LeBron James Will Not be a Met

Despite a full court press by Bobby Bonilla, Vince Coleman, Alex Cora and Chico Escuela, Lebron James has decided to remain in the NBA and join the Miami Heat vice taking a run at a baseball career with the Mets.

"The Mets made me a very attractive offer--very attractive--but at the end of the day, staying true to myself and humble was my only option, so I decided to leave my hometown and join the Heat," said LeBron.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel had grandiose plans for James and was visibly upset with the announcement, "I thought pairing him with The Animal would pay huge dividends, and lord knows we need some bullpen help. I just hope Carlos Beltran can make up for this a bit when he returns."

The Mets can now return their focus on the first-place Atlanta Braves, who come to Citi Field tonight for a key three game series leading into the All-Star break. With a sweep the Mets can tie the Braves.

Caption Contest! Chef Pelf

Credit to HotFootBlog for the pic!

Winner of the caption contest gets a free Mets book...let's see what ya got!

"This Jason Heyward Stew is Delicious!"

VIDEO Link: Ike Davis First Homerun

Big congrats to our boy Ike Davis, who is sponsored as the official player of NY Sports Dog.

For those that haven't seen it yet, the video of the majestic blast can be seen here.

Jason Heyward can watch it this morning as he ponders his three Ks over a juice box and some Fruit Loops.

Ike is the money man.

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Like Ike Davis? Thank the Braves

Many of us were up in arms when we let Billy Wagner go for a song, knowing the Mets  would have received first round compensation and another high sandwich pick had he signed elsewhere after the season.

This is exactly what happened with the Red Sox after Wagner declined their offer in 2009.  Wagner is now a Brave.

Think that doesn't matter?  Do you like Ike Davis?

The reason the Mets have Ike Davis in the first place is because the Braves signed Tom Glavine back.  Yup, the pick awarded to the Mets was the 18th in the 2008 draft, which the Mets used to take Ike.

The Mets also received Bradley Holt, the 2009 94th ranked prospect by Baseball America.

Thank you Atlanta Braves.

Ike Davis Money Shot of the Day

Ike Davis is now batting a crisp and cool .400.

Last night Ike stroked his first major league double en route to a 3 for 4 night with 2 runs scored.

Tonight Ike will arm wrestle Braves sensation Jason Heyward before the game for rookie bragging rights.

After the game Ike will drink a beer, while the 20-year old Heyward will have a juice box and pout in the corner about missing his mama.

Hundred dollar bills ya'll.

Batting 6th, Our Savior

No, he's not our savior, but he is a guy we are all very, very excited about.

Not to put any more pressure on Ike than there already is, but there is something about this kid that screams "special".  That said, I hope we at least temper our expectations for the young man in the early going.

He's batting 6th tonight, and there is no question he has the goods, both offensively and defensively, to be a solid big league first baseman.

Whether his ceiling is Adam Laroche or Willie McCovey is yet to be seen, but one thing is for certain.

We're glad he's here!

Will Angel Pagan Ever Learn?

I just put the radio on and tuned into the Mets v. Nats game.

Angel Pagan comes up, the score is 5-4 Mets, there are 2 outs and no one on...he hits a rope to the deep gap.

Now guess what happens:

A) He smartly stands up at second with an easy double, prolonging the inning and putting himself in scoring position
B) He tries for the two out triple and gets thrown out to end the inning

Yes, it's only Spring Training, but his baserunning instincts are just brutal, and he doesn't seem capable of playing any other way.

Now back to my yardwork.

Mets Spring Training TV and Radio Schedule

Remember the old days when we NEVER got to see a Spring Training game?

