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Hit The Break Running

The Mets have six more games before the All-Star Break.  It’d be great to see them hit it on a high note, and not coast against two bad teams in the Cubs and Phillies.  (Yes, the Phillies count as a bad team. ) They’ve seemingly had a habit of playing down to their competition a bit this year.

 

They are currently six games above .500 at 43-37.   They will not go into the All-Star Break with a losing record, but you’d like to see them finish the unofficial first half strong.  Winning four of six would put them eight games over at 47-39.  That should be the goal.  The Mets have two starts by Jon Niese and one by everyone else, and Niese has been cruising for a while now.   His 3.55 ERA is good for 24th of 62 qualifying NL pitchers, and a good .41 better than league average.

 

Ultimately the goal is to keep pace with the division leading Washington Nationals.  They play on the road at San Francisco and Colorado.  It’d be awesome if the Mets could gain a game on them to be within three of first place at the break.  They’ll play the Nationals six times in the second half of July, as well as the Braves three times.  As baseball pauses, it’d be nice to take stock of the Mets and see them within a broom’s length of first place.

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Trying to Finish on a High Note

The Mets are looking to finish the unofficial first half with a positive note, despite losing Jose Reyes this week for six or more additional games.  They have three All-Star pitchers to face to get there, although the name Vogelsong doesn’t exactly fill you with fear.

 

With the Braves and Phillies rarely losing lately, the Mets have had trouble making up ground even when playing well.  Which is why it’s important that they win some of these games against All-Star pitchers before they lose anymore ground.  They still have plenty of time and plenty of games against their opponents, but you can’t let them get too far ahead either.

 

The Mets will have a chance to finish anywhere from one game under .500 to five games over.  Merely winning the series would put them a comfortable three over, whereas losing it would drop them to just one.   The Braves and the Phillies play each other this weekend, so one of those teams will have to lose at least two games.  The Mets winning ensures they can at least gain ground on one of them.   They then have a chance after the break to gain even more ground on Philadelphia directly.

 

If the Mets can win some of these games, including some of the ones after the break, they’ll start getting healthier with Jose Reyes, David Wright and maybe even Ike Davis returning to this offense.  Adding those guys would suggest that the Mets would be better than they have been so far.  There’s no saying that that will be enough to propel them above and beyond their competition, but it should be fun to watch.  Hopefully the Mets can give those guys an opportunity to still be in the race when they return.

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Mets vs. Braves: Important, but not THAT Important

Huge three game series for the Mets coming up here, but most of it’s about perception and confidence.  No three games in July ever decide anything, but winning and losing this series is the difference between being within striking distance of the division lead going into the break, and being clearly the second-best team.

If the Mets win this series they will be respected throughout the league as contenders.  They’ll be brought up in all trade talks for big acquisitions.  When analysts adjust their season predictions, the Mets will make it onto a lot of their lists.  David Wright will again be recognized as one of the best players in the game, people will stop taking as many pot shots at the Mets, their minor league system, their medical staff and their decision making.

If they lose and fall four or more games back from the division lead things won’t be as rosy during the break.  Analysts will find a way to justify their decision in the winter that the Mets have too many holes to make the playoffs.  They’ll talk up Bobby Cox, they’ll talk about the Phillies having a good second half.  Jose Reyes will be described as injury prone.  Carlos Beltran will be portrayed as an 80 year old grandma that can’t walk, much less play CF.  They’ll question Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya and their ability to do their job.

All off the results of one series.  If a sweep happens either way, the reactions will be even more extreme.

The series is really not that big a deal.  It’s an important series to try to win and not let the Braves get too far ahead, but even if they’re four games out going into the break, that’s hardly insurmountable given how many games they still play against each other.    Still, it’s a chance for the Mets to put the first half to rest on a positive note, take a deep breath, and soar into the second half with the addition of Carlos Beltran.

