Player Profile: Wilson Valdez

Mets fans watching the series against the Florida Marlins this weekend could be forgiven for not knowing who was playing shortstop. That’s because with Jose Reyes and Alex Cora still on the disabled list, the Mets have brought up a new infielder, Wilson Valdez.

Valdez is a 31 year old journeyman from the Dominican Republic. He never went to college. He wasn’r drafted either. He first broke into the big leagues in 2004 when he got 43 at-bats for the Chicago White Sox. Since then, he has played for the Mariners, Padres, and Dodgers. Now, he is a New York Met.

He made his Mets debut May 27 against Washington and made an appearance in all three games against the Marlins. He is two for seven on the season with one walk and one run scored. In the field, he has yet to make an error.

This brief stint in the majors figures to end soon for Valdez. Alex Cora is set to return Tuesday, presumably meaning reduced playing time for Valdez. And then, Reyes is expected to return later this week assuming his rehab stint goes without incident. When Reyes does return, it seems likely that Valdez will be sent back down to the minors.

Off-Day Notes: The Braves, The NL Wild Card, Inside the Mets Dugout, and What Lies Ahead

An Eye on the Braves

After getting swept in San Francisco, the Atlanta Braves began their four-game series in Arizona tonight with yet another loss. This time, the Braves were stifled by Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren, and ended up losing 5 – 1. They are now three and a half games behind the first-place New York Mets.

The NL Wild-Card Scene

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs 2 – 1 at Wrigley Field tonight, guided by seven beautiful innings from Randy Wolf and a 2-inning save from Ramon Transoco. The Cubs are now 23 – 22, three and a half games out of the wild card lead. The Giants and Braves are also three and half back.

None of the other wild-card contenders played tonight. Milwaukee remains in the lead, holding a half game lead over the Reds, a one game lead over the Phillies, a three game lead over the Padres, and a three and half game lead over the Cubs, Braves, and Giants. If the Mets were to fall out of first place, they would be just one half game behind the Brew Crew.

In the Mets Dugout

Carlos Beltran has hit in six consecutive games…Daniel Murphy’s three-hit, five-RBI performance Wednesday was his first multi-hit performance since an April 19 home game against the Brewers. The performance raised his batting average 16 percentage points from .246 to .262…In the bullpen, Pedro Feliciano hasn’t given up an earned run since May 2. Since that date, he has pitched eight and two-thirds innings, giving up just seven hits and one walk. His WHIP is 0.96 this year and opposing hitters are hitting just .208 off Feliciano.

Florida Marlins @ New York Mets

Friday’s matchup pits Florida Marlins starter Sean West against Mets starter Mike Pelfrey. This will be West’s second appearance for the Marlins. He gave up two earned runs in five innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 23. Pelfrey, meanwhile, has given up three or less runs in six consecutive starts…Saturday will be a big day for Tim Redding, who will try to show the Mets that he deserves to stay n the big leagues. He has made two starts thus far for the Mets, giving up six runs to the Red Sox his last time out. His job is in serious jeopardy now that Oliver Perez is healthy again. Redding will oppose Marlins ace Josh Johnson, who is 3 – 1 with a 2.67 ERA this season…And on Sunday, Chris Volstad (4 – 3, 3.69 ERA) of the Marlins will take on John Maine (4 – 3, 4.18 ERA) of the Mets. Volsted has given up 18 earned runs in his last 5 starts. Maine gave up just one runs in his last start against the Washington Nationals.

The Marlins are coming off a big series win in Philadelphia after they spent most of May in free fall. They are 22 – 26 overall, five and half back of the Brewers in the Wild Card Chase.

Mets Greet Home Fans With 5 – 2 Victory Over Nationals

Mets Bullpen Bends But Doesn’t Break Against Nationals

Over 41,000 fans greeted the Mets at Citi Field Monday night as they returned home from a 5 – 5 road trip through San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston. And the Mets, in turn, treated their fans to a 5 – 2 victory over the last-place Washington Nationals.

