Let’s hope 7/2/09 doesn’t end up like 8/11/08

Last season the Mets and Pirates were rained out on April 28, 2008.  The Pirates had to travel back to Shea Stadium on August 11 to make up the game.

This year, the Mets will have to make a pit-stop in Pittsburgh to make up last night’s rainout.  Hopefully, the opposite outcome will occur.

On August 11, 2008, the Mets carried a 5-0 lead heading into the seventh inning.  They went on to give up three in the seventh and three in the ninth and eventually lose the game.

Joe Smith issued a walk to leadoff the seventh and allowed an RBI double before being yanked.  Pedro Feliciano entered and allowed one inherited runner to score and a runner of his own.

Aaron Heilman entered in the 9th inning nursing a one-run lead.  He got the leadoff batter, Nate McLouth of all people, to strike out.  Heilman then let up a single, a walk, an RBI single and hit a batter to load the bases before being removed.  Scott Schoeneweis entered and got a groundout for the second out.  A two-out, two-RBI single by Steve Pearce put the Pirates on top for good.

Though Carlos Beltran led off the 9th with a single, Carlos Delgado struckout swinging and Fernando Tatis grounded into a game-ending double play.

Same situation, different venue and the Mets will hope for a different result.

Ex-Mets: Scott Schoeneweis’ wife found dead at home

Via mlbCoz’s Twitter:

Scott Schoeneweis has left the Diamondbacks - wife was found dead at their home

Via AZCentral:

Gabrielle Dawn Schoeneweis, 39, was unresponsive when deputies arrived at the home a little after noon.

A call to the Sheriff’s Office was made by one of the couple’s children. The 14-year-old told deputies she found the mother of four on the floor of the master bedroom. Schoeneweis was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigating is ongoing. The cause of death is yet to be determined.

My thoughts go out to Schoeneweis and his family.

Happy Mets Festivus

Today, Dec. 23, marks the celebration of Festivus. Today, we will go through the many rituals of Festivus, of course dealing with the Mets, so why don't we just call this "Metstivus."

Break out your aluminum poles, and let us begin with the Airing of Grievances:

Luis Castillo: Your albatross of a contract has weighed on the team since the day you signed. You may have been a necessity to get Johan Santana to sign long-term, but if you backed up the money you're being played with "decent" play, I think people would look the other way. Instead, you miss tons of time with your bum knees and slap your way into double plays. You are the biggest waste of money on the Mets and since Aaron Heilman is the newest resident of Seattle, you will become the fans new personal scapegoat.

Left field: Yes, I'm airing my grievances toward the entire position. It seems to be cursed. Let's start with 2008. Endy Chavez saw the most games in LF -- he's now a Seattle Mariner. Follower up by Fernando Tatis -- he missed the end of the season with a shoulder injury. Daniel Murphy seemed to escape the curse, as did his rookie counterpart Nick Evans. After them was Marlon Anderson, who struggled mightily at the plate all season long. Then Angel Pagan, who lost most of the season to a shoulder injury. Behind him was Moises Alou, who only appeared in 14 games for the Mets in '08.

Looking to 2007, Alou led the list, and again missed lots of time to injuries. Chavez was behind him, and also lost time to a hamstring injury. In third on that list was Carlos Gomez, who was traded in the off season to the Minnesota Twins.

Now to 2006 and Cliff Floyd, who suffered many injuries throughout the year, none more memorable or heartbreaking as in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Floyd held his own from 2003-2005. 2004 featured Roger Cedeno as the almost everyday left fielder, with Timo Perez a distant second. Let me just list some left fielders the Mets have had "recently" (these are the players who saw the most games in LF that year): 1995 - Joe Orsulak, 1994 - Kevin McReynolds, 1993 - Vince Coleman, 1992 - Daryl Boston.

Maybe -- hopefully -- the move to Citi Field rids LF of it's apparent curse. Only few have escaped it since the early '90s.

Ryan Church: Stop running into things.

Luis Aguayo: Good riddance!

Willie Randolph: See: above.

Aaron Heilman: See: above.

Scott Schoeneweis: See: above.

Ambiorix Burgos: Get a safe, get a chauffeur, get anger management and get a lawyer. Also, see: above.

On to the Festivus Miracles!

It's a Metstivus miracle Omar Minaya signed Francisco Rodriguez for that price. Sign of the economy or just good dealings by Omar?

