Mets non-tenders [Twitter]

From Newsday’s David Lennon…

Link: Rubin chock full of info

Adam Rubin’s latest blog post is teeming with info from day one of the GM Meetings in Chicago.

In brief…

• Matt Holliday and Jason Bay are likely too expensive.
• Mike Cameron is a longshot.
• The Mets really want to trade Luis Castillo.
• The free agent catching market is terrible.
• The Mets want to re-sign Alex Cora.
• Tim Redding and Jeremy Reed will probably be non-tendered.
• Johan Santana and Jose Reyes are healing.  Santana will pitch on his normal winter schedule, while Reyes is now walking sans-crutches.

For more, head over to Rubin’s blog.

Well, that was fun

A late-September game against the Marlins.  Back in April, we probably all thought this would be one of those games the Mets might have to win to clinch their postseason bid.

Now that those games are being played, we couldn’t have been more wrong.

Games that, for the last two years, spelled disaster for the Mets are now flipped in roles.  The Marlins are trying to stay alive and the Mets, far from meaningful October baseball, are trying to play spoilers.

Last night, they pulled it off.

Down three runs heading into the top of the 8th inning, the Mets tacked on one in a bizarre play. David Wright at the plate with Brian Schneider on third.  Wright swings and believes he fouled off the ball as it squirts away from Ronny Paulino. 

Home plate umpire Bill Hohn calls strike three as Paulino scampers back to retrieve the ball.  Heads up play by Schneider who dashes home to score while Wright and Jerry Manuel begin to argue.

It was a tough call to make.  On replay, in slow motion, it was hard to tell if Wright tipped it.  If he didn’t, just a flat out terrible play by Paulino.

Top 9 rolls along and the Mets are down one run.  Daniel Murphy and Jeff Francoeur greeted Leo Nunez with singles to start the inning.  Pinch-hitter Jeremy Reed comes to the plate and is walked on four pitches, loading the bases for pinch-hitter Cory Sullivan.

Sullivan ends up slicing a ball down the third base line, scoring two and giving the Mets the lead.  The Mets went quietly through the rest of the 9th, with Wright striking out for the fourth time in the game to end the inning.

Francisco Rodriguez came in for the bottom of the ninth inning, allowed a single, but closed out the Marlins in a game of somewhat revenge for the previous two Septembers.

Game Recap: Mets 5 – Dodgers 4

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.

Game Recap: Cardinals 3 – Mets 0

Tonight belonged to Joel Pineiro.

The St. Louis Cardinals (40-32) beat the New York Mets (35-34) by a score of 3-0.

Livan Hernandez was good, Pineiro was just better.  Hernandez held the Cardinals to three runs (two earned) over seven innings of work.  He walked three and struck out three.

He was very good.  It could be argued that outside of his start against the Yankees, he’s been the best pitcher since the end of May.

Elmer Dessens turned in two solid innings in relief, setting the side down in order both times.

Pineiro held the Mets to only two hits, singles by Luis Castillo and Jeremy Reed, over his nine innings.  He needed only 100 pitches thanks to inducing 22 ground balls for outs.  The meager Mets lineup didn’t hurt either.

Just have to tip your cap to him and move on.  He’s just great against the Mets, especially when Fernando Tatis is their cleanup hitter.

Game Recap: Dodgers 3 – Mets 2

The Mets should be very happy this game finished too late to make the papers back in New York.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (27-13) beat the New York Mets (21-17) by a score of 3-2 in 11 innings.

Tim Redding battled through a tough first inning, but recovered nicely.  Redding allowed two runs in the first on one hit, one walk and one hit batsmen.  Over the next five innings, Redding only allowed one hit.  Redding walked four in the game, but surprised many with a strong start.

Bobby Parnell, J.J. Putz, Sean Green and Pedro Feliciano each turned in scoreless innings in relief.  Brian Stokes also turned in a sparkling 10th inning. 

Everything fell apart in the 11th.  Two errors led to the bases loaded with none out for the Dodgers.  The Mets brought Carlos Beltran in as a fifth infielder and got one out before Stokes induced a groundball to Jeremy Reed at first base.  Reed snagged the ball off the hop and threw home.  Reed’s toss went well wide of Ramon Castro, allowing the winning run to score.

The Mets had five errors overall, two by Ramon Martinez at shortstop.

Another sloppy game the Mets deserved to lose.  They practically handed this game away with their miscues in the field.

Randy Wolf’s 7 2-3 innings stymied the Mets.  Angel Pagan shone at the plate tonight.  Leading off, he knocked four hits, including a double and scored the tying run in the 8th inning.  David Wright went 2-3 at the plate with two walks and two doubles.  He also scored one run.

