213 Miles From Shea

The Mets and Cubs will play the second game this afternoon. In the last two games the Mets have done a few things that they have not done for a while.First, they won the opening game of a series. Second, they won back to back games, Third, they had back to back quality starts by a starting pitcher. And finally, they had back to back games with someone hitting a homer. Anyway the Mets try to win another one again today and really start to put a clamp down on any hopes of the Cubs making the playoffs as they send Figueroa to do battle with Harden.

Figueroa is 2-3 on the seaosn with a 4.50 ERA over 32.0 innings. In his last three games he is 1-1 over 14.1 innings and has a 2.51 ERA. His last start was against the Cubs where he got the victory over 7.0 innings of work, 6 hits, an earned run and two walks. Here are some Cubs stats against him:
     Ramierez 5-12, 2B, HR
     Fukudome 2-5
     Soto 0-4
     Theriot 1-4
Figueroa was really impressive in his last outing and he really hopes to have a similar outing today. Last time he was also able to get some run support (unlike Parnell last night) so he is hoping that in that respect he is like Stokes today and the Mets can hit up Harden for some runs.

Which would be tough to do. Harden is 8-8 on the season with a 4.19 ERA over 129.0 innings pitched and in his last three games he has pitched 18.0 innings to the tune of a 1.1 record and a 3.50 ERA. He faced the Mets in 2008 and went 6.0 innings, allowed 2 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 walks and 4 strikouts. Here are the Mets numbers against him and now you will see why he might be hard to hit today:
     Reed 3-9
     Francoeur 0-5
     Murphy 0-3
     Wright 0-0, 2BB
     Valdez 1-2
If you look at the Mets stats against Harden as a team, only Reed, Valdez and Sheff have any hits against Harden, everyone else is not with the team right now so the Mets are going to need everyone else to step up. Also, as of now (I can't check later, I'm writing this at 9 AM) it looks like Thole is starting today, so thats a plus because we still all want to see what he can do. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Cubs!

The Mets take on the Cubs tonight in what should be a very interesting matchup. For the Cubs, they send out their “ace” who has really struggled since being injured earlier this month. For the Mets, they send up Parnell who looks great at times but his lack of an effective off speed pitched has really shown in his last three starts. Both teams are hoping for much better games out of their pitchers tonight and batters for both teams are looking to make sure that doesn't happen.

For Parnell, he is 3-7 on the season with a 5.80 ERA over 66.2 innings. In his last three games he is 0-3 while giving up 22 ER over 12.2 innings of work. In his last start against Chicago, he allowed 8 ER over 4.2 innings. Its becoming clear that although he can bring the heat, and he has a slider, he needs something else to really help him develop from bullpen to rotation, and the Mets hope they can see that something else tonight. Here are some numbers that the Cubs have on Parnell:
     Lee 0-5
     Ramierez 2-4
     Fukudome 1-3
     Theriot 2-4
For Parnell to get the win tonight, he will need some help from this Mets offense, who usually fall silent in the first two games of a series, but tonight they get to go against Zambrano, and they hope to repeat what they did in his last start.

Zambrano is 7-6 this year with a 3.91 ERA over 131.1 innings pitched and he has struggled in his last two games where he is 0-2 over 7.2 innings and he has allowed 11 ER on 18 hits. Last time he faced the Mets he only lasted 3.1 innings allowed 11 hits, 3 ER and 4 R. He is very lucky that the reliever in the forth inning did a good job behind him, because he left the game with the bases loaded after allowing 5 consecutive base hits. Here are some numbers the Mets have on him:
     Castillo 8-15
     Francoeur 5-19. 2B, 2 HR
     Wright 3-15
     Pagan 2-3
     Murphy 1-4
Lets Go Mets! Beat the Cubs!

Here's a familiar story: The Mets will try to avoid the sweep today as they finish their set with the Rockies. They have been able to do this in the last two series, and here's hoping that it happens again this afternoon. Here's an unfamiliar story: The Mets will be trying out a prospect who has been turning heads this season at catcher. His name is Josh Thole. Today's pitching matchup will feature Misch vs Marquis.

Misch had a great outing last time out, but it was taken away from him by the Mets bullpen. On the season he is 0-1 over 29.0 innings with a 3.41 ERA and with the Mets this year he is 0-1 over 25.2 innings with a 2.45 ERA. In his last three games he is 0-1 over 11.1 innings and has a 2.38 ERA. Last year against the Rockies he was 0-1 over 11.2 innings and had a 5.56 ERA. Here are some Rockie stats against him:
    Atkins 4-7
    Helton 1-7
    Hawpe 2-5
    Barmes 1-3, HR
Looking for hope, the Mets are looking for Misch to have a good day and to share with the catcher Thole. The Mets would also be very happy if the offense kicks in today, and numbers suggest that might occur.

Marquis is 14-9 this season with a 3.60 ERA over 177.1 innings pitched and over his last three games he is 1-1 over 20.0 innings and has a 4.05 ERA. This season against the Mets he is 0-1 after throwing 6 innings, allowed 2 earned runs (three overall), a walk and three strikeouts. Here are some Mets stats against him:
     Castillo 10-27, 2B
     Wright 10-27, 2B, 2 HR
     Francoeur 2-10
     Murphy2-6, 2 2B
For the most part, the attention today will be on Thole just because its his first game and people want to see what he can do. Hopefully he and the Mets will get the win today and avoid the sweep. Lets Go Mets!

The Mets and Rockies play another game tonight as the Mets try to reverse their play from last night. Last night's game featured the return of David Wright, and his gigantic helmet, as he went 1-3 with a walk which is great. The Mets will try to revive their offense without Wright tonight who is supposed to get the night off, and to kick start their offense they will need to beat Jimenez who 12-10 this year with a 3.33 ERA over 181.1 innings. He has also been on a roll as of late with 2-1 record over his last three games with 23.0 innings pitched and a 2.35 ERA. Here are some Mets numbers against him:
     Francoeur 1-13, HR
     Castillo 2-5
     Pagan 0-4
     Murphy 1-3
Even if the Mets offense can string some runs together, it going to need some help from the mound to give them a chance to win, and the Mets will look to Tim Redding to help them with that.

Tim Redding is 2-4 this season with a 5.94 ERA over 83.1 innings. In his last three games he has a 1-0 record over 14.2 innings and a 3.68 ERA. Against the Rockies last year he pitched two games with a 1-1 record over 11.0 innings and allowed 8 ER (6.55 ERA). Here are some stats the Rox have on him:
     Atkins 3-15, 2B
     Hawpe 7-14, 2B, 2 HR
     Fogg 1-8
     Helton 1-7
     Barmes 3-8
Lets Go Mets!

After avoiding the sweep in Chicago, the Mets go out west to start a series with the Rockies tonight. The Rockies, although recently cooling off slightly, are in pursuit of the Dodgers in the NL West and would love to use the Mets as a stepping stone to get there. As much as I want to see the Rockies overtake teh Dodgers to get there, I would prefer to see the Mets win a few games right now starting with tonight's matchup of Pelfrey vs De La Rosa.

Remember a little over a week ago when Pelfrey's stats looked nearly identical to his opponent, Hamels? Well tonight is another similar night. Pelfrey is 9-9 on the season and De La Rosa is 12-9. Pelfrey has a 4.80 ERA this season and De La Rosa has a 4.72. Pelfrey has thrown 146.1 innings this year and De La Rosa has thrown 148.2. In Pelfrey's last three games he is 1-1 over 19.0 innings with a 4.26 ERA. De La Rosa in his last three games is 2-1 over 18.2 innings with a 4.34 ERA. Each pitcher picked up the win last time faced the other team going 6.1 innings (the difference being that Pelfrey allowed no runs against the Rockies as De La Rosa allowed 2 runs over that time). They both walked three in those outings and struck out 5. (I love when numbers are very similar).

Here are some Mets offense stats against De La Rosa:
     Castillo 2-7
     Sheff 1-9
     Francoeur 1-3
     Murphy 0-1
     Pagan 1-3
Here are some Rockies stats against Pelfrey:
      Hawpe 1-8
      Barmes 0-8
      Helton 4-5
      Tulowitzki 2-3
      Atkins 0-6

And finally, tonight's game features the return of David Wright to the Mets team after a much missed absense. Lets Go Mets!

The Mets will try to avoid the sweep this afternoon as they play their third straight day game at Wrigley (4th straight day game overall). They started this four game stretch trying to avoid the sweep from the Marlins which they were able to do, and now they will try to do it again today. Trying to lead the sweep will be Carlos Zambrano and he will duel with the Mets' Nelson Figueroa.

Figuroa is 1-3 on the season with a 5.40 ERA over 25.0 innings. In his last three games he is 0-3 over 8.1 innings with a 3.24 ERA. He played against the Cubs twice last season and pitched 6.0 innings, allowed 4 ER, walked 5 and struck out 4. He gets another chance to impress the Mets coaching staff today. Here are the Cubs stats against him:
    Lee 1-12, HR
    Ramirez 4-9, HR
    Fukudome 2-2
    Zambrano 1-4, 2B
Not a lot of Cubs have seen him (which has been a common trend for Mets starters vs the Cubs this week) and hopefully Figueroa will take advantage of that by mixing his pitches (more mixing later in the game) and keeping the Cubs off the bases. He will of course need and welcome any run support the Mets can give him.

The Mets draw Zambrano for the season finale. In his first start back this month he lasted 4.1 innings while allowing 7 hits, 8 ER, 3 BB and 4 K. (Hopefully the Mets will also be able to take advantage of this). On the season he is 7-5 with a 3.80 ERA over 128.0 innings pitched. Last season he pitched two games against the Mets where he was 1-0 over 11.2 innings of work and had a 4.63 ERA. Here are some Mets stats against him:
    Castillo 6-12, 7 BB
    Francoeur 4-17, 2B, 2 HR
    Sheff 3-8, 2B
    Sullivan 2-3
    Murphy 0-2
The Mets offense was clicking early in yesterday's game but as the Cubs piled on the runs the Mets started to shut off, hopefully the Mets offense will be on cylinders again today as they try to avoid the sweep, get the win, and score some runs. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Cubs!

The Mets play the second game of set against the Cubs this afternoon as they try to bounce back from their tough loss yesterday afternoon. In today's game, the Mets will be sending Parnell to the mound who is 3-6 on the year with a 5.08 ERA over 62.0 innings pitched. In his last three games he is 1-2 over 14 IP where he has given up 14 ER (which is mostly due to his last two starts). He faced the Cubs in 2008 for 3.0 innings where he allowed 1 ER, BB, and struck out 2. Here are some Cub stats against him:
     Lee 0-2
     Ramierez 0-1
     Soriano 0-1
     Theriot 1-1
Parnell has struggled in his last two starts but he has had a good season so far (and sadly the last two starts blew up his ERA) so hopefully he can rebound a bit today. He is a big reason why to watch the game today because with the mystery surrounding the roster next year he really could fit into any part of this pitching staff.

The Mets will face a player they have beat up on in the past today in the form of Dempster who 7-7 this season with a 4.07 ERA over 143.2 innings. In his last three games he is 1-2 over 21.0 innings and has a 4.29 ERA. In 2007 against the Mets he allowed 10 ER in only 2.1 innings giving him an 0-2 record that year. Here are the Mets stats against him:
     Sheff 6-18, 2B, 3B
     Tatis 2-13
     Francoeur 3-9, 2 2B
As you can see, the players that have beat up on him in the past are not with the team currently so lets hope that Dempster has a mental block against any player in a Mets uniform. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Cubs!

The Mets look to build off of the offense show yesterday by taking the first game from the Cubs today. For the Mets, Misch will get his first start of the season and first ever as a New York Met. So far this season he is 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA over 22.0 innings pitched and since he has joined the Mets he is 0-1 over 18.2 innings pitched and has a 2.89 ERA. In his last three games he has allowed 3 earned runs over 5.2 innings of work. Not many Cubs have seen him, and the one's he has faced have limited appearances against him:
     Baker 0-3
     Theriot 0-2
     Soriano 0-1
He looked ineffective two games ago against the Phils, but in his last game he was much more effective against the Phils, so hopefully he will be able to handle this Cubs lineup today. 

The Mets batters will be facing Ted Lilly today who is 9-8 on hte season with a 3.40 ERA over 135.0 innings pitched. In his last two games since returning, he has pitched 12.0 innings to the tune of an 0-2 record with a 1.50 ERA (tough luck right there, but worse luck can be found on the Mets). His last start against the Mets was in 2008 where he pitched 6.0 innings, got the win an allowed one earned run on 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. Here are some Mets stats against him:
     Castillo 4-12, 2B
     Francoeur 3-12
     Reed 2-4, 3B
     Pagan 1-3, 2B
     Sullivan 2-3
Hopefully the Mets can carry over their ability to hit from yesterday's 17 hit extravaganza and bring some hurtin into Chicago. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Cubs!

In a week that has already seen Santana go down on injury, Putz go down on injury, Wagner be traded, Perez go down on injury and the Yankees blocking the portion of the Wagner trade that helps the Mets, something else arises from depths and this time it links all the way back to Madoff. According to an author on the Madoff scandal, and also seen on Metsblog, there are rumors starting to surface that Wilpon will be forced to sell some high percentage of the share of the Mets in order to recoop his losses. Now this entire situation is very unsure but now other rumors are starting to pop up that Wilpon has quietly been shoping a 40% stake, so that he is still in control of the Mets franchise.

On the fan side of this, this could be bad or could be good. Wilpon bought the Mets in 1980 and was a big reason why they won in 1986 as he put together a good front office. We thought that he did this again in 2005 when he put together the Mets new front office and they were successful, but now they might not be and now the Mets from top to bottom have deleveloped this mental problem where they hold on to their gusy for too long. Whether that “guy” is a player or a manager, they just don't let them go and this could develop into a serious problem.

So when I first heard this story today my first thought was “great, another day, another problem with the Mets” but as I sat down and thought about it, I am not sure right now. Maybe this is a blessing in desguise. Maybe the Mets need a shake up from top down to just start over anew. Or maybe, we just need a distraction while everyone rehabs.

The Mets try to avoid the three game sweep this afternoon as they take on the Marlins in a 1:10 game down in Florida. The Mets will be sending Tim Redding to mound to make his second start since rejoining the rotation. He is 1-4 on the season with a 6.10 ERA over 76.2 innings and in his last three outings he is 0-0 over 9.0 innings and 6 ER. However in his last outing he went 5.0 innings and only allowed 1 hit, no runs, walked three and struck out 4, only to have the bullpen take away all of his work in the sixth. He has one game against the Marlins this year where he pitched 4.0 innings and allowed 7 ER (picking up the loss in that process). Here are some Marlin stats against Redding:
     Helms 6-23, 2 HR
     Ramierez 8-16, 3 2B, 3 HR
     Hermida 10-17, 4 2B, HR
     Uggla 1-13
     Ross 2-11
It would be great to see if Redding can build off of that last start and continue to have success out on the mound. Look for him to have a higher pitch count this game as he rebuilds his arm strength for long outings. And of course, it would be nice if the Mets could score some runs for Mr. Redding.

To do that they will need to tee off of Sanchez who is 2-4 on the season with a 4.97 ERA over 41.2 innings. His last start was his first game apparence since June and he got the win in 6.0 innings of work allowing one ER, 2 BB and striking out 7. He has pitched twice against the Mets this year with a 0-1 record over 11 IP and a 4.91 ERA. Here are some Mets stats against him:
    Schneider 2-17
    Francoeur 3-15
    Murphy 2-4, 3B
    Santos 1-3
Murphy had a nice night at the plate last night going 2-4  while picking up his 26th double of the season. Lets go Mets! Avoid the sweep! Fry the Fish!