Roster Cuts, and Why These Moves Are Terrible

Metsblog reported yesterday that the Mets made some cuts after last night's game in St. Petersburg against the Rays, here.  According to Cerrone, Chris Carter, Nelson Figueroa, Kiko Calero, Bobby Parnell, Russ Adams and Elmer Dessens will not make the opening day roster.

The fallout from these moves bother me more than the moves themselves.  Here's my beef:

This most likely means Mejia will make the 'pen, which really bothers me because I think it will stunt his development as a starter. 

Ruben Tejada will now make the opening day roster, and then will be sent down within a week...stupid.

There is the potential of the Mets carrying three lefties in the 'pen, Takahashi, Valdez and Feliciano.  This is annoying because it's my understanding that if they all were to make the 'pen that Valdez would be the specialist while Takahashi is probably the long man, and Feliciano would split set-up duties, possibly with Mejia.  But if you're bringing the rookie north with you, wouldn't it be because you think he will ACTUALLY have an impact, as the set-up man.  Not just to say he was brought up.

And finally, the first base situation.  Now that Carter is out, which makes absolutely no sense to me, it seems like we're looking at a Tatis/Jacobs platoon.  That's awful.  Tatis is the worst.  Can't they go get Lowell now or something.  Anything to get Tatis out of a starting role. 

Carter and Figueroa got jobbed.  They both played well enough in the spring to make the team.  It's crap that they both didn't but worse that Carter didn't.  He was the best offensive force, arguably, the Mets had all spring.

That's my beef and I'm sticking to it...

Why Do the Mets Seem to Value Depth Over Ability and the Long Term?

All spring we've been hearing about the bench battles, and bullpen battles,  and how they will affect the Mets opening day roster.  Through all of this talk, one thing has become clear...

The Mets seem to value depth over ability and the long term.

The team seems willing to start the season with Mejia on the opening day roster, which makes little sense when considering the future of Jenrry Mejia himself.  If his stuff is so good, and top-of-the-rotation starters are so hard to find, then why is the team "starting the clock" on him and at the same time slowing his development as a starter, by putting him in the bullpen.  It seems counter-productive in the long-term...

Another player the Mets seem content on starting the clock early for is Ruben Tejada.  He's a guy who despite Jose Reyes' projected return 5 games into the season, is also strongly being considered for the opening day roster..WHY?  He'll just be sent down after a week.  Is it worth it?  Why not just bring up Russ Adams for a week and then pass him through waivers then?  Isn't Tejada's future worth more than Russ Adam's present?

At the same time, the Mets seem unwilling to keep "depth guys" off of the opening day roster, due to a fear of them not clearing waivers, or accepting minor league assignment.  These players include guys like Nieve, Figueroa, Mike Jacobs (before the Murphy injury) and Frank Catalanotto.  But then again, when it comes to Chris Carter, the Mets seem more wiling to let the guy go to Triple-A despite him being one of the best hitters this spring just because he has an option left.  It seems like him having an option trumps his ability to help the team.  Another mind-boggling concept.  I thought you want to put your best team out there, while protecting your future.  I guess I was wrong...

Overall, I think the thing I'm most confused about is how the team can reconcile the idea of starting some young players on the opening day roster when it doesn't make sense, and potentially putting veterans on who haven't earned it.  It seems like the logic isn't all there. 

Why should the Mets protect marginal players from waivers, while wasting options on their young players to fill temporary roster spots?  I don't get it.

I understand last year's lack of depth was a killer.  But I think last year was the exception not the rule.  And although it's great to be prepared, and have depth, it should not come at the expense of putting the best product on the field for opening day, and for the next couple opening days to come...

Mets Defeat Marlins 6-3 Behind Homers From Bay, Wright and Carter

Today the Mets defeated the Marlins 6-3 (box score), and were aided by a little extra power.  Bay, Wright and Carter all homered for the Mets, Carter as a pinch-hitter, and all of those homers were hit off of Josh Johnson.  Those deep drives coupled with an RBI for Omir Santos, were enough to put the Mets over top today.  Jacobs also looked pretty good today going 2-4 from the plate with two doubles, although one of them was aided by the ball getting by the CF after an attempted dive.

