The newest Met, Rick Ankiel, couldn’t hold onto Ty Wigginton’s sinking line drive for a double. Wigginton then scored from second on an infield hit off pitcher Scott Rice. Matt Holliday followed with a two-run homer, and just like that it was over and the Mets had their fourth straight loss, 6-3, at St. Louis to fall seven games below .500.

ON THE MOUND: Jeremy Hefner had his third straight quality start, giving up three runs in six innings. Hefner retired the last ten hitters he faced. Even so, the Mets are now 0-7 when he starts. … Rice and Scott Atchison combined to give up three runs on five hits.

AT THE PLATE: The Mets had four hits, three from Daniel Murphy. … Ten more strikeouts by Mets hitters, surprisingly, none by Ike Davis or Lucas Duda.

METS MATTERS: Reliever Frank Francisco has a mild strain of the flexor pronator in his right elbow. He will be shut down for 72 hours before he resumes throwing. … Outfielder Andrew Brown was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Ankiel.

THEY SAID IT:  “We aren’t scoring. I told him he got us to where we needed to be.’’ – Manager Terry Collins on Hefner’s performance.

BY THE NUMBERS: 12: Number of times in their last 16 games the Mets scored three runs or less.

ON DECK: Dillon Gee (2-4), Shaun Marcum (0-3) and Jonathan Niese (2-4) will be the Mets’ next three starters in this series against John Gast (0-0), Shelby Miller (5-2) and Adam Wainwright (5-2) for the Cardinals.

Now for some of my thoughts about recent Mets events.

Johan Santana did pretty well in his first spring start. Although he didn’t hit 90 (according to the stadium’s radar gun), he has time before the regular season to get back into the 90′s.

I don’t like the Frank Francisco signing. I don’t have a particular reason why, it’s just a feeling I have. I don’t feel he is the right choice to be the Mets closer. Joe hit on some of his troubling trends. He could very well may be the solution for them, but I just don’t think he is.

I believe Mike Pelfrey‘s time as a Met will be ending sometime soon. By that I mean either this year or next. He isn’t being efficient enough for them, and his production isn’t helping them either. However, here’s an idea that might change that… Try moving him to the bullpen. They moved Oliver Perez to the bullpen when he wasn’t working out as a starter, why not try moving Pelfrey? While it didn’t work for Perez, it could work for Pelfrey.

Even though Hojo’s Mojo said that the Mets liked what they saw from C.J. Nitowski, I am wondering if he is even worth bringing in. Especially considering he hasn’t pitched on a Major League team since 2005. That raises some major doubts. If you remember, he played for the Mets before. In 2005, he pitched 5 games with the Mets, had an ERA of 0.00 and a record of 1-0. I just think the Mets would be making a huge mistake in signing him if they did.

• Colorado Rockies trading Ty Wigginton to the Philadelphia Phillies
• Texas Rangers signing free agent closer Joe Nathan to two-year deal
• Minnesota Twins sign free agent catcher Ryan Doumit
• Cleveland Indians re-sign free agent outfielder Grady Sizemore

It may be clear to see why some of these transactions are important, but maybe not so much for the others. Let me clear up any confusion…

Ruben Amaro Jr. has definitely pulled off one of the smartest trades of the winter by acquiring Wigginton from the Rockies. Wigginton has proved during his nine years in the MLB that he can play just about anywhere and can produce some power. With a .265 career average and 158 home runs, he will adjust just fine to Citizens Bank Park and will be a great insurance plan while Philadelphia waits for Ryan Howard to come back and to give Placido Polanco a break at 3rd base. Oh, and they’re only paying half of Wigginton’s 2012 salary of $4 million. Genius, Amaro.

The Texas Rangers were deathly close to moving Neftali Feliz to the starting rotation at the start of 2011, but they decided against it. Now, after inking longtime Twins closer Joe Nathan to a two-year deal with approximately $14 million, the organization feels comfortable making the move. After missing 2010 to rehab from Tommy John surgery, Nathan struggled with an ERA nearing 5.00. However, his velocity returned; with 261 saves and a 2.87 ERA during his career, this was worth the risk. It will allow Texas to not panic if they can’t resign CJ Wilson.

In Minnesota, the most coveted player on their roster is Twins catcher, Joe Mauer. However, he’s not Superman and like 2011, was on the DL for a considerable amount of time. While Mauer was on the shelf, both of their backup options hit under .170. so, GM Terry Ryan decided to go out and sign Ryan Doumit to a one-year/$3 million deal. This works in multiple different ways for the Twins because it not only gives them a viable offensive backup at the catcher position, but it will allow Ron Gardenhire to keep Mauer’s bat in the line-up, but at the DH position, or even First Base.

Even though Grady Sizemore has only played just over 200 games over the last three seasons and hasn’t been the same player from 2005-2008, mostly because of injuries, he was an intriguing option for many teams. Why? Well, he will come at a low price in the short term, and has the opportunity to “over produce” his contract rather easily. Sizemore agreed to a one-year/$5 million plus incentives deal with the Cleveland Indians to hopefully do what Adrian Beltre did in 2010 with Boston. If he can stay healthy and produce in 2012, teams will be drooling over him next winter, willing to give him a multi-year deal…and he most likely won’t stay in Cleveland. If he has a strong first half and the Indians are not in the playoff picture, they could dangle him in front of teams before the trading deadline.

Like I said, there hasn’t been much action yet on the open market, but with the Winter Meetings fast approaching, expect teams to start wheeling and dealing.

“If I were to go somewhere, I’d want it to be somewhere I could contribute,” the 32-year-old said. “But I love the city of Baltimore, and I love playing here for these fans.”