The Nationals got on the board first Monday, when Wil Nieves hit an RBI single in the second-inning to give the Nats a 1 – 0 lead, but the Mets responded just one inning later with an RBI single by Carlos Beltran. The game remained tied at 1 until the sixth inning, when Gary Sheffield hit a 3-run homerun to give the Mets a 4 – 1 lead. Ramon Martinez added a sacrafice fly to make it 5 – 1.

The Nationals threatened in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. In the seventh, Bobby Parnell, coming in for John Maine, walked the first batter he faced. He struck out pinch-hitter Justin Maxwell, but then gave up a single to Carlos Guzman and walked Nieves to load the bases with just one out. Next up was Nationals third-basemen Ryan Zimmerman, who Parnell proceeded to walk. With the score 5 – 2 and the bases still loaded, Jerry Manuel brought in Pedro Feliciano to face Adam Dunn. After Dunn flied out to deep center, Manuel replaced Feliciano with J.J. Putz, who was able to record the final out of the seventh.

In the eighth, J.J. Putz walked two, but was able to keep the Nationals from scoring. Then, in the ninth, Nick Johnson singled off Francisco Rodriguez, and Zimmerman walked again, but once again, the Mets bullpen was able to avoid damage, as Rodriguez struck out Austin Kearns and got Willie Harris to pop out to preserve the 5 – 2 victory.

It was a scary but encouraging victory for the Mets. John Maine had a nice comeback outing Monday. After giving up five runs (four earned) against the Dodgers, Maine gave up just one run in six innings of work against the Nationals. It wasn’t his best performance.  Yet, it was a solid performance, one that was good enough to get Maine his fourth win of the season.

Meanwhile, the bullpen was shaky yet ultimately effective. In three innings of work, the bullpen (Parnell, Feliciano, Putz, and Rodriguez) gave up two hits and six walks but only gave up one run. Parnell’s performance was discouraging, but Feliciano recorded a crucial out with the bases loaded, and Putz and Rodriguez showed mental toughness getting out of jams.

On offense, there were lots of good signs. David Wright had more than one walk for the fifth time in eight games. Meanwhile, Gary Sheffield had two hits, including the three-run home run. His average is now up to .277 with 4 home runs and 14 RBI. Angel Pagan walked twice in the leadoff spot. And Beltran got another two hits to raise his average to an astounding .367.

Monday’s victory combined with losses by Philadelphia and Atlanta, put the Mets all alone in second place and just a half game out of first. Tonight, the Mets will send Livan Hernandez against Craig Stammen. The game is scheduled to start at 7:10 EST.

The Mets Off-Day Report: Dropping the Ball

The New York Mets made six errors in their three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Five of them came in Monday’s game. One came in Tuesday’s game. Rather than an aberration, this just continued a disturbing trend for the Mets, who have made the fourth-most errors in the major leagues. The Mets have made 32 errors. Compare that to the Phillies, who have made just 11.

The only three teams to make more errors than the Mets are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, and the Washington Nationals, all of whom are under .500 and struggling.

In terms of individual errors, David Wright leads the Mets with six errors, which also ties him for second among all major league third basemen. Jose Reyes has made five errors and Luis Castillo has made four, both numbers that are higher than ordinary for players at their positions. In the outfield, Daniel Murphy has had a terrible time of it. He is tied for the league lead in errors and has one of the worst fielding percentages in the major leagues.  Essentially, for any position, if you search for who’s made the most errors, a Met will be high on that list. It’s an embarassment, and something the Mets will need to work on.

There are reports that Jerry Manuel is going to start having the Mets take infield before games, and that’s probably a good idea. The Mets will need to cut out the errors, especially this weekend as they head to Fenway to take on a very tough Red Sox team.

Dodgers Quiet the Bats and Bring Out the Brooms

Mets Lose Fourth Straight, Fall 2 – 1 to Dodgers

Every single game at Dodger Stadium was close, but in the end the Mets were unable to win a single game. The Dodgers beat the Mets 3 – 2 in 11 innings on Monday, beat them again on Tuesday by a score of 5 to 3, and then secured the series sweep with a 2 - 1 victory Wednesday night. The Mets have now lost four straight.

