Mets Have a Chance for a Special June

I was looking at the schedule this morning and it's clear that the Mets have a golden opportunity for a special month of June.

After starting the month 1-0 thanks to a Mike Pelfrey special, Johan Santana takes the hill against the Pads, and then the Mets return home.

For the remainder of the month they face:

• 6 against the Marlins, 3 home, 3 away.  Marlins are tied with the Mets at 27-26
• 3 more against the Padres at home
• 3 at Baltimore--Orioles are 15-37
• 3 at Cleveland--Indians are 19-31
• 3 at the Yankees--Yankees are 32-20
• 3 at home against Detroit--Tigers are 26-25, but only 11-15 on the road
• 3 at home against Minnesota--Twins are 31-21, but only 13-12 on the road

It is such a strange month...15 games against American League teams against only 11 National League games.

Thankfully the Mets play the absolute two worst teams in the AL, and maybe in all of MLB.

The fact that the Mets have 4 off days in the month, one a week, also bodes well for the team, as does the favorable travel schedule.  If you include the Yankees games, the Mets will sleep in their own beds for 2/3rds of the month--unheard of in today's game.

The scheduling gods were certainly kind to the Mets in June, now let's see if the team can take advantage of their largess.

Good Morning Pelf Fans!

Mike Pelfrey's career is taking off like a rocket, and Mets fans are enjoying the ride as their home grown stud becomes more like an Ace with each start.

Confident, poised, in control--these are words that weren't used to describe the tall righthander in the past, but they certainly are being applied to him now, and with regularity and good reason.

Last night the words "poised" and "in control" fit him to a tee as he quickly and efficiently worked through the Padres batting order to improve his record to a sterling 8-1with a 2.39 ERA.  His fastball in particular was overpowering and he was able to locate it with pinpoint control.

Pelfrey finished the night with 8 innings pitched and 8 Ks, a season high.  Moreover, the Padres couldn't even muster a fly ball against him--he was that good.

"He is coming into his own," Jerry Manuel said. "I think you can now start to talk about him in the same breath as other young pitchers: (Josh) Johnson, (Ubaldo) Jimenez, those of types of guys."

From a stats-perspective it can be argued that Pelfrey is now the 2nd best pitcher in the National League. He is second in MLB in wins and 9th in ERA.  His K numbers are terrific, and he has allowed 2 or fewer runs in 8 of his 2010 starts.

2010 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	W	L	P/GS	WHIP	BAA	ERA
Season	12	11	0	0	71.2	61	19	19	3	28	52	8	1	101.8	1.24	.240	2.39
Career	94	91	2	0	550.2	593	278	263	40	209	327	36	33	101.2	1.46	.280	4.30
Last 7 days	2	2	0	0	15.0	7	1	1	0	7	13	2	0	--	0.93	.156	0.60
Projected	37	34	0	0	217	186	58	58	9	86	159	24	3	101.8	1.24	.240	2.39

 A Pelf start has now become must-see TV.

For more on last night's game, see what my friends are reporting:

• Mets 4 - Padres 2 June 1, 2010 (metsreport.com)
• Mets Back Brilliant Pelfrey in Much-needed Win (bleacherreport.com)
• Post Game: Mets 4 Padres 2 (metsblog.com)
• Mets 4, Padres 2: Eight Steps To Pelf-Improvement (amazinavenue.com)

Hello Ace

Here are the leaders in Wins among MLB starters:

Starting Pitchers
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	GS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	SV	HLD	BLSV	WHIP	ERA
1	Ubaldo Jimenez	COL	10	10	71.1	42	7	7	24	61	9	1	0	0	0	0.93	0.88
2	Mike Pelfrey	NYM	11	10	63.2	57	18	18	26	44	7	1	1	0	0	1.30	2.54
	David Price	TAM	9	9	59.2	45	19	16	23	46	7	1	0	0	0	1.14	2.41
4	Andy Pettitte	NYY	9	9	58.1	53	18	17	18	36	6	1	0	0	0	1.22	2.62
	Derek Lowe	ATL	10	10	56.0	59	35	33	28	33	6	4	0	0	0	1.55	5.30
	Roy Halladay	PHI	10	10	77.0	73	23	19	12	59	6	3	0	0	0	1.10	2.22
	Barry Zito	SFO	10	10	67.1	55	23	22	26	40	6	2	0	0	0	1.20	2.94
	Jon Garland	SDG	10	10	60.0	51	21	14	29	38	6	2	0	0	0	1.33	2.10
	Carlos Silva	CHC	9	9	53.2	54	23	21	11	31	6	0	0	0	0	1.21	3.52
	Adam Wainwright	STL	10	10	72.0	52	20	19	19	69	6	3	0	0	0	0.99	2.38

Good Morning Mets Fans!

