed be the one that Wheeler ultimately replaces, but it might not be a bad thing either for Hefner or even the Mets. Hefner seems to have trouble once the opposition gets that third look at him as do most pitchers. The problem with Hefner is that he doesn’t have those plus-pitches that could help him navigate through a lineup late in games. He doesn’t possess any electric stuff and eventually the other guys can figure him out. That’s a problem for a starting pitcher, but not so much for a long reliever. Hefner could be what the Mets have lacked ever since Darren Oliver bolted for the Angels after the 2006 season.

Zack Wheeler may not spell the end for Jeremy Hefner, but it might mark the beginning of something new and possibly better.

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.

Alderson is disappointed with the team’s performance this season, particularly with some of the players he acquired for this transition year who did not perform to his expectation.

He no doubt was referring to Collin Cowgill, who he expected to become the team’s leadoff hitter and regular center fielder. Cowgill batted .157/.173/.294 before being demoted to Triple-A after only 19 games.

Andrew Brown failed to make the opening day roster and batted .200 during a brief call-up.

Shaun Marcum, who was signed to a guaranteed $4 million dollar deal, was supposed to replace R.A. Dickey. But the right-hander started the season on the DL, missed nearly a month, and has a 6.59 ERA in five starts since being activated.

Left-hander Aaron Laffey was released after posting a 7.20 ERA in four appearances including two spot starts, and relievers Greg Burke and Scott Atchison have struggled, each with 4.50 ERAs on the season.

Sandy is also concerned with some of the players whom he considered to be part of the future core. When asked to explain who he was talking about, he declined to comment saying only, “I think Met fans know who I’m talking about.”

He left off saying that it’s very tough to watch the team play and not be able to do something to help. However, he will remain patient, but not too patient. Alderson said he would look to some of the younger players in their system to improve the major league roster and named Rafael Montero, Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud as those who could help.

After the game, SNY analyst Bobby Ojeda pointed out that Alderson looked like a man who is very dejected and very disappointed with some of the moves he’s made in putting this team together. He certainly was different than what we’re used to seeing. There were no jokes this time. I think Sandy realizes that it’s time for him to stop talking about the future and deliver on it already. It’s time to produce something tangible. I believe a lot will be riding on how Wheeler and d’Arnaud produce once they are promoted – especially Wheeler.

It will be interesting to see how this drama unfolds… My gut tells me that by the end of this season, Sandy Alderson will either be on very solid footing or a very slippery slope and I’m leaning toward the latter. His fate will be tied to Wheeler’s immediate performance. Stay tuned…

Starting Lineup

1. Daniel Murphy 2B
2. Rick Ankiel CF
3. David Wright 3B
4. Lucas Duda LF
5. Marlon Byrd RF
6. Ike Davis 1B
7. John Buck C
8. Ruben Tejada SS
9. Shaun Marcum SP

Game Notes

Bobby Parnell has three wins and four saves this month. Parnell has hurled 8.0 scoreless frames in May and is tied for the major league lead among all relievers with four wins and is seventh in the NL with a 0.93 ERA (min. 17.0 innings). Parnell is unscored upon in 17 of his 19 appearances.

New York’s bullpen retired all 12 batters they faced yesterday as Sc tt Rice earned his second win and Bobby Parnell notched his sixth save. Overall, the Mets bullpen has a 4.77 ERA, ranking 29th in the majors.

The Mets batted second baseman Daniel Murphy into the leadoff spot on Sunday in hopes that he could spark the team’s offense. Murphy hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning to secure a 4-3 victory and series win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Murphy is now 14-for-28 over his last seven games and has an eight-game hitting streak.

Juan Lagares hit a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning in the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Cubs on Sunday. It was his first major league home run and thanks to the age-old tradition at Wrigley Field of throwing opposing home run balls back to the field, Lagares got to keep his souvenir thanks to a quick-thinking Daniel Murphy who had the ball retrieved and taken to the Mets clubhouse.

Lefty reliever Scott Rice tossed two scoreless innings to pick up the win against the Cubs. It was his major league-leading 25th appearance. Rice lowered his ERA to 3.05, and is on pace for 99 appearances. That would surpass Pedro Feliciano‘s franchise mark of 92 games in 2010 and rank second all-time to Mike Marshall‘s 106 appearances for the Dodgers in 1974.

Highly regarded pitching prospect Rafael Montero has been promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas, apparently for a Monday spot start on his normal day to pitch. Binghamton manager Pedro Lopez told the Press & Sun-Bulletin that Montero is only expected to remain with the 51s for one start, then return to Double-A.