The Dodgers got off to a nice start Wednesday. Dodgers starter Jeff Weaver managed to work around a Carlos Beltran double and David Wright walk in the top of the first. Then, in the bottom of the first, Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal each singled. After Orlando Hudson grounded out, moving Pierre to third, Andre Ethier hit a sacrafice fly, putting the Dodgers up 1 – 0.

The Mets got the run back in the top of the third, when Luis Castillo hit a one-out single, and Carlos Beltran hit another double to bring Castillo in. After that, the two teams traded zeroes until the fateful bottom of the eighth. J.J Putz got the first out of the inning, but then gave up a single to Hudson, a walk to Ethier, and then an RBI single to Russell Martin. Putz was able to escape the inning without giving up any more runs, but by then, the damage had been done. The Mets got a runner to second in the top of the ninth off ,Jonathan Broxton, but were unable to score, and so the Dodgers prevailed by a score of 2 to 1.

It was another disappointing day for the Mets, who failed to capitalize on an excellent start from Livan Hernandez. Hernandez pitched seven strong innings for the Mets, giving up seven hits but just one run. Perhaps, most critically, he walked only one.

Yet, it was all for naught, as the Mets continued their struggles at the plate. Weaver pitched five solid innings for the Dodgers, and was followed by a strong crew of relief pitchers, who held the Mets to just three hits in four innings of work. There were some good individual performances once again. David Wright had yet enother good game for the Mets, walking twice and singling to center. Beltran, meanwhile, doubled twice, drove in the only run of the game, and walked. Yet, overall the Mets were horrible on offense. They managed just seven hits Wednesday and left nine runners on base.

The Phillies lost Wednesday, so the Mets remain just one game back in the NL East. Atlanta trounced the Colorado Rockies and are in third place, just a half-game behind the Mets and just one and a half behind the Phillies. The Cardinals also won so the Mets are now two games back in the NL Wild Card standings.

Mets Lose Third Straight

Phillies Take Over First Place in NL East

On Sunday morning, the Mets woke up the winners of three straight games and 11 of their last 13.  Now, just days later, the team is struggling as they head into their series finale against Los Angeles Wednesday night.

Tuesday night started well enough for the New York Mets. After Orlando Hudson’s RBI single gave the Dodgers a 1 – 0 lead in the bottom of the first, the Mets responded with two runs in the second and another in the third. John Maine drove in both second-inning runs with a single up the middle, and David Wright made it 3 – 1 with his third-inning RBI single.

But that’s when the Mets offense turned off. The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings against Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. Billingsley was also effective at the plate, hitting a RBI double in the bottom of the 4th to make it 3 – 2.  

Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Casey Blake hit the game-winning blow off Maine, a three-run homerun to left that gave the Dodgers a 5 – 3 lead.  The Mets would put several baserunners on in the seventh and eighth but failed to score. Jonathan Broxton then set the Mets down 1-2-3 in the ninth, clinching the Dodgers sixth win in seven games.

On the bright side for the Mets, they made only one error although it was a costly one. The bullpen was good as well. Ken Takahashi got a big double play in the bottom of the sixth. Sean Green pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth.

Yet, there were far more negatives than positives for the Mets on Tuesday night. John Maine struggled. He gave up five runs (four earned)  in five and a third innings, surrendering eight hits and three walks in his time on the mound. 

Meanwhile, the offense was once again pathetic. Of the Mets three runs Tuesday, two were driven in by the pitcher and one was driven in by Wright. David Wright has been red-hot of late but the rest of the Mets offense is struggling. The Mets have scored just five runs in their last three games.

The Mets are now one game behind the Phillies, who won their fifth straight Tuesday night. They are also one game back of both the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL wild-card race.

Tomorrow’s series finale against the Dodgers is at 10:10pm EST. Then, they head to Fenway to take on the always-dangerous Red Sox.