How sweep it is!

Three games, three wins, zero runs allowed...an amazing feat for the Amazins.

Mike Pelfrey took his turn on the hill to try and close out the sweep, and he did so in grand fashion, holding the Phillies to zero runs on three hits over seven shutout innings.  The most impressive part was that Pelf didn't have his best stuff, but he worked out of trouble with double play after double play and enough movement on his pitches to fool the Phillies all night.  When they did hit the ball, the Mets defense was more than up to the challenge.

How good was this three game, three shutout sweep?  The last time the Mets accomplished it was in September 1969, also against the Phillies, and yes, that team did something pretty spectacular that season.

Pelfrey, in his typical humble manner, said, "Luckily, we were able to keep it going."  He added, "I think your job is to put up zeros, I thought I was OK."

Big Pelf is now 7-1 on the season and has become an ace before our very eyes.  He has a sparkling 2.54 ERA on the year and has won his last three starts.

The Phils were held to just four hits, all singles, and could not get anything going against the big righty, though they did manage to draw five walks, helped by an ump with an oddly shaped strike zone that floated from batter to batter.  Pedro Feliciano and Frankie Rodriguez ensured the shutout with a scoreless inning each, and Frankie notched his 9th save of the season.

It's no coincidence that the Mets had their best series of the year at a time when Jose Reyes is at his hottest.  Reyes has 6 multi-hit games in his last seven, and, you guessed it, the Mets have won each of those 6.

Angel Pagan had two hits and made a beautiful diving catch in CF.  Pagan, who at one time was on the journeyman path, has made himself into a very good player.  The baserunning mistakes are gone, he is more patient at the plate, and he is hitting the ball to all fields.  While he isn't a star, Pagan has served notice that he is a player that can change a game with his glove, his bat, or his feet.

All in all just a terrific showing by the Mets, who now stand only 2 games out of first place.

It was a 3 round knockout punch to the Phils.  And while these games didn't move the Phils out of first place, they certainly served notice that the 2010 NL East is going to be one hell of a wild ride.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Philadelphia (26-20)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
N.Y. Mets (25-23) «	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	x	3	9	0

Players of the Game

New York M. Pelfrey IP 7.0 H 3 ER 0 BB 5 K 5

New York J. Reyes AB 4 R 1 H 3 HR 0 RBI 2

Related articles

• Mets 3 - Phillies 0 May 27, 2010 (metsreport.com)
• Mets blank Phillies in third consecutive game (cbssports.com)
• Pelfrey, Mets complete shutout sweep of Phillies (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
• Mets shut out Phillies for third straight game (nbcsports.msnbc.com)
• Mets 3, Phillies 0: The Goose-Egg Sweep (amazinavenue.com)

Why You Don't Bunt With a Man on Second and No Outs

A man on second and no outs has a greater chance of scoring than a man on third with 1 out.

Thanks to our friends at Inside the Book, we can see the math behind the decision, and in Jerry Manuel's case, he failed when he had GMJ bunt Luis Castillo over in the 9th.

The situation was man on second, no outs, and GMJ had worked himself into a hitter's count.  In that situation the run expectancy, per the chart, is 1.228.  That's right, the Mets should have expected to not only score that run, but they had a near 23% chance of tacking on another one.  The correct call was to remove the bunt sign (which never should have been given in the first place).

When Jerry bunted Castillo over, he lowered the run expectancy to 0.980.

I'll also add that with the players that were due up, there are actually more reasons not to bunt.  This was not your 7-8-9 hitters, but 3-4-5, the heart of the order.

