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He's hitting .411. Yeah.

The Mets came back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-4. (Box Score)

New York had runners on base in every inning, and scratched and clawed their way into a tie game, before David Wright and Ronny Cedeno blasted the Mets into the lead.

Missed opportunities

The Mets couldn’t capitalize on early scoring opportunities against Matt Latos (ND), though they had baserunners in each of the first 5 innings against the right hander.  In fact, they stranded runners all game long.  They were only 1-12 with runners in scoring position until the 8^th inning.

Lucas Duda struck out with David Wright on second base and two out in the 1st inning.

In the 2^nd, with one out and Daniel Murphy at third and Ronny Cedeno at the plate, Terry Collins chose to call the safety squeeze.  Cedeno laid it down, but Murphy felt he couldn’t score from third.  Even with the light-hitting Cedeno, you have to trust that he can swing away and put the ball in play to bring in Murphy with less than two out.

In the 3^rd, Duda struck out again with Kirk Nieuwenhuis and David Wright on base with two out.

R.A. Dickey runs into trouble

R.A. Dickey was rolling until he gave up a laser beam of a home run to Joey Votto in the 4th, which gave the Reds a 1-0 lead.

Then the wheels came off in the 5^th, as Dickey lost control of his knuckler, hitting Ryan Ludwick and walking Todd Frazier.  He then surrendered a run-scoring double to Ryan Hanigan, and a sac fly to Latos, following a 9-pitch at bat.  Then catcher Mike Nickeas whiffed on a knuckleball that went to the backstop, allowing Hanigan to score from third.  How badly does Mike want Josh Thole back after trying to catch R.A. today?

The spark of a comeback

In the 5^th inning, with another opportunity with two outs and men on base, Duda finally broke through and doubled to right to drive in Andres Torres and Wright.  That cut the Reds’ lead in half.

The Reds appeared to be on the verge of doing more damage off the Mets’ starter in the top of the 6th – they had runners at second and third with none out.  But Votto, the runner at third, tried to tag and score on a foul popup to Murphy, and was gunned down by the Mets’ second baseman.

Matt Latos ran out of gas in the bottom of the 6^th, his fastball occasionally dipping below 90 MPH.  He walked Ike Davis to lead off, then surrendered a single to Cedeno.

Mike Nickeas ran the count full before dropping down a bunt off of relief pitcher J.J. Hoover, but Frazier couldn’t vacuum it up.  He bobbled the ball for an error, and the bases were loaded with nobody out.  Pinch-hitter Mike Baxter followed with a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 4-3.  But the Mets could capitalize no further, as Torres popped out, and Nieuwenhuis struck out.

The comeback takes flight

In the 7^th, the Mets loaded the bases AGAIN with none out against fireballing lefty Aroldis Chapman.  A sac fly by Justin Turner (batting for Davis) brought home David Wright to tie the game.  It was the first earned run surrendered by Chapman this season.

After a strikeout by Cedeno, Scott Hairston (batting for Nickeas) walked on Chapman’s 32^nd pitch of the inning.  But Baxter, remaining in the game on a double-switch, struck out looking to end the inning.  Though the game was tied, it was another lost opportunity to do more damage.

Bobby Parnell (W, 1-0) pitched a scorless inning in the top of the 8^th, then the Mets got another baserunner in the bottom half off of reliever Logan Ondrusek (L, 3-1).  Rob Johnson, in the game after Nickeas was pinch-hit for, surprised everyone by bunting for a base hit.

David Wright obliged by drilling a double over the head of center fielder Drew Stubbs to drive him in to give the Mets the lead.  It was the 5^th time Wright had reached base.

Following an intentional walk to Murphy, Turner blooped a single to left center to knock in Wright.  Then Ronny Cedeno surprised everyone again by hitting a 3-run homer to left.  It was a surprising 5-run rally all the way around.

Unsurprisingly, Frank Francisco struggled in the 9^th, allowing a walk and a double with 2 outs, putting runners at second and third, but then induced a groundout to end the game.

Big win

This was a huge game, not only because the Mets would look foolish wearing all those hockey jerseys on the plane after a 3-game losing streak, but they’ve lost in painful ways of late.  They’ve appeared on the verge of undoing the good work they’ve done so far.

