that's so clutch

Things in Pittsburgh, were rather interesting. The Metsies lost 3 out of 4 games and in every single lost game they acquired more hits than the opposing team. 

Once again, this brought up the hot topic of how not-so-great the Mets are when it comes to hitting with runners in scoring position. Yesterday they made 13 hits but went scoreless until the 9th inning. THE NINTH INNING! Seven out of nine in the starting lineup got hits including multiple for Eric Young Jr., Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, and Eric Campbell. Yet, they still managed to come up short. 

Personally, I cannot even see how they can improve when it comes to this other than getting better (and I mean a whole lot better) at clutch hitting! Let's examine (sounds so educational) the meaning of being "clutch". Definition courtesy of Wikipedia:

So, do the Mets currently have any hitters of this form? Well, obviously not. Being "clutch" is delivering that "big" hit when the pressure is on. Example, a runner on second and third with two out and you're down to your final strike. You get that base hit and drive in those two runs. That's a clutch hitter. Granted, it doesn't always happen like that but it is a decent illustration. The Mets are very if-y --yeah, not a word-- and it really just depends on whether they are having a good day. Yesterday afternoon, I'd say the team had a really good day. Honestly, if the hits had come in a different order, no doubt they would have had at least 5 runs. But, we can't always get what we want I guess. 

In other news, Bartolo Colon managed to lose his helmet on a swing again. I suppose if he actually tried to hit the ball and not blindly swing like an uncontrollable pendulum he might have had a hit and continue his streak of 2 games so far. 

there's his helmet on the ground all by its lonesome waiting to be retrieved as Bartolo looks down contemplating what has just happened. 

Just a really brief summary of the yesterday's game:

• Ruben Tejada made a really great diving catch in the bottom of the first to get a force out at 2nd for the second out of the inning.
• Top of the 2nd Colon and his wild swings which resulted in the above photo.
• In the 7th inning Eric Young Jr. hit which what should of been a routine play for the Pirates. The ball just made it past the Pirates pitcher Justin Wilson so the 2nd baseman Neil Walker comes in to make the play instead throws the ball away past 1B, Ike Davis allowing EY Jr. to make it all the way to 3rd on the error. 
• Gonzalez Hermen had an amazing outing of relief in the 7th.
• Chris Young and Tejada drove in the only Mets runs in the top of the 9th. 

The final score was 5-2 Pittsburgh and the Mets left a total of 22 on base. Wow. 22 is A LOT.

One last thing, during Saturday's game the Mets and the Pirates wore throwback jersey's in tribute to the Negro League. The Mets as the Brooklyn Royal Giants and the Pirates as the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In terms of the Mets uniforms, I have to say it was a lot of blue--thankfully those are NOT their uniforms today--but they pulled it off. Especially these guys. I'm kind of a little tiny bit obsessed with this photo and may or may not have made it my cellphone wallpaper.

 @itseyjr on Instagram

Tonight, the Mets are continuing their road trip in Atlanta, Georgia visiting their division rivals the Braves and beginning a 3 game series. We'll see what happens. At 8 games under the .500 mark, they've got a lot of work to do. 

unofficial homerun derby

WOW. If last night wasn't a good night for the Metsies then I don't know what is! The team scored TEN runs and let me say, it was great. Scott Kazmir the Oakland Athletics starting pitcher lasted only 3 innings after having a very rough night a.k.a. unwelcome welcoming by some former A's teammates, and gave up 3 home runs. The first to Curtis Granderson in the 2nd inning, his 10th of the season. He's now tied with Lucas Duda for most homers on the team. Then, right after Grandy, Chris Young steps up to bat and hits ANOTHER HOMRUN, his 6th of the season. That's back-to-back homers! Travis d'Arnaud hits a 3-run homer in the 3rd inning, a not-too-shabby at bat for his first game back in the big leagues. That definitely said, "I want to be here" am I right? In the 5th inning Chris Young went on to hit yet another home run to make it two for him for the night.

Bartolo Colon gave another astounding performance and is now 6 for 6 (8-5) in wins so far for the season. He pitched 8 innings, gave up only 4 hits, 1 earned run, a walk, 8 strikeouts, 112 pitches in which 73 of them were strikes. Not to mention that he also had his second hit of the season. A single to left field and he was able to make it all the way to third base, borderline jogging of course. Since when did Colon become a offensive "threat"? ("threat" used very loosely).

