Jerry Manuel is Driving Me Crazy!!!

• Tie Game
• Bottom of the 6th
• Bases Loaded
• 2 Outs

Who does Jerry use to pinch hit?

Angel Berroa.

Who was on the bench?

Jeremy Reed.

On the year Reed is batting .364 as a pinch-hitter. He's 8 for 22 in that role with a .500 slg%.

Moreover, Reed's been up 10 times this year with 2 outs and RISP and he has 4 hits and 3 walks.

In his career, Berroa is 1 for 10 as a pinch hitter....actually he's now 1 for 11 after swinging and meekly grounding out on the first pitch against a guy who had walked 6 batters to that point.

Why on Earth would you pinch hit Angel Berroa over Reed in that situation?

Maybe cause it would have been lefty against lefty....oh wait, Reed is 4 for 7 against lefty's this year and Davis is actually easier to hit from the left side.

It's effin nuts!

Adam LaRoche Stats

UPDATE: LaRoche to the Braves for Kotchman.

Nothing official, but the rumors are out there. While we wait, let's check out Mr LaRoche (and no we're not getting into the Beltran thing here).

Nice power bat and hits righty's well--I like Murphy, but at this point LaRoche is a big power upgrade that adds value for the Mets miracle run......still, it's Adam LaRoche.

My thoughts are this would not be a bad move to make, but it's also pretty unnecessary if Delgado truly is two weeks away.

Career: Batting
SEASON	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2004	Atl	110	324	45	90	27	1	13	45	27	78	0	0	.278	.333	.488	.821
2005	Atl	141	451	53	117	28	0	20	78	39	87	0	2	.259	.320	.455	.775
2006	Atl	149	492	89	140	38	1	32	90	55	128	0	2	.285	.354	.561	.915
2007	Pit	152	563	71	153	42	0	21	88	62	131	1	1	.272	.345	.458	.803
2008	Pit	136	492	66	133	32	3	25	85	54	122	1	1	.270	.341	.500	.841
2009	Bos	6	19	2	5	2	0	1	3	0	2	0	0	.263	.263	.526	.789
2009	Pit	87	324	46	80	25	1	12	40	41	81	2	2	.247	.329	.441	.770
2009	--	93	343	48	85	27	1	13	43	41	83	2	2	.248	.326	.446	.772
Total	--	781	2665	372	718	194	6	124	429	278	629	4	8	.269	.338	.486	.824

Mr. Citi Field: Luis Castillo

Luis Castillo just may win NL Player of the month honors for July.

He currently sports a .400 batting average in July along with an otherworldly .500 OBP.

Moreover, the guy loves Citi Field.

Castillo has a .356 home batting average in 2009, and an outstanding .881 OPS at Citi Field. The parks size suits him better than any other Met.

By Breakdown	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left	86	16	26	6	1	0	11	9	0	5	3	0	.302	.357	.395	.752
vs. Right	202	40	62	5	2	0	14	40	0	15	8	4	.307	.421	.351	.772
Home	135	30	48	8	1	0	15	25	0	8	6	3	.356	.451	.430	.881
Away	153	26	40	3	2	0	10	24	0	12	5	1	.261	.360	.307	.667

Castillo is having a very nice season, and with the amount of home games the Mets have over the next 30+ days, he has a chance to finish what he started when he came to camp in great shape--a .300+ season that proves to everyone--and himself--that he is still a solid player that can hit, run, draw walks, and contribute to a winner.

2009 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	87	288	56	88	11	3	0	25	49	20	11	4	.306	.403	.365	.768
Career	1579	6065	952	1772	189	57	27	411	741	787	353	137	.292	.369	.355	.725
Last 7 days	6	19	8	10	2	1	0	5	5	1	0	0	.526	.625	.737	1.362
Projected	150	497	97	152	19	5	0	43	84	34	19	7	.306	.403	.365	.768

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Four in a row and suddenly that light at the end of the tunnel is just a bit brighter.

The Mets are hitting and pitching well as we near the dog days of Summer and have fought their way tooth and nail back into the playoff hunt. In fact, the Mets have tightened the entire wildcard race, a race in which 8 teams are separated by a scant 5.5 games.

Last night's game featured a hardworking and gritty performance by Big Mike Pelfrey.

Pelf pitched 6.1 scoreless innings and worked out of several jams by featuring the hard stuff and challenging the Rockies hitters inside. His teammates noticed and appreciated the effort.

"It feels good to win, and that starts with our pitching," said David Wright, who had two hits. "Yesterday our bullpen was fantastic and today Mike Pelfrey threw about as well as Mike Pelfrey can throw."

The exciting part for Mets fans is that Pelfrey is big, strong and athletic, and he had a very strong second half performance in 2008. While lesser athletes tire, Pelfrey gets stronger. He posted sub-3.00 ERAs in July and August 2008--if he can repeat that performance over his final 10-12 starts, it will go a long way toward pushing the Mets to a playoff spot.

"Everybody knows what we need to do," Pelfrey said. "Confidence-wise, we feel if we show up here you can put money on us. I don't know if you could have said that two weeks ago."

The Mets continue to hit--momentum building on momentum. David Wright, who is having something of a Jekyl and Hyde year, had two more hits to raise his season average to .323. In his last 6 games DW has a .429 BA, .556 OBP and 1.222 OPS. It's no coincidence that his resurgence comes at the same time as the winning streak.

Daniel Murphy is 10 for his last 30, has a 5 game hitting streak, and continues to make impressive play after impressive play at first.

And then there's Jeff Francoeur--I blasted this trade, and all Frenchy has done since he arrived is hit, work his tail off, and provide a much needed dugout and clubhouse spark. He has his flaws, both at the plate and in the field, but let me say this--after watching him for these last few weeks, it's easy to see that he really is a great guy. Works hard, gets along with everyone, and loves the game. He and Sheff and DW have a righthanded hitters club going, and I'm very excited at the prospect of him working next to Beltran, and interacting with Jose in the dugout.

Finally the bullpen--we can't heap much more love on Pedro Feliciano than we already have this season, but my God he was brilliant last night! 5 batters, 3 Ks, no hits, and pitches that danced and moved as well as we've ever seen. Brilliant.

Sean Green closed out a great win with a perfect 9th and it's all systems go for the Mets--You Gotta Believe!

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Colorado (54-46)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
N.Y. Mets (48-51) «	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	x	4	9	0

Player of the Game

New York
D. Murphy	AB	3
	R	2
	H	2
	HR	0
	RBI	1

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Angel Pagan, CF	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.295
Luis Castillo, 2B	3	1	1	1	1	0	0	.306
David Wright, 3B	3	0	2	0	1	0	1	.323
Daniel Murphy, 1B	3	2	2	1	1	0	1	.248
Jeff Francoeur, RF	3	0	1	1	0	1	3	.262
Cory Sullivan, LF	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	.167
Pedro Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a- Fernando Tatis, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.242
Sean Green, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Brian Schneider, C	2	0	0	1	1	1	0	.208
Alex Cora, SS	4	1	2	0	0	0	4	.242
Mike Pelfrey, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.121
Jeremy Reed, LF	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.262
Totals	27	4	9	4	5	5
a-popped out for Feliciano in the 8th
Batting
2B - David Wright (27, Marquis), Daniel Murphy (16, Marquis)
SF - Brian Schneider (3)
SH - Mike Pelfrey (3)
RBI - Luis Castillo (25), Daniel Murphy (34), Jeff Francoeur (51), Brian Schneider (21)
2-OUT RBI - Luis Castillo (13)
CS - David Wright (9, 2nd base by Marquis/Iannetta), Jeremy Reed (3, Home by Chacin/Iannetta)
Team LOB - 7
Fielding
DP - Cora-Castillo-Murphy, Murphy-Cora-Pelfrey, Green-Cora-Murphy

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mike Pelfrey (W,8-6)	6.1	7	0	0	3	5	0	4.72
Pedro Feliciano (H,19)	1.2	0	0	0	0	3	0	2.63
Sean Green	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4.84
HBP - Iannetta (by Mike Pelfrey), Barmes (by Sean Green)
Pitches-Strikes - Mike Pelfrey 115-71, Pedro Feliciano 22-15, Sean Green 14-8
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Mike Pelfrey 4-8, Pedro Feliciano 2-0, Sean Green 2-0
Batters Faced - Mike Pelfrey 28, Pedro Feliciano 5, Sean Green 3

Adam Rubin Continues to Shade the Truth

Normally this type of stuff doesn't bother me, but there is one small point that Adam Rubin keeps making that is simply not true.

He keeps saying that Omar accused him of lobbying for Bernazard's job, ie, lobbying for THE job of player personnel, and that Omar accused him of using his desire for THE job as motivation for his reporting on Bernazard.

The problem with that is Omar never said it.

What Omar Minaya actually said was that Adam Rubin was lobbying for 'A' player development position.

Even in Rubin's story from today's Daily News, he quotes Omar incorrectly, which is not proper journalism.

"Adam has lobbied for THE player development position," Minaya said.

This is blatantly inaccurate, and has been quoted differently in every other paper this morning.

The NY Post correctly quotes Omar as saying: "Adam, you gotta understand this, Adam, for the past couple of years, has lobbied for a player development position," Minaya said.

Much different meanings.

I reviewed the tape, and Omar said "a job", not "the job".

So why is Adam reporting that Omar said he lobbied for Bernazard's job?

Rubin is misquoting Omar because it puts him in a better light, but go back and watch the press conference and you see Rubin ask, “Are you alleging that I tried to tear Tony down so I could take his job?” “No, I’m not saying that,” Minaya said. “All I’m saying is that in the past you have lobbied for a job. You have told people in the front office that you want to work in the front office.”

Rubin himself has gone back and forth on this, saying he never asked for a Mets job, but just made some general inquiries--to all of the Mets brass--on how one gets a job in baseball.

Anyone with half a brain that hears these questions up and down an organization knows that the person that is asking the questions wants a job--Rubin, like everyone else, would never say "hey, Jeff, Omar, Tony, hire me"...the world is much more subtle than that....but by asking over and over his message was pretty clear.

I think Adam Rubin crossed the line of journalistic integrity by continually inquiring about a job from the team he was covering.

Omar called him on it....he may have botched the message and the timing by doing it in the press conference, but it's something that needed to be told.

The reporters will all jump to Rubin's side--that's fine--they are banding together. But I'm actually on Omar's side here

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Well, well, well....3 "wells" and 3 wins in a row from a team that has suddenly found new life.

The Mets are now 10-12 in July and stand 6.5 games back in the wildcard race.

It was a very strong win highlighted by the continued hot streak of Luis Castillo (2 for 3 with a walk), another RBI from the rejuvenated Jeff Francoeur (homered and drew his first Met walk--an intentional one), a strong bullpen effort in relief of Ollie Perez (the bullpen went 4 inning with no runs, no walks, and 5 Ks), and the big hit of the night--a Grand Slam by Fernando Tatis.

Tatis has had more than his share of struggles this season and hit into double plays at an embarrassing clip, but last night he wanted a fly ball, needed a fly ball, had to have a fly ball--and he got one--a really big fly. "I was just trying to hit a fly ball," Tatis said, "and it happened."

The bottom line for this team is that they are hitting and pitching well, and winning a bit, which in turn has energized the entire roster....they are having fun again.

The Mets have a real chance to keep the momentum going throughout this homestand and start the process of leapfrogging a few teams in the wildcard standings. That will be their guiding star to succeed.

There is plenty of baseball left--this team has a shot.

Team	W	L	PCT	GB	E#	L10	STRK	LAST GAME	NEXT GAME
Colorado	54	45	.545	-	-	6-4	L1	7/27 @ NYM, L 3-7	7/28 @ NYM, 7:10P
San Francisco	53	46	.535	1.0	63	4-6	W1	7/27 vs PIT, W 4-2	7/28 vs PIT, 10:15P
St. Louis	54	48	.529	1.5	61	4-6	W1	7/27 vs LAD, W 6-1	7/28 vs LAD, 8:15P
Atlanta	51	48	.515	3.0	61	7-3	W1	7/26 @ MIL, W 10-2	7/28 @ FLA, 7:10P
Florida	51	48	.515	3.0	61	6-4	W1	7/26 @ LAD, W 8-6	7/28 vs ATL, 7:10P
Houston	50	49	.505	4.0	60	5-5	L3	7/27 @ CHC, L 1-5	7/28 @ CHC, 8:05P
Milwaukee	49	50	.495	5.0	59	3-7	L2	7/27 vs WSH, L 6-14	7/28 vs WSH, 8:05P
NY Mets	47	51	.480	6.5	58	5-5	W3	7/27 vs COL, W 7-3	7/28 vs COL, 7:10P
Cincinnati	45	53	.459	8.5	56	3-7	W1	7/27 vs SD, W 6-4	7/28 vs SD, 7:10P
Pittsburgh	43	56	.434	11.0	53	4-6	L3	7/27 @ SF, L 2-4	7/28 @ SF, 10:15P
Arizona	43	57	.430	11.5	52	5-5	L1	7/27 vs PHI, L 2-6	7/28 vs PHI, 9:40P
San Diego	38	62	.380	16.5	47	2-8	L3	7/27 @ CIN, L 4-6	7/28 @ CIN, 7:10P
Washington	31	68	.313	23.0	41	5-5	W3	7/27 @ MIL, W 14-6	7/28 @ MIL, 8:05P

Adam Rubin Is Too Emotionally Involved

OK, I just watched the video of Adam Rubin after the Minaya press conference.

“I’m absolutely floored,” Rubin said afterward, as other reporters crowded him, seeking his reaction to Minaya’s comments. “I don’t know how I’m going to cover the team anymore.”I obviously can't cover this team until there's a new GM".

Can't cover the team while Minaya is GM? Why? Because his feelings got hurt? Welcome to real life.

Adam needs to act like a real reporter instead of an overly emotional teenager who got left at the prom by their date.

Reporters are often at odds with those whom they target--that comes with the territory--the key here is Adam Rubin reported it right and needed to be ready for whatever reactions came his way--not to ask for or expect a pat on the back or quit because he was singled out.

What reporter would expect a compliment from an organization after working their butt off to have a member of an organization fired?

Adam Rubin would.

I actually believe Omar here in a way. Rubin certainly DOES want a job in baseball...he said that himself and admitted to asking all the Mets brass how to get a job in baseball.

Does his desire to get a job in baseball have anything to do with the reporting he did on Bernazard?

Of course not, but his gross overreaction to Minaya's unfortunate comments is a little strange.

"Thou doth protest too much".

I hope Adam Rubin remains on the Mets beat---he's a good one--I also hope he realizes that the best thing to do today would be to look folks straight in the eye, and stick to your story--the story is your body of work, and you shouldn't threaten to quit because one of the targets didn't like it!

Mets Wild Card Push Comes Home

After taking the last two against the Astros, the Mets still believe they can fight their way into the playoffs.

"We got a shot," Jeff Francoeur said after the Mets finished this 10-game trip 4-6. We've got 65 games left, and I guarantee you every person on this team will fight their [butts] off to the end."

The Mets will play 21 of their next 34 games at home prior to September 1st, including the next 10 in a row, and tons of key games against other Wild Card contenders.

They open this stretch against the Rockies for 4, then the DBacks for 4, and the Cards for 2 more. Then it's back on the road for 4 against the Padres and 3 against the DBacks. Following an off-day, they come back home for 4 against SF, 3 against the hated Braves, and 4 against the even more hated Phils. They then Fly to Florida for 3 and go to Chicago for 3 more and close out August with an off-day.

This has a chance to be an incredible month plus of baseball.

Besides a month of home cooking, the Mets have something else to grin about--they are hitting again. Luis Castillo is red hot, batting at a .400+ clip over the last two weeks, David Wright has found something to work from--to my untrained eye he looks like he is flexing his knees a bit more in an effort to shorten his stroke. Jeff Francoeur is hitting and driving in runs, and the roles players are chipping in where they can.

We're all still waiting on new of a Jose Reyes return, and the rumor is he'll be back by next weekend.

The light at the end of the tunnel may be dim, but there is light.

The key for the Mets is to play every game like it's their last and get to September no worse than 3-4 games back.

National League Wildcard Standings
NATIONAL	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10
Colorado	54	44	.551	-	27-21	27-23	496	435	+61	Won 2	7-3
San Francisco	52	46	.531	2	31-15	21-31	391	368	+23	Lost 2	3-7
St. Louis	53	48	.525	2.5	26-21	27-27	444	424	+20	Lost 2	4-6
Atlanta	51	48	.515	3.5	27-23	24-25	440	409	+31	Won 1	7-3
Florida	51	48	.515	3.5	25-24	26-24	448	460	-12	Won 1	6-4
Houston	50	48	.510	4	28-25	22-23	413	441	-28	Lost 2	6-4
Milwaukee	49	49	.500	5	25-24	24-25	452	467	-15	Lost 1	4-6
NY Mets	46	51	.474	7.5	25-20	21-31	413	452	-39	Won 2	4-6
Cincinnati	44	53	.454	9.5	22-22	22-31	392	465	-73	Lost 6	2-8
Pittsburgh	43	55	.439	11	26-19	17-36	411	434	-23	Lost 2	5-5
Arizona	43	56	.434	11.5	23-31	20-25	446	477	-31	Won 2	5-5
San Diego	38	61	.384	16.5	24-26	14-35	359	504	-145	Lost 2	2-8
Washington	30	68	.306	24	20-33	10-35	420	535	-115	Won 2	4-6

Clear Explanation of Mets 2009 Woes

This video is the clearest explanation of the 2009 Mets woes we've heard yet.

Notice how injuries are not mentioned.

Is This the Corner?

Mets fans have been waiting patiently for the team to turn the corner.

Thus far the team is a middling 7-9 in July after posting an awful 9-18 record in June.

So why the optimism?

For one, the schedule is very favorable for the team for the final 70 games of the season.

The Mets play the next two games at Washington (26-66), then travel to Houston (47-46) for three games.

The Mets then return home for a 10-game homestand against Colorado (51-42), Arizona (39-54), and the Cards (51-44).

Those are 15 games that will tell the tale of the season. For the Mets to remain in the hunt, they will need to go 10-5 in those games and creep back above .500.

After those games the Mets go back on the road for three at San Diego (37-56) and three at Arizona (39-54). The Mets need to think sweep in each series and win 4 or 5.

If they can win 4 of those 6 games the team will be 5 games over .500 and return home for 11 straight home games, including a 4-game series against the Phillies and 3 against the Braves.

In all reality this is it--this is the time for the team to start winning, and it can happen, especially if at least two of the big three of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado come back.

So let's take this in steps.

• Step 1. David Wright needs to wake up. He's batting .200 in July with 2 RBIs. This is a big surprise as Wright has been one of the best second half hitters in all of baseball over the past 3 seasons (.334 BA, .418 OBP, .552 Slg %).
• Step 2. Find a way to win 4 or 5 games against the Nats and Astros.
• Step 3. Get Jose Reyes back after the road trip.
• Step 4. Come home and dominate--a 6-4 or even 7-3 homestand.
• Step 5. Go back on the road and beat up on the Padres and Astros--win at least 4 of 6.
• Step 6. Get Beltran and Delgado back before the homestand.
• Step 7. Come back home for 11 games and win 7 or 8.

If that happens the Mets will have a record of 8-9 games over .500 with 34 games left.

They'll have leapfrogged 4 or 5 teams and would be 3 to 4 games out of the wildcard.

It's certainly a tall order, but it can be done.

At this point in the season, every game counts--every game--and the team cannot afford to lose any of them.

I Officially Dub Thee.....

First Pitch Frenchy.

Hero to opposing pitchers everywhere.

Whew

Way to go Mets!

Very nice two game finish to an otherwise abysmal first half.

These two wins have bought you a few more weeks of hope.

Get back soon Jose!

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	1	7	11	0
N.Y. Mets «	1	0	4	2	0	0	2	0	x	9	16	0

W: M. Pelfrey (7-4) L: A. Harang (5-9) S: F. Rodriguez (23) HR: CIN - None NYM - B. Schneider (3), F. Tatis (4)

David Wright: My Wish Video

For those that haven't seen this yet, here's one more reminder of why we love David Wright.

Matt Vojack gets his wish granted by New York Mets David Wright, and of course, DW hits a homerun for the kid.

I think we need to start getting kids with great story's like Matt's in front of DW before every game if it will help him hit more homeruns.

I have a nephew with a club foot....hmmmmmmm!

Mets Add Jeff Francoeur in Terrible Trade

I am just stunned by this.

Francoeur has a .282 OBP this year, and a career OBP of .308.

Moreover, he has 5 HRs this year on over 300 at-bats, and an OPS+ of 68.

Last year, in 599 at-bats he hit .239 with an OPS+ of 72.

Let's see....

CAREER: 560 games, 77 HR, .307 OBP, cannon arm, 12 SB, 8 CS.

Wait a sec, that's actually Wily Mo Pena.

CAREER: 631 games, 78 HR, .309 OBP, cannon arm, 14 SB, 12 CS.

That's Frenchy.

But wait, there's more!

Jeff Francoeur, RF
1 year/$3.375M (2009)

Ryan Church, RF
1 year/$2.8M (2009)

Fire Omar...really.