Game Preview

The Mets continue their tour against NL Central Teams, this time at Citi Field as the Mets open up their series with the Reds. THe Mets, who recently lost 6 games in a row, now have won 3 out of their last 4 and could use this week to build off of that. Tonight Shaun Marcum will get the nod as he goes up against Johnny Cueto.

Shaun Marcum is 0-4 on the season with a 6.75 ERA over 21.1 innings of work. His last start was the best of the season so far as he allowed 3 runs, 2 earned over 6.2 innings of work. Last year he allowed one earned runs over 6.0 innings of work while striking out 7 batters against the Reds who have the following numbers against him:

Paul 3-12, 2B
Phillips 0-12, 3 K
Votto 5-9, HR
Bruce 2-8, HR
Choo 2-9, 3B

The Mets bats will try to do some damage against Johnny Cueto who is 1-0 this season over three starts and 17.1 innings with a 2.60 ERA. This will be Cueto’s first start since mid-April due to oblique issues. Last year he made one star against the Mets where he allowed 1 earned run over 7 innings of work allowing 6 hits and striking out 8 Mets. The Mets have the following numbers against Johnny:

Wright 5-17, HR
Ankiel 7-16, 2B, HR
Byrd 6-11, 2B
Murphy 2-7
Davis 2-6
Turner 2-3, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

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.

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

Where would this team be without Matt Harvey?

Is it safe to say that as of this moment, the only proven and legit core player under the age of 30 this team has is The Dark Knight of Gotham?

I like Jon Niese a lot, but is he a core player? Or just an number three pitcher who plays the role of an ace on a very bad team?

I quickly threw some numbers into a spreadsheet and I can’t believe how appalling the numbers are once you take Harvey out of the equation.

Two of our top three starters have ERA’s of 5.93 for Jon Niese and 6.13 for Dillon Gee. Our number four starter, Jeremy Hefner has got them both beat with a 4.28 ERA. You may recall me saying back in January that he would be a sleeper and best choice for fifth starter? (Hey Alex68, remember this? Underrated????? SMH!!!)

Then you have the pitcher who was supposed to help replace R.A. Dickey‘s innings in Shaun Marcum. The Mets gave marcum a guaranteed $4 million dollars and in return he’s already missed one month and since his debut is averaging 4.1 innings in three starts and has a team worst 8.31 ERA.

Mets pitchers are now officially the worst in the National League and second worst in the Major Leagues. And that’s with Matt Harvey who is in the top five in over a half dozen pitching categories.

That’s kind of embarrassing, wouldn’t you say?

Gee has been the latest starter to deliver an abysmal performance after allowing six runs and nine hits against the Cardinals last night in 4.0 innings.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t even know what to say, really. I didn’t feel all that bad tonight”, said Gee after the game. “Physically I feel great. There’s nothing going on there. I don’t know. I’m kind of lost.”

You don’t say?

Gee and Co. is partly why the Mets bullpen has been as abysmal as it has. They are burning through arms at an unprecedented rate. Six weeks in and already eight transactions related to the bullpen alone. And it’s not as if it was a great bullpen to begin with. It was put together with sticks and Krazy Glue.

So while everyone is piling on when it comes to the Mets offense, the truth of the matter is that this team is quite atrocious on all fronts. Take a look at the evidence:

METS PITCHING RANKINGS

METS HITTING RANKINGS

That stinks to high heaven. It’s a shock to the system to even look at those awful, awful numbers.

I can tell you right now that Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud alone are not going to fix that. In fact I think it’s a sin that those two are being setup for an unfair amount of undue pressure, as if trying to stick in the majors wasn’t already challenging enough.

On Wednesday, Sandy Alderson seemed concerned that Wheeler is being looked upon as some sort of savior and he admitted to Mike Francesa that he wasn’t. But the fact that both he and d’Arnaud will be walking into this disaster is going to be something to behold and I don’t mean that in a good way. I wonder how they will handle it, and God forbid if they don’t produce immediate results and hit the ground running.

The other day on Twitter I tossed out the suggestion of just letting both of them stay at Triple-A and don’t bring them up unless this team turns it around. Losing is contagious. I know you all know that. If this is what those two kids are going to walk into, I’d rather wait and call them up in September.

At least in September they can come up without the pressure of having to carry a team that was poorly constructed. It’s bad enough that Matt Harvey has had to deal with this. I totally feel sorry for that kid. On any other team, but the Mets, Harvey would probably be 8-0 right now.

I don’t know if this is rock bottom, but heaven help us if it isn’t and it continues to get worse.

