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.

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.

Swept Away

Its hard to come up with the words to describe the feelings I know most Mets fans like myself are experiencing right now.......frustration.......anger.......desperation. It would be one thing if the Mets were battling in these 3 most recent loses, but poor defense, poor pitching and no hitting have really done in the Mets after an encouraging series against the Cardinals. I think after watching how this series unfolded it is quite clear to everyone that the Mets need to make a move to improve not only the teams hitting but its defense as well. The time is now to make a move to acquire a legitimate major league caliber hitter, and it is time to send Murphy and Martinez back down to the minors. Murphy is just a mess at the plate and his defense has proven too costly this year. Murphy needs to be back down in the minors to get his confidence and stroke back and also to get more seasoning at first base where it won't be so costly to the Mets. Martinez has just been over matched since he was first called up, and would have been better off staying in the minors even after Carlos Beltran got hurt. He does have great speed but I have seen several defensive miscues and there just aren't any words to describe his hitting. He is only 20 years old so there is a a lot of potential there but he needs to be sent down before permanent damage is done. These injuries have shown the lack of organizational depth the Mets really have, while they have experienced bad luck with injuries and seeing Fernando Tatis fall back to earth after he tinkered with his swing, things just aren't looking up so it is clear the Mets need outside of the organization help. The best news of the night for the Mets came out of Brooklyn with Oliver Perez pitching a solid outing, and with him on track to make one more start before returning to the majors it looks like Tim Redding will have one more start before he gets sent to the 'pen. I couldn't end tonight's entry without acknowledging the accomplishments of Mariano Rivera, 500 saves is a tribute to how great and consistent a closer he has been, I can't wait for the day when Yankee fans realize how lucky they've had it with Rivera.

Mets-Yanks Recap

It was a tough night at Citi if you were a Mets fan last night, not only were we outnumbered by Yankees fans but were almost on the wrong side of history again. The past two games show just how depleted the Mets are as CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett had it pretty easy against the Mets. The one hit the Mets were able to get the entire game speaks volumes to how the lineup is composed of mostly Triple A and role players. There is a definite need for the Mets to make a deal for a bat as it doesn't seem like Delgado, Reyes or Beltran will be back soon, but hey Angel Pagan should be back in the next week. A deal for Mark Teahen, Aubrey Huff, Adam Dunn, or Ryan Spilborghs is needed at this point for this team to stay close enough with the Phillies so that when Beltran, Reyes and Delgado come back it isn't a desperate situation. Although, Omar needs to be cautious so that he doesn't give up too much for a run now. (Do I have to remind Mets Fans about the Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano fiasco.) Hopefully Wright or Church can get on a tear and carry us to the All Star Break.

Mets v. Yanks

Going to Citi Field tonight for second game of the three game set against the Yankees. Looking forward to this although dealing with all those Yankees fans should be interesting. Hopefully, the Mets will be able to do better against AJ Burnett this time around. Lets Go Mets!!!!!