Bleacher Report - Articles by Patrick Murray

Could a Solution to Mets' Problems Lie North of the Border?

Patrick Murray — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:06:02 -0400

The Mets continue to toil in mediocrity, sitting one game below .500, while a large chunk of talent sits idle on the disabled list.

Most Mets fans have probably memorized the list of the fallen by now: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, John Maine, Oliver Perez, J.J. Putz, Angel Pagan, Billy Wagner.

Some Mets fans have clamored for a trade, demanding that Omar Minaya acquire a big bat to help out David Wright.

Other fans (myself included) have taken up a more patient approach. Wait for the big boys to return. Don't sell the future for a season that may be a lost cause anyway.

Omar Minaya has stated that he will not trade off his best prospects for a "rental" player, such as Matt Holliday. If a trade is made, Minaya wants a player that is signed at least through the 2010 season and could help not only now, but in the future.

Minaya is absolutely right in his thinking (that's probably why he's the GM).

A player has subtly arrived on the scene over the last couple of days that could be a partial solution to the Mets myriad problems.

His name is Alex Rios.

Rios is signed all the way through the 2014 season.

Why would the Blue Jays trade a two-time All-Star outfielder?

Money.

Toronto's payroll this year is around $80 million and it stands to increase over the next couple of years.

Perennial Cy Young contender Roy Halladay will be a free agent after 2010 and the Jays would like to resign him. He will cost a ton, likely around $20 million per year.

Center fielder Vernon Wells will see his salary take a huge leap from $1.5 million this season to $12.5 million in 2010 and upwards of $20 million after that. General Manager J.P. Ricciardi will try desperately to unload that contract. Good luck to him.

The Jays also have several young, up and coming players who will be due pay raises soon such as Adam Lind and Travis Snider (who will replace the production of Wells and Rios in the outfield), plus many talented pitchers led by Dustin McGowan.

The bottom line is Rios could be acquired at a discounted price if a team is willing to take on the five years and $62 million remaining on his contract.

Rios seems like the perfect fit for the Mets at this time. He won't cost too much in terms of prospects and he is signed long term.

Rios would also fit well in Citi Field.

He has good speed and hits the ball in the gaps. In 2007 and 2008 Rios hit 90 doubles and 15 triples. In comparison, Jose Reyes had 73 doubles and 31 triples in that span while Carlos Beltran had 73 doubles and eight triples.

Those excellent extra base hit numbers would likely increase in cavernous Citi Field.

Rios is also a great defensive outfielder with a plus arm.

An outfield of Ryan Church, Carlos Beltran, and Alex Rios would certainly be the top defensive outfield in the major leagues.

The 6-foot-5 Puerto Rican could play center field until Beltran returns, then would move to his preferred position of right field with Church moving to left.

An All-Star outfielder at a discounted price, that is signed long term and fits perfectly into a Citi Field philosophy of speed and defense.

Go for it Omar.

Mets Take Advantage of Baltimore Miscues in 6-4 Win

Patrick Murray — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:05:06 -0400

Once again defensive mistakes have majorly impacted the outcome of a New York Mets game.

This time the Mets got the benefit and defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4.

Neither team had recorded a hit before the first big error. After Fernando Martinez reached on a walk to lead off the fourth, Brian Roberts booted a sure double-play ball off the bat of Carlos Beltran.

Consecutive singles by David Wright and Ryan Church brought home Martinez and Beltran to put the Mets up 2-0. Daniel Murphy and Brian Schneider each picked up an RBI in the four-run fourth.

Mike Pelfrey came out of the gates strong and did not allow a hit until a two-out single by Nick Markakis in the fourth. However, just like his last outing, after a strong start, Pelfrey struggled in the middle innings.

Big Pelf loaded the bases in the fifth before striking out Roberts to end the threat. The sixth inning spelled the end of the road for Pelfrey. He surrendered a two-run homer to Markakis and was lifted with two outs after walking Luke Scott.

The big play of the game came in the top of the seventh. The Mets had Martinez and Alex Cora in scoring position with two outs and the hottest hitter in the NL, David Wright, coming to the plate.

Wright battled with Baltimore reliever Danys Baez, then lifted a weak fly ball to shallow right field near the line. First baseman Aubrey Huff sprinted back and tried to make the catch over his shoulder, but the ball hit off his glove and fell, allowing the eventual winning run to score.

Bobby Parnell and Fransisco Rodriguez combined to make things interesting in the ninth, surrendering two runs (both charged to Parnell). K-Rod blew a fastball past Adam Jones to end the game.

Rodriguez also struck out super-prospect Matt Wieters in the inning.

Wright had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Wright is hitting .558 (24-43) in that span and leads the MLB in hitting with a .365 average.

The Mets send Rochester native Tim Redding (0-2, 6.18 ERA) to the mound Wednesday. In his last two starts, Redding has allowed four runs on 12 hits in 13 innings of work while striking out eight and walking only two.

Thirty-four-year-old Japanese rookie Koji Uehara (2-4, 4.37) will take the hill for Baltimore. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 P.M.

Hernandez Complete Game Just What the Doctor Ordered for Ailing Mets

Patrick Murray — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:02:10 -0400

Livan Hernandez couldn't have picked a better time to throw the New York Mets' (25-20) first complete game of the season.

After a tough West Coast road trip and a string of injuries, the Mets could use a break.

Hernandez gave the hurting Mets a huge lift with his complete game performance on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals (13-30).

Hernandez allowed just one run on an Adam Dunn homer while scattering nine hits and striking out six.

The injuries keep piling up for the Mets.

Just two opening day starters (David Wright and Luis Castillo) were in the lineup against the Nationals on Tuesday night.

The bad news on Tuesday: Jose Reyes and Ryan Church placed on the disabled list.

Carlos Beltran (bruised knee) will miss at least three games.

In the absence of the big offensive contributors, Gary Sheffield stepped up once again, delivering a three-run homer for the second straight game. Sheffield is hitting .415 since taking over the left field job on May 13.

In 11 games since that date, Sheff has hit four homers, driven in 12 runs, and scored 15 times.

Angel Pagan did his best Beltran impression while gunning down Josh Bard at the plate to keep the Nats off the scoreboard in the fifth (a pat on the back to Omir Santos for the block of the plate and the diving tag).

The bullpen got a much needed rest Tuesday, and could get another one in the final game of the series with Johan Santana on the mound.

Hernandez has boosted the Mets spirits, and now they get to send their ace to the mound.

You know Santana (6-2, 1.50 ERA) will be fired up and ready to go on Wednesday. With three of their superstars out of the lineup, the Mets need him badly.

Santana always responds best in these situations, (remember 9/27/08 vs Florida?) so look for an epic performance.

The upcoming schedule could soften the blow of the Mets' injury problems. New York will play its next 11 games against Washington, Florida, and Pittsburgh. Those three teams are a combined 55-83 (.399) this season.

Following that stretch, the Philadelphia Phillies will make their second trip to Citi Field on June 9.

By that time, Reyes will be eligible to come off the DL and both he and Beltran should be back in the lineup.

What to watch for over the next few days:

Fernando Martinez will likely continue to play right field for the Mets. He went 0-3 with an RBI on Tuesday. If the highly touted prospect catches fire, maybe he'll stick around in the big leagues.

The first base situation.

It looks like the Jeremy Reed Experiment is finally over.

Daniel Murphy looked outstanding defensively at first over the weekend. However, he is struggling mightily at the plate. Murph went just 1-15 (.067) in four games at first base during the road trip. The left-handed hitting Murphy rode the bench for the second straight game on Tuesday, despite there being a righty on the mound.

Fernando Tatis is not doing much better at the plate, hitting .245 with one homer in 53 May at bats. I would like to see Murphy get a chance to play through his slump, especially with his outstanding defensive play at first.

At the same time, I love having Tatis' hustle and potential power in the lineup. The Mets will face righty Jordan Zimmerman on Wednesday.

How will Bobby Parnell recover from a rough outing?

Parnell surrendered three walks and a run in just a third of an inning versus Washington on Monday. Let's hope he can bounce back quickly like he did after his last poor outing.

After blowing a two run lead in San Francisco, Parnell responded with 3 IP, 0 walks, and 4 K's in his next three appearances until Monday's mishap.

Carlos Beltran, New York Mets Walk-Off with Big Win, 4-3

Patrick Murray — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:46:10 -0400

Monday night's ugly loss to the Atlanta Braves wiped away all the momentum from the New York Mets' previous seven game winning streak.

The Mets may have gained that momentum back with a come-from-behind extra inning victory on Tuesday night.

After getting the first two outs in the bottom of the 10th, the wheels came off for Braves reliever Jeff Bennett.

Jose Reyes reached first on an infield single and promptly stole second, putting the potential winning run in scoring position.

Bennett then intentionally walked Alex Cora. Ramon Castro, pinch hitting for Fransisco Rodriguez, also drew a walk.

Carlos Beltran stepped to the plate with a chance to win the game as Jose Reyes stood on third base, grinning from ear to ear.

Beltran ran the count full and Bennett missed low with a fastball to walk in the winning run.

Rodriguez pitched the ninth and tenth innings to pick up his first win of the season. It was K-Rod's first regular season outing longer than one inning since August 17, 2007.

The Mets trailed 3-0 before they finally got on the board in the eighth inning. After singles from Jeremy Reed and Ryan Church, Reyes knocked a Jair Jurrjens pitch into the gap in left.

Reed and Church scored, but Reyes was erased trying to stretch a double into a triple. Bad baserunning mistake by Reyes here. He represented the tying run and should have stayed put at second with one out.

New York rallied again in the ninth off Atlanta closer Mike Gonzalez.

Beltran led off the inning with a double, his seventh of the season.

David Wright failed to move Beltran over to third as he popped out to first baseman Casey Kotchman in foul territory.

Beltran took matters into his own hands and stole third. Beltran's fourth steal of the year was probably the biggest play of the game.

After Fernando Tatis was hit by a pitch, Luis Castillo came through with a pinch hit sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Lost in the late-inning drama was a solid performance by starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey.

Pelfrey went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk.

Big Pelf could not get through the sixth inning in his first four starts, but has now pitched seven innings in his last two starts.

With his 2-4 game, Beltran raised his batting average to .374 and climbed back into a tie for the NL lead with Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto.

The Mets and Braves will play at 1:10 on Wednesday in the rubber game of the series. New York will send rookie southpaw Jonathan Niese (0-0, 3.00 ERA) to the hill to face Atlanta's Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2, 5.48).

Niese had the best outing of his very brief major league career against Atlanta last September. The 22-year-old did not allow a single run while striking out seven in eight innings of work.

Gary Sheffield Signed by the Mets: Bad Idea

Patrick Murray — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:53:05 -0400

The New York Mets have reached an agreement with free agent DH Gary Sheffield. The 40-year-old was released by the Detroit Tigers last week.

Yes, you read that right, Sheffield is a DH.

But wait, aren't the Mets in the National League?

Yes, they are, but apparently Sheffield was a bargain they "couldn't pass up," despite the fact that they seem to not have a place for him.

New York will only have to pay $400,000 (the Major-League minimum) of Sheffield's $14 million salary. The Tigers will cover the rest.

Sheffield has battled injuries the past few years and spent much of the last three seasons as a designated hitter. He played just six games in left field last year and split 14 games between left and right in 2007.

There's no question that Sheffield can still hit, and he's just one homer shy of 500, but is this signing worth his generally poor attitude?

Sheffield is know for calling managers "racist" for not playing him where he wants. Gary will not start for the Mets but will get mad when he doesn't get enough playing time.

I hope a "gangsta" war doesn't break out between Sheff and manager Jerry Manuel.