The Mets lost a sleeper this evening to the Pittsburgh Pirates by the score of 7-3 at a sparsely filled Citi Field.

Shaun Marcum was making his third start of the season for the Mets and once again failed to last five innings. The truth is he’s looked awful every time out there, but tonight was the worst we’ve seen yet.

Marcum, now 0-3, saw his ERA balloon to 8.59 for the season after surrendering six earned runs on nine hits, two hit-batters and a home run in 4.2 innings tonight against the Bucs.

In the second inning he allowed five straight Pirates to reach base and at this point I’m ready to declare him a $4 million dollar bust. I’ve seen enough. His fastball never topped 85 MPH and he looks like he’s tossing batting practice out there.

Adding insult to injury (or injury to insult), Marcum took a line drive off his left wrist in the second inning, but remained in the game after a couple of visits by trainer Ray Ramirez. He should be ok.

Terry Collins blames Marcum’s troubles on trying to rush back from rehab and not getting a full spring training. ”I think we’ve got to run him out there again, because as we said the last start, he’s basically right toward the end of spring training.”

Offensively, the Mets were a day late and a dollar short.

Anthony Recker started at catcher and smacked his first home run as a Met, a solo shot in the fifth to get the Mets on the board. He has some pop in that bat…

The Mets scored two more runs in the ninth, but there would be no walk-off dramatics on this night, despite a booming home run to right center by – wait for it – Jordany Valdespin. He’s so amazing…

Funny thing… Almost as if in a moment of defiance, Valdespin looked straight into the Mets dugout, flipped his bat, and rounded the bases with a swagger that screamed – You keep benching me and I’ll keep making you look like the clown prince.

Okay, so let me end this on a positive note…

Ah yes, the Mets pounded out ten hits, but were 1-for-14 with men on-base tonight and are batting just a woeful .219 in their last ten games. Yikes!

Wait, that’s not a positive note… Ike Davis had two hits… There we go…

The Mets will have Jon Niese (2-3, 4.66 ERA) on the mound opposing Bucs left-hander Francisco Liriano in a 1:10 PM matinee start. It’s Banner Day tomorrow, but will it be a banner day for the Mets?

Tune in to find out… Lets Go Mets!

Starting Lineup

1. Ruben Tejada, ss
2. Justin Turner, 2b
3. David Wright, 3b
4. Lucas Duda, lf
5. Marlon Byrd, rf
6. Ike Davis, 1b
7. Anthony Recker, c
8. Juan Lagares, cf
9. Shaun Marcum, rhp

Game Notes 

New York collected its fourth walk-off win of the year last night. The Mets are tied for second in the majors with the Giants with their four walk-off victories. Cincinnati is first with five such wins. The Mets last three wins at home have come in walk-off fashion.

Desperate to help Ike Davis emerge from his season-long funk, Collins said he wrestled with the decision to bench his first baseman Thursday against left-hander Jeff Locke. Then Davis went ahead and came through anyway, hammering a tiebreaking double into center field in the seventh inning after entering as part of a double-switch.

Mike Baxter for the second time in three days delivered a walk-off RBI single, this time against Pittsburgh Pirates closer Jason Grilli, and the Mets won 3-2 at Citi Field on Thursday night. The Mets’ last three home wins have come in walk-off fashion.

Juan Lagares had a stellar leaping catch at the wall on a shot off the bat of Andrew McCutchen for the final out of the top of the ninth. That allowed Bobby Parnell to pick up his fourth win of the season to go with three saves. “He gets better jumps and routes to balls than Matt,” one Mets official said, contrasting Lagares with Matt den Dekker. “He makes it look easier. Matt makes up for his not-so-good jumps with his speed. But Juan is much better than people think.”

Jon Niese downplayed manager Terry Collins‘ assertion that he has been pitching with stiffness in his lower back, saying he felt “a knot” in his back after his last start, but that it did not affect him as he gave up seven runs over four innings Sunday in Atlanta.

Left-hander Pedro Feliciano has been placed on Class A St. Lucie’s disabled list with food poisoning. Feliciano missed time late last month with the issue, but returned to the mound for three more appearances before landing on the DL. He has been pitching for St. Lucie since Opening Day in an attempt to strengthen his surgically-repaired left shoulder.

The Mets are hosting Banner Day with fans of all ages parading on the field showing their homemade banners professing their love for the team tomorrow prior to the Mets-Pirates game. Edgardo Alfonzo, WFAN’s Josh Lewin, SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt, and 92.3 NOW Morning Show host Ty Bentli will serve as judges. Registration begins at 10 a.m. in the Bullpen Plaza. Banner Day was a Mets tradition from 1963 to 1996 and returned last year as part of the Mets 50th Anniversary celebration.

