213 Miles From Shea

The Mets got a much needed win on Friday behind an average start by Perez but also behind some offense. After losing two straight, the Mets needed something to set them selves back on track and the best way to do that was to grind out one against the Phillies. Pelfrey wasn't fantastic but he got the job done. He went out for 5.1 and allowed 3 runs. What he needs to work on though is walks. He had 4 of them and had no strikeouts to go along with it. But on the side for Pelfrey, he actually helped out his own cause with a hit that led to two RBI's, and its always a nice bump when your pitcher comes in to help out.

Speaking about the offense, putting up 7 runs is a good job, including getting a crucial two runs in the fifth that made it seem like the Mets were going to put the game away. Part of the help was a nice two run homer from Murphy, his first jack since the first game of the season. Things just seemed to go the Mets way on Friday night which was topped off with a great save from Krod, for his fifth on the season with an ERA below 2 and 2 strikouts.

Hopes seemed high for the next game, which would feature Oliver Perez playing for his season.

John Maine will have to wait as today's game against the Phillies to see who takes the series has been postponed due to rain. No make up has been announced.

On the one hand, I am upset by this because the one thing I hate more than off days is unexpected off days due to rain but this might be very good for the team. Delgado gets more time with his hip and the bullpen can breathe for a little bit because after yesterday they deserve it (maybe even Sean Green deserves it too). This will also be a good time for Manuel and Minaya to concentrate on their rotation options or even just to clear their heads.

The Mets have to put yesterday's tough loss behind them as they still have a chance to take the series with a win in the Sunday afternoon game against the Phils. The important thing for the Mets to remember is that they did fight back, and they played well in the latter half of the game in a game that was pretty entertaining to watch. The Mets will be sending Maine who has not been spectacular this year and he is going to do battle with Joe Blanton.

Maine is 1-2 on the season with a 5.40 ERA over 21.2 IP, 12 BB and 15 K. Last season he was 1-0 against the Phils with a 3.38 ERA over 3 games and 18.2 IP. In 2007 he was 1-0 over the same amount of games, 19.2 IP and had a 2.29 ERA against the Phillies. Now as we saw yesterday, success won't trasnlate automatically into a good performance, but you have to feel that Maine is confident about this game. Here are some stats the Phillies have against Maine:
     Utley 7-22, 2 2B, HR
     Howard 5-23, 2 HR
     Rollins 4-25, 3 2B
     Victorino 6-19
     Dobbs 0-5
     Ibanez 0-3
If the Mets can keep the Phillies from late combacks then they can put away this series. In the first game they were able to keep them down. Yesterday they weren't. In other words, if Maine can go deep in the game, he can really help out this bullpen that basically pitched an entire game yesterday.

To get the Mets will need to score some rums. They will have to face Blanton who is 0-2 on the season with a 8.41 ERA over 4 games with 20.1 IP and 19 ER. Last year he faced the Mets once and allowed 8 hits and 5 ER over 6 IP. The Mets will need to score often on Blanton and not allow him to get into the groove. Here are some Mets stats against Blanton:
       Castillo 7-14
       Reyes 0-9
       Sheff 3-9, 2B, HR
       Wright 2-8, 2B
       Castro 2-3
One of the best things the Mets were able to do yesterday was hit two homers. Why? Well first of all it was some power that seem not to see often from this team but more importantly, nothing stops momentum like a couple of solo shots (look at the Raul Ibanez response which did the same thing to the Mets).  Lets Go Mets! Take This Series!

Santana cannot catch a break this year.

Santana pitched another above quality start and he didn't get the win, at least this time he did not get stuck with the loss. Santana pitched 7 innings allowed 2 runs (raising his ERA to 1.10, which is still incredible) and he struck out 7 during that time. He left the game with the lead and this is how the story is supposed to go this season. Santana gets the lead in through 7. Putz gets the old in the 8th. Krod gets the save in the 9th. Well you already know the ending of this story.

Putz blows the game in the 8th, gets the loss. Krod still pitches a good ninth. Like the previous game two problems here. The first is the pen gave up the lead and that sucks because that should be a loss. The next of course is the Mets offense. They lost the game 4-3 and they scored one run three times and the was the only offense. So the anemic offense once agan spells trouble for the Mets.

This game put the Mets in a bad poistion because they lost another series to the Marlins and then they were put three games below .500 which is a big hole in the sense that it was the last game of the month and you want to jump out of the gate at the start of the season and this loss closed the door and showed us that they really didnt do anything close to jumping out of the game. Here is hoping that May is much, much better.

Being a college student, this week has been a little stressful in terms of deadlines, so I fell behind in my game review articles for a second staight week. So as I am watching Perez pitch himself to the minors, I decided to catch up on some writing and catch up on opinions.

Tuesday was the first of two frustrating games for the Mets in a row as they lost to the Marlins 7-4. The reason this game was so frustrating was the Mets had an early lead and then failed to keep it as they ended up losing thanks to a four run seventh the Marlins bats were able to provide. Now there were two key problems for the Mets in this game. The first was the bullpen. Green wasn't able to keep the lead or keep the tie as he helped the Marlins just add runs on to the game.

As much as I would love to blame the bullpen, the real problem in this game was the Mets hitting again which again went through a freeze after the start of the game and could not get anyone home after the fifth (which was only one run and the Mets did their other scoring in the first and second inning). For the Mets, things would not get better in their next game.

The Mets take on the Phillies for the afternoon Fox game today as they try to make it two straight against Philly in Philly. The Mets got a much needed win last night as they stood behind Pelfrey got runs and even got runs in the fifth inning thanks to, I know this might come as a shock, thanks to a homerun (crazy). Alright, sarcasm aside this is a huge game for the Mets and not in the normal terms. This game might decide if the Mets force Perez to go down to the minors to get some work in and to get back into shape. Both pitchers going today have success against their opponents, but both have tendencies to fall apart, so this could be a very interesting game.

Perez is 1-2 on the season so far with a 9.31 ERA, 20 ER, 15 BB and 18 K. The Mets really need him to snap out of this slump and to start to pitch again (as he has had two bad starts in a row). Last year against the Phillies he was 1-0 over 4 games (thanks to the pen) as he pitched 26.0 IP with a 0.35 ERA with 11 BB and 29 K thanks to all of the Phillies lefties. Here are the numbers the Phillies have against Perez over their carears:
      Rollins 7-25, 2B, 2 HR
      Howard 2-22, HR, 14 K
      Werth 4-15
      Utley 3-16
      Feliz 1-17
      Ibanez 2-3, HR
Perez just needs confidence and something behind his fastball. Usually it is just a mental thing with Perez that he is thinking too much and not relying on his stuff but the concern is, and its a real concern, that he has only 88 on his fastball, what happened? If he can reach back and get that ability back then he can really destroy this lineup. The Mets will need to back him up.

The Mets will have to deal with Moyer today as they try to make it two straight against the Phils. This season he is 3-1 with a 5.09 ERA over 25.0 IP, 6 BB, 15 K. Against the Mets last year he was 2-1 with a 3.53 ERA, 6 G, 35.2 IP, 12 BB and 16 K. The Mets all have the ability to hit against him, but the trick is that they all need to do it at the same time against him:
      Delgado 31-81, 17 2B, 8 HR
      Beltran 11-54, 3 2B
      Reyes 11-38, 2 2B, 2 3B
      Wright 14-35, 4 2B, 2 HR
      Sheff 13-27, 2B, 4 HR
      Tatis 4-8, 2B, HR
This park is a hitters park and its time for the Mets to take advantage of it. Many of the batters today have nice power numbers against Moyer. They need to show that today while backing up Perez. Also, they need to show the league that they can hit the ball out of the park. Lets go Mets! Beat the Phils!

The Mets open a series at Philly tonight after a forgettable series with the Marlins. The Calender has officially flipped to May, and the Mets are three games below five hundred and will be playing the second place team in the division. The Mets need to find a spark or something to actually score runs deep into games and get their hitting and pitching on sync. Tonight they will face Chan Ho Park as we send up Pelfrey in, not a crucial game, but important to get our record and our game back on track.

Pelfrey has struggled for most of the season but he had a good outing his last time out where pitched 5.2 innings, 2 ER, 3 BB, K. On the season he is still 2-0 with a 6.32 ERA, 15.2 innings pitched, 9 BB and 6 K. Last season against the Phillies he went 1-1 over 3 games and had a 4.24 ERA. Here are the numbers the Phillies have put up against him over the years:
     Howard 2-9
     Utley 3-11, 2B, 2 HR
     Victorino 3-9
     Dobbs 4-8, HR
     Coste 1-6
     Werth 1-6
This lineup is a tough one but hopefully Pelfrey can prevail. If he can hold down the Phillies, their pen has been struggling, so he could sneak away with one, that of course is if the Mets can actually score some runs behind him.

Park has really struggled with the Phillies so far this season. He has no record over 4 games of work, 3 starts, has a 7.16 ERA over 16.1 IP, 5 BB and 10 K. In 2008 against the Mets he pitched 6.1 innings over two games (no starts) where he had a 1.42 ERA and 6 K. In his career against the Mets he is 5-3, 2.44 ERA and 73.2 ERA. Here are the numbers the Mets have against him:
     Beltran 4-14, HR
     Castillo 4-15
     Tatis 5-10, 2 HR
     Delgado 3-5, 2 2B, 2 BB
     Wright 2-5
You probably have heard this, and if you watch the game tonight you will here this, but I'll say it anyway. Tatis has hit two grandslams off of Park and they both were in the same inning. Thats right, Park was still in the game and the same inning the next time Tatis got up and he did it again (the only time that has ever happened in baseball). The key for the Mets tonight is to not stop scoring runs because the Phils pen is weak, and with that the Phils have still won games because they slug it out in the end. Lets go Mets! Use those Bats!

The Mets try again to take their second consecutive series as they face the Marlins for an early afternoon game. The game will be a rematch of a great game earlier in the season when Josh Johnson barely pitched better than Santana, who got the loss thanks to a dropped catch that led to two runs. Anyway, it should be a good one.

Santana has been amazing so far this season as he is 3-1 with a .70 ERA over 25.2 IP, 6 BB and 37 K (league leading). Last time against the Marlins he lasted 7 innings, walked one and then struck out 13. Last season he pitched 23.0 IP to the tune of a 3-0 record with a 1.96 ERA, 7 BB, and 24 K. Here are the stats the Marlins have against Santana:
     Cantu 5-23, 8 K
     Helms 2-14, 7 K
     Ramierez 2-15, 6K
     Uggla 1-17, HR, 10 K
     Hermida 4-10, 3 2B
     Bonifacio 0-8, 3K
Santana can handle this lineup, the test will be whether or not the Mets can handle Johnson.

Johsnon has been the ace of the Marlins staff this season going 2-0 over 4 games with a 2.20 ERA, 28.2 IP, 5 BB, 29 K. He has been incredible and last time against the Mets he threw a complete game and only allowed one run. Here are the Mets stats that they somehow got on Johnson:
     Beltran 2-15
     Delgado 1-15, 2B
     Reyes 3-13
     Wright 2-15
     Church 1-6, 2B
     Castillo 2-5
If the Mets can score some runs and support Johan, that should get the Mets the win, of course that is easier to say then to do against Johnson who is becomeing one of the premier pitchers in the game, and a great pitcher against the Mets.

The Mets take on the Marlins for game two of the series following a nice 7-1 win last night. The win last night makes the season record now tied between the Mets and the Marlins, and as we know from last year, the key to winning a division is beating your division, so the Mets hope to continue that plan tonight as they take on Ricky Nolasco behind Livan Hernandez. The other important part of this game tonight is that a win not only secures a second consecutive series win but also puts the Mets back at .500, where they want to be.

Livan Hernandez had a terrible outing his last time out and it really wrecked his stat line which is now 1-1, 7.31 ERA, 16 IP, 4 BB and 7 K on the season. His best outing so far on the season was his first which was against the Marlins, so the Mets look for him to strike again tonight. Last time he got the win in 6.2 innings of work allowing 2 ER, 3 BB, and striking out 4. In 2007, Hernandez was 2-0 against the Marlins with a 3.21 EERA over 14.0 IP, 2 BB and 5 K. Here are the numbers the Marlins have against him:
     Uggla 4-15, 3B, HR
     Helms 5-13, HR
     Hermida 4-13
     Cantu 0-6
     Gload 2-6
     Ross 2-6
The Marlins have now lost 7 straight, so their hitters are probably starting to feel the pressure and that could be a very good thing for Hernandez who is a very patient pitcher. His success agaisnt the Marlins of late has generally come from his ability to recongnize that they are young and impatient. If he can do the same thing to them again tonight, he should be able to quiet this offense again.

The Mets tonight are going to try to repeat Nolasco's last outing against the Mets. Earlier this season (also against Livan) he lasted only 5 innings while giving up 4 ER, 2 BB, and striking out 2. On the season he is now 1-2 with a 6.88 ERA over 4 games, 21.0 IP, 6 BB and 17 K. In 2008 against the Mets he went 1-2 over 6 games and 5 starts with a 3.48 ERA over 33.2 IP so he does have some success against the Mets and the Mets cannot sleep on him. Here are the numbers the Mets have against him:
     Reyes 13-29, 2B, 3B, 3HR
     Beltran 8-26, HR
     Wright 12-28, 3 2B, 3 HR
    Church 2-10, 2B, HR
    Murphy 4-11
    Castillo 6-9
The Mets have a lot of power numbers agianst Nolasco which is good because they are still doing a pretty poor job of knocking the ball out of the park (which is a direct correlation with the lack of big innings) as they have now hit 12 in 19 games. Reyes can really see the ball well off of Nolasco so look for a lot of table setting tonight. Tonight could be a good example of whether or not the Mets can actually hit with RISP. Lets Go Mets! Fry the Fish!

So that was my poor attempt at a pun but good win tonight. The Mets beat the Nationals tonight by the score of 7-1 thanks to a few things. First and foremost, John Maine. After two bad starts, he came out and started to throw, and throw well to the tune of 6 innings of work with no earned runs really dropping his ERA. What I was very proud about was how Maine handled the first batter of the game. He should have been out but Sheff dropped the ball and then the wheels could have fallen off but Maine worked out of it.

The offense in the next inning was very impressive. The Mets were agressive, going first to third on a few occasions. They kept the rally going and got it to the point where they got some pop hitting a grand slam. The only problem was the Mets then fell quiet until the 8th inning, but when you put up a six spot in one inning, it is a very good sign. The Mets now put themselves in a position to keep winning because they are building momentum (winners of 3 of 4) and the Marlins are now slipping out of control dropping 7 in a row.

Krod made it interesting in the ninth with walking two, but it felt so good to get that win tonight and it was a good win as well. Also props tonight to Wright who had a good 2-4 night with no strikeouts an RBI and then a triple in the 8th. Lets Go Mets!