Mets blow lead and end trip on sour note

The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-3 this evening. They led 3-0 mostly with the help of poor defense by the Cardinals. John Maine pitched better but once again his pitch count was up to 115 in 5 innings. He gave up a 3 run homerun to Colby Rasmus in the 5th inning. The Mets offense once again was no where to be found. They didn't do anything with Adam Wainwright after scoring 3 runs. They had 4 hits all game and they just haven't been able to get it going offensively. Jason Bay has started off bad and Jeff Francoeur after being so hot has not had a hit in the last 2 games. Jose Reyes is still in spring training mode and although Wright has hit a couple of homeruns he isn't doing much either. The Mets are expected to call up super 1st base prospect Ike Davis tomorrow and see if that injects some life into them. If they don't win on this homstand the manager will get fired and maybe even the general manager. The question is who would come in to take over. The rumblings right now are Bob Melvin or Bobby Valentine. If Valentine comes in then most likely it would be a whole new staff including general manger but if it is Melvin then maybe Omar Minaya will buy some time. It will be a interesting week and the Mets better get some wins.

Mets lose To Nationals

The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals this afternoon by the score of 9-3. John Maine got the start for the Mets and was up and down. He gave up 4 runs on 6 hits with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Ryota Igarashi pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 1 hit and 2 runs with a walk. Sean Green looked really good today striking out the side in his one inning of work. Bobby Parnell pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up 3 hits and 2 runs. Hisanori Takahashi got out the only 2 guys he faced. The Mets offense was led by Frank Catalonatto and Ruben Tejada who each had 2 hits. Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr. each had a hit and Matthews also drew a walk. Mike Jacobs hit a 2 run homerun, he will now be the first baseman and have a real chance to not let go of the position. Fernando Tatis had a hit for the Mets. The Mets will play the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow night at Tropicana Field, the game is at 6:10PM.

Mets Vs Nationals

The New York Mets are playing a early game today, they started at 12 noon and the game is on SNY and WFAN radio in New York. Here are some quick notes from this morning. Francisco Rodriguez left the team to be with his family in Venezuela. Omar Minaya said he will be with the team for Opening Day. Minaya confirmed that Reyes will stay behind for extended spring training when the team breaks camp. He said "He will stay here with the extended program. he is coming along very well. We want him for the whole year and feel it's safter for him to stay down in Florida." There is no date for Reyes return right now. Minaya said it is likely that 12 pitchers are on the roster for opening day. Minaya said "I like our team, when you look at our team, with Jose hopefully getting in the mix, teh team as a unit feels good. Underneath the expectation levels, I think we can prove some people wrong."

New York Mets Recap and Postgame Notes

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Tradition Field by the score of 6-5 today. The starting pitcher was Fernando Nieve and he pitched 3 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He also walked 1 and didn't strike out a batter. The offensive star was Angel Pagan who hit a 2 run walkoff homerun for the victory. Here is how the other players performed. Pitching wise Jon Niese was the worst of who pitched today. His line was: 3 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 runs, only 2 were earned and he did strike out a couple. Sean Green, Pat Misch and Francisco Rodriguez all pitched scoreless innings. K-rod had a perfect inning with a strikeout in his debut. Sean Green walked 2 batters but didn't give up a hit and Pat Misch had a walk but gave up no hits. Luis Castillo had a hit, Ruben Tejada had 2 hits and a rbi. David Wright and Mike Jacobs each had a hit and Jason Bay and Fernando Martinez each had 2 hits. Fernando Martinez also had 2 rbi. Jeff Francoeur had a hit, rbi and walk. Francisco Rodriguez was sporting new goggles and told Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News after the game he has to get used to them. According to Gary Cohen Fernando Martinez will start the season in the minors. He said this during todays broadcast and said that GM Omar Minaya said this.

New York Mets First Day Of Camp

Jerry Manuel met with reporters this afternoon for the first time this season. He mentioned that he would like to bat Jose Reyes third. I don't know about anyone else but I don't think this is a good idea. He is a good leadoff hitter that sparks the lineup. I think if you hit him third he may change his approach and it wouldn't be for the better, he would try to hit more homeruns in my opinion plus you take away his stealing game. I think you have to keep him as the leadoff hitter. To Reyes credit he said it doesn't matter to him, he just wants to be playing and helping his team win games. He said that Jerry Manuel just mentioned it yesterday and even if he does it, it will only be until Carlos Beltran returns. He said he is the boss so whatever he decides he will go along with it. Jerry said that Jon Niese can be the fifth starter if he pitches the way he did last summer. He said Daniel Murphy is the starting first baseman, I assumed that but now it is confirmed. He wants a power bat off the bench like the Phillies had with Matt Stairs even if the player isn't able to play multiple positions like Mike Jacobs. Henry Blanco is the backup catcher and Alex Cora is the backup shortstop. You can see a video of Jerry Manuels press conference at http://metsblog.com/category/video Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News spoke with Kelvim Escobar who expressed little concern about being ready for opening day and the rigors of pitching everyday out of the bullpen.

New York Mets Notes from Florida

The New York Mets had some news coming out of florida today. According to the Star Ledger of NJ Brian Costa who talked to GM Omar Minaya today he said that Henry Blanco would be the backup and the starters job would come down to either Josh Thole or Omir Santos. The 23 year old Thole hit 321 with 3 extra base hits in 17 games for the Mets last season. It looks like they were impressed with how he handled the pitchers. I think the best thing for him would be to go down to AAA and get some more seasoning in before coming up to the majors later on in the year but with this being the Mets who knows what they will do. Jose Reyes had a informal workout today and there is some video of him on Matt Cerrone http://metsblog.com/. He was at tradition field where he did agility drills, jogging, batting practice and fielded ground balls. He said this " I have been doing so much of my rehab without the team, but now to be back with my team is really exciting. I feel like a little kid bro." He said that he has nothing to be afraid of that " I am able to do everything that I want to do." Mike Jacobs and Daniel Murphy worked together fielding ground balls at first base. Mike Jacobs also took batting practice in front of hitting coach Howard Johnson.

New York Mets Pre Spring Training Workout

The New York Mets got to work today ahead of the Thursday report day for pitchers and catchers. David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Mike Jacobs, John Maine, Jon Niese, Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi. Sandy Koufax was a guest of new minor league field coordinator Terry Collins and Guy Conti. They both once worked for the Dodgers. Here are a couple of pictures from Port St. Lucie, these pictures are courtesy of the NY Daily News and Adam Rubins blog Surfing the Mets. There wasn't much news coming out of today down there but Omar Minaya did say there is competition between Mike Jacobs and Daniel Murphy for first base. I don't know how the Mets could not have Murphy win that job though since there isn't any other spot for him and they really have high hopes for him and have continued to support him.

New York Mets mini camp

The New York Mets started a 3 day optional mini-camp today in Port St. Lucie,Florida. Oliver Perez, Johan Santana, John Maine, Daniel Murphy and others were there. Johan Santana and Oliver Perez will begin throwing off a mound tomorrow. Johan Santana remains a optimistic person and had this to say. " I believe, if we stay healthy our team is much better." He said that if the team stays healthy they will be good and that they are looking forward to the season starting. Mets manager Jerry Manuel was in attendance and said the team needs to get off to a strong start. He also said he considers Angel Pagan the frontrunner to be the centerfielder in Carlos Beltrans absence. I think that is the right move as Gary Matthews Jr. is a bench player and should not be more. He also said at catcher he considers Omir Santos the starter but it wasn't a ringing endorsement. He did talk up Josh Tole and said it isn't out of the question that he could start. I just don't see the Mets going with a rookie catcher but who knows. If they don't sign anyone they really don't have a starter, they are all backups and then the young kid. He said he is anxious to see Kelvim Escobar and Ryota Igarashi pitch, he considers the 8th inning very important. These are the guys that will be competing for that role. Jerry Manuel said the 8th inning role will be determined by someone that will throw strikes, he considers that a key in the park they play in. He said that they have to play good defense also. He said that the free agent market wasn't very good and that was a challenge they had to add another starting pitcher. Jerry Manuel said that he won't act any different because of the pressure to perform this year. He knows his job is on the line but doesn't seem too fazed by that right now. Here is what the GM Omar Minaya had to say. " I do believe that we are going to have a good team. I think that a healthy New York Mets team will contend for a playoff spot. I think it is fair to say that the Philadelphia Phillies have improved themselves. We have a lot of work to do but I think these guys are committed, Jerry is going to be committed to get back on track to what we did in 06, 07 and 08. Is this guy for real, how can they not be committed and also didn't they lose in the NLCS and then blow playoff spots the following 2 years. I think you want to improve on that not get back to that point. Omar did say they are still considering Carlos Delgado. He was asked a question by Kevin Kernan of the NY Post about the team being a joke. He did seem to be taken aback but said he didn't consider them to be a joke but that you have to win. I personally just think the Mets are poorly run from top to bottom and that is why they have the reputation that they have. They just don't seem to get anything right that they do and they always look worse and worse. The only way for them to get away from that is to go out on the field and win. It is hard to see this team doing that though without getting at least another pitcher, other then Johan Santana you really have to worry. I also need to say that most of the information coming from the mini-camp was via Ken Davidoff of New York Newsday and his blog. I have given my opinions but obviously wasn't there so have to rely on others that were.

Oh What a Mess

The New York Mets have had a terrible offseason following up on a terrible regular season. The Mets fans were angry and remain angry. The Mets really needed to go out there and get a #2 pitcher and they failed with John Lackey going to the Red Sox and Roy Halladay going to the Phillies. I don't think the Mets every had a realistic shot to get Halladay but what makes the fans more upset is that he went to the hated Phillies. I do think they should of been aggressive early with Lackey but they were left in the cold, misreading the market. Mets GM Omar Minaya who is clearly on the hot seat now said he was going to get back to Lackey this week but he ended up signing with the Red Sox. Omar Minaya clearly thought he wouldn't sign before Jan or Feb and was wrong. The Mets are going to take a huge hit at the box office, the only way out of it is to have a good first half and then maybe will start coming in the second half but there are a lot of ifs starting with the health of Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, David Wright getting back to form and most of all who can you count on in the rotation other then Johan Santana. The Mets still have time this offseason to make moves and they will probably end up with Jason Bay and maybe a pitcher like Jon Garland or Doug Davis but that isn't enough. i guess the only thing Mets fans can do is sit back and wait and hope. I don't know what is possible but maybe the Mets can make a trade for someone like a Bronson Arroyo or Carlos Zambrano, the only thing I know is they are stuck in a bad spot with the Phillies being clearly better still and the Braves maybe even surpassing the Mets. The Mets have a beautiful new ballpark and it is a shame they can't pack it in wiht a good product on the field or at least an attempt at putting a good product on the field. The Mets are going to sign a japanese reliver instead and maybe Bay and Molina, although you wonder what is taking them so long to sign?? I wonder if they really don't want to go to the Mets and are hoping a better deal comes along. If the Mets strike out completely it will go from bad to worse but I don't think that will be the case.

New York Mets News

I waited until the official announcement for the coaches for the 2010 season. Howard Johnson will remain the hitting coach, Dan Warthen the pitching coach and Randy Niemann as bullpen coach. Razor Shines also remains but he was moved from 3rd base to 1st base coach. He had a eventful year at third so I am sure Mets fans are thrilled he is away from there. The new coaches are Dave Jauss as bench coach and Chip Hale as third base coach. The Mets also hired former Houston Astros manager Terry Collins as minor-league field coordinator. I know most people are going to say who for the new coaches and I don't know myself so it is a good question. I am sure that they brought guys in with not much background due to the fact that Jerry Manuel is on the hot seat and if a new manager comes in he may want his own coaches. The most interesting move the Mets have made is hiring Wally Backman as manager of the short season Brookly Cyclones. The reason this is interesting is first of all after his 4 day stay as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks a few years ago he has been blackballed from baseball and had to serve in the independant leagues. The second reason is because it is believed that he is in line to succeed Jerry Manuel as manager of the big club. I am sure Mets fans would love to see this as he is a fiery ex Met from the Glory Days of the 1980's. It will be interesting to see if he can keep his nose clean and the Mets stumble how quick of a hook GM Omar Minaya and the Wilpons will have.

New York Mets create a mess again

I really didn't want to have to do this as I don't hate them and I really don't want to trash them but the Mets hit a new low today. I know they have won 3 in a row which is great but Omar Minaya in his press conference today to announce the firing of Tony Bernezard just really embarrassed the Mets organization by ripping into NY Daily News Mets beat reporter Adam Rubin. He accused him of taking down Bernezard with his stories about the minor league scene when he challenged them to a fight because basically he wanted his job and when Rubin asked him in the press conference if that is what he was accusing him of he tried talk his way out of it. This was very vindictive and wrong for Minaya to do and may be the beginning of the end for him. I don't know if it was his idea or management told him to do it but anyway you slice it, this will be the story all over the papers tomorrow and not in a good way. If you missed this and you are a Mets fan or just a baseball fan in general check out the press conference and also Rubins response later on over at SNY.com. I really can't believe this went on today, it seems like even when the Mets do something right they still manage to do something wrong at the same time.

Mets on winning streak

The New York Mets who have been in disarray with all the injuries and the off the field issues mainly with Tony Bernezard have won two in a row over the Houston Astros in Houston. The Astros were playing really good baseball coming into this series so this is a big series win for the Mets. I am one who thinks the Mets are done but as a Mets fan you do want to see them play hard and be competitive and you never know what could happen. The problem for the Mets is that they are behind so many teams that it would be near impossible to pass them all unless they win most of their games which is just too hard to do without their main guys playing. The longer this Bernezard thing goes on the worse it looks, it doesn't look like he is going to lose his job and really he should. I mean he has embarrassed the team with his antics but also he is in charge of player development and they have a horrible farm system, how he keeps his job I will never know. I would think though at the end of the year if they don't make it Omar Minaya, Tony Bernezard and Jerry Manuel will all be out and they will bring in a whole new regime and start over. It must be so frustrating as a Mets fan though as they were so close to making the world series 3 years ago and then collapsed the last 2 years in the final week and now the mess that has become this year.

New York Mets Recap

The New York Mets defeated the Florida Marlins today. John Maine got the start and went 4 innings giving up 5 hits and 4 runs. He had 0 walks and 5k's. Casey Fossum pitched a perfect inning. Sean Green also pitched a perfect inning with a K. On the offensive side of the ball for the Mets, Luis Castillo was 1-3 with 2rbi, Jeremy Reed was 1-1 with a rbi and Ryan Church was 1-3 with a rbi. Nick Evans was 1-3 with 2 rbi as he continues his good spring. The Mets will be off tomorrow. Tim Redding was shut down yesterday ending his bid for the long relief job. GM Omar Minaya said today that Jon Niese could win the 5th starters job and Livan Herandez could adjust to a long relief role. Mike Pelfrey did come back yesterday and pitch 4 scoreless innings against Washington which was good news for the Mets. Tuesday the Mets ace Johan Santana will pitch in a minor league game and Jon Niese will pitch against the Braves in Orlando.

Mets Defeat Houston

The New York Mets had a field day today with the Houston Astros defeating them 13-1. Carlos Delgado went 2-3 with 3rbis, Wright went 2-3 and Beltran went 2-4 with an rbi. John Maine went 2 innings giving up a run on 1 hit and 2 walks. JJ Putz and Feliciano followed with scoreless innings as well as Sean Green and Duaner Sanchez who also had 2 ks. The big news of the day for the Mets was that now Johan Santana will not go to NY for an MRI as was originally scheduled, Mets GM Omar Minaya said he felt good during and after his bullpen and also the storm in NY had a small role in the decision. He will be checked out by Mets doctors in Port St. Lucie when they get there. The Mets are off tomorrow.