Game Preview

For the second time in three days, the Mets had a walk-off victory last night and for the second time in three days, the offensive hero at the end of the game was Mike Baxter with Bobby Parnell picking up the win. The Mets look to make it 2 in a row and 3 of 4 tonight as they take on the Pirates and Wandy Rodriguez behind Shaun Marcum.

Shaun Marcum has yet to have a break out game as a Mets pitcher, maybe that will change today. On the season he is 0-2 over three games and two starts while allowing 8 ER over 10 innings of work. Last season he was 1-1 against the Pirates while posting a 0.75 ERA (only 1 ER over 12.0 innings). The Pirates have the following numbers against the Pirates:

McCutchen 2-14, 2B
Jones 4-10, 2B, HR
Alvarez 4-14, 2 2B
Tabata 4-11, 2 2B
Barmes 1-11, 2B
Inge 1-8
Martin 1-8, HR

The Mets bats will try to break out vs Wandy Rodriguez tonight. You want to know how good the Mets offense was at the beginning of the season? The Mets offense is still 3rd in the National League in runs scored (even with the last two weeks). Wandy is 2-2 over 6 games and 31.1 innings with a 4.02 ERA. In his last three starts, he has allowed 13 ER in 15.1 innings of work. He was 2-0 against the Mets last year in as many games posting a 2.77 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

Byrd 7-28, 2 2B, 2 HR
Wright 7-24, 2 2B, HR
Buck 3-9, HR
Davis 0-7
Tejada 5-7, 2 2B
Turner 2-7, HR
Murphy 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

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The Braves acquired both Upton brothers this offseason.

The Braves made headlines this offseason with their acquisition of B.J. Upton in November, signing him to a five year deal worth about $75 million. However, just when the offseason was winding down and it appeared the Braves were done, they surprised everyone and acquired B.J.’s brother Justin from the Diamondbacks. The tandem added a boost to the Atlanta offense that they so badly needed, and had some experts picking them to challenge the Nationals for the NL crown.

Thus far, it appears the Braves made the right move, at least with Justin Upton. If the season ended today, he would be the unanimous MVP. Upton is leading the majors with 12 home runs, three more than anyone else. That, to go along with a not-too-shabby .287/.387/.693 has carried the otherwise mediocre Braves offense.

In reality, it has been the pitching that has carried the Atlanta Braves this season. Despite trading Tommy Hanson this winter, the Braves lead baseball in team ERA with an outstanding 3.10 mark coming into today’s action. More specifically, it has been their bullpen, which has been even stronger than last year’s. Craig Kimbrel has continued his dominance, striking out 15 batters in 10.2 innings. Kimbrel and Jordan Walden, who the Braves received in the Tommy Hanson trade, are among five relievers with at least ten innings pitched and an ERA under two. Compare that to the Mets, who have two such pitchers.

This Braves team is good (yes, even better than the Marlins if you can believe it) and will put up a very tough fight, especially in close games. The key for the Mets will be scoring runs off their starting pitching, because  if they trail in the late innings, the odds are stacked against them.

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Shaun Marcum (5.2 IP, 50 ERA+, 1.33 K/BB) vs. Mike Minor (31.2 IP, 125 ERA+, 5.40 K/BB)

Minor, 25, was selected seventh overall in the 2009 draft by the Braves and quickly rose to stardom in their minor league system. Once he reached the big leagues, he never pitched like the ace some thought he could become. Minor came into the season with a career ERA of 4.37 in 302.2 career innings. This year, however, has been much better for him, at least so far. Over five starts, he has a 3.13 ERA and career-best 1.4 BB/9 rate. He was roughed up for six runs in 6.2 innings against the juggernaut Detroit offense, but had a 1.80 ERA in four starts coming into that outing.

Game 2: Jonathon Niese (32.2 IP, 112 ERA+, 1.31 K/BB) vs. Julio Teheran (28.1 IP, 77 ERA+, 2.50 K/BB)

Teheran has been a highly-regarded prospect since his breakout year in the minors in 2009. He worked his way through the minors fairly quickly, until stalling at Triple-A last season. Coming off a dominant season in Triple-A in 2011, Teheran failed to earn a job out of spring training, and was sent back. Once he was back in the minors, Teheran wasn’t the same pitcher. His 3.0 walks per nine wasn’t terrible, but his 6.7 strikeouts was a career-low. What was most concerning was the 18 home runs he gave up, doubling his previous career-worst of nine. Teheran has a 5.08 ERA in five starts, striking out 20 and walking eight in 28.1 innings.

Game 3: Matt Harvey (40.1 IP, 237 ERA+, 3.83 K/BB) vs. Tim Hudson (35 IP, 101 ERA+, 2.18 K/BB)

Even at age 37, Hudson continues to be the rock of the Atlanta rotation. In 11 of his past 12 seasons, Hudson has posted an ERA below four. This year, he has a 3.86 ERA in 35 innings over six starts. In his last outing, Hudson shut down the Nationals, holding them to one run on three hits in seven innings on only 96 pitches.

Series News & Notes

• The Mets sent down a struggling Collin Cowgill today in favor of the red-hot Andrew Brown, who has been tearing it up with the Las Vegas 51s. Brown was hitting .367 with a .440 On-Base Percentage and two home runs in 25 games.
• Jordany Valdespin slugged a three-run pinch-hit home run on Wednesday to give the Mets a 5-4 lead…It was the Mets first pinch-hit home run of the year and the sixth pinch-hit of Valdespin’s brief career…He is tied for second all-time on the club’s pinch-hit home run list.
• New York has scored three or fewer runs in eight of itslast 12 games and is hitting .202 (89-441) over that span…Overall, the Mets are seventh in the majors scoring 4.85 runs per game.
• Craig Kimbrel recorded his 98th career save Monday in Atlanta’s 3-2 win over Washington…Kimbrel’s career save percentage of 89.1 (98/110) ranks fi fth all-time among pitchers with at least 100 save opportunities (see chart at right)…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the quickest anyone has ever reached 100 career saves was Eric Gagne, who did in his 104th opportunity, followed by John Smoltz (107th) and Joakim Soria (112th)…Kimbrel could tie Soria for third all time if he can convert each of his next two opportunities.
• The Atlanta bullpen’s homerless streak was snapped at 21 games last Friday (April 26) at Detroit when reliever Anthony Varvaro surrendered a three-run shot in the fourth inning…Since the franchise moved to Atlanta (1966), that was the furthest into a season (21 games) that a Braves team has gone without the bullpen allowing a home run.

Just call him Mr. Clutch or as our own Daniel Nelson likes to refer to him, “El Dramatico”. Yes, of course we’re talking about the incredible Jordany Valdespin who came off the bench once again and delivered another dramatic pinch-hit home run to help the Mets beat the Marlins 7-6 and salvage the final game of the series.

Valdespin continues to display an uncanny ability for rising to the occasion whenever the Mets need a big hit, and in the last two seasons, no player in baseball has delivered more pinch-hit home runs than El Dramatico.

His five pinch-hit homers last season set a franchise record, and only one month into the season he’s already launched his second big knock of the year.

The Mets were trailing by three when David Wright opened the sixth with a leadoff double. Marlon Byrd followed with an RBI single and after another Ike Davis single, Valdespin took reliever A.J. Ramos deep with three-run homer. It was incredible and even more so was watching Spin pumping his fist as he rounded the bases. It put the Mets up 5-4.

An inning later, the Mets would tack on two more runs thanks to a two-run double by John Buck who begins the month of May the much in the same way he ended April. Buck now leads the league with 27 RBI.

David Wright had a great game with a dazzling play at third base and he homered, singled, and doubled at the plate.

Dillon Gee started the game and delivered a very rocky performance in which he was tagged for four runs on nine hits and two walks. It could have been worse if not for some nifty plays in the field.

Things got dicey in the bottom of the seventh when Lucas Duda misplayed a fly ball by Justin Ruggiano off reliever Scott Atchison allowing two more Marlins run to score and make the score 7-6. But the bullpen held down the fort the rest of the way, and Bobby Parnell pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the victory and end the Mets’ six game losing streak. For Parnell it was his third save of the season.

This wasn’t a picture perfect win, but after a week of grim and disheartening losses, I’ll take it. After a day off on Thursday, the Mets will head to Atlanta to begin a weekend series with the Braves on Friday night at Turner Field. Shaun Marcum will make his second start of the season and will oppose the Braves’ Mike Minor at 7:05 pm.

While it is conjecture Wright might have done something to aggravate his condition, the question can’t help be asked. Seriously, is winning a game in April worth losing Wright for a period of time? That’s the perception today and considering the Mets’ history in handling injuries, it is warranted.

The Mets played fast and loose with injuries to Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana and Wright in the past several times only to have it come back to bite them. Perhaps I am being an alarmist, but following the Mets does that to a person.

