A sign from Landshark Stadium

Snapped by my friend Justin Cohen at last night’s game.

I’ll be driving up and moving in to my house in Connecticut for my senior year (Ahh!) of college.  See you on the flip side.

Mets leading NL East pitching

I know ERA isn’t the best way to evaluate pitchers, but it’s the most widely understood.  Here are three charts, breaking down the NL East pitching staffs by starters, relievers and combined using the ERA stat.

First, the starters… Surprisingly, and despite their 25-25 record, the Braves are leading the NL East in starters ERA.  The Mets are sitting pretty in second, obviously inflated by the ERAs of Tim Redding and Oliver Perez.

Now the relievers… The Mets are leading this category by a fairly wide margin.  For the Nationals, none of this is good news.  They’re 28th overall for starting pitching and 29th for relievers, easily placing them in dead last for total stats.

And now combined…So far, so good for the Mets pitching staff.  Lately, with the position players decimated by various injuries, the rotation and bullpen has really carried the team to wins.  Going 19-9 in May must be mostly attributed to the hard word out of the guys on the mound.

Tonight’s game not televised until 7:05 p.m.

Even though tonight’s game between the Florida Marlins and the New York Mets will begin at 6:25 p.m., it will not show up on SNY until 7:05 p.m.

Why?  Because of a Flo Rida concert.  Read my article about it over at Baseball Digest.

Remember: The game will be joined in progress on SNY at 7:05 p.m.  Stupid Marlins.

Pedro, the Marlin? [Updated]

Now that the Mets have Tim Redding in the fold, the possibility for Pedro Martinez returning to the Mets is slim to none. (With the smart bet on the latter.)

Pedro has turned his sights elsewhere, and if this lead pans out, the Mets may be seeing him fairly often.

According to sources, Martinez is in talks with Florida and is "in the beginning stages of negotiating a contract with the Marlins."

All this comes a day after The Post ran this story: Pedro Lobbies For Mets Return.

In an exclusive interview with The Post, Martinez said he's open to pitching just about anywhere in 2009, but the Mets are far and away his first choice.
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"I went over to the Mets with something in mind, to win a World Series in the National League, and I haven't achieved that," said Martinez, who just completed a four-year, $53 million contract.
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"I just pray that [Fred Wilpon] bounces back and we can give him the World Series that he deserves."

He's such a likable guy, but his illustrious career is definitely in the fading stages. Enjoy Florida, or wherever you end up.

UPDATE: Not so, according to the Miami Herald.

"Multiple sources tell us nothing is afoot on that front, that either the Marlins aren't interested in the 37-year-old pitcher or they don't feel they can afford him."

Olsen, Willingham traded to Nats

In an odd in-division trade, the Florida Marlins have traded pitcher Scott Olsen and outfielder Josh Willingham to the Washington Nationals. The Marlins will get infielder Emilio Bonifacio and a package of minor leaguers, reports Ken Rosenthal.

The Nats are make a huge push to improve this off-season, as they're of the top teams to land free agent Mark Teixeira as well.

Willingham has been somewhat of a thorn in the Mets side. He's hit .285 against the Mets, but has hit 10 home runs and driven in 34 RBI in 50 games. Olsen has struggled against when playing New York. In 13 games, he holds a 1-5 record and a 4.74 ERA.

Bonifacio has only played in six games against the Mets, and holds a .190 batting average. Ex-Met Anderson Hernandez may take over the void left by Bonifacio at second base.

Strange trade. Still have to tango with all the players in 2009.

Ex-Mets: So long, Mike Jacobs

The ex-Met low-ball power hitter is out of the NL East.

The Florida Marlins have traded Mike Jacobs to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Leo Nunez.

The Marlins may be trading a good bulk of their core players, so look for more trades from them. Looks like they're going into rebuilding mode again.

Off Topic: Proof MLB doesn't belong in Miami

On Wednesday, the Marlins welcomed the Braves for a day game. Only 600 people showed up to watch.

You read that right. Six hundred. 6-0-0.

According to the AP, the park was so sparse "home plate chatter could be heard."