David Wright did fail, that is a given, but the manager failed as well.

Jerry wants his team to win with 26 outs.

Here are the runs expected based on men-on-base and the number of outs in the inning:

Situation	No Outs	One Out	Two Out
Empty	0.551	0.295	0.111
1st	0.972	0.576	0.252
2nd	1.228	0.746	0.337
3rd	1.424	0.980	0.394
1st/2nd	1.649	1.027	0.478
1st/3rd	1.845	1.261	0.535
2nd/3rd	2.101	1.431	0.620
Loaded	2.522	1.717	0.761

Mejia to Minors--Mets Fans Rejoice

Adam Rubin is reporting that 20-year old Jennry Mejia is headed back to the minors to stretch his arm out in hopes of giving the Mets another starting pitching option.

Though Mejia has pitched well, there is something clasically wrong about taking a top starting prospect and using him in meaningless relief games in April and May.

Mejia is currently 12th in all of MLB in appearances.

From Rubin:

The Mets should have a new starting pitching option within a month.

Top prospect Jenrry Mejia, whose dazzling Grapefruit League performance prompted the Mets to place him on the Opening Day roster as a reliever, is expected to head to the minors to resume being used as a starting pitcher. That could be timed with R.A. Dickey’s activation before Wednesday’s start, a team source told ESPNNewYork.com.

The decision is believed to have been affirmed during Monday’s meeting at Turner Field that included chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, GM Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco and manager Jerry Manuel.

The Mets could be facing major rotation issues behind Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey, so stretching out Mejia for starting work makes sense. Oliver Perez has been dispatched to the bullpen, John Maine -- while largely producing of late -- doesn’t have the zip he had in 2007 and Jon Niese has a mild right hamstring strain. The Mets will have Dickey face the Washington Nationals on Wednesday and use Hisanori Takahashi in place of Niese on Friday.

It will take Mejia some time to be ready to return to the majors in a starting capacity. It should, in fact, be comparable to a spring-training build-up, when a pitcher throws two innings, then three innings and so on until he’s up to a 90-100 pitch count.

Mejia is 0-2 with a 2.60 ERA, with 14 strikeouts and eight walks, in 17 1/3 innings spanning 18 major league appearances.

Mets Cap Off Amazing Comeback Win

In what was the game of the year thus far, the Mets came back to beat the Nationals 8 to 6 in Citi Field.

The game started off poorly for the Mets, with Jonathan Niese giving up a three-run blast to Adam Dunn to put his team behind.

The Mets had plenty of chances to score early, but double play after double play killed the rallies, and the Mets were behind 6-2 in the bottom of the 8th.At one point in the game the Mets were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

Yes, it was that bad.

And then the magic happened...

12 men came to the plate, and 6 scored.

The New and Improved Rod Barajas, "Now with even more A-Has!" double off the leftfield wall to tie the game at 6.

After a beautiful bunt single by Alex Cora, the newest Met, Chris Carter, stroked a line drive single to right to give the Mets the lead.  Jason Bay walked with the bases loaded to give the Mets their 8th and final run.

Frankie Rodriguez came on to close it in the 9th, and after getting two quick outs, the magic of Ike "Money" Davis resurfaced for the third time.

Davis made another unbelievable catch by diving into the dugout and flipping over as he was caught by a half dozen teammates, coaches and trainers.

After the first two of these spectacular plays, the bench now stands ready anytime Ike approaches.  The young first baseman is more acrobatic than a 4 foot 6 female Chinese gymnast, and he once again stuck the landing to take home the gold medal.

It was just a terrific comeback all around, and we saw solid, and much needed, hitting from Jason Bay and David Wright.

The Mets play the Nats tomorrow afternoon to finish the series.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

What a great night last night.

Two HRs by Ike "Money" Davis, two HRs by "In Rod We Trust" Barajas, including a game-winning walkoff, and a catch by Ike that was the play of the day.

Oh it was a dramatic night...

Rod Barajas' hand hurt...he got called for catcher's interference when Mike Pelfrey's pitchout wasn't wide enough and the crafty Giants catcher, Eli Whiteside, swung the bat and hit Rod in the mitt...it hurt, and Barajas knew his swings were painful, and therefore limited.