In the top of the 11th inning, Ryan Church singled with two outs.  Pagan delivered with a deep drive to right center, allowing Church to chug all the way around from first to score.  But Joe Torre and the Dodgers appealed at third base and Church was called out for missing the bag.

The Mets left 11 runners on base and outhit the Dodgers 11-5.

Just awful.

Delgado needs, will undergo surgery

Carlos Delgado, currently on the disabled list, will go under the knife to repair his right hip injury.

According to reports, Delgado will likely miss at least six weeks.

Can the Mets survive with the trio of Fernando Tatis, Jeremy Reed and Daniel Murphy? Maybe, but I think the team would be better served trading for a competent first baseman to replace Delgado. There is no guarantee Delgado will return to form post-surgery.

My vote is to see if Aubrey Huff is available from the Orioles. If he is, I'd try to trade for him.

With Delgado out for an extended period of time, the Mets might have a move to make. That is, unless, they're confident enough in Tatis, Murphy or Reed.

Guest Blog: Balk this way

A guest post from Mr. Aaron Schuldiner.  Aaron used to blog over at the now defunt Shea Nation.  Enjoy this post on last night’s balk-filled game.

In light of the rough finishes to the last two seasons in Flushing, it has become easy, if not fashionable, for Met fans to push the panic button after every loss.  But when you’ve won eleven of your last thirteen games, you’re entitled to an off night against a good starting pitcher, right?

Entitled or not, that was the case Sunday, as the Giants edged the Mets 2-0 behind six shutout innings from Matt Cain.  Cain walked five, but allowed only three hits, and got two huge double plays to kill the only two rallies the Mets could muster.  In the second inning, Jeremy Reed, playing for the injured Carlos Delgado, bounced into a bases-loaded double play before Mets starter Mike Pelfrey grounded out to end the inning.  Then in the eighth, Jeremy Affeldt got Angel Pagan to hit into an inning-ending double play, again with the bases loaded.  The Mets went quietly in the ninth, as Giant closer Brian Wilson looked dominant after taking losses on Thursday and Friday.

Cain did not have his best command, but every time the Mets tried to put something together, he buckled down and put out the fire.  That was in contrast to Pelfrey, who pitched well overall, but sabotaged himself with three balks.  Both runners that scored for the Giants advanced from first base to second on balks, the second run coming in on an RBI single by none other than Cain.

It has always been my stance that Pelfrey has front-of-the-rotation talent, but mentally, it sometimes appears he’s not there yet.  After the second balk he was visibly shaken.  After the call was made, Pelfrey almost fell down while kicking the back of the pitcher’s mound in frustration, stirring up memories of his embarrassing tumble off the mound in the Citi Field opener.  After the game, Pelfrey joked that maybe he just likes making a fool out of himself when he’s on national television.  The Mets can only hope that the issue can be worked out of Pelfrey’s mechanics quickly, and doesn’t develop into some kind of Mackey Sasser-esque mental tic.  Since Pelfrey didn’t balk once in his 290-plus innings prior to 2009, I would assume that it’s something he and pitching coach Dan Warthen can get figured out. 

Sure, there’s no such thing as a good loss, and with this team there are no moral victories.  The fan base is insatiably hungry for wins, and both Manager Jerry Manuel and G.M. Omar Minaya could find themselves on the unemployment line if the Mets don’t play their way into October.  There have already been a few bad losses this year, the kind that you lose sleep over.  Both of Johan Santana’s losses in which he didn’t allow a single earned run and the twelve-inning loss to Atlanta come to mind.

So, considering the Mets took three out of four at AT&T Park, where the Giants had the second best home record in the league before this series, it’s hard to be too disappointed.  And considering those three wins featured the Mets setting a franchise record with seven steals in a game, plus an impressive comeback win over reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (In my mind, the signature win of the season to date), it’s hard not to be encouraged.  Throw in the facts that the Mets essentially played the entire series without Jose Reyes and Delgado, have won eleven of their last fourteen, and currently occupy first place in the N.L. East, and I suspect that last night’s loss might be quickly forgotten by the masses with a win tonight in L.A..

But for Pelfrey, it might take a balk-free start in Boston next weekend.  A second performance like last night’s won’t be nearly as easy for him to laugh off.

THE GOOD

Despite allowing seven walks, Cain, Affeldt, Wilson, and Bob Howry never let the Mets get on the board, stranding nine runners in the process.  Cain moved to 4-1 on the year and lowered his ERA to a stingy 2.65.

THE BAD

Granted it was a makeshift lineup, and it was unfortunate that the Mets’ three bases loaded at-bats were taken by Pagan, Reed, and Pelfrey.  But when you leave the bases loaded twice against a good staff, there’s always a good chance you won’t get another opportunity, as was the case last night.

THE UGLY

It shouldn’t be lost among Pelfrey’s mental lapses that he did pitch pretty well last night, but no starter had balked three times in a game since 1994, when ex-Met Al Leiter completed the trifecta for Toronto.

---

Thanks, Aaron!  Good stuff.

Heyman: Mets options for first baseman trade

With Carlos Delgado out, possibly for a long period of time, it may be time for the Mets to look to trade.  The trio of Fernando Tatis, Jeremy Reed and Daniel Murphy probably won’t be cutting it.

Jon Heyman, in his Daily Scoop, broke down some players the Mets might be able to trade for.

Aubrey Huff, who's a productive hitter and also does pretty fair Joba Chamberlain impersonation, could be the best-hitting first baseman on the trading block. And as a bonus he's left-handed. Two more first basemen that the Mets might take a look at would be Nick Johnson, the oft-injured National who's perpetually on the block, and Russell Branyan, who's off to a hot start with the Mariners.

Of those three, I’d like to see Huff on the Mets.  He’d probably come the cheapest as well.

Johnson, though a solid player, would be trading within division, and I can see the Nationals asking for Daniel Murphy and I don’t want to see him singling off the Mets for years to come.

Jeremy Reed starting tonight against Philly

Last night, I asked my Twitter followers how long it would be for Jeremy Reed to get a start for the Mets.

Two people, Ryan Punzalan (@Retire31) and @fscker both said zero games, meaning Reed would get the start in the next game.

Well, according to this TwitPic from Matt Cerrone, Reed is making his first start for the Mets.

Well done, Ryan and @fscker.  And kind of scary prediction on my part.

Here’s the lineup…

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Alex Cora – 2B
3. Carlos Beltran – CF
4. Carlos Delgado – 1B
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Daniel Murphy – LF
7. Jeremy Reed – RF
8. Omir Santos – C
9. Johan Santana - LHP

Twitter Poll: How many games until Jeremy Reed gets a start?

The Mets landed Jeremy Reed as one of the players sent over in the three-team, 12-player deal with the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners.  For the season so far, the most time Reed has seen in a game is as a late inning defensive replacement.

Even Endy Chavez, the player Reed replaced in both a roster spot and ability, got starts now and then.

Last night, I asked my Twitter followers to guess how many games it would take Reed to get a start.  Here are their responses…

The hopefuls…

Retire31 said: 0. He starts tomorrow.

fscker said: 0

The majority…

NYMetsGrrl94 said: 4 games

metsjetsgirl said: either 5 or 18-19.

metgirl4ever said: Reed will be in the game...15 games from now...

dailystache said: I will go with 12 games until he gets a start...no rationale

gwong said: Jeremy Reed starts 8 games from today on 5/13. Day game after a night game on getaway day - perfect time to start him.

DaCurryman said: I'd go with appx. 15 more games.

fullnelson said: 7 games until Jeremy Reed gets a start

mets_geekette said: 18. It's my favorite random number. Oh, and R is the 18th letter of the alphabet.

MetsNY81 said: 31. I took a quick look at the Mets schedule, they’re on the road against the Nats then. Perfect time to give Reed a start!

gmo418 said: 12

darknova306 said: Reed will start 14 games from now. That's more a guess than anything.

The pessimists…

mostlymets said: 137 (number of games left in the season)

brentsower said: 137. Right now, he's too busy teaching everyone except Beltran and Church how to catch fly balls.

dmoneymania said: 135

I think Reed should get a start soon.  I find myself in the somewhere in the majority.  A dozen games before he gets a start.

Heck, he has a triple this year and only 11 ABs.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on how long until Jeremy Reed gets a start.

Follow me on Twitter (@TheRopolitans) to
participate in the next Twitter Poll!

Sheffield's implications on the roster

With Gary Sheffield joining the Mets, someone who spent all of spring training with the team is going to be the odd man out. Nick Evans likely will not make the Opening Day roster.

Here are two other the possibilities for Sheffield's effect on the roster: Marlon Anderson and his $1.5 million guaranteed contract land elsewhere or Jeremy Reed gets sent down to Triple-A Buffalo. He still has options.

From a fans standpoint, the Mets should hold on to Reed. He's a much better defender and with the expanse of Citi Field's outfield, the team is going to need all the defensive skills they can get.

The guaranteed money for Anderson is the main factor standing in the way here. If they do send him elsewhere, they'll still have to pay his contract, essentially making the Sheffield deal worth $1.9 million ($1.5 million from Anderson's contract plus the $400,000 from Sheffield's deal).

Sheffield will likely see most of his playing time in right field, which worries me considering that part of the field isn't fielder friendly (for photos, click here). Ryan Church started taking fly balls in left field, as he will probably see some time there with Sheffield on the roster.

Church has a great outlook on the situation, telling the Associated Press, "Early on in the big leagues I showed I could play all of the outfield spots, and I feel pretty good there. I'll do whatever. Whatever gets me in the lineup, I don't care."