That's just sickening. Sure, the Marlins are falling out of the playoff race fast, and the Braves have put together one of the worst seasons in franchise history, but 600? Minor league teams could easily draw more that that!

This is just another case for moving the Marlins out of Miami. A better market, like Portland, OR or even Las Vegas, NV would do wonders for the team.

In Vegas though, you still have the issue of nomadic fans. I'm sure the residents of Las Vegas would embrace them, but like Miami, it's a huge tourist destination, and many of the fans attending the game might just be people passing through and not fans of the home team.

If the Marlins were to move out of the NL East, which is unlikely as they are getting are supposed to be getting a brand new stadium in Miami, the logical move to even out the divisions would be to move the Pittsburgh Pirates into the division.

It's probably a moot point, but something needs to be done down in Miami. 600?!?

Carlos Beltran quieted the "He isn't clutch" crowd, at least for one night

I like Carlos Beltran. I like him a lot.

He's a good hitter, with one of the sweetest swings in the game. He's unbelieveable in the field, making tough plays look like cans of corn. I've had to defend him time and time again, and the main argument against him is that he isn't "clutch" enough.

Last night was something different.

Two outs, top of the ninth, his team down by one. Oh, and the bases are loaded. This is the kind of stuff you dream of in your backyard as a kid.

Beltran, who was in a similar situation in the 2006 NLCS, wrote a different ending last night. First pitch swinging, Beltran crushed a pitch from Kevin Gregg deep to right field. I was shocked.

I was anticipating a ground ball through the hole, if anything. Maybe even a bloop to center. Beltran proved even one of his biggest fans wrong, as that ball was smashed. Bat, meet ball. Goodbye ball!

He may not be the most "clutch" in the league, but he came through huge last night for the Mets. He accounted for all five RBI, and without him, the Mets would have gone quietly into that good night.

Stellar on the basepath, even better on the field. He may not hit for average, but last night shut up a lot of people, at least until tonight.

I hate combined stadiums

Jeremy Cothran alerts us to the fact that the University of Miami players a football game at Dolphin Stadium last night, and the field is...sort of a mess.

The University of Miami (or 'Da U,' in local parlance) played a game here last night, and the field is absolutely ripped to shreds. Should make for an interesting night for the infielder's.

I remember when I played soccer, I would hate to play on fields that overlapped. If the fields overlapped, the baseball field almost always took over the corner of the soccer field. It was very annoying, as the ball would just skip away as soon as you hit the sand of the infield.

Looks like the Mets errorless streak is going to come to an end tonight.

Trap games

The Mets will begin a three game series with the Florida Marlins tonight. The Marlins were in contention for a long time, much longer than anyone expected, but have faltered lately and are now six games back of the Mets.

They've lost six of their last ten, but are still very much alive. The Mets have a critical stretch of games upcoming, with the next nine against the Marlins, Brewers and Phillies. As of now, I can see the Mets focusing more on Milwaukee and Philadelphia, over Florida.

The Mets could take two of three against the Marlins, or sweep them, but Mike Pelfrey will take the mound for one of the games and he is yet to beat the fish this season.

The Mets have only 28 games left, so each game is extremely crucial, especially with only a one game lead over the Phillies. Hopefully they focus on each game separately, and not look ahead to stronger teams like the Brew-crew and the hated Phillies.

Mets chances of making the playoffs: 60.2%

According to Jeff Passan at the bottom of his Playoff Pulse column, the Mets are third in the National League in playoff chances percentages.

Passan cites AccuScore, who ran a simulation of the rest of the '08 season 10,000 times, and came up with these numbers for the NL:

Chicago Cubs: 98.3
Milwaukee Brewers: 69.5
New York Mets: 60.2
Arizona Diamondbacks: 51.5
Los Angeles Dodgers: 49.3
St. Louis Cardinals: 24.6
Philadelphia Phillies: 24.2
Florida Marlins: 20.4

Hmm...this stinks of "jinx." Five bucks says the Cubbies and Mets falter?

Anyway, I hate looking at these things, because all they do is get my hopes up.

I'll take it

On Friday, I wrote that this series against the Marlins was big. The Mets took two of three, faltering in the final game. I'll take it.

The Mets jumped into second place, and are only two games back of the Phillies. These two teams will meet five more times before the season is over, twice in Philly and three more times back at Shea.

Looking at the schedule, the Mets will play the Nationals and the Braves a combined 18 times, and the Marlins another six times, again finishing out their regular season against the Marlins at home. Let's hope we don't have a repeat of last year.

That's a total of 29 more games against the NL East. If the Mets can go 18-11 during those games, I'll be a happy man. I'll even take 16-13.

A good series for the Mets. Wished they could have swept, but it was good enough.

Mets Song by Song: Weezer (Red Album) by Weezer

Here is another in a series of Song by Song. I will take one album and try to use all of the song titles to explain the Mets current predicament. The songs will be bolded and italicized.

This time around it's Weezer's latest album, nicknamed the "Red Album." Enjoy...

Daniel Murphy is proving to be a Troublemaker for opposing pitching. Mets fans can only hope he will be The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. Seems his parents raised him well on a steady diet of Pork and Beans.

Poor Johan Santana. He won't be writing the bullpen any Heart Songs this year. They've already blown six wins for the ace pitcher, but it's only early August.

I'm thinking Jerry Manuel gives some amazing pre-game speeches. Something along the lines of "Everybody Get Dangerous!" The offense always seems to jump out to a quick start in games, probably when the starting pitchers are still Dreamin'.

I Thought I Knew this team was going to get out of their funk, and they seem to be doing so against the NL East rivals in the Florida Marlins. They might be sinking the Fish into a Cold Dark World of a year without playoffs.

It's not going to be Automatic down the stretch for the Phillies or the Mets, as it seems like it's going to be a dogfight through September.

Today, it's The Angel and The One with Mike Pelfrey on the mound and (hopefully) Murphy in the field. These are only two of the young guns the Mets have been trotting out on the field lately, all of whom are performing very well and contributing to Mets wins.

Big series against the Fish

Tonight the Mets start a three game series against the Florida Marlins.

This is a huge series, as the Mets could leapfrog the Fish into second place in the division with a few wins this weekend. Coupled with a Phillies slide, the Mets could be back in first place by Monday.

This is my optimism getting the best of me, but it's possible. The Mets are playing great baseball at home, as they've won 13 of their last 16 at Shea. A fine sendoff this would be if they could keep up the stellar play in their old park.

Oliver Perez, the team needs the good, no, great you tonight. If you could keep the hands out of the bullpen, that would make every Mets fan in the world breathe much easier.

MLB Rumor: Manny to the Marlins still in motion

According to MLB Trade Rumors, a deal is supposedly in place for a three-way deal between the Marlins, Red Sox, and Pirates.

The deal would send Manny Ramirez to the Marlins, along with another prospect and some cash. Jason Bay would head from Pittsburgh to Boston, and John Grabow would also be a member of the Red Sox. Jeremy Hermida, prospect Ryan Tucker, and possibly one or two more prospects would join the Pirates.

It would be interesting to see this actually go down. It would tear down everything the Marlins have stood for over their entire franchise life. Trading for a huge, expensive slugger at the deadline, and sending away young players and prospects? Blasphemy!

I think the Marlins realize if they want to hang tough in the NL East, their method needs to change. They're sniffing the postseason already, hanging a few games back of first in the three team race, and they feel Manny would simply put them over the top.

Something to watch: How rookie manager Fredi Gonzalez handles Manny's ego. He's never had to deal with an established eventual Hall of Famer with a ego bigger than Dolphin Stadium's outfield. This could pay off huge dividends for the Marlins if everything works out, but it could also blow up in their faces if Manny isn't handles correctly.

TSTDIA: Marlins 7 -- Mets 3

This game seemed like no one really wanted to win. Each team benefited from some luck and some mistakes by the opposing team. Ultimately, the Marlins took advantage of a beleaguered bullpen, and won the game with a five run 8th inning.

Is this Marlins crowd mic'd up?

Here I am in my freezing cold basement as the Mets take on the Marlins in some beautiful 81 degree weather.

Well, it still feels like I'm there. Is it just me, or does this crowd seem a million times louder than normal? It sounds like they handed all 1,500 fans (ballpark figure) their own, personal microphone to make it as loud as possible.