With the news today of Murphy being day-to-day but being spotted with a limp, I think it may be fair to say that Jacobs should be tabbed as the Mets opening day first baseman.  Potentially with the idea of carrying both him and Carter on the roster to start the season.  Especially if the other option is bringing up Ike for a week.  I think I'd rather let him go down and get going in Buffalo and let the Mets rough it out for a week or so with Carter and Jacobs.  At least, that's what I think at this point...

Back to the game...On the hill Figgy looked good, going three innings and only giving up three singles.  Along with Figgy, all of Valdez, Parnell, Takahashi and Feliciano, threw scoreless innings of work.  And the thing I think the Mets got most out of today was that Feliciano and Takahashi were able to work around walks and have fine outtings. 

The only damage done today against the Mets were in Mejia's two innings of work, in which he gave up two hits and three runs, although all runs were unearned.  The biggest reason for Mejia's line was a fly ball dropped by Pagan that allowed two runs to score with two outs in the inning, after Russ Adams had already committed an error earlier in the inning.  Mejia then walked the next batter after the Pagan drop, most likely due to him feeling like he needed to strike everyone out, or else he'd be on the mound forever.

Mejia looked fine today, from a stuff standpoint, but seemed to lose his cool a bit when errors were made behind him.  While I realize that even the best pitchers do that sometimes, it can definitely be seen as an example as to why this kid needs more seasoning in the minors.

Meanwhile, Jose Reyes was playing in another minor league game and went 1-5 with a double for the second straight day.  Once again my dad was using his handheld home video camera to get Reyes' at bats over at the minor league game.  There's nothing I like more than watching games through a chain-link fence.  I'm kidding, I know that field isn't set up for that, and that's probably the best they can do, but either way, it's funny to watch that on a cable network...

Anywho...More Mets action tomorrow at 12:10 against the Nationals on SNY...

Figgy Looks to be Bullpen Bound, Takahashi as well: Who's Left Out?

So according to Marty Noble on mlb.com, here, it's starting to look like Nelson Figueroa will be on the Mets opening day roster, coming out of the bullpen.  Noble says, "Two people among the club's decision-makers indicated as much before the Mets engaged the Marlins here Friday, before Figueroa, deployed as a starter, provided the kind of performance that makes staff-savers necessary." 

So it looks like Figueroa was counted in, as long as his performance against the Marlins yesterday didn't kill his chances.  It's not easy to go into every outting thinking you need to be perfect, so maybe the Mets will cut Figgy some slack, for once, and give him what he's earned this spring, a spot pn the team. 

And according to David Waldstein, in this article on Hisanori Takahashi, here, it looks like he's in as well.  Waldstein says, "According to two people in baseball with knowledge of the Mets’ plans, Takahashi has made the team barring a disaster in Saturday’s start or some unforeseen trade. But he will almost certainly be a reliever when the team breaks camp, not a starter, because the team has all but named Jon Niese its No. 5 starter."

So there we have it.  Looks like Figgy and Takahashi are in, which makes it seem to me, that  at least one of Parnell, Green and Nieve are out.  Assume that K-Rod, Feliciano and Igarashi are locks.  Apparently Takahashi and Figgy are now in as well.  Add those 5 to the starters, and there are only potential two spots left on a 12 man staff.  That leaves Mejia, Misch, Green, Parnell, Calero and Nieve for two spots.  With the way Misch has been pitching and the idea that the Mets don't necessarily see Takahashi as a lefty specialist, that is an option.  Then there is Calero who's been pitching well, but not as much as Green, Nieve and Parnell.

