213 Miles From Shea

Some quick hits to go with your Saturday morning Potato Pancake:

The Mets suffered through a tough loss last night as they lost the game 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth. They try to move past that tonight as Niese takes the mound to battle Atilano. The problem last night for the Mets (overall) was that the offense couldn't actually get the ralley going. Hopefully that won't happen tonight.

Niese (5-2, 3.84 ERA) has been great since returning from the DL. Since coming back from injury he is 4-0 over 5 games and 33.2 innings pitched with a 2.67 ERA. He has faced the Nats once this season and the results were not that good. He allowed 6 runs over 4.1 innings however the Mets were still able to pick up the win. The Nats have these numbers against Niese:

On the other side of the mound will be Atilano (6-4, 4.33 ERA). In his last four starts he has pitched 21.2 innings with a 1-2 record and a 4.57 ERA. He has already faced the Mets twice this season with two very different outings. The first time he picked up win in 5.1 innings of work and didn't allow a run. He then faced the Mets pitchign 4.1 innings and allowed 7 runs, 6 earned. The Mets have these numbers against him:

Lets Go Mets!

Originally I had another Met favorite lined up for this week, but after last weeks beating at the hands of the Twins by old Yankee Carl Pavano, well I had to sorta tip my hat. Seriously, rocking this stache takes a lot of courage:

It looks like a perfect stache for well, There Will Be Blood, right?

(via Slash Films)

Well as long as we are going along with this theory then we should probably make an adjustment to Carl Pavano:

Some quick hits to go with your Friday morning Toast with Grape Jam:

The Mets won a late, close one last night and they hope that starts another streak as they take the show into DC tonight. The Mets still have not faced Washington in a hot streak yet, so they have, in some forms, under performed against the Nats this year. The Nationals have now started to falter this season, and the Mets will need to take advantage of that. Tonight's game will feature Johan Santana vs Livan Hernandez.

This may in fact be a very important start for Santana tonight. The star pitcher of the Mets is now 5-5 with a 3.55 ERA and has really struggled of late. He also did not have a good outing last time against Nationals. Centuries ago at the start of the season, Santana made his second start against the Nats where he allowed 5 ER and 5 hits over 5 innings of work while walking three and striking out three. It's almost at the point now that its hard to remember that he had a great stretch of games earlier this season, but without the runs support he has nothing to show for it. Hopefully its the ace Santana that shows up tonight. Here are some numbers the Nationals have on Johan:

The Mets on the other side will get the mysterious Livan Hernandez who since his scorching hot start has begun his discent back to Earth. He is now 6-4 with a 3.10 ERA. He has a 2-1 record in his last four starts while pitching 25.2 innings with an ERA of 5.61. He has faced the Mets twice this year with a 1-0 record while allowing only 2 ER in 13.1 innings of work. The Mets have been able to put these numbers on Livan:

Lets Go Mets!

Let's see what the creative minds in the marketing department for the Mets Minor League Teams have going this month:

Buffalo: Sadly no photo for this one, but at the end of the month the Bisons will be giving away their road jersey (which, if it looks like the authentic one, says Buffalo like how the Mets Jerseys say New York). Other than that, they are giving away a hat, a shirt, and a pennant, no photos for any of them.

Binghamton: Beach Towel on the 2nd, which is the most interesting thing they are doing. Yawn.

St. Lucie: Like many teams across the states, they will be celebrating Christmas in surprise with a special giveaway, that they haven't disclosed. As long as this is not a Santa hat, this could be pretty good.

Savannah: Nothing to write home about

Brooklyn: This is the main event. Check out these amazing giveaways:

Items too big to picture here:
Double Backman Bobble
T-Shirt

There were also several promotions not pictured, like the Brooklyn Cyclones Snuggie. I think my favorite promotion was going to the Backman Jersey or bobblehead, but then that Jersey Shore based Jersey popped up (pictured directly above). I am a sucker for puns, so yeah, I can't believe that actually exists. Well done Brooklyn, well done.

Some quick hits to go with your Thursday Morning Nothing*:

*Because some days you just forget to eat Breakfast

The Mets had the ability to win last night but the initial bad outing was followed by an offense that clicked late but just couldn't climb out of the hole they were put in. Anyway the Mets go to avoid the second sweep on the road by the Marlins this year as they send out Pelfrey to play stopper. This is a role that Pelfrey has completed already this year and he will have to do it against Volstad.

Pelfrey picked up his 10th win of the season in his last time out as he got back on the right track. On the season he is 10-2 with a 2.79 ERA over 99.2 innings and in his last three games he is 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA. Strangely enough, although the Mets and the Marlins have played each other a lot this season, Pelfrey still hasn't seen them. Last year he was 0-1 in two games with a 4.05 ERA against the fish. The Marlins have these numbers against Big Pelf:

Volstad will be on the other side of the rubber tonight. On the season he is 4-7 with a 4.40 ERA. In his last four games he is 1-1 as he has pitched 21.2 innings with a 5.40 ERA. He also has not faced the Mets this season but he was 0-2 last year while pitching 11 innings and recording a 4.91 ERA. The Mets have these numbers on Volstad:

Lets Go Mets!

Just like the American League yesterday, there are a good amount of creative promotions in the month of July in the National League. The rules are the same like always, automatic shoutouts go to teams giving away Jerseys and pins, all other shoutouts have to be creative and cause the average fan to pause and think.

Philly: When I think of WB Mason, I think of that advertisement in the Bronx, but they also located in Philly and Boston. On July 11th the Phillies will be giving away toy trucks for the famous company:

Washington: I am surprised that the Nationals are allowed to give this away on the 3rd:

I'm surprised because it is an exact replica of the authentic one they where on the field. So you can go to the game and get this not fitted one for free compared to the actual one for $35. Strange, I guess.

Chicago NL: The Cubs continue their four part pin giveaway.

St. Louis: There are no words to describe this when you see it public, but I'm so glad they are making it a promotion:

LA Dodgers: They continue their action figure series. No really its a real thing. This month its Ethier:

 Bonus this month: Manny also has an action figure:

San Fran Giants: Rivalries are great. Promotions like a beach towell make them even better: