Mets Avoid the Sweep, Win 6 – 4 Over D-Backs

At the end of the day, after five and one third innings of work, Oliver Perez had given up just one earned run and had given the New York Mets a huge lift. But it wasn’t easy. Every inning, there was some crisis. Multiple baserunners. Men in scoring position with less than two outs. So, the fact that he gave up just one earned run was something of a miracle.

In the bottom of the first, Ollie worked around a triple and a walk to get out of the inning. In the second, Ollie walked the leadoff hitter and then gave up a double, but with runners on second and third and no outs, Ollie somehow managed to keep the D-Backs off the board.

Ollie gave up his only run in the third after once again walking the leadoff hitter and then giving up an RBI double to Ryan Roberts, but stranded runners on first and second. In the fourth, Ollie put up a zero despite giving up a single and a walk. Then, in the fifth, Ollie got out of a bases loaded jam, and finally was lifted with one out in the sixth. His overall stats were ugly. He gave up six hits and six walks in just five and one third innings of work. But he gave up just one run, and thus gave the Mets a chance to win.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mets put up a three-spot giving Oliver Perez a chance to get his 3rd win of the season. The big hit was Fernando Tatis’s 2-RBI single .

Unfortunately for Ollie, Sean Green got off to a rocky start n the seventh, hitting the first batter of the inning and then giving up a double to the second. He stuck out the next hitter, then was replaced by Pedro Feliciano, who got the second out of the inning before giving up two consecutive RBI singles.  The runs were charged to Green, but Feliciano also deserves some blame for giving up both inherited runners. And no matter whose fault it was, the result is the same, no win for Ollie Perez.

Thankfully, for the Mets,  with a man on second and two outs, Luis Castillo hit an RBI single to put the Mets up 4 – 3.  Then, after Castillo successfully stole second, Cory Sullivan tripled him home.

With a 5 – 3 lead, Brandon Stokes pitched a scoreless eighth. Then, with a 6 – 3 lead, Francisco Rodriguez struggled once again, allowing the tying run up to come up to the plate, but held on to get his 25th save of the season.

Great day for Fernando Tatis, who went 3 for 4. Gary Sheffield went 2 for 3. David Wright went 3 for 5 with two runs scored. Cory Sullivan went 2 for 4. And of course, tons of credit to Luis Castillo, whose pinch-hit RBI single gave the Mets the lead and was probably the most important play of the game.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the Phillies, Rockies, and Giants all won Wednesday, so they were unable to gain ground.

K-Rod Blows Another One, Mets Fall 6 – 2 in San Diego

With Oliver Perez on the mound for the Mets Friday night, who would’ve thought that two runs would’ve been enough to win? Yet, it nearly was.

Perez pitched his best game all year Friday night at Petco Park, giving up just one run in six and a third innings. He was dominant in the first six innings, giving up no runs and just two baserunners. He collapsed a bit in the seventh, walking the first two batters and then giving up an RBI double with one out before getting pulled from the game, but overall Perez was great. He struck out seven, and most importantly, walked just two.

Then, Brandon Stokes did a great job getting Perez out of trouble, coming in with runners on second and third and one out, and stranding both runners. He also pitched a scoreless eighth, pitching in and out of trouble, with help from Daniel Murphy, whose sterling backhand play kept the Mets in the lead going into the ninth.

That’s when Francisco Rodriguez came in and proceeded to blow his second save in a row and his fifth save of the season. It started, as it always seems to with K-Rod, with a walk. Then, he gave up an RBI double. (To be fair to K-Rod, the run shouldn’t have counted. Replays showed that the runner was clearly out at the plate, so instead of it being 2 – 2 with a runner on third and no outs, it should’ve been 2 – 1 with a runner on third and one out. ) Then, he walked another hitter, walked the next guy intentionally, and finally gives up a walk-off grand slam to Everth Cabrera, who isn’t exactly the best hitter in the National League. Really bad game from K-Rod.

