Santana and Bay Lead the Way in Mets 6-1 Win

Last night the Mets took down the Dodgers 6-1 in L.A. (box/wrap) and Santana played a big part in the win.

Johan Santana was great last night giving up only 1 run on 5 hits, while striking out 4.  Bobby Parnell and K-Rod also did their part in pitching a perfect 8th and 9th to help secure a victory for the Mets.

At the plate the big blow was off the bat of Jason Bay who put the game away with a 3-run double in the eighth.  Bay wasn't alone as Ike went deep, and Henry Blanco had two hits as well.  It was nice to see the offense return last night...Maybe they can do it again today?

Mike Pelfrey heads to the mound today against Carlos Monasterios at 4:10 on FOX.  It's be a great time for a rebound outing from Pelfrey, who could really use it for his confidence.

Let's Go Mets.

Frenchy May Be On His Way Out

In this article Mike Puma of the New York Post says that the Mets may be sending Jeff Francoeur somewhere else "by the time the Mets finish their series with Los Angeles this weekend."

Well that stinks.

I like Frenchy.  I like his personality.  I love his arm.  I'm not crazy about his plate discipline.  But I still want to see him succeed, and see him succeed in NY, with the Mets.  BUT...

I get it.  Pagan, Beltran and Bay.  There just isn't room for Frenchy...

He's not going to play everyday here, and he should have that opportunity.  Also, he's probably one of the more valuable trade pieces the Mets have right now, in that he's not essential to the team winning and he's young enough, and talented enough, that he has SOME value to a team willing to take a chance on him.  Most likely, we're not talking about a big deal here.  It'll probably be something to help the bullpen, or he'll be part (not necessarily a key one) of a deal that could potentially net a starting pitcher.

Either way, I'm a bit dissapointed.  But I think most people saw this coming at some point.  I know he was only in New York for what amounts to a year, BUT, this feels like I am breaking up with a girlfriend.  I just hope we can still be friends...

Mets Bats Secure Split With Nats, Come Home To Face Reds

Yesterday the Mets bats came to life in a 9-5 victory over the Nationals yesterday (wrap/box score). 

Jason Bay had a huge day with 4 RBI, and Davis hit a homer while driving in two himself.  Pagan and Francoeur also added RBI for the Mets, with 2 and 1 respectively.  On the hill, Takahashi started out well for the first few innings and then started to get hit again.  Fortunately for the Mets they had enough of a lead at that point that the Nats spend most of the day trying to make it close, instead of realistically having a shot to tie and win the game.

Tonight the Mets face the Reds in the "Citi" as Aaron Harang heads to the hill for the Reds against Mike Pelfrey...

Let's go Mets.

Mets/Nats Tonight at 7:05

Tonight in Washington the pitching match up is Luis Atilano against Jon Niese.  Here's the line up courtesy of the Mets on twitter:

Pagan-8
Tejada-6
Wright-5
Davis-3
Bay-7
Barajas-2
Francoeur-9
Cora-4
Niese-1

Pagan is back in the line up, as is Jason Bay, which should help spark the Mets offense.  Unfortunately the team's true spark plug Reyes is out again, but SHOULD be back tomorrow.  The bottomline is the Mets need to take control of games, as they've had the the games taken to them so far on this road trip.  A nice big top of the first, followed by a goose egg from Niese would be the perfect medicine for that...

Let's Go Mets.

Santana Against Livan Tonight, Line Up

Here is tonight's line up courtesy of David Lennon on twitter:

Feliciano-8
Tejada-6
Wright-5
Davis-3
Francoeur-9
Carter-7
Blanco-2
Cora-4
Santana-1


I guess Jose needs another night off.  Hopefully tonight will be the last of that.  Also, it looks like Jerry really wants to keep trying to find ways to get Carter at bats, which I'm fine with, but Bay didn't start on Tuesday either.  Does he really need another night off?  I'm not sure tonight is the best time to sit him.  Also looks like Pagan is getting a little more time to rest, and Barajas has been pretty bad lately, so I like Blanco in there.


Overall...this isn't the normal line up...


But either way...


Let's Go Mets.

Marlins Lay the Lumber to the Mets in 10-3 Win

Well, some nights things just don't go your way.  Tonight was one of those nights for the Mets and R.A. Dickey, as the Marlins pounded out 10 runs on 9 hits on their way to a 10-3 victory of the Mets in Puerto Rico (box score/wrap).

R.A. Dickey gave up 5 runs in 5 innings, most of them in a big third and just didn't look good tonight.  The Marlins were pounding Dickey around, including Ricky Nolasco who had a big double off Dickey early in that big third inning.  Tough outings happen, and considering the way Dickey's been pitching this year he was bound to have one less than awesome start, unfortunately, it came tonight.  Also, I think the humidity was making it tough for Dickey to control that knuckler, as Gary and Keith noted he had to change his undershirt, probably because he sweat right through it.  In any case, Dickey wasn't alone in his struggles tonight as Nieve and Igarashi gave up 5 combined runs in the final four innings to cement the game for the fish.

The highlights of the game for the Mets were provided by Jason Bay who went deep twice in the game.  The Mets had 6 hits tonight, two of them homers from Bay, two of them off the bat of Wright, a lead off single from Reyes and a pitch hit from Thole.  There was no real help from the rest of the line up.  And although Reyes' hit was a lead off one, he was immediately picked off, which was no help to the team, and Thole's hit came when the Mets were already down 7-3 in the eighth.  So, as far as important hits go, they were few and far between tonight for the Mets...unless your name happens to be Jason Bay.

But these types of loses happen to even the best teams, so no reason to get worried.  The Mets have a chance for redemption tomorrow night at 7:10 when Takahashi takes the mound against Nate Robertson.

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.

It's Raining Hits, And...Uh...Rain, As Mets Pound Tigers 14-6

Last night the Mets pounded out 16 hits against the Tigers, including Justin Verlander, and outlasted the rain in a 14-6 win (box score/wrap).

There was a lot of offense to report from last night.  The top 4 hitters in the Mets line up all had at least 3 hits each and an RBI.  In fact, the only starting position player without a hit or RBI or run scored was Rod Barajas, who has quietly slipped back down to a .246 batting average for the year. 

Here are some specifics on the offense explosion the Mets experience last night: Reyes went 3-6 with an RBI and 3 runs scored, Wright went 3-3 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored, Davis went 3-6 with 3 RBI and 1 run scored.  But the biggest bat last night was Angel Pagan who went 4-6 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored, and was only a homer away from the cycle.  And Reyes, Francoeur and Bay all swiped bases as well.

Niese pitched well for the first 3 innings, but then the rain came and washed away his good start.  Jerry decided to leave Niese out there after nearly an hour rain delay and it was pretty obvious that affected Niese.  But after Niese gave up 6 runs in 4 and 2/3 innings the bullpen only allowed one hit for the rest of the game, which is nice to see, especially considering the concern over the bullpen not having Mejia anymore.  At least tonight, that wasn't an issue...

But what might become an issue is Beltran making rehab starts beginning Thursday as reported by Metsblog, here.  I mean, Pagan is playing well, obviously.  Francoeur is also playing pretty well himself, so between the two of them Bay and Beltran the Mets will have quite a glut in the outfield.  This will be worth monitoring...especially considering the timing of Beltran's return and the way it may match up with the trade deadline...

Anywho...the Mets take on the Tigers in the second game of this three game set tonight with Dickey facing off against Jeremy Bonderman...

Let's Go Mets.

Mets Go For Sweep Tonight: Line Up

Tonight the Mets send R.A. Dickey to the hill in an attempt to get a sweep of the Indians.  Standing in their way is potential trade target Jake Westbrook.  This should be interesting...

Here's the line up courtesy of the Mets twitter account:

Reyes-SS
Pagan-CF
Wright-3B
Davis-1B
Francoeur-RF
Carter-DH
Blanco-C
Feliciano-LF
Tejada-2B

Barajas gets the night off, along with Bay who is nursing a "charley-horse".  No Bay, and a hot streak, pushes Francoeur up into the number 5 spot behind Davis tonight.  Blanco and Feliciano find themselves in the line up, along with Carter who remains on DH duty against righties in the AL parks.  Nice to see Tejada in the line up again tonight.  I love watching him turn two...

A win tonight would give the Mets a ton of confidence, along with a 7 game winning streak, heading into a weekend series against the Yankees...

Let's go Mets. 

