Tough Outing From Takahashi As Mets Fall 7-6

Last night, the Marlins put up a 6 spot in the third inning on Takahashi, but the Mets fought back to tie it in the ninth, only to give the game back on a walk-off hit and lose 7-6 (box score/wrap).

It was nice to see the team fight back late, especially the big game-tying hit from Josh Thole in the ninth.  But, it's games like those where you really should win.  The team made a heck of an effort to tie it up, but that game needs to get finished off.

Takahashi was roughed up, giving up 6 runs and 9 hits in 5 2/3 innings.  After Takahashi was removed the bullpen held things down, until the ninth when Pedro Feliciano gave up the game winning hit to Dan Uggla.  If nothing else, we've learned that Takahashi has done a great job for the Mets, BUT that teams look to be catching up to him.  He probably shouldn't be a starter for much longer, and with all these Cliff Lee rumors floating around, he may not need to be...

Tonight the Mets try to avoid the sweep in Puerto Rico before heading to Washington for a four game set, which is no easy task considering the success both the Marlins and Nationals have had over the Mets this season.  The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey to the mound against Chris Volstad to try to get it done.

Let's Go Mets.

Great Team Performance as Mets Win 5-2

Tonight was a great example of how the Mets have become a complete team, in their 5-2 win tonight over the Twins (box score).

Pelfrey pitched great today after giving up a lead off bomb to Denard Span.  I was a little concerned after the homer that we were looking at another tough outing for Big Pelf, but he rebounded well and went 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. After perfect innings in the 7th (Parnell) and the 8th (Feliciano), K-Rod made things very interesting before he shut the door.  Tonight was yet another example of why K-Rod should keep his opinions about his own team, specifically the bullpen, to himself.  Tonight they preserved the lead for him, no problem.  He then immediately went out and put the tying run at the plate before retiring the final two batters to save the game.  I like K-Rod, but I like him better when he's not talking...

At the plate, the Mets did the good job, again.  Led by Wright going 2-3 with a homer and 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored.  Bay, Davis and Reyes also drove in runs, while Ruben Tejada extended his hit streak to 9 games, just narrowly missing his first career homer.  Tejada is hitting .264 on the year, and made a great play in the field today.  Did I mention that this was a great idea, to play this kid and eliminate Cashstealo?  Man, last year injuries killed the Mets but this year, "injuries" have forced management to make the RIGHT moves...

Tomorrow the Mets look for their second consecutive series win, when they send Santana to the hill against Carl Pavano.  I'll be at the game, should be fun.

Let's go Mets.

Mets Infield Hit and Hustle Their Way to 7-6 Win

Despite K-Rod giving up an absolute BOMB in the ninth inning to make the game a bit too close for my liking, the Mets managed to hold on tonight to beat the Indians 7-6 in Cleveland (box score).

Tonight the Mets hustled, and took advantage of Indian mistakes that lead to 4 of the team's 7 runs tonight.  David Wright finished the game 3-5 with 3 RBI, all of Wright's RBI were driven in on infield shit.  One RBI in particular scored because of a fantastic hustle play from Reyes who was plated from second on an infield grounder that Wright beat out.  Reyes took off on the play and rounded third without stopping to come around and beat the relay from first baseman after Wright beat out the grounder for a hit.  Two of the Mets other runs scored off of a bomb to center field off the bat of Ike Davis.  Davis' homer was in the air for what seemed like forever and what looked like a routine fly ball eventually carried out over the center field fence.  It wasn't a pretty win tonight, but the Mets capitalized on Indian mistakes, and isn't that what good teams do? Beat up on bad teams and take advantage of mistakes?  Does that mean the Mets are a good team?  I think so...

On the hill tonight, Johan Santana got some much needed run support because he wasn't at his best at the beginning of the game.  Santana ended up going 7 innings giving up 4 runs on 7 hits.  Then Pedro Feliciano came in and walked the lead off man, but he shut down the Indians for the remainder of the inning to pass the ball off to K-Rod.  K-Rod decided to make things interesting by giving up 2 hits, including a 2-run homer to Shelly Duncan in the ninth to make things close.  K-Rod then got a fly out to Bay to end the game.

The Mets look to stay hot tomorrow against these same Indians when they send Jon Niese to the hill against Mitch Talbot for the Indians. 

No pressure, but the Mets are in a position to take this series and keep beating up on the AL bottom-dwellers, which is something they NEED to do before they have a tough stretch of games against the Yankees, Tigers and Twins.  It's not that I don't think the team can win every night, because I think they can (an interesting feeling I haven't had in some time), it's just the cautious part of the optimist making it's way out.  Anyway...Let's Go Mets.

How Sweep It Is

This past week's series against the Phillies could not have gone any better for the Mets, combinating in last night's 3-0 (box score/wrap) which has brought them within two games of first place in the NL East.

Not only did the Mets sweep the Phillies, but they did it without giving up a single run in the entire series.  That is impressive.  Not to downplay what the Mets did, but I think the Philly offense deserves some of that credit as they've only scored 3 runs in their past 5 games, 4 of which they were shut out in.  Either way the Mets brought the bats, and some fine pitching, which really drove them in this series.

Pelfrey was awesome last night throwing 7 shut out innings giving up only 3 hits, although he did walk 5 batters.  The Mets continued some fantastic pitching after Pelfrey left the game with solid innings from both Feliciano and K-Rod to close out the game.  This staff is looking very, very good right now...

And the revival of Reyes continues, as his great series continued last night with a 3-4 night including a huge two run double to extend the Met lead to 3-0.  Jason Bay had the other RBI in last night's game.  Reyes has been awesome of late, and it's not a coincidence that the team has been rolling when Reyes is...

Tonight the Mets will be in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers at 8:10, sending Johan Santana to the hill to face Yovani Gallardo as the Mets look to continue their winning ways.  Let's go Mets.

Maine Good, Offense Bad in Clutch as Mets Fall to Nats 3-2

Tonight Maine was good again, but the offense didn't show up when it mattered and the Mets fell to the Nats in the first game of the series 3-2 (box score).

The Mets were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and didn't give Maine much run support as the rookie Luis Atilano and five other National pitchers kept the Mets off balance when it matters most.  Tonight the Mets offense had 12 hits, but was only able to muster two runs.  One was on a two out single from the Mets second baseman, and the other was a ninth inning bomb off the bat of Angel Pagan.

Also of note, Reyes was tossed for arguing balls and strikes, as was Jerry.  I think the Mets should take the ump's lead and toss Jerry out of his office...Oh, and they should get a real bench too while they're at it.  GMJ and Catalanotto stink.  I'm sorry, they're terrible.  Also, I know Bay has done it before in Boston, but he has been anti-clutch so far this season and it's starting to get really tough to watch him hit in clutch situations with EVERYONE waiting for his defining Mets moment.

On a more positive note, John Maine had his third consecutive good start.  Tonight he allowed 7 hits over 6 innings, but only 2 runs (both solo homers) and managed to strike out five.  Takahashi threw a scoreless inning in the seventh in relief of Maine.  Unfortunately, Feliciano had a rough outing allowing a run in a third of an inning allowing the Nats to stretch out their lead to 3-1.  But Mejia then came in to relieve Feliciano and shut the door for the remaining inning and 2/3.

Well, it's just one game, so the Mets need to regroup and win the next two games to take the series.  Tomorrow it will be Niese on the hill for the Mets and Olsen for the Nats.  Game is at 7:10 on SNY.

Neyer Discusses Saving K-Rod for Last

In an interesting article for ESPN.com Rob Neyer answers a tough question from a Mets fan concerned about Jerry's handling of the bullpen (specifically K-Rod) in extra innings this past week.

In the article the question is posed to Neyer as to why the Mets didn't use K-Rod more in extra innings of the Reds series.  To which Neyer responds with a detailed log of who the Mets used and when, when K-Rod has been used lately, and then launches into a discussion about extra inning bullpen usage as the away team.  In specifc Neyer talks about the issue of having the potential to need the closer on the road in extra innings and how that seems to handcuff managers.

In the end Neyer comes down against "waiting for the save situation that might never arrive."  While, on the whole, I agree with this theory, it's never that simple.  There's pitcher usage, situations and other factors to should be taken more into account when talking about extra inning usage. 

Let's take a look at the Mets/Reds bullpen usage for the series for instance...

According to Neyer, "Monday night, Oliver Perez pitched six innings and was succeeded by Jenrry Mejia, Fernando Nieve, Pedro Feliciano, and finally Manny Acosta in the 11th, when Cincinnati's Laynce Nix hit the walkoff homer."  Neyer Continues, " Tuesday night, John Maine went six innings, then was followed by Mejia, Nieve, Feliciano (notice a pattern here?) and finally Francisco Rodriguez, who dispatched the Reds with 13 pitches to earn the save. "  And  then finally, "Wednesday afternoon, Jonathan Niese started and went six innings. He was replaced by Hisanori Takahashi, who went three clean innings. Feliciano took over the 10th and the game was over five pitches later."

Jerry overused Nieve and Feliciano while under-utilizing K-Rod in the series.  As for the overarching idea of closer usage in extra innings on the road.  I think managers should ALWAYS throw your best chance out there to win at all times.  K-Rod is a better choice than Manny Acosta in game one, and using Feliciano in a third game in a row probably also wasn't the best choice in game three.  So while it's not necessarily as easy as throwing your "best pitcher" out there, it should be about getting your best chance to win out there, and that's not what Jerry seems to do. 

One thing is clear about Jerry and his bullpen usage.  He has his guys and he sticks to them.  But I wonder, why isn't K-Rod one of Jerry's guys?

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...

Adam Rubin Dropping Bombs, My Take

Well, I wouldn't exactly call them bombs...But...

Adam Rubin has been tweeting a bunch, and here's what's going on...

First off, it looks like Murphy is more than day-to-day and will probably start the season on the DL.  Rubin says the problem isn't severe but could cost Murphy 2-6 weeks.  I am fully expecting even more Ike Davis re-call talk then we've already had, but to me, it just makes more sense to carry Jacobs and Carter now.  They can both play first and you can ride the hot hand, because I severely doubt the Mets are ready to try Ike, especially if only for a few weeks.  Let him develop, he will be awesome when he comes up, just let him get to where he needs to be first.  There is no reason to rush Ike. 

******While I was writing this, Omar confirmed Ike will stay in triple-A, which according to Rubin means 2 of 3 probably from Catalanotto, Carter and Jacobs.  Good idea, Omar.  So that basically means Carter or Cat for the last spot, considering Jacobs was just called the "front-runner" by Manuel.**********

Speaking of rushing prospects...

Rubin has also tweeted that Jerry Manuel seems to really want Mejia to make this team, saying, "Do I see a way that he doesn't make the team? Not today. ... There's going to be some interesting dialogue about that."  Rubin also says that there will be an eighth inning crew by committee as of now.  Jerry is really ticking me off here.  Look, I'm as excited with Mejia as everyone else is, but don't people want him to be a starter?  Doesn't that seem to fit the team better in the long-run?  I really think it's not worth messing with his development when we have an eighth inning guy who is capable but is never given a shot, Pedro Feliciano.  And I am especially curious about Jerry wanting Mejia up, if the eighth inning will be by committee.  As much as I am against Mejia being up, and messing with his development, if he's up then he has to be the eighth inning guy.  There is literally no reason to keep him around if he's going into middle relief, or will split time with Feliciano.  It's just not the best idea of the organization.   Let him become a stud starting prospect, because in the end, top-of-the-line starting pitching is harder to find than eighth inning help...


Rubin has also tweeted that if Jose isn't ready for opening day then Cora will start at short, which I'm fine with, especially considering how long he'll be out.  It just makes more sense than seeing Tejada be awesome and then having to hear people complain about how awful Castillo is, and how much better Tejada would be.  Good PR move... Sorry that was just some uncalled-for Castillo hate coming out...


No matter what, it's time to get excited, as opening day creep even closer...

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...

Misch Clears Waiver, Goes to Buffalo

As I first heard on rotoworld.com, it looks like Pat Misch has cleared waivers and will end up back with the Mets.

It's nice to have Misch back considering the current state of the Mets pitching staff in general, which is shaping up to be Santana, Feliciano, K-Rod and a bunch of question marks.  I'm sure Takahashi, Figueroa and Maine will be fine, but they are all question marks at the current time, along with the obvious question marks: Perez, Pelfrey, Igarashi, etc.