So my prediction, should the Mets decided to carry 12 pitchers, is that Nieve and Misch will be in, while Calero gets more work in Florida and waits in the wings.  Green and Parnell will probably get sent down or traded.  While the Mets will do the right thing and Mejia will probably be sent down to be a starter at Binghamton.  So that would leave my projected bullpen as, Figgy, Feliciano, Igarashi, Takahashi, K-Rod, Misch and Nieve.  Thats a nice bunch of arms, but also a group of guys who are slightly out of place.  Outside of K-Rod, Feliciano and Igarashi the rest of that group is starters who couldn't cut it.  I'm slightly concerned about that.  But no one ever said you needed to be a reliever to be good at relief pitching.

I am still very intrigued with the potential of how this bullpen will shape up, especially with these reports that Takahashi and Figgy are probably included.  Those two guys have earned it, but the question remains, who else does the team think earned it this spring.  

Wright Goes Deep, Figgy Gets Bombed as Mets/Marlins Finish 8-8

Today the Mets tied the Marlins 8-8 in 10 innings today, thanks to the hitting of David Wright and Alex Cora, and the pitching of Nelson Figueroa (box score).

Wright went deep in the third, and finished the day 2-3 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, while Alex Cora went deep as well, while going 2-5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.  Also adding to the Mets offensive power today were Pagan, Murphy, Francouer and Castillo, who all drove in runs as well.

As for on the hill, Nelson Figueroa might have lost his chance at the opening day roster, as slim as his chances were.  A guy like Figgy has everything going against him, and could not afford to do what he did today if he wanted to make the team.  Figgy went 2 and 2/3 innings giving up 7 runs on 8 hits.  On the brighter side, Jenrry Mejia threw 1 and 1/3 innings only giving up one run.  The rest of the Mets who pitched today Misch, Feliciano, Valdez and Nieve threw scoreless innings only allowing 5 hits combined over the final 6 innings.

Not a good day for Figgy.  It looks like the Mets are going to just have to hope he passes through waivers, one more time...

Francouer Goes Deep, Ollie Shows Something, As Mets Down Braves 7-6

Today the Mets defeated the Braves 7-6 (box score) at Tradition Field.

Ollie Perez got himself into some trouble in the first and then seemed to recover, finishing 4 and 1/3 innings with 3 runs allowed on 5 hits and 4 walks.  Although the walks and hits were high today, Perez didn't implode like we've seen him do in the past.  This was by no means a good performance from Perez, but, if this is him at his worst this season, that would be a great improvement over last season.  It'd be nice to know that everytime something bad goes wrong for him Ollie won't go directly into the toilet.  That is an improvement...

As for the rest of the staff today, Mejia and Igarashi were solid, while Green and Parnell struggled again.  It's becoming more and more clear to me that this bullpen should include Takahashi and Figueroa, and the Mets should deal Green, and put Parnell in the minors to start the season.  Neither Green nor Parnell are throwing well, and combined with Figgy and Takahashi throwing lights out this spring...I think the answer is obvious.  Also, that would allow Mejia to go to Binghamton and learn to be the top-of-the-rotation guy the Mets needs more than an eighth inning guy...

At the plate, Francouer went 1-2 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Wright and Castillo stole bases (one for Wright, two for Castillo - even though he got a favorable call on one).  Murphy threw up another goose egg, while Jacobs had a two-RBI hit...Interesting...

Overall it was more a bad day in the field for the Braves than a good day at the plate for the Mets who scored two runs on an errand pick off at third, which scored Castillo and Wright (on an excellent hustle play).  And an RBI hit by Bay, which should have been fielded by Yunel Escobar.

Regardless, wins build confidence, and by all accounts this was a win...

Carter, Figueroa: Opening Day Roster Hopefuls Worth Rooting For

In two separate articles for The Record, Steve Popper identifies two Mets who have been outplaying their competition but still manage to be on the outside looking in at a spot on the opening day roster, Chris Carter and Nelson Figueroa.

In this article, Popper talks about Carter's attitude towards having a second chance at the bigs after last year's quick stint with the Red Sox, and the dissapointment of being blocked by the Yankees on waivers after the Wagner deal last summer.  Popper quotes Carter as saying, "You get one chance sometimes...You have to take it."  So far this spring Carter has taken it, "Entering Sunday's B-squad game with a .385 average and three home runs, Carter went 3-for-3." 

