213 Miles From Shea

The Mets finally get out of Colorado and return home to Queens tonight to one of the most anticipated pitching matchups in a long time. The Mets entered Denver with a 7-4 record and were swept, dropping them down to a record of 7-7. While there is plenty of blame to go around, the bullpen, who saved the Mets in an earlier Laffey start at home and was strong at the start of the season, fell apart on the road. Anyway, Matt Harvey looks to keep his strong start going against Stephen Strasburg.

Harvey is 3-0 in first three starts with a 0.84 ERA over 22.0 innings. In that stretch he has allowed only 2 ER and only 6 hits while walking 6 and striking out 25 batters. He’s leading the league in WHIP, Wins, and H/9. He faced the Nationals once last year picking up the loss after allowing only one earned run over 5 innings of work while striking out 10 batters. The Nationals have the following numbers against Matt:

Desmond 1-2
Harper 0-3
LaRoche 1-3
Werth 0-2
Zimmerman 1-2, HR
Suzuki 0-2

The Mets will get a crack at the National’s phenom today in Stephen Strasburg who is 1-2 over 18.1 innings and 3 games so far this year while posting a 2.95 ERA. He has had two dominant games where he went 7 shutout innings 6 innings allowing 0 earned runs (2 unearned). He also had one start where he allowed 6 ER over 5.1 innings. He was good against the Mets last season holding them to one earned run over 13 innings and two starts, who have posted the following numbers against him:

Buck 2-9
Davis 3-8, HR
Tejada 1-8
Murphy 1-5
Wright 1-6
Byrd 1-3
Duda 0-2
Valdespin 1-3

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets will try to salvage a game of this series today this afternoon in Denver. After dropping both games of the doubleheader, the Mets were postponed due to snow yesterday. The Mets are playing their regularly scheduled game today and there is no word yet on when a make up game will be played. Jon Niese will get his normal start today, yesterday’s starter, Hefner, will get pushed to Saturday which will push Laffey out of the rotation this time around.

Jon Niese is 2-0 over 3 starts with a 3.57 ERA over 17.2 innings and 9 runs, 7 earned. Niese’s numbers were fantastic before the Minnesota game on Friday night however Niese had problems throwing/gripping the ball in the cold and snow, thus laboring through innings. It also didn’t help that the Mets bats stayed out forever in the first and second inning. Anyway, Niese looks for some normalcy today. Niese hasn’t faced the Rockies since 2011 where he allowed 10 ER over 12.1 innings. The Rockies have the following numbers against Jon:

Helton 7-16, 3 2B, HR
Tulo 5-13, 2B, HR
Gonzalez 0-7
Fowler 1-6
Herrera 3-6, HR
Garland 0-2

Garland is 1-0 this season over two starts and 12 innings of work allowing 5 ER and 10 hits in that stretch. He missed the 2012 season in its entirety and in 2011 he had a 4.33 ERA with a 1-5 record over 9 starts and 54 innings of work. In 2011 he had one start against the Mets where he allowed 3 ER over 6 innings and 7 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against Jon:

Buck 10-42, 4 2B, HR
Byrd 5-18
Wright 2-15, 2B
Murphy 2-7, 2B
Davis 2-5
Tejada 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Rockies will attempt to play tonight’s game at 8:40 eastern time. Currently (at 5:40 AM) it looks like 4-8 inches of snow today and tonight in Colorado so I doubt there’ll be Mets baseball tonight. Anyway, the Mets dropped both games in the doubleheader last night as the starting pitching struggled and relief pitching struggled in both games (lots of players struggling to get a grip on the ball). Tejada’s error also didn’t help. On a positive note though, Wright’s bat came to life last night in the first game as he hit two homers and Cowgill had three base hits in the night cap. Hefner hopes to pitch today against Jon Garland.

Hefner has had one good start and one poor start on the season. His first start of the season he allowed 1 ER over 6 innings of work and in his second start, he allowed 5 ER over 3.0 innings. The 5 ER was disheartening but Jeremy has not had success against the Phillies in Philly. Hefner has never faced the Rockies in his short career and has never faced anyone on the Rockies’ roster.

Garland is 1-0 this season over two starts and 12 innings of work allowing 5 ER and 10 hits in that stretch. He missed the 2012 season in its entirety and in 2011 he had a 4.33 ERA with a 1-5 record over 9 starts and 54 innings of work. In 2011 he had one start against the Mets where he allowed 3 ER over 6 innings and 7 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against Jon:

Buck 10-42, 4 2B, HR
Byrd 5-18
Wright 2-15, 2B
Murphy 2-7, 2B
Davis 2-5
Tejada 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Rockies were snowed out yesterday so fans didn’t get to see this on the scoreboard:

Confused?