"I told myself I probably got one good swing," he said. "Once I take that swing, my finger's going to go numb."

But one swing was all the Mets needed from him in the bottom of the 9th as he took Sergio Romo deep with one on (Ike Davis walked) and one out.

Barajas cherished the moment:

"My whole body went numb after it went over the fence," Barajas said.

The older veteran catcher and the rookie phenom first baseman played alpha-omega for the Mets and led the team to victory.

Ike was moved down in the lineup because lefties had been 0 for 17 against Jonathan Sanchez on the year.  Ike wasn't phased a bit and had his best game of the year and first multihomer game of his young big league career.

The "Catch" can be seen here...words are tough to describe the acrobatic elegance of what this man can do with the glove.

"My biceps are a little sore from holding onto the fence," Davis said.

He added:

"Most of the time you don't get chances repeatedly like that," Davis said. "I got long arms, I guess."

Mike Pelfrey also played a key role in the victory, pitching into the 8th inning on a very stingy pitch count.  He looked phenomenal and could've pitched a complete game, but Jerry Manuel was cautious with him and went to Valdes in the 8th, who worked out of a jam.

Frankie Rodriguez gave up a tying solo shot in the 9th on a pitiful excuse for a changeup after shaking off the fastball that was called by Barajas.

But it's a team game, and his teammates, Ike Davis and Rod Barajas, picked him up.

It's certainly starting to feel magical around here and I will say this with certainty--these 2010 Mets are an easy team to root for.  Johan Santana on the mound today, in a game that could tell us a lot about the rest of his season...I can't wait.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Francisco (17-11)	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	1	4	11	0
N.Y. Mets (16-13) «	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	6	8	3

Players of the Game

New York I. Davis AB 3 R 3 H 2 HR 2 RBI 2

New York R. Barajas AB 4 R 2 H 2 HR 2 RBI 3

Looking at Mike Pelfrey's Success: Called Strikes

Much has been written about Mike Pelfrey's great start to 2010, and there have been any number of articles on the reasons why.

Many attribute it to confidence, having a personal catcher in Henry Blanco, better physical condition, his marriage, or simple maturity.

Whatever the reasons, we can certainly see the results when we compare his April 2009 to his April 2010.

Let's look at his pattern from the called strike zone side by side:

The first of the two pictures is his April 2009 called strikes.

As you can see, there is pretty wide pattern in 2009, with many pitches way outside of the zone, giving the batter ample opportunity to make his "non-swing" decision.

Additionally, the edge of the strike zone, where most pitcher's live, is ignored, especially the "up and in" or "up and away "spots that are the natural weaknesses of many hitters.

Now let's compare it to his April 2010 called strike zone.

In 2010, we see a much tighter pattern, and many more pitches an inch or less outside of the zone.  This shortens the batter's reaction time, and the results can be seen in many more called strikes.  Additionally it certainly appears that Pelf is working both the bottom of the zone, as he usually does, but more importantly he is working the up and in and up and away zones with much more frequency.

Bottom line--Pelfrey's control is tremendous right now, he is using all parts of the plate, and he is certainly pitching like an Ace.

The Mets Want Your Feedback on Citi Field Tours

I took the survey, and it truly does take less than 5 minutes...they are trying to gauge interest in Citi Tours and what would be a reasonable amount to charge.

For the record, I put $10.


Dear Mets Fan:

As a loyal Mets fan, you are our most important customer. For that reason, you have been selected for this brief, five minute online survey regarding your interest in Citi Field tours.

  Start the Survey   

We appreciate your time, and your feedback is important to us. We look forward to further enhancing your Mets experience.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Pat Myself On The Back Department - Mike Pelfrey Edition

Great piece from long time contributor Andy the Lawyer:

A few weeks back, I posted that Pelfrey wasn't really a sinkerball pitcher. That if he was going to be effective, it wasn't going to be because he "pitched to contact" but because he got better at striking guys out more, through improved command and/or a "out" pitch. Well, in his 4-0, 0.69 ERA start, Pelfrey is actually averaging FEWER groundballs to flyballs than in prior years.

