Barajas is Back and On Waivers, F-Mart Expected To Be Sent Down

According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, here, with today's expected return of Rod Barajas will probably come the demotion of Fernando Martinez.  Martino is also reporting that the Mets have placed Barajas on waivers.

Although it doesn't make much sense to carry three catchers, it does make sense to demote Martinez who really isn't playing as much as he should be in order to justify leaving him up with the big club.  Also, with whatever is going on with D. Wright healthwise (nausea and light-headedness), it just doesn't make sense for the Mets to demote Hessman right now.

As far as Barajas being put on waivers, this had to be expected.  Thole is playing most of the time and the Mets don't need three catchers on the roster, let alone two tutors for Thole.  Hopefully the team can trade Barajas and get SOMETHING out of him, as he hasn't done anything in the line up for months.  Either way, it was pretty much expected that Barajas wouldn't be back next year anyway, so what's the difference if the Mets make it official and deal or drop him soon...  

Game 2 Against Astros Tonight at 8:05, History Repeating?

I'm not going to get too ahead of myself only one game into this road trip, but I have a feeling this current road trip has happened before.  The next 6 games the Mets have on the road are against the Astros and Pirates on the road.  Both teams are bad, and both series are completely winnable, if not sweepable, for the Mets.  So, here it comes...

Remember when the Mets went to Cleveland and Baltimore back in June?  Remember what that trip was for the Mets?  I'm trying not to jinx the team here, but I'm thinking this current trip can be the NL version of what the Mets did to the AL bottom dwellers earlier this season.  But, even if that is the case, I wouldn't get too excited...

Anyway, the Mets need to win tonight for that to happen, and the pitching match up is looking pretty favorable as the Mets send Santana to the hill against Nelso Figueroa.  Here's the line up courtesy of the Mets on twitter:

Reyes-SS
Martinez-LF
Wright-3B
Beltran-CF
Davis-1B
Francoeur-RF
Thole-C
Tejada-2B
Santana-P

Pagan gets a night off, keeping Frenchy in right, and moving F-Mart into left field.  It would be nice to see an offensive explosion tonight from the team...We haven't REALLY seen one of those in a bit now...


By the way the last lop-sided game the Mets won, and only one since the All-Star break, was on July 27th against the Cardinals 8-2.  Just sayin'...

Mets Win Game, Series Behind Santana

Today in the "Citi" the Mets defeated the Rockies 4-0 (box score) and took the series from Colorado.  Santana was awesome as the Mets shut out the Rox for the second time in three games to get back to .500 on the season.

Santana went the distance for the Mets today, striking out 10, and allowing only 4 hits.  He was great, and had to be, considering the way the bullpen blew up in last night's game and K-Rod's temporary detainment.  Johan must have seen everything that's happened with the 'pen in the last 18 hours and decided he would rather just do the job himself.

At the plate, Reyes went 2-4 with 2 stolen bases and a RBI, while Beltran went 3-3 with an RBI as well.  Martinez and Pagan drove in the other two runs for the Mets.  Hopefully the good day from Beltran is the start of something and not just a good day from a player who isn't what he used to be.

Either way, winning the series was important, as the Mets head into a three game set with the Phillies this weekend.  Tomorrow night's match up features R.A. Dickey and Cole Hamels.  Let's see if the Mets can get hot one more time before the season ends.

Mets Look for Series Win Tonight: Line Up

A series win over a team in front of you in the wild card standings is never a bad thing...not that I have any hopes for the playoffs...I'm just sayin'.

Line up courtesy of Mets on twitter:

Reyes-SS
Pagan-LF
Wright-3B
Beltran-CF
Hessman-1B
Francoeur-RF
Blanco-C
Castillo-2B
Niese-P

Davis and Tejada get the night off, while Thole and F-Mart sit against the lefty.  Tonight would be a nice night for some offense, Niese deserves the support...

Mets Beat Rockies, Jimenez 1-0 Behind The Real Pelf

Tonight, Mike Pelfrey was in early 2010 form going 7 innings and giving up only 4 hits as the Mets defeated the Rockies, and Ubaldo Jimenez, tonight 1-0 (box score).

The Mets didn't do much at the plate, but when you're pitching is that good, you only need one run to win.  I do think it's interesting to note that the only Mets to get hits tonight were Fernando Martinez, Chris Carter, Josh Thole and Mike Pelfrey...BUT...Reyes drove in the only run of the night with a sac fly.  Also interesting to see how the line up looked without BOTH Beltran and Francoeur in it.

Nice win to get back to .500.  If the Mets continue to play these young guys, and they should/will, games like tonight's will help build character and give the young guys confidence in close games going forward. 

Nice win, fellas.

Young Mets Show Life, But Fall Short in Comeback Effort Against Phils

The Mets got off to an early lead today, then Dickey got shelled, then the Mets fought back to within one, only to lose 6-5 (box score) in today's finale.

Although Dickey had his worst outing of the year for the Mets, and the team lost yet another road series, somehow I was encouraged today.  I think it's because I have officially given up hope of having any shot at a playoff run, barring some miraculous hot streak.  But, I'm not pissed...

Today the young kids looked pretty good.  Tejada is continuing to show that he is a better glove than Castillo, although his hitting is leaving something to be desired.  F-Mart looked pretty decent, nothing to get crazy over, but solid.  And Thole and Carter had some big hits in the Mets comeback.  Overall, it's nice to watch a home grown team leave it ALL on the field.  Had Beltran and Wright not struggled the way they did today things may have turned out better for the Mets today.

The point...

The young kids look like they have pride.  Where some players in the past would have given up once they got down 6-2, this youthful Mets team didn't give up.  Ultimately that will make this team more fun to watch, even if they are only playing for pride.  This is a new thing for Mets fans, seeing a dedication to giving the young kids a shot.

In fact...

According to Howie Rose, while I was listening to "The Fan" in my car, the Mets had the most home grown players in today's starting line up (7), than they have since 1990.

Just found that interesting...

Kids Will Play, Line Up for Santana vs. Hamels Tonight at 7:05

Well, Castillo may not be off the team, but he's officially lost his starting job according to Metsblog.  In that post for Metsblog, Barron reports that Jerry will platoon Francoeur and Martinez in right while letting Tejada start and pushing Luis Castillo to the bench.

My reaction to all this is simple.  ABOUT TIME.  Although I would be happier if the team found a way to move Castillo, at least we won't have to watch him everyday anymore.  As for the platoon in right, while I still have a soft spot for Frenchy, he probably shouldn't be out there at all.  But, if the platoon is strictly righty-lefty then it's not terrible just based on there being more righties than lefties.  Regardless of the details I'm happy the organization is making a commitment to the future here.  Let's just hope they stay committed to this and don't flip-flop...

Anyway, tonight the Mets take on the Phillies again.  Here's the line up courtesy of the Mets on twitter:

Reyes-SS
Pagan-LF
Beltran-CF
Wright-3B
Hessman-1B
Francoeur-RF
Blanco-C
Tejada-2B
Santana-P

Ike gets the day off, and Ruben assumes his role as the everyday second baseman.  Maybe this will shake a few things loose. 

Let's Go Mets. 

Corresponding Moves Made: Mets Release Cora and Demote Feliciano

As updated on Metsblog, the team made their corresponding moves to the calling up of Tejada and Martinez.  The Mets have released Alex Cora and demoted Jesus Feliciano.

I get the Cora move, it makes sense, especially to avoid the contract option.  And I don't think Feliciano is ever really going to be a useful piece for this team, except organizational depth.  BUT...I was really hoping that the team would be making bigger, more meaningful changes, in an effort to send a message to the players and the fans.

Mets Lose Big Game, Call Up the Kids

Bad news, the Mets lost a very important game last night to the Phillies 7-5 after an abysmal 8th inning from the bullpen, specifically Bobby Parnell (box score).  Good news, the team is shaking things up by bringing up F-Mart and Ruben Tejada, according to Metsblog. 