Career: Batting | Fielding
SEASON	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2005	Atl	70	257	41	77	20	1	14	45	11	58	3	2	.300	.336	.549	.885
2006	Atl	162	651	83	169	24	6	29	103	23	132	1	6	.260	.293	.449	.742
2007	Atl	162	642	84	188	40	0	19	105	42	129	5	2	.293	.338	.444	.782
2008	Atl	155	599	70	143	33	3	11	71	39	111	0	1	.239	.294	.359	.653
2009	Atl	82	304	32	76	12	2	5	35	12	46	5	1	.250	.282	.352	.634
Total	--	631	2453	310	653	129	12	78	359	127	476	14	12	.266	.308	.424	.732

Missing Beltran: Enormous Impact

For all those Mets fans that still think Carlos Beltran isn't the most valuable member of the team, consider the following.

Since Carlos Beltran went on the DL:

The Mets have been shut out 3 times

The Mets have scored less than 3 runs 8 times

The Mets have scored 3 runs or less 10 times

That is a huge impact, and I for one believe it's causal despite the relatively small sample size (he's been on the DL 14 games).

Now here's the thing--I am telling you now to not give up hope.

We have to weather one more week of this and then...

Carlos Beltran comes back

Jose Reyes comes back

Ollie will be back this week, and I believe both John Maine and Carlos Delgado will be back within 3-4 weeks.

Then Putz....

Maybe Billy Wagner....

Pagan comes back soon to solidify the bench...

It is incredibly hard to be an optimist right now--and I'm not asking you for optimism--I am asking to not crucify this team right now...get to the break a few games out, and then let the health parade begin.

The Mets will win the division by 5 games.

Bookmark this and come back in late September.

I'll be here.

How Would YOU Build Today's Lineup?

If I were in charge....

Luis Castillo should leadoff today as he's 7 for 14 with a walk against Phillies starter Joe Blanton.

1. Luis Castillo, 2B
2. Ryan Church, RF
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Gary Sheffield, LF
5. Daniel Murphy, 1B
6. Brian Schneider, C
7. Jeremy Reed, CF
8. Alex Cora, SS
9. Johan Santana, P

Jeremy Reed hasn't had a lot of luck against Blanton, but we need his defense today---fly ball team against a flyball pitcher.

And just in--Jerry's lineup, which has Luis batting 8th:

1. Alex Cora, SS
2. Daniel Murphy, LF
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Ryan Church, RF
5. Nick Evans, LF
6. Jeremy Reed, CF
7. Brian Schneider, C
8. Luis Castillo, 2B
9. Johan Santana, LHP

Johan Can You Hear Me?

Can you shake off that 2-4 June in which you posted the 6.19 ERA?

The team needs you to get them a win.

3.0 games back of the Phils now, tied with the Braves, and also looking up at the Marlins.

Today marks the unofficial halfway point of the season--game 81.

The Mets will officially finish the unofficial first half below .500.

The Mets need you Johan, if there's any hope of getting to the All Star break at or above .500.

We're all tired of reading about the injuries, the fielding miscues, the lack of depth in the minors, and the black cloud that's hanging over the team.

Can you hear me Johan?

Go out and pitch a gem.

20 Games in 20 Days Nears Close

The Mets are 3 games away from finishing a brutal 20 games in 20 days stretch.

During the streak they played:

3 on the road at Baltimore (1-2)
3 at home against Tampa Bay (1-2)
4 at home against St Louis (3-1)
3 at home against the Yankees (0-3)
3 on the road against the Brewers (1-2)
1 on the road at the Pirates (1-0)

Thus far they are 7-10, and it's next stop Philly for the team that refuses to quit.

During the 20 game streak they lost 5 in a row at one point, and many were writing them off for dead.

Now they've won 2 in a row thanks to a great start by Mike Pelfrey and a suddenly hot Ryan Church and sit just one game behind the floundering Phillies.

I've been watching baseball a Loooooong time, and I've never seen a team this beat up and injured have to endure such a grueling marathon of games.

If the Mets can take 2 of 3 from the Phils it will be one of the more impressive achivements we've seen in a while.

After this series the Mets get a day off, then it's home for 6 games against the Dodgers and Reds before the All-Star break.

After the break there is a good chance that Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran come back, and we could see Ollie as soon as next week pending the outcome of his final tuneup start. We're still not sure on John Maine.

Delgado should be back by early August, and JJ Putz and even Billy Wagner are working hard to come back in the next one to two months.

Call me crazy, but the Mets are weathering this storm...one game at a time.

With a full roster by mid-August, there's no question that this team will be the cream of the NL East.