Sheffield has the potential to ruin the team-first attitude that the Mets built during Spring Training.

Division Debate: Offseason Moves Push Mets' Bullpen Past Phillies

Patrick Murray — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:15:28 -0400

The New York Mets had the best bullpen in the National League in 2006. Coincidentally (or not), that was the last time they reached the postseason. Then, the bullpen went into a tailspin, finally hitting rock bottom last season.

The 2008 Mets bullpen blew a whopping 29 save opportunities and posted an ugly 4.27 ERA.

New York's arch-nemesis for the last few seasons, the Philadelphia Phillies, had a completely different situation.

The Phillies bullpen ranked 24th in ERA in 2007. The Phils made a complete turnaround in 2008, jumping to 2nd in the majors with a 3.22 bullpen ERA. Philadelphia relievers blew just 15 saves in 2008, about half that of the New York bullpen.

A big part of that turnaround was closer Brade Lidge, who converted all 41 of his save opportunities.

Can the Mets bullpen make a similar turnaround in 2009?

I think General Manager Omar Minaya's work in the off-season gives them a good chance to do just that.

Phillies Community Leader Christian Karcole thinks that the Phillies depth in the bullpen will give them the upper hand. Check out his thoughts on the subject here: Division Debate: Phillies Bullpen Still Too Mighty For Mets

The Mets bullpen will be completely different in 2009. The actual bullpen itself, where these pitchers will call home for 81 games is even different.

The new bullpen at Citi Field will be free of the stress, troubles, and heartache experienced in the Shea bullpen. There will be a fresh start.

The Mets will return just two relievers who saw significant time in the bullpen last season. Pedro Feliciano (86 games) and Brian Stokes (24 games) are the holdovers who will be joined by five new faces when the season starts on April 6 in Cincinnati.

The Mets cut ties with several relievers who were a part of the misery of the last two seasons. Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, and Joe Smith were shipped off via trade. Duaner Sanchez was cut during spring training, and closer Billy Wagner will miss significant time while recovering from elbow surgery.

Having new faces around who didn't have a part in the bullpen collapses will certainly help to change the atmosphere in the pen.

During the off-season, Minaya dismantled his bullpen and then rebuilt it. He started the rebuilding process on December 10th, 2008.

On that day, Minaya officially announced the signing of the Mets new closer, Francisco Rodriguez. Later that night, Minaya acquired former Mariners closer J.J. Putz in a three-team blockbuster trade, giving the Mets perhaps the best bullpen combo in the majors.

K-Rod will replace Wagner as closer. Considering that Wagner and Rodriguez are essentially equal in effectiveness (career—Wagner—2.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, K-Rod—2.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP), this is not an upgrade. So, had Minaya rested after acquiring K-Rod, the Mets would have basically the same bullpen as last season. But, he didn't rest. He kept working.

J.J. Putz is the most important acquisition for the Mets. Putz gives the Mets a dominant set-up man for the first time since Duaner Sanchez's injury during the '06 season. Putz struggled through injuries last season, but is completely healthy and has looked strong in spring training. He also has experience closing games, so if K-Rod falters or gets injured, the Mets have an instant replacement, something they sorely lacked in '08.

Not only will Putz be a huge help on the field, but his personality in the clubhouse will be of the utmost importance. While competitive, Putz is a laid back guy that enjoys practical jokes, especially smashing shaving cream pies into teammates' faces.

Putz' fun loving attitude will help lighten the mood in the New York clubhouse. This is an element that the team lacked during the "collapses" of 2007 and 2008. I look forward to seeing Putz nail a teammate with a pie during a post-game interview.

Rodriguez and Putz matchup well the Phillies' eight and ninth inning pitchers Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson.

Not only did Minaya do a great job on solidifying the back end of the bullpen with a top notch closer and set-up man, but he also shored up the middle innings with some good arms.

The lone lefty in the Mets pen will be Pedro Feliciano who returns for his sixth full season with the Mets. Feliciano did not have his best year in 2008, posting a 4.05 ERA. A big reason for his sub-par season was overuse. Feliciano appeared in a major league leading 86 games in 2008.

If Jerry Manuel can cut down Feliciano's appearances, and try to use him in the lefty-specialist role, Feliciano can be one of the top relievers in the league. After all, lefties hit just .210 against him last season, and a paltry .168 in 2007.

Feliciano is the Mets counter to the Phillies' J.C. Romero, who will miss the first 50 games of the season due to a controversial suspension stemming from a violation of the league's substance abuse policy.

Sean Green came over to New York from Seattle in the J.J. Putz deal and he will replace Joe Smith. Green is a ground-ball machine. Last season he had a 63.3% ground-ball rate, ranking near the top of the league.

A surprise addition to the Mets bullpen is Rule 5 draftee Darren O'Day, whom I am excited about. O'Day had a brief stint with the Angels last season, but suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in September. He was able to avoid surgery, and after extensive rehab is now healthy.

The side-arming 26-year-old had a 2.77 ERA in 123.1 minor league innings.

Rounding out the Mets 'pen will be youngsters Brian Stokes and Robert Parnell, both of whom have displayed excellent stuff and impressed Mets decision makers.

The 2009 Mets bullpen is completely different than the much maligned units of the past two years. The 'pen has plenty of depth and is filled with pitchers with plenty of upside.

I don't expect the Phillies' Lidge and Madson to repeat their outstanding 2008 campaigns. Lidge seems to have exorcised his demons from his poor performance in the 2005 playoffs, but he can't be perfect two years in a row. The Phillies 'pen will regress slightly and the New York 'pen will be drastically improved.

Omar Minaya's off-season work has closed the gap between the Mets and Phillies in terms of relief pitching.

Derek Lowe Signs With Braves: So What's Next For Mets?

Patrick Murray — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:17:44 -0500

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that the Braves have reached an agreement with Derek Lowe on a four-year $60 million contract.

The Braves have finally made a signing after missing out on several targets this offseason, including Jake Peavy, Rafael Furcal, and John Smoltz.

For the first time this offseason, the New York Mets have missed out on one of their top targets. The Mets had Lowe at the top of their wish list of starting pitchers and appeared to be in good position to sign the Scott Boras client.

General Manager Omar Minaya had a three-year $36 million offer on the table and appeared willing to give more money. It seems the deal breaker for the Mets (and what sealed the deal for Lowe and Atlanta) was guaranteeing a fourth year.

The Mets have signed starting pitcher Tim Redding, but still have a gaping hole in their rotation that needs to be filled.

Next on their list is Oliver Perez.

The Mets reportedly offered Perez a three-year deal worth about $10 million per season on Monday. The Mets will likely need to up their offer for Perez, also a Boras client, to bring him back to New York.

Perez has shown promise in his two and half years with the Mets, posting a 3.56 ERA in 2007, but struggles with control issues. He led the majors with 105 walks in 2008.

The market for Perez is unclear, as no other teams have shown much interest thus far.

Randy Wolf is the other likely option for the Mets.

With Lowe gone, maybe Minaya will look into ex-Brewer Ben Sheets, who had an excellent 3.09 ERA last season. Sheets usually strikes out many batters and walks very few (career 3.85 K/BB), but is very injury prone, and the Mets have yet to show interest in him.

Pedro Martinez also remains an option to compete for a spot in the rotation, though it is unlikely the Mets will bring him back.

Having a strong rotation is just as important as solidifying the bullpen. We'll see what Minaya does next.

New York Mets Sign Francisco Rodriguez

Patrick Murray — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:05:03 -0500

The New York Mets and pitcher Fransisco Rodriguez have agreed on a three-year contract worth $37 million. Rodriguez will need a physical examination to complete the deal. It includes an option for a fourth year worth $14 million dollars.

The Mets have begun to shore up their notoriously shaky bullpen and Omar Minaya and Mets executives can now move on to acquiring more bullpen help and a starting pitcher or two.

A press conference is expected to occur by tomorrow to officially announce the signing.

The market played the Mets way this time and they were able to sign Rodriguez to a reasonable deal. A closer is not the only answer to the bullpen woes however, and hopefully the Mets can acquire someone like Huston Street, Juan Cruz, Brandon Lyon, or Joe Beimel.

Omar Minaya Goes to Work As MLB's Winter Meetings Get Underway

Patrick Murray — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:14:52 -0500

Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings officially kicked off on Monday morning. General Managers, executives, and player agents converged on the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, NV to discuss contracts and trades.

Mets GM Omar Minaya got his work week off to an early start when he had dinner with free agent closer Fransisco Rodriguez on Sunday night. Minaya has the upper hand in the closer market this winter and he is taking advantage of it.

The Mets reportedly offered Rodriguez a two-year deal with an option for a third year, worth about $12 million per year. That is well short of the five years, $75 million that Rodriguez and agent Paul Kinzer expected to receive when the offseason began.

With a surplus of available closers (Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman, as well as those potentially available via trade), and a shortage of interested teams, "K-Rod" is at the mercy of Omar Minaya.

K-Rod's former team, the Angels, have not expressed any interest in bringing him back. Some teams looking for a closer such as the Tigers, Cardinals, and Diamondbacks prefer a cheaper option.

The Indians and Brewers appear to be the Mets only competition for Rodriguez. The Brewers are currently preoccupied with CC Sabathia and likely will not make an offer to K-Rod until they know where Sabathia is headed.

The Indians are not looking to spend as much as the Mets are on a closer and seem to be waiting in the wings should negotiations break down.

I believe K-Rod will end up as a Met by the end of the week. The Mets desperately need a closer and have placed Rodriguez at the top of their list. While, New York is the only interested team willing and able to offer K-Rod the money he desires.

Minaya also met with Brian Fuentes' agent this afternoon, and has meetings scheduled with the agents of Kerry Wood and Trevor Hoffman for Tuesday. So, Minaya is exploring his options, or at the very least, scaring K-Rod into accepting their offer.

If Kinzer and Rodriguez were to take too long in deciding on the Mets offer, Minaya could always turn to another option. This is the last thing K-Rod wants because if the Mets sign a different closer before Rodriguez signs anywhere, he can kiss his big payday goodbye.

Minaya holds a great deal of leverage and I think he has done an excellent job so far with the closer market.

In October, I expressed concern about the Mets signing K-Rod. My biggest concern was the length of the contract (and the too large sum of money). Looking at K-Rod's numbers, he appeared to be on the decline and I feared the Mets would be left with a washed up former closer with a $15 million salary. This two-year deal suits me just fine, and a three year deal wouldn't be bad either.

It's K-Rod's move now.

Once Minaya has locked up a closer, he can turn his full attention to the fixing the rest of the bullpen and the starting rotation.

According to reports, Minaya is also currently pursuing a trade for relief pitcher Huston Street to serve as the Mets' set-up man.

Street was dealt to the Rockies earlier this offseason in the Matt Holliday trade and the Rockies are now willing to trade him.

Maligned reliever Aaron Heilman, whom the Rockies see as a starting pitcher, is the centerpiece of the deal. Colorado is looking for a left handed set-up man and is interested in Pedro Feliciano. However, Minaya prefers to trade a prospect alongside Heilman rather than Feliciano.

Talks between the two teams are ongoing.

The 25-year-old Street is a former Rookie of the Year, and has a 2.88 career ERA with a 1.07 WHIP. He served as Oakland's closer until injury problems in 2007 and early 2008 caused him to lose his job to rookie Brad Ziegler.

Street finished the 2008 campaign strong, posting a 1.74 ERA in September.

The Mets are on their way to opening Citi Field with a fortified bullpen. The groundwork has been laid but there is still more work to be done.

New York Mets: A Look Ahead to 2009, Part I

Patrick Murray — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:51:00 -0500

The MLB hot stove is heating up. At midnight, when the calendar turns to Nov. 14, teams can be begin to sign free agents.

