And The Mets Win The Damn Thing

I swore to myself that I wasn't going to write one word about the umpiring tonight. Even after home plate umpire Tim Tschida blew the call on Prince Fielder's "home run," I thought to myself that there had been too much complaining about umpires lately. But after Tschida threw Dirty Sanchez out of the game for hitting Clark, I realized there was a conspiracy at hand. A conspiracy based on jealousy. And it all goes back to Jose Valentin.

The only thing I can figure is that Tschida was jealous of all the screen time Valentin's pornstar mustache got tonight, and he just couldn't handle it. It was one thing for Valentin to get the start, and it was another for Valentin to get a pair of RBI's in the sixth. But once Valentin homered in the top of the eighth, Tschida lost all his composure and reason, and that's why he tossed Sanchez in the bottom of the inning. Leave it to LoDuca to ruin Derek Turnbow Bobble Head Night, and secure The Battle Of The Mustaches in the Mets favor. Mets win 9-8.


Oh, and by the way, Aaron Heilman should shut the hell up about being a starter and do his job.

Mets vs. Brewers Game 2 - Floyd Benched

Here's the Mets lineup for tonight's game against the Brew Crew:

SS Reyes
C LoDuca
CF Beltran
1B Delgado
3B Wright
RF Nady
2B Woodward
LF Valentin
P Gonzalez

Cliffy, my man. How bad are things going where Jose Friggin' Valentin and his .167 average play left field tonight? I know you are stuggling mightily, but this is an insult. Your .197 average is still thirty points higher than The Jose Valentin Experience!

By the way, tonight's starter for the Brewers (pitching in place of injured Ben Sheets) is Dana Eveland, making his first career start, and first appearance of the season. He pitched 27 games in relief for Milwaukee last season with a 5.97 ERA, and 18 walks and 23 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings pitched. The other night Keith Hernandez said that if he was going to face a pitcher who allowed more than one base on balls for every 2 innings he pitched, he knew he could be very patient at the plate. You listenin, Jose?? Both of you!!!!

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update - Piazza Lives

Mike Piazza's 3-run homer in the ninth inning gave the San Diego Padres a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs today. Mike Cameron also went 2 for 4 in the win. Piazza's game winner came one day after he led his club to a 10-5 win over Chicago by going 4-for-5 with two RBI. Regular readers of this blog know that just this past Tuesday, I remarked on how poorly Mike had been struggling in San Diego. Go figure. Speaking of Piazza, check out Metsville for an audio clip about Mikey P talking about Guns N Roses.

All About Jeremi Gonzalez

With a two-game losing streak, the Mets will look to journeyman Jeremi Gonzalez to be a stopper tonight against Milkwaukee.

Gonzalez has a lifetime record of 26-33, and an ERA of 4.84. Originally drafted by the Cubs back in 1991, his most successful season came in his rookie season of 1997, when he went 11-9 for Chicago. In his last full season as a starter, in 2003 for Tampa Bay, he went 6-11, but posted a 3.91 ERA. After going 0-5 in 8 starts in 2004, he became a reliever, appearing in 28 games for Boston in 2005, starting 3 of those games, posting a 6-11 ERA. Excited yet?

In six starts for AAA Norfolk, Gonzalez has managed a 3.03 ERA, with 30 strikeouts in just under 36 innings pitched.

As a pitcher, Gonzalez mixes it up with a few different breaking balls, two different fast balls, and a changeup. Paul LoDuca will like his quick delivery, helping to cut down on the running game.

Mets Get "Gangsta" In Pink

Tune into this Sunday's Mets game (Mothers Day) and see several Mets players using pink bats in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. On a Metsblog post about the subject, Cuervo points out that the Binghamton Mets wore pink jerseys this past Sunday in honor of the fight against breast cancer. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game, with proceeds going to United Health Services Foundation.