It's a Metstivus miracle he also helped sure up the 8th inning when he dealt the embattled Heilman and others away to land J.J. Putz.

It's a Metstivus miracle what Carlos Delgado did in the second half of the season.

It's a Metstivus miracle the Mets got Johan Santana earlier this year. (That was this year?! Geez.)

And finally, the Feats of Strength.

The Mets newest feat of strength will be when they flex their power in the 8th and 9th innings next season. I'm truly excited to see the day when Santana pitches seven strong innings and then has no fear or regrets as Putz shuts them down in the 8th and K-Rod comes in for the 9th. "Santana to Putz to K-Rod, the first Mets perfect game!" OK, I'm dreaming a little here, but still.

Another feat of strength, which also made last year's Festivus celebration was Shea Stadium. Holding up all those years, especially after Game 6 in 1986, is truly a feat of strength. You will be miss, Shea.

And finally, the fans. After having to put up with two heartbreaking collapses in two seasons, the fans will come flocking back to the team like nothing ever happened. With a renewed attitude and vigor, anxiously awaiting the chance to wash away the past two years and watch their team play baseball again. I can tell you I am among these fans. Spring training can't start soon enough.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Let's go Mets!

Please go check out Scott Proctor's Arm for a Yankee Festivus (featuring appearances by yours truly!)

2008 Met of the Year Award: Orange Bracket Round 2 [3 hours left!!]

Let Round 2 begin!

Criteria for voting: Voting can be based on whatever you choose. Stats at the plate, play in the field, a game-winning hit at a game you attended, the fact that he signed your hat at the stadium, how cute he is, VORP -- whatever you choose!

Today's TWO matchups (scroll down for the second poll):

Polls closed.

Voting will end at MIDNIGHT.

My prediction: Santana in a romp over Tatis. Beltran destroys Schoeneweis. Top seeds move on.

2008 Met of the Year Award: Orange Bracket update

It was a successful beginning to the 2008 Met of the Year Award. There was only one close match, while the rest were absolute blowouts, so here are the results and an updated mini-bracket.

Winners names are in bold, followed by percentages and actual votes in parentheses.

1. Johan Santana vs. 16. Marlon Anderson -- 98.73% to 1.27% (78-1)

8. Aaron Heilman vs. 9. Fernando Tatis -- 3.66% to 96.34% (3-79)

5. Scott Schoeneweis vs. 12. Luis Castillo -- 70.89% to 29.11% (56-23)

4. Carlos Beltran vs. 14. Claudio Vargas -- 97.53% to 2.47% (79-2)

Here in an updated mini-bracket.

Check back tomorrow at 9:30 am for the White Bracket voting.

Announcing: The 2008 Met of the Year Award [Voting has begun!]

The 2008 Met of the Year Award will be

awarded to the winner of the tourney.For a printable bracket, click here.
For an large updated bracket, click here.

Here at The 'Ropolitans, I thought it would be both entertaining and interesting to see who the 2008 Met of the Year (MotY) is, as voted on by you, the readers. I have the bracket and polls lined up and over the next two weeks, you will be able to vote in a head-to-head match to determine this years MotY.

Voting can be based on whatever you choose. Stats at the plate, play in the field, a game-winning hit at a game you attended, the fact that he signed your hat at the stadium, how cute he is, VORP -- whatever you choose!

The winner will be awarded a "trophy" and will be entered into The 'Ropolitans MotY Hall of Fame.

The first round of voting begins today, beginning with the Orange Bracket. The White Bracket will be tomorrow, followed by the Black and then the Blue Bracket.

There will be four polls for the first four days, after that it will go down to two polls a day for Round 2 and 3. Round 4 will be held over two days, as will the championship round. The winner will be announced Jan. 1, 2009.

Here are the results [Updated Daily]:

12/19: Orange Bracket Round 1 results.
12/20: White Bracket Round 1 results.
12/21: Black Bracket Round 1 results.
12/22: Blue Bracket Round 1 results.
12/23: VOTING IS OPEN. Polls close at midnight.

Have fun voting and good luck to whichever player you're pulling for.

Let the 2008 Met of the Year tournament...BEGIN!

Toby Hyde on Connor Robertson

Though the Mets newest acquisition has some pretty awful numbers at the big league level, Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog posts some stats from Connor Robertson's minor league appearances, and they look fairly interesting.

Robertson is a fine athlete who was a second-team All-American as a 3B at Birmingham Southern where he is the career leader in HR, TB and RBI.

In 306 minor league innings, Robertson struck out 383 batters while walking 123. That works out to 11.26 K/9,, [sic]3.26 BB/9 and a K/BB of 3.11. The nine big league innings that hardly indicate his underlying abilty [sic].

Very interesting. Maybe all he need is some seasoning with a different pitching coach.

The Mets sent Scott Schoeneweis along with $1.6 million to Arizona for Robertson on Friday.

Mets trade Schoeneweis

That's right everyone, Scott Schoeneweis is no longer a Met. Omar Minaya is absolutely gutting this bullpen. I wonder if anyone from the 2008 pen will be around next season...

The Mets have traded Schoeneweis to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right handed relief pitcher Conor Robertson.

From the press release:

Robertson, 27, was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in nine games with Arizona this past season. In 7.0 innings, he allowed eight hits, four runs, earned, with two walks and two strikeouts. In addition, the 6-2, 220-pounder went 7-4 with a 5.02 ERA in 47 contests with Tucson (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. In 71.2 innings, he surrendered 69 hits, 45 runs, 40 earned, with 30 walks and 72 strikeouts.

My one issue is that the Mets need some sort of veteran leadership in the bullpen now. All these young guys in, or possibly in, the bullpen could lead to some strange issues.

Trevor Hoffman, anyone?

Anyway, so long Schoeneweis. I will not miss typing your last name.

Still trying to make Marquis a Met

Omar Minaya will not rest, will not sleep for an instant until the 2009 Mets are ready to go.

Jon Heyman continue to bring up Jason Marquis to the Mets.

Marquis, a Staten Island native, would fill a need in the Mets' rotation at a reasonable cost. The Cubs are offering to pay some of Marquis' $9.5-million 2009 salary to defray the cost. The Mets could also consider sending reliever Scott Schoeneweis to the Cubs to further offset Marquis' salary.

For a second, I got very, very excited that the Mets were sending Schoeneweis for Marquis straight up. Darn.

I'm not quite sure what else the Cubbies need, outside of bullpen help. They might need a right-handed bat in the outfield, but I'm not quite sure the Mets have enough righties on their team as it is.

I'd like to see Marquis, as he'd be a solid #5 starter. Don't forget about Jon Garland, Minaya!

Mets could have had Street from Colorado for Heilman and Feliciano

According to Joel Sherman, the Mets contacted the Colorado Rockies after they acquired Huston Street. The Mets offered Aaron Heilman, but the Rockies wanted Pedro Feliciano included as well, and the Mets walked away.

Going by this, the Rockies need a left handed pitcher. Why not offer Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis? He's under contract and a lefty that they need. They'll dump Street, and keep Manny Corpas as their closer, and everyone is happy.

If somehow, they can include Luis Castillo in this deal, and get a bag of balls in return, that would be a miracle.

The Rockies are likely still listening to offers on Street, so hopefully Omar Minaya is racking up the phone bill with calls to Denver. If he can land Street and rid the team of Heilman and maybe Schoeneweis or Castillo (or both!) then I, and many other Mets fans, will be very happy. Street might not be the best option for closer, but he's damn well better than anything the team currently has.

If the No. 1 scapegoat for the last two seasons is off the team in the process of bringing in a young closer, then Minaya will have earned his extension in my eyes. At least until the next deal.

Rumor Rundown: All the names the Mets are linked to

As the GM Meetings come to a close in Dana Point, Calif., the market and buzz will likely slow down until early December, when the winter meetings kick off in Las Vegas.

Here are some of the latest rumors involving the Mets...

Adam Rubin has an article in the Daily News where he explains that even though Omar Minaya came away empty handed (as did every other GM), "Minaya believes he has laid the groundwork for future deals."

From Rubin we got the usual two closing names with Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes. He also mentions Kerry Wood, who started all of last year for the Chicago Cubs and Chad Cordero, who we first hear rumors for yesterday. Cordero is still recovering from shoulder surgery, and a Met official told Rubin that he probably won't be ready for opening day and should expect a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training if the team decides to pursue.

** * **

As always, the Mets bullpen needs an overhaul, and the team is currently shopping Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, and Pedro Feliciano.

According to Ken Davidoff:

There definitely will be takers for Heilman and Feliciano; among the teams that like Heilman at some level, are Oakland, Tampa Bay and Texas, and Feliciano has value to any club looking for a left-hander.