At midnight, General Manager Omar Minaya and the Mets will begin perhaps their most important offseason in team history. In this three part series, I will look at the Mets' needs for the 2009 season and how Minaya should take care of them.

The biggest need for the Mets this offseason is pitching. The most glaring weakness is the bullpen, but I will start with a look at the starting rotation. You know the saying, "pitching wins championships," and it all starts with the guys who take the hill to begin the game. Consistent quality starts from the rotation can work wonders for the bullpen.

Under Contract

Johan Santana, 2008 Stats: 16-7, 2.53 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 206 K's.

The biggest piece of the Mets rotation was acquired last offseason. Santana proved to Mets fans this year that he can be an the ace in New York. His complete-game shutout on three days rest in a must-win game was an incredible feat, especially since Santana did it with a torn meniscus in his knee.

Santana led the National League in ERA and innings pitched en route to finishing third in the Cy Young voting in 2008. The Mets will rely on him to carry the load in 2009 and he will set the tone for the rest of the rotation.

Mike Pelfrey, 2008 Stats: 13-11, 3.72 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 110 K's.

Omar Minaya was able to hold onto Pelfrey, who could have been part of the Santana deal, and it worked out in his favor. Mets' fans were growing impatient with the young prospect, but the 6'7" Pelfrey had a breakout season in 2008.

After a slow start, Pelfrey emerged as a solid pitcher for the Mets during the summer months when he posted a 3.00 ERA to go with an 11-2 record. Pelfrey's success can be attributed to his regaining his confidence and subsequently pounding the strike zone with his mid-90s sinking fastball. Big Pelf tied for the National League lead with 29 double plays. Expect Pelfrey to build on his success in 2009 at Citi Field.

John Maine, 2008 Stats: 10-8, 4.18 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 122 K's.

After a solid 2007, Maine seemed to struggle throughout 2008. Maine often had problems finding the strike zone, as evidenced by his 1.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This often led to high pitch counts and leaving the game early. Maine pitched into the seventh inning in just three of his 25 starts, which didn't help the struggling bullpen.

Although, these problems could be attributed to injury. Maine made two trips to disabled list after the All-Star break, and had surgery to remove bone spurs from his shoulder at the end of the season.

Maine is expected to be ready to go for Spring Training and I think he will bounce back from his disappointing 2008 campaign and put up outstanding numbers in 2009. A healthy John Maine is a great asset to the Mets rotation.

Bring Back Perez?

A big question coming into the offseason is whether or not the Mets will re-sign Oliver Perez. Unsurprisingly, Perez filed for free-agency in October, indicating he would like to test the market.

With the wily Scott Boras as his agent, Perez is likely to command a large sum of money. It is believed that Boras wants a deal for Perez similar to the one that Carlos Silva signed last offseason.

Silva signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Mariners. The Mets have expressed that they have no interest in retaining Perez for longer than three years.

The Mets should let Perez and his league-leading 105 walks go elsewhere and collect the two draft picks they will receive due to Perez's status as a type-A free agent.

Open Slots

Assuming the Mets do not re-sign Perez, they have two spots open in their starting rotation. There are several options in free agency and the trade market that will be considered. I think Derek Lowe should be the top candidate to fill one of the positions.

Lowe is 35-years-old, but he has been nothing but consistent since coming to the Dodgers in 2005. In four years in Los Angeles, Lowe never had an ERA higher than 3.88.

The two biggest reasons for acquiring Lowe are that he throws strikes and eats innings. Since becoming a starter in 2002, Lowe has averaged 208 innings pitched and just 57 walks per season. Last season, Lowe walked just 45 batters. Oliver Perez reached that walk total on June 7.

The key to Lowe's success is his sinker, and this will likely allow him to continue competing at a high level into his early-40s. An important part of Lowe's resume is his postseason and September success.

Lowe was dominant in the midst of a pennant race in September 2008 when he recorded a 0.59 ERA. The 6'6" Lowe boasts a career postseason ERA of 3.35, and he won the clinching game of every series for the 2004 World Champion Red Sox.

There are several things the Mets could do to fill the fifth spot in their rotation. They could sign a free agent such as Jon Garland or Randy Wolf. They could also explore the trade market for a guy like Javier Vazquez, who holds an expensive contract that the White Sox would like to unload.

The Mets could also look to within their system to fill the final slot in their rotation. Top pitching prospect Jonathan Niese could be given a chance to pitch a full year in the majors.

Jason Vargas, a former Marlins prospect, who has pitched very well in the Arizona Fall League, could compete with Niese for the job in Spring Training.

The top priority for the Mets this season will be pitching. A solid rotation that goes deep into games will only help the bullpen. Up next, I take a look at the offseason outlook for the Mets' bullpen.

Mets' Youngsters Performing Well in Arizona Fall League

Patrick Murray — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:42:00 -0400

The Arizona Fall League is a six-team league in the Phoenix area created by Major League Baseball. The purpose is to give prospects some extra playing time and hopefully accelerate their path to the majors.

Each MLB team sends six players, most of whom are Double-A and Triple-A players. Each team is allowed to send just one class-A player. No player with more than one year of MLB service is eligible to participate with the exception of Rule 5 draftees. The six AFL teams have 30 players each.

Several of the Mets' representatives already have some Major League experience. The Mets prospects, led by Daniel Murphy, have joined forces with White Sox, Padres, and Cardinals prospects to lead the Peoria Saguaros (11-5) to the best record in the league thus far.

Joining Murphy in the desert are pitchers Eddie Kunz, Bobby Parnell, and Jason Vargas, as well as catcher Josh Thole and third baseman Shawn Bowman.

Bowman and Thole have emerged from the shadows and are hitting .297 and .375, respectively.

After a brief major-league stint that consisted of 2.2 innings in 2008, Kunz is serving as the closer for the Saguaros (a type of cactus). Kunz was superb in his first four innings in the AFL. He didn't allow a run while recording two saves.

Unfortunately, he imploded in his fifth outing, surrendering eight earned runs in just a third of an inning against Mesa. Hopefully, Kunz will be able to recover from this poor outing. He holds an ERA of 12.79 in 6.1 innings for Peoria.

The other Mets pitchers have fared much better. Parnell, who had a 5.40 ERA in five September innings with the big-league club, has a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 innings in the AFL. In his last outing, Parnell threw four innings while allowing just one hit and striking out five.

Jason Vargas, who was acquired from Florida prior to the 2007 season, has been dominant this fall. Vargas, who was recovering from hip surgery this season, has yet to allow a run in 12.2 innings. Furthermore, he has surrendered just five hits and one walk while striking out seven.

On to the man who everyone is eager to hear about: Daniel Murphy.

Murphy has had quite a fall so far. In 10 games, he has hit .400 with a .480 OBP, two homers, and 11 RBI, and he leads the team with 12 runs scored.

Murphy has been playing second base for Peoria. However, this will probably not be the position he plays in New York. According to Omar Minaya, the Mets' GM, Murphy is seen as the man who will take over for Carlos Delgado at first base, perhaps in 2010. For now, Murphy will likely play the outfield in New York.

The Arizona Fall League season runs up to the week prior to Thanksgiving. The Mets' youngsters and the Saguaros have 22 games remaining.

Why the New York Mets Should NOT Sign Francisco Rodriguez

Patrick Murray — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:29:54 -0400

The moment it was announced that Billy Wagner needed Tommy John Surgery and would likely miss the entire 2009 season (the remainder of his contract with the Mets), Mets fans began anointing Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez as the new closer.

The current Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim closer sits atop most Mets fans' off-season wish lists. His record-breaking 62 saves during the 2008 season just added fuel to the fire of Mets fans' desire for Rodriguez.

Unlike the masses, I don't think signing Rodriguez to the lucrative deal he is looking for would be such a good idea. Sure, K-Rod is a good closer at this point in time, I will not deny that; but, for several reasons, I don't want the Mets to sign him.

"Rivera Money"

According to Rodriguez's agent, Paul Kinzer, he wants at least five years at "Mariano money." Mariano refers to Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera who before the 2008 season signed a three-year deal worth $45 million. So, Rodriguez will be looking for a five-year contract worth about $75 million.

Rodriguez is good, but he is not Mariano Rivera. With the Mets needing to fill holes in other areas such as middle relief, starting pitcher, and possibly second base, it would not be wise to spend that kind of money in one place.

Saves Are a Misleading Stat

Francisco Rodriguez recorded 62 saves this season, breaking the single-season record of 57 held by Bobby Thigpen. This led many fans to declare Rodriguez as the best closer in the major leagues. I disagree.

Rodriguez had 69 save opportunities in 2008. The closer with the next highest amount of save opportunities in 2008 was Houston's Jose Valverde with 51. Rodriguez had 18 more opportunities than any other closer. EIGHTEEN MORE OPPORTUNITIES! Of course he's going to have more saves than anyone else if he gets that many more opportunities.

Rodriguez did convert 90 percent of his save opportunities, which is very good, but there were closers who fared better. Phillies closer Brad Lidge converted all 41 of his save opportunities, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had a 98 percent conversion rate, and Royals' closer Joakim Soria converted 93 percent of his save opportunities. Among closers with at least 20 save opportunities, 11 converted at least 87 percent of their save opportunities.

In my opinion, Mariano Rivera, Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, and Joakim Soria are better closers than Francisco Rodriguez.

K-Rod on the Decline

Francisco Rodriguez stormed onto the seen very late in the 2002 season. During the Angels run to the World Championship in the playoffs, Rodriguez was an important part of the Anaheim bullpen. The baby-faced 20-year-old was armed with a 98-mph fastball, and earned the nickname "K-Rod" by striking out 28 batters in 18.1 postseason innings.

However, since taking over the closer role in 2004, things seem to have changed a little. K-Rod has lost some velocity on his fastball, which now tops out at 94 miles per hour. Also, with the exception of 2006, K-Rod's stats have been on a steady decline. Here is his WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched, K/BB (strikeouts per walk), and K/9 (strikeouts per nine innings) from 2004-2008:

Year	WHIP	K/BB	K/9
2004	1	3.72	13.17
2005	1.14	2.84	12.16
2006	1.1	3.5	12.08
2007	1.25	2.64	12.02
2008	1.29	2.26	10.14

Over the years, Rodriguez has been allowing more base runners while walking more batters and striking out fewer batters. This is definitely not a good trend.

Rodriguez's 2008 WHIP of 1.29 places him 69th among relievers with at least 40 innings pitched. At some point, base runners will lead to runs.

I will not argue that Rodriguez is a good closer. However, looking at this steady decline leads me to believe that he will not be a good closer in a couple of years.

That is why the Mets should not sign him to a 5 year contract, and should not pay him "Rivera money", because fans will expect a Rivera quality closer, and that is not what they will get.

Goodbye Shea: Mets Lose Final Game, Miss Playoffs

Patrick Murray — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:55:20 -0400

For the second straight year, the Mets lost the final game of the season at home against the Florida Marlins. A win by the Milwaukee Brewers means that, for the second straight year, the Mets will miss the playoffs by one game.

The bullpen doomed New York again when Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala surrendered back-to-back home runs to Wes Helms and Dan Uggla to give the Marlins a 4-2 win.

Ryan Church flew out to deep right-centerfield with a man on in the ninth to end the final game at Shea Stadium and break Mets fans' hearts.

You can point to many different close games this year that the Mets could have won to put them in the playoffs, but they just didn't get the job done. They weren't clutch enough. The offense didn't score enough late in games, and the bullpen couldn't pitch well when they were needed the most.

