Lose the Beards, Take the Cannoli

Bad news/good news--you decide.

• 57 games left
• 10 games out of first
• 8 games out of the wildcard
• 8 teams to leap to make the playoffs

Bad news first: It's over, officially and unequivocally over. No news here, but in my mind, last night's game was the end of playoff hope, but not the end of hope. I'll talk more about that later.

Like you I was holding out hope for a miracle run to October, but it's not happening.

After the recent 5-game winning streak it looked like the Mets were going to creep back into this thing. Get to September 3 or 4 games back and in the hunt.

But the horses are just not there.

That said, the Mets are going to get "pretty healthy" by the end of August, and they will more than likely play some very good baseball down the stretch.

It will leave us all wondering what could have been and hopeful for 2010, which is good news.

So my recommendations to the Mets are as follows--keep fighting, have fun, and as the doctors say, "do no harm."

Get Delgado back, but face the fact that he is gone, and don't give up playing time to Murphy for Delgado. Carlos will not like this--he's worked hard to get back, but Murphy is the player that will be here next year. Get him some starts and some pinch-hitting at-bats, but let Murphy play.

Give Beltran another week of this effort he has going to get back--then have him re-evaluated and make a CORRECT medical decision. If there's any chance he can hurt himself by going full speed, shut him down and let him continue exercising and focusing on next season.

Get Wagner back and throw the crap out of him. He is worth evaluating for the chance to come back next year, even if he's not likely to be a Met.

JJ Putz--see above--he might be a Met in 2010.

Jose Reyes, for all intents and purposes, should be shut down now. Send him to Switzerland or Japan or wherever the VERY best doctors are to figure this out.

Give David Wright some days off....not a lot, but a few....he's worked his tail off this year, and he's responded well to rest.

Go very easy on KRod and keep him strong for 2010.

Same with Johan.

Have Pelfrey and Ollie work on what they need to fix, even at the expense of wins...I want to see more fastballs from Pelfrey and more breaking pitches from Ollie.

Tell Jeff Francoeur that he is not allowed to swing at a first pitch for the rest of the year--I'm serious--tell him that for the next 50+ games, he will not swing at a first pitch--ever. He needs to have more discipline, and this is one way to learn to watch a pitch to the glove knowing he can't offer at it. Focus on spin, location, release point, etc....anything but swinging. I'd actually like to see Francoeur back next year with a one year deal plus club option.

Pitch Livan until his arm falls off--no more 80 pitch efforts and a pinch hitter in the 6th--just let the man complete every game he starts.

And last of all--have some damn fun!

Mets Relievers on Pace for 40 Losses

The Mets are in trouble.

Not only are two starting pitchers missing from the rotation, two all-star top 20 MVP types missing from the lineup, but the once vaunted bullpen has slid into a funk that can only be described as mediocre.

At the time JJ Putz went down with injury, he was leading the team in appearances.

Right now the Mets have four relievers in the top 20 in appearances in all of baseball.

• Pedro Feliciano leads all of baseball with 40 appearances.
• Bobby Parnell is tied for 2nd with 36.
• Sean Green and Frankie Rodriguez are tied for 19th with 33.

That is staggering and shows how ineffectively Mets manager Jerry Manuel has used his bullpen this season.

They are overworked, overtired, and the result of all of this mismanagement has come to full fruition in their recent showing.

All four of those pitchers are on pace for career highs in appearances...the only thing that will stave off that are the injuries that are sure to follow.

Yesterday Jerry himself admitted he's overused them:

"What I need to do is really refresh the bullpen," Manuel said. "I probably, to a fault, use them too much. I have to do all I can to refresh them and that will help. "What I have to do is trust the other people I have down there."

Jerry, it's the end of June--we're 67 games into the season, and you're just now realizing you've overused the bullpen? Again, those four guys are all in the top 20 in all of major league baseball in appearances.

Staggering.

