Bengie Molina has re-signed, for less then the Mets offered, with the San Francisco Giants.
Molina signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Giants. The Mets had offered $5 million plus, according to Jon Heyman.
Whew.
***
Also, Pedro Feliciano ($2.9 million) and Sean Green ($975,000) have agreed to one-year deals with the Mets, avoiding arbitration.
Angel Pagan is the only Met without a contract. And he now holds all the cards.
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, John Maine and the New York Mets agreed to a one-year deal moments after he filed for arbitration.
The deal is worth $3.3 million with the chance to make an additional $225,000 from bonuses based on starts, according to the AP.
Also filing for arbitration today was Pedro Feliciano, Jeff Francoeur, Sean Green and Angel Pagan.
Tim Redding, making his first start since July 2, tossed five innings of one-hit baseball. He walked three and struck out four. And then the Mets let it slip away.
Removed due to a high pitch count, Redding gave way to Pat Misch, who was recalled from the minor leagues earlier yesterday. A lead-off walk to Shane Victorino was followed by a two-run home run off the bat of Chase Utley. The 1-0 Mets lead turned into a 2-1 Mets deficit.
After Misch recorded an out, Sean Green took over. Green allowed back-to-back two-out doubles for another Phillies run, giving them a 3-1 lead.
Though the Mets knocked out eight hits and walked twice, they were only able to plate one run. The run came in the bottom of the second when a groundball from Omir Santos was just out of the reach of third baseman Pedro Feliz. As it glanced off his glove and into the outfield, Jeff Francoeur was able to trot home with the Mets first, and only, run.
The Mets ended up using seven pitchers in last night’s game, with Pedro Feliciano giving up the other run in the Phillies eventual 4-1 victory.
At one point it looked like a little of the 1969 magic may have worn off on the 2009 Mets. But in the end, the ‘69 celebration was marred by the ‘09 talent.
What was the most exciting thing about last night’s Mets game? Probably seeing my Twitter friend Doug Whitehorn just miss catching a foul ball.
That says something.
The Mets lost their eighth of their last ten and are on the brink of a second consecutive season getting swept out of San Diego.
Bobby Parnell made his first major league start, lasting only 2 1-3 innings due to his pitch limit. He allowed two runs on four hits and three walks, though one run was charged to him after he left the game. He needed 68 pitches to get through seven outs, 42 of them landing for strikes.
Sean Green was the one bump in the otherwise decent bullpen effort, allowing one run in his 1-3 of an inning.
The Mets bats were again held quiet against a rookie pitcher they had never seen before. The lone Mets run came on an Alex Cora solo home run in the first inning. It was Cora’s first home run since April 29, 2007.
Johan Santana is on the mound for the Mets today as they try to avoid a sweep.
I don’t remember what it feels like when the Mets have a larger number than the other team.
The New York Mets (41-43) beat the Los Angeles Dodgers (53-32) by a score of 5-4.
Oliver Perez did just enough to put himself in line for a win. Five innings, 108 pitches, four hits. But he walked seven and allowed two earned runs. He also struck out two.
I’m calling this a successful first start for Perez after coming off the DL. Sure, it was a lot of pitches and sure, almost half of them were balls, but it’s good enough. Not $36 million good, but good enough.
Bobby Parnell turned in 1 2-3 solid innings in relief, highlighted by a terrific play by Daniel Murphy.
It’s really one of the coolest plays of the year, so I won’t even explain it to you. Just GO HERE and watch the video.
Sean Green allowed one run in his one inning of work, bringing the Dodgers within two runs. Francisco Rodriguez entered in the ninth, allowed a solo home run to Manny Ramirez to start, let on two more runners before inducing a game-ending double play.
He likes to make the fans sweat. That’s for sure.
The Mets finally picked up extra base hits tonight. Three, to be exact.
Jeremy Reed doubled in the second inning and later scored on a Luis Castillo RBI single.
Murphy picked up his second double of the night in the third inning, and scored on a David Wright RBI single. A fielder’s choice plated Wright later that inning and Reed delivered an RBI single to cap off the three-run inning.
Didn’t think I’d see that tonight. Well I didn’t think I’d see one run tonight, nevermind three in one inning.
In the fifth, Brian Schneider ripped a RBI single to right field, plating one run. That run proved to be the eventual game-winner.
A win is a win. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t easy but they won.