The Mets would be willing to pay some of the $3.6 million owed to Schoeneweis in 2009. They feel that Schoeneweis could have appeal to other clubs because of his strong numbers against lefty hitters (.520 OPS in 2008).

I think it's going to be pretty easy to unload these guys, if the Mets contact the right team. Heilman, who we all know has struggled, still garners interest due to his age and foreseeable talent.

Feliciano will be a target of a lot of teams due to which arm he uses to deliver pitches. Being a lefty never looked so good. And Schoeneweis caught some attention before the Aug. 31 trade deadling during the season, so if those teams (Tigers were the more interested) are still looking, I'd ship him out as soon as possible.

** * **

Davidoff also breaks down what the Mets Plan A, Plan B and Plan C look like for this off-season.

Plan A entails signing K-Rod or Fuentes, Derek Lowe, and a "low-cost, high-ceiling pitcher (Freddy Garcia, for instance) to compete for the fifth starter's job with Jonathon Niese." Then, trade Heilman and Schoeneweis for some decent bullpen arms, pick up Raul Ibanez, trade Luis Castillo and sign Orlando Hudson.

Well, that'd be nice. That's definitely my Plan A as well, but I just don't think they have the payroll to add all those guys.

Check out the article for Plan B and C. (I like Plan B a lot as well.)

** * **

Seems that looking in-house for a closer is the last resort for the Mets.

Davidoff (yes, again!) quotes Minaya in another article:

Asked yesterday if the Mets could turn within the organization for their closer - a youngster such as Eddie Kunz or Bobby Parnell, for instance - Minaya said, "That is not Plan One."

Smart man, I just hope he doesn't disregard them altogether.

Who will stick in the bullpen?

The Mets 2009 bullpen will look radically different.

According to David Lennon, an overhaul is most likely in the works to fix the Mets Achilles heel over the past few seasons. From today's Daily News:

Other than Joe Smith, Brian Stokes and Pedro Feliciano, the bullpen should look drastically different in '09.
---
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon has spoken about addition by subtraction, meaning Aaron Heilman (two years from free agency), Scott Schoeneweis (one year, $3.6 million remaining) and Luis Castillo (three years, $18 million) all potentially are goners. Since the Mets would have to eat so much of Castillo's contract, or trade for an equally bad contract, they may be stuck with him.

Stokes really came out of nowhere at the end and surprised the team with an above-average fastball and ability to go multiple innings.

Smith and Feliciano are the opposites of each other, which means they are delegated mostly to a specific batter, either LH hitter or RH hitters. The Mets are going to need a lot more versatility out of the bullpen, and they're going to have to sign, trade and promote to fill out the pen.

Eddie Kunz, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Jason Vargas are all players who may find themselves either starting or in the bullpen in '09. Players available via trade include perennial-rumor name Huston Street, J.J. Putz and George Sherrill.

One big name who filed for free agency on Thursday is Chad Cordero. Cordero is working back from an injury and surgery of a torn labrum, and it's said he'll be ready by spring training. The Mets have been linked to Cordero for a while, so I'd expect some interest from Omar Minaya. We all saw Cordero before he went under the knife, and his fastball was flat and slow. If those problems are solved, and he's the Cordero of old, I'd be more than happy to have him on the Mets.

Any way you look at it, it's going to be a busy off-season for Minaya, and the bullpen is a major point of concern, especially if the young guys cannot perform up to snuff.

Should they stay or should they go? [Pitchers]

As we solemnly shift into the 2008-2009 off-season, I guess it's never too early to look ahead.

Here's a list of all the pitchers who made an appearance with the Mets in 2008, and whether they should stay or go, and why:

Pitchers

Johan Santana - Stay.

Mike Pelfrey - Stay. Probably the #2 starter next season.

Oliver Perez - Stay. Maybe. First tough one. He's good, he's young, and he's lefty. Too bad he's going to be expensive. I would say sign him again, maybe a three year deal. He's proven capable of pitching, sometimes. He put together a few good starts, but struggles at times. If he's re-signed, Mets fans must accept he will never be consistent.

John Maine - Stay. Surgery for him on Tuesday, and with a full recovery, he'll be back to normal. Without any huge acquisitions (CC Sabathia), Maine could be the #3 guy in the rotation. I think the Mets need a bit of an upgrade in the starting rotation, so Maine might be the #4. I love his fight and I think he can be a top-class pitcher if he can limit his pitch count and work further into games.