To me, it would seem like a no-brainer to keep Carter over Jacobs, who has struggled at the plate and is less versatile in the field than Carter, if Murphy was having a better spring.  But the reality is that Murphy is struggling and the Mets seem more willing to enter the season with a more established player (Jacobs) ready to take over should Murphy struggle, than they are going into the season with Murphy, Carter and Tatis jockeying for playing time.  Although I don't disagree with this logic, I don't completely buy into it either.  The team has spent all spring saying Murphy is the starter and that the bench competition is just that, an open competition, but as the spring wears on and Murphy remains inconsistent it seems more and more like they had a plan from the start and it doesn't involve Murphy or Carter...

In the other article I spoke about earlier Popper discusses Nelson Figueroa and his circumstances surrounding a potential opening day roster spot.  Popper says that despite his scoreless line this spring that Figueroa's shot at making the Mets is not a good one, based on the other talent and numbers around him...

Popper quotes Figueroa as saying, "You wonder, who's the one that's holding you back; whose eyes aren't open...I think the staff who saw me day in and day out last year, they believe enough in me that I was kept on the roster, and you hope it's for a reason other than keeping me from going anywhere else." 

Figgy deserves to make this team, but at the same time I don't see where he fits in.  Personally, I think Niese is having a little more trouble this spring than I hoped he would, as is Nieve, while Takahashi has been much better than advertised and Sean Green and Parnell have struggled.  So, what do you do?

The answer SHOULD be to carry Figgy as a long-reliever, Takahashi as the lefty-specialist (despite his dominating performances) and use Nieve in the 'pen, while Niese gets the number 5 starter gig to start the season and Green and Parnell (who have options) work out their problems in the minors, or get dealt.  Green I think has lost whatever he had in Seattle, and should be dealt, while it seems more likely to me that Parnell just needs more time to develop. 

But that's probably NOT what the Mets will do.  They'll probably make Niese the fifth starter, keep Nieve, Green and Parnell in the 'pen and send Takahashi to the minors along with Figgy, as an attempt to keep all of these arms.  Bad idea, because this time, I'm not so confident Figgy will clear waivers.  Which is something he would have to do to come back to the Mets. 

All-in-all I think Figueroa has the right outlook on things, as Popper quotes Figgy as saying, "It's very hard for there to be room on opening day."  I think both these players know that, and when given their opportunities will do their best to stay there, unfortunately for Figgy, he's had opportunities and produced, and it hasn't mattered. 

Regardless, as the final push towards opening day is happening and the rosters shrink, answers will be had, and mistakes made.  Unfortunately, I think the Mets will be making two mistakes this spring, leaving both Carter and Figueroa off thier opening day roster...

Mets beat Wolverines 8-1, Rained Out Against Astros

An article for the Newark Star-Ledges recaps Mets action today, here.  The Mets team that traveled to Kissimee to play the Astros didn't get much game in before the rain claimed the day.  Sounds like this game will not be re-played, and that's fine.

As for the half that did play against the University of Michigan, Chris Carter and Figgy ruled the day.  Figgy went three innings giving up only one run, while Carter went three-for-three this afternoon.  Also of note, Henry Blanco and Alejandro Machado drove in two runs each.

Mostly, I'm just impressed with Chris Carter here, although there is the argument that they played a college team...

So I'm mostly indifferent on today...

In the Battle for Fifth Starter, Nothing Is Close To Decided

In an article for the Newark Star-Ledger, as relayed by Michael Baron of Metsblog, Brian Costa discussion the state of the Mets fifth starter battle.  Costa states, "Much will depend on how Niese fares over the next three weeks, since the Mets would prefer to have a promising prospect win the job, all things being equal." 

I don't doubt that the Mets want Niese to win this competition because at the least it looks better to have your highly touted prospect enter the season as the fifth starter over a journeyman, of sorts.  But in this competition neither Niese nor Nieve has differentiated themselves from their competitor, to the point where they have almost matched performances over the last few outings.  The one thing I like that Manuel has been doing is throwing them on the same day, against the same teams in order to get the most honest results in their competition. 