The Mets certainly had some "hot bats" last night and it definitely seems as though they are doing much better with clutch hitting as well as hitting with runners in scoring position. For the pass couple of games the pitching has been on point and to say the least, they are on a hot streak. They've now won 5 of their last 6 games.

Now, Chris Young. It was said that he could soon be released by the team sometime this week due to [severe] lack of performance and upon Juan Lagares' return from the disabled list. Let's be real, those rumors had a lot of truth to them. But Young definitely showed that he wants to keep his job. After he went 2 for 3 by hitting two home runs, drawing a walk AND scoring 3 runs, I think he may definitely be changing some minds. 

New York Daily News

mets catching fiasco

Okay, maybe there is no "fiasco" per say but it has been a hot topic for the past few days. The next two days are the last home games the Mets will have this month. Also, it was just announced that catcher Travis d'Arnaud will be making his return to the big leagues just 15 days after being sent down. Now, is he ready? Personally, I have to two opinions about this whole thing:

Travis was essentially demoted for under performing. His batting average was not near where it should have been and really he was just a liability at the plate and a poor offensive player. While in Las Vegas, Travis' hot streak literally seem to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden he was hitting with a .436 average with six homers, eight doubles and sixteen RBIs. Those stats are pretty good...they are REALLY GOOD. 

 All the talk of Travis' "confidence" has been brought up a lot. Allegedly, he had lost all of it while in his slump. He's had a "hot bat" in Vegas according to Terry Collins and it's definitely going to be something to watch to see if he brings it back to New York. So I guess this was all for him to regain his confidence. No doubt, the reality of losing his job most likely caused him to pull himself together and start performing but I question, what if he's not as hot as in Vegas? After all, he's back in the big leagues now. It can be hard to remember what a player used to be like when they've under performed for so long. d'Arnaud being a former number 1 prospect for the Mets has amazing potential. He's shown it before and hopefully we see it again...soon...very soon. 

The other issue facing the Mets is now that Travis is back, the future for both Anthony Recker -- who has been with the team for a season now -- and Taylor Teagarden -- who was called up to the majors after d'Arnaud was sent down -- is now in question. For now, Anthony Recker remains part of the roster as Teagarden was placed on the disabled list due to a strained left hamstring. [*Quick side note: What the heck happened to Teagarden? He didn't even play yesterday. Where did this injury come from??] But when he comes off what will the Mets do? Well, I think Taylor Teagarden should be sent back down. Although he has been pretty good offensively, especially with his first career grand slam a few weeks ago, Anthony Recker is more of a power player. He has been striking out quite a bit recently BUT I do think he has a little more potential [to CONSISTENTLY drive in runs] than Teagarden. Not to mention that Recker wears more than one hat. Not only is he a catcher but when push comes to shove, he can step up and pitch a pretty good game. We've seen it before and just a few weeks ago it nearly came to that once again during a 14-inning game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Overall, I just think that it's a better idea to keep Recker.

Well, in a few weeks, we shall have the answer to all of our hot, burning questions (not that hot) and find out how everything works out with the catching situation. 

wheelin' and dealin' and a no-no

Before I even go any further please excuse the extremely corny post title. Anyway, last night was the Mets first game of four visiting the Miami Marlins. Zack Wheeler was on the mound and let me say, it was impressive. He pitched a complete game, three-hit SHUTOUT. The first of his career and also his first win since May 29th. He only faced 28 batters, one above the minimum. The final score was 1-0 Mets and the only run by the Metsies was thanks to David Wright's home run (his sixth so far this season) on a two out 2-2 pitch in the first inning despite having six hits throughout the ball game. It was hit to left center and reached the base of "whatever you call that goofy looking sculpture" as said by Howie Rose of 710 WOR.

The Marlins remained scoreless throughout nine innings and Zack Wheeler only allowed three hits and one walk. He struck out eight batters and threw 111 pitches. This was actually only his third win of the season despite pitching 10 games and all three wins have come away from home. Added to that, this was his first win against the Marlins. With all this news about Wheeler, I think that it may be noteworthy to mention that the Marlins pitcher Andrew Heany made his first Major League debut last night. Unfortunately, he came away with the loss and one earned run to the David Wright homer and currently his record stands at 0-1.

The Mets were also able to turn three double plays in one night. The first coming in the bottom of the second which was lined to Eric Campbell for an unassisted double play on first base to throw out the runner at the plate and he stepped on the bag before the runner made it back to first. The next came in the fifth with a 6-4-3 double play from Tejada to Murphy to Campbell. Finally, in the bottom of the sixth was a routine 4-6-3 double play ball. 