The nine-year big league veteran will earn $3.5MM in 2010, the final year of his contract. Earlier this week, it was reported that Wigginton would be open to playing for the Mets if the O’s become sellers. However, Wigginton “chuckled” at that story as both he and Millwood were responding to a question asking if they would have a problem playing for the Amazins.

Wigginton has started 52 of 57 games for the Orioles this season while playing at first, second, and third.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Wigginton playing for the Mets again, even at second base. And Millwood would at least be an upgrade from Oliver Perez. Hopefully the Mets can still persuade the Orioles to go with the trade.

Martin says that despite his 0-5 record, the 35-year-old Millwood has pitched well in his first season with Baltimore. He currently has a 3.89 ERA this season with a 1.27 WHIP and 58 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched.

“I wouldn’t mind pitching in New York,” Kevin Millwood said before Baltimore lost 3-1 to the Yankees last night in the Bronx. “It’s a great city. But it’s not really up to me whether I do or don’t.”

Millwood also had a solid season last season, going 13–10 with a 3.67 ERA in 31 starts for the Texas Rangers.

As for Wigginton, he has played some first and third base, but has spent most of the season playing second base, a position the Mets could certainly upgrade with his bat.

Wigginton is making just $3.5MM this season in the final year of his contract and is having another solid season batting .282 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI.

“I absolutely loved playing there,” Wigginton said of his time with the Mets, where he came up in 2002. “But I really don’t think about what’s going to happen with trades and all that.”

Obviously, both Wiggy and Millwood would be solid additions to a team that lacks depth on the bench and in the rotation. They may be easier to acquire than Astros’ ace Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee of the Mariners.

As you’re all well aware, Jeff Francoeur will be the Mets new everyday rightfielder.  The reaction on this site and all over the blogosphere has been quite vocal, to say the least.  I have noticed a share of fans panning the deal, despite the fact that Francoeur has yet to play his first game in a Mets uniform.  I will not attempt to compare Ryan Church to Francoeur in this post.  I will leave that to other writers on this site.  Instead, I will attempt to give you a different perspective on Jeff Francoeur and hope that you will accept him as your new rightfielder.  After all, the name on the front of his jersey now says “Mets”, so we should support him as a member of our team.

In New York, in addition to getting the job done, fans demand a hard worker on the field day in and day out.  This is why fans loved players such as Ty Wigginton.  He never put up All-Star caliber numbers, but he was a hard-nosed player who did the little things to help the team win.  From bowling over a catcher while attempting to score a run to challenging the outfielders by taking the extra base, Wigginton was loved by Mets fans during his short stay in New York.  His best season for New York came in 2003 when he led the team in games played with 156.  Wiggy batted .255 with 11 HR, 71 RBI and 73 runs scored.  He also struck out 124 times while drawing only 46 bases on balls.

Wigginton’s 2003 season was eerily similar to Francoeur’s season in 2008, a year in which he was briefly sent down to the minors by the Braves.  Francoeur hit .239 last season, with the same 11 HR and 71 RBI Wigginton had in 2003, while playing in 155 games.  Frenchy scored 70 runs while striking out 111 times and drawing 39 walks.  By the way, Francoeur is now 25.  How old was Wigginton during his 2003 season?  You guessed it – 25.

The fans who loved Wigginton surely weren’t applauding his stats, as they were less than spectacular.  They were able to see his grit and determination to help the team win by any means necessary, even if his contributions did not show up in the boxscore.  Francoeur can be that same type of player.  He’s certainly showed his durability by playing in all 162 games twice in his career.  No one is better at throwing out runners trying to take an extra base, as he has more outfield assists than anyone else in baseball since he made his debut in 2005.  If he fails to drive in a run while batting, he will go all out to prevent the opposing team from adding a run with his strong and accurate arm.

Francoeur has also made great strides to cut down on his strikeouts.  Although he is still a free swinger, he is now making much better contact, as evidenced by his decreasing strikeout totals.  Since his first full season in 2006, he has reduced his strikeout totals from 132 to 129 to 111 last season.  This year, he has only whiffed a total of 46 times in 304 at-bats.  Although he is only hitting .250, the lack of strikeouts suggest that he is more likely to raise his average than lower it.  After all, you can’t get a base hit by striking out.  You can only raise your average by making contact, which is something Francoeur is certainly making more of this year.

Mets fans, I know some of you loved Ryan Church.  I also know some of you are claiming that this is just a trade for the sake of making a trade.  You say the Mets could have gotten more than Jeff Francoeur and you might be correct.  However, this is what I say.  Did any of you really think Ryan Church was going to be a permanent fixture in right field?  Francoeur certainly has more of a chance than Church to be more than just a stopgap player in right.  Also, the Mets did not have to lose any of their minor league trading chips to acquire Francoeur.  If Omar is going to continue his attempt to make this team better before the trade deadline, he’s going to need those minor leaguers in order to get major league talent in return.  A potential trade suitor is not going to take Ryan Church for one of their high-salaried players that they’re willing to deal.  They will take cheaper minor leaguers that they can control for a longer period of time, players with the potential to help the team for more years than a Ryan Church could.  If he so chooses, Omar can now use some of those minor leaguers that weren’t used to acquire Francoeur and turn them into an Alex Rios or a quality starting pitcher.

Before panning this trade, take a look at all the variables in the equation.  As with all trades, this could be a bust or a godsend for the Mets.  At the very least, give Francoeur a chance.  If you’re going to Citi Field tonight, cheer him on when he comes to bat.  You never know.  He might give you plenty of reasons to cheer for him in the future.