2010: GB/FB Ratio: 0.92 GO/AO Ratio: 1.19
Career: GB/FB Ratio: 1.00 GO/AO Ratio: 1.41

Pelfrey hasn't been better because he's turning into Webb-lite, it becaue he is striking out more batters and giving up fewer "fat" pitches (the kind that lead to HR's and extra base hits).

2010: HR% 0.0 SO% 18.3 XBH% 4.8
Career: HR% 1.7 SO% 13.2 XBH% 7.1

One other stat of note: Pelfrey is actually popping guys up quite a bit this year - another sign that he isn't making his living on sinkers. His IF/FB ratio (percentage of Flyballs that stay in the infield) is 17% this year, as opposed to 12% for his career.

I'm not a scout, but to my eyes the big differences in Pelfrey this year have been (a) avoiding the mental meltdowns that cost him big innings in prior years, and (b) learning how to set up batters and get them out. Yesterday's 9-pitch at bat with Heyward in the first inning was a great example.

Pelfrey sailed to 2 outs, then gave up 2 walks sandwiched around a double to have the bases loaded with a dangerous hitter at the plate - recipe for a classic breakdown for the old Pelf. Now add in the Heyward is hard to strike out. But Pelf not only stayed cool, but he got out of the jam unharmed. He threw almost exclusively fastballs once the count was full, but he kept moving it around. Some were fastballs on the outside of the plate, while others had some "cut" on the inside portion of the plate. But he didn't uncork one that Heyward could take for ball 4, and he didn't offer up a gopher ball. He eventually induced a weak pop up to the left side.

That's the "new" Pelf, not a guy who lives on grounders.

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!"

Good Morning Mets Fans!

5 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, zero RBIs, one run...and a win.

It was scant offensive production, but on this rainy night at Citi Field, it was enough because Mike Pelfrey simply refuses to give up runs.

Mike Pelfrey is now 4-0 with a "near complete game" 5-inning laborious effort that was oftentimes frustrating to watch, but Houdini like in his ability to get out of inning after inning unscathed.  Raul Valdes threw exactly one pitch in the top of the 6th, denying Pelf the complete game--it's a strange rule, but the pitch counts.

Finally the baseball Gods had seen enough, and after 5 innings (and one pitch), the skies opened up, and it was the end of the night for everyone and the Mets 4th win in a row.

The Mets are now 1.5 games back of the Phillies, tied for second place with the Marlins and Nationals.

Big Pelf's scoreless streak is now 24 innings, he is 4-0 on the year, and his ERA is a miniscule 0.69 (insert your own joke here).  Additionally his WHIP is 1.19 and he is holding the opposition to a .200 batting average against.

Jose Reyes was responsible for the lone run of the contest...he blooped a hit, stole second, then came around to score after Jason Bay hit a sharp single to Chipper Jones.  Instead of putting the ball in his back pocket, Larry tried to throw out Bay at first, and the ball bounced away from Braves first baseman of the day Troy Glaus.  Reyes easily scored on the error.

The Mets have are now over the .500 mark for the first time since opening day.  Of note, the win gave them their first sweep of the year and put that look we love on Bobby Cox face...he is in agony.

Pelfrey leads the major leagues in ERA...he is pitching like a terrific #2 starter, if not an ace, and battling like we've never seen him battle before.  Mike Pelfrey is a stud, and he is exuding confidence.

"I can't say I was pleased with my outing," Pelfrey said. "My command wasn't great and they did a good job laying off my pitches and made me work."

Tonight the Dodgers come into town for three with Ollie Perez on the hill.  The Mets are eager to keep the winning baseball going at home, as after these three, it's on to Philly for what will surely be an early season measuring stick series.

According to the Daily News, John Maine will make his next scheduled start.

Metstradamus approves of this sweep.

Andy Martino tips us to the class of the Mets organization--even though the fans technically saw a complete baseball game last night, they can redeem those tickets for tickets against the Padres or Tigers.

Amazin Avenue has a recap...and a nice poem by my friend Howard Megdal.

Enjoy your Monday morning coffee!

Scoreboard
Final 6th	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta (8-10)	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	5	2
N.Y. Mets (10-9) «	1	0	0	0	0	x				1	5	0

Player of the Game

New York M. Pelfrey IP 5.0 H 5 ER 0 BB 5 K 3

 Related articles:

• Mets 1, Braves 0, 5 Innings (Rain): Mets Win Rain-Shortened Game to Sweep Braves (nytimes.com)
• Pelfrey, Mets hold off Braves in rain-shortened game (cbssports.com)

Remember When the Mets Were Old?

I was just looking at the average age of some of the other teams, and the Mets sure do look young right now, or at least "not old", especially compared to past seasons.  In fact, I'd say the Mets have it about right.

The Mets are the "8th oldest" team in baseball, with an average age of  29.8, but that compares favorably to year's past when the team was easily the oldest in baseball at around 32 years of age on average.

The current oldest team is the Phillies, at 31.7 on average.  Of course having Jamie Moyer on the team skews that stat a bit.

The oldest Met is Henry Blanco at 38, and the youngest, of course, is Jenrry Mejia at age 20.

Most importantly, the core of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Frankie Rodriguez is young, as are Jonathan Niese, Jeff Francoeur, Ike Davis, and other key players.

FUN FACT:  The Mets are the lightest team in all of MLB with an average weight of 202 lbs.  The heaviest are the Chicago White sox at a whopping 216.

MLB Roster Analysis
RK	TEAM	RHB	LHB	SH	RHP	LHP	HT	WT	AGE	YNG	OLD
1	Philadelphia	6	6	1	8	4	6-1	208	31.7	24	47
2	Boston	7	4	2	9	3	6-1	205	30.9	23	43
3	Houston	8	2	3	10	2	6-1	213	30.6	25	38
4	Milwaukee	6	6	1	8	4	6-1	209	30.5	23	42
5	Chicago Sox	8	4	1	8	4	6-2	216	30.2	23	42
6	NY Yankees	4	4	5	8	4	6-2	212	30.2	23	40
7	NY Mets	6	3	4	6	6	6-1	202	29.8	20	38
8	LA Dodgers	8	4	1	9	3	6-0	214	29.8	22	37
9	LA Angels	7	2	4	9	3	6-1	206	29.6	25	36
10	Atlanta	6	4	3	9	3	6-1	205	29.5	20	40
11	Colorado	6	6	1	7	5	6-2	203	29.4	24	39
12	Toronto	9	4	0	8	5	6-1	214	29.3	22	35
13	Cincinnati	9	4	0	10	2	6-1	215	29.2	22	40
14	Chicago Cubs	8	4	1	8	5	6-2	214	29.1	24	34
15	Washington	8	4	1	8	4	6-1	213	29.0	24	39
16	Kansas City	5	5	2	11	2	6-1	206	28.9	24	35
17	San Francisco	6	4	3	8	4	6-1	210	28.9	23	36
18	Minnesota	5	5	3	9	3	6-2	215	28.8	22	39
19	Seattle	8	3	2	10	2	6-1	209	28.7	23	40
20	Baltimore	9	2	2	8	4	6-2	209	28.6	23	35
21	St. Louis	9	3	1	9	3	6-2	214	28.6	23	37
22	Pittsburgh	7	4	3	7	4	6-1	211	28.4	23	38
23	Detroit	8	3	2	8	4	6-2	207	28.4	21	36
24	San Diego	7	4	2	9	3	6-1	208	28.1	22	42
25	Arizona	7	4	2	12	0	6-1	205	28.1	22	36
26	Texas	8	4	1	9	3	6-2	215	28.0	21	39
27	Tampa Bay	6	4	3	10	2	6-2	209	28.0	24	34
28	Cleveland	7	5	1	8	4	6-1	207	27.9	23	39
29	Florida	10	3	0	9	3	6-2	215	27.7	23	34
30	Oakland	6	5	2	7	5	6-1	206	27.2	22	32

Good Morning Mets Fans!

If last week was torture, yesterday was joy.

Jose Reyes had 4 hits, including a triple, stole a base, and lit up Citi Field with his energy and smily.

But there was one guy who was even better than Jose, Mike Pelfrey, who pitched 7 scoreless to extend his streak to 19 innings without a run en route to a perfect 3-0 start on the year.