Speaking of charities, when a person donates money to a charity, we often wonder how that money is spent. There's a cool site called charity navigator that allows you to check on pretty much any charity in the country. The site rates charities on how they manage their funds. For instance, you can check out how the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation stacks up at this link.

The Foundation got three stars overall and a score of 32 out of 40 for efficiency. 76% of its expenses go to the programs and services it exists to deliver. According to the site, the organization's mission is the "support of innovative breast cancer research grants, meritorious awards, educational and scientific conferences and community-based outreach programs around the world."

It's Good To Laugh

It was a perfect night for a laugher - the Phillies played like the Bad News Bears for five innings, and the game was essentially over by 9:00 so I was able to switch channels, watch a great episode of Lost, and then switch back to watch Jorge Julio close out the game. Of course I missed Heath Bell's 2006 debut, but I'll live.

I looked forward to reading all the warm and fuzzies in the "papers" today, but it seems like everyone is still shaking in their boots about Lima and Gonzalez at the back-end of the rotation, worrying about the "pitching crisis" speculating on who the Mets should trade for, and crying the blues.

Newsflash: Check the standings - The Mets Have The Best Record In The National League

There are two big sets of reasons the Mets don't have to scramble to make a big trade:

2. Mike Pelfrey and Alay Soler. These two are not ready yet, but they will be by the All-Star break, and it's better to let them do what they need to do, so they can be most effective and best prepared when they do come up. Personally I think Alay Soler could be called up now, but with a 22-11 record, and a healthy lead, the Mets can well afford to play patchwork for a couple weeks.

3. Victor Zambrano and Brian Bannister. These are the two guys who filled the last two slots at the start of teh season. It's not exactly Koufax and Drysdale here. These are the guys who are out, and these are the guys who the Mets are replacing. Honestly, are Lima and Gonzalez any less intimidating than the pair they are filling in for?

Keep Milledge, Hold the farm, wait it out, all things must pass. Rubber game tonight at 7:05. Have to TiVo The Office.

Transplanted Mets Fans Get Screwed - SNY's Trip to Barbados Sweepstakes

Hey kids! Wanna win a trip to Barbados? Well SNY is giving away a trip, but if you don't live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, you're S-O-L. Hey! How 'bout us transplanted Mets fans? We'd like to go to Barbados!

If you're not a transplanted Mets fan, and you're over 18, you can go here to try and win. As for the gang at SNY, I'd like to tell them where they can go...

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update - Jae is Oh, Seo Bad

Jae Seo got a no-decision yesterday but pitched poor enough to lose twice, allowing six runs, eight hits and three home runs in 3 1-3 innings. The Dodgers managed to win the game 12-7 against Houston, thanks in part to a pitching performance by Andy Pettite that was almost equally as bad. Pettite allowed dingers to Nomar Garciaparra, J.D. Drew, and transplanted ex-Met Jeff Kent. Preston Wilson went 2 for 5 in the game for Houston, and is hitting .258 with 5 homeruns on the season. Wilson has also struck out a league-leading 36 times (tied with Geoff Jenkins) against four walks in 124 at-bats.

Jay Payton has a five game hitting streak for Oakland, bringing his season average to .220. Before the hitting streak he was hitting below .200, so things are improving, but he still has just 4 extra base hits in 91 at bats this season. What do you suppose happened to Jay's power, like when he hit 28 homers for the Mets in 2003? Hmmm....

By the way, in March of last year, Payton said that he believes an asterisk should accompany the records of players proven to have used steroids, but in 2002 he told the Associated Press that "I don't know if it's really cheating or not. Who's to say steroids should be illegal? There's plenty of legal stuff to take to serve that purpose. If you take steroids, it doesn't mean you can hit a 95 mph fastball."

Speaking of power, Ty Wigginton has cooled off a bit, with just one extra-base hit, a home run, in his last ten games for Tampa Bay.

Melvin Mora hit his sixth homerun of the season yesterday for baltimore, helping them beat Detroit, 7-6. Mora is hitting .297 on the season and has not yet agreed to a contract extension; unless he does he's eligible for free agency at the end of the season.