It's no mystery why the Mets failed to make the playoffs, but it was a valiant effort to recover from a slow start and a midseason managerial change to be in contention on the final day of the season. At least the final game at Shea was a meaningful one.

It's time to close the book on this chapter of Mets history. Next year a new one will begin across the street at Citi Field.

Johan Santana Carries New York Mets to Victory

Patrick Murray — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:09:44 -0400

The New York Mets turned to Johan Santana on Tuesday, in need of a win and he came through for them in a big way.

The Mets came into the game in the midst of a three game losing streak, with shouts of collapse all around, trailing the Phillies by 2.5 games in the NL East.

Santana did what was needed, and then some, extending himself to a career high 125 pitches in eight innings of work. He allowed just two runs on seven hits while striking out 10 Cubs.

Santana even got the job done at the plate, singling in the fifth and scoring on David Wright's two-out, two-RBI single that tied the game. The next inning, Santana provided the Mets with a chance to tack on some more runs. With the bases loaded, he hit a groundball and busted out of the box, sprinting as hard as he could and beat out the throw, preventing a double play.

Jose Reyes then lined a bases-clearing triple down the first base line, giving the Mets a four-run cushion.

After Pedro Feliciano allowed two men to reach in the ninth, Luis Ayala shut the door on the Cubs for his ninth save of the season.

The Braves defeated the Phillies, so New York moves to within 1.5 games of the NL East leaders. With Milwaukee winning, the Mets lead in the Wild Card race remains at one game.

Hoping to string together a win streak against the NL Central Champion Cubs, the Mets send lefty Oliver Perez to the mound tomorrow. Perez (10-7, 4.10) has performed well in big games in his career with the Mets.

The Cubs send Carlos Zambrano (14-6, 3.77) to the mound, just nine days removed from his no hitter; however, Zambrano imploded in his last start allowing eight earned runs in 1.2 innings. When manager Lou Piniella came out of the dugout to remove him, Zambrano tried to rush to the clubhouse before his manager even reached the mound, but the stern Piniella quickly corrected him.

Amongst injury woes, Zambrano has posted a 7.02 ERA since August 1st.

Rookie Daniel Murphy knocked a pinch hit single and scored and later drew a walk for the Mets. Expect to see Murphy (.342 avg.) get the start in left tomorrow against the right handed Zambrano.

New York Mets Lose Fernando Tatis and NL East Lead

Patrick Murray — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:25:13 -0400

The New York Mets' roller coaster of a season is headed downhill again.

The Mets' offense sputtered along on Tuesday night in a 1-0 loss to the last place Washington Nationals. They managed just four hits against Odalis Perez, Mike Hinckley, and Joel Hanrahan, and they spoiled an excellent outing from Mike Pelfrey.

David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado are now a combined 1-23 in the last two games against the Nationals.

The loss was New York's third in a row and fourth in the last five games. This has now dropped them out of first place in the NL East. They trail the division leading Phillies by a half game, but lead the struggling Milwaukee Brewers by the same margin in the wild-card race.

Another blow was dealt to the swooning Mets in the fifth inning. Left fielder Fernando Tatis dove for a bloop hit by Washington pitcher Odalis Perez, didn't make the catch, and stayed on the ground grimacing in pain.

He left the game, and it was later reported that Tatis had separated his right shoulder. After the game, Jerry Manuel said in reference to Tatis: "He's done."

So, a big part of the Mets' success will be gone for the remainder of the season. Tatis has been the most clutch hitter for the Mets this season. He began seeing regular at-bats with the big-league club on May 20, and just six days later he delivered a huge walk-off double at Shea against Florida.

Tatis had a .392 batting average with runners in scoring position. In 39 at-bats in late and close situations (seventh inning or later with game tied, a one-run game, or tying run at least on deck), Tatis hit .308 with three home runs and 12 RBI.

In July, the month in which the Mets ran off a 10-game winning streak, Tatis was one of the hottest hitters in the NL with a .397 average.

With Tatis out for the year, rookies Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans will see most of the playing time in left field. This is nothing to fret about, as Murphy and Evans have been contributing offensively.

Murphy has excellent plate discipline, and in 89 major-league at-bats has hit .360 with a .448 on-base percentage. Murphy has also come through in the clutch (.333 avg with RISP), namely with a go-ahead, pinch-hit homer against Florida, and a game-winning double against the Phillies. He will see more playing time than Evans.

Evans will play against left-handed starting pitchers. He is hitting .270 in 100 MLB at-bats, but he has ripped lefties to the tune of a .338 average in 65 at-bats.

Both of these youngsters are converted infielders, so neither is very adept defensively in left. So, Jerry Manuel will often use Endy Chavez as a defensive replacement late in games.

Tomorrow will likely be a battle of the bullpens (oh boy), with Brandon Knight making his second start of the season for the Mets, and Shairon Martis making his third career start for the Nationals.

The Mets' offense will need to break out against the rookie in order to swing the momentum in their favor.

New York Mets: September Call-Ups

Patrick Murray — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:15:32 -0400

It's September, which means just one month remains in Major League Baseball's regular season. It also means that teams can expand their rosters from 25 players to a maximum of up to 40 players.

With the minor league seasons coming to a close, the New York Mets have added nine players to the big league club.

Outfielder/First Baseman Marlon Anderson will come off the disabled list and join the team. Getting the call from the minors will be second baseman Argenis Reyes, infielder Ramon Martinez, catcher Gustavo Molina, and pitchers Carlos Muniz, Jon Niese, Al Reyes, Robert Parnell, and Ricardo Rincon.

Pitcher Nelson Figueroa was recalled from Triple-A last week when Ramon Castro went on the disabled list.

Some notable minor leaguers whom the Mets decided not to call up include Eddie Kunz, Fernando Martinez, and Mike Carp. It's best to let Martinez, the Mets' top prospect, begin his off season. I don't think it would have been a good idea to bring him up in the middle of a heated pennant race, especially since he had some injury troubles this year.

Kunz, on the other hand, is a bigger question mark. Perhaps the Mets organization has decided he's not quite ready yet and could use some work with his control. Jerry Manuel was very careful with him in his stint in the majors earlier this year and used him sparingly.

It's good to see Argenis Reyes back with the big club after a very brief stint in Triple-A. He has provided some excellent defense at second base for the Mets this year (zero errors in 89 chances), and has done nothing but hustle.

He will have to battle with Luis Castillo and Damion Easley for playing time, but might get one or two starts per week, and likely will see time late in games as a defensive replacement and pinch hitter.

The other two position players called up, Ramon Martinez and Gustavo Molina, probably won't get much playing time.

Martinez (53 games, .289, two HR with AAA New Orleans) is there just in case Jerry Manuel might need him in an extra innings game. Molina (74 G, .206, seven HR with New Orleans) will be the Mets third catcher, allowing Manuel to use his other two catchers (Brian Schneider and Robinson Cancel) however he pleases.

The Mets will get some bullpen help from the call-ups. At the very least, they will be different names and faces for Jerry Manuel to call on.

Muniz has been going back and forth between New York and New Orleans this year. In 18 relief appearances with the Mets, Muniz is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. He likely will be used in mop-up duty and when the Mets need a couple of innings out of one guy.

The Mets signed Al Reyes (to give them a trio of Reyes') on Aug. 20 shortly after Tampa Bay released him when he declined a minor league assignment. He spent the remainder of August with Double-A Binghamton where he pitched five scoreless innings. Reyes saved 26 games for Tampa last year, but had a dismal 4.90 ERA.

According to Jerry Manuel, Bobby Parnell, who had a 4.30 ERA at Double-A Binghamton, won't get much work on the mound.

These next three guys figure to be important parts of the Mets' playoff push.

Jerry Manuel has stated that he will use lefty Ricardo Rincon in important situations down the stretch. Rincon now gives Manuel three left-handers in the bullpen.

I'm sure Manuel will be using them to get the match-ups he wants like he has all year. Rincon would have made the team out of spring training if the Mets were able to trade Scott Schoeneweis (they weren't).

Rincon was lent to a Mexican league team this season, but has been an effective reliever for most of his career. He holds a career 3.58 ERA.

Nelson Figueroa started six games for the Mets earlier this year, and also made three relief appearances. In those games, he was 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA. In 16 starts and four relief appearances with Triple-A New Orleans, Figueroa was 4-7 with a 4.43 ERA. He likely will be used in the bullpen, and everyone knows the Mets will take any help they can get there.

It was often noted that as a starter, Figueroa usually did well the first two times through the order, but once hitters had seen him a couple times, he would struggle. Maybe he is better suited for the bullpen. He earned the win against Milwaukee yesterday while pitching a scoreless inning.

Perhaps the most talked about call-up is Jonathan Niese. The 21-year-old southpaw will make his major league debut tonight against the Brewers in place of the injured John Maine.

We'll see how he fairs against the potent Milwaukee lineup. Niese employs a low-90s fastball and a decent change-up. However, his best pitch is his big looping curve ball.

The Mets drafted Niese out of high school in the seventh round of the 2005 draft. He is the Mets' top pitching prospect and has fared well in the minor leagues this season. Niese posted a 3.04 ERA with Double-A Binghamton, while striking out 112 batters in 124.1 innings (8.12 K/9).

He tossed two complete games, one being a shutout. After getting the call to Triple-A, Niese responded with five wins and a 3.40 ERA in seven starts. If Maine is able to return this season, I think Niese could be quite effective in a middle relief role, for the remainder of this season only, of course.

New York Mets Roundtable: Bullpen Blues

Patrick Murray — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:53:49 -0400

After being appointed the New York Mets Community Leader here on Bleacher Report, I decided to put together a Roundtable article. I enlisted the efforts of fellow Mets fans and Bleacher Creatures David Marine and Matt Strachman, and they kindly cooperated with me in the making of this article.

In this roller coaster of a season for the New York Mets, the bullpen has been the most obvious weakness. After shutting down opponents to the tune of a 2.97 ERA (including a 24.1 inning scoreless streak) during New York's 10-game win streak in July, the bullpen has sunken into a miserable slump.

The turning point was the six-game road trip to Florida and Houston, in which the Mets went 1-5. During that trip, the bullpen took three losses and posted a 7.58 ERA. Shortly thereafter, closer Billy Wagner went on the disabled list with elbow inflammation, making matters worse.

Therefore, the topic of this roundtable article is the tattered bullpen.

1. With Billy Wagner on the disabled list, whom do you think should close games?

David Marine: Johan Santana. Seriously. If Santana starts the game, I want him to close it unless he's getting absolutely destroyed or has a pitch count closing on 175. For everyone else, there's not a single arm in the bullpen that I WANT to see close a game.

Jerry Manuel's "carousel" approach of a different closer every game appears to be an option. I would have liked to see Eddie Kunz be given more opportunities to show what he's got, but with the acquisition of Luis Ayala from Washington, that's no longer an option. [Ed. Note: Kunz was optioned to AAA New Orleans when Ayala was acquired.]

Matt Strachman: Personally, I can do with or without the great Billy Wagner. He will blow the occasional save, blow every non-save situation, and don't think about asking him to pitch more than one inning. Unfortunately, he is a much better closer than anyone else in the Mets' bullpen.

Until Wagner returns, I really hope Jerry Manuel uses a committee of closers. I'd love to see Feliciano, Schoeneweis, Heilman, and Eddie Kunz get chances to save games.

Patrick Murray: When Wagner went on the DL and Kunz was called up, I thought he should have been given the opportunity to close games. The kid seems to have the "bulldog" mentality to close and he did save 27 games in AA.

However, Jerry Manuel was very careful with Kunz, using him in non-pressure situations. I think Manuel should have seen what he had in Kunz, but that ship has sailed for now.

As unpopular as he is with Mets fans, I would like to see Aaron Heilman to continue to get the majority of save opportunities. At times he has been an elite reliever; for example, he had a 0.64 ERA in June of this year.

In the last three Septembers combined, Heilman has compiled a 1.13 ERA. If he can throw strikes and keep his pitches down, he can get the job done.

2. With the recent struggles in the bullpen, who do you put the most blame on? A specific pitcher? Jerry Manuel? Omar Minaya? The 'pen as a whole?

David Marine: To me, Omar's head is on the chopping block with this bullpen debacle. Over the last two seasons, this bullpen has blown a number of games for us, and what has been done about it? Absolutely nothing.

These are the same arms that killed us last season, and the majority of them are the same arms that hurt us back in 2006.

The only thing Omar did was go get Matt Wise, which we all know was as good as a fist full of pennies. Omar is gone after this year if he doesn't do something by September and the bullpen comes back to ruin the Mets' pennant chances.

Matt Strachman: It is hard to blame anyone but the actual pitchers, but I think you also have to point a finger at Omar Minaya. He knew that the bullpen was struggling, and he dipped into the farm system to try and solve the problem instead of making a trade. He should have showcased Heilman more often and attempted to push him and Scottie (Schoeneweis) in my opinion.

Patrick Murray: I think the blame goes on the entire bullpen, as well as Omar Minaya. It seems like the struggles are contagious and not one guy in the 'pen could keep his head above the water when the others were going down.

The bullpen was a weakness after last season, and Omar barely did anything to correct it. He got Matt Wise, Ruddy Lugo, and Brian Stokes. Wise and Lugo haven't done anything for the big-league club, but we'll see what Stokes is capable of in the coming weeks after his recent call-up.

Omar will need to overhaul the bullpen in the offseason, and for now, the Mets will have to make due with what they have and "trust in their guys," as Omar likes to say.

3. What do you feel the Mets need to do right now to fix this bullpen situation?

David Marine: The BLOWpen needs to be blown up. Seriously, get rid of as many of these guys as possible and start over. Now, that's not likely to happen between now and the end of September, but that's the only thing that is going to solve the problem. A bandage job will only last for so long.

I'd bring up Jon Niese and give him some spot starts, but use him as a long-relief guy. I'd keep Brian Stokes in the 'pen, since he's shown the ability to throw heat consistently. But those options will not fix the situation for good. Maybe it'll hold long enough to get us to October.

Matt Strachman: Jerry Manuel has limited options at this point. Assuming he doesn't move Maine to the bullpen, I would like to see Eddie Kunz pitch more innings and have Joe Smith rest before he falls off the face of the earth like last season.

Patrick Murray: Hopefully the addition of Luis Ayala will help; at least he's a different face that Manuel can bring out from the 'pen. I'd like to see more of Brian Stokes in a middle-relief role. He throws mid-90s heat, has a good breaking ball, and could rack up some strikeouts, if he can stay away from the long ball.

I'd also like to see Jon Niese get called up when the rosters expand in September, and I think Manuel should use him in middle relief. Niese is 4-1 with a 3.66 ERA in five starts since being called up to AAA New Orleans at the end of July. I think he could be very effective out of the 'pen, and he has the advantage that no major-league hitters have seen him yet.

4. Jerry Manuel mentioned in a press conference after the terrible loss to Pittsburgh at Shea that he would consider using a starter in the bullpen. Is this a good idea? Do you think Manuel said this to motivate the relievers or is this a possibility?

David Marine: I love the way Jerry handles the media. He totally threw that comment out there so that every reporter and blogger (myself included) would just salivate at the controversy and intrigue this could stir up.

If the Mets are lucky enough to make the playoffs, it might not be a bad idea to take a starter and put him in the bullpen, much like the Mets did with Sid Fernandez in certain situations in 1986. But at this point, I don't think it's a worthwhile move. We need our starters to be focused on giving us seven-plus strong innings.

Matt Strachman: No, it is not a good idea, but I don't think Manuel is seriously thinking about doing it. The next game after Manuel made those comments, Feliciano earned the save and mentioned he wasn't happy with Manuel's "idea." Well, he got the save, didn't he? I love Jerry, and his no-nonsense managing style gets results.

Patrick Murray: I think Manuel said this mainly to light a fire under the relievers. I think it would be a bad idea to move someone out of the rotation. The bullpen has to figure out its problems, and they can be helped by having the starters go deep into games as much as possible.

The Mets need the five guys they have starting now to make every start. They can't afford to rely on guys like Nelson Figueroa or Brian Stokes in the starting rotation down the stretch (these two could be helpful in the bullpen, however).

5. Where will the Mets finish at the end of the season? Who will be the hottest hitter down the stretch? Who will be the most effective pitcher down the stretch?

David Marine: I want to believe that the Mets will win the NL East, but the realist in me says they'll fall just short in a painful way the last week in September. The hottest hitter will be Dan Murphy. I just have a feeling that this kid will go on a tear the rest of they way. David Wright will be a close second.

The most effective pitcher will be the most effective pitcher to date, Johan Santana. This guy would be in the running for Cy Young if it weren't for the BLOWpen. He's a second-half pitcher, and he's already shown us he's worth every penny.

Teams will hate having to play us in a first-round playoff series with him on the mound. It's the first time since Doc Gooden we've had anyone even close to his talent.

Matt Strachman: I see the Mets winning the division, simply because Wright always has a great second half, and Reyes won't fall apart this season. Castillo and Church might also make an impact when they return from the DL.

I think that Wright will have the hottest bat, but to make things interesting, I'll go with a mixture of Ramon Castro and Carlos Beltran. As crazy as he is, Oliver Perez is easily my favorite player in baseball, and I really think he will continue winning game after game. If you ask Ollie, he will tell you he is one of the best pitchers in the game, and I have to agree.

Patrick Murray: The NL East race will come down to the final weekend, and I think this year, the Mets will pull it off and win the division. The hottest hitter will be Carlos Beltran. I expect Beltran to heat up and carry the Mets offense through September. The return of Ryan Church will certainly help by giving Beltran some extra protection.

Johan Santana will, undoubtedly, be the most effective pitcher down the stretch, not only on the Mets, but in the entire MLB. Santana has seven quality starts in his last seven outings and is 3-0 with a 1.49 ERA in August.

He also traditionally dominates in September. From 2004-2006, with the Twins, Santana went 10-2, with a 1.29 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 111.1 innings pitched in September.

Mike Pelfrey, Defense Lead Mets to Win in Pittsburgh

Patrick Murray — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:52:46 -0400

After being scorched by the Pirates for six runs in a make-up game at Shea on Monday, the bullpen was able to hang onto the lead tonight in Pittsburgh.

The Mets led 2-0 heading into the eighth thanks to seven shutout innings from Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey seemed to breeze through the game, allowing just seven hits and zero walks. It was typical Big Pelf, pounding the zone with his mid-90s sinker and getting 14 groundball outs.

After the seventh, Pelfrey had thrown 100 pitches, 59 of them strikes, and likely could have gone back out for the eighth. However, late into the season, the Mets are watching Pelfrey's innings and pitch counts.

Last season, Pelfrey pitched 152.2 innings, splitting time between High Class-A Port St. Lucie, Triple-A New Orleans, and the big leagues with New York.

His previous career high was in college at Wichita State in 2005 where he threw 139.2 innings while posting a 1.93 ERA. So far this season Pelfrey has thrown 145 innings so, barring an injury, he will surpass his previous career high by quite a bit.

Jerry Manuel went with Duaner Sanchez in the eighth inning with a two-run lead. The first batter he faced, Jack Wilson, hit his first home run of the season into the stands in left.

Oh boy, here we go again.

However, Sanchez recovered and got Chris Gomez to groundout. Manuel then went to lefty Pedro Feliciano to face left-handed hitting Nate McLouth. Feliciano struck out McLouth, but then surrendered a double to Freddy Sanchez.

After walking Ryan Doumit intentionally, Feliciano got Adam LaRoche to ground out to end the threat.

In the ninth, Manuel once again skipped over Eddie Kunz, who now has pitched one-third of an inning in the last nine days, and went with Aaron Heilman.

Andy LaRoche started the inning by hitting a groundball to Carlos Delgado. Delgado backed away from the ball, and it deflected off his glove and got past him. However, rookie second baseman Argenis Reyes was backing him up and made an excellent diving stop and an accurate throw from his knees to Heilman to get LaRoche.

Heilman subsequently struck out Brandon Moss. After walking Jason Michaels, got Jack Wilson to pop out to pick up his third save of the season.

Both of New York's runs came in the first inning. David Wright came to the plate with no outs and the Reyes' (Argenis and Jose) on at first and third. Wright ripped a single to right, driving in Jose and allowing Argenis to advance to third. Argenis then scored on a wild pitch.

Great defense was the theme for the Mets, as several good plays, including the aforementioned dive by Argenis Reyes, kept Pittsburgh runs off the board.

It started with the second defensive play of the game for New York, as David Wright made a diving stop on a Freddy Sanchez grounder that took a bad hop, and threw to first to get the out.

In the sixth, with McLouth on second after a leadoff double, Pelfrey grabbed a one-hop comebacker and caught McLouth in a rundown between second and third. Wright applied the tag for the out and Sanchez was held at first.

Two pitches later Pelfrey snagged another comebacker, turned, and fired to second. Jose Reyes made a great throw to first to complete the double play and end the inning.

In the seventh, with one out and Adam LaRoche on second, Brandon Moss hit a single to center. Carlos Beltran came charging in and fired a two-hop strike to catcher Brian Schneider to nail LaRoche at the plate and preserve the shutout for the time being.

The Phillies defeated the Padres 1-0 behind a stellar performance from Jamie Moyer, so the Mets remain atop the NL East, one game ahead of Philadelphia.

Player of the Game: Mike Pelfrey—W(11-8), 7 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Dan Murphy's Pinch Hit Homer Drives Mets to Third Straight Win

Patrick Murray — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:52:05 -0400

Rookie Dan Murphy keeps getting the job done for the Mets. He now has 10 hits in 20 major league at-bats.

After Mike Jacobs hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to tie the game at four, the Mets answered right back in the bottom half.

A leadoff single by Fernando Tatis chased starter Scott Olsen from the game. A Damion Easley single and an RBI groundout by catcher Robinson Cancel gave the Mets the lead again. Then Jerry Manuel sent up Murphy to pinch hit against reliever Renyel Pinto.

Murphy knocked an outside fastball to the opposite field and over the wall in left, driving in what proved to be the game-winning run with his first major league homer.

Brian Stokes pitched decently in a spot start for the Mets, covering for the injured John Maine. Stokes allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six in 5.2 innings. He had good stuff all night but the Marlins took advantage of a couple of mistakes on two-run homers by Jacobs and Jorge Cantu.

Scot Schoeneweis finished off the sixth for Stokes, then Duaner Sanchez shut out the Marlins in the seventh. Joe Smith, who has struggled against the Marlins this year, had trouble in the eighth. After striking out Cantu, Smith allowed three straight hits and a run.

Manuel had enough and brought in lefty Pedro Feliciano. Feliciano gave up a base hit to Wes Helms which pushed another Florida run across. Feliciano then got Alfredo Amezaga to ground into a double play.

For the second straight night Aaron Heilman was used as the closer, and it worked out again. Heilman walked Hanley Ramirez, but that was it as he shut down the rest of the Marlins to pick up the save.

Hopefully Heilman is back on the right track now, but I would like to ask Jerry Manuel where Eddie Kunz is.

The 22-year-old Kunz is touted as the closer of the future and recorded 27 saves in Double-A this year. He has not pitched in three days now, and even if Manuel isn't going to use him as the closer, I would like to see him pitch in the seventh or eighth inning.

Anyway, Carlos Delgado continues to swing the hot bat as he hit a monster home run in the first inning.

Carlos Beltran broke an 82 at-bat homer-less drought with a solo blast to center in the seventh. He also had a two-run double in the first inning, and a single in the third for his second three-hit game in three days.

Look for Beltran to go on a hot streak for a few weeks here in August. Last August Beltran caught fire, hitting .338 with six homers, 23 RBI, and an 1.153 OPS in 20 games.

The Phillies defeated the Pirates, so the Mets remain one game behind in the NL East race while the Marlins drop to 2.5 games out.

The Mets go for the sweep tomorrow in a battle of 6'7" right handers. Florida's Josh Johnson (2-0, 3.34 ERA) has looked good since returning from Tommy John surgery at the All-Star break. He tossed six scoreless innings against the Phillies in his last start.

Mike Pelfrey (10-7, 3.85) will oppose Johnson, and has really developed this year while leading the Mets in wins. Big Pelf is 7-1 with a 2.82 ERA in his last nine starts, however, that one loss came in Miami against the Marlins on July 30.

Player of the Game: Carlos Beltran: 3-3, BB, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI

David Wright's Walk-Off Homer Rescues Mets

Patrick Murray — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:17:11 -0400

In the bottom of the ninth, David Wright blasted a Heath Bell slider just over the left field wall at Shea to give the Mets a five to three win.

After making a costly error in the field and two terrible baserunning mistakes in the first two games of the series, there was much talk of the slumping Wright getting a day off. However, Wright talked manager Jerry Manuel into letting him play and he responded with three hits including the game winning home run.

After a 1-19 slump, Wright has recovered in the past two games with five hits in ten at-bats.

Despite two more poor showings from the bullpen, the Mets managed to take two of three games in the series from the San Diego Padres.

Wright rescued the Mets bullpen, which spoiled yet another outstanding start from Johan Santana. Entering the eighth inning, Santana had allowed just two hits and one run, a Chase Headley solo homer, while striking out seven Padres. The Mets had a three to one lead.

After allowing two seeing-eye singles to start the inning, Santana was removed from the game after he had tossed 104 pitches. I thought this was a poor move on Manuel's part considering the recent bullpen troubles and the fact Santana was capable of getting out of the jam himself.

Nevertheless, in trotted Duaner Sanchez, who promptly hit Scott Hairston with his first pitch. With lefty Brian Giles pinch hitting, out came Manuel again and Sanchez was lifted for lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano.

With the bases loaded, Feliciano got Giles to hit a groundball to second baseman Argenis Reyes who fired home to record the first out of the inning. An Adrian Gonzalez single pulled the Padres within one run, and Joe Smith came on to become the fourth Mets pitcher of the inning.

Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a grounder up the middle and Argenis Reyes made an excellent diving stop, and from the ground flipped to shortstop Jose Reyes. First baseman Nick Evans made an excellent stretch to his right to nab Reyes' throw and complete the double play to end the inning. Look for this one on Web Gems.

In the ninth, Manuel gave Scott Schoeneweis a chance to pick up his second save of the week. It didn't happen, as Schoeneweis served up Jody Gerut's third home run of the series. Aaron Heilman came on to record the final two outs of the inning and he picked up the win when Wright hit the walk-off jack.

Despite posting a 2.28 ERA in his last seven starts, Santana has just two wins to show for it. If it were not for poor run support and bullpen troubles, Santana would likely have 15 wins at this point rather than the nine he actually has. Santana said all the right things while being interviewed after the game, stating that all that mattered was the team getting the win, and he's just doing whatever he can to put the Mets in position to win games.

The big story for the Mets was the performance of their rookies. The "Binghamton Bunch"—Dan Murphy, Nick Evans, and Argenis Reyes were an integral part of today's win.

Reyes didn't get on base, but did make several good defensive plays, most notably starting the double play in the eighth inning.

Murphy went two for four with a run scored and an RBI, and is now hitting .467 in four starts since being recalled from Double-A on Saturday.

Evans came up with a key RBI single in the fourth that gave the Mets the lead, and added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Apparently Jerry Manuel will continue to go with the closer by committee plan for the time being. I would like to see Eddie Kunz, who has a closer's mentality, be given the nod for some save opportunities.

With the Marlins defeating the Phillies, the Mets sit in third place in the NL East, two games behind Philadelphia and a half game behind second place Florida. The Marlins come to Shea tomorrow for a huge three game series.

In game one tomorrow, Oliver Perez (7-7, 4.12 ERA) will face Florida's Ricky Nolasco (11-6, 3.91). The Mets faced Nolasco in Miami last week, and he turned in a quality start, going six innings and allowing two runs while striking out eight in a no-decision.

Perez defeated the Marlins last week, allowing one run in six innings. Perez has posted a 1.97 ERA in his last seven starts dating back to June 29.

Fernando Tatis Homers Twice, Leads Mets to 6-5 Win over Padres

Patrick Murray — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:19:58 -0400

Aaron Heilman continues to struggle, and he gave the Mets a scare in the ninth inning tonight. With Billy Wagner on the disabled list, manager Jerry Manuel stated that Heilman would receive most of the save opportunities for the time being. Coming in with a 6-2 lead, Heilman walked the first batter.

After a miscommunication between center fielder Carlos Beltran and second baseman Argenis Reyes allowed a pop-up to fall in for a hit, Heilman was in trouble.

He got Scott Hairston to hit a ground ball to David Wright who threw to second for one out, but the Mets were unable to complete the double play.

The next hitter, Jody Gerut, launched a three-run homer into the Mets' bullpen to put the Padres within one run. Manuel had seen enough and removed Heilman from the game.

Joe Smith got Tadahito Iguchi to pop out in foul ground and Argenis Reyes made a nice running catch over by the stands to record the out.

Scott Schoeneweis then got Brian Giles to fly out to center on the first pitch to pick up his first save of the season.

On the positive side for the Mets, Fernando Tatis continues to look good at the plate. Tatis led the major leagues with a .397 batting average in the month of July, and he came through tonight when the Mets most needed him.

In the fourth, with the Mets trailing 1-0 and without a hit so far, Tatis launched his 100th career home run off San Diego's 6'10" Chris Young to tie it.

After an Adrian Gonzalez solo homer in the sixth put the Padres back in front, Tatis answered again. With two men on, Tatis ripped a two-strike slider that hooked just inside the foul pole to give the Mets a two run lead.

Mike Pelfrey pitched fairly well for the Mets, allowing just solo home runs by Kevin Kouzmanoff and Adrian Gonzalez in 6.2 innings to pick up his tenth win of the season.

Two of the Mets rookies produced some insurance runs that proved to be very helpful. In the seventh, Dan Murphy laced a double to the opposite field to drive home Argenis Reyes. It was Murphy's first major league RBI.

The next inning, Nick Evans came up with a double of his own. Carlos Beltran scored, and Evans took third when the Padres made a couple of throwing errors on the play.

I liked what I saw from Murphy tonight. He made a great leaping catch against the wall on the first play of the game, and showed great patience at the plate while walking twice and knocking the RBI double.

He did make a mistake on the base paths, trying to go from second to third on a grounder to the third baseman, but I'm sure he'll learn from it. Murphy figures to see a large chunk of playing time in the outfield in the near future, and I'm looking forward to watching him play.

It will be interesting to see what Jerry Manuel does with the closer situation in Wagner's absence. As I stated in a previous article, the Mets need Heilman to regain his confidence and be a reliable setup man. I would like to see the youngster Eddie Kunz get a shot at closing. After all, he did save 27 games in Double-A this season.

Tomorrow, San Diego will send Cha Seung Baek (3-6, 5.22 ERA) to the mound.

Pedro Martinez (3-2, 6.16) will pitch for the Mets. Pedro has struggled this year, but has looked better in his past three starts while pitching 14.1 innings and allowing five earned runs (3.14 ERA).

Player of the Game: Fernando Tatis: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

New York Mets' Fortunes Begin with Their Bullpen

Patrick Murray — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:39:50 -0400

After cranking out 10 consecutive wins and winning 15 of 19 games, the Mets entered the final series of July with sole possession of first place in the NL East.

After dropping two of three to the Marlins and getting swept in Houston, the Mets return home from their terrible road trip to find themselves in third place, three games behind the Phillies.

A team that had been inconsistent during the first half was finally able to consistently win some games for the better part of a month. What went wrong?

The bullpen, which had been strong during the winning streak, struggled mightily on this 1-5 road trip.

In the first game of the series with Florida, the Mets were ahead 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis combined to allow five runs in the eighth, and the Mets lost 7-3.

The bullpen also played a large part in the first two losses against Houston. Aaron Heilman surrendered a grand slam in the eighth inning of a tie game on Friday.

In what seems to be a recurring theme, the bullpen ruined yet another quality start from Johan Santana on Sunday.

The Mets entered the eighth inning with a 4-1 lead but couldn't hold it, as Billy Wagner allowed two runs in the ninth for his seventh blown save of the season. Pedro Feliciano allowed the game-winning sacrifice fly the next inning after he and Heilman combined to load the bases.

During the six-game road trip, the bullpen took three losses while blowing two saves. The 'pen had a 7.58 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. That is simply unacceptable.

The bullpen has been inconsistent this year. At times it has been horrible. Yet, other times, it has been brilliant.

During the 10-game win streak, the bullpen picked up six wins while recording four saves. They also posted a 2.97 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. During the streak, the bullpen went a span of 24.1 innings in which they didn't allow a single run. That's quite the contrast to the recent road trip.

Somehow, the men in the 'pen need to regain their confidence. Down the stretch, they need to be the same guys they were during the win streak. If they keep pitching the way they did during this road trip, I can guarantee the Mets will be watching from their couches come October.

After this disastrous road trip, many Mets fans are crying out that Omar Minaya should have traded for a bullpen arm.

Brian Fuentes has been lights out of late (zero runs allowed since June 30), but with the Rockies seemingly still in the race, Minaya would have had to pay a pretty penny to acquire the southpaw, something he obviously was unwilling to do. Plus, who knows if Fuentes could handle the spotlight of New York?

I think Minaya did the right thing. The Mets have the guys they need right now to have a solid bullpen, if they can just get their act together.

The bullpen was a strong point on the 2006 Mets team that went to the NLCS. Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, and Pedro Feliciano (current Mets relievers) all played a significant role on that team.

In my opinion, Heilman is the biggest key to the team's success. This year has been a roller coaster for him so far. After struggling for the first two months, he allowed just one run while posting a 0.64 ERA in June. He has fallen apart lately, surrendering seven runs in 6.1 innings (9.95 ERA) in his last four outings, dating back to July 26.

Heilman is traditionally an excellent second half performer, and the Mets need him to be their go-to guy in the eighth inning of close games.

For the past three years, Heilman has been outstanding in August and September, compiling a 1.51 ERA. He needs to regain his confidence from his recent struggles and get back to his usual late season form. Jerry Manuel giving him a defined eighth inning, set-up role would help.

The Mets have quite a few guys down in the 'pen with some talent: Heilman, Sanchez, Feliciano, Joe Smith, and recent call-ups Carlos Muniz and Eddie Kunz. Jerry Manuel needs to figure out which of these guys he can rely on down the stretch, for they will be the key to the Mets' success or failure come September.

UPDATE

I have just learned that after an MRI this morning, closer Billy Wagner was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Ruddy Lugo was called up from Triple-A New Orleans to take a spot in the bullpen.

According to Mets.com, Aaron Heilman will see most of the save opportunities at this point. Perhaps this vote of confidence will push Heilman to perform like he has in the past few years as previously mentioned in this article.

I would like to see the recent call-up Eddie Kunz, who is the heir apparent to Wagner's closer job, get a few save opportunities to see what he can do. The 6'5" 22-year-old Kunz recorded 27 saves and 2.79 ERA for Double-A Binghamton this season.

Perez K's 12, Mets Take NL East Lead

Patrick Murray — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:02:19 -0400

Oliver Perez: big game pitcher? I think so.

The Mets' southpaw continued his dominance of the Phillies on Thursday afternoon in a game that would decide the leader of the NL East. Perez went 7.2 innings allowing just six hits, and the only Phillies run came on a Jayson Werth solo homer. Walks have been Perez's weakness this year; however, today he walked just one batter and it was an intentional walk to Pat Burrell.

Perez struggled a bit in the eighth and was removed by Jerry Manuel with two outs, the bases loaded and the game tied at one. Aaron Heilman got Jayson Werth to fly out to end the threat.

Perez struck out twelve Phillies, including stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard three times each. Perez now has a 0.44 ERA in three starts against Philadelphia this season.

Unfortunately for Oliver, the Mets didn't do much scoring of their own until he left the game and he was stuck with a no-decision.

Jamie Moyer pitched well for the Phillies allowing just one run in seven innings of work. The run came in the third inning when David Wright hit a single to left to drive in Jose Reyes and collect his team-leading 78th RBI of the season.

The key inning in the game was the eighth. The Phillies chased Perez from the game and loaded the bases, but couldn't come up with a hit off reliever Aaron Heilman. Heilman has a nice 2.55 ERA since June 1.

Phillies reliever J.C. Romero, who had been particularly effective against the Mets (2.25 career ERA vs. NYM), was brought on to pitch the bottom half of the eighth.

The Mets' third catcher, Robinson Cancel, came up with a pinch hit single. Jose Reyes then laid down a sacrifice bunt to get the tying run into scoring position. After Endy Chavez lined out back to Romero, David Wright was intentionally walked.

Like he has for the last month, Carlos Delgado came through again for the Mets. He lined a double into the left field corner and both Cancel and Wright scored. The Mets' dugout erupted with excitement as Wright pumped his fist after sliding home.

Delgado is hitting .397 with five homers and 15 RBI in the month of July.

Billy Wagner came on in the ninth and picked up the save for the second straight game to send the Mets into sole possession of first place in the NL East.

These last two wins have been huge for the Mets after Tuesday night's meltdown in the ninth inning. A series win at home this weekend against the Cardinals is mandatory to keep moving in the right direction.

The Phillies will head home to take on the division rival Braves. Tomorrow, Kyle Kendrick (8-4, 4.87 ERA) will face Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens (9-5, 3.22).

The Cardinals come to Shea to face the Mets in a battle of NL playoff contenders. Mike Pelfrey (8-6, 3.81) will take the hill for the Mets. The 6'7" Pelfrey baffled the Redbirds earlier this year when he allowed just one run in seven innings. Pelfrey is 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA in ten starts dating back to June 5.

St. Louis will send out rookie Mitchell Boggs (3-1, 6.59). In the same game that Pelfrey pitched well, Boggs was hammered by the Mets to the tune of 11 runs in six innings.

Player of the Game: Oliver Perez: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K's

Jose Reyes' Home Run Gives Mets Win Over Phillies

Patrick Murray — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:05:06 -0400

With the game tied at three in the sixth, Mets' shortstop Jose Reyes sent a Ryan Madson change-up flying over the right field wall for a three-run homer.

For the second straight night, the Mets took a three-run lead into the ninth. This time, Billy Wagner was able to pitch. Wagner set down the Phillies in order to secure the win, sending the Mets into a tie for first in the NL East with Philadelphia.

John Maine did something for the Mets tonight that he had only done one other time this season: he pitched seven innings. Maine has had trouble with high pitch counts and walking batters this year, but tonight, he walked just two batters and was able to limit his pitch count enough to last seven innings.

Maine allowed just three runs on six hits. The win was Maine's ninth, and his ninth quality start of the year (a quality start is defined as at least six innings pitched with three or less runs allowed). Maine improved his career record against the Phillies to 5-0 with a 2.55 ERA.

Shane Victorino and Geoff Jenkins hit back-to-back homers off Maine in the second inning. Jimmy Rollins drove in Carlos Ruiz with a double for the third run in the fifth, but the Phillies couldn't muster any more offense.

Scott Schoenweis and Joe Smith teamed up to shutout the Phillies in the eighth.

Brett Myers was making his first start for Philadelphia since June 27 after being sent down to Triple-A.

He did not look good early. After retiring Jose Reyes to start the first, he issued four consecutive walks to give the Mets an early 1-0 lead. Another run scored when Marlon Anderson grounded out to Chase Utley.

Myers settled down a bit, allowing just one more run on a Damion Easley single until he was removed after the fifth inning. He finished with five walks and one hit batsmen.

This was a huge win for the Mets after last night's meltdown in the ninth inning. They are showing the kind of passion they will need to contend for a playoff spot.

Tomorrow, the rubber game of the series will pit the Phillies' 45-year-old Jamie Moyer (9-6, 3.90 ERA) against the Mets' Oliver Perez (6-6, 4.36 ERA).

Moyer has been solid for Philadelphia this year and has won his last two starts.

Perez has not allowed a run in his last 18.1 innings against the Phillies.

Players of the Game: John Maine: W, 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Billy Wagner: SV, IP, 0 H, 0 BB

Mets-Rockies: Mike Pelfrey's Stellar Performance Leads New York to Sweep

Patrick Murray — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:29:48 -0400

By the eighth inning, Mike Pelfrey had the Shea faithful on their feet chanting, "Let's Go Pelfrey!"

Amongst the cheers, Pelfrey got Scott Podsednik to pop-out to David Wright in foul territory, ending his work for the night. When the cheers continued, Pelfrey emerged from the dugout and waved his cap to the crowd as the Mets finished off their ninth consecutive win.

Joe Smith pitched the ninth to complete the shutout, the fourth for the Mets in their last six games. It hasn't only been pitching that has brought the Mets this win streak though, the bats have been coming around lately as well.

The offense started early tonight, as Carlos Beltran blasted a pitch from Mike Redman over the left field bleachers to take a 3-0 lead. It must have felt like deja vu for the Mets, because in Pelfrey's last start on Tuesday, Beltran also hit a three-run home run in the first inning off of San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum.

The Mets would tack on four more insurance runs. Two came off a monstrous home run hit off the scoreboard in right by Carlos Delgado. The homer tied Delgado with David Wright for the team lead with 17.

Pelfrey and the Mets defense took care of the rest, as seven runs would prove to be more than enough. The six-foot seven-inch right-hander was attacking hitters all night with his mid-90s sinking fastball. Pelfrey threw 119 pitches, and 81 of them went for strikes. He used the sinking fastball to get 15 groundball outs, including four double plays. Pelfrey also did not issue any walks for the second straight start en route to winning his sixth consecutive start to put him at 8-6 for the year.

The only real jam Pelfrey got into was in the fourth inning. There were men on first and third with one out and Rockies' slugger Garret Atkins at the plate. Atkins hit a sharp groundball toward third. David Wright grabbed it and made an off balance throw to second. The throw was in the dirt, and second baseman Damion Easley made an excellent play to get the out at second, and make a good throw to first while Brad Hawpe was sliding into him.

The Mets head into the All-Star break on a roll, and trail the first place Phillies by just a half game in the NL East.

Player of the Game: Mike Pelfrey: W, 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 Ks

Oliver Perez: Big Game Pitcher?

Patrick Murray — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:26:33 -0400

Mets fans know the torture Oliver Perez dishes out. One start he looks like a potential Cy Young award winner, the next he looks like he couldn't throw a strike if his life depended on it.

I think the problem with Perez is mental. He always has good stuff—a mid-90s fastball, a sharp breaking slider that he throws to right-handed hitters, a good sweeping slider he uses against lefties, and a developing change-up.

It’s just that on some occasions he can't throw these pitches for strikes and it gets him into big trouble.

However, it seems like Perez always comes through in big games. Most recently, this is evidenced by his last two starts. He threw a combined 14 innings against the Yankees and Phillies while allowing just one run—a Wilson Betemit solo homer—and striking out 14.

Against the crosstown rivals, Perez did not walk anyone. It was his only start this year without issuing a free pass.

Perez's career numbers against the Yanks read like this: 5-1, 2.61 ERA, 1.11 WHIP.

The Mets acquired Perez from the Pirates at the trade deadline in 2006. He was basically a throw-in in the trade that sent Xavier Nady to Pittsburgh, bringing needed reliever Roberto Hernandez.

When Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez went down with injuries, Perez was thrust into playoff action in the NLCS. In Game Seven against the Cardinals, he allowed just one run on four hits and two walks in six innings. Every Mets fan knows he got a no decision in that game, as the Mets lost after Perez came out of the game.

This year, Perez faced MLB's top offense in Texas on June 13. Manager Willie Randolph's job was on the line, with many reporting he would be fired if the Mets lost. Perez turned in seven innings of three-hit ball and allowed just one run—a Josh Hamilton solo homer.

Perez also has pitched well in road games against division rivals. Including yesterday's game, he has a career 1.42 ERA in four starts against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. At Atlanta's Turner Field, Perez has a 2.73 ERA in four starts.

In his first start of this season, Perez tossed six shutout innings while striking out eight Marlins in Miami. He only walked one batter.

His next start? Five-and-two-thirds innings of shutout ball at Shea against the Phillies.

Perez has struggled in routine games that perhaps don't seem to matter as much. I think Oliver turns on that something special in big games, and seems to be more focused and composed in those crucial matches. In other games he seems to get easily rattled.

The Mets need to figure out what turns on Ollie's focus and composure and use that in every game. If Perez can figure it out, he can be an elite pitcher and even win a Cy Young. More importantly for the Mets this year, he can help them get back to the playoffs.

National League All-Star Team: Cubs Lead With Seven Selections

Patrick Murray — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:15:00 -0400

The fans and the players voted, defending National League champion manager Clint Hurdle selected the remainder of the players, and the National League All Star team has been announced. The Cubs, with the NL's best record, have the most all stars with seven.

The starters are Geovany Soto (Cubs, C), Lance Berkman (Astros, 1B), Chase Utley (Phillies, 2B), Chipper Jones (Braves, 3B), Hanley Ramirez (Marlins, SS), Ryan Braun (Brewers, OF), Alfonso Soriano (Cubs, OF), and Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs, OF).

Soto, Fukudome, Braun, and Ramirez will be making their first all star appearances.

The starting pitchers that were selected to the team are: Aaron Cook (Rockies), Tim Lincecum (Giants), Ben Sheets (Brewers), Ryan Dempster (Cubs), Dan Haren(Diamondbacks), Edinson Volquez (Reds), Brandon Webb (Diamondbacks), and Carlos Zambrano (Cubs).

Relief pitchers on the NL team are: Brad Lidge (Phillies), Billy Wagner (Mets), Kerry Wood (Cubs), and Brian Wilson (Giants).

The reserve position players for the NL will be Russell Martin (C, Dodgers), Brian McCann (C, Braves), Adrian Gonzalez (1B, Padres), Albert Pujols (1B, Cardinals), Dan Uggla (2B, Marlins), Aramis Ramirez (3B, Cubs), Miguel Tejada (SS, Astros), Cristian Guzman (SS, Nationals), Nate McLouth (OF, Pirates), Ryan Ludwick (OF, Cardinals), and Matt Holliday (OF, Rockies).

The National League will need to select one of their all stars to start as designated hitter because the game is being played in an American League ballpark. I think Albert Pujols should, and most likely will, be that guy.