Pedro Martinez - Go. Sorry, Pedro. I love you, you helped turned this team around, but I can't see the Mets bringing you back, if you even keep pitching past this year. I say call it a career. Focus on your family, and become a fun-loving announcer or something like that. You've had a great run. Sorry this team couldn't send you out on top.

Billy Wagner - Go. Injured, and out for all of 2009. He's thrown his last pitch as a Met. Too bad they'll still be paying him.

Pedro Feliciano - Stay. Though he'll probably take a month off after appearing in 86 games this season. He's decent for what he does and won't be too expensive.

Joe Smith - Stay. I love him. He is overused, but that was a creature of the rest of the bullpen. He's great.

Aaron Heilman - GO! Trade him away, ship him somewhere, get him off the team. He's worn out his welcome on more than one occasion, and if the Mets want to please Mets fans and pay them back for what they've done these last two season, they will trade Heilman as soon as possible. He's the scapegoat of this team and he will never prosper while pitching in Queens.

Scott Schoeneweis - Go. People had interest in him nearing the end of July, so hopefully there is still some sort of market for him. Trade him.

Duaner Sanchez - Stay. Only because I think he wasn't fully prepared for a full season of pitching. After getting this under his belt, and a long offseason, I think Sanchez can come back as a decent pitcher. Take a chance.

Nelson Figueroa - Stay. I say keep him. He's perfect AAA fodder. He can start, come out of the bullpen, and is very versatile. He's not lights out, but he's capable and a New York native.

Brandon Knight - Stay. Why not? He's not going to cost much and can pitch three good innings. He's better suited out of the bullpen, as opposed to starting. Will not be heartbroken when the Mets release him, though.

Claudio Vargas - Stay. This is going to become a theme. I don't mind keeping guys like this because we all know the Mets will suffer injuries. They're going to need "veterans" to come up and fill in. Vargas was much better than I expected, so if he can keep that going, I wouldn't mind a spot start or two from him.

Brian Stokes - Stay. Smoking fastball, and with a bit of tweaking, he'd be a great relief pitcher. His fastball doesn't seem to move much, but he can get it up there. A good 6th or 7th inning guy, but nothing in clutch situations. He's not the next closer.

Carlos Muniz - Go. I know he's been on the Heath Bell Express, but I haven't seen more than a handful of good performances from him. Stay in the minors, please.

Luis Ayala - Go. Worth what we traded for him, but he's a guy on the fence. He's not a closer, but he might be able to pitch in relief in non-pressure situation. But then what's the point of keeping him around? Adios, amigo. You successfully got Anderson Hernandez out of this organization, and for that we are forever in debt to you.

Jonathon Niese - Stay. Possible starter next year? We saw what he's capable of with that eight inning, shut out performance against the Braves. Young, with a nasty curve ball. He's obviously not going anywhere, but it's yet to be determined if he can make the cut for the majors. See you in spring training.

Tony Armas - Stay. See: Claudio Vargas.

Matt Wise - Go. What a waste of a contract. Eight games, seven innings, 6.43 ERA. Good riddance.

Bobby Parnell - Stay. Another guy who could be starting next year, if things work out in his favor. Could also stick in the bullpen, but more valuable as a starter, I think. He looked a bit less polished than Niese, so we'll see him in spring training, and maybe if someone gets hurt.

Ricardo Rincon - Go. No sir.

Eddie Kunz - Stay. Closer of the future? That's yet to be determined, but he showed some signs of brillance. A big guy that can throw heat, how can you not love that. I could see him sticking in the bullpen out of spring training.

In the end, I'd like to see a starting rotation of:
Santana
Pelfrey
Maine
Perez (if cheap)
Niese / Parnell

And a bullpen of:
Smith
Feliciano
Stokes
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Kunz, Parnell, or Niese could all fit in there at some point in time, and maybe Knight for long relief.

Omar Minaya has a lot of work to do with this bullpen. Hopefully he doesn't take all four years of his contract extension to put it together.

Where the heck is Al Reyes? Redux

On Monday, I wrote:

Way back on August 20th, the Mets signed pitcher Al Reyes. He went to the minors to work back into shape before coming up in September to supposedly help the beleaguered bullpen.

Well, he's up, and he's yet to pitch.

And now he's gone.

The Mets released Reyes before he ever threw a pitch. Apparently, his performance at Double-A Binghamton before he was called up was sub-par, and the Mets decided not to roll the dice with their third Reyes.

