Mets Win 7-6 & Complete the Sweep of Florida, Santos To Be Sent Down

Today the Mets came back with a big, game-tying, three run homer off the bat of Jeff Francoeur and would eventually take the lead on an RBI double play groundout from Ike Davis which gave the Mets a 7-6 win over the Marlins today, and helped them sweep the series from Florida (box score/wrap).

It's about time the Mets did something against the Marlins who seem to have owned them up until this point in the season.  Tomorrow, the team will get a well-deserved day off before starting a three game set Tuesday against the Padres, their last NL opponent before going on to play their next 15 games against American league opponents (Baltimore, Cleveland, Yankees, Detroit and Minnesota).

Also of note, according to Anthony DiComo in an article for MLB.com, Omir Santos has been optioned back to Double-A after the game because of the news of Henry Blanco's back healing well.  According to DiComo the Mets won't need to make a move to fill that roster spot until Tuesday, but when they do, it is assumed that Jesus Feliciano will finally get the call.  About time.  Feliciano is only hitting like .400 at Triple-A and although some people think he's a Quad-A type player, two things are for sure: 1) He's better than GMJ, because anyone is. 2) He's definitely earned himself a chance to prove he can play on the big league level by hitting in Buffalo.  When the move to fill that roster spot does happen, I really hope it is Feliciano who gets the call.  Maybe he'll be the type of bench spark/reserve player the Mets need in the outfield...I'm excited.  Yes, I realize that it sounds stupid to be excited about a bench player, but when GMJ used to be that player, I think it's ok to be excited...

Mets Make Roster Moves: My Reactions

I need to address the roster moves the Mets made today.  I would have gotten to these moves earlier had my job not gotten in the way...

So, first thing's first, the Mets FINALLY DFA'D Gary Matthews Jr.  Part of me feels bad for Matthews because he seemed like a good teammate, unfortunately for him he's a terrible player and that's more important.  Now that I showed a little mercy, here it comes...about time.  Matthews was awful and was only really on the team because Jerry was afraid of not having a back up centerfielder.  So instead of calling up Jesus Feliciano, who's hitting close to .400 in Triple-A and plays centerfield, the organization decided to bring up Omir Santos because Blanco is hurting...

Let's stop right there...WHAT?

GMJ being the only guy on the roster capable of playing center fielder was the excuse that kept him around as long as he did, right?  So, when the Mets finally decided "enough was enough" with GMJ, they decided to bring up a catcher?  Is anyone as confused as I am?  I get that Blanco is banged up, but when Blanco was on the bereavement list a week or two ago Barajas played all the time, and Thole was useless.  So what is different now?  Why can't Barajas carry the load again?  If it's because Blanco is THAT hurt, why doesn't he go to the DL?  I am baffled.  The best part of this whole thing is that Jerry now says that Bay can play centerfield if need be.  Where has this been all year?

Before I get to Cashstealo, which I feel was a no-brainer decision, I want to look at Niese being activated tomorrow and try to figure out who gets sent down...

In this article, I mentioned earlier from Metsblog, there is potential for Mejia to be the guy sent down should Perez continue to refuse to take a minor league assignment.  This brings up a few things...

First, while I'd like it to be Mejia who is sent down because I want him to be a starter...I think the need to get Ollie off of the major league roster trumps the need to turn Mejia into a starter, at this point.  Especially considering how Dickey pitched tonight, and how he and Takahashi can easily transition to the bullpen.

I really hope it's going to be Ollie.  I'm not quite sure how it's going to happen, but I really think if the Mets are as frustrated as their fans are with Perez and if he doesn't accept a minor league assignment I a move should be made.  Perez is a distraction and a waste of an arm in the bullpen.  I would throw the minor league option at him one more time, or the organization should just take their lumps and admit Ollie was a bad contract.  That was tough for me to say, I still like Ollie's stuff when he's on...he just hasn't been on in a while.

Now, let's talk Cashstealo, who was playing hurt and NEEDED to go on the DL.  I mean, this guy was limping to the plate, in the field, while walking to first.  There is no doubt in my mind he's tough, and he's earned some respect from me for playing hurt (doesn't make me think he doesn't stink), but I think this was the right decision.

Looks like Ruben Tejada will get a serious look at second base.  I would love to see the kid get hot and never give up this spot, unfortunately, I really doubt that will happen.  Even if Tejada is out of his mind while Cashstealois on the DL, I just don't see the Mets not playing someone who makes $6 million.  For whatever that's worth...

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...

Coste Claimed By Nats, Santos Becomes Ultimate Back-Up

As reported by Brian Costa, on twitter, of the Nationals have claimed Chris Coste off of waivers.

So, it's safe to assume that Santos will be the back-up...the ultimate back-up.  Not only will Santos most likely be backing up Thole at Buffalo.  Now, it seems like if something happens to Barajas or Blanco, it's safe to assume Santos will be the first guy called up, especially if Barajas gets hurt.  If Barajas were to get hurt the Mets only option would be Santos based on prior experience and the fact that Thole isn't to be ready to be the starting catcher.

So, as much as I've been for dealing Santos, THAT CANNOT be an option right now...Because the Mets cannot afford to head into this season with Riggans second in line for that starter position....

Jon Paul Morosi's Trades That Make Sense

In another fun interactive article for FOXSports.com, Jon Paul Morosi talks about some end of spring trades that should happen because they just make too much sense.  In the article Morosi mentions one Mets player who should be dealt and one player the Mets should deal for...

Who Should Be Dealt:

Omir Santos.  Basically Morosi's argument is that Santos is expendable, and the Dodgers are hurting behind the plate with both Russell Martin and Brad Ausmus less than 100 percent.  Santos, if he isn't dealt will most likely be sent to triple-A where he will take innings away from Josh Thole and wait-in-the-wings should something happen to Barajas.  It seems to me that it would make sense to keep Santos around in terms of organizational depth in case Barajas does get hurt.  However, should Blanco get hurt, I would prefer to see Riggans or Coste brought up to back up Barajas.  The situation changes based on the injury.  So far, it seems like Thole would not be ready to take the starting reigns should Barajas go down right now, and if that did happen, Santos would be the best option to bring up and be the team's starter in Barajas' absence.

So while I was, and have been, a proponent of moving Santos, I am actually against it right now.  If only for what would happen if Barajas got hurt.  Because this spring proved me wrong, and now I see that Thole is not ready, and the Mets don't have other starting options...


Who The Mets Should Deal For:

Scott Downs. This guy is awesome.  This may be a fantasy bias talking here (had him last year and loved him), but his numbers last year (outside his injury) were very solid (3.09 ERA and 43 K's in 46 innings).  He's a good left-handed set-up man who can step in an close if need be.  The Mets currently could really use the set-up man, and another left-handed arm to save Feliciano's.  As Morosi says, "If he's around, maybe Pedro Feliciano (major-league-high 88 appearances last year) will be able to brush his teeth left-handed 10 years from now."  True that...

So, while I agree that the Mets could use Downs, and should get him if he's available, I'm a little afraid of dealing Santos.  That's mostly due to the obscene amount of  injuries the Mets had last season, and the fear that has implanted within me.

I'm just sayin'...

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...

Mets Look to Add Another Lefty, Trade Santos

In a post to his Daily News Blog, Adam Rubin writes about the Mets bullpen situation and catcher glut. 

According to Rubin, yesterdays signing of Calero is not keeping the Mets from looking into another lefty to match up with Feliciano.  Rubin says the Mets"appear to prefer Joe Beimel over fellow free agent Ron Mahay. Still, the offers are lowball, with Mahay only offered a minor-league deal."  At this point, low-balling is not a bad thing in my mind in that, had these guys been offered better deals they probably would have jumped on them by now.  Regardless, I think a second lefty is a great idea, and would go a long way towards proving my theory, that the team will use Feliciano as their primary set-up man.

In the same article Rubin talks about Santos and Coste as trade possibilities for the Mets later on in camp.  Rubin specifically mentions the Orioles and Rangers as two teams who may have interest, mainly because of the youth both teams currently have behind the plate.  Although I think Santos is probably a better player than Coste, and would bring back a slightly better return, I can see Coste being the one who is dealt.  It's be basically for the same reasons we were told the Mets got him.  Coste could serve as a mentor to Salty/Teagarden in Texas or Weiters in Baltimore.  But Rubin tends to think that Omir would be the one out the door, and also throws out the option that Coste's ability to play other positions could allow the Mets to keep three catchers at Triple-A.  Interesting...

Either way, whichever catcher isn't dealt will probably stick around and help Thole out at Triple-A, while Rubin projects Shawn Riggans to go to Binghamton and get some playing time there.  One way or the other, someone's getting traded or sent down to Binghamton.  I guess how they play this spring will be the deciding factor...  

Mets Beat Cardinals 17-11: Good News, Bad News

The Mets beat the Cardinals today by the final score of 17-11.  You can check out the box score, here. This game came with some good news and some bad news...

Good News:

Gary Matthews, David Wright and Ike Davis went deep for the Mets.  Matthews was a solid shot.  It was nice to see him still have a little pop in that bat.  Wright's homer was struck well too, but most likely would have been a double into, or next to, the Mo-Zone at CitiField.  Ike Davis hit a grand slam, and it was a no doubter.  Nice to see some pop out of the line-up today.  Especially from Davis.

Castillo drove in a run in the first and stole a base.  Now, while I don't like Luis, clearly the Mets are stuck with him.  I wish him the best.  As long as he's getting hits and scoring runs, and not making errors, I'll deal with it.

Francouer was 1-3 but was very aggressive at the plate and looked confident. 

Also, Omir Santos is increasing his trade value (I hope) by going 3-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.  Either he's audition for a job somewhere else, or Thole is heading to double-A if he keeps playing like that.

During the game, Jose Reyes was cleared by doctors to step on the field, and hopefully will be in the line-up tomorrow.

Bad News:

The team gave up 11 runs, so it's obvious the pitching wasn't so hot...

R.A. Dickey gave up 5 earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched, but managed to not be the worst Mets pitcher on the day.

That honor belongs to Sean Green who was just plain awful.  Green gave up 4 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits and 3 walks.  I can safely say I don't want to see him as the set-up man if he's going to throw duds out there like he did today.


Ike Davis made an error in his second straight game. 


Summary:

It wasn't always pretty but we saw some nice stuff today.  I'm a little dissapointed we didn't see Jenrry Mejia today, but hey, there's always tomorrow...