But they finally figured out a way to score all those baserunners they always get, and finally busted open with a big rally in the 8th.  Great contributions by everyone on the team, including those coming off the bench (Baxter, Turner, Johnson), and those filling in for injuries (Cedeno).

And yes, the bullpen (Jon Rauch, Parnell, and Francisco) shut out the Reds.

Now it’s on to Toronto for a series against a tough Blue Jays team, eh?

Continue reading »]]> The Mets are currently 20-17 tied for 3rd with the Marlins and 3 games back of the division leading Nationals with the Braves in between. They are tied in the race for the 2nd Wild Card.  They are actually 2nd in R/G in the NL East and last in R/A in the NL East.  Their strength of schedule ranks them at an even 0.0 the only team that isn’t negative in the East.   They are 14-7 vs the NL East playing by far the most in division games of anyone in the division.  In fact the only other team with a winning record in the division is the Nats at 6-2.   They are 11-8 at home, 2nd in the division and .500 on the road.  14-8 vs RHP pitchers and 6-9 vs LHP.  14-8 vs teams that are over .500 and 6-9 vs teams under .500.  They are .500 in their last 10 games and .500 in their last 20 games.

So I said all of this to get to my actual question.  Is this a team that is just playing over their heads and will come back down to Earth so just enjoy the ride.  Or is this a team that is a few moves away from being an actual playoff contender this year?  How long do we wait to make moves that actually make the team significantly better or do we stick to our guns saying this was a transitional year anyway so consider yourself lucky you are still in the race in May?

Would this team be better with a guy like Lannan in the #5 spot?  Would that be enough?  Should you pony up the prospects and trade for Garza?  Would that be foolish considering the long-term cost?  The team is being destroyed by LH pitching, is a Jason Bay return enough to cure the ills or can the team handle having so many LH players that struggle against LH? Should they trade for a RH bat?  The bullpen is among the worst in the league.  Do they go out and acquire pieces for the pen or stand pat and hope that some of the guys coming in make a difference?  Added into this equation is that by the AS Break you could see Chris Young, Pedro Beato and Jenrry Mejia on the staff.  Offensively anyone that is close is here but we are missing Tejada and Thole who were off to great starts and you do have the aforementioned Bay.

So it appears the quandary the Mets are in is that they are doing something not many of us expected.  Competing.  And now with the new fangled extra Wild Card team not only could they and a host of others be in it but they could also be one of the few teams willing to sell if Sandy so chooses.   What say you Mets fans?  Wait and see while wasting valuable time, stick to your guns, go all in or slide right in the middle of this circle of Mets life and try to do it all.

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Ever feel like the team is playing “Station to Station” baseball? I sure do and after looking at some of the teams overall statistics, there is a reason why. The team has no power and no speed, but they get tons of hits and walks. So, guys are constantly sitting on base waiting for a hit or walk to move over one spot. No wonder we have no nails left on our fingers. We are counting on these guys to consistently come up with these 3-4 hit innings just to get a run in. How can a team possibly keep up that kind of pace while maintaining a winning record? The statistic that backs this argument up the most is the Mets are 14^th in team Left on Base just ahead of Atlanta and St. Louis. Please keep in mind that Atlanta and St. Louis have a combined 96 more RBI’s than the Mets and lead the NL in that category, so they get a pass.

Am I dreaming or did the organization move in those Citi-Field walls? Wasn’t Ike and Duda supposed to hit a combined 80 home runs this year? Dan Murphy doesn’t have one yet and he is second in the league with the longest home run drought. “Station to Station” baseball can actually work if the team had a little speed (plus the briefly mentioned power) but they are dead last in stolen bases in the NL with 14. What’s worse is they have been caught 12 times. That’s a lot of outs on the bases in 37 games.

We can probably blame some people, but that isn’t going to increase the teams run total. Blame Sandy, for not constructing a team with enough power. Blame Wilpon, for gambling and not having enough money to give to Sandy. Blame Omar for only drafting line drive hitters. Blame Ike and Duda for not taking Steroids. Blah Blah Blah, who gives a crap, so let’s talk about how to change this.