Mets End Skid Against the Fish, Win 4-3

Tonight Dickey was good and the offense did just enough to lead the Mets to a 4-3 win tonight in the "Citi" (box score/wrap up).

R.A. Dickey improves to 3-0 this season, pitching 6 and 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits and allowing 3 runs, while striking out 4.  Dickey was pulled in favor of Feliciano who got an out and gave up a hit, and then gave way to Elmer Dessens who gave up NOTHING in an inning and a third of work.  Dessens looked great tonight, and that was huge lift for the Mets.  K-Rod did his usual and made the game ENTIRELY TOO EXCITING, but eventually recorded the save thanks to a nice play from Wright to close it out.

At the plate, Bay, Francoeur and DICKEY all recorded multi-hit games.  Ruben Tejada doubled, scored a run and had an RBi ground out in his first game back with the big club.  Francoeur, Dickey and Bay drove in the other runs for the Mets.  Also of note, Reyes went 1-2 with 2 walks and stole a bag.

A win is a win, and that's all that matters.  BUT, I need to admit I'm a bit concerned with Ike, whose average is now down to .248, ehhh.  Frenchy, by the way, is really hot right now and is up to .258.  I guess Frenchy likes June better than May...

Tomorrow Niese is back to face the Marlins and Nate Robertson.  The game is on FOX at 4:10.  Hopefully the Mets can stay hot at home and win the series tomorrow...

Blown Save, Walk-Off Grand Slam: Not The Best Way To End a Roadtrip...

Ugh...

Irritated isn't quite the right word, but I'm something...

The Mets lost on an extra-inning walk off grand slam last night to the Padres, only 2 innings after K-Rod blew a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.  They ended up losing the game 5-1 (box/wrap up) and continued their streak of NOT winning a road series ALL YEAR....awesome.  After the game Gary made a point of saying the Mets have given up the most grand slams this year of any team in the league.  That's probably because when you walk/hit batters to get the bases loaded the next thing you are trying to do is just throw a strike...hence meatballs...hence batting practice fastballs...hence Grand SALAMIS.

K-Rod is killing me.  While some might complain about him coming in in the eighth inning, he should still have been able to shut the door.  And Raul Valdes is now my fourth favorite Valdes(z) after his last two abismal outings.  He has fallen behind Exxon Valdez, which I think is only in third place because of current news...

Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention Santana pitched, was awesome and the Mets still found a way to blow it for him.  This is exactly what I was talking about the other day when I said that I had more confidence with Pelfrey on the hill than Santana.  For some reason the Mets find ways to not hit, and blow leads when Johan throws.  Especially when he throws well. Unreal.  Santana went 7 innings giving up only 5 hits, and no runs, although he did walk five.

The Mets only run was driven in Francoeur.  Bay went 3-4 and swiped a bag and scored the only run of the game, while Reyes also stole a base but went hitless.  That's all worth mentioning on the offensive end.

The Mets come home, apparently the only place they can win...to face the Marlins tomorrow night at 7:10, with Dickey on the hill against Annibal Sanchez.  Time to start beating the Marlins and Nats, because these in-division series are important.  I know that's obvious, but with this team, even the obvious is worth stating...

Mets Handle Phils 8-0, I Remain Undefeated

Tonight, the Mets dominated in an 8-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies (box score/wrap) in what seemed like their first "dominating" victory since the first week of the season.  In other news, the Mets remain undefeated in games I have attended.  Soon I plan on a collection jar to send me to any, and all, home games with an option for road games should my luck continue...

Everything went right tonight for the Mets, starting with an outstanding performance from R.A. Dickey who had the Phillies looking foolish all night long.  Dickey went 6 innings, scattering 7 hits and striking out 7 Phils.  It was unreal to see how bad he made certain Philly hitters look...Dickey was extremely impressive tonight.  He then gave way to my third favorite Valdes who worked out of trouble (which he got himself into) in the 7th after two consecutive hits, and then never gave up another hit to earn a good ol' fashioned 3 inning save.  Man, I love those...

At the plate, everyone hit.  Reyes had 3 hits, scored 3 runs, tripled and swiped 2 bags while Bay had two RBI, Francoeur went 2-3 with 2 RBI, Carter had a big pinch-hit RBI single and even Raul Valdes doubled over the head of Jayson Werth in the 8th off of Figueroa.

Overall, this was a fantastic game for the Mets.  They did everything right and it was great to see.  However, tomorrow is a different day...

Tomorrow the Mets send Takahashi to the hill in game 2 of the series against Joe Blanton.  Considering how the Phillies fared against Dickey tonight, a crafty pitcher like Takahashi might be able to duplicate the performance, especially considering how well he threw against the Yankees Friday night.  At the least the Mets put themselves in a good position after game 1 of this series...

Santana vs. Medlen Tonight at 7:10: Here's the Mets Starting Line Up

According to Metsblog Barajas has a stomach virus...so...

The line up has changed since Burkhardt's tweet, because Rubin had a different line up, and this is the one it ended up being:

Jose Reyes, SS
Everyday, 2B
Chris Carter, LF
David Wright, 3B
Ike Davis, 1B
Angel Pagan, CF
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Henry Blanco, C
Johan Santana, P




So here's tonight's Mets line up courtesy of Kevin Burkhardt's twitter account:

Reyes SS
Cashstealo 2B
Carter LF
Wright 3B
Davis 1B
Barajas C
Pagan CF
Francoeur RF
Santana P

Interesting line up.  Bay gets the night off and Jerry finds a way to make sure Carter stays in the line up.  I'm not wild about Jerry's neverending desire for the line up to alternate lefty/righty/lefty, etc.  But I do like the way it shuffled Frenchy down to 8.  He may be struggling, but that's a name you don't mind seeing in the eighth hole if for no other reason than potential.  

Regardless, I like the line up.  Not so sure about Carter's ability in left, but I guess we'll find out....

Line Up Change For Tonight: Did Jerry Make the Right Move?

Maine is looking to build off another good outing, which the Mets could really use after Perez didn't help last night.  He'll face the Marlins and Nate Robertson tonight at 7:10 on PIX11.  Here's tonight's line up courtesy of Adam Rubin on twitter:

Reyes-SS
Everyday-2B
Pagan-CF
Bay-LF
Wright-3B
Davis-1B
Francoeur-RF
Barajas-C
Maine-RHP

Jerry made a good move putting Jose Reyes in the leadoff spot, BUT PAGAN AT 3?

I'm not so sure about that one.  Why can't Bay, Davis or Wright hit three?  Just put one of them there and protect them in the order the same way.  Plus, I'm not seeing the benefit of hitting Pagan third.  Doesn't your best hitter bat third?  Since when is Angel Pagan the team's best hitter?  He may be hitting right now, but he's not the most dangerous hitter on the team and doesn't really provide any protection for the top of the line up.  Although Pagan CAN hit a homer, he's not a threat to do it every time up.  An opposing pitcher has the potential to work through the top three in the Mets order without throwing too many breaking pitched, and therefore not tiring out as quickly.  Because in all likelihood a pitcher will throw different to Pagan than they would to Bay, Wright or even Davis...

While I like that Jerry has put Jose back at leadoff, I would still rather see Bay, Wright or even Davis hit three over Pagan...Also, Reyes and the second baseman seem to be struggling right now, and stacking three "lighter hitting" guys like that in the top of the order doesn't make the team more dangerous.  Also, the bottom of the line up still is a strike out waiting to happen, and Jerry did nothing to address that...

Mets Lose Tough Game to Giants 6-5

Today the Mets fell to the Giants 6-5 (box score/wrap) on a late two-run, wind aided, homer by Aaron Rowand off of Jenrry Mejia.

I went into the day thinking that if the Mets lost today I would be ok with it...BUT...that was before they came back to take the lead after Lincecum was pulled.  Once the Mets took the lead on a poorly played fly ball by Torres off the bat of Jason Bay, everything changed.  At that point in the game the Mets NEEDED to win.  It's amazing how much perspective can change like that.  With the way Lincecum was pitching I was happy at least knowing the Mets have already won the series, but once they took the lead, I could smell blood and was eventually dissappointed in the way the game shook out.  A sweep of the Giants was within reach, and probably should have happened...until Aaron Rowand hit a ball that carried about 50 feet more than it should have thanks to the wind.  Either way, it was a good weekend with the Mets taking 2 of 3 from a very good team...BUT...it's tough to take a loss like that when a win was within their grasps...

As far as what happened in the game, Ollie Perez was awful.  He needs to be sent to the 'pen or down or something, but he is single-handedly doing his best to kill Mets winning streaks.  I think it's about time they did something to get him in gear...On the bright side Bay, Davis, Wright and Francoeur were responsible for driving in the Mets runs, with both of Bay's RBI coming off a poorly played fly ball by the Giants left-fielder. 

Tomorrow starts a three game set with the Nationals.  The pitching match up will be John Maine against Luis Atilano at 7:10 in the "Citi"...

Barajas' Eighth Inning Dinger Leads Mets Over Reds

Tonight, despite Fernando Nieve blowing a two-run lead in the eighth by giving up back-to-back homers to Votto and Rolen, the Mets still found a way to win.  Tonight's hero was Rod Barajas who hit the game winning solo homer in the eighth.  Then in the ninth K-Rod came on to close up shop as the Mets evened their series with the Reds by defeating them 5-4 (box score). 

David Wright also hit a solo shot of his own in the fourth inning to tie the game up.  Along with Wright and Barajas; Bay, Reyes and Francoeur also drove in runs for the Mets tonight.  I think it's about time I started giving Barajas credit, all the guy does is come up with big hits.  Although I am still pretty annoyed with his inability to get on base, but at tonight, I'm letting that slide.

One of the biggest stories of the night was the second consecutive good outing from John Maine, who went 6 innings giving up only 1 earned run on 4 hits and striking out six.  He was then relieved by Mejia, who tossed a perfect 7th before Nieve came in and blew it in the eighth.

This is a great example of a game the Mets would have lost last year.  Last year when they blew a lead you could see the fight just drain out of the team.  Not this year...This really looks like a different team...

The Mets try to take the series tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 on SNY, when they send Jon Niese to the hill to face Johnny Cueto.

Mets Cruise to Eighth Straight Behind Niese and Extra Base Hits

Tonight at Citizens Bank Park the Mets really took it to the Phillies defeating them 9-1 (box score).  The Mets extended their winning streak to eight straight with the total package tonight, pitching, defense and hitting and really dominated a very very good team tonight.  It was fun to watch as a Mets fan.

First at the plate, the big stories were Rod Barajas and the Mets ability to get extra base hits.  Rod Barajas, as mentioned several times during the telecast by Gary Cohen, kills the ball at Citizens Bank Park and tonight was no different.  Barajas went 3-4 with two homers, with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI, and all of his hits going for extra bases.  As much as I don't like Barajas' average being as low as it is, there is no denying his power at the plate, and it was on display tonight.  If Barajas continues to hit around .200 all season but drills the Phils the way he did tonight, I'll take it.  As far as extra base hits, 8 of the team's 10 hits went for extra bags...unreal.  Also, Francoeur and Wright both went deep for the Mets, and Wright is starting to heat up and it's nice to see.

On the hill, Niese was awesome.  He went 7 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits, while striking out seven and walking only one.  He had the Phillies off balance all night, especially Howard who looked bad at the plate outside of one line out to center that he made some nice contact on.  I would have to say I am now officially confident in Niese, he looked great.

Most importantly, tonight my man-crush on Francoeur went to astronomical heights.  He was awesome tonight.  Frenchy golfed a homer into the left field seats, and played fantastic defense while showing everyone how big his balls are.  Frenchy crashed into the wall in right while making a great play to rob Ibanez of a hit.  Later in the game he was plunked by Danys Baez, and not only did he stay in the game, but he immediately swiped a bag to really stick it to Baez.  But of all the things Frenchy did tonight, his turn and fire in the corner of a Werth hit to hold Jayson to a single was my favorite play of the game.  Frenchy cut a ball off heading to the corner and planted one foot and fired a rocket to the second base bag.  It was such a nice play, that Werth actually fell putting the breaks on when he decided to stay at first.  Jason Bay also made a pretty nice grab on a shot from Victorino.  Great stuff.  Frenchy, however, was taken out of the game eventually because of the beating he took tonight, and in the post game Jerry said he'd probably be out tomorrow, which I get.

What a great night for the Mets.  Tomorrow will be a tougher game, as Roy Halladay takes the mound for the Phillies while Pelfrey hits the bump for the Mets.  First pitch at 3:10 on Fox...

Mets Sweep Double Dip: Take 6 in a Row, First Place

What a difference a week makes...

A week ago the Mets were 6-9 and didn't look good getting there. But after last night's sweep of the double header from the Dodgers the Mets have pushed their winning streak to 6 games, thus saving Jerry's job for the foreseeable future.  Oh, by the way, this streak has also landed the Mets in first place, a half-game in front of the Phillies.  Pretty fun stuff.  Also not that I the Mets are now 3-0 in games I have attended.  I'm not saying there should be a "send me to the game fund" just yet, but a couple more wins and we may be on to something here...

Anyway, I don't want to rain on the parade here, but, I'm not ready to get too high just yet with this club.  I'm expressing cautious optimism.  Although this week has been great, it's still early, and the Mets did beat up on three teams who were not playing great ball at the time they faced them.

Prior to facing the Mets, the Braves had lost 2 of 3 to the Phillies and had only scored 7 runs in the prior 4 games before coming into the "Citi" and only scoring 3 runs in 3 games.  Prior to losing 3 of 4 to the Mets, the Cubs had lost 3 of their previous 5 games.  And before yesterday's sweep at the hands of the Mets, the Dodgers had been scuffling too, losing consecutive series to the Nationals and the Reds.

Now, I'm not saying this winning streak should be devalued at all, but what I am saying is I'll be more excited should the Mets win today and take the weekend series from the Phils, obviously.  So while I'm happy the Mets are showing life and looking good, I want to see more...

Also, I want to point out how much better Jerry has been managing the team.  Yes, this Reyes hitting third thing has turned out to be a good idea.  I thought it was a bad idea, but I guess I was wrong.  The line-up switch seems to have awakened both Jose and Jason Bay, who finally hit his first Mets homer.  Even David Wright seems to be turning it around, as, last night as Wright went 3-3 with 4 RBI in the nightcap.  Oh, and this kid Ike Davis, can really hit.

Also, last night Jerry made the best move he's made as the manager of the Mets last night when he decided to pull Perez in the fourth.  Perez clearly was having issues holding the ball and threw multiple bad pitches that sailed over batters heads and bounced in front of the plate.  Being at the game last night, experiencing the conditions (cold and windy) and having pitched in those conditions myself, I think Perez should be given a pass on last night.  I know how hard it is to be an effective pitcher in that type of weather.  On the whole, I think credit should be given to Jerry for making the switch right away and not letting the Dodgers capitalize on Perez' inability to throw strikes.  Also, give credit to Takahashi, who after walking in the tying run, settled down and turned in a stellar performance.

Either way, I'm excited for today.  A sweep would be great...

Lay Off Wright and Bay, NO ONE IS HITTING

It's early in the season, and things aren't exactly sunny at Citi.  The reasons for this is pretty identifiable.  For one, Jerry Manuel stinks, and  that's all I'm saying on that, because it's not worth expanding on today.  Number two is that only 3/5 of the rotation is putting up decent starts on a consistent basis (Santana, Pelfrey, Niese), Maine's been awful and Perez has been inconsistent.  The final problem, is the offense...

Metsblog did an article about how Bay and Wright are struggling from the plate, which you can read here.  But that's not completely fair as it puts too much focus on their struggles, when there is plenty of other struggles in the line-up.  Because the biggest reason the Mets aren't winning games is because EVERYONE on the team is hitting like crap right now...EVERYONE.

Let's take a look at last night's line-up, which most fans would agree is probably their best option, and see how they've produced so far this year.

Reyes SS - Currently hitting .220, with a .273 OBP, and only 3 extra base hits out of 11 total hits on the season.  Oh yeah, and he's stolen two bases out of three attempts, but one wasn't contested at all.

That Guy 2B - He's been hotter as of late, with an 8 game hitting streak, and is now up to .275, with a .345 OBP.  As much as I hate the guy, those numbers and pretty acceptable.  BUT, his 2 extra base hits out of 13 total hits is not doing much for me.  And he's only one for two stealing bases.

-With the first two guys getting on a combined .309, granted Reyes is bringing it down, and neither are really running (hard to run when you're not on base).  I think some of what's happening with Wright and Bay can be explained by a lack of runners on and the way that's affecting the way pitchers are approaching facing them.  That being said...