It seems the Mets are happy using the same guys out of the bullpen, even if they are getting overworked a bit. Last night, with a five run lead in the bottom of the ninth, Scott Schoeneweis entered the game.

Why?

Where the heck is Bobby Parnell? In his one inning of work, he retired the side in order. Why not give him the ninth inning, with Schoeneweis up in the bullpen if anything goes wrong?

I love Jerry Manuel, but this is Willie Randolph-esque bullpen management. Give the kids a shot, especially with a big lead like they had last night.

Game Recap: Mets 7 -- Braves 3

Wait...the Mets bullpen...didn't give it up??

Pitching Performance

Oliver Perez was on the bump tonight, as he worked his way through six 1-3 innings. Perez scattered seven hits and five walks, and somehow managed to only give up three runs. Perez also struck out three. All three runs against Perez came in the top of the third inning, as the Braves strung together a walk, three singles and a couple of productive outs.

Perez was wildly effective. He let the runners reach, but almost always worked out without damage. It may have just been me trying to watch the game on the TV screen in the diner with my family, but it seemed like his rocking motion was more pronounced tonight, as opposed to recently. Maybe it was just me.

Luis Ayala made his Mets debut, coming in with men on first and third and only one out. Ayala induced two pop-ups to work out of the jam.

I was skeptical, but this was a good first appearance. Getting off on the right foot.

Aaron Heilman worked one inning, giving up one hit and walking one. The Mets offense finally woke up and made him a winner, bumping his record up to 3-7. Scott Schoeneweis came in with a four run lead, a non-save situation, allowed only one hit as the ended it for the Mets.

Solid. Very solid. The bullpen came out and did exactly what they're paid to do.

Offensive Output

The Mets got on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Another productive out from David Wright, as he drove in Jose Reyes with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis drove in Nick Evans with a ground rule double to right field.

Three hits and a walk, but only two runs. Thankfully, after seven innings of silence, the Mets bats picked up the slack in the 8th inning.

Carlos Delgado came through in the clutch, with the Mets down by a run. Delgado ripped a two-run double to deep left field, putting the Mets up by one. Damion Easley added a two-run single, followed by a Ramon Castro RBI double.

Delgado and Easley had been pretty ice cold lately, but both came through when the team needed them. Good stuff.

The Rest of the Story

Chipper Jones: 2-3, 2 walks, run, RBI. He's having a beast of a season, and of course it continues at Shea.

The Mets were outhit, 8-9.

Daniel Murphy's batting average has sunk to a paltry .419.

Game Ball: Carlos Delgado

Game Recap: Pirates 5 -- Mets 2

Put away your brooms...

Pitching Performance

The man with the quick pitch count, John Maine, labored through five innings today, as he threw 96 pitches but only allowed two hits. Maine walked four and struck out three, but can't seem to keep his PC below 75 through four innings. Maine didn't factor in the decision, as the Mets offense sputtered and the bullpen played the part of "sieve" and watched the sweep disappear from their grasps.

Maine has been pitching OK lately, but this pitch count issue is something that needs to be addressed. I've never seen a pitcher throw so many pitches in only a handful of innings. He's getting too deep in counts and allowing too many foul balls to work deep into games.

The bullpen from Hell reared it's ugly head again today. Brian Stokes was tagged for a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, erasing any work Maine did on the bump. Scott Schoeneweis finished out the seventh inning for Stokes.

The trouble came in the 8th, when Pedro Feliciano only recorded one out, but allowed one hit before he was removed for Duaner Sanchez. Feliciano and the Mets could only watch as Sanchez faced four batters, intentionally walking one and giving up three hits, including a two-run double for the Pirates final runs. Joe Smith came in and recorded two outs to stop the bleeding.

Sanchez looked like he got his act together recently, struggled with his velocity again. He's just not the pitcher the Mets thought he would be through the entirety of the season. He doesn't have the stamina to get through a whole season like this. Maybe Steven Register could have helped this team through the season...

Offensive Output

Wasted chances. That was the theme today for the Mets. The team was only able to scratch out two runs, both on productive outs.

Outside of the sac-fly in the first from Carlos Beltran, scoring Argenis Reyes and an RBI groundout in the fourth off the bat of Carlos Delgado, plating David Wright, the Mets left runners on base in a handful of innings and it came back to bite them in the end.

The Mets had runners on second and third with nobody out twice, both times resulting in one run. The Mets got a leadoff double from Nick Evans in the 6th, and with one out he stood on third while the Carloses struck out, stranding him.