Here's all I'm saying about last night, it was awful.  The Mets are lucky to only be 8 back after last night, but I think at this point it's fair to say any excitement we'll get from the Mets for the rest of the season will be from the dismantling of this team, and the kids being given a chance to play.

That being said...

According to the Metsblog link above, which by the way is a very interesting thread to read if for nothing but seeing the way the story developed, both Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez are coming up to the club.  As Barron says in the post, you have to figure they are coming up to play.  It'll be interesting to see the corresponding moves from the team, but to me, it's got to be designating Castillo and Francoeur for assignment, or some trades.  There really is no reason to bring these kids up to ride the pine, or to bring them up at the expense of guys like Carter.  It's just not worth it.

What I hope Omar is saying here is, we tried it with these guys and they didn't get the job done, so let's see what the kids can do.    

It can't be any worse than what the team is currently doing out there...

Recap: A Win, An Injury, A Rumor, A Rehab

Here's a list of things I want to recap and give my input on.  Normally I would have done them WHILE they were happening but sometimes things get busy...

Last night the Mets defeated the Marlins 6-5 (box score/wrap), despite a poor outing from Mike Pelfrey.  Pelfrey got pounded to the tune of 12 hits and 4 runs in 4 and 2/3 innings of work.  NOT A GOOD NIGHT.  Fortunately for the Mets, the offense and bullpen were able to pick Pelfrey up and get the team a win, which helped them avoid the sweep in Puerto Rico.  K-Rod came in in the eighth after Parnell put the Mets in some trouble, but K-Rod was able to get Wes Helms to fly out.  Then K-Rod made it interesting, again, in the ninth but was able to save the game for the Mets.

The Mets got some nice all-around effort on the offensive end, highlighted by David Wright's 2-5 game with 2 RBI and another pinch-hit RBI from Josh Thole (his second in two night).  And not to be the guy who rains on our parade, because I DO think this team is better overall with Barajas behind the plate, BUT...he's now down to .244 and the staff has been getting ripped lately.  All I really mean to say by that is, I'm happy the Mets decided to wait before considering extending Rod...

Also of note from yesterday's game was Jose Reyes' last minute removal from the line up due to a his side hurting, which you can read more about on Metsblog, here.  In the post, Michael Barron quotes Jerry as saying it had something to do with the turf at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.  That wouldn't surprise me much considering the way Gary and Keith talked about the field basically being built on top of a parking lot, and the cement being the base underneath the field.  Either way, I hope to see Jose back in the line up tonight, BUT, I also wouldn't be surprised if he needed another night off.  Any more missed time than that and I may start getting concerned...

ON TO OLLIE...

I know he's doing rehab starts and all that, but is it really necessary?  He has no trade value anyway.  The best thing the Mets can hope for is that he "suffers a set back" the same way John Maine did and the team can continue on without him.  As for Beltran's rehab seemingly going well, I'm cautiously excited.  I know it's cliche and people have been saying this for quite some time, but Beltran REALLY is the best player the Mets can add at the trade deadline....Well....offensive.

Speaking of Cliff Lee, Metsblog notes some rumors here and here regarding how much the Mets would need to give up to get Lee.  Here's what I would and wouldn't do...

The following I think can be traded in any combination in order to get Lee, of course with the caveat that they cannot take more than 4 from this list: Josh Thole, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jordany Valdespin, Reese Havens, Bobby Parnell, Brad Holt, Ruben Tejada, Sean Ratliff or Juerys Familia.

NOW, if the Mariners needed one of F-Mart, Wilmer Flores, Angel Pagan or Jenrry Mejia to get the deal done I would NOT want to give up more than one of them combined with NO MORE than two of the guys from the previous list.

Interestingly enough, I think the guy who is closest to untouchable to me is Wilmer Flores.  But, I don't think anyone should be off limits right now.  The farm system seems to have enough in it that you can make this deal without losing all your top prospects.  So Omar, make a deal to make this team a winner.  Just be smart about it, and don't give up too much...

Alright Ike's Coming, So Let's Be Real...

According to Matt Cerrone of Metsblog, which relayed the info from SNY's Brad Cuomo account on twitter, Ike Davis will be called up today.

It has been brought to my attention that I have been accused of "wavering" on my stance with the Ike call-up situation, but please allow me to clarify... 

I wanted (still want) to see Chris Carter get a chance before Ike, because in my opinion, Ike could probably use some more seasoning before bringing him up to the bigs and Carter deserves a shot.  Also, I am slightly concerned about what the Mets will do when Daniel Murphy is ready to return from the DL.  If the Mets are bringing up Ike as a stopgap until Murphy is healthy, then this move is flat-out moronic.  However, if they're willing to commit to Ike, unless he struggles big time, then I'm fine with it.

To me, giving Carter a chance would have made the most sense because of the flexibility, until Murphy could return, and how if Carter were to perform well it would afford the team the option to keep both Carter and Murphy, especially considering Carter's ability to play other positions along with first base.  Couple those arguments with the fact that this kid has almost never been given a shot to succeed, there's no doubt in my mind that Carter would be hungry and would perform well.

Since that isn't the case and Ike is on his way up...I'm on board with this too.  Mainly because I think Ike is the team's best option at first base, given the realities of the situation (with Carter etc.).

So...

Mets fans here we go.  This move should be the start of something.  It should be the beginning of the organizations realization that maybe, just maybe, it's time for a youth movement.  This applies to both players and management.  Let Ike play, bring up Carter too, maybe F-Mart, Gee and Tejada at some point.  The team's future should be given a shot.  They can't be much worse than the team that's been out there for the first two weeks...

And while we're at it, lose Jerry and Omar.  Hand over jobs to Backman and Ricco.  Change the direction of the team and organization and bring HOPE to the fans.  Trying to float with this team that is clearly not as talented as other teams in the NL is a recipe for breeding more contempt within an already agitated fan base.

Ike will hold fans off for a bit.  But it's not enough.  I think Evan Roberts summed it up best, as Cerrone quotes him on Metsblog, "Mets fans would rather lose with Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez, than lose with Fernando Tatis, Luis Castillo and Gary Matthews Jr." (Note the only reason I used the second baseman's name was for the quotes sake)  Also, my feeling is the first three Roberts mentioned are actually better than the second three.  So why not do it?

My one request is that fans temper expectations.  Ike Davis will eventually be good, it just may not happen right away.  Regardless it'll be exciting tonight should he crack the line-up, and I think it'll be fun at CitiField.  Man am I happy I have tickets...

Heyman Discusses Top Stories of the Spring, Mets Included In a Positive Light

In a story for SI.com, Jon Heyman discusses the biggest stories this spring, which include Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan, Strasburg and others.  Heyman also includes a section on the Mets, and it's not negative.  The Mets get some credit under the section entitled, "the most underrated prospect group."

I think Mets fans know this, and have known this for a while that the minor league system was on an up-swing, but that we needed a prospect or two to show some serious potential to be taken seriously.  Well this spring, more than one or two prospects stepped up.  Heyman goes as far as saying, "The Mets' minor-league system looks a lot better now than most realized last year, when so-called experts rated it near the bottom." 

In this section Heyman points to five Mets prospects who have proven their worth this spring: Jon Niese, Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez, Ike Davis and Jenrry Mejia.  These guys have been fantastic this spring and have absolutely brought a credibility to a minor league system that has been crapped on for the last few seasons pretty consistently. 

The best part about this list, to me, is that it doesn't include my favorite prospects, Wilmer Flores and Juan Urbina.  Granted these two players are still very young and developing, should they blossom this season that would give the Mets 7 legitimate prospects.  That would make it likely that the minor league system would then have to be considered an above average farm system, at the least.  And that's ignoring prospects like Juerys Familia, Brad Holt and Reese Havens, just to name a few.

The Mets may be close to turning a corner for the future, so it's up to the organization to cultivate these guys for future success, and not deal them in a desperate effort to gain instant credibility. 