I like the idea of getting that depth back, as Misch could be an important for the Mets either as a spot starter or lefty out of the 'pen, should someone else falter early.

Feliciano Finally Being Considered for Eighth Inning Role...IT'S ABOUT TIME!

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, it seems as though someone in the Mets organization finally gets it.  It seems like there is a new entry in the set-up man sweepstakes for the Mets, and it's Pedro Feliciano.  I couldn't be happier about this idea, as I've been talking about this for quite some time.  In fact, I wrote about it here, here, here, here and touched on it slightly here...I think you get the point.

The knock on Feliciano seems to be his percieved lack of ability to ONLY get lefties out, but that's not true.  Granted Feliciano gets out lefties at a higher rate, that's because he's just awesome against lefties, and when you're percieved as a lefty specialist you don't exactly get the opportunities to prove yourself otherwise. Last season lefties hit .215 against Feliciano while righties hit .264.  Although the .264 isn't great it still should be good enough to ge the job done.

I'm loving this...

Bullpen Picture Starting to Clear Up

In an article for MLB.com, Mets beat reporter, Marty Noble answers a bunch of questions about the Mets bullpen, bench situation, Mike Lowell and starters.

To me, the bullpen questions yielded the biggest information exchange in this article.  First Noble seems to think that Figueroa and Takahashi are in, while Parnell will probably go down to the minors.  Noble says, "My sense of it is Figueroa serves as the staff saver, Parnell goes to Triple-A to work on offspeed pitches. Takahashi serves as the other left-handed pitcher in the 'pen."

Noble also seems to think that Pat Misch will not make the team and the Mets will try to sneak him back under-the-radar.  Noble says, "The likely course of action will be to wait until the last moment to outright Misch in hopes that other clubs won't have room for him either. Then they can store him at Triple-A until a need develops."  Sounds like a good plan, and with Feliciano and Takahashi looking good, I don't know there is a need for a third lefty in the 'pen.

Also Rich Coutinho, on twitter, is saying that according to Adam Rubin, it is likely that Parnell and Green will both be sent down to start the season.  Well, it's nice to know competition ACTUALLY exists this spring and no one is getting grand-fathered in.  Parnell, I don't think was awful this spring, but Green was.  At the end of the day they both were out-performed and deserve to be sent to triple-A...

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.  

Mets Fall to Sox 8-2: Feliciano, Jacobs, Pridie Only Bright Spots

Not a fun loss for the Mets (box score).  This is one of those days you just wish never happened, with the bad news about Reyes, Pelfrey getting hit hard, Villanova losing...wait a second.  I think I'm having a rough day.  Either way, Mets fans aren't pleased with today's performances, unless your names are Pedro, Mike or Jason...

In the Mets 8-2 loss to the Red Sox today, the lone bright spots were Pedro Feliciano, Mike Jacobs and Jason Pridie.  Feliciano threw another scoreless inning while only giving up one hit.  Jacobs and Pridie went deep, while driving in and scoring the only Mets runs of the game.  Jacobs is in a tough battle for that last bench spot and today's performance was a nice response to what Chris Carter did yesterday.  As for Pridie, he's been pretty good this spring, and should provide some nice organizational depth for the Mets this season. 

As for the not-so-fun stuff...

Mike Pelfrey had a tough first inning, as the Sox came out swinging.  Pelf gave up 3 runs on the afternoon, all in his first inning of work, while striking out 4, and giving up 4 hits and a walk.  Also not having a great outing was Igarashi who gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in only one inning of work.

For the Mets, and myself, this was not a day to remember...

Regardless, I'm going to continue to campaign for Feliciano to be the teams primary set-up man, because just like Mejia, he too hasn't given up a run yet...

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...

Takahashi's Outing Might Change Things In Camp

After yesterday's stellar performance from Hisanori Takahashi plans may have changed a bit around the Mets camp.  Against the Nationals Takahashi threw 3 scoreless innings with 6 K's and no walks, allowing only one hit.  In an article for the Newark Star-Ledger, Brian Costa quotes Jerry Manuel, "If we were to speak today, and not having much history with him, I would say that he would definitely be one of the 11 or 12 pitchers that we take...How we use him, we'll probably have to visit that at some other point. But if you said, 'Hey, Jerry, take your best 12, he'd have to be in that group somewhere.'"

Taking what Jerry said into consideration, I would tend to think the Mets would be likely to back off on Beimel and Mahay, should Takahashi put another nice outing together.  Brian Costa says, "If he makes the team as a reliever, Manuel said he could envision Takahashi being both the second situational left-hander and the long reliever. Takahashi, 34, has experience as both a starter and a reliever in Japan."

Considering the Mets need to find a set-up man, and considering the way Niese has pitched so far this spring, I find it hard to believe Takahashi will be anywhere but the bullpen.  That is, of course, assuming Ollie Perez doesn't keep getting hit hard the way he did yesterday.  Either way, between Perez, Niese and Takahashi the Mets have three lefties for three spots.  I realize Perez as a situational lefty isn't the best use of his talents, but if Takahashi and Niese outpitch him this spring, I don't think that's a horrible option either.  Although, I would assume the most likely scenario involves Niese and Perez starting while Takahashi takes to the 'pen...

At the least, the emergence of Takahashi gives the Mets options.  With the biggest positive in my mind being the potential to allow the team to use Feliciano as the primary set-up man should no one else step up, something I've been barking about for quite some time.  Also Takahashi could make it less necessary for the team to break camp with Mejia as a reliever and would afford them some time to send him down in order to develop into a top-of-the-rotation starter, like most believe he has the talent for...

Manuel Might Be Thinking About Mejia On Opening Day Roster

According to David Lennon on twitter, when Jerry Manuel was asked about the potential of Mejia making the opening day roster, he responded with, ""I think so...If we continue to see that, we going to have strong conversations."

I'm sort of torn on this.  As of right now, I like the idea of him being in the Mets 'pen this year, if the team is going to use him.  BUT, I think I like the idea more of this kid becoming a top of the rotation guy.  If that's the type of potential he has, I'd rather see him head down to the minors and be stretched out like a starter.

Although I am concerned about their bullpen this season.  I think in the long run, I'd rather have a dominant young starter, than a dominant young closer.  Santana is still young, as are Pelfrey, Maine, Niese and Perez, but Mejia's talent is too awesome to ignore because of that.  To me, a starter is more valuable than a closer, and I think the team should be thinking that way. 

However, if the Mets don't think  he can become a starter, then I guess I see no reason why this kid shouldn't be in the big leagues helping out the team, especially with some of the performances we've seen out of Sean Green and Parnell. 


I'm very interested to see how this shakes out...

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 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...  

Reyes' Bloodwork and Bullpen Talk

In an article for the New York Post this morning, Mike Puma details exactly why Jose Reyes was out of the line-up yesterday.  According to Puma, Reyes had some bloodwork done which was associated with the team's spring physical and apparently he wouldn't be cleared to play in a game until this bloodwork was done.  According to Puma, "The medical tests, Reyes said, had nothing to do with his legs."  That's a nice thing to hear, because anytime you're doing a blood test for a leg problem, that sounds like trouble.  Regardless, Reyes should be in today's line-up against the Marlins at 1pm on SNY.

Also in this article Puma recaps the Calero signing, talks about Takahashi finally getting his work visa and former Giants punter Sean Landeta visiting the team.  Apparently Landeta had Francouer pretty mesmerized by his Super Bowl rings. 

Also in his article Puma maintains the Mets interest in Joe Beimel on a major league deal for "an amount significantly lower than the $2 million he earned last season."  Puma also throws out Ron Mahay as a lefty the Mets may be interested in for the bullpen.

As far as the 'pen is concerned, outside of Feliciano, K-Rod and Parnell I'm a little worried.  Although we only saw Sean Green once, he was awful.  Igarashi looked fine, but nothing to write home about, and everyone else is competing.  Which is probably why the Mets signed Calero and are still interested in another lefty.

At this point it seems pretty obvious to me that the Mets best set-up options are Feliciano or Parnell.  Personally, I think Feliciano is a much better option and signing a Mahay or Beimel to be the lefty-specialist would allow for Feliciano to step up.

That's what I would do.  But I also wouldn't be hitting Reyes third, I guess that's the difference between me and Manuel/Omar...