Also, a tough day for the Mets offense. Things got off to a good start when David Wright singled in Angel Pagan in the top of the first, and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Mets a 2 – 0 lead. The Mets got three hits in the top of the third, but failed to score, in part due to a double play grounder by Daniel Murphy. Then, after the third, the Mets offense went limp, getting just two men on base for the rest of the game.

David Wright had a good game, going 3 for 4 with the RBI single. Jeff Francoeur also had a good day, going 2 for 4.

The Mets defeat Friday puts them nine and a half back in the NL Wild Card race. The Phillies also lost, so the Mets remain eleven back in the NL East.

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.

Livan Hernandez Goes the Distance, Mets Win 6 – 1

Santana Will Go For Sweep Tonight

The biggest move the Mets made this winter was getting Francisco Rodriguez. Yet, that was hardly the only move Omar Minaya made this past off-season. He brought in J.J. Putz, Ken Takahashi, and Sean Green as well to help shore up the bullpen. Sean Green aside, those moves have worked out pretty well. He also brought in some key position players. Gary Sheffield was clearly the biggest and best acquisition, but Minaya also brought in solid players like Jeremy Reed and Alex Cora to provide depth. But perhaps, one of Minaya’s biggest and most underated moves was bringing in Livan Hernandez.

Livan Hernandez is 33 years old, and presumably past his prime. Yet, he brings plenty of experience, craftiness, and of course his rubber arm to the Mets. He has been remarkably consistent this year. He is rarely spectacular, but he keeps the Mets in games. As evidence of the statement, Hernandez has lost only one game this entire year. The fact is he may not win every game, but he usually gives his team a chance. And on a starting staff that has been wildly inconsisten this year, Hernandez’s work has to be appreciated.

Last night, against one of the worst teams in baseball, Hernandez was hardly spectacular, but remarkably efficent. In going all the way for the Mets, he gave up nine hits and a walk, but just one earned run. It took 127 pitches, yet at the end of the evening, Livan Hernandez had gotten the first complete game at Citi Field.

Despite their depleted lineup,  the Mets provided plenty of offense for Hernandez. Ramon Martinez hit an RBI double in the bottom of the second. The Mets added another two runs in the bottom of the third, and then with the Mets leading 3 – 1 after six and a half innings, Gary Sheffield put the game out of reach with his three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh.

In other good news, Oliver Perez made his first rehab start for triple-A Buffalo, and presumably, dependent on how Perez does for Buffalo and on how Tim Redding does for the Mets, could rejoin the big club within the next few weeks.

With the Braves loss to the Giants last night, the Mets are now two games ahead of the Braves. They remain a half-game behind the Phillies iu the NL East and 1.5 games behind the Brewers/Cardinals in the Wild Card chase.

Mets Battered, Swept, and Utterly Humiliated by the Cardinals

Sports Illustrated boldly picked the New York Mets to win the World Series. Expectations are high for the Mets. And thus far, the Mets are disappointing on every level. The offense hits, but not with runners in scoring position. The bullpen has a few studs, but lacks depth. And the starting pitching, aside from Santana, has been dreadful from the second spot to the fifth.

On Thursday afternoon, the Cardinals finished off their three-game sweep of the New York Mets, withstanding a late Mets rally to win 12 – 8. Each game of the series presented a whole new set of issues for the Mets.

On Tuesday, Oliver Perez was given an early 4 – 0 lead, but promptly threw the game away, giving up four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Perez would leave after 4 and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks. After three starts, Perez has an ERA of 7.80. The bullpen pitched well until the eighth when Putz had his first bad game, giving up two runs. The Cardinals were helped by a crucial error from Mets left-fielder Daniel Murphy.

On Wednesday, the Mets once again received a subpar performance from their starter. John Maine lasted 5 and two-thirds innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits and five walks. Manuel was forced to go to his bullpen early again, bringing in both Casey Fossum and Brian Stokes for the second straight game. The two pitched well, but it was of no use, as the Mets couldn’t manage any offense against Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro. The Mets would fall 5 – 2.