Where is Alay Soler?

I was ticked when Heilman threw away that ball last night, allowing Phillies fans to continue believing that they have a chnace this season, but it's time to be realistic about this. The Mets play the Phils about 17 more times this season, and the Phillies will never be hotter this season than they were coming into last night's game. Yes, it stinks that we didn't get a win on a night when Pedro pitched, and our heretofore leakproof 'pen sprung a couple leaks, but I believe the Mets put a little shock into the Phils system.

The Phillies won't forget how Delgado made Flash look 38 again, and that if not for a lousy call by the homeplate umpire, the Mets would have scored at least another run.

I'm still focused on the back end of our rotation. If the Mets really want to make a run at this, we need a reliable guy to fill at least one of the two spots. Lima and Gonzalez are not answers, and Bannister and Maine don't exactly get me excited either. I understand they want to have a little patience with Pelfrey, but what I'm really confused about is why Alay Soler isn't on this club right now. Here's a guy who, although he's missed some time due to some immigration problems, went 10-4 with a 2.01 ERA in 18 games in 2003 for for Pinar Del Rio of the Cuban League. In case we forgot, the WBC proved that the Cuban league isn't exactly made up of a bunch of amateurs.

Jim Duquette signed Soler to a three-year, $2.8 million deal in 2004, but he was stranded in the Dominican Republic for a year and half due to some shenanigans by the people who were supposed to help him get his papers pushed through. But it seems like Soler hasn't missed a beat. He made five starts for St. Lucie this season and posted a .064 ERA. Now in AA, he struck out nine batters in 6 2/3, allowing just one run. Maybe Omar feels it's too soon to have him skip AAA and bring him up to the big club, but I think this guy has already pitched at the big league level in Cuba, and these past seven starts should be viewed as rehab starts and the level they were pitched at should be ignored. It is not an ideal situation but when you have all these injuries he looks like he has a much bigger upside than Jose Lima.

I know I'm not alone. Metstradamus has a poll up and at last check Soler was the leading vote getter as the best option for the Mets to help the back of the rotation. By the way, Metstradamus should be a daily read for Mets fans, if for no other reason than his hilarious daily hate list.

Anyway, Tommy Glavine throws tonight against Cory Lidle. Lidle (3-3, 4.17 ERA) has been in the news recently for saying that Barry Bonds's chase of the homerun record isn't "legitimate". Impressive. By the way, I'm also impressed that I haven't heard a peep about Tom Glavine going on extra days rest tonight. Nice.

What Does The Word "Bandbox" Mean?

The Mets played the Phillies tonight in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. I've been to this park, and I absolutely love it. It's termed a "bandbox," a term which most baseball fans understand, but might have no idea where the word comes from.

According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (c) 1989, the term was originally used to compare the size of a small ballpark to the bandstands, or band boxes, that were once commonly found in small towns, and in which local music groups would play.

bandbox / band box / bandbox field n A ballpark whose small dimensions make it easier to hit home runs. In the 1950's the label was often applied to Ebbets Field, while today it is most likely to attach itself to Fenway Park (which John Updike termed a "lyric little green bandbox") and Wrigley Field. The term is sometimes used to suggest that a batter's numbers are less impressive because of the dimensions of his home field. At the end of the 1988 season, Jose Canseco of teh Oakland A's said that the record posted by Mike Greenwell of the Boston Red Sox was diminished "because he plays in a bandbox."

The first published usage found is in a 1906 issue of Sporting Life.

Who Is Jeremi Gonzalez? (Mets Need A Pitcher, Not A Belly Itcher)

During tonight's SNY broadcast, it was announced that journeyman Jeremi Gonzalez will be called up from AAA to start Friday vs. Milwaukee, followed by Jose Lima on Satuday, and Pedro on Sunday.