A gem from Mike Pelfrey.
The New York Mets (38-39) beat the Milwaukee Brewers (42-36) by a score of 1-0.
Pelfrey was as good as could be. Seven and 2-3 on the mound, surrendering six hits, two walks while striking out six. It seemed like anytime he was in a jam, he induced a double play.
Just what the doctor ordered. With this anemic offense, the Mets needed a strong start just to stay close. They got exactly that.
Pelfrey cam out with runners on first and second and two outs in the 8th in favor of Sean Green. Green got a ground ball to third base to end the inning and the threat.
A huge out. Well done.
Francisco Rodriguez entered for the 9th inning and let up a leadoff single to Ryan Braun. Unphased, K-Rod set the next three batters down on a line drive and two groundballs to preserve the victory and the win.
And his control was much, much better this time around.
For the game’s only run, credit is due to Luis Castillo and Ryan Church.
Leading off the sixth inning, Castillo dropped a hit just inside the line in left field for what ended up being a ground-rule double. After David Wright struck out for the third time that game, Church came to the plate and snuck a single under the glove of Craig Counsell and into centerfield, plating Castillo.
And that was all the Mets needed. Thank you, Pelfrey.
Game Ball: Mike Pelfrey
Slppy. Slopy. Lopy. Sloppy.
The New York Yankees (40-32) beat the New York Mets (37-34) by a score of 9-1.
Three errors led to two unearned runs off of Mike Pelfrey, who surrendered four runs total over five innings. Pat Misch pitched well for his 1 1-3 innings on the mound. Elmer Dessens escaped trouble in the seventh, then surrendered two home runs in the 8th inning.
Bobby Parnell got one out, but also balked and threw a wild pitch. Sean Green allowed two runs on three hits in mop-up duty.
Overall, not a great night for the Mets pitchers.
Also, not a great night for the Mets batters.
The Mets managed just three hits and CC Sabathia carried a perfect game into the fifth inning. Gary Sheffield broke up the bid with a solo home run to deep left field. Sheffield now leads the Mets in home runs with nine.
That says something when a 40-year-old outfielder who doesn’t play everyday leads your team in home runs. Yeesh!
If you follow the blog or my tweets, you know that Francisco Rodriguez has thrown the most pitches out of the bullpen and Johan Santana has thrown the most pitches overall.
Here’s a chart of the Mets pitchers and their pitches per plate appearance. Look who is “leading” the way…
Much has been made of the workload of the bullpen lately. Even Jerry Manuel has admitted to overuse.
“I've probably, to a fault, used them too much,” Manuel told David Lennon. “What I have to do is probably trust the other people I have down there. If I'm not trusting them, then I should find someone else.”
Selecting the six main members of the bullpen, I took a look at games pitched in, innings pitched and pitches thrown. No surprise Pedro Feliciano leads the way in games pitched in, but look who has thrown the most innings and pitches.
K-Rod is sitting at 4.19 pitches/plate appearance through 139 plate appearances. His highest in his career is 4.20 P/PA, when he faced 285 batters and threw 1,198 pitches in 2007. He’s faced as many as 335 batters and thrown 1,352 pitches, both coming in 2004. At least he’s somewhat used to it.
We’ve also seen Bobby Parnell’s season hit the skids lately. He’s allowed six earned runs in his last four innings pitched, sporting a 13.50 ERA over those six games.
The answer to all of this bullpen usage is simple. The Mets need to get longer outings out of their starters. For that to actually happen, isn’t so simple.
We, as fans, don’t want to see repeats of 2007 and 2008 with the bullpen falling apart late in the game and late in the season. Hopefully something changes before 2009 gets added to the list.
It’s never, ever easy.
The New York Mets (33-29) beat the Baltimore Orioles (27-37) by a score of 6-4.
Mike Pelfrey set down the first 11 batters that faced him before giving up a single to Nick Markakis in the fourth inning. Pelfrey got into trouble in the fifth, but struck out Brian Roberts with the bases loaded before any damage was done.
Pelfrey let up two runs over 5 2-3 innings, both coming on a Markakis home run to right field in the sixth inning. Pelfrey allowed five hits, walked three and struck out two.
Not a spectacular start, but Pelfrey did just enough. He needed 109 pitches as he worked through the last few innings on the bump.
Sean Green relieved Pelfrey and threw 1 2-3 hitless innings. Green hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 innings.