Wright 3B - Hitting .240, with an unreal .457 OBP.  But Wright has about half of his hits being extra base hits.  Yes, he's striking out a ton, again...18 in 50 at bats, a 36% clip.  But he's also walking a ton with 19 BB so far.  Regardless the average and strikeouts are troublesome, but Wright is bringing more to this line-up than Reyes and the second baseman are currently, even with his terrible average...

Bay LF - Hitting .241, with a .369 OBP.  Bay is striking out more than Wright, 22 times in 54 at bats.  And has only 3 of his 13 hits going for extra bases, and no homers.  Clearly "scuffling", no debate there...

Francoeur RF - Here's the best hitter so far this season for the team.  Although his average has dipped to .281 after a splintering start, his OBP is .358, is stellar for him.  And Francoeur's only struck out 6 times this season.  In fact, he has more walks (8) than strikeouts.  He's been the best player on the team at the plate and has about half of his hits going from extra bases.  He's clearly the least of the team's issues at the plate, BUT he hasn't gotten a hit in the last 5 games...

Davis 1B - It's not worth talking numbers with Ike yet because his sample size is so miniscule right now.  But from what I've seen he doesn't look comfortable against lefties, and has been taking some pretty ugly hacks agains them.  The Mets face another lefty tonight in Tom Gorzelanny.  Should be interesting...

Barajas C - He's been flat out terrible at the plate. I don't care how many homers this guy is capable of hitting, it seems like those are the only hits he gets.  And somehow because people expect less of him he gets a pass.  He's hitting .204 with a .196 OBP, and hasn't walked yet this season while striking out 7 times.  Where are all those people now who were killing Frenchy for not walking?  Why isn't Barajas getting crapped on here?  Just because the guy can go deep doesn't redeem him for those awful numbers.  I don't know the last time I've seen someone have a lower OBP than average...Unreal.

Pagan CF - Pagan's been OK.  I don't when we get a little overhyped about this guy as fans.  He's fine.  He's hitting .279, with a .354 OBP....however...he only has one extra base hit on the season, and it was the homer the other night.

The point of this exercise was to show that the team as a whole isn't hitting and maybe we should be less worried about Wright and Bay speficially, and more concerned about the team as a whole not hitting well.  Or at the least, Manuel should be finding a way to have more than 2 guys get hits in one game. 

Also, can someone beside me please get annoyed at Barajas.  I'm tired about reading about how he's getting unlucky.  He's been "unlucky" then his entire career.  The guy is a pop up waiting to happen.  And, he's been hitting like this his entire career, reaching his summit at .256 in TEXAS.  Come on...

So, give Bay and Wright a bit of a break here, they'll come around.  Besides we need to spread the offensive blame around, because there is plenty for everyone to have...

Pagan Goes Deep and Ike Has Two Hits, As Mets Top Cubs 6-1

On a chilly night at CitiField the Mets bats took a while, but warmed up just in time to give the Mets a 6-1 win over the Cubs tonight (box score).

The stars of tonight were Angel Pagan, Jon Niese and Ike Davis.

Pagan hit a huge two-run homer in the seventh to start what became a 5 run inning for the Mets.  Bay had two hits on the night, including an RBI double in the seventh.  Bay was then driven in by Ike Davis' second hit of the evening and his first major league RBI.  Davis' second hit was off a lefty, which was nice to see...HOWEVER...earlier in the same at bat he bailed pretty severely on two nasty curveballs from Sean Marshall before flicking one up the middle to drive in bay.  So although it's good to see Davis get a hit against a lefty, he did NOT look great doing it.  But, Davis had a nice hit earlier in the game, fighting off a tough two-strike pitch, and really stroked one into the gap that was caught pretty easily by Xavier Nady.

It's easy to forget what Jon Niese did tonight because of the excitement around Davis' debut and Bay and Pagan hitting, but you shouldn't because Niese pitched well tonight.  Outside of the high pitch count (113 through 5 and 1/3 innings), Niese was able to strike out 7 hitters while giving up 8 hits.  Manuel then pulled Niese in favored of Nieve who immediately gave up a run on a tough comebacker.  Niese had a good night, but was overshadowed by Ike...

It was a good night at CitiField, hopefully the Mets can build on it tomorrow night when the Mets send Mike Pelfrey to the hill to face Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs...