Photo by Ed Delany/MMO

The Mets welcome the Nationals to St. Lucie today at 1:10 p.m. with Steven Matz set to start the game after being delayed a few days with flu-like symptoms (which also knocked out Guillorme for a few days and now McNeil). So if you were looking for baseball as an escape from virus talk, sorry!

Last Night:

The Mets had another night spring training game! It was also the second night game that wasn’t televised in the NYC Metro area. The Astros beat the Mets with a walk-off in the ninth inning against Yefry Ramirez who was signed in June with the Mets on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Yefry is not the real story for the Mets last night.

The real story, as it will be all spring when Michael Wacha, Rick Porcello or Steven Matz pitch, is the battle for the back of the rotation. Wacha allowed five hits and a walk leading to his first Spring Training run in 2.2 innings of work. Kevin Smith, a rising prospect in the Mets system, turned in his first strong spring training appearance of the year allowing a hit and nothing else over two innings of work.

As for the bats, the Mets didn’t get on base a lot last night. Brandon Nimmo got two hits in three trips, raising his OPS to 1.030. Johneshwy Fargas, the cycle hitter from the previous game, later pinch ran for Nimmo and swiped two bags, bringing his spring training total to five.

On the Mound Today:

It’s the return of Steven Matz! I felt disrespected for Matz two days ago. The official MLB account tweeted out an image of the Mets and Dodgers rotation asking “Who is Better” and they didn’t even list Matz as a starter on the Mets! This will be Steven’s third spring training game. So far he has tossed three innings allowing one run off a homer, and two hits total. Depending on stamina (he is recovering from a flu-like bug), he should go about three innings or so today.

Lineup

1. Brandon Nimmo – CF
2. Robinson Cano – 2B
3. Michael Conforto – RF
4. Jake Marisnick – DH
5. Dominic Smith – 1B
6. Eduardo Nunez – 3B
7. Tomas Nido – C
8. Andres Gimenez – SS
9. Johneshwy Fargas – LF

Fargas is getting a longer look now after his play the last couple of days. He went from hitting for the cycle to stealing two bags last night. That definitely perks interest. He’s competing with Cordell and Parker on the outfield depth chart.

Let’s Go Mets! Check 213 Miles From Shea for more Mets insights!

The post Spring Training Game Thread: Nationals vs Mets, 1:10 PM appeared first on Metsmerized.

I’m not going to sit here this morning and preach patience like everyone else is. Those feelings that were running deep inside your veins last night was a sign that you have a pulse… A sign that you may be an extreme die-hard fan of the New York Mets…  You are exactly our kind of Mets fan… Don’t be afraid to let it all out… That’s what real fans do…

Don’t suppress what you really are… Don’t hold in all your passion… Stop listening to your brain and start listening to that heart that’s beating wildly inside you… You’re a baseball fan… You’re a baseball fanatic… You’re tired of seeing the team you love being relegated to the brunt of jokes at the hands of other teams and other fans…

Don’t be afraid to be what you are… Don’t hold it in… Scream it out loud… You’re a die-hard Met fan and you’re ready to explode… Go Crazy Folks, Go Crazy…

Hope you had a good scream…

Okay, now that we got that out of our system, lets get down to what I really do around here and share some truths about the Mets and the reality you probably won’t read anywhere else this morning…

• As I’ve told you again and again. This Mets are in dire straits financially. They owe well over a billion dollars and as much as they want you to believe that everything is okay, it’s not. The banks and lenders are not going to allow the Mets to spend what it would take to turn this team around. It’s not going to happen. They will not spend more than $100 million on any player, and you can bet that payroll will not exceed $85 million dollars.
• What you saw last night when the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury, was the exploding outfield market break freely for Carlos Beltran, Shin-Soo Choo and Curtis Granderson. They will all get paid a lot more today than they would have a month ago. This is the new reality in baseball – embrace it. Either you learn how to survive in this market, or you can pack your bags and go home. Either you can act like a major league team, or you can disband and join the Pioneer League. It’s put up or shut-up time for Sandy Alderson. As I sad way back in September, I don’t believe he has the stomach or the wherewithal to survive the coming free agent apocalypse. The old ways of doing business in this game have been declared dead on arrival.
• The Mets GM made some interesting remarks only two weeks ago that bear repeating. Remarks that I said were hazardous to the Mets’ health. “I do think there will be a combination of more proactivity internally as well as a willingness in some instances to wait and see whether the market changes and what’s available to us later. Inevitably there will be people available later. A couple of our best signings last year were players who were available later – Marlon Byrd and LaTroy Hawkins.” That is absolutely nuts and proof-positive that he is clueless as to what the market is. Does he not heed my warnings? Did I not say that every single freaking team has about $25 million in new money to spend including the cost-conscious Mariners, A’s, Astros and Royals? Wake the hell up, Sandy. Reality is on the phone and wants to talk to you.
• One of the Mets biggest trade partners for Ike Davis just blew up in smoke last night when the Rockies signed Justin Morneau to a two-year deal. Two more teams are on the verge of adding first basemen as well. Corey Hart and Mike Napoli are about to go off the boards. Meanwhile, back in Flushing, our astute GM decided it might be best to wait until January to deal Davis because as he put it, “we believe it may be better to hold off until a later time when his market will be higher.” Oh my God…
• This team is broke, my friends… And Sandy is at the helm of a very sinkable ship. This offseason is Sandy’s iceberg. It’s his fourth Winter at the helm of the Mets and so far it doesn’t appear he’ll be able to sweet talk his way out of this one. No way. We won’t allow it to happen. It’s time for action and after five straight losing seasons, most of them by him, it’s time for some results. Mets fans deserve a team they can be proud of and a GM that is capable of delivering one.
• “I don’t think our payroll is going to be below what we saw last year,” Alderson said. You don’t think? “And as far as where it will finally land, let’s defer that question until all precincts have reported.” Sorry Jack… In this country, when all the precincts have reported it means the election is over and a winner is declared… And you sir, don’t have the electoral votes to keep you in office. If anyone needs a last minute comeback, it’s you… Do something, or grab your topcoat and go home…

Sorry for the brutal honesty, but if I don’t give it to you straight, who will…

The post About Last Night… Go Crazy Folks, Go Crazy! appeared first on Metsmerized.

Yes, Lucas Duda gets props for a three-run homer, Jon Niese pitched into the seventh, and Andrew Brown took advantage of a rare start by hitting a mammoth home run, but the Mets might not have won without Vic Black, Pedro Feliciano and LaTroy Hawkins.

By definition, winning 4-3 is not a slam-dunk, but a study of perseverance and endurance. Those three carried the Mets to the end.

Hawkins has been solid all year in a set-up role, and despite his reservations, assumed the closer role when Bobby Parnell went down and excelled, picking up his ninth save with a 1-2-3 ninth highlighted by a classic punch-out of Giancarlo Stanton, who had already hit two homers in the game.

In a masterful display, Hawkins got ahead 0-and-2 with two inside fastballs. Stanton wouldn’t bite on two down-and-away sliders to even the count 2-and-2. But, fearless as usual, Hawkins blew away Stanton inside with a 94 mph. fastball.

At 40, most teams might consider Hawkins an afterthought in constructing a bullpen, but he still has the fastball plus the guile that can’t be measured by a radar gun.

Not only does he get the job done, but he’s an invaluable and calming influence to the younger relievers and in the clubhouse.

My favorite Hawkins moment came at mid-season when the Mets – including manager Terry Collins – danced around the Jordany Valdespin saga. However, Hawkins, a proud veteran, called it as he saw it and wouldn’t let the immature Valdespin off the hook.

Meanwhile, Feliciano doesn’t throw in the 90s, but is still an effective lefty specialist and last night closed the eighth by getting Christian Yelich on a grounder to second.

If used properly – which is to say sparingly and not wear him out – Feliciano is still a plus.

The Mets don’t know Parnell’s availability next year after undergoing neck surgery. They must assume they won’t have him, at least at the start.

They’ll need a closer and Black, who throws in the mid-90s, could emerge as the choice. In preparing for next season, Collins should use Black in as many pressure situations as possible.

Of course, the bullpen key for 2014 is Parnell. If healthy, the three could slot in behind him and GM Sandy Alderson’s bullpen reclamation would be halfway done.

The key to a strong bullpen is having quality starters capable of working deep into the game as Niese did last night. The fewer innings the bullpen works, the more effective.

The post LaTroy Hawkins Was Masterful Last Night, Has Excelled As Mets Closer appeared first on Metsmerized.

Late Tuesday evening, a group of Miami Ad School students spray chalked a tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attacks at Citi Field. Mets fans exiting the subway will be greeted with an over twenty-foot rendition of the home team’s logo, but with a poignant addition to the skyline: the silhouette of the twin towers. Underneath, a message to “Never Forget.”

“We thought there was a special significance to this home game, an opportunity that couldn’t be missed,” the students explained. “In twelve years life has returned to normal, people are enjoying the city again, but we wanted to remind everyone to keep their thoughts with those we lost that day.”

Nice job by Stefan Haverkamp (instructor), Evan Barkoff, Jimmy Morrissey, Temnete Sebhatu, Joe Russomano, Kelsey Stalnaker, Jesselle Valdes and Livia Saad.

Thank you for your fine effort and a wonderful memorial to the people of our city and those Met fans who will get to see this tonight.

The post Last Night, Miami Students Chalked A Tribute To 9/11 Outside Citi Field appeared first on Metsmerized.

I just now caught the following tweet from Adam Rubin:

ESPN Stats & Info: Most Starts Allowing 1 or Fewer Runs 2013:
Matt Harvey 14
Felix Hernandez 13
Clayton Kershaw 12
Patrick Corbin 12

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) August 8, 2013

It was a memorable Wednesday night for Matt Harvey and after all he has done already in his amazing start to his career, it was almost hard to fathom that he had not yet tossed a shutout or even a complete game. He can now add both of those to his growing list of accolades.

“It feels awesome. It was something I wanted to do all year,” Harvey said after the Mets’ 5-0 win. “The biggest thing is going out and trying to eat up innings. Fortunately enough I was able to do that.”

With apologies to Dwight Gooden, what’s next for what might end up being the greatest pitcher the Mets have ever drafted? Is a no-hitter the next thing on his to-do list? After all, he’s already carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning twice this season… Maybe those were just tune-ups for the magic that’s yet to come. And dont forget the nine-inning one-hitter against the White Sox in May…Unbelievable…

For those of you who saw the six strikeouts and were perplexed some what, put your mind at ease. Pitching to contact was the pre-game plan all along and it was pure genius.

Harvey’s fastball had averaged 96.4 mph in his previous start in Miami, and after he ran out of gas later in the game, both Terry Collins and Dan Warthen took the righthander aside and told him he didn’t have to hurl 98 mph all the time and to conserve energy so he could pitch deeper into games.

The payoff for that sage advice was a powerful performance that left enough gas in Harvey’s  tank to go all the way and toss the complete game shutout with just 106 pitches.

Last night, Harvey took another step in his evolution, and it was a big one.

The post Last Night, Matt Harvey Took Another Big Step In His Evolution appeared first on Metsmerized.

Believe it or not, I ended up missing most of the game last night tending to some medical issues. But you have to love the the technology era we live in. Thanks to my phone, those mid-inning video updates from the MLB app, my Twitter app, and of course DVR. It felt like I was there. This morning at 7:05 AM I watched the game in it’s entirety and wow was I impressed.

I can’t even begin to  imagine the enormous amount of pressure Wheeler had to deal with in the days, hours and minutes leading up to his first MLB pitch. There was a lot riding on it and the jitters were obvious, but so was everything we ever heard about the kid. That fastball was explosive, the curve was huge, and that slider looked like an effective weapon as well. It’s clear to me that changing speeds will be the key to Wheeler’s prolonged success. Any of those pitches can be an out pitch for him.

This much is now clear to me. The future of the New York Mets is now in the hands of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, much as it was in 1968 with Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.

I’m not drawing comparisons to those two all time Mets greats. Of course, Harvey and Wheeler have years to go and a lot to accomplish before we even mention them in the same breath as Seaver and Koosman. But as far as their impact goes, I see a perfect symmetry between 1968 and 2013. In both those years, a pair of highly touted young pitchers created a seismic shift that would impact the franchise in very much the same way.