This fifth starter competition with determine more than just who gets the ball every fifth day.  It will also have a serious impact on who is the last body in the Mets bullpen.  To this point, in the article Costa states, "Manuel said the result of the fifth starter competition will dictate where Nieve or Takahashi might fit into the bullpen."  Costa then goes on to point out that Nieve is the only of the involved parties who is out of options. 

I don't think that should Nieve lose out in the competition, his lack of options should matter.  To me, this is his shot and if it doesn't work out you either try to trade him or hope he clears waivers and send him back to Buffalo.  Also, unless the Mets deal Parnell or Green, it seems like they only have one spot left in the bullpen, and I don't know how you put Takahashi in the minors, considering how he's pitching.  To me, this competition from Nieve's point of view is looking more and more like fifth starter or bust...

Unfortunately, there's one huge issue I have with Costa's article...

Costa never seems to consider the dark horse in this competition, Nelson Figueroa.  I realize people don't see Figueroa as a serious contender here, but I don't know how he can't be.  He hasn't given up a run yet this spring and has looked great doing it.  Also, this guy has a great team first attitude, but like I mentioned before he's a journeyman-type and it almost looks like a defeat if the Mets break camp relying on him every fifth day.  Regardless if you're trying to win, you have to put out your best team, no matter who it is.  I think at the least Figgy deserves to be in the discussion, and should be considered a serious candidate.  Although, I must admit I am not ready to go completely behind Figgy, if nothing else but the upside the kid has.  It's for that reason...

For now, I vote Takahashi in the 'pen and Niese in the rotation, but not by much.  And I'm another mediocre start by Niese and another great outing from Figgy from changing my mind...

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...

Mets Fall to the Braves 7-6: Niese & Nieve Match Outings, Figgy Great Again

The Mets fell to the Braves today in Disney, 7-6 in 10 innings (box score). 

Highlights:

- Nelson Figueroa threw another 2 scoreless innings, while giving up only 1 hit and striking out a batter.

- Chris Carter drove in 4 of the Mets 6 runs, scored twice, and hit a homer.

- Russ Adams continues to murder the ball, going 2-4 with an RBI and a triple, raising his spring average to .600.

- Parnell threw a perfect inning, striking out two.

Lowlights:

- Niese and Nieve both had bad outings.  Niese went 2 innings giving up 3 runs, on 3 hits and 2 walks.  Nieve, meanwhile, went 3 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, and 2 walks.

What To Take From The Day:

While both Niese and Nieve struggled a bit today, Nelson Figueroa did not.  Figueroa is looking to make on push on the 5th starter gig, and has been making some nice headway on it.  With Niese and Nieve both struggling today and cancelling each other out with similar performances, it was nice for Figgy's opening day chances to keep pitching well. 

Although I like Figgy, I doubt he's got a spot on the opening day roster barring some major break down from Niese and Nieve, because of the three Figgy is the least valuable to the team.  NOW, before you freak out, let me explain why.  It is believed that there are two staff positions up for grabs, 5th starter and set-up.  Of the three, Niese has the best upside as a starter, in that he's the young guy with a high ceiling.  To me, Niese is most likely to start the year as the 5th starter.  Nieve, on the otherhand, probably has the best ability to strike people out, which is very valuable out of the pen.  That would leave Figgy as the odd-man out.  Since Figgy is older, and doesn't strike out many batters, it's hard to see him fitting into the Mets plans for opening day unless Niese really struggles, which outside of today, he hadn't really done yet this spring. 

It seems to me that Figgy's only shot to make the opening day roster is to completely outperform Niese, and steal the 5th starter's job.  He's pitching well enough to do that now, and if that continues, will make for an interesting story-line for the rest of spring...

Niese Starting Against Braves, Mets Traveling Light Today

Here's the line-up for today's Mets/Braves game in Disney, according to Adam Rubin of the Daily News:

Pridie, cf
Tejada, 2b
Murphy, 1b
Hessman, 3b
Carter, dh
Santos, c
Nieuwenhuis, rf
Cabrera, lf
Adams, ss

This line-up doesn't really do all that much for me, although it would be interested to see if Omir Santos can keep his trade value up.  Also, it'd be nice to see what Chris Carter and Daniel Murphy do at the plate today.