If you’re headed out to Citi Field for any of these games, the Mets are having a fan appreciation weekend.  They’re doing a lot of seat upgrades, signed giveaways, and handing out gift cards.  On Sunday 25 lucky fans will receive game-worn jerseys.  Enjoy!

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All-Star Guide

I wrote a sort of guide to the All-Star game, of what to expect, which i’m pasting below. I also created a drinking game, if anyone is interested in that.

Tuesday is the Major League Baseball All-Star game. It’s being played this year in Yankee Stadium, in it’s final season before being knocked down. This is, quite understandably, going to create a feeling of nostalgia around the broadcasts and events involved in this game. From clips of past All-Star games at Yankee Stadium and other memorable moments to discussions about Yankees from Babe Ruth to Derek Jeter, there is going to be a lot of talk about the Yankees and Yankee Stadium during these festivities.

Things to expect on Tuesday for the All-Star game

Players:
-I expect plenty of coverage of Goose Gossage, a Yankee who played in the 1977 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium and is being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

-Thurman Munson also played in that game, and is a much beloved Yankee that will get plenty of discussion.

-The other Yankees to play in the 1977 All-Star game; Reggie Jackson, Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles and Willie Randolph will get some mention.

-It’ll be mentioned that Randolph managed the Mets and got fired, but other than that I’m sure it’ll be all Yankee references.

-Probably at least some discussion of the other Yankees to play in All-Star games at Yankee Stadium over the years.

-Especially on ESPN, Joe Morgan will talk about, or be talked about, since he was at the game in 1977. If we don’t see a clip of the home run he hit in the game, I’ll be shocked.

-I don’t expect a lot of talk about the Yankees citymates, the New York Mets. David Wright and Billy Wagner will get mentioned since they’re on the team, but even though this isn’t the only stadium closing in the city, not much will be made of the 1964 All-Star game at Shea Stadium. John Sterns was the only Met representative at the 1977 All-Star game, but Tom Seaver was also on the roster for the Reds before being traded back to the Mets, as was former Met Nolan Ryan.

Stadium:
-An overabundance of Yankee Stadium goodbyes. All sorts of people will be asked about their first and last moments in Yankee Stadium and what it means to them.

-Plenty of talk about when Yankee Stadium was built, about Babe Ruth’s career helping to make it what it is today.

-Repeated shots of Monument Park and all the plaques and statues enclosed within. Also discussions about how it’s going to be moved to the new stadium.

-Plenty of overhead shots of the new Yankee Stadium being build, and the comparisons and similarities between the two stadiums.

-I’d be shocked if they showed Shea Stadium at all. Despite there being another stadium in New York that housed plenty of baseball’s history as well as an All-Star game, it won’t get more than a passing mention. At best I’d expect a quick aerial shot of it and Citi Field, the Mets home from 2009 and beyond.

As for the game itself, I suspect it’ll be a fairly decent game this year. There are a great amount of young players on the rosters that are fun to watch, as well as some terrific pitchers. I think the National League will finally prevail this year, after failing in a close comeback last year and Trevor Hoffman blowing the save in 2006. This means Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will not get to close out the final All-Star game in Yankee Stadium for the American League, but he can still pitch the ninth inning if Terry Francona was inclined to do so.

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This Team Is Good

Take a break and think about it for three days; The Mets are good. Mike Pelfrey is good.

They can now take three days really feeling this, knowing that destiny is in their own hands again, knowing they are better than the Phillies and just having to lose less games than them to win the division this year. They know that despite a collapse and a poor first half, they’re right where they need to be for the second half, having played as well as their competition despite struggling. They get that confidence back, and can take off in the second half without all the nagging questions and doubts.

It’s freaking unbelievable the way this team has been playing, it’s like they suddenly turned a switch and started working. I don’t know what happened, maybe it was just they finally stopped west coast trips, or maybe it’s the excitement of having a player like Pelfrey step up and the bench players, while not playing great, are playing well enough when they need to to cover the injuries and holes on this team at the moment.

Got some All-Star posts coming tomorrow.

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Can’t Rain On This Parade

Five in a row! Again! Suddenly, the sky is blue and the paths are rosy. The Mets can do no wrong, the bench players come through with big hits, the bullpen and starters don’t allow runs and the Mets win the games instead of finding ways to lose.

Nothing has changed and yet everything has changed. Pelfrey looks so good that even the Mets of next year look good! The biggest difference in my eyes has been Carlos Delgado. Delgado is finally hitting the baseball hard, laying off of bad pitches, and driving it all over the place. I think Delgado has suddenly become better than he was in 2006, where he was even streakier. His ability to hit the ball hard has changed this lineup drastically, and he’s starting to scare pitchers again. He’s suddenly gotten his batter’s eye back, and as he hits more, pitchers will pitcher him more carefully, which means he’ll be able to draw more walks and consequentially, make less outs and ground into less double plays. If he remains hitting sixth, whoever hits in front of him is going to find more pitches to hit, and do better themselves. I know Endy has been playing well, but it’s no surprise that since Delgado has started hitting, this offense has been hot and those outfield holes have looked a lot smaller. Smaller holes means less desperation for Omar to find another outfield bat, and less desperation means he can be patient and find that diamond in the rough without sacrificing prospects and the future. I look forward to see what he can do over these next three weeks.

Except for a brief euphoria after Santana’s opening game win, or the brief glee we felt in April of 2007 starting with the vengeance sweep of the Cardinals, this may be the happiest Mets fans have felt since Endy came down with that catch. There will still be rough patches; The Phillies aren’t a great team, but there offense will have more hot streaks where they win a stretch of games. This is irrelevant if the Mets continue to perform as they have, as they’ll far outclass the Phillies. There are four games left before the break, and for the first time I find myself not agonizing over having to have a certain record to match a certain record to the Phillies. Barring catastrophe, we’ll go into the break with a virtual clean slate; able to outplay the Phillies, and the Braves and Marlins and Nationals, and win this division.

Chances are the Giants will find a way to score at least one run in their trip to New York, but I have a lot of confidence in John Maine to get the job done tonight. Let’s Go Mets!

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No longer sinking, but rising

And the Mets take three out of four from the Phillies in Citizen’s Bank Ballpark. Billy Wagner made it stressful, but when it came down to it, the Phillies offense just wasn’t that good, and they just weren’t clutch enough to get the job done. In fact, the only win they got was in walk-off fashion in the 9th inning of a game in which Johan Santana should’ve been pitching. Instead Jerry Manuel pulls the Mets ace with only 95 pitches thrown and Sanchez gives it up in the 9th.
Pedro pitched well, but in typical Pedro Martinez fashion falters after he reaches the 100 pitch mark.

The Mets finally give former Met Killer Adam Eaton a loss, get Pedro his first win, and now are only two games out in the loss column. Billy Wagner pitched two of his bad games, and the Mets won anyway. The so-called ‘gamer’ Phillies have been bad, especially last year, after facing the Mets. Let’s hope they continue that trend, and the Mets can win in these final six games. They could even be in first by the break.

Of course, the Mets have showed signs before, particularly against average Philadelphia who they are 7-3 against. A winning record over these next six would be a big step up though. Maybe the Mets really do turn it on now, and take the division they deserve.

Whether last year, or now, the Phillies have been incapable of building or holding a division lead. When it comes down to it, they’re just not a first place team. They’re a mediocre team that can pummel some teams and get hot, and can occasionally get up to play the big game against a better team, but usually that averages out in the long run and they finish where they belong, a couple of games above .500 and in second or third.

