213 Miles From Shea

The Padres come to town tonight to start a 4 game set against and injured Mets team. The Mets lost more than just the game yesterday as two key pieces of the offense went down, and just about everyone on the field was playing a new position. Tonight the Mets look for one of the leaders on the team in Mike Pelfrey to help lead the Mets against Stauffer and the Padres.

On the season, Pelfrey is 6-9 with a 4.48 ERA. In his last two starts he has pitched 15.0 innings with a 2.40 ERA. He has not faced the Padres yet this season but last year in two starts he pitched 17.0 innings against them allowing only 2 ER for a 1.04 ERA. The Padres have the following numbers against Big Pelf:

Headley 4-12

Hudson 5-10, 2 2B

Venable 0-8

Gonzalez 2-7, 2B

The Mets batters will get a look at Stauffer tonight who is 7-8 this season with a 2.96 ERA. In his last two starts he has pitched 13.0 innings while allowing only three earned runs. It's been a long time since he has faced the Mets, back in 2009, where he pitched 5 innings while allowing only one earned run. The Mets have the following numbers on Tim:

Harris 0-3

Pagan 0-3

Wright 0-3

Let's Go Mets!

The past several days have been tough for Mets fans:

1) Davis was declared out for the season

2) Santana suffered a setback

3) Jose Reyes has a mild strain in his hamstring

4) Murphy is out of the season with and MCL tear

The most difficult part of all of this more me is Murphy. Murphy has had an incredible year that he now has to sit down from, and seeing the expression of pain on his face hurts. The only thing I hope for right now, besides a speedy a recovery of course is that he takes the same advice that the booth was “giving” Davis the other day about bringing the frustration into the offseason and next spring to come back angry and hungry.

It was just one of those days yesterday where it looked like that last piece of hope of making the playoffs was taken away. The positives left on the team is that they have overcome all season. When Wright went down. When Davis went down. When Reyes went down. When they started 5-13. When their closer was traded. When Beltran was traded. Now they have a few more things to overcome, and I just hope they can remain competitive and happy for the rest of the season. When they are happy, and they are playing happy, I feel happy as a fan.

That being said, when all is said and done for 2011, I think we will be talking a lot about Collins, and this fresh fighter mentality we have seen him give this team.

The Mets go for a series win today after finally snapping their 5 game losing streak last night. In the previous five games, the Mets offense disappeared but it came back with a roar last night as the Mets scored 11 runs, including 4 homers, 3 from unlikely sources (two from Turner, one from Thole) and 1 from a what should be a likely source (Bay). Today, Dillon Gee will take the mound against Mike Minor, who is being called up today.

Dillon Gee on the season is 10-3 with a 3.69 ERA. In his last three starts he has pitched 18.2 innings and has an ERA of 3.38. He has made three starts against the Braves this year where he is 2-0 over 16.2 innings of work allowing only one earned run (an ERA of 0.54!). The Braves have the following numbers on Dillon:

Gonzalez 4-9, 2 2B

Prado 2-9

Hinske 0-6

Uggla 2-8, 2B, 3B

Heyward 1-5

The Mets will get to face Mike Minor, a pitcher that could have been a Met if Sandy got what he wanted from the Atlanta organization for Beltran. On the season, Minor has made 6 starts over 33.1 innings of work with a 4.59 ERA. One of his really bad starts this year was against the Mets where he allowed 5 ER and 7 hits in 4.1 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers on Mike:

Bay 1-3

Murphy 0-2

Reyes 2-3, 3B

Turner 1-3, 2B

Let's Go Mets!

The Braves beat the Mets last night, and now have placed the Mets in an almost must win mode today as the Mets try to climb back to .500. Last night, Dickey gave the Mets every chance to win but the offense just couldn't get it done (plus the Braves showed some amazing defense). The Mets will try to get it done tonight behind Jon Niese who will go up against Tommy Hanson.