I don’t need to state the obvious to all of you, but Harvey and Wheeler are here to stay and are permanent fixtures in this plan we keep hearing about. Of course, whether this translates to a new Mets dynasty remains to be seen. You can’t win games without run support, as Harvey has plainly shown, being denied seven wins already this season.

Scoring runs is where it becomes tricky for the Mets. They have no can’t-miss hitting prospects on the way, and it’s already been three years without one significant addition to the MLB roster. That’s an extremely long time for any GM to find just one piece of the puzzle, but it is what it is.

Alderson acknowledged his failure in that area, but preaches patience and sounded like someone who wanted another chance from the Mets fan base before they give up on him like so many already have. Sandy said he would add one and possibly two significant additions to the lineup prior to the All Star break, so I’m willing to see what that is.

Obviously, he knows and we know that it will take at least a couple of young arms, but rest assured neither will be Harvey or Wheeler. So are we talking Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard? Absolutely. Those are the only two arms that rival GM’s know and want.

We’ll see how it plays out. For now, enjoy the moment and the spectacle of Harvey and Wheeler. Any future greatness for this franchise begins and ends with those two.

Terry Collins and David Wright knew the significance of what happened on that mound at Turner Field last night.

“I saw some big things obviously out of those two guys, and I just hope, not only you guys that were here to see it, but people saw it,” Collins said. “They’re going to enjoy watching these two young guys for a long time. They’re going to be around, and they’re going to be in the same rotation. You got two guys that can win some baseball games for you.”

The Mets captain was equally impressed and liked what he saw.

“That’s a formidable two arms that hopefully develop into a 1-A and a 1-B,” Wright said. “Obviously, just like every other Mets fan, I was eager to see what all the hype was about. It gives you a good glimpse of what could be in the very near future.”

Harvey and Wheeler alone are not “The Plan”, but last night we did see a big chunk of that plan.

The post Last Night We Saw A Big Chunk Of “The Plan” appeared first on Metsmerized.

Zack Wheeler is expected to remain with Triple-A Las Vegas and throw his between-starts bullpen session with the Pacific Coast League club before joining the Mets on Monday in Atlanta. He is expected to pitch the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Braves at Turner Field.

Terry Collins said the nighttime assignment is designed to keep Wheeler in a routine.

“We thought it would be better for him, more comfortable for him, to continue on what he’s used to doing, and that’s pitching the night game — give him a chance to get to the ballpark at his regular time, go through his regular routine, without having to get there in the morning at 9 o’clock and not maybe have enough time to get himself prepared,” Collins said.

Matt Harvey will start the 1:10 p.m. opener, which is a makeup of a May 4 rainout. Wheeler will start the 7:10 p.m. nightcap with family and friends in the stands at Turner Field; he lives about 30 miles away in Dallas, Ga.

As he inches ever so closer ton his major league debut, last night, Wheeler took to Twitter and thanked the fans:

https://twitter.com/Wheelerpro45/statuses/345697250023993344

https://twitter.com/Wheelerpro45/statuses/345697652865916928

Are you ready for Super Tuesday? 🙂

Original Post 6/13

Well, maybe Zack Wheeler just needed a vote of confidence from the front office, as he turned in a great performance on the heels of his promotion next week. Adam Rubin reported earlier in the day that Wheeler was on an 85-pitch count limit — and he made good use of all of those pitches. 52 out of his 85 pitches went for strikes.He allowed just one hit over five-and-two-thirds innings, a home run to Carlos Peguero, and two walks. He struck out seven and was pretty much dominant and in control the entire outing.

He walked Franklin Gutierrez before being lifted in favor in Jack Leathersich, who struck out Brad Miller to end the inning. His curveball and slider were on tonight, as if he had the adrenaline flowing the entire evening. His slider was working in the low-90’s, similar to Matt Harvey‘s, if my eyes didn’t deceive me. His fastball sat around the mid-90’s. He actually induced six groundouts over the course of the game, in contrast to one fly out.