In the 8th, the Mets got a two-out single from Evans, then consecutive walks from Wright and Beltran, bringing Delgado to the plate with the bases drunk, but the Pirates were able to induce a pop up and get out of the jam scott free.

They had a ton of chances to open up this game and put distance between themselves and the Buccos, but they failed to convert. When the bullpen let the lead slip away, the missed chances were enhanced, as always.

The Rest of the Story

Overall, a great road trip, as they went 6-1 and beat up on teams they should have. A sweep would have been great, but 3-4 against Pittsburgh is good. Guess the Mets should never play the Pirates on a Monday in the summer.

Game Ball: John Maine, I guess.

Early Morning Madness: The final edition

Jack Curry of the New York Times presents a very sobering statistic this morning: The ERA of five members of the bullpen since the All Star Break...

Scott Schoeneweis, 5.14.
Duaner Sanchez, 5.40.
Pedro Feliciano, 8.10.
Joe Smith, 9.53.
Aaron Heilman, 11.32.

Wow. 11.32?! And he's still in the majors? I thought it was bad, but I didn't think it was this bad. Something needs to be done.

** * **

Church service ran long yesterday. A day after I discussed the idea of not getting Ryan Church back at all this season, the concussed spent nearly four hours under examination.

The Mets should learn the results of the tests today.

** * **

This is the final edition of Early Morning Madness. My internship runs up today.

I know some folks from work stop by once in a while, so I'd just like to thank them for everything this summer. It's been an amazing experience.

What this means for the blog: Real game recaps will return, with a slight twist. They should debut on Monday. Also, posting time will be shifted back a bit. I'll be posting more in the late morning to late at night.

Mets Rumors: Shhh! All quiet in Queens

It looks like the deadline is going to pass without a move. Thank goodness.

There isn't a bullpen arm on the market that I would want the Mets to look into. Arthur Rhodes was taken by the Marlins, but I don't think he's that great of a pitcher. Keeping Scott Schoeneweis is a great move.

Just over an hour left before the deadline passes, and I'll be keeping track while on the train home. I highly doubt any Mets trades go down, but I'll try to keep you updated on any MLB trades from around the league and especially if anyone in the NL East makes a move.

Mets Rumors: Why move Scott Schoeneweis?

I keep reading that the Mets might move Scott Schoeneweis.

Why?

Schoeneweis has been one of the best arms in the bullpen all year long. He's had a nice bounceback year after last year's performance. I would hope the Mets would be able to land a solid arm in return if they do trade him away.

Without Schoeneweis, the bullpen would be much worse off than before. He's the third best reliever in the pen, behind Billy Wagner and Aaron Heilman (I never thought I'd write that sentence).

I'll be fine with the Mets making no moves today, and as of now, that's what seems like is going to happen.

Early Morning Madness: Maybe we need a reliever edition

With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Mets seem to be trying to land an everyday left fielder more than anything. I think Omar Minaya needs to step back and look at his bullpen a little bit more.

First of all, Fernando Tatis is hitting better than almost everyone else on the team right now. Obviously, this production isn't going to last, but once Ryan Church returns, the LF spot could see Tatis, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, and Marlon Anderson all sahring time depending on who is hot, who is pitching, and the like. It will be serviceable enough to work as one left fielder, some with plus bats, others with plus gloves.

I think the Mets real problem here is the bullpen. To put it simply, Carlos Muniz and Willie Collazo are not going to cut it. Muniz hasn't turned in a string of solid performances...ever. He's been riding the shuttle back and forth from New Orleans long enough I'm sure he know each and every flight attendant by now and they throw him an extra bag of peanuts on the flight. He's doing this for a reason, Omar. He's just not good enough to stick around.

Collazo recently came up, but to me, they are the same person with the same sort of stuff. Either way, these two aren't going to help the team. And now I see that Scott Schoeneweis' name is being tossed around in trade rumors. Well who is going to take his spot, I want to know?

Unless Omar is crazy enough to start promoting Eddie Kunz and Bobby Parnell ASAP, we're going to be stuck with relievers who can't seem to make it out of the minors, and have to depend on them down the stretch to the postseason.

The team doesn't have many chips to trade away, but I think the most pressing need right now is a new bullpen arm. Omar, I trust you and have since you took over. Sure, you've made some crappy moves, but you've also pulled out some gems. And right now, this team needs a gem.