Clearly, this game was all about the amazing pitching done by Zach Wheeler. We really haven't seen this in a while and as a true Mets fan, I say, IT'S ABOUT TIME. This is the kind of performance that the team needs in order to make their way to more wins. It is possible. These guys just have to continuously turn out great plays in these games and get the outs. Three more games are left in this series and let's hope that the Mets can give their fans something to cheer for.

Instagram: @Mets

Aside from the Mets news, some other history in the world of baseball has been made this week. Wednesday night, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw his first career no-hitter. I'm no Dodgers fan but believe me when I say that I certainly appreciate any achievements from players of opposing teams. And I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty exciting to see my first no-hitter. Yes, sadly, I missed Johan Santana's in 2012. What kinda Mets fan am I?! Kershaw ended the game striking out 15 batters with zero hits and no walks. He threw 107 pitches with 79 being strikes.

Instagram: @MLB

Instagram: @MLB

Instagram: @MLB

Instagram: @MLB

you're out of what???

3-1 Mets. That was the final score in the last game the Mets played against the San Diego Padres this afternoon. Honestly, I didn't have a clue how this one was going to turn out since they were blanked by the Padres in the previous game with a score of 5-0 and only two hits. AND on top of that, starter Daisuke Matsuzaka began the game with a severe stomach ache and left after just the first inning. I thought we had another loss on our hands but the team turned one out. Now they stand at 31-38, seven games below .500.

Even though they did win the offensive inconsistency is really what everyone is talking about. One game they play amazingly both on the offensive and defensive sides (i.e. Friday nights game) and then the next day they're are struggling immensely at the plate. Which brings me to recent comments made by manager Terry Collins. By now I'm sure we all know the pains the Mets have been going through when it comes to leaving the bases loaded with runners in scoring position. During the postgame Collins was asked about these kinds of situations and his response simply was, "I pretty much have exhausted all of the things I have heard that work."

Hmm...this made me laugh. And I can assure you it wasn't in an amusing way. Well, it was kind of amusing in that "are you kidding me?" and "what the heck do you mean?!" kind of way. Now I understand where my fellow Mets fans heads are strategically placed as though they had a direct say in the order of the teams' lineup. Phrases such as "fire Collins" has been littered throughout my various social media sites (a.k.a. Twitter) for a while now and some others genuinely believe that the team needs new management. Now I actually am standing on somewhat neutral ground for this argument and I do, for the most part, see both sides. Here are my arguments in support of:

TERRY COLLINS:

I like to be the one to "step inside another person's shoes" as it were and to really see the issue. As a manager, I would very well want my team to succeed (name one that doesn't).  Now, I get it. If it's not working you need to continuously tweak the lineup until you come up with something successful. And then injuries do happen and guys are coming in and going out from the starting order. If you think about it, it seems A LOT easier than it probably is. The team's fluctuating performance is the prime example of that. That's pretty much what I have to say about this issue.

Terry Collins at a previous press conference. You get the point.

THE FANS a.k.a. The Outsiders:
NOW. Here is where I sympathize with my fellow Mets fans. We, yes I said "we"--I'm the invisible player between shortstop and second--, have been struggling for a while now (since 2007) to make any kind of postseason play. Clearly, the team has needed work for years. So far, the Mets have had 62 different orders in their lineup since Opening Day. SIXTY-TWO! That's second highest behind the Padres! Being another "struggling Mets fan" hearing Collins, the MANAGER of my team make a comment that basically means he doesn't know what else to do in order to consistently win games isn't exactly the most consoling thing. To me it kinda sorta comes off as "what now?" Lots of speculation has been made that Terry Collins could possibly be next to go to add to the list of changes already made in the past few weeks by the organization. Unfortunately for fans eager to toss Terry to the wolves, Sandy Alderson, Mets GM, assured us all that, "Collins is not going anywhere". If that is the case then START WINNING GAMES! As a leader you don't just give up. You keep finding ways to make something work. I'm sure there is something else that Collins can maneuver. If not, I'LL WRITE UP THE LINEUP MYSELF!

That does it for the Padres series and the Mets are heading to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. From the last time these two teams met back in April, the Cards seem to have whipped themselves into shape. They're playing much better than before after the Mets took the first series three games to one. 

We'll see how many more changes they'll make and let's just hope that they're favorable and actually have a positive and significant effect on this ball club.   

ejections, head punches and more oh my!