Jon Niese is 10-8 this season with a 3.94 ERA. His last start was one of his better in a while as he allowed only 2 ER over 5.1 innings of work while striking out 6. The not so nice part of that start was he still allowed 8 hits. He has been fairly effective against the Braves this season as he has pitched a combined 14 innings, allowing 4 ER (2.57 ER) with 11 strikeouts during that stretch. The Braves have the following numbers against Jon:

Uggla 6-19, 3 2B

Prado 4-17, 3 2B

Jones 4-11, 2 2B, HR

Gonzalez 3-11, 2B

Ross 5-11, 2B, 3B, HR

The Mets batters will get a look at Tommy Hanson who is 11-6 this season with a 3.20 ERA. In his last four starts he has pitched 23.1 innings with a 6.56 ERA. He made one start against the Mets this season where he pitched 5.0 innings allowing 3 ER while striking out 9 batters (out of a total of 15 outs, sounds likes the Mets). The Mets have the following numbers on Tommy:

Wright 1-16, 2B

Thole 5-14

Reyes 5-11, 2 2B

Harris 4-11

Murphy 2-3, 2B

Let's Go Mets!

The Mets donned their Los Mets Jerseys last night, and at last, they looked different. Whether you liked them or not, at least they were different. If you recall, in the past the Mets took their normal home uniforms and would post the word “Los” in tiny script on the upper corner by the “M” in “Mets”. Essentially, they added a patch to the uniform, and called it a different uniform.

Last night the Mets wore royal blue uniforms with orange script that read “Los Mets” across the chest.

Here's a photo of R.A. Dickey who wore the matching stirrups!

Good Job Mets!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, you can already buy these online. Actually, apparently they had a pre-order before the game even happened. (The website advertises three already made unis, including Reyes, Wright and….Santana? I really wonder how his jersey has been selling this season…)

The Mets start an important series tonight in Citi Field, if they want any chance of making the post season as they take on the Braves. The Mets are 8 games back in the Wild Card race, and essentially need a sweep here to re-enter the playoff picture. The Mets will be starting Dickey tonight who will be going up against Tim Hudson of the Braves.

Dickey is 5-9 on the season with a 3.77 ERA. In his last two starts he has pitched 12.2 innings allowing 5 ER which is an ERA of 3.55, slightly better than his season average. Against Atlanta this year he is 1-0 over 13.0 innings with a 3.47 ERA. The Braves have the following numbers on Robert Allen:

Hinske 3-20, 2 2B

Bourn 5-15, 3B

Uggla 0-15

Gonzalez 3-14

Prado 0-11

The Mets batters draw Hudson for the opener, who is 10-7 on the season with a 3.31 ERA. In the month of July, Hudson made 6 starts totaling 41.1 innings with an ERA of 2.83. Against the Mets this season, he is 0-2 pitching only 8 innings, allowing 7 earned runs, 8 overall. The Amazins have the following numbers against Tim:

Reyes 19-64, 4 2B, 2 HR

Wright 12-54, 2 HR

Bay 6-17, 2B, HR

Pagan 9-18, 2B, HR

Let's Go Mets!

(Note: This article was written on Monday night. I am in the middle of a move right now, so if anything happened, like a spot starter or something, this article will be out of date, and I apologize about that)

(Oh, in case you are wondering, my website, 213 Miles From Shea will now have an incredibly out of date title. It should now be 24 Miles From Citi Field)

Dillon Gee gets the nod for the Mets tonight as he takes his 10-3 record and 3.69 ERA back to Citi Field against the Marlins. He had a good start his last time out against the Nationals as he allowed 2 ER, 3 total in 6.2 innings in a winning effort picking up double digit wins for the season. He has made one start against the Marlins this year where he allowed 3 ER over 7 hits in 5 innings of work against the Marlins. The fish have the following numbers against Gee:

Infante 1-6

Morrison 1-3

Ramirez 1-2

Sanchez 0-2

The Mets will face Clay Hensley tonight for the third time in his last four starts on the season. Overall, he is 1-3 on the season in 32.0 innings with a 3.09 ERA. Since becoming a starter, he is 1-1 over 17.0 innings over 3 starts with a 2.65 ERA. Against the Mets this season (since he has been a starter) he has pitched 10.0 innings allowing 2 ER. The Mets have the following numbers against Clay:

Wright 4-17, 2B

Reyes 3-13, 2B

Bay 3-11, 2B, HR

Harris 3-5, 2B

Let's Go Mets!