While Fukudome and Soriano are having good years with the high powered offense of the first place Cubs, I don't think either of them deserve to start. It could be argued that neither deserve to be on the team at all.

I think Nate McClouth and Ryan Ludwick are more deserving of a start. McClouth has hit eight more home runs, driven in 18 more runs, and scored three more runs than Fukudome.

Soriano is currently on the disabled list and has already made a couple of trips to the DL this year. Ludwick has better numbers than him across the board. Pat Burrell and Carlos Lee (see Final Vote) deserve to be on this team rather than the Cubs duo. However, the huge numbers of Cubs fans got their vote out for Soriano and Fukudome and they will start.

I don't think Brian Wilson, San Francisco's closer, deserves to be on the all star team. Wilson leads the NL in saves with 24, but has a 4.37 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Those are not exactly all star numbers. I think Washington's Jon Rauch (17 SV, 2.49 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) and the Dodgers' Takashi Saito (15 SV, 2.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) are more deserving, and would be more effective against the AL lineup.

SNUBS

Here are the players I think had all star worthy performances so far this season. Every year there are deserving players left off the team because of poor voting, poor manager decisions, or just because there wasn't room on the roster for them. Note: I did not include players involved in the "Final Vote."

SS Jose Reyes (Mets) .294, 63 R, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 29 SB. Reyes very easily could have been included on this squad rather than Tejada or Guzman. Since Guzman is tied for the league lead in hits, it would be tough to leave him off. Reyes has one less homer, and six less RBI than Tejada while scoring five more runs, stealing 23 more bases, and hitting .012 higher than Tejada.

P Cole Hamels (Phillies) 9-5, 2 SO, 3.22 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 110 Ks. Hamels has been electrifying for the Phillies, tossing two shutouts, and is fourth in the NL in strikeouts. However, it would be hard to argue for leaving off one of the other NL starting pitchers. It's just a tough luck year for Hamels.

FINAL VOTE

You can vote on MLB.com for one of the following five players to take the final spot on the NL All Star team. All five of these guys deserve a spot on the team, but only one will get it. My vote would go to either David Wright or Pat Burrell.

Pat Burrell, OF, Phillies: .278, 47 R, 21 HR, 53 RBI, .996 OPS.

David Wright, 3B, Mets: .288, 55 R, 16 HR, 66 RBI, 9 SB.

Carlos Lee, OF, Astros: .293, 42 R, 19 HR, 66 RBI, .884 OPS.

Aaron Rowand, CF, Giants: .303, 40 R, 8 HR, 47 RBI.

Corey Hart, OF, Brewers: .294, 43 R, 14 HR, 53 RBI, 12 SB.

*Stats are as of July 5th

Mets-Cardinals: Mike Pelfrey Pitches Well As New York Wins Big

Patrick Murray — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:51:32 -0400

New York manager Jerry Manuel gave Carlos Beltran a scheduled day off on Thursday. The Mets offense didn't miss his bat, putting up 11 runs without their star outfielder.

It all started with a disastrous first inning for the Cardinals rookie pitcher Mitchell Boggs.

With one out, Endy Chavez singled. Boggs then walked David Wright and Ryan Church to load the bases. Carlos Delgado drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly.

After a wild pitch allowed Church to advance into scoring position, Damion Easley ripped a line drive up the middle. Boggs was able to get his glove on it, but couldn't make a play, and Wright scored.

Marlon Anderson then hit a tapper between the mound and third base, and arrived safely at first after Boggs misplayed the ball, allowing Church to score. Ramon Castro then flew out to end the inning.

Mike Pelfrey had his best stuff and used his running fastball well throughout the night. He started by striking out Albert Pujols in the first with a fastball on the inside corner.

The Mets offense looked to give Pelfrey some extra run support in the third. They loaded the bases with one out thanks to a Church double, a walk to Delgado, and an Easley single.

Marlon Anderson drove in a run with a fielder's choice, and, after Castro walked, the bases were loaded again. Boggs looked to get out of the inning when Pelfrey stepped to the plate, without an RBI in his career.

Pelfrey delivered and laced a single to right, scoring Delgado. The turning point in the game came here, and the Mets never looked back.

Jose Reyes knocked the ball over the head of centerfielder Rick Ankiel and raced around the bases for a triple, driving in three runs. Endy Chavez capped the six-run inning with a double to bring Reyes home.

Pelfrey cruised through the game, using his heavy fastball to pick up groundball outs. He scattered six hits and the only run he gave up came in the sixth.

Adam Kennedy led off the inning with a double, and moved to third on an Aaron Miles groundout. Many Cardinals fans remained at Busch Stadium and cheered as the Redbirds pushed across their first run on a Chris Duncan groundout.

Pelfrey ended his performance by striking out Brian Barton to end the seventh.

The Mets' final two runs came in the sixth, when Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer to right.

Scott Schoeneweis and Joe Smith pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to finish the game for New York.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, needing to save his bullpen, left Boggs in for six innings despite his 10 earned runs allowed, tagging him with his first loss of the season.

Damion Easley had another multi-hit performance playing second for the Mets, as starter Luis Castillo was placed on the disabled list earlier in the day.

The Chicago Cubs will come to St. Louis to continue their rivalry with the Cardinals tomorrow. St. Louis will send Braden Looper (9-5, 4.26 ERA) to the mound against Chicago's Carlos Zambrano (8-3, 3.13). Zambrano will be making his first start since coming off the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.

The Mets begin an extremely important four-game series with division rival Philadelphia. New York's ace Johan Santana (7-7, 3.01) will pitch at Citizens Bank Park tomorrow. J.A. Happ will make his first start of the year for the Phillies. The Mets scored five runs off Happ in four innings in his only other major league start last year.

Player of the Game: Mike Pelfrey—W, 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks; 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI

Troy Glaus' Walk-Off Home Run Leads Cardinals Over Mets

Patrick Murray — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:13:48 -0400

Mets' rookie reliever Carlos Muniz was seen earlier in the day, walking to the bullpen while carrying his pink backpack. As a joke, the veterans make Muniz, who was recently called up from Triple-A New Orleans, carry the backpack around.

The ninth inning on Wednesday, was no joking matter. Muniz was brought in to face the heart of the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup.

Albert Pujols, perhaps the most feared hitter in the NL, stepped in the box, and Muniz got him to pop out to shallow left field.

Next up was pitcher turned slugger Rick Ankiel. The powerful lefty gave the Mets a scare, as he hit a high fly ball which Carlos Beltran caught at the wall in right-center.

Muniz and Troy Glaus then battled to a 3-2 count. In the end, Muniz left a 91-mph fastball over the plate and Glaus hammered it over the left field wall for the walk-off win.

The Cardinals went to work early, going up 4-0 in the first inning behind a Troy Glaus three-run homer.

But Pedro Martinez settled in after the rocky first. He didn't allow a hit for the next 3.2 innings, and even continued pitching after a rain delay in the third.

The Mets seemed destined to pickup their first win when trailing by more than two runs. They cut the lead to one in the third thanks to an RBI double by Carlos Beltran, and a two-RBI single by Damion Easley.

New York tied the game the following inning when Jose Reyes tripled, then scored on an Endy Chavez sacrifice fly.

Rick Ankiel hit a solo home run, his 17th of the season, with two outs in the fifth to put St. Louis back in the lead.

The Mets refused to give up though, and put up three runs in the seventh. Carlos Delgado, Damion Easley, and Fernando Tatis each picked up an RBI in the inning. Two of the runs came off of former starter Mark Mulder.

The crucial inning in the game proved to be the eighth. With one out, David Wright hit a triple off the wall in right-center. However, Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church failed to bring him home for an insurance run.

In the bottom half, Aaron Heilman, who had pitched the seventh, plunked Ryan Ludwick to start the half inning. Jerry Manuel went to the bullpen and brought in lefty Pedro Feliciano.

Pinch hitter Chris Duncan hit Feliciano's first pitch out of the ballpark to tie the game and set the stage for Glaus' winner in the ninth.

With the loss, the Mets still stand as the only team in the majors to be winless in games they trailed by three or more runs.

A bright spot in the game for the Mets, was Damion Easley. Easley went 3-for-4 with three RBI while filling in for Luis Castillo at second base. It will be interesting to see who gets the start at second tomorrow.

The Mets look to leave St. Louis with a split as they send Mike Pelfery (5-6, 4.47) to mound against the Cardinals' Mitchell Boggs (3-0, 4.37).

Player of the Game: Troy Glaus— 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI

MLB: Midseason Awards

Patrick Murray — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:17:28 -0400

Most teams have played their 81st game, which is the halfway point in the season. I decided its time to hand out midseason awards. Stats are as of the morning of Monday June 30, 2008.

MVP:

NL:

1. Lance Berkman, 1B, Houston Astros:.364 BA, .444 OBP, 70 R, 21 HR, 67 RBI. The Astros would be in trouble without this monster first half from Berkman.

2. Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies:.297 BA, .384 OBP, 60 R, 23 HR, 65 RBI. Utley carried the Phillies at the beginning of the year when Ryan Howard struggled. He has cooled off lately, but I think he will heat up again and end up winning this award at the end of the year.

3. Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida Marlins: .289 BA, .365 OBP, 57 R, 23 HR, 58 RBI. It's strange to see two second baseman tied for the major league lead in home runs. Uggla is the real deal and has been a huge reason why the Marlins are in second place in the NL East.

AL:

1. Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas Rangers: .312 BA, 52 R, 19 HR, 79 RBI. Hamilton leads the majors in RBIs by 11. He was a big part of Texas' recovery from a terrible April, if only they could find good pitching.

2. Carlos Quentin, OF, Chicago White Sox: .288 BA, .396 OBP, 54 R, 19 HR, 61 RBI. Once a highly touted prospect, Quentin fell off the map until his resurgence this year. He has helped the White Sox slide into first place in the AL Central.

3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Boston Red Sox: .313 BA, .382 OBP, 47 R, 13 HR, 50 RBI. Youkilis has stepped it up for the Sox with David Ortiz on the DL.

CY Young:

NL:

1. Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks: 12-4, 3.21 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 2 CG, 1 SO, 29 BB, 94 Ks. This was a tough decision between these three excellent starters. I chose Webb because he had more wins and ate more innings than the other two.

2. Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds: 10-3, 2.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 48 BB, 110 Ks. The rookie has been dominant this year. He leads all starters in ERA.

3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants: 9-1, 2.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 43 BB, 114 Ks. The second year right-hander leads the majors with 114 strikeouts.

AL:

1. Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians: 11-1, 2.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 16 BB, 90 Ks. After struggling last year and being sent down to the minors, Lee has regained his control. He has allowed just 16 walks which is less than 25 relievers.

2. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays: 8-6, 3.12 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 5 CG, 19 BB, 100 Ks. Halladay has been one of the most consistent starters in the AL for the past few years. He leads the league in complete games and innings pitched (121.1).

3. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees: 2-2, 22/22 saves, 0.55 WHIP, 3 BB, 42 Ks. Rivera has been so dominant, I just had to put him on this list. He has not blown a save this year and has issued just three walks.

Rookie of the Year:

NL:

Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds: 10-3, 2.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 48 BB, 110 Ks.

AL:

Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays: .270 BA, 41 R, 15 HR, 47 RBI

Manager of the Year:

NL:

Tony La Russa, St. Louis Cardinals: 48-36. He has led an underrated Cardinals team to within striking distance of the division lead. St. Louis currently leads the wild card in the NL.

AL:

Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays: 50-32. Maddon has led the Rays, whom no one even discussed at the start of the season, to the best record in the majors.