Then, on Thursday, the Mets left ten runners on-base in a 12 - 8 loss to the Cardinals. But the big story was once again the starting pitching. Livan Hernandez struggled Thursday afternoon giving up seven runs in just four and a third innings. Manuel once again needed big innings out of his bullpen. Brian Stokes was brought in for the third straight game, which has to worry Mets fans who watched Stokes and Joe Smith burn out last year.

General Observations: The Mets are hitting the ball well. Most of their starters are off to fast starts. Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Murphy, and Church are all hitting over .300. Yet, the Mets are having a hard time bringing runners home. And Sheffield is off to a terrible start. He has just two hits in eighteen at-bats. Meanwhile, the Mets starting pitching has been simply horrific. Perez and Maine are both off to terrible starts. Hernandez looked terrible on Thursday. Pelfrey is injured forcing the Mets to turn to Nelson Figueroa, a rather mediocre veteran from Pittsburgh. Thus far, the rotation, with the exception of Santana, has been among the worst in the Major Leagues. And the bullpen has had to work way too hard these past few weeks. For the most part, they are doing well, but there have been some problems with the middle relievers. Pedro Feliciano continues to struggle and Sean Green gave up five runs on Thursday. The pen is being overused and is in danger of burning out as spring turns into summer.

Reds Come Alive Against Oliver Perez, Defeating Mets 8 – 6 In Series Finale

Only 17, 837 fans showed up for Thursday afternoon’s series finale between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. But those who did show up got to see the Reds pick up their first win of the season against an erratic Oliver Perez.

The Mets got off to a good start Thursday, scoring 3 runs with two outs in the top of the third. The inning started with a single from Jose Reyes who was then caught stealing, and a groundout by Daniel Murphy. But with two outs, David Wright walked, Carlos Delgado singled, Carlos Beltran drove in Wright with a single, and then Ryan Church hit a double that drove in both Delgado and Beltran. 3 – 0 Mets.

But then Perez, who had retired the first six hitters of the game, began to unravel in the bottom of the third, giving up four runs on two walks and two hits. The big hit of the inning was a three-run homerun by Joey Votto, who hammered the Mets all series long. 4 – 3 Reds.

The Mets fought back in the fifth, with singles by Murphy and Wright, and then an RBI fielders choice by Carlos Delgado. The game was tied. But once again, the Reds answered. Perez gave up a bunt single, a walk, an RBI single to Votto, a sRBI acrafice fly to Brandon Phillips, and then another walk, before Jerry Manuel finally took him out with two runners on and with the Reds leading 6 – 4. Darren O’Day managed to record the final two outs of the inning but not before letting both inherited runners score on a critical 2-RBI single by Paul Janish. 8 – 4 Reds.

Oliver Perez was horrible. 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 5 walks, and 8 earned runs. Yet, the Mets refused to give up. The bullpen delivered 4 and two-thirds shutout innings, including two sterling innings from Brian Stokes and a good comeback performance from Pedro Feliciano (2 batters faced, 2 strikeouts). Meanwhile, the Mets offense put together a few runs. A sacrafice fly by Alex Cora in the 6th. A sacrafice fly by Carlos Delgado in the 7th. But then the Mets ran into the heart of the Reds bullpen. Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Chad Cordero, who pitched 2 and two-thirds perfect innings to seal the victory for the Reds.

The offense was decent and efficent for the Mets Thursday. They scored 6 runs and only left 5 runners on base. The bullpen was strong. The only real problem was with Oliver Perez. The pressure is really building on Perez, to show Mets fans why he deserves his big paycheck. Mark the date April 15 on your calendar. That’s Oliver Perez’s next start. At Citi Field. ESPN2. Against the San Diego Padres. It will be primetime. It might be exactly what the doctor ordered for Oliver Perez.

New York Mets @ Cincinnati Reds

I boldly promised to deliever scouting reports on all 5 NL East teams by Opening Day, and in the end I couldn’t even finish one. Disappointing, I know. Pathetic as well. But, moving on, baseball season has now begun. And with the dawn of baseball season also comes the beginning of my New York Mets coverage. Beginning with a series preview:

New York Mets @ Cincinnati Reds

Pitching Lines: (all statistics are from last year)

Monday, April 6 @ 1:10pm EST

Johan Santana (16 – 7, 2.53 ERA) @ Aaron Harang (6 – 17, 4.78 ERA)

Wednesday, April 8 @ 7:10pm EST

Mike Pelfrey (13 – 11, 3.72 ERA) @ Edinson Volquez (17 – 6, 3.21 ERA)

Thursday, April 9 @ 12:35pm EST

Oliver Perez (10 – 7, 4.22 ERA) @ Micah Owings (6 – 9, 5.93 ERA)

The Reds Clubhouse Report:

Cincinnati Reds fans will be watching Monday and Wednesdays’ games very carefully. In order to get anywhere this year, the Reds will need strong years from Aaron Harang and Edinson Volquez. Both have showed flashes of greatness, but both have also presented cause for concern. Harang, after two terrific years in 2006 and 2007, was horrendous in 2008. So, what will 2009 look like for Harang? Monday will be our first chance to see. Meanwhile, will Volquez be able to display the dominance he showed last year? The Reds season hangs on the balance.

The Mets Clubhouse Report:

Most of the press will focus on Thursday’s game. They will zone in on Oliver Perez, who stunk it up in Spring Training. Yet, Perez isn’t really a big question as far as I’m concerned. He’ll probably be the same pitcher he’s always been. A .500 pitcher with great promise that is limited by wildness and inconsistency. I’m more concerned with how Mike Pelfrey pitches on Wednesday. Will Pelfrey be able to continue last year’s success? Is he really a #2 pitcher? Can Santana and Pelfrey replicate the success Hampton and Leiter or Martinez and Glavine had for the Mets? This is a huge deal, and could well determine the Mets season.

Also, keep an eye on the Mets bullpen. The end of the bullpen has been strengthened. Putz and Rodriguez are fantastic additions. Yet, my question is how will the rest of the relief corps perform? How will our middle relievers do? Keep an eye on Feliciano and Parnell among others. A strong performance from the middle of the bullpen could mean the end to the Mets bullpen problems.

Saying Goodbye to 2008

The ball rocketed off Ryan Church’s bat. And for just a second, the melancholy faded. Tie game. The Mets could still be going to the playoffs. On a huge two run home-run by Church. And then the ball fell out of the sky into the right fielder’s glove, at the edge of the warning track. And that was the end of the season. And the end of Shea Stadium. 44 years at Shea. The lovable losers of 1962. The Miracle Mets of ’69. The Mets that believed in ’73. One of the best teams ever to play the game in ’86. And the group of nobodies that somehow made it to the World Series in 2000. And the Chavez catch of ’06. And now, the collapse of ’07 and the near-miss of ’08. Shea is gone.

This was obviously a frustrating game for Mets fans. Oliver Perez was masterful for the first five innings. But, so was Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen. The tension kept adding up. I knew the Mets needed to score, before the Marlins broke it open. We needed to get some runs. Establish the fact that this was our game. Just like the Mets ought to have established weeks ago that this was our season by beating the Phillies at home.

But no, the Marlins scored first. The walk with the bases-loaded was particularly tough to watch. 2 – 0 Florida. But at this time, Milwaukee was still losing toi the Cubs, so for all intents and purposes, the Mets could’ve lost to the Marlins and still ended up tied for the wild-card. And then things got even better. A two-run homerun by Carlos Beltran, an incredible clutch hit that tied the game up and energized the Shea crowd. 

But Mets fans were still nervous. Perez had been replaced in the sixth inning, which meant that the whole Mets season was going to come down to their bullpen and their late offense. Not good. And sure enough, after a strong performance by Joe Smith and a beautiful inning from sudden star Brian Stokes, the Mets bullpen gave it up in the eighth. The first batter Scott Schoenweis faced. Homerun. The first batter Luis Ayala faced. Homerun. At the end of seven and a half, Marlins four and the Mets two.

And at around the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers stromed to a 3 – 1 lead over the Chicago Cubs on a huge two-run shot off the bat of Ryan Braun. So, the Mets needed to win. And as always, they came close, torturing their fans with near-miss after near-miss. With two runners on in the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Delgado lifted a long fly ball to left-center. But if was caught, right at the edge of the warning track. And then with two outs and down to the final strike of the season, Damion Easley walked, bringing up Church, who had struck out his last six times at this plate. But this time he gave it a ride. A ride that fell just short. 

Give credit where credit is due. C.C. Sabathia pitched a marvelous game. A Johan Santana type of performance. And the Brewers fought. And they won. Their first playoff berth in decades. It really is a nice story.

But for the Mets, this was a real heartbreaker.

Mets Head to Atlanta Needing Series Win

The New York Mets haven’t been awful of late. They’re 6 – 4 in their last 10 games. And they now have a 1.5 game lead in the NL Wild Card chase over the Milwaukee Brewers. But they have definitely failed to take control of this 2008 season and this NL division. Losing two out of three at home against Philadelphia was disappointing. Then after two wins versus the Nationals, they lost two out of three to the Braves at home. And then, they were only able to win 2 of 4 in D.C., even though the Nationals are currently one of the worst teams in baseball.

The point is the Mets need to take advantage now of the opportunities they have. Luckily for them, Milwaukee is currently collapsing (2 – 8 in their last 10), so the Mets might be able to win the Wild Card without too much effort. But, if they want to show fans that this year is different than last, then they need to start winning. They won the last two games in Washington. Now, they’ve got to continue success. Atlanta is a bad team this year. And in this series, the Mets will send Oliver Perez, Pedro Martinez, and Mike Pelfrey to the hill. The Braves counter with a struggling Jo-Jo Reyes (who the Mets battered several days ago), a good pitcher in Campillo, and an unproven one in Parr.  The Mets will not have to face Jurrjens, who has been the Braves best pitcher this year. So, the Mets ought to win two out of three, particulalry the Perez vs. Reyes one and the Pelfrey vs. Parr one. And if they want to win this division and start beating down the ghosts of 2007, they’ll need to win two out of three.

Mets Take Out the Brooms and Mop Up the Brew Crew

The Mets had already won the series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They had already impressed fans and reporters alike. But, that wasn’t enough for the Mets. With some suggesting that the Mets take it easy today and rest their key players for the upcoming weekend series against the Phillies. the Mets refused to lose.

Instead, they came out playing hard as ever, scoring six runs in the top of the first and never looking back en route to a 9 – 2 victory. The first inning onslaught was highlighted by three straight hits, a walk, and then back-to-back homeruns. The first was a grand slam off the bat of Ryan Church. The second a solo shot by Brian Schneider.

It was a truly impressive showing by the offense. On a day when the stars were mostly held in check (Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado went a combined 4 for 16 with just 2RBI), the other key contributors came through. The Mets got another big day from Daniel Murphy (2 – 4, 2R), and got a big 2RBI single from Nick Evans to put the game out of reach in the eighth inning. And then of course, the big blows from Schneider and Church. Nine runs on ten hits. Another productive day for the Metsies.

And meanwhile, Oliver Perez wasn’t at his best today, but he managed to overcome bouts of wildness to pick up his 10th win of the season. He walked five, but in the end gave up only two earned runs, lasting into the seventh inning. He was then followed by 2 and a third innings of seamless bullpen work.

It was a great day for the Mets, but I do wonder about today’s bullpen management. Don’t get me wrong. I love Jerry Manuel, and think he deserves serious consideration for Manager of the Year. However, I’m not sure why he put Scott Schoenweis in to pitch the 9th, with the team up 9 – 2. Why not give one of the new September call-ups a chance to pitch?

But, at the end of the day, it was the Mets fourth straight win, and if we’re lucky we could end the day with a 3 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. Every day, it seems like the Mets are rapidly making their way towards an NL East title. Success this weekend would make things even better, and allow us to soon begin talking about magic numbers. But for now, great win. Great offense. Great pitching. Great team.