Zack’s final line was: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 1 ER, 7 K

There’s not much else to say at this point..Wheeler is a talented pitcher and he will make his debut for the New York Mets next week, and we all wish him the best. I can’t explain how excited I am to see him finally take the mound for the MLB club — wearing the respected No. 45 to boot — and I think he’s going to try to make a name for himself that will hopefully last forever in New York City.

The post Last Night, Wheeler Thanked Fans For Support appeared first on Metsmerized.

It looks like Terry Collins is cracking and beginning to see the light on Kirk Nieuwenhuis. After a week of adamantly stating that the centerfield job would go to Andres Torres as soon as he got back – even before last night’s game – Collins paused when asked about it after the game and simply said “I don’t know what I’m going to do”. It’s a far departure from his previous stance and that gives me hope that he’ll ultimately do the right thing. Yes, I know that it’s only 35 at-bats, all you small sample advocates settle down. You have eyes don’t you? It’s not difficult to see how athletic and talented the kid looks beyond his .371/.460/.600 line… It’s not hard to see how incredibly good he plays in centerfield… His instincts and savvy are way beyond his years… And to hear Terry Collins talk about Kirk’s competitiveness and how his whole persona transforms as soon as he leaves the clubhouse and gets on that field for the game, gave me goosebumps last night. The trick is to see how he adjusts once the league adjusts to him, but I gotta hunch that there’s no fail in this kid.

Jon Niese looked awful from the word go last night and he admitted as much during the post game, but I give him high points for turning it around and holding the Giants at bay and giving us a chance to rally back and win – and we almost did. Niese has got a lot of moxie and the kind of swagger I want to see in a starting pitcher. Niese is maturing and taking his game seriously. He no longer has that deer in the headlights look. He sounded like he was pissed off at himself last night and looked like he wanted to punch a wall (luckily he didn’t) which is a nice departure from what we usually see from Pelfrey after a bad outing. Speaking of the big dude, he gets a chance to play stopper this afternoon. I hope he can end this three game slide.

One of our readers, Stuart, emailed me this last night:

Duane Reade has the promtion when the METS hit Two HRs in a game you get a free Axe brand deodorant. Last season they gave out bars of SOAP. Do you think this is a not so subtle hint to us METS fans about our personal hygiene. Or is this a way of them saying that the team and the fans both stink? 🙂

I don’t even know hot to respond to that, lol.

A bunch of our prospects have written to tell us how much they dig our coverage of the Mets Minors. Hey guys, we dig you too!. Bisons reliever Justin Hampson got a little annoyed at us though because he thought we were a little rough on him, so I want to point out that on Wednesday, he pitched two perfect innings of relief and picked up his first save of the season and the second of his pro career. Way to go, Justin! I also promised Cam Maron that we will no longer refer to him as Camden, he prefers Cam.

Our Minor League guru Pete, spoke to Brad Holt and he’ll be posting an interview in the coming days. We just heard back from the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs who invited Pete to take in a couple of games when the Bisons roll into town for a three game series next week. He’ll not only be rubbing elbows with the boys from Buffalo, but plans on talking to Wally Backman and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. I’m so jealous!

By the way, I want to welcome Tim Burns to our MMO Minor League team as well as Prince Rahman. Tim’s a firefighter and a die-hard Mets fan who lives in Binghamton and catches a lot of the B-Mets games. In addition to providing a daily game recap, he’ll be doing a weekly feature called the Binghamton Buzz which looks to be a lot of fun and very insightful. Prince will be focusing on the MLB Draft and will have a series of great posts as we get closer to Draft Day. Welcome to MMO guys!

One more thing… Thanks to Darryl Strawberry for including us on his Ultimate Mets Bloggers list on Twitter. 😉

The post Morning Grind: I Hate Losses Like Last Night, Kirk Keeps Coming At Ya, Niese Is All Growed Up appeared first on Metsmerized.

Ah, the “Authority of the MLB” and again they take one step too far.

This past weekend was a time of mourning and recovery for all of us. The whole country had their own ways of remembering the events of 9/11/01 and did so.

I was particularly taken with the Shanksville ceremonies. You don’t get the recent and current Presidents to travel there without being very serious about your mission to honor what happened on your ground ten years ago. Shanksville is truly a country town, but they certainly understand how to deal with all Americans, from Presidents to school children.