Sheffield adds a right handed power bat off the bench, and possibly into a starting position. It's the model "low risk / high reward" move for the Mets. If it works, they look like geniuses. If it doesn't, they can jettison him with little to no harm done.

Pagan out with elbow issue

Angel Pagan will be losing ground for the backup outfield position, as he will head back to New York City to have an MRI on his right elbow.

Pagan has been sidelined with swelling in his elbow and may be out for an extended period of time with the issue and subsequent travel.

Again, where the heck are all the MRI machines in Florida? Oh, there are only 428 results that come up when you search "MRI, port st. lucie" in Google.

Anyway, I think this knocks him out of roster spot contention. This gives a pretty nice lead to Jeremy Reed.

The State of the Mets -- 2/20/09

Here is the latest edition of The State of the Mets.

Today's topics: Luis Castillo, the outfield and a final goodbye to Shea Stadium.


Enjoy.

(Ed. note: Sorry about the brightness. I filmed with my window open and the clouds were obstructing the sun at points, which apparently doesn't fare well for my camera.)

Jeremy Reed avoids arb

The Mets and Jeremy Reed agreed on a one-year, $925,000 contract, according to Marty Noble.

This is an increase of $520,000 from his 2008 salary.

Six file for arbitration

Six players have filed for salary arbitration.

Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Ryan Church, Jeremy Reed, John Maine and Angel Pagan all filed for arbitration. David Lennon has the players service time and 2008 salaries up.

Last off-season, Oliver Perez was the first Met player to make it to a hearing since David Cone in 1992. Five bucks says they'll have another hearing this year. Clearing six players before the deadline is going to be a tough task, especially with Omar Minaya's attention elsewhere.

Mets trade for J.J. Putz

In a deal that took only a few hours, at least that we know, the Mets have laded their set up man for 2008.

The Mets have traded a handful of players, landing J.J. Putz for the 8th inning in front of Francisco Rodriguez.

The three team deal breaks down as follows:
Seattle Mariners get: Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto, Ezequiel Carrera, Jason Vargas, and Franklin Gutierrez.
Cleveland Indians get: Luis Valbuena and Joe Smith and minor leaguers.
New York Mets get: J.J. Putz, Sean Green and Jeremy Reed.

To make it simpler:
Mets give up: Heilman, Chavez, Carp, Cleto, Carrera, Vargas and Smith.
Mets get: Putz, Green and Reed.

Omar Minaya moves at the speed or light, I must say.

Originally, I disliked the deal, but the more I look at it, the more it makes sense. The Mets are really not giving up much for this. Chavez is a fourth outfielder, and between Angel Pagan and now Reed, they seem to have the outfield more than covered.

Cleto and Carrera were minor league guys. I don't know enough about them to miss them. I've heard their names, which must mean something.

Vargas was a possibility to make a play for the rotation after starting fall and winter ball with a bang. He seems to have come back down to earth a bit, but we'll have to see how he plays when he's not with the Mets.

Heilman was on his way out the door, it was only a matter of time. Carp was billed as the first baseman of the future, but never really blossomed into what the Mets thought he could. He's still young though.

Smith is the one guy I will miss the most here. Green could step in and replace him nicely, just a little older.

The 2009 team is quickly taking shape. Quite a few days for Mets fans.

Update - 11:36pm: Minaya will address the media around 12:30am Eastern time.

Update - 12:33am: Dan Graziano on the phone with SNY.

• Green for Smith a "wash."
• Reed hits more than Chavez, doesn't know him in the field. (Chavez is better, but Reed is no scrub.)
• Likes the deal. Seems to be unanimous.
• Getting rid of Heilman was "no longer viable in New York."
• Still need starting pitching. Will fill one from within with Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell.
• Will look to bring back Oliver Perez.
• Jon Garland in Mets sights.
• Still talking to Raul Ibanez.
• Want to move Schoeneweis and Sanchez. (No surprise there.)

Live from Las Vegas:

• Minaya at the podium now, congratulating Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik.
• "Pure baseball trade," says Minaya.
• Thanking scouts and minor league system for being able to hone talent to be able to complete trade.
• "To Mets fans: We've addressed the bullpen."

I hope that last one doesn't mean the man is done, and I doubt it does. Well done everyone. So far, I'm yet to see one negative comment about this. From minor leagues up, this trade seems to please all Mets fans.

• Back to the press conference. First question to Minaya is in Spanish. I just took my Spanish 102 final today, and I have no idea what he just was asked or responded with.
• Heilman to get a chance to start in spring training with M's.
• And that's it. Shortest press conference ever.

And I think it's time for everyone to go to bed. What a day, Mets fans! K-Rod deal goes official and Putz to Queens all in one day.