New York Yankees defeat the Tampa Bay Rays at neutral site in New York

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.  The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York and the final score was 5-1.  Citi Field wasn’t a typo, due to hurricane Irma the games were moved to a neutral site and that was the only one available that worked for everyone.  CC Sabathia started for the Yankees and he pitched well and so did the bullpen.  The Yankees offense only managed four hits but that was enough. 

Sabathia pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up six hits and a run with two walks and six strikeouts.  David Robertson won his eighth game of the season pitching 2 2/3 innings giving up a hit and he struck out four, Dellin Betances pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts and Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect inning. 

Jake Odorizzi pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up five runs and only one was earned.  He walked three and struck out five and lost his eighth game of the season.  Chaz Roe pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a walk and he struck out one, Andrew Kittredge pitched an inning with a strikeout and Ryne Stanek pitched an inning giving up a hit and he walked one and struck out one.  Chase Whitley pitched an inning with a walk and a strikeout and Sergio Romo pitched an inning with two strikeouts. 

Brett Gardner had a hit and drew a walk, Aaron Judge drew two walks and Gary Sanchez had a hit and drew a walk.  Didi Gregorius had an RBI and drew a walk, Jacoby Ellsbury drew a walk and Todd Frazier had a hit and three RBI.  Tyler Austin had a hit which was a double and T. Frazier hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Ellsbury had a stolen base and Gardner was caught stealing.  Sanchez had a passed ball. 

Kevin Kiermaier had a hit, Trevor Plouffe had a hit and Evan Longoria had a hit.  Lucas Duda drew a walk, Cesar Puello drew a walk and Wilson Ramos had a hit.  Adeiny Hechavarria had three hits and an RBI, Peter Bourjos had a hit and drew a walk and Hechavarria hit a double and a triple and the Rays were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.  Kiermaier was caught stealing and Plouffe and Ramos each committed an error. 

The two teams will play game two of three on Tuesday night. 

The New York Mets lose a suspended game 7-5 to the Atlanta Braves

The New York Mets were defeated by the Atlanta Braves by the score of 7-5 on Saturday evening. The game originally started on Friday night but was suspended in the eighth inning and had to be finished on Saturday evening. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jeremy Hefner started and wasn’t bad, the bullpen wasn’t very good and Daniel Murphy and David Wright led the offense. 
Hefner pitched six innings giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. LaTroy Hawkins pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, Scott Rice pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts and Sean Burke pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk and Brandon Lyon lost his second game of the season pitching an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout.

Murphy had three hits and an RBI, Rick Ankiel drew a walk and Wright had two hits. Lucas Duda had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Marlon Byrd had a hit and an RBI and John Buck had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk. Ike Davis had a hit, Ruben Tejada had a hit and Murphy hit a double and Buck hit a homerun. The Mets were 3-16 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Wright had a stolen base.

Kris Medlen pitched six innings giving up seven hits and three runs with a walk and nine strikeouts. Luis Avilan pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk, Cory Gearrin pitched to one batter and struck him out and Anthony Varvaro picked up his second win of the season pitching two innings giving up two hits and two runs with one being earned. He walked a batter and struck out four men on base and Craig Kimbrel pitched an inning giving up a hit and picked up his 15^th save of the season.

Jason Heyward drew two walks, Justin Upton drew two walks and Freddie Freeman had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk. Brian McCann had three hits, Dan Uggla had two hits, two RBI and drew a walk and Gattis had a hit and two RBI. B.J. Upton had an RBI, Ramiro Pena had two hits and Pena and McCann each hit a double. Freeman and Uggla each hit a homerun and the Braves were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Simmons and B.J. Upton each committed an error.

In the first Freeman hit a two run homerun to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Duda hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1 in the first. In the fourth Buck hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two. Byrd hit an RBI single in the fifth to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Uggla hit a solo homerun in the seventh to tie the game at three. Gattis hit a two run single in the eighth to give the Braves a 5-3 lead. Murphy hit an RBI single and a wild pitch scored another run in the eighth to tie the game at five. In the tenth Uggla hit an RBI single and Upton had a sacrifice bunt that scored a run to make it 7-5 which was the final score.

The Mets record fell to 17-28 and the Braves record improved to 29-18. The two teams will played their second game on Saturday night and will play the final of three games on Sunday night.

The New York Mets avoid last place with a 7-3 victory over the Miami Marlins

The New York Mets defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 7-3 on Friday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started and pitched well for the Mets and their bullpen held the lead. Scott Hairston led the Mets offense. Turner started for the Marlins and wasn’t great and their bullpen was ok. The Marlins offense was led by Solano. 
Niese pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up seven hits and three runs. He walked one and struck out seven and earned his 12^th win of the season. Bobby Parnell pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts. Jacob Turner lost his fourth game of the season pitching five innings giving up eight hits and six runs with three of them being earned. He walked one and struck out three. Dan Jennings pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Wade LeBlanc pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Carlos Zambrano pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Daniel Murphy had a hit and an RBI, Ike Davis had two hits and two RBI and Hairston had two hits and three RBI. Lucas Duda had a hit, Mike Baxter had two hits and drew a walk and Ruben Tejada had a hit. Josh Thole had a hit, Niese had a hit and Thole hit a double. Tejada hit a double and Hairston hit a triple and a homerun. Davis hit a homerun and the Mets were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Murphy had a stolen base and Baxter was caught stealing and Thole had a passed ball.

Gorkys Hernandez had a hit, Solano had two hits and two RBI and Jose Reyes had a hit and drew a walk. Austin Kearns had a hit and an RBI, Gil Velazquez had two hits and Donovan Solano hit a double. The Marlins were 2-6 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base. Reyes committed an error and Brantly had a passed ball.

In the first Davis hit an RBI single and Hairston hit a two run homerun to make it 3-0 Mets. In the second a wild pitch scored a run and Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. Solano hit an RBI single in the third to make the score 5-1. In the fifth Hairston hit an RBI triple to make it a 6-1 game. In the sixth Solano hit an RBI double and Kearns an RBI single to cut the lead to 6-3. The Mets would score the final run of the game in the seventh on a Davis solo homerun.

The Mets won the first of three games, the battle for last place. The Mets record improved to 67-83 and the Marlins record fell to 66-85.

The New York Mets are shutout at home by the Atlanta Braves

The New York Mets were defeated by the Atlanta Braves by the score of 3-0 on Friday night. The game took place at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Jon Niese started for the Mets and pitched well and their bullpen was pretty good. The Mets offense only managed five hits. Paul Maholm pitched well for the Braves and their bullpen pitched really well. The Braves offense was led by Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla. 
Niese pitched six innings giving up five hits and a run with a walk and two strikeouts. Niese lost his ninth game of the season. Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and an unearned run with a strikeout and Jenrry Mejia pitched two innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. Maholm won his 12^th game of the season pitching 5 1/3 innings giving up five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Chad Durbin struck out the only batter that he faced, Louis Avilan pitched to one batter and retired him and Jonny Venters pitched a perfect inning. Eric O’Flaherty pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out two and Craig Kimbrel saved his 35^th game of the season pitching an inning with a walk and two strikeouts.

Ronny Cedeno had a hit and drew a walk, Daniel Murphy had a hit and David Wright had a hit. Ike Davis drew two walks, Kelly Shoppach had a hit and Jason Bay drew a walk. Fred Lewis drew a walk, Niese had a hit and the Mets were 0-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Shoppach committed an error.

Michael Bourn had a hit and drew a walk, Reed Johnson had a hit and Heyward had two hits and an RBI. Uggla had two hits and an RBI, David Ross had an RBI and Maholm had a hit. Uggla hit a double and hit a homerun. Heyward hit a homerun and the Braves were 1-3 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Jones committed an error and Ross a passed ball.

Heyward hit a solo homerun in the fourth giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. In the seventh Ross hit a sacrifice fly to give the Braves a 2-0 lead and then the final run was scored in the ninth. Uggla hit a solo homerun to make it 3-0 Braves and that was the final score.

The Braves took the first game of three. The Mets record dropped to 65-73 and the Braves record improved to 79-60.

Mets lose to the Phillies and fail to sweep them

The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 9-4 on Sunday afternoon. The Phillies had lost eight games in a row coming into this one. The Mets swept a doubleheader from them on Saturday. Mike Pelfrey made the start and was awful and D.J. Carrasco came in to relieve him and was bad also. The rest of the bullpen did a good job. The offense was led by Jason Pridie and also saw Jose Reyes and Justin Turner have good days.
Pelfrey pitched three innings giving up nine hits and five runs. He walked one and struck out one. Pelfrey took the loss and he finished the season with a disappointing 7-13 record. Carrasco pitched one inning giving up four hits and four runs with a walk and two strikeouts. Dale Thayer pitched two innings giving up three hits and struck out two, Ryota Igarashi pitched one inning giving up one hit and one walk and Pedro Beato pitched one inning giving up a hit. Josh Stinson pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one batter.

Reyes had two hits, Ruben Tejada had a hit and Willie Harris had a walk. Nick Evans had a walk, Turner had two hits and an RBI and Mike Baxter had a walk. Ronny Paulino had a hit and two RBI, Pridie had three hits and a walk and Valentino Pascucci had a hit and an RBI. Turner had two doubles and Pridie had one. Pridie also had a triple and Paulino hit a homerun. The Mets were 2-15 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Baxter had an outfield assist.

In the first inning Hunter Pence hit a two run homerun to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Raul Ibanez hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0. In the second Chase Utley hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. Placido Polanco hit an RBI double in the third to extend the lead to 5-0 Phillies. In the fourth Pence hit an RBI single, Ryan Howard had an RBI single and Carlos Ruiz hit a two run single to make it 9-0. In the seventh Paulino hit a two run homerun and Pascucci hit an RBI single to make it 9-3. In the eighth Turner hit an RBI double to make it 9-4 and that would be the final score.

The Mets won two out of three from the Phillies in this series. The Phillies clinched over a week ago and lost eight in a row since then. They haven’t looked like they wanted to play until today. The Mets are continuing to go hard and are making manager Terry Collins look good. The Mets will finish the season with three home games against the Cincinnati Reds. The Mets will finish under 500 for the season. They stayed in it for so long this season but then feel apart at the end of the season. The Mets seem like they are headed in the right direction though and their fans should have something to look forward to next season.

The Mets get embarrassed as they are swept at home by the Nationals

The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals by the score of 10-1 on Thursday afternoon. It was an ugly day at Citi Field in more then one way. The temperature had a fall feel to it, there weren’t many people in attendance and the Mets looked awful. The Mets were so bad it led to a postgame tirade by their manager Terry Collins. Chris Schwinden started and pitched ok, the bullpen was a mixed bag and the offense was putrid.
Schwinden pitched five innings giving up four hits and two runs with only one being earned. He walked two and struck out three. He is now 0-2 on the season. D.J. Carrasco pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and one run, Daniel Herrera gave up a walk and Ryota Igarashi pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a walk and striking out one. Pedro Beato pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up four hits and three runs with a walk, Dale Thayer faced one batter and got him out and Manny Acosta pitched one inning giving up four hits and four runs with three of them being earned. He struck out one batter.

Ruben Tejada had two hits, Justin Turner had two walks and David Wright had a hit. Jason Bay had two hits and an RBI, Angel Pagan had a hit and two walks and Ronny Paulino had a hit and two walks. Lucas Duda had a walk. Tejada had a double and Bay had two doubles. The Mets were 0-11 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Pagan was caught stealing and picked off. Pascucci and Wright made errors.

In the fifth the Nationals broke through on the scoreboard. Rick Ankiel reached on an error by Pascucci at first base and a run scored. Ryan Zimmerman hit a sacrifice fly making it 2-0 Nationals. In the sixth Bay hit an RBI double to make it a 2-1 game. In the seventh a balk scored another run for the Nationals making it a 3-1 game. Ian Desmond hit an RBI single, Jonny Gomes grounded into a force out and a run scored and Zimmerman had an RBI double making it 6-1 Nationals all in the eighth inning. In the ninth Chris Marrero hit a sacrifice fly, Wilson Ramos had an RBI single and Desmond had a two run double making it 10-1 and that would be the final score of the game.

The Mets got swept in four games to the Nationals. Terry Collins after the game said he will not accept not playing the right way no matter the situation. He said that he felt his team gave up and he put all the blame on himself, he said he will take the blame away from everyone else and this will not continue in the last two weeks. The Mets played so hard and pretty well for most of the season only to collapse at the end here. They have been once again destroyed by injuries and it does seem that in the last couple of weeks their hope has been gone and they have kind of gone through the motions. The same fight everyone loved about this team has been sapped away. It is a shame but they are headed in the right direction and Collins will have them playing hard the rest of the way otherwise they won’t be playing at all. The Nationals took over third place and dropped the Mets to fourth place in the NL East.

Yankees defeat the Mets once again

The Yankees defeated the Mets 5-2 on Saturday evening.  They won their seventh straight game and another interleague series.  The Yankees won every interleague series this year and are 13-4 in interleague with one last game tomorrow at the Mets.  The Yankees are 50-31 at exactly the halfway point of the season.  The team is on pace for 100 wins and they are 1-8 against the Red Sox.  They have been amazing against everyone else.  Here are some news and notes from postgame on Saturday.

Colon has a breaking ball and a changeup, but it’s that fastball that makes him so good. It’s the reason he gets so many strikeouts looking. He’s now thrown 13 consecutive scoreless innings, a stretch of dominance that extended to both sides of a DL stint.  Colon may be the MVP of this Yankees team. 

 Derek Jeter is finished in Trenton. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. He started one double play and had to make at least one impressive, spinning play.  He came through the game fine and will play nine innings tomorrow before rejoining the Yankees on Monday in Cleveland.  It is ironic it is there, he started his first game there and that is where George Steinbrenner is from and it will be the Fourth Of July which would of been the Boss birthday. 

 Speaking of shortstops, you know all about Eduardo Nunez’s 7-for-8 the past two days. It turns out, his only out was caught by an old friend of his. Nunez has known Mets second baseman Justin Turner for a few years now, and in the sixth inning, Turner made a terrific play to rob Nunez on a line drive headed for the gap. “He told me, you can’t be 7-for-7,” Nunez said. “He’s my friend.”

Girardi said he had some advance notice that Colon might be this good. “They said he was really sharp on Monday,” Girardi said. “His velocity was good and the movement was good. He’s kind of surprised us all year long in a sense. We weren’t sure what we were going ot get out of him in spring training, and he just continued to pitch well and he did today.”

A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova are still scheduled to start the Cleveland series. “They’re still the probables,” Girardi said.  This could change of course but that is it for right now.
 By the way, Girardi said he’s not positive he’ll have an announcement about Phil Hughes tomorrow. That seems a little crazy since he’s on turn to start Monday, but that’s what Girardi said.  It is a very tough choice but you know that CC, A.J. and Colon must stay in the rotation, Garcia isn't suited for the bullpen and Nova has eight wins and has been pitching better over his last four starts.  Nova is the likely guy to go down but is that really fair to him.  I would think that will happen rather then a six man rotation because they don't want to mess around with CC and A.J. 

For the second day in a row, the Yankees and Mets drew the largest ever crowd at Citi Field. They had 42,042 today. They had 42,020 last night.  The Yankees seem to have gotten a lot of those this year, largest at Wrigley, I believe in Cincinatti and now at Citi Field. 

 The Yankees are now 24-4 in day games. That’s an .857 winning percentage. They’re also on track for exactly 100 wins with a 50-31 record midway through the season.  It is hard to imagine with them being 1-8 against the Red Sox and they are still 2 1/2 games ahead of them for first place in the AL East. 

 Two more scoreless innings from Cory Wade. The Yankees really seem to have found something there. Russell Martin caught Wade when he had a 0.925 WHIP out of the Dodgers bullpen in 2008. “He looks like he’s even sharper now,” Martin said.  Wade has been a revelation much like Colon.  The Yankees have done well this year with the scrap heap pickups. 

Sergio Mitre made his season debut with the Yankees and gave up two runs in the ninth.  He is viewed as a long man but he has to produce, if not they could call someone up. Dominant pitching performances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tonight, as well. D.J. Mitchell pitched seven shutout innings in the first game of a double header, then George Kontos spot-started the second game and went four scoreless with no walks and five strikeouts. Keep an eye on both of them. Those would be legitimate long relief options if Mitre continues to struggle.

Yankees take Game One of the Subway Series at Citi

The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets by the score of 5-1 on Friday night. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and battled for five innings. He was in trouble pretty much all night but he only gave up a run. The Yankees bullpen did a really nice job. The Yankees offense jumped out early and that was all they would need. Jon Niese wasn’t horrible but he got hit hard early and couldn’t recover from them. The Mets offense was shut down tonight, they had been rolling on their recent road trip.
Nova pitched five innings giving up one run on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three. Nova improved his record to 8-4 with a 4.12 ERA. It was said that he could pitch his way out of the rotation with this game because of Hughes coming back soon. The Yankees have a decision to make now but are still not sure what they will do, they could go to a six man rotation. Luis Ayala walked one and struck out one in 2/3 of an inning, Cory Wade gave up a hit and a walk in one inning and Boone Logan struck out the only batter he faced. Dave Robertson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Hector Noesi gave up a hit in 1/3 of an inning. Noesi has pitched well out of the bullpen but he will head back to AAA Scranton on Saturday when Bartolo Colon is activated. Mariano Rivera gave up a hit in 2/3 of an inning.

Niese pitched six innings for the Mets and gave up three runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out seven. He had a rough first inning and then settled down. Pedro Beato pitched one inning giving up an unearned run. He walked one and struck out two, Tim Byrdak got out the only batter that he faced and Bobby Parnell pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and striking out one. D.J. Carrasco pitched one inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks. Niese saw his record drop to 7-7 on the season.

Nick Swisher had a hit for the Yankees, Curtis Granderson had a hit and a walk and Mark Teixeira had a hit, two RBI and two walks. Alex Rodriguez had two hits and an RBI, Robinson Cano had two hits an RBI and a walk and Russell Martin had a walk. Eduardo Nunez had four hits and an RBI, it was his first four hit game of his career. Nunez has done a good job defensively and gotten better defensively but he needs to tighten up his defense. Derek Jeter is expected back on Monday and Nunez will go back to the bench. Teixeira, Cano, Rodriguez and Nunez all had a double. The Yankees were 4-19 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 men on base.

Jose Reyes had two hits, Justin Turner had three and Carlos Beltran had a hit and two walks. Daniel Murphy had a walk, Jason Bay had a hit and a walk and Ronny Paulino had a hit. Ruben Tejada had a hit and an RBI and Josh Thole had a hit. The Mets were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

In the first inning the Yankees jumped on the Mets for a 3-0 lead. Teixeira had a two run double and Cano had an RBI double. In the second inning Tejada had an RBI single for the Mets to make it 3-1. Nunez had an RBI single in the eighth to make it 4-1 and in the ninth Rodriguez had an RBI double to complete the scoring at 5-1. Rodriguez hit a shot that would have been out of just about any other ballpark. Citi Field is huge and that is why Mets players have had problems with it.

The Yankees won the first of three in this series. The two teams will play on Saturday afternoon at 4:00PM. It will be Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee in the pitching matchup. The Mets dropped back to 500 and the Yankees are a season best 18 games over 500. The Yankees are 12-4 in interleague play which is the best mark in the majors. The Yankees remain 2 ½ games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Boston won in Houston on Friday night.

Mets vs. Braves Pregame with the Mets Lineup

The Mets begin a three game series with the Atlanta Braves tonight at Citi Field.  Here are some notes, with Ike Davis comments and the Mets lineup.  The game is at 7:05PM.

Ike Davis spoke to reporters this afternoon at Citi Field, about his ankle and his recovery, basically saying the following:

He knew the sprain wasn’t bad, but the bone bruise is in the ankle, and it has been slow to heal.

The ankle got worse when he ran, and so they decided to shut him down.

He is in New York for a couple of days, and will head back to Port St. Lucie to continue his rehab.

He is trying to take time off from hitting to see if gets better faster.  It does seem strange that he would be out for so long with this injury but you can't get into his body to see how he really feels.

There is no timetable for his return, I don't expect him back anytime soon.

In addition, Terry Collins spoke with reporters, and basically said:

David Wright had an appointment with doctors, and he doesn’t have the results yet.  The appointment was at 3:30 so maybe before the game but I would expect to hear in the postgame.

The Braves have a complete pitching staff, and they are all tough pitchers.

He likes that Manny Acosta has been throwing strikes with high velocity in the minors and he feels Mike O’Connor needs to get his command back.  He thinks that Ruben Tejada will be a very good major leaguer.

Tonight’s lineup is:

1. Jose Reyes SS

2. Justin Turner 3B

3. Carlos Beltran RF

4. Jason Bay LF

5. Daniel Murphy 1B

6. Angel Pagan CF

7. Josh Thole C

8. Ruben Tejada 2B

9. Jon Niese LHP

Mets Vs. Astros

The New York Mets will take on the Houston Astros tonight at Citi Field.  It is cold and rainy but they should be able to get the game in tonight.  The Mets today decided they had enough with the Brad Emaus experiment at second base and it looks like they will just return him to Toronto.  He was acquired in the Rule V Draft from them.  They will platoon Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner there for now.  Here is the lineup for the Mets. 

It will be Jon Niese vs. Wandy Rodriguez. 

Mets Lineup:Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Davis, Pagan, Hairston, Turners, Niese. 

Hairston is a 545 lifetime hitter against Rodriguez with two homers and three RBI. 

The game will be at 7:05PM on SNY.  The Mets need to win these two series against the Astros and Diamondbacks who aren't good teams.  I know the Mets don't look like they are either right now but they need to get closer to being that by beating these teams at home. 

Mets lose doubleheader

The New York Mets season is quickly spiraling out of control.  They lost both games of a doubleheader yesterday and got swept in the four game series against the Colorado Rockies at home.  The Mets finished their homestand at 1-6.  The Mets will head to Atlanta for three games starting tonight before returning home.  The Mets record is not 4-9 on the season and they need to get it turned around quick. 

The Mets are in almost every game and the first game they came within one hit of winning that game but they couldn't get it done in the ninth inning with David Wright up and two men on.  The Mets also haven't gotten Jason Bay back which is a problem, he should be back in a couple of weeks but who knows with that.  Carlos Beltran has looked pretty good and the offense has been scoring runs but the pitching isn't there.  the Mets have Mike Pelfrey as their number one pitcher but he isn't even pitching like a number four pitcher.  R.A. Dickey has had a couple of rough starts in a row and Jon Niese is a young up and down kind of pitcher.  The Mets have Chris Young and Capuano but you don't know how long they will last or what you will get out of them.  Young has been terrific but he already got pushed back a couple of days with biceps tendenitis. 

The Mets need a good series in Atlanta and get some confidence back and then go win some games at home.  If this keeps up there will be no one at Citi Field come June or July and that will not only look bad but continue to hurt their purse and could force the owners to sell.  They may get minority owners in but that still remains to be seen. 

Regular Season Game 14-Cubs at Mets

The New York Mets will try and win 2 games in a row for the first time this season when they host the Chicago Cubs this evening at 7:10PM. Mike Pelfrey is making the start against Carlos Zambrano. Here are some of the notes and the lineup for tonights game. Mike Pelfrey recorded his first save of his career on April 17th in the 20th inning when he recorded a scoreless inning. The Mets pitching staff has the 3rd lowest era in the NL and 7th in the majors at 3.50. They have a 1.19 era over their last 31 innings pitched. Jason Bay will e presented with the 2009 Tip O'Neill Award handed out by the Canadien Baseball Hall Of Fame and Museum before tonights game. He had a good day yesterday and will look to continue that and end his rough start. Mets Lineup: Reyes(SS) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Davis(1B) Pagan(CF) Blanco(C) Pelfrey(P)

Mets L"IKE" what they see

The Mets got the boost they were hoping for with Ike Davis making his debut this evening. They defeated the Chicago Cubs by the score of 6-1. Rookie Jon Niese got the start and pitched well going 5 2/3 innings giving up 8 hits and 1 unearned run. He did walk 3 batters but struck out 7. Fernando Nieve got the win pitching 1 1/3 innings and giving up 1 hit. Jenrry Mejia pitched 2 hitless and scoreless innings giving up 2 walks, he did strike out 2 batters. Ike Davis had 2 hits including a rbi single. Angel Pagan had the big blow a 2 run homerun in the7th inning to break the tie and give the Mets the lead they wouldn't relinquish. Jason Bay had a couple of hits including a rbi double. David Wright had a hit and another walk to add to his major league lead in that category. The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey to the hill tomorrow against Carlos Zambrano in game 2 of the series. Ike Davis got a face full of shaving cream in the dugout. He said it is easier to blend in with the team since he knows them from spring training and that it is a good group of guys and they all welcome him.

Regular Season Game 13-Cubs at Mets

The New York Mets return home tonight to take on the Chicago Cubs. They will try to win their first series of the year. Here are some of the notes and lineups for tonights game. Ike Davis the Mets big time first base prospect has been called up and Tobi Stoner was sent down to AAA Buffalo. The Mets have lost their first 4 series to start the year. The last time they failed to win one of their first four series was in 1997. They had 2 longer streaks losing their first 6 series in 1962 and their first 7 in 1964. That was when they first came into being though. The Mets are one of only two teams that have yet to allow an unearned run. The other team is the Minnesota Twins. The Mets have 9 homers in their first 12 games ranking 23rd in the majors in that category. The only teams with fewer are Detroit, Washington, Oakland, Seattle and Houston. David Wright leads the majors in walks this season with 17, he also has 10 hits being one of 11 players to have double digits in both categories. He is the only one with more walks then hits. The Mets bullpen leads the national league and is second in the majors in era. They have a 2.34 era. 27 french high school students will be attending the game tonight. They are grounded in NY due to the volcanic eruption in iceland and can't get back home. They are staying at the Laguardia Marriot and are guests of the Mets tonight. Mets catchers have thrown out 3 of 6 base stealers which is tied for best in the majors. Mets Lineup: Pagan(CF) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Davis(1B) Barajas(C) Cora(SS) Niese(P)

Regular Season Game 9-Mets at Rockies

The New York Mets will try and salvage a game in Colorado this afternoon. Mike Pelfrey will be making the start. Here is the Mets lineup for todays game. Mets Lineup: Reyes(SS) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Tatis(1B) Blanco(C) Pagan(CF) Pelfrey(P) Jorge De La Rosa is the starting pitcher for the Rockies. Today is the 63rd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and making his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In honor everyone in baseball today will wear #42. The Mets lost their 3rd straight series which was the first time since 1997. Jeff Francoeur has collected at least one hit in the first 8 games. The Mets are 4th in the NL with 36 walks. They have also given up 36 walks which is 4th most in the NL. The Mets bullpen has been a bright spot so far with the 2nd best era in the majors. They have a 2.08 era. Their starters though have a 6.91 era which is 28th out of the 30 teams. They need starting pitching and that will be their downfall all year if they don't find pitching or someone they haven't doesn't step it up. David Wright is 6 hits away from tying Howard Johnson for 8th on the Mets all time hits list. He is 2 doubles shy of tying Edward Kranepool for the team record with 225.

Johan Santana and Mets roll to Victory

The New York Mets got off to a great start with a convincing 7-1 victory today at Citi Field. Johan Santana was his usual self pitching 6 innings and allowing a run on 4 hits. He walked 2 and struck out 5. He was in a tight battle until the Mets opened up the game in the 6th inning with 4 runs, helped out by 3 Marlins errors. The Mets bullpen pitched 3 scoreless innings in support of Santana. Fernando Nieve pitched 2 innings giving up 2 hits and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect 9th inning. Jason Bay, Rod Barajas and Gary Matthews Jr. each had 2 hits a piece. The newcomers really got into the action right away and had a big impact. It was a beautiful day and the Mets really made some improvements on the stadium incorportating their past. Darryl Strawberry threw out the first pitch which was a great thing by the Mets. I was a good day all the way around. The link to my article is below, the Mets and Marlins will continue their series on Wednesday. http://worldnewsvine.com/2010/04/santana-and-mets-roll-on-opening-day/

Welcome to Opening Day

The New York Mets begin their 2010 season at 1:00PM today at home against the Florida Marlins. Baseball is back and what can be better then that. The ace of the staff Johan Santana will take the mound going up against Josh Johnson. Here are the pregame notes I have from the Mets media notes. The Mets are set to open up their 49th season in the National League. They are 31-17 on Opening Day. This is the best winning percentage in baseball on opening day. Johan Santana will make his 5th opening day start and 3rd straight with the Mets. He is 3-1 with a 4.07 era on opening day and won his last 2 with the Mets. The Mets have never opened the season at home against Florida. They have played them twice in Florida to start the season in 1999 and 2008. This is the first time the Mets have opened at home since 2006 and 25th time overall they have opened at home. They are 17-7 in those openers, they are also 17-2 in their last 19 opening days at home. The pregame ceremonies will include renaming the brige beyond the right-centerfield wall Shea bridge. The 4 troops will do the national anthem and God Bless America and Darryl Strawberry will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Mets Lineup: Cora(SS) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Jacobs(1B) Bay(LF) Matthews(CF) Francoeur(RF) Barajas(C) Santana(P)

Grapefruit League Game 31-Mets at Orioles

The New York Mets will play their final exhibition game this afternoon in Sarasota against the Orioles. The game is at 1:05PM and will be on WFAN radio in New York. The Mets will head home and have a workout tomorrow at Citi Field in advance of Mondays Opener against the Florida Marlins. Jon Niese will get the start today and also expected to pitch are Oliver Perez, Ryota Igarashi and Sean Green. The Mets have one more cut to make before Mondays opener. According to the New York Daily News Francisco Rodriguez will rejoin the team tomorrow. He has been in Venezuela attending to a family matter. The New York Mets have announced that former Met Darryl Strawberry will throw out the first pitch on Monday. This is a good move by the Mets and it is about time they recognize their past.

Additions to Citi Field for 2010

The Mets will display a game day starting lineup above the escalators in the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. That is the main area where everyone comes into the Stadium. Each side of the field level will now display vintage baseball cards of Robin Ventura, Cleon Jones and Dave Kingman. Blue Smoke, Big Apple Brews and Box Frites will be opening additional locations on the promenade level of the stadium. The 1969 and 1986 clubs will be celebrated in the Champions Club. This club was formerly known as the Ebbetts Club. The VIP entrances will be renamed. The first base one will be "Hodges VIP" and the third base will be "Seaver VIP". Left field will be the "Stengel VIP" and each will feature images of them celebrating their careers. There are now banners in the parking lot of Mets from all eras. The outfield bridge will now be known as Shea Bridge in honor of Bill Shea. The homerun apple now resides in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda outside of Citi Field. Thank you to Matthew Cerrone for having this information on his www.metsblog.com. It is nice to see the Mets finally recognizing some of their history, it is a year late but better late then never.

Down in Port St. Lucie

The New York Mets held their first official full squad workout today. Here are some of the highlights. The team had a meeting with the coaches this morning and then hit the field for the workout. The workout was focused on running the bases and defensive fundamentals. Johan Santana threw a side session and Oliver Perez, John Maine,Mike Pelfrey and Fernando Nieve all threw batting practice. Jerry Manuel talked about last year and how you have to move on. He said the team is more angry then embarrassed about last season but they have to put it behind them and move on. He said that K-rod has pink eye and is not with the team. Manuel spoke about David Wright and said he was impressed with his batting practice session today. Jerry Manuel said that Citi Field didn't have a negative impact on David Wrights power it was just one of those years. I don't buy that at all, I think he changed his swing because of the field and then got all out of whack and it just led to a down year. Jerry Manuel said he didn't get to see Oliver Perez bullpen but heard he was outstanding and this was his best yet. Jerry Manuel believes that Perez has made a concious effort to be mentally and physically ready this year. If you want to see some good pictures and some videos of the days events down in Port St. Lucie then go to http://metsblog.com This is Matthew Cerrones great Mets blog and he is down in Port St. Lucie with the team, he has videos and pictures and lots of good information so make sure you go and check it out.