All-in-all, It's nice to see a positive story this spring surrounding the Mets, especially one that gives fans hope for the future...

Pelfrey Throws Well, F-Mart Homers as Mets Down Sox 4-2

Earlier today, the Mets defeated the Red Sox 4-2 (box score) in Fort Meyers on the strength of a three-run eighth innning homer off of the bat of Fernando Martinez.

Mike Pelfrey threw four solid innings, giving up only one run on 4 hits.  Pelfrey also struck out two.  After Pelfrey, Mejia, Calero and Dessens threw three consecutive perfect innings.  It was a nice day on the hill for the Mets.

At the plate Fernando Martinez was the hero with his three run homer in the eighth that put the Mets up for good.  Also driving in a run was Daniel Murphy, on a sac fly.

The only negative to take from this game was that Ruben Tejada made his third error of the spring.  I like him, and wouldn rather him start at short over Cora, but not if he's going to be making tons of errors.  I like Tejada's upside at the plate over Cora's, but not if it means a decline in defense.

Obviously, this is a wait and see approach on Tejada.  But at the least today was a good day for the pitchers, especially Calero who will need to toss a few more games like this to put his hat in the ring as set-up man for this team...

Mets Win 6-5 Behind Pagan's Walk Off

For those of you who didn't watch it, the Mets defeated the Cardinals 6-5 on a two-run homer in the ninth off the bat of Angel Pagan (box score).  It was probably one of the more exciting endings to a spring training game I think I have ever seen.

On the Bump:

K-Rod threw a perfect inning in his first work, since coming back from the world's most discussed case of pink-eye.  Green and Misch threw scoreless innings for the Mets.  Green did so despite walking two in his inning of work.

As for Niese and Nieve, they cancelled each other out again, putting up similar performances for the third straight outing.  Nieve went 3 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk, while Niese went 3 innings giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits while striking out two.  If these two aren't careful they're both going to lose out to Nelson Figueroa, who has done a pretty fantastic job so far this spring.  Although I like Niese the best of the three, he can afford to go down, especially if Figgy keeps pitching the way he has.

At the Dish:

Beside the game winning homer from Pagan, F-Mart, Tejada and Francouer drove in at least a run each.

Bay and Fernando Martinez both had two doubles each as F-Mart stayed hot, and Bay has been starting to get going in the last few games.  Despite F-Mart being hot this Spring, Gary Cohen mentioned during the telecast that F-Mart would start the season in the minors.  I'm not opposed to this.  Yes, he's been great this spring, but considering how he hit last year there was no real sign this was going to happen.  Even the Caribbean series wasn't enough to go off because he had hit so poorly in fall ball prior.  Either way, this was also expected...

Overall, it was an enjoyable game with a bit of drama for spring training.  A fun game to watch, as we start to get into the swing of things in camp...

Line-Up For Mets/Cardinals This Afternoon

Over at Metsblog, Michael Baron laid out the starting line-up for the Mets against the Cardinals this afternoon at 1:10 at Tradition Field.

Here's the line-up according to Baron:

Luis Castillo, 2B
Ruben Tejada, SS
David Wright, 3B
Mike Jacobs, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
Fernando Martinez, CF
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Rod Barajas, C

Pitching for the Mets today will be Nieve, Niese, K-Rod (spring debut), Misch, Green, Stoner and Dessens.  I doubt we'll see them all, but those are the guys today.

It'll be nice to see K-Rod on the hill, and I like that F-Mart is getting some playing time here, because I'm starting to think he should be an option in CF, even though I know he won't be considered one.  Once again it'll be fun to watch the ever-intriguing Niese/Nieve head to head battle. Should be fun...

I'll be watching on SNY at 1 pm...

Mets Beat Marlins 11-2: Maine Pitches Well, Barajas and Carter Go Deep, While Ike Makes Another Error

Today the Mets beat the Marlins 11-2 (box score), this time finally putting together the bats and the arms on the same day. 