Gonzalez has a lifetime record of 26-33, and an ERA of 4.84. Originally drafted by the Cubs back in 1991, his most successful season came in his rookie season of 1997, when he went 11-9 for Chicago. In his last full season as a starter, in 2003 for Tampa Bay, he went 6-11, but posted a 3.91 ERA. After going 0-5 in 8 starts in 2004, he became a reliever, appearing in 28 games for Boston in 2005, starting 3 of those games, posting a 6-11 ERA. Excited for Friday yet?

In six starts for AAA Norfolk, Gonzalez has managed a 3.03 ERA, with 30 strikeouts in just under 36 innings pitched.

As a pitcher, Gonzalez mixes it up with a few different breaking balls, two different fast balls, and a changeup. Paul LoDuca will like his quick delivery, helping to cut down on the running game.

With Gonzalez and Lima earning starts after injuries to Bannister, Zambrano and Maine, Adam Rubin writes that Aaron Heilman is still wondering when it will be his turn.

Mets Make Roster Move

According to Matt Cerrone, the Mets have brought up Heath Bell and demoted Bartolome Fortunato. Rumors that the switching of the two righthanders because of how much easier it is to pronounce Bell's name are unsubstatiated, at least so far.

Transplanted Ex-Met Update - Piazza Struggling in San Diego

Mike Piazza is hitting .231 in 78 atbats for San Diego and is homerless since hitting #400 back on April 26th. He did go 2 for 3 with an RBI in yesterday's 8-3 loss to San Diego.

Mike's teammate Mike Cameron went 3 for 5 in the game, and is hitting .263 in the 14 games he's played in since returning from the DL. He also has 7 RBI's and 2 stolen bases.

Edgardo Alfonzo has not made the most of the increased playing time he's recieved lately. He's just 2 for his last 28, and is hitting .114 for the year.

Kris Benson lost his last start against Boston, and is now 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA on the season. He's recorded 20 strikeouts against 17 walks in 42 innings pitched.

Jae Seo, after a miserable start to the season, is pitching better for the Dodgers. He's allowed just one run in twelve innings over his last two starts. He's 1-2 on the season, getting a no-decision in his last start on May 3rd, and will start tonight against Houston.

Star Mets - the Next Generation

I almost shuddered when I saw the back cover of today's Newsday (online of course). It reminded me too much of another image.

The corresponding article to today's Newsday back cover lists several players the Mets consider "untouchable," even if they could bring back a top starter like Dontrelle willis. The untouchables are supposedly David Wright,Jose Reyes, Aaron Heilman, and prospects Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber, Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. One line in the article stuck out to me:

"No way," a Mets higher-up said when asked if they'd trade Milledge, Heilman or even Pelfrey for Willis.

Okay, I am calling b*llsh*t on this one. The Mets would't trade Heilman and Pelfrey for Willis? The D-Train??? Give me a break. Don't get me wrong, I am all for bringing guys up from the farm, but even in their wildest dreams Pelfrey would still be only almost as good as Dontrelle Willis. Sure, the Mets have egg on their face for the Kazmir trade, but only because of what they brought back. If you can bring back a legitimate star pitcher for pitching prospects and/or middle relievers, you do it without thinking about it for ten seconds.

I wouldn't trade Milledge for Willis, but only because Milledge has the potential to be a star for the Mets every day, while Willis can only go every five. There's no need to trade Milledge because it would only make sense if you could bring back a top offensive player, and the Mets don't have a spot for a guy like that anyway. Unless, maybe you could trade Milledge and Nady for say, Miguel Cabrera...

TransplantedMetsFan Poll: The Kaz: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Willie Randolph says that Matsui has improved his game enough to keep his spot, even when Anderson Hernandez is ready to come back. Jon Heyman says the Mets are actually actively shopping Metsui because they want to give the second base job back to AHern when he's ready.

So here's the question for the readers: Forgetting about potential player(s) he could net in a trade, has Matsui showed you enough to keep his job? Or are the last two years still etched into your minds to where you still want him outta here?

