The Mets are hoping that the All Star break is what they needed to turn this season around and give his weary troops a much needed physical and mental rest. The Mets went into the break taking their last two games, coinciding with their newest acquisition Jeff Francoeur being in the lineup. Omar Minaya is hoping the trade will shake things up enough to hang in there long enough for the return of Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes.
The Mets will lead off the post All Star break against the Atlanta Braves – the team they made the Francoeur/Church trade with. Hopefully, it will be Francoeur hurting his former team, and not Ryan Church. It is a bit of irony that Oliver Perez will start the first game coming out of the break. His season in many ways parallels the Mets first half – and if the Mets are going to turn around in the second half, he is going to have to be a big part of it.
How the Mets perform this first week is going to be vital in determining if Omar Minaya is going to go out and find additional help. One thing is for sure – and that is we need Reyes, Delgado, and Beltran back in the lineup as soon as possible for this season to have any chance of being salvaged.
Pitching Matchup
Thursday: Oliver Perez (2-2, 8.78) @ Derek Lowe (8-7, 4.39)
Friday: Mike Pelfrey (7-4, 4.47) @ Jair Jurrjens (7-7, 2.91)
Saturday: Johan Santana (10-7, 3.09) @ Kenshin Kawakami (5-6, 4.26)
Sunday: Fernando Nieve (3-3, 3.03) @ Javier Vazquez (6-7, 2.95)
Matchups
Oliver Perez (10-7, 2.85) in July
Chipper Jones (.423, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 26 AB) against Oliver Perez
Brian McCann (.400, 3 RBI, 20 AB) against Mike Pelfrey
Johan Santana (58-17, 2.70) post All Star Break
Johan Santana (0-4, 2.31) against Atlanta
Matt Diaz (.556, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 18 AB) against Johan Santana
Gary Sheffield (.471, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 17 AB) against Derek Lowe
Prediction
Game 1: Mets 8 Braves 4
Game 2: Braves 5 Mets 3
Game 3: Mets 6 Braves 1
Game 4: Braves 4 Mets 2
