213 Miles From Shea

In the month of July the Mets (on mets.com) have 5 promotion days planned featuring shows and giveaways. Sadly this month, I have only been able to find a picture for one of the giveaways, so we'll have to use our imagination for the others. Anyway the month starts off with a July 5th celebration against the Reds as the Mets have an Independence Day Pryotechnics Night. I'm not really sure what that means in terms of theme, but if they do this right it could really be awesome. (In other words, I'm not sure if this is just a fancy way to say there will be fireworks after the game or if it actually will be a celebration of pryotechnics, with demonstrations etc. I'm hoping for the latter because science, fire, and baseball makes a great combination.)

Anyway the next actual promotion will be on July 10th where the Mets will be giving the 25,000 fans Jose Reyes drawsting bookbags:

(mets.com)

This is the basic drawstring promotion, but they remain to failry popular (and they should be). I'm actually amazed how over time these backs start to look more like actual jerseys.

The next three giveaways we will have to take on faith because there are no photos for them (yet). First there is the Jason Bay bobblehead which will be given to the first 25,000 fans on July 11th. I really wish there was a photo of this. Anyay its really hard to mess up a bobblead giveaway so it will probably be a hit (hahahahaha). The next promotion will be on the 29th for the first 25,000 fans. This time the lucky fans will get an umbrella. I really can't make a review or an opinion about it though, without seeing it. Finally the last promotion will be the next day an will be a free shirt. My opinion of free shirts is the same as every other college student out there in the states which is we don't need to actually see it, its a free shirt so there for it is good.

Some quick hits to go with your Monday morning Diet Coke with Bacon*:

*This was an April Fools Press Release from 2006.

The Mets beat the Tigers by the score of 6-0 today at Citi Field, and before we get to the game itself I just wanted to throw some numbers at you. The Mets now have 11 shutouts on the year (tied with the Padres for the most), the Mets have now won 6 consecutive home series including the Yankees (2-1), Phillies (3-0), Marlins (3-0), Padres (2-1), Tigers (2-1) and the Twins (2-1). With the exception of the Marlins (maybe) those are all good ball clubs. Finally with the win today, the Mets have a shot of having the best interleague record. If the Rangers lose tonight, then they will drop to 13-5 and they will split the title, also if the Red Sox win then it will be a three way tie but the Mets had the best interleague record in the National League.

Anyway back to today. Today's story was pitching and power. Niese came out rebounded nicely from his last start (which has an asterisk by it anyway due to the rain) and recorded 6 shutout innings on his way to 4 wins in his first 5 starts since returning from the DL and the Mets have won all 5 of his starts. The bullpen that came in behind him threw some 0's on the board as Dessens pitched in and out of trouble, Feliciano made quick work of Twins and then Parnell came in, to finish the job.

The power was also there for the Mets this afternoon as Francoeur put the Mets on the board first with a two run homer. He was then followed by Wright who sent out his 14th of the year and 2 more RBI's (bringing him to 61) and then was directly followed by Ike Davis and his 9th of the year which was an absolute bomb. Also worth noting is Feliciano (Jesus) stroking 3 hits this afternoon. If you feel that Wright has been hitting a lot lately, he has, and his average is now an even .300 on the year.

Next up for the Mets is another road trip where they will face the bottom two teams of the division. They have a three game set starting tomorrow in Puerto Rico where the Marlins will be the home team and then they will have a four game set in Washington before returning home. Before June, a road series meant a loss of momentum, but the Mets have proved this month they can play on the road so lets keep the ball rolling in Puerto Rico. Lets Go Mets!

On this summer afternoon in Queens, the Mets and the Twins enter the rubber match of this three game set. On Friday, the Mets rallied behind Pelfrey to get the win while yesterday featured one bad inning by Santana and silent bats as the Mets took a loss. Today the Mets will try to support rookie Niese as the bats try to wake up against Scott Baker.

Jon Niese has been a nice surprise since coming off of the DL. His last start was a blip, and a lot of people (myself included) feelt hat he should not have come back after the rain delay. Anyway on the season he is 4-2 with a 4.17 ERA over 69.0 innings pitched. Since coming off of the DL he is 3-0 over four games with a 3.25 ERA as the Mets have won all of his starts since he came back. Common with his other starts against interleague teams, since he is young, he has not faced these opponents and has no batting records against any of the players in the lineup.

The Mets will get to wrestle with Scott Baker (6-6, 4.61 ERA) this afternoon at Citi. In the month of June, Baker is 1-2 over four starts and 25.1 innings pitched whle posting an ERA of 4.97. Baker has limited exposure to Mets players mainly Bay has gone 0-3, Wright 1-3, Reyes 1-3, and Cora 1-1. The key for the Mets today is to go back to what works. Getting Reyes on base, and bringing him home (in other words David Wright has to continue doing what he has been doing this month).

Lets Go Mets!

Some quick hits to go with your Sunday morning Bacon, Eggs, Cheddar Cheese, and Potatoes Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl:

The Mets put one in the books last night fighting through pesky Twins' hitters and capitalizing on defensive miscues. They look for another W today as that would mean taking another series from a strong AL Central ball club. The storyline which you have probably heard by now is this will be Johan's first start against his old club today as he looks to put his last start behind him and the Mets bats look to actually score some runs behind him.

Johan made one mistake in his last start, giving up a grandslam, which ended up being the only runs of the game. He has struggled of late, but overall on the season he has several streaks of just amazing play (his numbers are just held down basically by a handful of extraordinary poor innings). Anyway Johan is 5-4 with a 3.31 ERA on the season and in four starts in the month of June he is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA. There are only three batters on the roster that Santana has faced (Thome 6-31, 12 K; Hudson 4-16;  Young 3-6).

The Mets will deal with Pavano on other side of the rubber. Carl has had a pretty good season so far this year going 8-6 with a 3.64 ERA. He has been very effective in the month of June with a 3-1 record in as many starts recording a 2.90 ERA over 31.0 innings. He is coming off of one his best starts of the season where he pitched 9 innings and allowed one run. The Mets have put these numbers on Pavano over his career:

Lets Go Mets!

Some quick hits to go with your Saturday morning Frosted Mini-Wheats Big*:

*Seriously this is a real thing. The naming of this cereal is beyond me. If its a larger version of Frosted Mini-Wheats, then its just Frosted Wheat! The Mini gets canceled by the big!

The Twins come to down tonight as the Mets start a three game set against the team from the Twin Cities. The Twins are the number one team in the AL Central, although they are on slide right now as they have lost 3 in a row. A sub plot throughout the entire series will most likely not be on the field. These two teams are also the front-runners for Cliff Lee. Tonight's game will feature Big Pelf as he tries to get back on track as he takes on Kevin Slowey.

The Mets could use a Pelfrey start out of Pelfrey tonight to help take the opener of this series. On the season Pelfrey is 9-2 with a 2.69 ERA and in his 4 starts in the month of June he is 2-1 over 30 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.00 (mainly due to his last two starts). As common in most interleague games, Pelfrey has not faced the Twins in his career so the only batting history anyone has on Big Pelf is Hudson, who is 4-7. In his last two starts Pelfrey's fastball just hasn't had the movement it had earlier in the season. If he can get that movement back, that splitter becomes more effective and Pelfrey becomes the Pelfrey that has defined him as a rock in the rotation.

On the other side of the rubber is Kevin Slowey who is 7-4 on the season with a 4.58 ERA. He is 1-1 in the month of June pitching 20.1 innings with a 5.75 ERA. Like Pelfrey, his numbers from the start of the month are greatly different than his more recent starts. In the first two starts he pitched 14.0 innings while allowing an ER, and then in his last two starts he has pitched 6.1 innings while allowing 12 ER. There are only three Mets who have faced Kevin. Barajas is 1-6, Bay 1-3, and Franceour 2-3.

Lets Go Mets!

Here's to a player who has inspired Mets wins this year and Grizzly Bears everywhere, Robert Allen “R.A.” Dickey:

(via SBNation)

For as recognized for his unique pitching arsenal, Dickey has quickly become a fan favorite with an amazing story to his tenure with the Mets. One of the more recognizable aspects of Dickey's play is the face he makes as he throws the ball. Above he is smiling, other times he is yelling. If his above average (in terms of speed) knuckle doesn't make you buckle then maybe his face with fog you in a haze.

Uni Watch Blog has been on a mission to uncover the mystery of who created Mr. Met (the drawing). Part of the quest has led to a very old coloring book that has been uploaded online by Steven Presser. For fans like me who are a product of a later generation, our only introduction to this old style Mr. Met were the drawings on the old Shea ramp and exit signs. Anyway, the album, which can be found here, will keep your interest for a while. Here are some highlights:

Click on the link for more!