For all of Pelfrey's greatness, he knows how much Reyes effort meant.

"No matter how he plays he's a spark plug," Pelfrey said of Reyes. "You love looking behind you and seeing him smiling, having a good time."

Reyes second inning triple scored two, including Pelfrey himself, and set the tone for the night.

Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano actually settled down nicely after the second, with the middle of the Mets order looking especially feeble against his offerings.

Zambrano struck out nine over six innings, including Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur, and Ike Davis twice apiece.

At the end of the 7th Pelfrey left the game after allowing only 3 hits and striking out 6.  He had only thrown 102 pitches to that point, but on the heels of his work in the 20-inning game, Jerry Manuel pulled him one inning short--a move he told Pelfrey he'd make before the game started.  Pelfrey lobbied for one more inning, but he took the news with a smile, and handshakes and hugs from his teammates.

Pelfrey looks like an ace right now, or at least the solid #2 starter the fans didn't think they had after failing to acquire a starter in the off-season.

In the top of the 8th Mets Reliever Ryota Igarashi went down with a strained hamstring--he is scheduled for an MRI today. He was relieved by the guy that pitches every day, Fernando Nieve, who came on with a runner on second and got a K to end the inning and preserve the 2 run lead.

In the bottom of the 8th Pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis blasted a two-run bomb to give the Mets a 4 run cushion, and Frankie Rodriguez came on in the 9th to close out the win--it was the Mets first back-to-back wins of the season and gets them one step closer to .500.

It sure is starting to feel like baseball around here again....enjoy your coffee!

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chi. Cubs (5-9)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
N.Y. Mets (6-8) «	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	x	4	9	1

Players of the Game

New York J. Reyes AB 5 R 0 H 4 HR 0 RBI 2

New York M. Pelfrey IP 7.0 H 3 ER 0 BB 3 K 6

Related articles by Zemanta

• Post Game: Mets 4, Cubs 0 (metsblog.com)
• Pelfrey Shuts Down Cubs for Mets Second Straight Victory (bleacherreport.com)
• Mets 4, Cubs 0: Reyes Goes 4 for 5 as Mets Win Again (nytimes.com)

Every Mets Song Over the Years

My friend Metsmanic over at Mets Refugees put together a list of every Mets song over the years (full list below with YouTube links)

Some of these songs bring back such great memories, but of course, nothing beats the original.

I like his idea of playing every one of them over and over until the game begins.

Hell, we need the mojo!  Enjoy!

Meet the Mets- 1964: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTLmDuhV3AQ
Meet the Mets- Organ: http://youngmanhattanite.com/music/M...Mets_Organ.mp3
Meet the Mets- 1984: http://youngmanhattanite.com/music/MeetTheMets1984.mp3
Meet the Mets- 1999: http://youngmanhattanite.com/music/MeetTheMets1999.mp3
Meet the Mets- Mike and the Mad Dog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEA1qaDJ85s
Meet the Mets- Yo La Tengo: http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/5/...The%20Mets.mp3
Meet the Mets- Bob Costas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixO3oeQRQ5Y
Mets Didn't Start the Fire: http://podcast.itm-1015.com/wfan/1155521.mp3
Bagel Boys - Schoeneweis, Newhan, and Green: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KK6_SKYwSI
The Johan Santana Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h-iurHfqls
The John Maine Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5lHOI_SuGg
Let's Go Mets GO- 1986: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80Tn9mfVMxs
Rise Up (METS): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InfrGxB4CHk
New York Mets OUR TEAM OUR TIME: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNMoSmuEXw0
Lucas Prata Mets Song- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-e8Mkjnx80
Who Let The Mets Out?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7zayUCgijU
Get Metsmerized!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpvufrpAhls
Rock The City: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNjYXEf98nw
The Mets Rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ghN2ng1l-E
Chocolate Strawberry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol75BB7ly4k
Dr. K: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikM8VCN43cw

Ron Darling Sees and Explains Mike Pelfrey's Flaw

I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon watching the Mets.

To be fair, I did get up early and "spring clean" my entire backyard, and there are about 25 bags of junk next to the house to prove it. I also found a huge snake in the yard, which I put in a bucket and transported to a nearby woods vice killing.