On the bump, John Maine started out and pitched 1 and 2/3 innings, while giving up one run on two hits and striking out four.  All-in-all not a bad opening outing for Maine.  He was followed by Dickey, Mejia, Igarashi and Feliciano, in that order.  Everyone pitched well today, especially Mejia and Feliciano.  Mejia went 3 innings again giving up only 2 hits, and striking out one, while Feliciano threw a perfect inning and K'd 2 batters.

Mejia is continues to impress me.  It is clear that this kid is tough to hit, but the knock on him has always been control.  So far this spring that hasn't been an issue, and as dominant as he has been, I think he's a year away from being an awesome starting pitcher for this organization. 

Meanwhile, Felicano also continues to pitch well, and makes me feel more and more confident in his ability to be this team's primary set-up man.  I like it...

At the dish, the Mets pounded Marlin pitching.  Chris Carter hit two homers, and drove in four runs, and also jumping in on the fun, with a homer, was Rod Barajas.  F-Mart and Ike Davis also hammered the ball today, both delivering two hits a piece.  Ike went 2-3 driving in two runs, and scoring a run.

There are a couple things I like here.  Carter's showing a little life now in the competition for the final bench spot.  F-Mart is quietly putting together a very, very nice spring.  I think now that Mejia is taking the spotlight off of Martinez he might be able to better perform to his abilities.  Mejia seems to have no problem being in the spotlight, in fact he seems to thrive, granted it is only spring.  Mejia has been the one with articles being written about him, not Martinez, and that seems to be feeding into both of their games. 

As for Ike Davis, I am officially in love with this guy.  He absolutely is killing the ball right now.  Everything he hits finds a gap and drives in runs.  BUT, I still feel strongly that he needs to go down to start the season.  He made another error today, his fourth of the spring, and I just don't think it's worth the Mets bringing him up just yet, when Murphy right now is the more reliable fielder. 

Overall, it's a nice day for the Mets when the kids hit like they did today...

Mets Hammer Nats 14-6: F-Mart, Ike Go Bonkers

Well the Mets did it again, and continued their one-dimensional spring by pounding out 20 hits against the Nats, but giving up 10 in a 14-6 win today.  The Mets pitchers (mostly Pelfrey) managed to give up 10 hits and 6 runs.  7 of the 10 Nationals hits came against Pelfrey, which I guess is a positive sign for anyone else who pitched today, but not so much for Pelfrey.  Check out the box score from today's game here.

On the happy front, F-Mart and Ike Davis mashed today.  F-Mart, who no one is really talking about this Spring, went 4-4 with two homers while driving in two runs, and scoring three.  Ike went 3-5 with two RBI and a run scored.  Also of note, Tejada went 2-4 with two RBI and Nieuwenhuis went 2-5 with two RBI and a run scored.

More happy news: Sean Green didn't suck today.  That's nice to see from him considering we weren't supposed to be worried about him this year, because of the hot streak he closed out last year on.  But, I guess that doesn't matter much...

As for the bad news, Pelfrey got hit...hard.  Pelfrey threw three innings and gave up 7 hits and 3 earned runs, and gave up a long ball to Eric Bruntlett.  Alright, Pelf, it's your first outting so I'll give you a pass, but ERIC BRUNTLETT?  COME ON!  The guy has 11 career homers in 7 seasons.  Please allow me to repeat that for emphasis...Eric Bruntlett has hit 11 career homers in 7 seasons...ugh.

The other piece of bad news is that Ike Davis made yet another error.  This, to me, validates Murphy at first base at least to start the season.  I understand Davis is young and will make errors, but I think he needs to start off in Buffalo this year with the alarming rate at which he's been making errors so far this spring.  This is Davis' 3rd error already.  I love the kid, and think he'll be great, but I think the Mets have the right idea by thinking Murphy should start the season as the first baseman...

Mets Win One, Lose One: Niese Looked Good, Mejia Awesome

Today the Mets split their games in split squad action, beating the Cardinals 7-3 (box score) and losing to the Marlins (box) 4-2 in 10 innings.

In the game against the Cardinals, Fernando Nieve started and went 3 innings, giving up one run.  Bobby Livingston, who pitched as well against the Braves, didn't fare so well today going 2 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits.  Nelson Figueroa finished the game throwing 4 innings of one-hit, shut out ball, while striking out 5. 

At the plate, F-Mart went 2-4 with a rbi and a run scored.  Also driving in runs were Francouer, Tatis, Riggans Pridie and Cattalanotto, who drove in two runs on a pinch-hit triple.  3 of the mets 7 runs were off of Brad Penny in the first two innings, and another 3 were off Mitchell Boggs later in the game.  Not a bad outting for the split squad.

At Tradition Field, the rest of the Mets fell to the Marlins as Bobby Parnell gave up a two-run homer to stud prospect Mike Stanton in the 10th.  Niese had another nice outing for the Mets tossing 2 and 2/3 innings, striking out 5 and giving up a run on 3 hits.  Niese was then replaced by Mejia, who looked AWESOME.  He pitched 2 and 1/3 innings striking out 4, and giving up no hits, no runs and no walks. Oh, and Feliciano pitched an inning and only gave up one hit, while striking a better out.  Once again, I want him to be the set-up guy...

At the plate, Bay went 1-3 with an RBI, while the other Mets run came off an error.  Although there wasn't all that much to cheer about at the plate for the Mets, Angel Pagan did show some nice hustle scoring on a two-out error on an infield grounder.  With Matthews doing it yesterday and Pagan today, it's nice to see the Mets putting a little effort out there.

Summary:

The pitching was clearly the high point today, with Nieve, Figueroa, Niese, Feliciano and Mejia all throwing well.

This was my first look at Mejia, and from what I saw, everything they say about him is true.  His fastball has tons of life, and was making Marlin hitters chase the ball out of the zone consistently.  He also threw a few dirty sliders that the Marlins had absolutely no chance on.

Mejia came on after Niese, who is starting to look like a major league pitcher to me.  He was in control, and did a fantastic job throwing mostly cutters today.  Niese said during an in-game interview with the booth, that the cutter was apparently was just something he messed around with until Rickey Bones (former Brewers pitcher, amongst other teams, and current Binghamton Mets pitching coach) told him to try it out.  Well, that was a great decision because that pitch looks great, and it makes Niese all the more difficult to face.

Overall, it was a nice day on the hill for the Mets on both fronts.  Now after yesterdays hitting display, it'd be nice to see them start putting them both together on the same day.  But, hey, it's still early yet... 

Mets Make a Bunch of Errors and Lose, But Young Guys Hit

The Mets fell apart in the late innings and ended up losing 9-5 to the Braves earlier today.  You can check out the box score from the game, here...

Eddie Kunz had a horrible outting, and put up one of the worst stat lines I have ever seen in a game: 1/3 of an inning pitched, 2 hits, 3 walks, 4 runs and an ERA of 108.00.  Kunz was one out away from his ERA being a symbol, and not a number.  I must admit, I kind of like it when that happens.  Apparently, he looked terrible.  It's one thing to look like you are throwing hard and putting up bad numbers, but another to look bad and get bad results.  I'm not very excited about this kid anymore, the way I was when the Mets first drafted him.  He's officially off my radar...

Also on the not-so-positive front, both Ike Davis and Josh Thole made errors today, which is probably why Murphy looks to start the season at first and the Mets signed Barajas.  Young players make mistake, I'm okay with it.  I just wish Thole's wasn't on a toss back to the pitcher...

On the positive side, F-Mart went 2-3 with an RBI triple, while Ike Davis went 1-2, Thole went 1-2 with an RBI and Russ Adams went 2-2 and continues his hot start to spring training (2 games in hitting 1.000).  Even Rod Barajas got into the action a bit.  After grounding into a double-play in his first at bat, he came back and got a hit in his other AB.  It's nice to see the team hit a bit, even if it was off of some double-A pitching...

This is only the second game, nothing to get excited about, BUT, it is nice to see the young guys hitting.  Mental mistakes and errors will happen, but the hitting is nice to see...