The more important aspect of today's game, to me, is the pitching, which will feature, Jon Niese starting with Figueroa, Nieve, Parnell, Kunz and Niesen also making the trip. 

It's interesting that the Mets would send Figgy, Nieve and Niese all on the same trip considering they are the three top candidates for the number 5 spot in the rotation, along with Takahashi.  So far this spring it's been tough to ignore how well Niese, Figgy and Takahashi have been throwing.  That's not to say Nieve has been bad, because he hasn't.  He just hasn't been as good as the other three.  I think today will provide these pitchers the opportunity to face the same line-up, for the most-part (until substitutions are made), and will be an interesting point of comparison for these pitchers.

Mets Win 6-5: Ike Doubles, Takahashi K's 6, Francouer Has a Gun, and Omir Is Hitting

Alright here's a quick summary of what was important about the Mets 6-5 victory over the Nationals today:

Oliver Perez got hit, hard.  I didn't like seeing that, but I was encouraged that he was around the plate the whole time.  My only concern now is that somehow he's lost stuff by focusing on "pounding the zone", I guess only time will tell on that one.

There were some good things to take from today's game:

Takahashi looked awesome.  In his debut he went 3 innings, giving up just one hit and striking out six.  A very similar performance to the one Figueroa put up the other day.  The only difference being that Figueroa faced a tougher line-up (This sentence is dedicated to an anonymous comment on a previous post of him, who felt I didn't give Figgy enough cred for his performance against the Birds.  I hope that makes ammends).  Pat Misch also had a pretty nice outing, giving up 3 hits in 3 innings while striking out 3.  Very consistent from Misch, who I like more and more as days go by...

Jeff Francouer gunned out Pete Orr and Kevin Mench trying to score.  Very impressive stuff, I love his arm.
Also, Ike Davis doubled again.  I'm starting to fall in love with him, and might consider getting two jerseys.  Jeff Francouer and Ike Davis...

BUT, the highlight of the game was Omir Santos' inside-the-park grandslam, which if Willy Taveras wasn't a moron would have been a two-run double.  For those of you who didn't see it, Santos hit a grounder down the third base line that found its way under a fence, but Taveras instead of putting his hands up tried to dig it out allowing the play to continue.  In general he was very timid about trying to get the ball, almost seeming undecided as to what to do, and that was what allowed Santos to score.

To Santos' credit he's been hitting so far this spring, which makes him a nice asset for the Mets should they decide to move him later this spring.  Which I think is the right move, considering the glut of catchers the Mets have.  It might give him an opportunity to play somewhere else, while allowing the Mets to move on in their development of catchers...

Overall, it was a pretty nice game for the Mets, I just wish I could have said the same about Ollie...

Best News About Ollie's Start, He Faced Marquis

The best news about Oliver Perez's start today was that he faced Jason Marquis.  Perez got smacked by the high-powered Nationals line-up, while Jason Marquis is not fairing much better.  The box score is being updated live, here, if you're not watching the game on PIX11 in New York.

The best thing that can be said about Perez's start is that he faced Jason Marquis who was also terrible today.  Mets fans can at least see that Marquis was not necessarily a better option just yet.  Performance-wise Marquis and Perez both gave up 5 runs, BUT the difference was that Perez actually didn't walk that many guys, his usual problem.  Marquis walked 3, while Perez only walked one.  On the other hand Perez gave up 7 hits, while Marquis gave up 3.

Like Ronnie and Ralph Kiner have been saying during the game, at least Perez was around the plate today.  It's early enough in the spring that I'm not worried about Perez getting hit, but am much more worried about his walks.

I'm not too concerned just yet, but there are other options around should Perez continue not to perform well, especially with the way Figueroa has been pitching.  Also, Takahashi looked pretty good today, too.

I'm just sayin...

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...