Pitching Statistics
NAME	GP	GS	W	L	Sv	Hld	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	K/9	P/GS	WHIP	ERA
P. Feliciano	40	0	2	2	0	13	30.0	21	9	4	6	28	8.40	0.0	0.90	2.70
Bobby Parnell	36	0	2	3	0	12	27.0	39	15	2	13	23	7.67	0.0	1.93	5.00
F. Rodriguez	33	0	1	2	18	0	33.2	19	4	1	17	36	9.62	0.0	1.07	1.07
Sean Green	33	0	1	2	0	6	32.0	33	18	4	14	28	7.88	0.0	1.47	5.06
J.J. Putz	29	0	1	4	2	10	29.1	29	17	1	19	19	5.83	0.0	1.64	5.22
Brian Stokes	24	0	1	2	0	1	26.0	29	10	2	7	12	4.15	0.0	1.38	3.46
Ken Takahashi	15	0	0	1	0	0	18.0	16	6	2	9	14	7.00	0.0	1.39	3.00
Darren O'Day†	4	0	0	0	0	0	3.0	5	0	0	1	2	6.00	0.0	2.00	0.00
Casey Fossum	3	0	0	0	0	0	4.0	4	1	0	4	3	6.75	0.0	2.00	2.25
Jon Switzer	3	0	0	0	0	0	3.0	3	3	1	2	2	6.00	0.0	1.67	9.00
F. Nieve	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	2	9.00	0.0	0.50	0.00
Totals	66	0	8	16	20	42	208.0	199	83	17	92	169	7.31	0.0	1.40	3.59

Is This the Start of Something Special?

I think so.

The Mets have suffered so much early season adversity.

There are the well documented injuries to key stars and role players, errors, both mental and physical, and of course, the new ballpark.

But here we are, on June 14th, 3 games out of first place and a scant half game out of the wild card.

And look at the stats for the team--this banged up team:

2009 National League Ranks

AVG	R	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB
.280	284	.362	.414	.775	63
1st	5th	1st	4th	2nd	1st
ERA	BAA	OPS	SV	WHIP	QS
3.96	.253	.714	18	1.37	34
6th	6th	4th	5th	8th	6th

Those are fine numbers--just imagine how much better they'll get when Jose Reyes gets back.

My friend Rob Harding at Hot Foot looks back at a few games the Mets should have won.

And that gets to my point--did we get our bad games out of the way early? Is all that early adversity over?

Speaking of Friday night, my buddy Steve over at Kranepool Society sums up my exact feelings about Luis Castillo and the Friday situation.

I was very upset for about an hour, but really, after seeing how Luis handled himself, I am really pulling for him to have a great stretch here. Adversity shows you the character of a man, and Luis has absolutely handled this like a man.

So let's play a little "what if".

What if Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, JJ Putz, Billy Wagner, and Oliver Perez all come back over the next 8-10 weeks.

If this current Mets roster can hold the fort and keep pace with the Phils, odds are that good fortune will turn their way.

What if from here on out balls will be caught, bases will be ran, and the hits will all drop?

What if the shoe goes on the other foot and the Mets catch the breaks?

Was the Fernando Nieve start the beginning of that string of good luck?

Remember--this team has competed very well against the Phils, Yanks and Red Sox...we're a hair of bad luck (and better execution) from winning two more from the Phils and the Friday night game against the Yanks.

Again, it's June 14th...let's play great ball and keep fighting--the same type of fight they showed yesterday.

They say that hope springs eternal....here's to hoping.

Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This...

I'm watching the game last night, frustrated by the previous loss to the Pirates, frustrated that we can't get any big rally's going, frustrated that we can't hit homeruns, frustrated that we're physically injured and sick with the flu, frustrated, at pretty much everything going on with the team....and then it hit me.

They'll be days like this.

So I began looking for positives, and there are many.

The Mets lost 2 in a row, 3 of 4, and the Phillies have won 5 in a row....and they're 2.5 games out of first...on June 3rd....with all the turmoil.

Jose Reyes comes back Friday...I'd almost forgotten how singularly valuable he is to the club since he's caught up in the middle of so many injuries.

We are about to get Jose Reyes back....the Jose Reyes that has had 779 hits, 65 triples, 258 steals, and 452 runs scored in the 4 seasons prior to 2009.

Let's do a little lineup projection for next week:

1. Reyes, SS
2. Castillo, 2B
3. Beltran, CF
4. Sheffield, LF
5. Wright, 3B
6. Church, RF
7. Murphy, 1B
8. Schneider, C

That alone makes me feel better, but there's more.

Frankie Rodriguez, Bobby Parnell and Pedro Feliciano are pitching light's out.

In fact, our bullpen really is a strength, and will be throughout the season. JJ Putz is struggling, but overall the BP is championship caliber.

The flu sucks...we all know it...and it can decapacitate you for a few days or even a week, but once it's gone, it's gone.

Carlos Beltran should start feeling better today or tomorrow, and he'll be back this weekend. Hopefully the rest of his body will benefit from the time off.