Well, well, well. Last night was game 3 in the series against the Brewers, one of the best teams in the National League now at  40-27. Metsies lost 5-1 and I'd say this went down in "typical Mets" fashion.

The game started off rather well. Jon Niese was the starting pitcher for the Mets and despite giving up a homerun in the second, he pitched a pretty decent game. My main man Daniel Murphy brought in the only run for the Metsies in the bottom fifth and from there the game was tied until the 13th. Yes, another extra-inning game that to tell you the truth, really should have been over in the 9 inning. This game brought out that infamous term looming over the ball club, "missed opportunities". There were A LOT. In the 9th, David Wright had his time to shine, again, and win it for the team. Wright is at the plate, WITH runners in scoring position I may add, and all he had to do was get a base hit, ONE base hit, to drive in the winning run. Instead, he pops up the ball and boom! 3rd out, we're going to extras. He showed some anger over the situation by slamming his helmet against the helmet cubbies (yes, I said "helmet cubbies") in the dugout. 

After the 10th inning there was still no score, hence a 13-inning game. In the top of the 11th it was apparently the shortest rain delay in history. It lasted all of three minutes. It happened so fast before I knew it the team was off the field. But, the tarp was never rolled out and no one seemed to know exactly what was happening. So yes, after three minutes, everyone was called back and the game resumed.

Moving on to the 12th, here's were things got juicy. Let me just say it was a real "grab the popcorn" kinda moment. In the bottom of the 12th, it was Anthony Recker's turn to bat. Allegedly, all night long the home plate umpire Angel Hernandez had a "wide strike zone" and I guess Recker fell victim to it. On a pitch he thought was a ball, Hernandez promptly called strike three. --grab the popcorn-- Recker totally wasn't having it! He called the ump out on it and totally went off...which got him thrown out. It gets better! After a few seconds of yelling and screaming, he furiously walked into the dugout and broke his bat. This guy didn't just break the bat, HE SHATTERED IT! In one crack over his knee. That was actually pretty impressive.

 a photo of Anthony Recker all exasperated and what-not

from nj.com

The only issue I and I'm sure many others had with this whole fiasco is the fact that along with being a catcher, Recker is also a pitcher. This is an extra-inning game. You have no clue how long it's going to last and what if your team needed you to pitch in the 14th? 15th? They need you Anthony! Thankfully that didn't happen. Why? Because thanks to Carlos Torres he lost it for the team! YAY!!--blatant sarcasm-- Gosh. This was just painful to watch. Now, don't get me wrong. Torres is a pretty good pitcher in the Mets' bullpen. The problem is, this is not a multiple inning guy. He pitches amazingly for an inning and then he comes back out and starts giving up back to back hits. That's exactly what happened last night. After he gave up 4 earned runs in the top of the 13th, he was taken out of the game and replaced by Dana Eveland. Back in the dugout he totally took out his anger...on himself. He gave his head two brutal-looking punches...on each side, and then made one of the weirdest, most exorcistic-like (yeah, that's not a word) head twitches I've ever seen. Honestly, it was quite scary looking.

Please enjoy this photo by yours truly of said head twitch:

**YAY for photos taken off the television!

After all was said and done, the game amounted to 4 hours and 8 minutes. Jon Niese pitched seven and two-thirds with no decision as Carlos Torres took the loss for the team. Now the San Diego Padres are in town for a three game set at Citi Field and it's said that they are struggling even more offensively than the Mets are. I didn't think that was possible. If that's true then it should be a good opportunity for the team to pick it up and work their way back up to AT LEAST .500. It won't be easy since they've already lost 8 out of the last 9 games. We'll see how this goes.

sinking ship

Today marks the last day of the eleven game road trip for the Mets. The longest of the season so far. What started in Philadelphia has traveled west out to the Bay Area of California. It also marks the Mets entering this final game against the SF Giants with a five game loosing streak which since began in Chicago.

The game is on at this very moment and I guess this will be a little play-by-play (not really) of what is happening:

• It's the bottom of the seventh and Carlos Torres has come in as the third reliever for the Mets.
• Torres has already given up one hit and then threw a wild pitch advancing the runner to second.
• Another hit has just been given up by Torres which brought a runner around to score. There goes a run. A one run lead by the Giants has just turned into two. 

(by the way, Hunter Pence (9), for the Giants, is very ansty and jumpy-like while at bat. Yeah, jumpy-like.)

• There is still only one out with a runner at first and a 2-0 count to Giants third baseman Sandoval who flew out to Granderson (9).
• SF first baseman nearly hit a homerun but it was caught by Chris Young way out on the warning track in left field. And so ends the inning.