Normally before a game starts, the out of town scoreboard displays the pitcher’s number for the team. For example, if you were watching the out of town scoreboard for the Mets/Nationals game on next Friday, before the game starts it would say WAS 37, NYM 33. Since everyone wore 42 on Monday, all of the numbers are 42.

While that is not helpful if you’re sitting in the stands, I still like this. The idea of Jackie Robinson Day is to stop and remember how important he was to the sport and the nation as a whole. This picture definitely makes you stop and think about #42.

The Mets were postponed again yesterday due to snow and that is going to force a Colorado Day/Night Double Header. This article is being written at 8 PM Monday Night, so there is a possibility that these pitching match-ups may be off. At this time it looks like Dillon Gee will take on Juan Nicasio. The second game is murkier. Mets.com is reporting that Laffey will get the start vs Jeff Francis although there still may be the possibility of Hefner getting the start. Below is yesterday’s game preview for the first game, since it is still applicable and that will be followed by a Laffey/Hefner preview.

GAME ONE:

Dillon Gee has had two very different starts so far this season. In his first start he picked up the loss despite pitching 6.1 innings allowing only one earned run. In his second start against the Phillies, he allowed 7 ER and 10 hits over 3.0 innings. Last year he made one start against the Rockies where he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned over 7 innings of work. The Rockies have the following numbers against Gee:

Herrera 0-4
Cuddyer 1-3
Fowler 0-3
Gonzalez 1-2
Helton 1-2, 2B
Tulo 2-3

The Mets hope to keep their warm bats with them in chilly Denver tonight as they take on Juan Nicasio who is 1-0 over two starts this season with a 4.91 ERA pitching 11.o innings, 7 BB’s and 4 K’s. Last season Nicasio pitched 58.0 innings over 11 games with a 5.28 ERA. This will be Nicasio’s first start against the Mets and the only person on the Mets who has faced Juan is John Buck who is 0-3 lifetime against him.

GAME TWO:

Aaron Laffey will probably get the start in the night cap. His first start for the Mets was rough as he allowed 3 runs and 10 hits over 4 innings of work in a game the Mets eventually won. He followed that outing up with a clean inning of work against the Twins. He has made one career start against the Rockies where he allowed 3 ER over 6 innings of work. The Rockies have the following numbers against Laffey:

Cuddyer 8-22, 3 2B, 3B, HR
Helton 0-2
Brignac 0-2

There is also the possibility that the Mets will go with Hefner tonight as well (and if they don’t, then I have part of tomorrow’s preview done). Hefner has had one good start and one poor start on the season. His first start of the season he allowed 1 ER over 6 innings of work and in his second start, he allowed 5 ER over 3.0 innings. The 5 ER was disheartening but Jeremy has not had success against the Phillies in Philly. Hefner has never faced the Rockies in his short career and has never faced anyone on the Rockies’ roster.

The Mets bats will finish off their day against Jeff Francis who is 1-1 over two starts this season allowing 8 runs, 5 earned 7.2 innings and 12 hits. Last season he was 6-7 over 24 games with a 5.58 ERA and 113.0 innings. Last year he had one successful start against the Mets where he allowed only one earned run over 5 innings of work against the Mets, who have the following numbers against Jeff:

Wright 6-13, 3 HR
Buck 3-11, 2B
Byrd 1-3
Tejada 1-3, 2B
Davis 0-2
Laffey 1-2

Let’s Go Mets!

(Warning: This post was written at 5:30 AM, there is a possibility of inclement weather postponing this game tonight)

The Mets are fresh off a two game sweep of the Twins thanks to Mother Nature cancelling the series finale yesterday. If you thought it was unusual for the Mets to playing in snow and frigid temperatures, you’re right. Snow is highly unusual. That being said, snow is in the forecast for the first several games in this series. Dillon Gee will get the start for the Mets as he takes on Juan Nicasio.

Dillon Gee has had two very different starts so far this season. In his first start he picked up the loss despite pitching 6.1 innings allowing only one earned run. In his second start against the Phillies, he allowed 7 ER and 10 hits over 3.0 innings. Last year he made one start against the Rockies where he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned over 7 innings of work. The Rockies have the following numbers against Gee:

Herrera 0-4
Cuddyer 1-3
Fowler 0-3
Gonzalez 1-2
Helton 1-2, 2B
Tulo 2-3

The Mets hope to keep their warm bats with them in chilly Denver tonight as they take on Juan Nicasio who is 1-0 over two starts this season with a 4.91 ERA pitching 11.o innings, 7 BB’s and 4 K’s. Last season Nicasio pitched 58.0 innings over 11 games with a 5.28 ERA. This will be Nicasio’s first start against the Mets and the only person on the Mets who has faced Juan is John Buck who is 0-3 lifetime against him.

Let’s Go Mets!

First off, this article may become a gigantic mute point with the weather in Colorado this week if any of the four games are postponed due to snow.

Here was the original rotation this week:

Sunday: Gee
Monday: Hefner
Tuesday: Laffey
Wednesday: Niese
Thursday: Harvey
Friday: Gee

But now the Mets have a choice with the upcoming series with the Rockies and Nationals:

Monday: Gee / Gee
Tuesday: Hefner / Hefner
Wednesday: Laffey / Niese
Thursday: Niese / Harvey
Friday: Harvey / Gee

The Mets have an opportunity to skip Laffey in the rotation. The advantage of this is obvious, the Mets have one less start with Laffey before Marcum rejoins the rotation.

However, there is an advantage of keeping Laffey against the Rockies. Laffey in the rotation this week will push Harvey against the Nationals, which allows a stronger rotation against a stronger team.

Honestly I’m torn. I’m leaning towards skipping Laffey to get more guaranteed wins. I also have tickets to Friday Night’s game and would love to see Harvey pitching live.

But, like I said before, depending on what happens this week the Mets might end up skipping Laffey in the rotation and still have Niese pitching on Thursday.

UPDATE: GAME POSTPONED
GAME TO BE PLAYED AUGUST 19TH, 1:10

The Mets will attempt to finish their series with the Twins this afternoon before going off to Denver. The weather today is supposed to be pretty poor so I’m not sure what will happen in terms of getting this game finished/started. Anyway, the Mets were the benefactors of another amazing Matt Harvey start and won their third series of the year. If the game happens today, Dillon Gee will get his third start of the year against Kevin Correia.

Dillon Gee had two very different starts so far this year. In his first start against the Padres, he picked up the loss even though he allowed only 1 ER over 6.1 innings of work. In his second start he allowed 7 ER and 10 hits in 3.0 innings vs the Phillies. Dillon Gee has never faced the Twins and the only batter who has faced him is Jamey Carroll who is 3-6 with a double.

The Mets batters look to build off of the 20 runs they have scored this series off of Kevin Correia. Kevin is 0-1 over two starts and 14.1 innings while allowing 5 ER (3.14 ERA) and 15 hits with 2 walks while striking out 3. Last season Correia went 12-11 with Pittsburgh posting a 4.21 ERA over 32 games and 28 starts. In one start against the Mets last year he took the loss after 4.1 innings allowing 7 hits and 6 ER. The Mets have the following numbers against Kevin:

Byrd 3-17
Wright 13-17, 3 2B, 3 HR (SERIOUSLY!)
Murphy 6-15
Buck 4-9, 2B, HR
Tejada 2-8
Turner 1-7, 2B
Davis 1-5, HR

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and Twins play the second game of their series this afternoon as the Mets look to win their third series of the year. Last night the Mets stormed into the Twin Cities by putting up a 16 spot on the scoreboard with a grand slam by John Buck. Yep, that is the forth game in a row where John Buck has hit a homer, putting up 19 RBI’s in his first 10 games as a Met. Anyway the Harvey show goes on the road today as he faces Scott Diamond in his 2013 debut.

Matt Harvey has been tremendous this season with a 2-0 record over 14 innings allowing only 1 ER and 19 strikeouts. One of the moments from his last start that really sticks out in my mind occurred after Harvey walked the first batter. He responded by striking out the side! As you probably can imagine, Harvey has never faced the Twins, nor has faced any batters in the Twins organization, so there are no statistics to report here.

Scott Diamond is making his first start of the season today. Last year he went 12-9 over 27 games he pitched 173.0 innings while posting a 3.54 ERA. In that stretch he walked 31 batters and struck out 91 while boasting a WHIP of 1.243. In 2011 he went 1-5 over 7 games while pitching 39.0 innings with a 5.08 ERA. Diamond has never faced the Mets but he has faced Colin Cowgill who is 3-3, all singles against Scott.

Let’s Go Mets!

From time to time this season, let’s check in on some former Mets and see how they are doing with their new clubs:

Josh Thole (AAA Buffalo): 5-13 (.385 BA), 2 R, 2B
Mike Nickeas (AAA Buffalo): 1-7
Fernando Martinez (Houston): 15 Day DL
Mike Pelfrey (Twins): 1-1, 2 G, 7.1 IP, 8 R, 6 ER, 7.36 ERA, 2 BB, 2 K
Jeff Francoer (Royals): 10-40 (.250 BA), 5 R, 3 2B, HR
RA Dickey (Blue Jays): 0-2, 2 G, 10.2 IP, 12 R, 10 ER, 8.44 ERA, 6 BB, 9K
Jason Bay (Mariners): 3-17 (.176 BA), 5 R, 2B, HR
John Maine (Marlins): 0-0, 2 G, 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4.50 ERA, 0 BB, 2 K

Anybody else you wan to see on this list? Let me know!