Amidst all of this honor and respect comes a ‘threat’ from MLB about wearing 9/11 Caps. What? MLB actually threatened the team with not following ‘the guidelines’ and said they would be fined.

No wonder MLB is slowly becoming a shadow of it’s former self. With all the grand new stadiums/shopping centers their fan base is shrinking. Of course it is – MLB has put the new expenses right in front of the fans. From all the merchandise, to the food, to the parking, and the seats, to the expenses of the stadium – the fan gets hit every time.

What was so wrong with wearing those hats?

Joe Torre, who played a large part in it and now works for Bud Selig said this,

“We did it to be consistent around the league. It’s just something we feel is the right thing to do. I’ve had several talks with the Mets the last month or so. They understood and respected it. It’s certainly not a lack of respect.”

Many fans, especially New Yorkers, didn’t see it that way.

Despite all the hat drama, let me say that the Mets did an amazing job last night with their pre-game ceremony that honored all those who died on Sept. 11, 2001 and paid tribute to all the first responders.

NYPD, FDNY, OEM  and all the other agencies that heeded the call on September 11, were all very well represented on the field. New York’s Finest and New York’s Bravest were all allowed to wear their hats, MLB wouldn’t dare rush the field to confiscate those hats, the way they did so from the Mets before the game, to be sure no players would defy the MLB ban on 9/11 hats.

It was a touching ceremony that was one of the best we’ve ever seen before from the Mets. Marc Anthony performed the National Anthem and it resonated so wonderfully throughout the stadium and into our living rooms.

It wasn’t a sold out house – not by a long shot, but those in attendance saw a great show that was both poignant and heartfelt. At one point, the fans became a part of the tribute when they dimmed the lights for a moment of silence, and then asked everyone in attendance to hold up their candles.

Even the children of the parents who were lost, were on hand and honored. Seeing that group of kids, aptly called “Tuesday’s Children”, was a beautiful touch. You never saw a more wonderful group of happy kids which after one look, you knew our city was restored and that our future is bright.

And of course, Mike Piazza and John Franco played their parts perfectly. In fact it was all so perfect in every way imaginable.

MLB tried their best to upstage and mar the events with “Hat-Gate”, but in the end, the true spirit and resiliency of a great city overcame adversity once again. Nothing was going to ruin this wonderful tribute, not even Bud Selig himself.

Written in collaboration with Annie Savoy and Joe D. 

The post MLB’s Ban On 9/11 Caps, Didn’t Upstage The Main Event Last Night appeared first on Metsmerized.

Pagan has taken a huge hit in value since his breakthrough season last year when he batted .290, scored 80 runs and played stellar defense. This season has been up and down at the plate for Pagan and he is struggling to get his average over .250 for most of the season.

Worse yet for Pagan has been an alarming increase in mental mistakes on the bases and in the field where he is now ranked as one of the worst defensive centerfielders in the game. Ironically, some scouts now view Beltran as the superior option in centerfield for the Mets.

Meanwhile, San Francisco centerfield prospect Gary Brown was a late scratch last night leading to speculation that he could be close to being dealt to the Mets in a deal for Carlos Beltran. If that is indeed the case, the Giants will have to offer him as a player to be named later as he is ineligible to be traded until August 1 due to MLB rules on trading recently drafted players.

Brown is having a solid season in Single-A-and would be years away from being major league ready. He was currently ranked #33 in Baseball America’s midseason prospect rankings.

The speedster is batting .313 in 390 AB with eight home runs, 57 RBI, 78 runs scored, and 39 stolen bases. In many ways he is comparable to former Met Lenny Dykstra.

Here is a video I saw posted on NYBD of Brown from May 19th when he went 3-5 with a home run and made some sparkling defensive plays.

With Pagan looking more and more like nothing but a fourth outfielder at best, and recent injuries to Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Fernando Martinez, the Mets do need a top outfield prospect in the pipeline and Brown would be a worthwhile addition.

The post Pagan Drawing Interest, Gary Brown Was A Late Scratch Last Night appeared first on Metsmerized.