If Anderson Hernandez were ready to come back today, who you start at second base every day? Him, or Kaz Matsui?
	AHern
	Metsui
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Braves Necks Remain Footprint Free

As Newsday's headline captured it perfectly, yesterday was more like Lemon Time than Lima Time. Nevertheless, the Braves fans around here are mighty quiet. When you start reading quotes from John Smoltz like this...

"If we get double digits down, we're not going to come back," Smoltz said. "As it is right now, it's almost a hard trek for us to crawl back into this.

...you know the Braves are sweating. But with the Mets final two spots in the rotation being, for all intents and purposes, empty, the Mets get a well-timed day off, not only allowing the front end of the rotation to face the charging Phillies this week, but also leaving them five full days to figure out who to plug in those spots. Here's a rundown of the probable starters over the next couple weeks:

Tuesday, May 9th at Philadelphia - Pedro Martinez. Billy Wagner has used the day off to stir up some controversy with his old club. Hopefully he'll get a chance to shut up the Philly crowd and make up for blowing a save in Petey's last start.

Wednesday, May 10th at Philly - Glavine. (uh, oh. Tommy has an extra day's rest. Prepare to read between the lines of articles for some whining. Sort of surprised Petey and Tommy don't get flip-flopped for these starts)

Thursday, May 11th at. Philly - Trachsel. As Kranepool writes, Mr. "Maybe I should have thrown a no-hitter" Steve Trachsel has to step it up for this game.

Friday, May 12th and Saturday May 13th at Milwaukee - Here's where things get dicey. Do the Mets call "Time Out" on Lima, or do they give him the ball again? Jeremi Gonzalez is available in AAA, and will likely get one of the spots, while Pelfrey and Soler are available in AA. As for trade candidates, the Dodgers' Perez is available, and The Daily News's Adam Rubin has a funny rundown of the "other" candidates to take a spot in the Mets rotation.

Sunday, May 14th at Milwaukee - If Petey goes tomorrow, he'll get this spot, but then Glavine would have to wait until Wednesday the 16th to pitch vs St. Louis, again on extra day's rest. Glavine likes going every five, and the Mets usually prefer to give Martinez the extra rest, so I still speculate they'll flip-flop these guys.

Monday, May 15th - Off

Tuesday, May 16th at St. Louis - Glavine or Pedro
Wednesday, May 17th at St. Louis - Trachsel
Thursday, May 18th at St. Louis - Lima/Bannister/Gonzalez/Soler/Dontrelle Willis

And that's when the Yankees come to town...

Friday, May 19th vs. NYY - Glavine or Daddy
Saturday, May 20th vs. NYY - Big Gaping Hole In The Rotation Right Here
Sunday, May 19th vs. NYY - Glavine or Daddy

The Mets get another day off before a three game set with Philadelphia. Obviously these next fifteen games should tell us everything we need to know about these Mets.

As Mets Scramble For Starting Pitching, Braves Necks Remain Footprint Free

Mets Pitching Probables (or Possibles)

As Newsday's headline captured it perfectly, yesterday was more like Lemon Time than Lima Time. Nevertheless, the Braves fans around here are mighty quiet. When you start reading quotes from John Smoltz like this...

"If we get double digits down, we're not going to come back," Smoltz said. "As it is right now, it's almost a hard trek for us to crawl back into this.

...you know the Braves are sweating. But with the Mets final two spots in the rotation being, for all intents and purposes, empty, the Mets get a well-timed day off, not only allowing the front end of the rotation to face the charging Phillies this week, but also leaving them five full days to figure out who to plug in those spots. Here's a rundown of the probable starters over the next couple weeks:

Tuesday, May 9th at Philadelphia - Pedro Martinez. Billy Wagner has used the day off to stir up some controversy with his old club. Hopefully he'll get a chance to shut up the Philly crowd and make up for blowing a save in Petey's last start.

Wednesday, May 10th at Philly - Glavine. (uh, oh. Tommy has an extra day's rest. Prepare to read between the lines of articles for some whining. Sort of surprised Petey and Tommy don't get flip-flopped for these starts)

Thursday, May 11th at. Philly - Trachsel. As Kranepool writes, Mr. "Maybe I should have thrown a no-hitter" Steve Trachsel has to step it up for this game.

Friday, May 12th and Saturday May 13th at Milwaukee - Here's where things get dicey. Do the Mets call "Time Out" on Lima, or do they give him the ball again? Jeremi Gonzalez is available in AAA, and will likely get one of the spots, while Pelfrey and Soler are available in AA. As for trade candidates, the Dodgers' Perez is available, and The Daily News's Adam Rubin has a funny rundown of the "other" candidates to take a spot in the Mets rotation.

Sunday, May 14th at Milwaukee - If Petey goes tomorrow, he'll get this spot, but then Glavine would have to wait until Wednesday the 16th to pitch vs St. Louis, again on extra day's rest. Glavine likes going every five, and the Mets usually prefer to give Martinez the extra rest, so I still speculate they'll flip-flop these guys.

Monday, May 15th - Off

Tuesday, May 16th at St. Louis - Glavine or Pedro
Wednesday, May 17th at St. Louis - Trachsel
Thursday, May 18th at St. Louis - Lima/Bannister/Gonzalez/Soler/Dontrelle Willis

And that's when the Yankees come to town...

Friday, May 19th vs. NYY - Glavine or Daddy
Saturday, May 20th vs. NYY - Big Gaping Hole In The Rotation Right Here
Sunday, May 19th vs. NYY - Glavine or Daddy

The Mets get another day off before a three game set with Philadelphia. Obviously these next fifteen games should tell us everything we need to know about these Mets.

Tom Glavine Will Chase #300 With The Mets in 2007

Although it went completely ignored at the time, in March of 2005 the Mets restructured Tom Glavine's contract and added a club option for 2007. According to Jon Heyman, the Mets have decided to pick up that option.

Zambrano Done For Season

An MRI has revealed that Zambrano suffered a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, and is done for the season. His best friend on the team, Pedro Martinez, was apparently one of a bunch of players who knew that Zambrano was suffering beforehand, and after the game Petey blamed the media for Zambrano pitching through the pain and ultimately having to miss the rest of the season.

Martinez said Zambrano's right elbow has been hurting since the start of the season, though Zambrano apparently told no one else and forced himself to pitch because he was worried about his reputation.

"It was because of the damn pressure you guys put on him," said Martinez, who spoke to the devastated Zambrano before he left for the MRI. "He was crying because his elbow blew up like that. You could see it from far away."

Martinez said some even warned Zambrano not to pitch yesterday. When he leaped off the mound, their worst fears had been realized.

It's amazing to me how much injury this club has already suffered this early in the season, and yet they still have managed to play to a record 11 games over .500, with the most victories in the majors, and a five game lead in the NL East.

If our ace pitcher and Mets idol Pedro lashes out in anger over this injury, us fans I guess are supposed to feel a little guilty. But I am willing to admit I don't. I am mad about it, but because it takes Mets management off the hook. Here is a guy who really shouldn't have been pitching all this time, not because of his injury, but because he has been our worst pitcher for the past two years. The Mets management has refused to admit that they made a bad tradem and continue to wheel him out every fifth day. Now the decision to replace him in the rotation has been made for them.

But know they'll have to find a pitcher. Too bad they traded away Kris Benson. There's a deal that still pisses me off too. They traded away a guy because his wife was a pain in the ass. Well, newsflash: everyone already knew Anna was a pain in the ass before the Mets traded for Benson. He didn't just meet this woman since coming to New York.

So this is how the rotation looks right now:

Pedro
Glavine
Trachsel
Lima
?

Today at 1PM is Lima Time, when the Mets will attempt to step on Atlanta's neck.