“I would say it’s better now than it was when I woke up this morning, which is a good thing,’’ Wright told reporters in Miami after the Mets’ 15-inning loss to the Marlins. “So I think the treatment that I got on it during the day helped and was beneficial. I’ll wake up tomorrow and see how it feels. I’d like to play as soon as possible, so we’ll see.’’

That the Mets used Wright when they didn’t have to only indicates the panic mode the team – and manager Terry Collins? – must be in with their losing streak now at five.

The Mets’ heretofore lousy bullpen blew two leads last night. Sure, it is semantics to say Shaun Marcum is a reliever, but he was used in that role. First Bobby Parnell, who had been the Mets’ only reliable reliever, and then Marcum.

Blame the pen if you want, but the Mets went 1-for-18 with runners in scoring position and stranded 26 runners.

Compounding matters, the Mets not only wasted numerous opportunities to win the game, but squandered a Matt Harvey outing, one in which he threw 121 pitches to boot.

The Mets can’t afford to waste games pitched by Harvey and Jon Niese, but that’s what they’ve done the last two times through the rotation with them, winning only Harvey’s no-decision last Wednesday against the Dodgers.

While not as bad as it was for a month stretch last summer, the Mets’ offense is in tatters.

* Ike Davis struck out three more times last night and is on pace to fan 196 times this season. That’s more than once a game. He has more strikeouts (29) than walks (12) and hits (13) combined, and there are no signs of him breaking out of his funk.

* Speaking of funks, after hitting over .300 for most of April, Daniel Murphy is on a 5-for-31 slide (.161 average with only one walk in that span).

* Wright’s on-base percentage is up, but needs to produce more than two homers and 19 RBI.

* Overall, the Mets have scored just ten runs in their last five games, and on the season have scored four or fewer runs in 13 of 25 games. They are averaging 8.5 strikeouts per game.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I guess a five game losing streak is a great time to clear the air. If not now, then when? Is it too early? Sure it’s early. but what does that have to do with some of the bad decisions we’ve been getting recently from Terry Collins? Is there a stat that shows Collins is a better strategist in July than he is in April? Do managers have slumps like players? Or are they just good or God Awful? Excuse me for going with the latter in Terry’s case. Sorry, Skip…

To begin, I think the concept of of bringing in a defensive replacement is lost on him. He substituted Collin Cowgill for Juan Lagares on Sunday and then got burned when Cowgill got a late break, a bad read, and watched a Ryan Howard shot sail over his head for a two-run double. He went with Cowgill again last night against the Marlins and left the better defender Lagares on the bench. On cue, Cowgill misplayed another flyball that translated into a Marlins win come-from-behind win.

And what’s the fascination with career utility outfielder Mike Baxter who has now made defensive miscues in three consecutive games?

Does he know that that the goal of a defensive replacement is to put in the player best equipped to bump your defense and not one who does the complete opposite?

Is someone telling him he HAS to play Cowgill and Baxter? Is it a clause written into their contracts? Because I don’t quite get the fascination – especially for Cowgill. He should be the next outfielder the team cuts and has no use to this team at all - offensively and defensively.

Yesterday, I blasted Collins for how he mishandles the bullpen, is too quick with the hook on starting pitching and then has the nerve to complain about them not going deep during his press conference. Both Jon Niese and Shaun Marcum admitted they wanted to stay in the game and had plenty left in the tank.

This is what happens when you’re a lame duck manager. It’s like trying to get work done while your boss looks over your shoulder. You make more mistakes, you slip up in areas you were once good at, you lose focus. Collins used to have a defender in me, but he looks like a dead man walking to me now.

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.

Starting Lineup

1. Ruben Tejada – SS
2. Daniel Murphy – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. John Buck – C
5. Lucas Duda – LF
6. Marlon Byrd – RF
7. Ike Davis – 1B
8. Juan Lagares – CF
9. Jonathon Niese – LHP

Game Notes

John Buck’s eight April homers tied the club record for a catcher in the month (Mike Piazza in 2001, Todd Hundley in 1996), and are one shy of the team record shared by Carlos Delgado (2006) and Dave Kingman (1976). Buck leads the NL and is tied for fourth in the majors with 23 RBI…Buck is also tied for third in the majors with eight home runs.

Shaun Marcum surrendered three runs in four innings and was dissatisfied with his Mets debut. The Mets dropped their second straight home series after winning their first three, and have lost eight of their last nine games to the Phillies dating back to last year.

Robert Carson served up homers to Domonic Brown and John Mayberry Jr. in the fifth as the Met lost to the Phillies, 9-4, Saturday at Citi Field. The Mets’ bullpen came into the game with a 5.02 ERA, tied for last in the majors, and got worse, rising to 5.28. This bullpen needs to turn it around immediately or this is going to be another long season for the Mets.