NL East: The Upcoming Week (Tuesday – Sunday)

New York Mets (tied for first place) – 2 @ LA Dodgers (27 – 13), 3 @ Boston (22 – 16)

Philadelphia Phillies (tied for first place) – 3 @ Cincinnati (20 - 17), 3 @ NY Yankees (21 – 17)

Atlanta Braves (2.5 games back) – 3 vs. Colorado (15 – 22),  3 vs. Toronto (27 – 14)

Florida Marlins (3 games back) - 3 vs. Arizona (14 – 23) , 3 vs. Tampa Bay (20 – 20)

Washington Nationals (8.5 games back) - 3 vs. Pittsburgh (17 – 21), 3 vs. Baltimore (16 – 22)

OVERALL OUTLOOK: The Mets probably have the toughest schedule of the bunch, and thus this a good chance for Philadelphia to take advantage and perhaps seize first place from the Mets. The Marlins have a fairly easy schedule this week, so this might be a chance for them to get back in the swing of things.

Mets Run Wild, Defeat Giants 7 – 4

Victory Gives Mets Two Game Cushion in NL East

Bobby Parnell hadn’t given up an earned run since April 19, but on Thursday evening, Parnell blew his second save in two days, giving up two runs in the eighth to the San Francisco Giants. Yet, after watching their 4 – 2 lead slip away, the Mets responded immediately with three runs in the top of the ninth. A double by Carlos Beltran, a key steal, and then RBI singles from David Wright and Ramon Castro, and the Mets suddenly had a 7 – 4 lead. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a smooth ninth to secure his 10th save in 10 opportunities.

The Mets got a good outing from starter John Maine last night. Maine gave up two runs in the first but held the Giants scoreless from then on. He gave up a lot of baserunners (7H, 4BB) but managed to go 6.2 innings and would have gotten a win out of it if it were not for Parnell’s struggles. The Mets hitting (12 hits and 6 walks) was strong as well, and the baserunning was stellar. The Mets stole a franchise-record seven bases Thursday, including four from David Wright. The most amazing thing is they did this without any help from Jose Reyes, who sat out Thursday with a stiff right calf.

To make things even sweeter for the Mets, the Phillies and Marlins both lost. The Mets now hold a two-game lead over the Braves and Phillies and a two and a half-game lead over the Marlins.

Weekend Outlook

The Mets continue their series with the Giants tonight as Livan Hernandez (3 – 1, 5.08 ERA) faces off against Giants ace Tim Lincecum (3 – 1, 3.25 ERA). Meanwhile, Philadelphia has a good chance to gain ground as they head to Washington for a three-game series. Atlanta hosts the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks, and Florida hosts red-hot Los Angeles this weekend.

Braves Edge Mets in Series Finale

Phillies Remain One Game Behind

The Mets made a valiant effort Wednesday afternoon, but fell short against the Atlanta Braves by a score of 8 to 7 after 12 innings of hard-fought baseball.

The game featured multiple lead changes. The Braves jumped out to a 2 – 0 lead in the top of the first spurred by a Chipper Jones RBI double and Garret Anderson RBI single. The Mets came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the first. But the Braves broke the 2 – 2 tie with two more runs in the top of the third. Garret Anderson was again in the middle of things, knocking an RBI single for the Braves.

 The Mets took a 6 – 4 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a tremendous grand slam to center field by reserve outfielder Fernando Tatis. Yet, Niese failed to pitch effectively with the lead, and Parnell and Putz both gave up runs out of the bullpen. 

The Braves went into the bottom of the eighth with a 7 - 6 lead. Then, the Mets got a long overdue homerun from Gary Sheffield which tied the game at 7. Both bullpens then put up zeroes until the 12th, when Martin Prado hit what would prove to be the game-winning long ball against Mets reliever Ken Takahashi.

 Jose Reyes nearly tied the game with a ball that nearly cleared the left-center field wall in the bottom of the inning, but ended up with just a double (it probably would’ve been a triple had Reyes been running). Reyes got to third with one out, but was stranded there, as the Braves held on to take the series.

Yet, the Los Angeles Dodgers blowout of the Philadelphia Phillies ensured that the Mets would remain a game ahead in the NL East standings. Atlanta now stands 1.5 games back as do the Florida Marlins.