This schedule is pretty packed with viewing and listening opportunities:

Mets 2010 Spring Training Broadcast Schedule
	Date Opponent Time (ET) TV Radio March Tuesday, March 2 vs Braves 1:10 PM SNY Wednesday, March 3 @ Braves 1:05 PM Thursday, March 4 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM SNY Friday, March 5 @ Cardinals 1:05 PM vs Marlins 1:10 PM SNY Saturday, March 6 @ Nationals 1:05 PM WFAN 660 Sunday, March 7 vs Nationals 1:10 PM WPIX Monday, March 8 @ Marlins 1:05 PM Tuesday, March 9 vs Astros 1:10 PM SNY Wednesday, March 10 @ Braves 1:05 PM Thursday, March 11 vs Red Sox 1:10 PM SNY Friday, March 12 @ Twins 1:05 PM Saturday, March 13 vs Tigers 1:10 PM WPIX WFAN 660 Sunday, March 14 @ Marlins 1:05 PM WFAN 660 Monday, March 15 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM SNY Wednesday, March 17 @ Red Sox 1:05 PM Thursday, March 18 @ Marlins 7:05 PM Friday, March 19 vs Twins 1:10 PM SNY Saturday, March 20 @ Cardinals 1:05 PM WFAN 660 Sunday, March 21 vs Univ. of Michigan 11:10 AM @ Astros 1:05 PM WFAN 660 Monday, March 22 @ Nationals 1:05 PM Tuesday, March 23 vs Braves 1:10 PM SNY, ESPN Wednesday, March 24 vs Astros 1:10 PM SNY Thursday, March 25 @ Cardinals 1:05 PM ESPN Friday, March 26 @ Marlins 1:05 PM Saturday, March 27 vs Nationals 1:10 PM WPIX WFAN 660 Sunday, March 28 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM WPIX WFAN 660 Monday, March 29 @ Nationals 1:05 PM vs Marlins 1:10 PM Tuesday, March 30 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM Wednesday, March 31 vs Marlins 1:10 PM SNY April Thursday, April 1 vs Nationals 12:10 PM SNY WFAN 660 Friday, April 2 @ Rays 6:10 PM Saturday, April 3 @ Orioles 1:05 PM WFAN 660

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20 Years of Yankee and Mets Payrolls

I was having a discussion with my brother, a devout Yankee fan, and and we were comparing the relatives success, or lack of success, for each team, as well as their strategy for building the ballclubs.

He rightfully argues the Yankees have more homegrown talent, and I rightfully argued that the Yankees have also infused the homegrown guys with a continual cast of very high-priced free agents.

When the payroll discussion inevitably arouse, my brother was a bit in denial about the Yankees spending habits. He argued that the Mets "used to way outspend the Yankees," and that it was only recently that the Yankees spent a ton, but that they were bringing the payroll "way, way down" the last few years.

My brother, like many Yankee fans, is delusional. To prove this, I created a quick chart depicting both team's payrolls over the last 20 years.

Overall the Yankees have outspent the Mets by about $600M during that time, with the majority of the spending difference occurring in the last 7 years.

While the Mets have certainly spent a lot, they also have not had the same success as the Yankees.

We all cringe at 2009, but the Mets spending was pretty high overall during the 2006-2008 years--years in which the team had a lot of success, albeit some major disappointment as well. That said, they were, for lack of a better term, "on the cusp."

The payroll for 2010 will be in the $125M range, and that is part and parcel of the team's financial woes and the weak free agent market for 2010.

The numbers:

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Is Jerry Manuel a Drama Queen or Just Stupid?

Last week we heard some pretty ignorant comments from Jerry Manuel in regards to Ryan Church's concussions last season. He essentially called Church out for his concussion issues and compared him in a less than favorable light to David Wright.

What really bugs me is that Church has been great since the trade--said the right things, and even reached out to DW after his concussion.

Today Church shot back...he nailed Jerry hard by saying, "I'm just here to try and make the playoffs."

For more, please go here and read the story by Brian Costa of New Jersey Online.

Four Guys from Opening Day

Besides injured players and guys in our minor league system, there are four Mets from the 25-man Opening Day roster who are no longer with the team.

I thought it would be fun to update them all:

• Ramon Castro
  
• Ryan Church
  
• Marlon Anderson
• Darren O'Day
  

Let's start with Ramon--Shrek--the Man Mountain. A lot of folks were aghast at this move, proclaiming that we were letting the wrong guy go, and that keeping Santos on the big league roster was a mistake.

The jury may still be out for some, but it's hard to argue with production.

Castro has been abysmal as a White Sox. Yes, he did catch a Perfect Game, but his hitting has gone south in Chi-town. His non-Met stats:

6 for 44, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, .136 BA, .255 OBP, .273 Slg %

Omir Santos has been a solid player, albeit a limited one. He's never going to hit a ton, but he does pick his spots, especially in RBI situations. Santos has a .323 BA with RISP, and an OK .267 BA with 2 outs and RISP.

Ryan Church was a guy I hated to see go. That said, he really never fit in with this team. Had the team been healthy in 2009 I'm confident that Church would have put up a 15-20 HR, 80+ RBI season, with good peripherals.

Alas, it didn't happen, and the Mets sent him to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur.

Francoeur's been good with the Mets for the most part, and I'm part of the minority that wants to see him in rightfield next year. Though his OBP is still pitiful for a corner outfielder (.324), he is hitting a lot of linedrives and has 4 HRs and 19 RBIs in 25 games as a Met.

Church has battled elbow issues, but when he's been in there, he's produced nicely for the Braves, who are making a run at the Phillies. Church has 14 hits in 49 at-bats for the Braves with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs. He has drawn quite a few walks and has a .417 OBP and .449 Slg % for Atlanta.

Marlon Anderson has not played after being released by the Mets after only 4 games.

And that brings us to Darren O'Day. Who could have predicted the season he's having? Well, a few of us didn't want to see him go. The guy is 26 and has a lifetime 2.76 ERA in the minors....that wasn't an accident.

After appearing in 4 games for the Mets and surrendering zero runs, the Rangers picked him up and O'Day has not looked back.

He has appeared in 43 games for Texas and sports a sparkling 1.88 ERA with 36 Ks in 38.1 innings. Moreover he's holding righthanded hitters to a .170 batting average.

All in all not too bad. Church for Francoeur is a wash--letting Shrek go was the right thing to do, Marlon was gone before he started, and O'Day....well, good for him...he's a guy with a lot of talent that has made himself into a very valuable major league pitcher.

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.

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.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Time for some positive vibes (and isn't that nice?)!

Half game out of first--who would have thunk it.

The Mets are exactly halfway through a 20 game stretch with no days off against the top teams in baseball--and they are 5-5 in those games.

Now it's time for the Yanks, Brewers and Philly, then one day off, and then the Dodgers and Reds.

And then the All-Star break.

The team keeps finding ways to win and hanging around knowing that keeping pace until the stars get healthy is all they need to do.

The Mets have become the little engine that could.

Kind of cool that the entire NL East plays the entire AL East this weekend.

• Mets play the Yanks
• Phils play Toronto
• Marlins play Tampa Bay
• Braves play the Red Sox
• Nationals play Baltimore

National League East
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road	East	Cent.	West	L10	Strk
Philadelphia	37	33	.529	-	13-22	24-11	19-12	5-3	9-7	2-8	L 2
N.Y. Mets	37	34	.521	½	22-14	15-20	18-12	10-9	4-6	5-5	W 2
Florida	38	36	.514	1	20-20	18-16	16-10	6-13	6-8	7-3	W 5
Atlanta	34	38	.472	4	17-19	17-19	12-10	11-14	5-8	4-6	L 2
Washington	21	49	.300	16	13-25	8-24	6-27	4-7	5-6	5-5	W 1

Johan Santana once again proved that he has an incredible baseball IQ....he seems like he has a very high real IQ as well.

As Ron Blum reported in Lohud, Santana went to the video tape after the first inning and figured it out.

"My fastball," he said, "was moving all over the place."

Santana went back to the clubhouse and reviewed video following the first inning. He re-examined his mechanics. And he emerged victorious over Chris Carpenter in a sparkling matchup of Cy Young Award winners.

"I know I was going against a great pitcher," Santana said. "It was going to take one pitch or one mistake to change the whole ballgame."

Santana may have started off shaky as he kept going to three balls on batter after batter, but he finished in fine fashion.

His line on the day was 7 innings, 7 hits, 1 ER, 3 BB, and 3 K, but what he did was so much more than that.

He willed himself onward and led the team to a victory against a very good Cardinals club with their Ace on the mound.

It was an Ace outing by the man that's now tied for the NL lead in wins.

Since we're on the verge of the Mets v. Yanks series, how about a little love for Luis Castillo?

Did you know he went 6 for 12 with 3 walks against the Cards?

Do you think the Mets win 3 of 4 without that effort, especially considering only one of those hits came in the blowout win?

How about the kids!

Nervous Nick Evans continues to rake. Great job going opposite field yesterday to plate two big runs.

Nick Evans 2009 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	3	7	2	3	1	0	1	4	0	2	0	0	.429	.429	1.000	1.429
Career	52	113	20	30	10	0	3	11	7	25	0	0	.265	.309	.434	.743
Last 7 days	2	4	2	2	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	.500	.500	1.250	1.750
Projected	94	219	63	94	31	0	31	125	0	63	0	0	.429	.429	1.000	1.429

Fernando Martinez may not be getting many (any) hits, but he has certainly flashed the leather.

Sabathia is a tough matchup for him, but I have a sneaking suspicion that FMart hits two homeruns this weekend.

Who knows what the weekend will bring, but the Mets, at home, are a very tough team--even depleted.

If they can take 2 of 3 it will be one more huge shot in the arm for a club that continues to stay near the top against all odds.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
St. Louis (40-34)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	8	0
N.Y. Mets (37-34) «	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	x	3	5	1

Player of the Game

New York
J. Santana	7.0
	7
	1
	3
	3

Remember the Maine

With all of the hoopla surrounding Oliver Perez, the burden to pitch well has fallen squarely on John Maine's broad shoulders.

His season numbers to date have not been great...

2009 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	W	L	P/GS	WHIP	BAA	ERA
Season	4	4	0	0	21.2	17	14	13	2	12	15	1	2	98.3	1.34	.218	5.40
Career	88	85	2	2	486.1	422	248	229	65	214	413	34	29	98.8	1.31	.233	4.24
Last 7	4	4	0	0	21.2	17	14	13	2	12	15	1	2	--	1.34	.218	5.40
Projected	28	28	0	0	148	120	99	92	14	85	106	7	14	98.3	1.34	.218	5.40

But there is a ray of hope.

First off, John Maine is one tough son of a bitch. Every Met fan knows that no player is more into the game or tough on themselves than Maine.

Second, he had a very solid start in his last outing. 6 innings of 1-hit ball against a tough Marlin club, and his fastball was full of life.

Tonight Maine aims to build on that start against the Braves. He will once again feature his fastball early and build off of that.

If all goes according to plan, John Maine can once again establish himself as a solid middle of the rotation starter capable of outstanding games when his club needs him most.

For those that have forgotten, the man can pitch.....really pitch.

Career: | Pitching |
SEASON	TEAM	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	W	L	SV	HLD	BLSV	ERA
2004	Bal	1	1	0	0	3.2	7	4	4	1	3	1	0	1	0	0	--	9.82
2005	Bal	10	8	0	0	40.0	39	30	28	8	24	24	2	3	0	0	--	6.30
2006	NYM	16	15	1	1	90.0	69	40	36	15	33	71	6	5	0	0	--	3.60
2007	NYM	32	32	1	1	191.0	168	90	83	23	75	180	15	10	0	0	--	3.91
2008	NYM	25	25	0	0	140.0	122	70	65	16	67	122	10	8	0	0	--	4.18
2009	NYM	4	4	0	0	21.2	17	14	13	2	12	15	1	2	0	0	--	5.40
Total	--	88	85	2	2	486.1	422	248	229	65	214	413	34	29	0	0	--	4.24

Andruw Jones Now Officially a Ranger

Well, sort of anyway.

The former superstar slugger signed a deal that pays him $500K if he makes the team, with a chance to earn an additional $1M if he reaches certain incentives...like not striking out 76 times in 200 at-bats, as he did in 2008, with a 37 OPS+ on the year.

Just think, he was halfway through a deal worth $36M when he was released.

For $500K he was worth a flyer for the Mets in my opinion.

Ok amigos...tell me this hasn't been the strangest off-season ever???

Braves Sign Derek Lowe

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Braves signed Derek Lowe to a 4 year, $60M contract. Their info came from the Atlanta Journal Consitution story here.

Update from the NY Daily News:

The Mets have lost their top free agent pitching target to one of their division rivals – team officials were told Tuesday that Derek Lowe spurned the Mets to take the Atlanta Braves' four-year, $60-million offer.

The deal was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on its Web site and said that the pact will be finalized after Lowe takes a physical Wednesday.

