213 Miles From Shea

What a difference a few days make! The Mets were coming off the two worst series of the season so far as they dropped a series in Atlanta and then three of four to the Giants, the Mets fell to .500 for the season. The Mets then swept the Marlins, reestablished a cushion above .500 and are traveling with momentum on their side. It would have been easy for the Mets to fall back this week as they lost three players to the DL in an incredibly short period of time. Anyway, Chris Schwinden makes his first start of the season tonight against Drew Pomeranz.

Chris Schwinden made his major league debut last season where he pitched in 4 games over 21.0 innings pitched and an ERA of 4.71. He has pitched in four games so far this year in Buffalo with a 2-2 record over 22.0 innings of work and an ERA of 2.05 (which is a nice hot streak compared to his 3.89 ERA over 148.2 innings last year). As you can imagine, since this will be Chris’ fifth major league start, he has no major league record or statistics against the Rockies or anyone on the Rockies.

Drew Pomeranz gets the nod for the Rockies tonight. He has made two starts this season totaling 9.1 innings with an 0-1 record over 6.75 ERA. Last season Drew pitched 18.1 innings over 4 games with an ERA of 5.40. As you can imagine, just like Chris, Drew has never faced the Mets or any body on the Mets, so tonight’s game will be a game of mystery…for the hitters!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets go for the sweep today as they look to win their third straight game against the Marlins. The Mets squeaked by the Marlins in the first game of the series and last night, after a second pitching duel of the series, the Mets were able to break it open in the eighth with a little luck and some timely hitting. This afternoon Jon Niese will get the nod for the Mets as he takes on Ricky Nolasco.

Jon Niese gets the start for the Amazin’s today with his 2-0 record and 2.89 ERA over 3 starts and 18.2 innings in the 2012 season. This will be Niese’s first start against the fish this year. Last season he made only start against the Marlins as he allowed 2 earned runs and 4 hits over 7 innings of work. The Marlins have the following numbers against Niese:

Infante 3-18, 2 2B
Sanchez 3-14, 2B
Ramirez 3-11, 2B, HR
Morrison 3-7, 2B
Stanton 0-4

The Mets bats will get their first crack at Ricky Nolasco this year. In 2012, Nolasco is 2-0 over 3 starts with a 3.93 ERA over 18.1 innings. In 2011, Ricky had a 10-12 record over 206.0 innings with a 4.67 ERA. Last season he made two starts against the Mets where he pitched 13.2 innings with an 0-2 record while posting a 3.93 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Nolasco:

Wright 21-54, 5 2B, 4 HR
Murphy 6-17, 2 2B
Davis 2-11, 2 2B
Thole 2-8
Duda 0-6
Hairston 2-6, HR
Tejada 2-6, 3B

Let’s Go Mets!

With the season underway, and Type A and Type B signings done, MLB officially released the draft order for the 2012 draft:

First Round:

1. Houston Astros
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Kansas City Royals
6. Chicago Cubs
7. San Diego Padres
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
9. Miami Marlins
10. Colorado Rockies
11. Oakland Athletics
12. New York Mets
13. Chicago White Sox
14. Cincinnati Reds
15. Cleveland Indians
16. Washington Nationals
17. Toronto Blue Jays
18. Los Angels Dodgers
19. St. Louis Cardinals (From Angels/Pujols)
20. San Francisco Giants
21. Atlanta Braves
22. Toronto Blue Jays (From Unsigned/Beede)
23. St. Louis Cardinals
24. Boston Red Sox
25. Tampa Bay Rays
26. Arizona Diamondbacks
27. Milwaukee Brewers (From Detroit/Fielder)
28. Milwaukee Brewers
29. Texas Rangers
30. New York Yankees
31. Boston Red Sox (From Philly/Papelbon)

Compensation Round:

32. Minnesota Twins (Cuddyer)
33. San Diego Padres (Bell)
34. Oakland Athletics (Willingham)
35. New York Mets (Reyes)
36. St. Louis Cardinals (Pujols)
37. Boston Red Sox (Papelbon)
38.  Milwaukee Brewers (Fielder)
39. Texas Rangers (Wilson)
40. Philadelphia Phillies (Madson)
41. Houston Astros (Barnes)
42. Minnesota Twins (Kubel)
43. Chicago Cubs (Ramirez)
44. San Diego Padres (Harang)
45. Pittsburgh Pirates (Doumit)
46. Colorado Rockies (Ellis)
47. Oakland Athletics (De Jesus)
48. Chicago White Sox (Buehrle)
49. Cincinnati Reds (Hernandez)
50. Toronto Blue Jays (Francisco)
51. Los Angeles Dodgers (Barajas)
52. St. Louis Cardinals (Dotel)
53. Texas Rangers (Oliver)
54. Philadelphia Phillies (Ibanez)
55. San Diego Padres (Austin)
56. Chicago Cubs (Pena)
57. Cincinnati Reds (Cordero)
58. Toronto Blue Jays (Rauch)
59. St. Louis Cardinals (Jackson)
60. Toronto Blue Jays (Molina)

Second Round:

61. Houston Astros
62. Oakland Athletics (Willingham/MIN)
63. Minnesota Twins
64. Seattle Mariners
65. Baltimore Orioles
66. Kansas City Royals
67. Chicago Cubs
68. San Diego Padres
69. Pittsburgh Pirates
70. San Diego Padres (Bell/MIA)
71. New York Mets (Reyes/MIA)
72. Minnesota Twins (Cuddyer/COL)
73. Colorado Rockies
74. Oakland Athletics
75. New York Mets
76. Chicago White Sox
77. Philadelphia Phillies (Madson/CIN)
78. Cincinnati Reds
79. Cleveland Indians
80. Washington Nationals
81. Toronto Blue Jays
82. Los Angeles Dodgers
83. Texas Rangers (Willson / LAA)
84. San Francisco Giants
85. Atlanta Braves
86. St. Louis Cardinals
87. Boston Red Sox
88. Tampa Bay Rays
89. New York Yankees (Stafford / Unsigned)
90. Arizona Diamondbacks
91. Detroit Tigers
92. Milwaukee Brewers
93. Texas Rangers
94. New York Yankees
95. Philadelphia Phillies

When looking at the list, I was surprised to see the Mets getting compensation for Reyes at 71. I thought, for some odd reason, that the Mets wouldn’t get their compensation pick until the third round.

Anyway, this year the Mets will get four picks in the first 75 picks of the draft including the 12th, 35th, 71st and 75th. The Mets are in an interesting position right now as they have a slew of pitchers coming down the pipe. Last year in the draft they picked a mixture of high school and college players in the first round. In later previews, we will dive into who the Mets will be looking for.

The Cardinals will be retooling in this draft as they have 5 picks in the first round in the draft. The Blue Jays also have 5 picks, as they look to position themselves to climb with young talent.

Last night’s game was the game of too many story lines. First, Jose Reyes’s return to Queens. Then, the sidelining of Jason Bay. Followed by the sidelining of Mike Pelfrey. Once the game started the story line changed to Santana’s start and a pitching duel. Anyway, the Mets ended their two game slide yesterday after beating the fish by the score of 2-1, where both Mets runs came from unusual methods. Tonight R.A. Dickey makes the start against Mark Buehrle.

Dickey makes his forth start of the season tonight. The knuckleballer is 2-1 over 17.1 innings with a 5.71 ERA so far in the young season. The drastic change in his numbers comes from his last start in Atlanta where he allowed 8 ER in 4.0 innings. Last season he was fantastic against the Marlins going 3-0 in as many starts pitching 20.0 innings and not allowing any earned runs (1 run total). The Marlins have the following numbers against RA:

Infante 11-22, 2B, HR
Sanchez 5-15, 3 2B, HR
Ramirez 6-15, 3 2B
Morrison 2-11, 2B
Bonifacio 2-10

Tonight will be the first time the Mets face one of the new Marlin additions, Mark Buehrle. This season, Buehrle is 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA over 20.1 innings. Last season for the White Sox (a team the Mets haven’t played for about a decade), he was 13-9 with a 3.59 ERA over 205.1 innings of work. Since the Mets are almost entirely a home grown team now, you wouldn’t expect anyone to have any official AB’s against Mark and that is essentially true. The only player who has faced Mark is Jason Bay (4-17, 2B) who is on the DL.

Let’s Go Mets!

The newly minted Miami Marlins make their first season trip to Citi Field tonight as the Mets take on the Marlins for the first time this season. This of course means there is a lot of Jose Reyes talk that I will leave out of this Game Preview. Yesterday was a pretty rough day for the Mets as both starters struggled and the offense in both games struggled. The Mets will try to leave all of this behind them as Santana takes on Josh Johnson for game 1.

Santana will look to rebound from his last start tonight. So far on the season Johan is 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings. In his last start against the Braves, Santana labored through 1.1 innings allowing 6 runs, 4 earned. In 2010 he has made two starts with a record of 1-0 over 13.0 innings and 0.69 ERA. The Marlins have the following numbers against Santana:

Infante 8-39
Ramirez 3-21
Buck 4-17, 3B
Kearns 2-15, 2B
Sanchez 4-8, 2B
Reyes 1-4

The Mets bats will get a look at Marlins Ace Josh Johnson tonight who is 0-2 on the season with a 5.94 ERA over 16.2 innings of work. Last season against the Mets, Josh was 1-0 against the Mets in 2 games as he pitched 11.2 innings with a 2.31 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Josh:

Wright 6-29, 3B, HR
Murphy 5-17, 2 2B
Bay 5-12, 3B, HR
Davis 1-7
Thole 1-5, 2B
Tejada 0-1

Let’s Go Mets!

Well here it is, the obligatory Jose Reyes article.

Reyes, the player who dominated the off season headlines for the Mets, makes his return to Queens tonight.

Before you jump out at, “he dominated headlines” let me explain myself, because he did. There has been so much press on Jose Reyes, myself included, that you can break Reyes articles into a series of genres:

• Jose Left Us!
• Jose didn’t leave us, he was never offered a contract!
• Jose claims he didn’t feel the love from the Mets organization!
• Jose is the enemy!
• Jose is still a hero!
• Jose is overrated!
• Jose is just playing for the money!
• Nothing wrong with Jose playing for the money!
• Jose leaving the Mets is just like how he ended his batting championship crow!
• Jose is getting video tribute!
• Jose shouldn’t get a video tribute!
• Jose should get a video tribute.

There is nothing wrong with any of this. We have a strong connection with Reyes because he was with the team for so long. Seeing him on another team is rough and brings out knee jerk reactions, and then knee jerk reactions to those knee jerk reactions, and then knee jerk reactions about having knee jerk reactions to knee jerk reaction (probably where this article falls)

Welcome back to Queens Jose. I personally don’t harbor any negative feelings, and I understand why you made the move. If I was at the game tomorrow, I would give you a polite cheer, but quickly hate you for getting a hit. It’s our new relationship dynamic.

After yesterday’s rain out, the Mets and Giants will double dip this afternoon as they will play two games starting at 4:10. In the first game Batista will get the nod against Lincecum while in the second game Bumgarner will start against Gee. In case you forgot about Saturday’s game the Mets were about to end their three game skid in the top of the ninth when a dropped fly ball led to two Giants runners and tied game. The Mets would load the bases in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, it looked like the Mets grounded into a Double Play, Homeplate and First Base, but a throwing error to first base allowed the winning run to score.

Batista will get his first start of the season today. On the season he has pitched 5.0 innings with a 5.40 ERA. Last season he pitched 60.0 innings with a 3.60 ERA. His spot start helps the Mets out a lot as Johan gets an extra rest and Pelfrey gets pushed off of starting against the Marlins, a team he struggles against. The Giants have the following numbers against Miguel:

Huff 8-25, HR
Pagan 1-4, HR
Cabrera 2-2, 2 2B
Sandoval 0-2
Theriot 0-4

Tim Lincecum will get the start for the Giants today. In 2012 he is 0-2 over three starts and 13.2 innings of work with an ERA of 10.54. In all three starts this season he has allowed at least 5 ER. One has to think that this string of bad starts for Tim has to be coming to an end soon, and the Mets will try to make sure that is not today. Last year he was great against the Mets where he was 2-0 over 13.1 innings of work with a 0.69 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Tim:

Wright 2-17
Bay 2-10
Hairston 1-9
Davis 3-9
Murphy 3-8, 2 2B
Thole 2-5, 2B

Dillon Gee gets the nod in the night cap. So far this season Gee is 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA over 12.1 innings pitched in two starts. Gee didn’t start against the Giants in 2011 but he made two appearances where he shutout the Giants in 2.2 innings of work. The Giants have the following numbers against Dillon Gee:

Theriot 0-3
Posey 1-2
Huff 0-1
(Take Home Note: Not a lot of exposure to Gee)

Newly extended Bumgarner gets the start in the second game for the Giants and he is 2-1 this season with a 3.63 ERA over 17.1 innings of work. Madison made his start in the major leagues in 2009 and since then has never made a start against the Mets. The only two Mets that have seen him are Hairston (0-3) and Cedeno (1-3, 2B). So between Bumgarner and Gee, the night cap will be a game of mystery.

Let’s Go Mets!

We all know that David Wright is on the verge of breaking Strawberry’s Mets RBI Career record. Here is a list of the milestones that could be reached during this season:

Mets Career Records:
Wright Mets RBI Champion (733, 1 more to break)
Wright Sacrifice Flies Champion (58, 4 to tie)
Wright WAR Champion (37.7, 5.1 to tie) (Wright already has offensive WAR)
Wright #2 in AB’s (4453, 251 to tie Reyes)
Wright Mets Run Scored Champion (735, 31 to tie)
Wright Hits Champion (1418, 152 to tie, this one will be close this year)

Mets Player Career Milestones:
Wright 200 HR (15 to go)
Wright 300 2B (18 to go)
Wright 800 RBI (67 to go)
Bay 100 SB (12 to go)
Murphy 100 2B (20 to go)
Davis 100 R (3 to go)
Santana 2000 IP (80 to go)
Santana 2000 K (110 to go)
Pelfrey 1000 IP (104 to go)
Niese 500 IP (111 to go)
Niese 500 K (168 to go)
Dickey 50 W (7 to go)
Dickey 1000 IP (157 to go)
 

The Mets look to make it two in a row today as they take on the Giants for game three of a four game set. The first major obstacle for this game will be the weather. New York is supposed to be wet today. Very, very wet. Plus, it is supposed to be raining all day, getting worse as the day goes on. Anyway, in yesterday’s game the Mets were about to end their three game skid in the top of the ninth when a dropped fly ball led to two Giants runners and tied game. The Mets would load the bases in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, it looked like the Mets grounded into a Double Play, Homeplate and First Base, but a throwing error to first base allowed the winning run to score. Anyway, Dillon Gee will take on Tim Lincecum this afternoon (hopefully).

Dillon Gee gets the nod for the Mets today. So far this season Gee is 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA over 12.1 innings pitched in two starts. Gee didn’t start against the Giants in 2011 but he made two appearances where he shutout the Giants in 2.2 innings of work. The Giants have the following numbers against Dillon Gee:

Theriot 0-3
Posey 1-2
Huff 0-1
(Take Home Note: Not a lot of exposure to Gee)

Tim Lincecum will get the start for the Giants today. In 2012 he is 0-2 over three starts and 13.2 innings of work with an ERA of 10.54. In all three starts this season he has allowed at least 5 ER. One has to think that this string of bad starts for Tim has to be coming to an end soon, and the Mets will try to make sure that is not today. Last year he was great against the Mets where he was 2-0 over 13.1 innings of work with a 0.69 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Tim:

Wright 2-17
Bay 2-10
Hairston 1-9
Davis 3-9
Murphy 3-8, 2 2B
Thole 2-5, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

Time for our first check in on former Mets. With a high amount of team turnover in the last few seasons, there are former Mets all over the league. All of the stats are as of end of business Saturday:

Reyes: 14 H, 61 AB, .230 BA, 5 2B, 2 3B, 6 R, 4 SB, 2 RBI

Beltran: 17 H, 53 AB, .321 BA, 5 HR, 13 R, 3 SB, 8 RBI

K-Rod: 0-1, 5.14 ERA, 8 G, 1 GF, SV, 7.0 IP

Capuano: 1-0, 16.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 3 GS, 15 K, 1.313 WHIP

Pagan: 14 H, 60 AB, .233 BA, 3 2B, 3 3B, HR, 9 R, SB, 3 RBI

First, even with Tejada’s current “slump” he is still quite a bit ahead of Jose Reyes in production. Who would have thought of that? Beltran has also been killing it this year. Who would have thought that at this point in the season Beltran would have more stolen bases than Jose Reyes.

K-Rod, after being a really effective set-up man last year, has gotten off to a rocky start. Capuano has been effective, but not worth the price tag the Mets would have had to pay during the off season.

As for Pagan, he has played well against the Mets, but not so well over all on the season.