There probably isn't even half as many fans that usually fill up Shea, but they are incredibly loud, and I must say, very annoying. It's like someone left the crowd mics up way too high. All I hear is mumbling and clapping from the crowd, and it sounds miserable.

Just me?

I'm sorry, what? The Marlins like playing in front of no one?

Let me lead off with a quote from the Miami Herald:

Yes, it is a bummer for this pennant contender that folks aren't in the stands. But it also is a blessing the few sets of eyes on them are either looking through a rosy prism or not really paying attention.
That is an advantage only the Marlins enjoy.

This seems so absolutely foreign to me, I don't even know where I'd begin to break this down. Not every Mets game is a sellout, but it's pretty close. Tickets for the good seats are tough to get, and if you do land them, they'll cost you.

The Marlins...are a completely different story. When the Mets head down to south Florida to play the Fish, the stands are vacant. "Let's go Mets!" chants are easily heard chorusing from the fans. There may even be more Mets fans than there are Marlins fans.

And they like it like that?

MH:

The Marlins are living in that sweet spot of success, that fertile place where expectations remain low and the scrutiny is still bearable. The Mets and Phillies long ago vacated that friendly place, so we freely discuss the Mets' awful clubhouse chemistry and gauge the love-hate relationship between the Phillies and their fans -- the ones who booed Mike Schmidt.
The Marlins?
They skip happily along their improbable path to improbable contention with no pressure, no second-guessing and, seemingly, no worries.

Well, I don't think you can call the clubhouse chemistry "awful." Especially if you're reporting from Florida. Sure, there are probably cliques and discrepancies, but everyone has that, whether it's publicized (in the New York media) or mentioned (in the Florida media).

I get it. The Marlins don't play under the microscope of a city. If they lose, they lose and no one seems to care. If they win, they win and still, no one seems to care.

To me, that stinks. I'm glad I root for a team that plays in New York. Maybe the media is too quick to tear some people down, but you have to take things you read with a grain of salt and make your own impressions. I couldn't fathom enjoying a team whose fan base won't even make the trek out to the stadium to support them.

I have just one thing to say, Let's go Mets!

The NL East gets all the press

Two articles today break down the NL East.

Jayson Stark gets absolutely blasted by Mets fans in his "That's Debatable" column where he breaks down the National League East. (Spoiler: He picked the Phillies to win it) Read the comments for the angry fans from New York.

Here is his case for the Mets:

It's September in reverse for the Mets. It took them less than four weeks to slice a 7.5-game Phillies lead to a half-game, just before the All-Star break. And they went from 5.5; out on the 4th of July to a tie for first quicker than you could say, ''10-game winning streak.'' So while there's still a debate about which of these teams is better, there's no doubt who's hotter. Since Jerry Manuel became their manager, the Mets are 19-12. They've averaged more than six runs a game. And they have a much more positive vibe, on and off the field.

I'll allow it. I'd rather be the underdog here than the top seat and set up for disaster (again). Everyone is loving the Jerry-vibe.

John Donovan reveals the cons for the teams of the NL East. The Mets is kind of iffy:

BUT ... Johan Santana, as good as he's been (3.10 ERA), hasn't been as dominant as many assumed he'd be. Pedro Martinez (3-2, 6.25) has been awful in his return from injury. The rest of the rotation is barely average. And the bullpen, with a 3.85 ERA, is better only than the Nationals in the East.

Last time I checked a 3.10 ERA is nothing to scoff at.

Again, as I said this morning, it really looks like it's going to be a fun stretch run. It seems to be a three team dogfight as of now, but all the Braves need is a good run to be right back in it.

I'm going out on a limb and calling the Nationals over. I don't think anyone can disagree with that statement.

Welcome back to first place, Mets

And we're back!

With yesterdays extra inning win in Cincinnati, coupled with the Phillies extra inning loss in Florida, the Mets moved back into a tie for first place.

The Marlins could move into a three way tie for first place with a win against the Braves tonight, as both the Mets and the Phillies have a night off before they begin a three game series at Shea Stadium on Tuesday.

Gosh, I love baseball. This is going to be a dogfight to the finish.