I don’t think trades are happening anytime soon and most teams aren’t just going to trade a 30 HR guy unless they are completely out of contention late in the season. There is no one coming up the minor league pipe anytime soon that will give the power the team needs. The only option right now is adjust what you have. Jason Bay is coming back and the next 2 obvious targets are Ike Davis and Lucas Duda.

Out of the 3 guys, Duda is the least of my worries. His production is starting to tick up and as he gets more comfortable those home runs should start to come. That leaves us with Bay and Ike. Bay is going to get his shot, but does he even want to be on the team? His injuries just seem to drag out. He did hit a couple HR’s before he was hurt but that was just a small sample size. My perception is he is just not part of this team anymore. He knows it, the team knows it and the writing is on the wall for him.

Now we got poor Ike. The team’s leader in HR’s at 5. Ike is completely demoralized and he needs to be demoted.  He is so bad that the team doesn’t need to worry about replacing him. He needs change of scenery and a change of pace. If he was going to adjust at the MLB level he would have done it by now.

So what are your thoughts? Is it true there is a Sandy philosophy to force the “Station to Station” approach? How should we stop it, he is the Emperor. Should we alter the batting lineup and drop Ike to eighth or boot him off completely? Pipe up and let us know and I will tweet these suggestions to Sandy Alderson who will never read them.

Here are some numbers to chew on. Mets rankings in the NL: 7^th in runs with 152, 5^th in hits with 328, 3^rd in doubles with 67, 15^th in triples with 4, 15^th in home runs with 23, 8^th in RBI with 145, Last in SB with 14, 6^th in CS with 12, 4^th in walks with 131, 3^rd in K’s with 300, 3^rd in BA at .264, 2^nd in OBP at .337, 12^th in SLG at .379, 5^th in OPS at .716.

Continue reading »]]> Now that we are under three weeks to go till the draft, we’re going to take a closer look at who is on the Mets radar in the first round.  Two important things to note here – first, the Mets draft at #12^th overall and at #35^th (in the supplemental first round) as compensation for losing Jose Reyes.  They will also get the Marlins’second round pick to complete the compensation package. The second thing to remember is that the first round can be very fluid, and a significant domino effect triggered by the teams ahead of them will come to bear on the Mets’ direction at #12.  Today, we will look at Gavin Cecchini (rhymes with ‘zucchini’), a SS from Barbe HS in Lake Charles, LA.

Pros

Cecchini has the genes – to get drafted at least.  His brother Garin was selected in the 4^th round of the 2010 draft by the Red Sox and is currently playing 3B at Hi-A Salem and is the #7 prospect in the Boston system.  Unlike Garin, Gavin projects to stay at short, with scouts citing his sure hands, slightly above average arm, and impeccable accuracy.  To cap it off, he has tremendous baseball instincts, which serve him well both in the field and helping his average speed play up on the base paths.

Cons

Most everyone agrees that he has a lot of polish for a high school player, but the question on Cecchini center on how the bat will develop.  It is slow through the strike zone and he does not project to have much pop.  The ability to drive balls into the gaps could be the determining factor as to what kind of player he develops into.

Ceiling/Floor

The ceiling is an All Star everyday shortstop, in more of a classic mode (read: leadoff hitter with slick defense).

As for a floor, well, at this point the most common floor is ‘not a major leaguer’.  The consensus is, however, that Cecchini is one of the surer bets amongst high school position players in this year’s crop.  If the bat does not develop, he could just be a utility infielder.

Continue reading »]]> The Lucies had a mid-morning double header, Buffalo gives a familiar face familiar treatment, a pitcher’s duel and the Gnats get trounced.  Busy day.  Let’s do it to it.

Buffalo 14, Gwinnett 7

Matt Tuiasasopo and Brad Emaus connected for back to back homers in the first innings, and the route was on.  The Bisons pounded out seventeen hits as they trounced the Braves and Jair Jurjens, who gave up eleven runs (ten earned) in 4.2 innings.  Tuiasasopo finished the night with four RBI, and Omar Quintanilla had three of his own.  All the offense masked what was a rather disappointing pitching effort.  Garret Olsen limped to the win, going five innings while giving up three runs on six hits and four walks.  Jack Egbert and Chuck James each allowed two runs apiece, and overall the Herd hurlers gave up fifteen hits to the Braves.

Binghamton 1, Trenton 0

Now this is what I like, a good old fashioned pitching duel.  Colin McHugh was electric, going seven scoreless allowing just six hits and a walk against six punch outs.  The game was scoreless until the bottom of the ninth when Matt den Dekker lead off with a double (this hit streak goes to eleven) and, three batters later, Jefry Marte delivered a bases loaded single for the game’s only run.  Brad Holt picked up the win with two shutout innings of relief, and the time of game was a crisp 2:20.

St. Lucie 6, Bradenton 3 (Game 1)

Just your usual 10:30 AM twin bill.  Chris Young made what is likely to be his last rehab start for St. Lucie before heading to AAA Buffalo, and all things considered, it went well.  Young tossed 5.2 innings allowing three runs on six hits while walking none and striking out two.  The Lucies erupted for three in the bottom of the sixth (again, doubleheaders are seven inning affairs) to break a 3-3 tie.  Wilmer Flores had a solo homer and LF Rafael Fernandez was 2 for 3 with a two run shot.  Both homers came off Pirates #2 prospect Jamieson Taillon.

St. Lucie 4, Bradenton 0 (Game 2)

In the afternoon-cap Erik Goeddel went six scoreless (5H, 0BB, 2K) and Adam Kolarek threw a shutout final frame to collect the save as the Lucies swept the Marauders.  Robbie Shields had a solo homer and Rafael Fernandez capped off a fine day with another two run bomb and a sacrifice fly.

Charleston 14, Savannah 5

The Panty Man can’t!  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  Alex Panteliodis got shelled for eight runs in three and a third, and Carlos Vasquez trotted in from the bullpen with a gas can to add another five runs in 1.2 innings.  Aderlin Rodriguez had a cosmetic three run home in the ninth, but it seems the Sand Gnats could not get away fast enough on get away day.

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(AP Photo/Kathy Willens) via ESPN.com

Box Score

The Mets fell to Cincinnati tonight by a score of 6-3.

Even though Johan did not have his best stuff, he was able to pitch his way through 6 2/3, allowing only two earned runs. He pitched well considering he did not have his A-game tonight. Johan had to be perfect, as he did not get the kind of run support he would probably like, only getting three runs to work with.

Those three runs would come from an RBI single from Lucas Duda (who really appears to be getting hot), an RBI double from Ike (a grounder down the line that actually went Ike’s way for once), and a suicide squeeze from Mike Nickeas (Terry seems to be falling in love with that play).

As we have learned with this bullpen lately, no lead is safe, ever. In the top of the 8th inning, the Reds would take the lead on a single from Brandon Phillips, and a sacrifice-fly from Jay Bruce. The ball that Bruce hit looked as though it would be traveling 500 ft, so the sac-fly was welcomed. That relief however, would be short welcomed as DJ Carrasco would come in and proceed to allow a two-run home run to Todd “I’m a Met troll” Frazier (his second of the game).

Continue reading for some notes.

Lucas Duda looks to be getting hot, as he had some hard hit balls tonight. The general notion is that batting average tends to come before power does, so hopefully Lucas follows suit and the homers will follow. As Josh Lewin pointed out, if Duda can start hitting some home-runs, or at least driving runners in, David Wright will benefit from that greatly.

I usually don’t like to second-guess managers, but I had two issues with Terry’s in-game management tonight.

1. Why does Terry refuse to save Parnell for high leverage spots? He used Parnell in the 7th, and pulled him for Rauch in the 8th. After he subbed out Byrdak he needed a righty to retire Frazier, and had to turn to DJ Carrasco instead. Maybe it is just me but I think Parnell should be saved for those spots.
2. I love a good suicide squeeze as much as the next guy, but I don’t understand why we would play for one run when we were already up by a run at the time. If Terry was concerned about getting some runs accross, pinch-hit for Nickeas with someone who has a good chance to get BOTH runners in, especially with the performance of our bullpen lately.

Here are some points for discussion.

• Did you like the suicide squeeze call by Terry? How about using Parnell early?
• Would you rather see Carrasco try and revert to being effective, or Elvin Ramirez given the call?
• TRADE TEH SUCKPEN?

The Mets will play Cincinnati at home tomorrow with RA Dickey on the mound vs Mat Latos. The game will start at 1:10.