In May, Green was awful. In June, he’s been spectacular.
Bobby Parnell entered for the bottom of the ninth and allowed two hits to lead off the inning before being removed in favor of Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod walked in a run and induced a ground ball, allowing two runs to score, before striking out Adam Jones to end the game to notch a win for the Mets and a save for himself.
Whewwww. Is anyone else worried about Parnell? I am.
Fernando Martinez started the Mets off in the fourth inning with a walk. After Brian Roberts booted a would-be double play ball by Carlos Beltran, the Mets strung together four hits and a sacrifice fly to plate four runs against Jeremy Guthrie.
The Mets again got on the board in the seventh, with what ended up being the winning runs. The bases were loaded with two outs for David Wright. Wright skied a ball to shallow right field, which send first baseman Aubrey Huff back. Huff attempted to make an over the shoulder catch, but the ball fell to the grass, allowing Alex Cora and Martinez to score.
Cora, Wright and Schneider each had multiple hit games.
Again, whew. Wright didn’t bust out of the box on the ball, as he should have been standing on second when this play was done. There needs to be a better attention to detail.
It shouldn’t have been this close, but a win is a win.
Could have been two.
The New York Mets (32-28) beat the New York Yankees (35-27) by a score of 6-2.
Fernando Nieve, making his first start for the New York Mets, turned out a spectacular performance. Six and two-third innings, Nieve allowed only four hits and two earned runs. He walked two and struck out two.
Nieve allowed a solo home run to Alex Rodriguez in the second inning. Another run was charged to Nieve when Sean Green relieved him in the seventh inning.
Just a shocking start from Nieve. Did not see that one coming, that’s for sure.
Green turned in 1 1-3 innings, allowing only one hit while striking out one.
Francisco Rodriguez struck out one in the 9th inning, sealing the game in a non-save situation.
The Mets got on the board early, the second inning, with a two-run shot off the bat of Omir Santos.
Four hits drove in three runs for the Mets in the fifth inning. Gary Sheffield and Santos each picked up RBI hits and Fernando Tatis hit an RBI groundout.
Sheffield added to the lead in the 7th with a solo home run to left field.
Sheffield went 2-5 with two RBI and a run scored on the same day it was announced he would be getting an MRI on his ailing right knee. Interesting.
A spectacular game, even if the Mets came out on the Mets came out on the short end.
The Philadelphia Phillies (34-23) beat the New York Mets (31-26) by a score of 5-4 in 11 innings.
Mike Pelfrey pitched six good innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. The seventh started with two straight hits, followed by a misplay by Carlos Beltran in centerfield to load the bases. Sean Green entered and let all three inherited runners score. Pelfrey was charged with four runs (two earned) after a David Wright error kept the door open for the Phillies in the 7th.
Pedro Feliciano pitched a shutout inning and Francisco Rodriguez contributed two innings in relief. Bobby Parnell pitched the 11th and allowed a leadoff home run to Chase Utley, his second of the game, to break the tie. It was the first home run Parnell let up in his career.
The Mets were hot early, scoring four times in the first three innings. From there, the bats went quiet with runners in scoring position.
Pelfrey helped himself, going 2-2 with a double, run scored and one RBI. Alex Cora picked up two RBIs with a single and a groundout. Luis Castillo also picked up an RBI.
In the bottom of the 10th with Fernando Martinez at first after a single, David Wright smoked a line drive to right field. Jayson Werth came over and made a game-saving diving catch. If the ball had gotten by him, the game was over.
It took 10 innings against the worst team in baseball, but it ended in a win.
The New York Mets (29-24) beat the Washington Nationals (14-39) by a score of 3-1.
Tim Redding made his best start as a Met, coming against his former team. Six innings on the mound, Redding allowed only one earned run. He allowed six hits, walked two (one intentional) and struck out two.
The turning point for Redding came in the fifth inning. He issued a one-out intentional walk to Nick Johnson to load the bases to pitch to Ryan Zimmerman. He then induced a double play ball to shortstop to get out of the inning.
Brian Stokes, Sean Green and Bobby Parnell each turned in a scoreless inning in relief. Green has put down the last 14 batters to face him and hasn’t allowed a run in his last eight appearances.
Francisco Rodriguez entered in the 10th inning and pitched a 1-2-3 frame for his 15th save in 15 chances.