But I digress.

The main reason I got up early to my work in, was so that I could watch Mike Pelfrey get his work in.

My work was done better.

Mike Pelfrey continues to struggle, especially in the giving up homeruns department.  I've been very puzzled as to why Big Pelf is giving up the flyballs and homeruns at such an alarming rate, and I chalked it up to rust or confidence, etc.

Then Ron Darling mentioned the grip, and everything clicked as to why Pelfrey has fared so poorly.

Pelfrey's fastballs were coming in laser straight and up, at times, with a nary a bit of sink to them. The issue has been there all spring.

Ron Darling, the thoughtful broadcaster who has forgotten more about pitching than most of us will ever know, told us why...and then we could actually see why for ourselves.

Darling pointed out that Pelfrey has worked hard on a splitter.  He then gave us some real insight by telling a story about his own development of the pitch. He spoke about muscle memory and how his finger's got so used to being separated that it was hard to get them to go back together. This resulted in his former bread and butter pitches not performing like they had before he worked on the splitter.

It was really riveting stuff, especially as he correlated the story beautifully to what's going on with Mike Pelfrey. As the cameras panned in on Pelf's fingers, we could actually see the separation (now that we knew exactly what to look for), and when they were apart, as Darling mentioned, the fastball came in straight. When the finger's were in the proper position, back together, the sink was back.

For a Sunday spring training game in March, it was some of the best on the spot analysis I've ever heard.

I'm sure Dan Warthen and Mike Pelfrey are aware of what's going on, and thanks to Ron Darling, the rest of us are too.

I just hope they get the issue resolved, and soon.

The Myth of Mike Pelfrey's Sinker

From my friend and NY Sports Dog Contributor Andy the Lawyer...

Mike Pelfrey had his most effective outing of the spring today, pitching 4 innings and giving up 4 hits and no runs. Notably, however, his groundout to flyout ratio was 3-7, meaning that he really wasn't inducing groundball outs. For several years, the Mets pitching coaches have talked about Pelfrey as though he could be a poor-man's Brandon Webb, inducing groundouts and doubleplays and being effective despite not having great strikeout numbers. But is that really who Mike Pelfrey is?

His numbers do not suggest that he's really a sinkerball pitcher. While his ratios are slightly more groundball oriented than the average major leaguer, they are nowhere near what you see in guys who can "pitch to contact" and induce a lot of ground ball outs. For comparison's sake, here are Mike Pelfrey's career ratio numbers (Groundball/Flyballs and Groundouts/Airouts) compared to Brandon Webb (probably the most prominent sinkerball pitcher in the game), Derek Lowe (a very good front rotation sinkerball pitcher), Aaron Cook (a decent sinkerballer), and the league average:

Pelfrey (career)
GB/FB 1.01 GO/AO 1.43

Webb (career)
GB/FB 1.82 GO/AO 2.91

Lowe (career)
GB/FB 1.69 GO/AO 2.69

Aaron Cook (career)
GB/FB 1.36 GO/AO 2.21

League Average
GB/FB 0.78 GO/AO 1.06

Pelfrey's number aren't terrible, but they are hardly indicative of a guy who can make a living pitching to contact. Pelfrey is only about 20% more likely to induce a ground ball than the average MLB pitcher. That's not a true "sinkerballer" - at least its not a portrait of a guy who can not strike anyone out but still be effective.

Maybe Pelfrey can improve in this regard, but I just don't see it. The real sinkerballers almost have a downward break on their ball - not quite a splitter movement but something close to it. Pelfrey's fastball is straight - it has a slight downward movement because he's tall, but hardly enough that it prevents batters from putting it in the air.

If Pelfrey is going to be a front of the rotation starter, he is going to need to improve his K rates and lower his walks - in short, get an "out pitch" (perhaps his new splitter will be that pitch) and improve his control. It is NOT going to be because he pitches to contact, as its very unlikely that we will see a major jump in his groundball/flyball ratios. Maybe he is doing that this spring - he notably issued no walks and struck out two in his 4 innings of work today. Certainly the Mets rotation needs him to be a #2 or #3 starter to make a playoff run this season.