Tim Byrdak continues to progress from surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder. Byrdak has reached 180 feet in his long-tossing on flat ground and should be on a mound during the upcoming week for the first time since the surgery.

Game Preview

The Mets try to salvage one game of the Phillies series this afternoon after dropping the first two. The Mets are also on their first three game losing streak of the season. Yesterday Marcum only lasted 4 innings allowing 3 earned runs and then Carson allowed 5 runs the inning after. At that point, things looked pretty bleak for the Mets. Hopefully Niese will be able to pull the Mets out of this rut as he squares up against Hamels.

Jon Niese is 2-1 on the season over 5 games and 26.0 innings with a 3.81 ERA. Over those 26 innings he has walked 12 batters and struck out 14 batters. Last year Niese faced the Phillies 5 times with a 2-1 record and a 2.93 ERA over 30.2 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against Jon Niese:

Rollins 7-33, 2 2B
Mayberry 9-28, 2 2B, 3 HR
Utley 2-15
Howard 1-15
Young 2-3

The Mets draw the ace of the Phillies staff this afternoon in Cole Hamels. So far this series the Mets bats have not been able to figure out the back of the rotation, maybe because the universe makes very little sense when it comes to Mets baseball, they’ll be able to figure out Hamels. Hamels is 0-3 this season with a 5.40 ERA over the 5 starts and in his last three starts he has a 2.57 ERA. He was 2-0 against the Mets last year over 4 starts with a 3.86 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Cole:

Wright 17-55, 3 2B, 3B, 4 HR
Tejada 5-22
Buck 2-22, 2 HR
Murphy 6-20, 2B, HR
Davis 6-19, HR
Byrd 3-11

Let’s Go Mets!

Terry Collins believes that part of the problem with the team’s bullpen is because the starting rotation is failing to go deep into games. He says it has been putting an incredible strain on all of his relievers. Ya think?

Aside from Matt Harvey and Jon Niese, who combined are averaging over six innings per start, the rest of the rotation has been averaging 4.2 innings per start. Case in point was yesterday afternoon, when Shaun Marcum lasted just four innings, forcing the Mets bullpen to pitch five innings.

When you take Harvey and Niese out of the equation, the cupboard is bare and that’s why the Mets bullpen has a National League worst 5.28 ERA which also ranks second worst in the majors.

The Mets bullpen has allowed 45 earned runs in 76.2 innings pitched this season.

Don’t just blame the rotation however, this bullpen is bad. Eleven teams have logged more innings than the Mets, and their ERA’s are all lower.

The Pirates’ pen has logged a league high 91.0 innings already. But they also have an incredible 2.47 ERA for the season. The Bucs have allowed just 25 earned runs compared to the Mets’ 45.

“I completely agree with Terry Collins.”

I don’t believe anyone expected him to show up and deliver an “A” game, but with a fastball that ranged around 80-84 mph I think he’s in for some rough times ahead. His control was very spotty and hopefully he can step it up in his next start.

After the game, Marcum expressed disappointment with his performance.

“It’s not what I wanted from a statistical standpoint or helping this team,” Marcum told reporters.

“I wasn’t very efficient with my pitches there in the second and third inning. My pitch count rose pretty quickly in those two innings. As far as health, everything felt pretty good.”

Marcum’s final line was three earned runs on five hits, two walks, a wild pitch, and three strikeouts. The veteran right-hander was activated from the DL before the game after dealing with some biceps tendinitis as well as neck and shoulder pain during spring training.

Even though he was pulled after 71 pitches, Marcum said that he felt he had a lot more left in the tank.

During the FOX broadcast, Kevin Burkhardt said that it was catcher and former teammate John Buck who convinced Marcum to sign with the Mets. Both played together for the Toronto Blue Jays. Buck, who hit his eighth home run of the season in the game, said he saw shades of “vintage” Marcum.

Marcum, 31, has a 3.79 ERA in 150 career starts with a 1.24 WHIP. I think most Mets fans would sign up for numbers like that if Marcum can find his way back to that level of play.

The New York Mets were shutout by the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 tonight at Citi Field. Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick hurled a complete game gem, limiting the revamped Mets lineup to just three hits and a walk.

For the Mets, Dillon Gee was matching zeroes with Kendrick for five innings and actually did a nice job of keeping the Phillies off the board until the dreaded sixth inning when it all fell apart for him. Gee was torched for four runs with the big blast coming off the bat of Ryan Howard who rocketed a three-run homer into the night. Howard owns Gee who now falls to 1-4 on the season with a 5.96 ERA.

