Another game, another highlight. That’s what the season has been like for Mets catcher John Buck who belted a grand slam and scored two runs last night against the Twins. Buck is now batting .351/.350/.865 with an incredible 1.215 OPS on the season with a National League leading six home runs and 19 RBI and tied for tops in the Majors with Baltimore’s Chris Davis. The RBIs put him in some impressive company: Terry Collins is [...]

John Buck, 32, has started the season with blinders on. He is focused and locked into every pitch the second it releases a pitcher’s hand and it’s almost as if it heads to the plate in super slow motion for him. He’s kept criticism at bay and been one of the bigger surprises for the Mets in the early part of this season. Buck continued his hot streak with another home run in yesterday’s loss to the Phillies 3-7. [...]

The Philadelphia Phillies handed the Mets their first series loss of the season tonight as they pounded the Amazins’ by a score of 7-3 in a game that featured six home runs at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. Jeremy Hefner took the hill for the Mets and and for the second night in a row a Mets starting pitcher failed to get past the third inning. Hefner struggled right from the get-go surrendering five earned runs [...]

The night Dillon Gee had in Philadelphia happens to all pitchers. It happened to Stephen Strasburg the other day. It will happen to Matt Harvey. It is premature to worry about Gee two starts into the season. It was not a game worthy of capital punishment. It was a file-and-forget game. “There’s not a whole lot to say. A terrible night,’’ Gee told reporters. “But you’ve got to move past it.’’ He’s right, so let’s move on to something worthy [...]

This one was over early when the Phillies scored four runs in the second and three more in the third off Dillon Gee. Ryan Howard, Michael Young and John Mayberry all homered within five pitches. The game wasn’t worth watching after that explosion in the Phillies’ 8-3 rout over the Mets. ON THE MOUND: In losing his second straight start, Gee authored the worst outing by a Met starter this season. Gee threw 56 pitches, many of them hit hard, in [...]

If the Mets are to beat Cliff Lee tonight – the second Phillies’ ace in as many nights – they’ll have to do it without Ike Davis. Davis is struggling out of the gate, hitting .148 with one homer and showing no signs of breaking out. He’s on the way of repeating last spring, which morphed into a miserable first half. “I don’t know if I can say I am better for going through that,’’ Davis said during [...]

They are hot, so as Crash Davis said you don’t mess with a streak. This is not a time for the Mets to be making wholesale changes, but there are things they could consider. The Mets don’t have the multitude of power options that say, Ben & Jerry’s has ice cream choices, but Daniel Murphy appears to becoming one. Lately, he has been driving the ball for power; something I always thought he was capable [...]

Last night, at least six times, I heard fans, beat writers and announcers drawing comparisons to Tom Seaver when talking about Matt Harvey. He’s quickly becoming not just a Mets story limited only to the five surrounding boroughs, but a national baseball story as well. A cover on the front of Sports Illustrated or ESPN magazine is not far away. Harvey, 24, had his second consecutive scintillating start in a row on Monday evening, holding the Phillies [...]

Six games into the season and the Mets have used three different leadoff hitters. Evidently, there are answers to be found. One who should get a longer look is Mike Baxter, who started Saturday and reached base three times on two hits and a walk. A lead off hitter needs to get on base, and if not then take the count as deep as possible to give the following hitters a chance to learn what they [...]

By definition, Jon Niese is correct, he is not a No. 1 pitcher, an ace if you will. However, in relation to his status on the Mets, he is the man. There is no denying Niese’s importance, but his designation of being the leader of the staff should be emphasized more today against Miami than in the status of an Opening Day starter. After two victories to open the season, the Mets have dropped two in a [...]

Updated at 4:45 PM Terry Collins said he doesn’t have a timetable for Shaun Marcum and said it could be a week or 2 before they know. #Mets — Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) April 5, 2013 Original Post at 11:00 AM MMO’s John Delcos reported on April 2 that Shaun Marcum was scratched from his simulated start and was flown from Port St. Lucie to New York to be examined by team doctors. “He has some real [...]