The Mets have now dropped two games in a row after making a comeback in the ninth inning. On Sunday, Scott Hairston hit a solo shot to get the game into the bottom frame of the ninth and last night the Mets had a bottom of the ninth rally only to lose it in the tenth. Tonight the Mets will try to stop their three game slide against the Marlins as they play game two.

Capuano gets the start for the Mets tonight with his 9-10 record and a 4.51 ERA. It has been a bad last three starts for Chris as he has been 1-2 over 19.0 innings of work, allowing 14 ER which is an ERA of 6.63. He hasn't had much luck against the Marlins this season as he has pitched 14.1 innings against them allowing 9 ER. The Marlins have the following numbers against Capuano:

Ramirez 3-18

Cameron 4-12, 2 HR

Infante 3-10, 3B

Sanchez 5-9, 2 2B, HR

The Marlins starter, Brad Hand, will be making his seventh career major league start tonight.In his last start, he pitched 3.2 innings, allowing only one earned run and 3 hits, but walking 6 batters. So far in his young career he has pitched 29.2 innings with a 2.73 ERA. This will be his first career start against the Mets and he has not faced anyone on the Mets.

Let's Go Mets!

The Marlins come to town tonight to face the Mets, as they try to get back on the winning path. Yesterday, the Mets were able to get runners on base, but they weren't able to get them home as the only two runs in the game came on two solo shots by Scott Hairston. Tonight Pelfrey will get the start for the Amazins as he goes up against Javier Vazquez.

Pelfrey is coming off a critical start as he pitched a complete game allowing only 2 earned runs giving the pen a much needed rest. On the season he is 6-9 with a 4.55 ERA. He has pitched 17.1 innings against the Marlins this season allowing 10 ER. The Marlins have the following numbers against Big Pelf:

Ramirez 10-41, HR

Infante 13-23

Dobbs 7-20, 2B, HR

Sanchez 5-13, 2 2B, HR

The Mets will get a look at Javier Vazquez tonight who is 7-9 on the season with a 5.10 ERA. In the month of July he pitched 31.1 innings pitched with a 3.16 ERA. In one start against the Mets this year he allowed 4 earned runs, 7 runs total over 2.1 innings. The Mets have the following numbers on Javier:

Reyes 4-21, 2B, 3B

Bay 2-17

Wright 3-14, 2 2B, HR

Paulino 5-12, 2B

Murphy 2-8, 2B

Let's Go Mets!

The Mets try to get back on the winning path this afternoon against the Nationals and Jordan Zimmermann. Jon Niese will get the start for the Amazin's today with his 10-8 record and 3.97 ERA. The last two starts have been a struggle for Niese as he has allowed 10 ER in 11 innings of work. He has made one start against the Nationals this season, where he pitched 7 scoreless innings allowing 6 hits. The Nationals have the following numbers against Jon Niese:

Werth 4-11

Desmond 1-8, 2B

Gomes 3-7, HR

Morse 1-6, 2B

The Mets will get a look at Jordan Zimmermann today who is 6-9 on the season with a 3.27 ERA. Jordan has also struggled in his last two starts as he has pitched 11.2 innings allowing 12 ER. He has made two starts against the Mets this year where he has totaled 10.2 innings of work while allowing 7 ER. The Mets have the following numbers on Jordan:

Wright 2-13, 2B

Pagan 3-12

Reyes 3-11

Murphy 4-9, 2B, HR

Bay 3-6

Let's Go Mets!