The Mets picked up the first run in the game in the second inning when Fernando Tatis grounded out to short, allowing David Wright to score from third base.
Wright picked up two bloop singles, but also hit two doubles, going 4-5 on the night. His second double came in the 10th inning with runners on first and second, as he drove the ball all the way to the wall between center and right field.
The hit chased home Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo and worked as the winning runs when all was said and done.
Six runs on 10 hits should win you a baseball game. Not the case when your starting pitcher allowed nine runs in 3 2-3 innings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (25-28) beat the New York Mets (28-24) by a score of 11-6.
Mike Pelfrey didn’t get off to a great start and never recovered. Pelfrey allowed six hits and let in four runs in first inning alone. He lasted only 3 2-3 innings, giving up nine hits and nine run total. Eight of those runs were earned. Pelfrey walked four and struck out three.
Sean Green turned in two innings of no-hit baseball, striking out one. His ERA now stands at 5.96.
J.J. Putz entered for the seventh inning and allowed two runs to score on three hits, including a triple deep to right-center field by light-hitting Nyjer Morgan.
The Mets did get encouraging performances from Carlos Beltran and David Wright. Beltran, returning from many days lost to the stomach virus, went 2-4 with a double and solo home run. Wright reached base four times, with two walks, a single and an RBI double.
Fernando Martinez also picked up two hits, including an RBI double in the fifth inning.
Three balks.
The San Francisco Giants (19-18) beat the New York Mets (21-16) by a score of 2-0.
Mike Pelfrey did not have a bad game, but three balks and some timely hitting by the Giants doomed the 25-year-old pitcher. Pelfrey gave up runs in the first and the fifth, both runners that scored were moved over by balks and scored on RBI singles.
Pelfrey pitched six innings, allowed six hits and two walks, while striking out two. He threw only 78 pitches and induced 10 ground balls.
Ken Takahashi and Sean Green each pitched an inning in relief.
The Mets had the bases loaded, once with none out and another with two outs, and failed to score any runs. Matt Cain issued five walks in five innings, three in a row in the second inning, but a 1-3-1 double play and a ground ball ended the inning.
With the bases loaded in the top of the 8th, Jerry Manuel decided to pinch hit Angel Pagan for Daniel Murphy. Pagan promptly grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Don’t get that move at all. If someone could explain that one to me, it would be quite helpful.
The Mets had way too many chances to score and let them all slip through their fingers.
Make that seven wins in a row.
The New York Mets (17-13) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-19) by a score of 8-4, sweeping the three game series.
Livan Hernandez labored, but hung in enough to earn the win. One hundred and four pitches, seven hits and four walks over Hernandez’s six innings. He allowed only two runs, but was in danger of giving up a lot more. Pedro Feliciano, J.J. Putz and Sean Green finished out the game. Green allowed two runs on a Nate McClouth home run in the 9th.
The Mets failed to put up a five run inning, but scored four in the 8th inning. The Mets got big days from Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran and Omir Santos, each driving in two runs a piece. Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Beltran each hit doubles in the game as well.
Another well rounded game for the Mets as they continue their roll.
The money owed to the pitchers in the Mets
bullpen for their service in 2009, including
Billy Wagner and Oliver Perez.
Another lead that slipped away.
The Florida Marlins (12-8) snapped their seven-game losing streak, beating the New York Mets (9-11) by score of 7-4.
The Mini Recap
Livan Hernandez nearly turned in a quality start, allowing three runs over 5 1-3 innings. The Mets bullpen, actually just Sean Green, led the lead slip away.
The Mets bats, as usual, scored in the first inning, and couldn’t muster much after that. Gary Sheffield had a two-run triple in the first inning. Alex Cora and David Wright added RBIs in the second and fifth respectively.
For the full recap, please read Mets Watch Lead
Slip Away In Loss on Baseball Digest.
On a day the bats decided to show up to the park, the pitching just wasn’t there.
The Cardinals (11-5) beat the Mets (6-9) by a score of 12-8.
The Mini Recap
The teams pounded out 31 hits between them. Livan Hernandez only lasted 4 1-3 innings, allowing seven earned runs while on the mound. Sean Green didn’t fare much better, allowing five earned runs in two innings of work.
Carlos Beltran went 3-5 on the day with a double and a home run, driving in three runs. Ryan Church also connected for a two-run home run. Alex Cora and Fernando Tatis each picked up their first hits of the season.
For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.
