Mets Head into Off-Season with Many Questions

The New York Mets ended their season with a meaningless 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Now it is time for the Mets to figure out what they want to do for next year.

The two main priorities for the New York Mets front office are third baseman David Wright, the franchise's all-time hits leader, and Cy Young candidate and 20 game winner R.A Dickey. These two were the heart and soul of 2012 Mets, and according to Sandy Alderson, they will be in Mets uniforms for years to come.

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After Dickey and Wright, the Mets are a major question mark. Only four New York Met starting pitchers started more than 20 games this season, and only Dickey and Johnathan Niese started 30 games. Dickey and Niese are also the only starters to reach double digit wins. Dickey posted a 20 win season while Niese collected 13 wins. Johan Santana was far from being himself this season coming off of shoulder surgery. Yes, he did throw a no-hitter against St.Louis, but what has he done since? His first start after the no-hitter against the Yankees, he gave up six runs in five innings including back to back to back home runs.

The Mets bullpen was a question mark all season, and for good reason. The Mets lacked any solid relief pitching, and blew countless leads late in games. The Mets platooned a number of pitchers out to the mound in relief. John Rauch (3-7, 3.59), Manny Acosta (1-3, 6.46), and Frank Francisco (1-3, 5.53) were disappointments for the Mets, while Bobby Parnell (5-4, 2.49) had his share of good moments and bad moments.

On the offensive side, the Mets must decide what to do with first baseman Ike Davis. Davis finished the season with a .227 avg with 32 home runs, and 90 RBI, but early in the season Davis was lucky if he was hitting his weight. It was an ugly struggle for Ike, who could not find any way out his miserable slump. Davis finished the season on a positive note hitting .273 with four home runs and seven RBI in his final 10 games.

With the off-season upon them, the Mets must find a way to become a top contender in the National League East, and it will not be easy with the way the Braves and Nationals played this year. The Mets need another big bat in the lineup to help David Wright, and Ike Davis is not the answer, even with his 32 homers this season.

It will be interesting to see what route the Mets decide to take to improve their team for next season. No matter which path they take, it should be a busy off-season for the Mets.

Bullpen Losses Yet Another Game for Mets

Wednesday, August 22 2012

Final Score: Colorado Rockies: 5 New York Mets: 2

Bullpen Losses yet another Game for Mets

Things are hitting new lows every night in Queens for the Mets.  After another disappointing loss to the Rockies 5-2 Wednesday night, the Mets now see their losing streak at four games.  They have lost 13 of their last 15 games at Citi Field and have an abysmal 11-27 record since the All-Star break.  They have also lost seven straight games to the Rockies at home.  The Mets record now sits 10 games under .500, the worst it has been in three years. 

It was yet another strong effort from a starting pitcher tonight for the Mets that was wasted by a poor showing at the plate and a poor performance from the bullpen.  This is becoming almost a nightly thing, making watching the game almost obsolete as the end result is almost always the same.

Tonight the starting pitcher to be let down was Matt Harvey.  Harvey received a no-decision in the game, being lifted after six innings with his pitch count at 102.  Harvey was dominant against the Rockies, carrying a no-hitter into the 4^th inning before Jonathan Herrera led off the frame with an opposite field single.  It was one of only three hits that Harvey would surrender on the night.

Harvey would also walk two batters and give up only one earned run, as Herrera scored in the 4^th inning off a Wilin Rosario sac fly.  Harvey almost single handedly made up for the base runners he surrendered going 2 for 2 at the plate with two singles, giving him a .455 batting average in the major leagues.

Harvey also struck out nine Rockies Wednesday night, giving him 43 in his first six major league appearances.  That is enough to become the Mets franchise leader through six appearances, giving him one more than Nolan Ryan had in his first six Mets appearances, even though one was out of the bullpen.

Harvey ended the night with six innings pitched, three hits and two walks resulting in one earned run and nine strikeouts.

Immediately after going to the bullpen, the tie game was broken open as Ramon Ramirez gave up a homerun to Rosario to start the 7^th inning and would see Tyler Colvin score on a D.J. Mathieu suicide squeeze.

The Rockies would later capitalize on a Kelly Shoppach throwing error in the ninth inning and plate two more insurance runs off Frank Francisco, who saw his ERA rise to 6.42.  The Mets were able to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Ronny Cedeno flew out to end the game.

Scott Hairston’s first inning sac fly and Ike Davis’ eight-inning RBI single accounted for all of the Mets offense.  Jason Bay was heavily booed after going 0 for 3, dropping his average to .148.  With the tying runs on base in the 8^th inning, Bay was lifted for pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin, who struck out to end the inning.

The Mets look to salvage the last game of the four game series Thursday afternoon as Collin McHugh will make his major league debut in place of Johan Santana against Tyler Chatwood (3-3, 5.46 ERA).

Mets Drop Rubber Game, Series Against Nationals

Sunday, August 20^th 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 2 Washington Nationals: 5

Mets Drop Rubber Game to Nationals

The start of the game today was delayed two hours and 26 minutes because of rain, and the Mets wish the game had been postponed all together.  The Nationals dropped the Mets in the rubber game of the series, as the Mets could already be contemplating that the new six-man rotation may not be the way to go after suffering a 5-2 loss this afternoon.  The Mets have won only once in their last 11 series and went 2-4 on this latest road trip against two division leaders in Cincinnati and Washington.

No one likes such a lengthy delay to start a game, but it cannot be used as an excuse as professional athletes have to be prepared to take on anything thrown at them.  This afternoon, Jeremy Hefner did not come out on top of his game and the Nationals capitalized. 

Hefner was hurt by the long ball, surrendering homeruns to Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa in his five innings of work.  In total, Hefner surrendered eight hits and five earned runs, as it was a rough afternoon for the Mets starter.

Harper would also add an RBI triple in the game, just adding to his impressive numbers for the series.  Harper ended the series 4 for 7 against the Mets, including a triple and two homeruns, four RBI’s and a walk.

Gio Gonzalez blanked the Mets into the sixth inning, earning his N.L. high tying 16^th win of the season.  It was not an easy win for Gonzalez, who got out of two base runner jams in both the first and third innings.  A leadoff triple by Ronny Cedeno in the fourth inning also went for naught.  

The Mets struggled today with runners in scoring position, going 1 for 11 and stranding 10 runners on base.

Daniel Murphy was ejected in the eighth inning tonight by home plate umpire Jordan Baker after being called out on strikes and flipping his bat.  He is the fourth Met to be ejected this season, after Frank Francisco, D.J Carrasco and Ike Davis. 

Next up for the Mets is a soft stretch in the schedule.  After facing two division leaders on the road this week, the Mets will get to face bottom dwellers for the next week at Citi Field.  The first team coming in is the NL West bottom dwelling Colorado Rockies.  R.A. Dickey (15-4, 2.89 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets in the first game of the series against Alex White (2-6, 5.74 ERA) at 7:10 P.M. ET Monday night.

Also, sometime Monday Terry Collins is planning to meet with Sandy Alderson to discuss Johan Santana’s future.  Right now, Santana is still scheduled to start Thursday’s matinee against the Rockies.  

Strong Niese Outing Powers Mets to Win

Saturday, August 18^th 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 2 Washington Nationals: 0

Strong Niese Outing Powers Mets

The Mets offense was not able to generate much scoring tonight, but it gave them enough to get the 2-0 victory over the Nationals behind a strong pitching performance from Jon Niese.  Even the bullpen pitched well for the Mets, giving up no runs in their relief of Niese.  With the win, the Mets were able to avoid dropping to a season low eight games under .500.

Niese threw possibly his best game of the season, going 7 1/3 shutout innings.  He allowed only five hits while striking out seven Nationals.  Niese was removed before he could finish the 8^th inning at 109 pitches, 13 shy of his career high, after getting Bryce Harper to fly out.

The pulling of Niese comes slightly as a surprise as the Mets are moving to a six-man rotation starting Sunday, meaning Niese will have an extra day of rest before pitching Friday night against the Astros.

Niese now has a career high streak of 13 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up a run.

Jon Rauch relieved Niese and was able to record the final two outs of the 8^th inning without incident.  Since June 28^th in 21 appearances, Rauch has given up only one earned run in his 15 innings of work.

Another positive for the Mets tonight was the performance of Frank Francisco.  Francisco was able to notch his 20^th save of the season tonight after being pulled from the ninth inning twice earlier in the week. 

Edwin Jackson had a strong game for the Nationals, going seven innings and giving up only two hits and one walk while striking out 11.  The only blemish for Jackson was a homerun given up to Ike Davis in the 7^th inning, which proved to be all the runs the Mets would need.  It was Davis’ 22^nd homerun of the season.

Next up for the Mets is the implanting of their six-man rotation Sunday, starting with Jeremy Hefner (2-4, 4.76 ERA) taking the mound in the finale against Gio Gonzalez (15-6, 3.29 ERA).

Johan Santana Rocked in Return From DL

Saturday August 11^th, 2012

Final Score: Atlanta Braves: 9 New York Mets: 3

Santana Rocked in Return from DL

Johan Santana wishes he could be back making rehab starts in the minor leagues after getting hammered by the Braves Saturday night, resulting in a 9-3 Mets defeat.  The Mets dropped six games under .500 for the first time all season, giving them the worst record they have had all season and falling further and further behind in the playoff races.

Santana’s return off the DL did not go as planned for the Mets.  He matched the shortest start of his career, lasting only 1 1/3 innings and giving up eight earned runs.  This was the second time this season that Santana was pulled after 1 1/3 innings against the Braves; the first occurrence was April 17^th at Turner Field.

Santana’s final stat line for the night was 1 1/3 innings pitched, eight hits, eight runs, one walks and two strikeouts. 

Santana joined Al Leiter in 1999 and Pedro Astacio in 2002 as the only Mets pitchers in franchise history to surrender six plus runs in four straight starts.  In those four starts, Santana has allowed 27 earned runs on 36 hits and six walks in only 14 innings.

Since throwing the first no-hitter in Mets history, Santana has been off his game.  Fatigue in his shoulder after throwing a career high 134 pitches could be the culprit, but no matter what the reason Santana has not been producing.  He has pitched to a 7.98 ERA with a .328 opponents batting average. 

Jeremy Hefner was strong in his relief of Santana after allowing Freddie Freeman to launch a homerun to center field past the apple.  Hefner went 3 2/3 innings after, scattering three hits.  It was a much needed performance for Hefner who was spared a demotion only because Garrett Olson was designated for assignment.

Manny Acosta, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco combined to finish the last four innings of the game, giving up only one hit and striking out six Braves.

Kris Medlen had a strong performance for the Braves, limiting the Mets to only one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. 

Ruben Tejada lost his hitting streak Friday night against the Braves, but got right back in the hit column with two more Saturday night.  Andres Torres had another nice night at the plate, going 2 for 4 with an RBI.  David Wright added an RBI of his own in the 8^th inning as well.

The series between the Mets and Braves will end Sunday on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.  Jon Niese (8-6, 3.82 ERA) will take the mound against Ben Sheets (4-1, 1.41 ERA). 

Marlins Wipe the Floor with Mets

Wednesday, August 8^th, 2012

Final Score: Miami Marlins: 13 New York Mets: 0

Marlins Wipe Floor with Mets

It was an ugly night at Citi Field for the Mets as the Marlins jumped out early and often en route to a 13-0 beat down.  The Mets just cannot buy a win at home right now, losing their eighth straight game at Citi Field since the All-Star break and ninth overall.  The last win at home for the Mets came all the way back on July 7^th against the Chicago Cubs.  The current home losing streak is the longest for the Mets since 2004, Art Howe’s last season as manager.  The Mets now sit at 53-58, 15 games behind Washington in the NL East and 10.5 games behind Atlanta for the last wild card spot. 

Chris Young was hammered tonight coming off what was his best start of the season.  The Marlins jumped on Young early and often, teeing off on him, including three homeruns.  The third homerun is what chased him from the game. 

Jose Reyes launched his eighth homerun of the season in the first inning to get the scoring started for the Marlins.  Giancarlo Stanton would hit the next two off Young, a two run shot in the first inning and another two run shot in the fifth inning. 

Young lasted only 4 1/3 innings in the game, unable to build off his strong performance in San Francisco last week.  He finished the game with totals of seven hits, seven runs, three walks and four strikeouts. 

The Marlins did not stay quite for long, as they put up another four spot in the eighth inning and a two spot in the ninth.  Lefty Garrett Olson was making his Mets debut and fit in perfectly with the bullpen giving up four earned runs in 1/3 inning. 

Closer Frank Francisco came in for the ninth inning to get some work in and continued the woeful pitching surrendering a two-run homerun to Greg Dobbs.

The Mets were able to only muster five hits off the Marlins pitching staff.  They were not without opportunities to score though, as the Marlins walked six Mets, giving them opportunities to make things happen; the Mets just were unable to take advantage.

One positive for the Mets was that Ruben Tejada continued his hitting streak with a single in the third inning, putting the streak at 13 games.  Reyes also continued his streak for the Marlins, getting his up to 26 games.  The 26 game hitting streak for Reyes is a career high for him and a high in the majors this season. 

Next up is the finale of the three game series in a Thursday matinee at 12:10 P.M. ET.  R.A. Dickey (14-3, 2.82 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets as they try to salvage the last game of the series against the Marlins’ Josh Johnson (7-7 3.85 ERA). 

Hefner Performs Well in Spot Start for Mets

Saturday, August 4^th, 2012

Final Score: New York Mets: 6 San Diego Padres: 2

Hefner Performs Well in Spot Start

The Mets offense was able to wake up some Saturday night, scoring six runs in defeating the Padres 6-2.  The Mets move one game closer to .500 with the win tonight and sit with a record of 53-55 after tonight’s victory.  A strong performance from spot starter Jeremy Hefner not only earned him a spot on the major league roster for the time being but a much needed victory for the Mets.

Hefner threw a strong game for the Mets against his old team in the Padres.  He allowed the first batter to get on, but erased him with a double play on the next at-bat.  Hefner ultimately would allow only one run in six innings, surrendering only five hits and no walks to go along with two strikeouts.  One thing that stood out in Hefner’s start was that it took him only 74 pitches to get through the six innings. 

With Johan Santana expected to return from the DL next weekend, Hefner will be moved back to the bullpen according to manager Terry Collins.  Hefner’s performance tonight saved him from a demotion and showed how valuable he could be for the Mets organization. 

The Mets did a lot of their damage tonight in the 2^nd inning, scoring four of their six runs in the inning thanks to an erratic performance from Edinson Volquez.  Volquez managed to get through only 1 2/3 innings, giving up two hits and four walks, resulting in four earned runs while also striking out three.

Two of Volquez’s four walks on the night forced in runs in the 2^nd inning, which was highlighted by a two-RBI double by Jordany Valdespin.  Valdespin had been struggling on the road trip before the at-bat, going only 3 for 23.

Daniel Murphy had another strong performance tonight, going 4 for 4 at the plate for the Mets, also adding a walk.

Mike Baxter had a record tying night at the plate for the Mets as well without recording an at-bat.  Baxter walked five times tonight, which is the first time a player has accomplished that feat since 2006 when Ryan Howard did it for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Josh Edgin, the only lefty currently in the bullpen with Tim Byrdak landing on the DL with an injury to his shoulder, tossed a shutout 7^th inning despite an error from Ruben Tejada.  Edgin then tossed a second shutout inning, even after manager Terry Collins said he would be conscious of not over-using Egdin in Brydak’s absence.

Bobby Parnell came into the game in the 9^th inning and imploded giving up a leadoff homerun to Chase Headley followed by a double by Yonder Alonso.  He was relieved by Frank Francisco, who was making his first appearance since coming off the DL.  Francisco was able to close out the game without allowing another base runner, stranding Alonso on base.

The Mets will head into the finale in San Diego looking to win their second series in a row.  They have already clinched a winning road trip, which is a positive sign after such an awful start to the second half.  Matt Harvey (1-1, 1.59 ERA) will make his third career start against Jason Marquis (4-6, 4.08 ERA).