The Mets had made a three-year offer worth about $36 million to Lowe, which did not impress the pitcher and lately Met executives grew pessimistic about signing the righty, who spent the last four years with the Dodgers.

Still, the Mets believe there are attractive alternatives and now GM Omar Minaya will turn his attention to Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf. Pedro Martinez lurks on the outside as a fallback option if the Mets cannot sign Perez or Wolf. Ben Sheets, a talented injury-risk, is also on the free agent market.

Right now, the Mets have Johan Santana, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Tim Redding in their rotation. Jon Niese and Bobby Parnell are potential candidates, too, though there is some feeling in the organization that giving them more seasoning in the minors is the best route for their development.

The Braves lost John Smoltz this winter and finished second to the Yankees in their pursuit of A.J. Burnett. But they've revamped their rotation adding Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami. Jair Jurrjens and Jorge Campillo round out Atlanta's starting five. Tim Hudson could return from elbow surgery in the second half.

The 35-year-old Lowe, a sinkerballer, is 126-107 in 12 seasons in the majors with the Mariners, Red Sox and Dodgers. He won each of the clinching post-season games in Boston's run to the 2004 World Series title.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Encore! Encore!

Thanks to a sterling effort by Mets ace Johan Santana, the Mets kept pace with the Phillies and added a game to their wild card lead.

With only 10 games left in the season, every day is like an epic play being acted out before our very eyes. Yesterday, Johan Santana gave us a Tony award winning performance in the lead role.

Johan pitched seven strong innings and only allowed 1 earned run against a team that can hit. He pitched quickly, efficiently, and most certainly could have pitched deeper in the game had the situation called for it.

"We know every time he takes the ball he’s going to put us in good position to win a game," Jose Reyes said. "He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. It’s a real good feeling when he goes to the mound."

"I’m just like anybody," Manuel said. "When you have a pitcher like that you feel good the night before, obviously after the last game and you know you’ve got him. Once the game starts, it’s still baseball. Anything can happen. He seems to be a guy that rises to that occasion every time. It makes it exciting to say that he’s the guy that night, especially because the games are so big."

With a sparkling 2.65 ERA on the year, 2nd in the NL, Santana has had an impressive debut with the Mets. He is also second in the league in Innings Pitched, 6th in Ks, and 12th in Wins. With a better bullpen behind him he would most likely be the NL Cy Young front runner.

He has pitched his best ball in the latter part of the season, going 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA over his last 14 starts. He's an ace....a big-game ace.

His teammates helped him, and themselves out, with some excellent at-bats.

Brian Schneider hit a pair of homeruns, Daniel Murphy had two hits in the 2 hole, and Jose Reyes, Ryan Church, and Carlos Beltran all had RBIs.

Jose Reyes is really heating up--he has that look about him--the caged panther at the plate. Jose is batting an even .300 over his last 7 games with a .533 slugging percentage.

Jose knows the pressure is on him to succeed, to drive the train, to lead the charge and produce runs. "You hear people say, when Jose Reyes goes, the Mets go," Reyes said.

The hottest Met of all is Carlos Beltran. All he's done in September is hit .386 with an incredible 1.207 OPS. Beltran is hitting to all fields, driving the ball, legging out exra base hits, and playing some of the best center field of his life.

So while Reyes and Beltran are hot, other players look like they are coming around. Ryan Church is hitting a bit; the aforementioned Brian Schneider looks relaxed up there; Delgado continues to have excellent at bats and produce.

The one guy who desperately needs a change of scenery is David Wright. He has been Mr Hot and Cold the last few weeks, and right now he is cold as ice. I thought that Jerry Manuel might sit him one of these last two games, but they are just too important right now.

Now the Mets head to Atlanta for their final road games of the year....a 3 game set against the always pesky Braves. Then it's back home for 3 with the Marlins and 4 with the Cubs.

10 games. That's it. Win 9 of them and they are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Anything less, and it's going to take help from the Phillies and Brewers opponents.

Enjoy your coffee--Act II is tonight!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (85-67) «	1	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	7	11	0
Washington (58-95)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	13	1

Players of the Game

New York B. Schneider AB 4 R 2 H 2 HR 2 RBI 2

New York J. Santana IP 7.0 H 8 ER 1 BB 2 K 8