Remember--he doesn't have swine flu, he doesn't have an injury that requires weeks of re-hab, and he has a fantastic approach this year with his hitting.

Beltran will be back SOON...maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but certainly by the weekend.

So we "add" two all-star MVP candidate players in the next 3 days, PLUS we get Alex Cora back to help stabilize the bench.

Playing the subs now will pay dividends later.

Jeremy Reed, Fernando Martinez, Angel Pagan, Fernando Tatis...one of these gentleman wil likely play a heroic role down the stretch.

Think back to the championship teams...they all had a core of stars, but in most cases there was an unlikely hero that emerged down the stretch or in the post-season that catapulted them to victory.

It also may not hurt that Reed and Pagan have played well, and other teams that may have interest in them before the trading deadline have certainly scouted and noticed....those two guys can play, and they are cheap.

John Maine and Mike Pelfrey are studs.

With Johan Santana at the top of the order and Maine and Pelfrey behind him, the Mets have 3 top front line starters.

Maine was 4-1 in May with a 2.75 ERA.

Pelfrey was only 2-1, but he had a 2.93 ERA in May, and went 7+ innings in 4 starts with 3 earned runs or less in all 6 of his starts...he easily could have went 5-1 or even 6-0 for the month.

So this morning, over my coffee, I'm re-thinking my frustration over the last week and especially the last two games and the Saturday debacle.

Momma said there'd be days like this, we know and understand that during the season long marathon that there will be ups and downs.....we also know the best days are ahead for this ballclub.

Omir Santos Takes Papelbon Deep--Mets Win!

Mets win 3-2 with JJ Putz on the hill to close it out and some great defense.

What a phenomenal win.

If the Mets can sweep the series tomorrow, they return to Shea with a ton of momentum to face the Nationals and Marlins.

Papelbon is still crying in the dugout.

NY Mets AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Murphy, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .248 Pagan, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .316 Beltran, DH 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .364 Sheffield, LF 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .260 Wright, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .353 Reed, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .317 Santos, O, C 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 .270 Martinez, R, SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .100 Castillo, 2B 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .274 Totals 33 3 6 3 2 7 9 BATTING HR: Santos, O (2, 9th inning off Papelbon, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Beltran; Sheffield; Reed; Santos, O 5; Martinez, R. RBI: Sheffield (10), Santos, O 2 (15). 2-out RBI: Sheffield; Santos, O 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Murphy; Castillo. Team RISP: 1-for-4. Team LOB: 5. BASERUNNING SB: Martinez, R (1, 2nd base off Beckett/Varitek). FIELDING DP: (Castillo-Martinez, R-Murphy).		Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Ellsbury, CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .298 Pedroia, 2B 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 .327 Ortiz, DH 3 0 0 0 1 2 4 .201 Youkilis, 1B 3 0 1 2 1 0 1 .388 Bay, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .287 Drew, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .250 Lowell, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .281 Varitek, C 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 .248 Green, N, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .303 Totals 32 2 6 2 2 7 12 BATTING TB: Ellsbury; Pedroia 2; Youkilis; Varitek; Green, N. RBI: Youkilis 2 (23). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ortiz. GIDP: Green, N. Team RISP: 1-for-3. Team LOB: 5. BASERUNNING SB: Pedroia (5, 2nd base off Pelfrey/Santos, O), Ellsbury (18, 3rd base off Pelfrey/Santos, O). FIELDING E: Beckett (1, pickoff).
NY Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Pelfrey 7.0 6 2 2 1 6 0 4.31 Feliciano, P (W, 1-1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.65 Putz (S, 2) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.75		Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Beckett 8.0 5 1 0 1 5 0 5.01 Papelbon (BS, 1)(L, 0-1) 1.0 1 2 2 1 2 1 1.80
Pitches-strikes: Pelfrey 111-70, Feliciano, P 13-8, Putz 15-9, Beckett 117-78, Papelbon 15-9. Groundouts-flyouts: Pelfrey 12-3, Feliciano, P 1-1, Putz 2-1, Beckett 8-11, Papelbon 0-1. Batters faced: Pelfrey 27, Feliciano, P 3, Putz 4, Beckett 30, Papelbon 5. Umpires: HP: Joe West. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Chad Fairchild. 3B: Paul Nauert. Weather: 55 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 mph, R to L. T: 2:49. Att: 37,871. May 23, 2009