Week In Review

It was a tough opening week for Mets fans as they lost 2 of 3 to both the Nationals and Marlins. While this isn't the start they wanted there were some positives to take from it. The bullpen has looked very good so far. The starters for the most part have pitched well enough to keep the Mets in games. Jeff Franceour has been the hottest hitter to this point. Jose Reyes is back playing baseball. The biggest concerns are still John Maine and Oliver Perez and the Mets lineup. Gary Matthews Jr. is not Carlos Beltran, and I think Mets fans forget how great a hitter Beltran is and how his bat dramatically changes this lineup. Hopefully, Pagan will get some more playing time this week. The next problem is that Mike Jacobs and Fernando Tatis haven't been able to produce so far. Maine and Perez both have lost velocity which is a concern. They are going to have to pitch well for the Mets to have a shot this year. The good news is its still early, and with a roadtrip to Colorado and St. Louis, two teams expected to be in the playoffs, this week it will give the Mets a good test.

Home Run Citi

Mets 8 Nationals 2

The Mets won thanks to the long ball. Jeff Francoeur went 2 for 4 with 2 home runs and 3 rbi. Rod Barajas went 2 for 4 with 2 solo home runs. David Wright went 2 for 4 and was robbed of a home run by the wind. Mike Pelfrey pitched well in 6 innings giving up 2 runs, 4 walks, 4 hits while striking out 4. His splitter looked good last night and he was able to get out of some jams. The bullpen pitched three scoreless innings. It was great to see the Mets get a quality start and hit some long balls. The Nationals seemed to over manage the game. In the seventh after David Wright doubled off the wall, Mike Jacobs came to the plate and the Nationals brought in a lefty, which prompted Manuel to pinch hit Fernando Tatis. Tatis delivered the clutch hit.With the way Jacobs has been swinging the bat it would have been better to leave in the righty and face Jacobs then bring in the lefty and face Tatis.

The Ike Davis Watch Davis went 1 for 3 with a home run and 2 runs scored last night for Buffalo. Mike Jacobs went 0 for 2 with a walk, and Fernando Tatis had a pinch hit rbi single.

Bats and Crowd Come Up Small

Marlins 3 Mets 1

While this is not the start the Mets envisioned for the season there is a lot for them to be happy about. The bullpen has looked good for the most part so far. Jon Niese pitched well in 6 innings giving up 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and 3 runs. Niese looked good, didn't use his curveball that much, and there is a lot for him to build off of. Jose Reyes is also slated to come back Saturday which will be very refreshing for Mets fans to see. Jeff Francoeur went 2 for 4 with an rbi. Angel Pagan went 2 for 4. Jayson Bay went 1 for 4 with a run scored. Other than that there wasn't much else as Nate Robertson pitched well for Florida, keeping the Mets hitters off balance.

The Ike Davis Watch takes a new turn now as AAA Buffalo started the season and Davis went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. In New York Fernando Tatis went 0 for 4 with a strikeout in his first start at first base of the year.

The Mets host the Nationals tonight as Mike Pelfrey gets the start tonight for the Mets. This is a big series for the Mets. There really aren't any must win games in April, but this is as close as you can get. Attendance was poor for last nights game and if things don't turn around especially with fan support things could get ugly.

Not The Start They Wanted

Marlins 7 Mets 6

This is not the start the Mets wanted for John Maine. He gave up two home runs which is the biggest issue with Maine. The Bullpen was not good as well. Mejia in his major league debut gave up three hits and a run in his one inning of work. Sean Green gave up a home run in his one inning of work. Takahashi gave up two hits, a walk and a run in 1/3 of an inning. The Mets did not get the big hit when they needed it. Jeff Francouer did walk again. Fernando Tatis' base running blunder on a passed ball reminds Mets fans of last year.

The good news is that Jon Niese goes tonight for the Mets. He very well could be the key to the rotation. It is also expected that Ruben Tejada will make his major league debut tonight. Jose Reyes also looks on pace to return Saturday.

The Ike Davis Watch continues as Mike Jacobs, in the cleanup spot again, went 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts. At this point the Mets cannot have Jacobs batting fourth and performing so poorly after Wright and in front of Bay. If Jacobs keeps this up it will be interesting to see if Carter or Davis gets called up, but I do believe the Mets are going to give Jacobs the benefit of the doubt for at least April.

Welcome Back

I've taken a long break from writing this blog, but now I'm back and ready to go for this new season. Yesterday was opening day and while I wish I could have been at Citi for it I had to settle for just drinking some beers in my room with some of my fraternity brothers.

METS 7 MARLINS 1

I know the Mets organization could not have written a better start to this season after the hell that was spring training. Santana was good not great. Wright got the monkey off his back with his first home run of the season. K-Rod pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Bay looked great in his debut. Even, Jeff Franceour drew a walk.

The real test for the season starts tomorrow with John Maine starting for the Mets. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the rotation plays out, as this will determine how the Mets will do this year. At this point I would hope for Maine to get through 5 maybe 6 innings and not give up any long balls.

The Ike Davis Watch has also begun as Mike Jacobs went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts in the cleanup spot and Fernando Tatis, as a defensive replacement, was subpar.

A Familiar Rat

You're going to think I'm crazy.......well maybe not all Mets fans based on some recent comments and blog posts I've seen......but one of the biggest problems with the Mets might be their own Assistant General Manager Tony Bernazard. Tony Bernazard is a rat in every sense of the word, he plays the game and it appears he plays it well. He cuddles up to ownership and undermines everyone who stands in his way. Bernazard is the Vice President of Player Relations, which basically is the Assistant GM, and was supposed to build the Mets into a power house in Latin America. Young Latin American ballplayers were supposed to be lining up to sign with the Mets, but that has been far from the case. The Mets have developed very few impact Latin American players, although due to youth that may be a premature statement. They also haven't had the strangle hold on the Latin American pipeline like they were supposed to, they've lost out too many times on the signings of impact players. There is also the constant undermining that seems to be going on when he is around from having Latin American players call him when they have a problem off the field or with a manager or someone from the front office. I know Willie Randolph hated how much Bernazard was on the field and in the clubhouse when he was with the team, and Tony's dirty habit of telling the Latin American players what Randolph said about them in closed door meetings. I might be wrong but I don't think Bernazard would've suddenly become an angel when Jerry became manager.
Fast-Foward to 2010 and you'll see the New York Mets will have Tony Bernazard as their General Manager, and i think its safe to say Bernazards first move will be to make Manny Acta his manager.(That was who Bernazard wanted to replace Randolph) The Mets will also suddenly become that power house in Latin America that they were supposed to be when Omar Minaya became General Manager, but Tony will say that the difference is not because he was gunning for Omars job but because of the renewed commitment the team is making to the Latin American community. Every team has their own rats, those people who seem so determined to work behind their co-workers backs until they get what they want and unfortunately for Mets fans Tony Bernazard is that kind of guy and even more unfortunate is that he seems to have the Wilpons ear.

Big Weekend for the East

Who would've guessed this close to the All Star Break the NL East would be this mediocre. The Phillies and Marlins are both only 2 games above .500, the Mets are at .500 and the Braves are 2 games below .500. With all the teams in NL East within striking distance (besides the Nats but if the Nats folded tomorrow would anyone even really notice?) which can be blamed on injuries and inconsistencies from the Mets and Phillies. That leads us to this weekend when the Mets take on the Phillies, the Marlins take on the Pirates and the Braves take on the lowly Nats. The only team to play as bad as the Mets have at times this month have been the Phillies who have continued their up and down season. This matchup seems to point in the Mets direction as this series is in Philly, where the Phillies have been inexplicably awful this year, Raul Ibanez is still on the DL, as he was the difference the last time these two teams played, and the pitching matchups greatly favor the Mets. However, it seems like whenever Mets fans expect the Mets to step up they always seem to falter. Taking two of three this weekend would provide a huge boost for this team going into the final two series before the All-Star Break. The Marlins and especially the Braves can help themselves out mightily as they get favorable matchups as the Mets and Phillies beat up on each other. All together this should be a great weekend for the NL East and be a preview of a crazy second half.