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Palette Cleanser for the Phillies

The best thing about the St. Louis blowout is that it set this team into a no-stress, easy going, comfortable mode that it hasn’t had since they went into the second game of the season and Pedro hurt himself. Hit the ball, beat crappy pitching, move along. Carlos Delgado looks freaking locked in. That home run he hit was just a nice, lazy, Delgado(old Delgado)like swing. That recap of the home run would fit in well in 2002, except for the Mets uniform. It was nice to see, and he’s amazing close to being on pace for a 30 HR, 100 RBI season, which you certainly would like to see him keep up at.

Jackie Robinson Rotunda Elevators

Thanks the Pelfrey and the surprisingly rejuvenated offense, there was no late inning thoughts of “How are they going to find a way to lose this one?” and just a nice, relaxing blowout going into the series of the year. Now unfortunately, the Braves suck and have halted the Phillies losing ways temporarily, but they pitched pseudo-ace Hamels against the reeling Braves, almost underestimating the Mets.

The Mets now have 10 games left until the All-Star break, and you’d like to see them be able to turn the corner, put this bad stretch behind them, and starting making confident strides towards first place and the division title. There are a couple of things they need to do that.

Beat Philadelphia. Obviously, anything but winning three or four against the Phillies leaves them right where they were, averagely struggling through the season. While a sweep is unlikely, it’s also possible, and a sweep would put the Mets with the same amount of losses as the Phillies going forward. If they win three, they need to win at least one more than the Phillies during the next six, and go into the break at worse one game out.

Get to the break above .500. If they do win the series against the Phillies, they’d be one over. Obviously a split of the final six against bad teams isn’t ideal, but right now if they could go into the the break one loss out and above .500 in anyway, it’s a good thing.

Win the final Sunday game against the Rockies. A nice solid win to finish up the unofficial first half would be a good way to cauterize the first half and just move forward with winning baseball games in the second half like a different team. Obviously it’s silly and impossible to place much importance on any single game within a 162 game season, but it’d put the team in the right mind frame for the second half.

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Mid-Summer Classic

We’ve reached the theoretical halfway point of the season, and I’m sure we all hope for a better second half. I’m confident we’ll get there. For now, It’s All-Star time. I point you all to my TOTK article where I explain why I have a little excitement about watching the Derby and the Game.

BTW, nobody except a Mets player has driven in or scored a run in the All-Star game since 2005.

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John Maine to the Rescue

Before we do something stupid and trade needed prospects for Mark Buehrle, the Mets need to consider something. Does Buehrle help us win the World Series? The answer to that is no, not this year. I don’t want to hear any complaints about how we’re not making the playoffs, anyone that thinks that hasn’t been paying attention. Oliver Perez has been amazingly clutch for the Mets in big games, and nothing is bigger than the playoffs. Oliver Perez is probably our fourth playoff starter, and that’s if you assume El Duque would pitch out of the bullpen. Pedro Martinez is going to be our fresh ace, Tom Glavine is obviously going to be second based on experience and seniority. There hasn’t been a game this year that John Maine has started that the Mets have gone into the 7th inning thinking the game was lost. (If that’s not an All-Star pitcher, I don’t know what is) With Orlando Hernandez to pick up the slack if one of those guys struggles through the first couple of innings, where would Buehrle fit? He wouldn’t, and that’s the point. Building the rotation for the future is all well and good, but there is plenty Omar can do to make this team good now, and it’s not the starting rotation. Maybe a more reliable second baseman or outfielder, a better bench, or more importantly, a reliever.

John Maine gets a chance to continue that consistency tonight, against the Houston Astros. With the Mets desperately needing a win, and the bullpen desperately needing a rest, it would be really helpful of Maine to pitch at least 7 effective innings. He’s shown that he can keep us in these games, and if the offense can string together some hits, he should be in for his 10th win.

I’d like to see the Mets clearly win this series, end the road trip with a positive record, and go into the break on a good note. I think the couple of days rest will do some players good, particularly Delgado and Valentin. Then they can come back, put this whole losing thing behind them, and play good baseball after the All-Star break.