The bullpen delivered three scoreless innings, two from Jeurys Familia and a surprisingly clean 1-2-3- ninth from Josh Edgin which was very good to see.

Offensively for the Mets? There was none. Ironically, Terry Collins juggled the lineup before the game and batted David Wright clean-up believing it would lead to more runs. (Hey Terry, your team is already ranked number one in the NL in runs per game.)

But there was no beating Kendrick on this night. The Mets flailed at his pitches and were completely powerless against him.

The Mets (10-11) now fall one game under .500 for the first time this season. Tomorrow, Shaun Marcum will be activated from the DL and make his Mets debut.

Have at it…

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, team officials are saying that lefthanded starter Jon Niese reported no issues and is set to return to the rotation on Sunday against the Phillies.

“A little swollen, but it feels good,” Niese describe the injury Thursday morning.

Manager Terry Collins said they didn’t want Niese to break his routine, and he remains on target to make his next scheduled start.

Niese left Tuesday night’s game against the Dodgers after getting hit on his right leg on comebacker off the bat of Mark Ellis and X-rays taken soon after came back negative.

Meanwhile, the NY Post reported that Shaun Marcum is excited to about making his Mets debut on Saturday against the Phillies.

The veteran right-hander has missed nearly the first month of the season, but that hasn’t dampened his expectations much.

“Obviously that goal is not going to happen as far as making all my starts,”” Marcum told reporters.

“But with the snow-outs and stuff I still can come close to 30 starts, so hopefully I can come close to 200 innings and do what I can to go deep into those games.”

Collins has already said that Marcum will be on a 90-95 pitch count against the Phillies tomorrow.

Zack Wheeler

Wheeler, the Mets’ top pitching prospect, is currently at Triple-A Las Vegas as he continues to work on control issues before he gets that anticipated call to join the Mets.

Although most knew he was headed for the minors to start the season until his arbitration date passed (April 21, I believe), now many people expect it to be much longer because of the number of pitches he has thrown in games and the amount of walks he has issued.

I don’t care. It’s time for Zack Wheeler to join the Mets.

Why? It’s simple.

The back of the Mets’ rotation is not pretty. Yes, Shaun Marcum is set to make his Mets debut on Saturday, but who knows how that’s going to go? I expect him to be a strong mid-rotation starter, but there are no guarantees, especially with how many injuries he has had over the last two months.

Jeremy Hefner seems like a great teammate, but I don’t think he should be starting once every fifth day.

As for Dillon Gee, I’m still willing to give him some time. He continues to work back from a pretty serious injury that ended his season last year, and I expect him to put things together and be a solid No. 5 starter.

So, why Wheeler? Why now?

Well, as we all know, Matt Harvey has been ace-like through his first four starts, and I expect that trend to continue when he makes his fifth start tonight. But his Triple-A numbers weren’t all that off from what Wheeler has posted.

Let’s take a look …

In 2012, Harvey went 7-5 with a 3.68 ERA. In 110 innings, he issued 48 walks and tallied 112 strikeouts. His WHIP was 1.318.

In 10 Triple-A starts, Wheeler is 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA. In 51.1 innings, he issued 28 walks and tallied 52 strikeouts. His whip is 1.383.

So, in exactly half of the Triple-A starts as Harvey, Wheeler has very similar numbers (except for the win-loss record). It’s also very different pitching in Las Vegas than it is in Buffalo.

Yes, Wheeler probably has issued more walks than the Mets front office would like to see, but he was also battling a pretty bad blister on his pitching hand.

Harvey and Wheeler — statistically — are very similar.

Harvey is a gamer. He’s gritty, and he wants to win. You can see it on his face when he’s on the mound. I think Wheeler is the same way.

The other day, Wheeler posted the following on Twitter:

“Snowed out two days in a row here in Colorado. Heading back to Vegas tomorrow. About to turn this funk around and show out.”

If Wheeler got called up, I think he would get it figured out. After all, he is a top prospect for a reason.

And wouldn’t you rather see Wheeler get experience and figure things out at the big-league level than watch someone like Hefner or Aaron Laffey get rolled when they start?

I’m tired of hearing about how he’ll adjust if he gets lashed in an outing. He’s a competitor; he’ll be fine.

Wheeler is ready. And it’s time to unleash him.

Thoughts from Joe D.

This is what I love most about Metsmerized Online… The fact that we can express opposing viewpoints in the most civil and engaging ways. After a post by me suggesting the exact opposite view this morning. my friend Andrew espouses an opposing view and yet both posts have their merits. Now if only the commenting community can be as engaging and civil.