Enough of that! David Wright had his first day off this season. Clearly, he was very reluctant about it. From all the games played back to back to back, I think I'd need a day off too. Then again, it's not my job. He did get the chance to play today anyway and came in as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh but unfortunately struck out for the third out in the inning.

In other news, more changes to the Mets roster. Travis d'Arnaud was just sent down to Triple-A Las Vegas and Taylor Teagarden was called up. SHOCKER RIGHT! Well, it's been coming for quite sometime now. There's been a lot of talk about Travis' "confidence level" and how low it has been. 

via tumblr

From an outsider looking in, meaning a person who has no connection to the Mets organization whatsoever, it's been quite apparent that he has not been doing well at the plate AT ALL. d'Arnaud currently holds the second lowest batting average in Mets history I believe. Yeah, pretty sad. Essentially, he was demoted. I wonder how he feels. Probably ashamed, embarrassed or another emotion that falls in that category. I do feel bad for him though. But no doubt he'll be back and HOPEFULLY is able to bump up his average and once again be an asset to the team. Boy, would I have loved to be a fly on the wall when he got that news. What hasn't been said, or clarified, was when Travis will return to the Major Leagues. Terry Collins with another vague response said something to the effect of Travis not returning to the Mets until he has at least 50 at-bats with Vegas. I think 54 was the actual number.

If you're interested, six straight games in a row were lost. Final game score: 6-4 San Francisco. The road trip started on a high note but became a sinking ship...FAST. Well, they come home for a few games against the Milwaukee Brewers who are currently 38-26 (that match-up should be interesting...) and the San Diego Padres who at the moment stand at 28-35, they hold the same record as the Mets right now. I call that even and anyone's game. 

oh the times in chicago

It has happened. The dreaded has taken place. The Mets have been swept by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. This has not happened since 2004. That's ten years. Yeah, I don't doubt you can do the math but this was pitiful. The 4-7 Mets loss was anything but pleasant to watch. There was a small glimmer of hope when Andrew Brown hit a two-run homer in the seventh to tie the game up 4-4. Then it's almost like the lights went out in the Cubs visitors dugout. Runs given up by guys in the bullpen. The usual.

Jacob deGrom had another chance to get his first Major League win. Instead of it being taken by the oh-so-reliable Mets bullpen (sarcasm galore), Jake, Jacob, whatever he wants to be called, still has no decision. Vic Black was credited with the L. 

All this mumbo-jumbo, yes, I said that, has got me thinking...what the heck does this ball club have to do to start winning games?! There is always room improvement and my gosh do the Mets need it. In fact, they need two rooms. Maybe even three to jam in all they have to work on. And, not just win one or two out of a series but CONSTANT wins. As a true Mets fan, I do not think I've mentioned something that's impossible. I truly believe that they are capable of being a great WINNING team...again.

First, let's just talk about the elephant in the room. The number one issue for this club is hitting. It's absolutely no secret that the team is struggling immensely to get hits. The scene of Murphy, Flores, Wright, whomever it may be, grounding into a double play is becoming all too familiar. I can't even begin with Duda's strikeouts seemingly one after the other. Of course, he has his good nights where he hits a homer and he has his bad nights as well. I guess everyone does. But come on guys, this is the Majors, you should always be on! Give me the bat and I'll just go out there and do it myself! Okay, I'd never make it in the Major Leagues for obvious reasons. One, I'm a girl and two, I'd probably throw out my back if I had to swing at a hard ball coming at me at 90 miles an hour. So who am I to talk right?

We all should know now that recently the Mets fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens and replaced him with Lamar Johnson, this happening the same day former Detroit Tiger Jose Valverde was released, essentially losing his job as closer. It's been said that it takes a firing to whip these players into shape and I will not tell a lie, they were pretty good in Philly. But, how long will this last! They've fell all out-of-whack again. I'll be gray in the head by the time it's September. 

In other news, approximately an hour from the moment I am writing this, the New York Mets will begin a three game stand against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The Giants are currently 39-21. Let me spell it out. THIRTY-NINE and TWENTY-ONE. This is going to be some series for the Metsies. Who knows? Maybe they'll surprise me with a win. Crossing fingers, toes, eyes, ears, you get the idea.

just another sports blog

It's currently June, June 5 to be exact. We are just a little over two months into baseball season. America's pastime right? Right.

As you can already tell this is a blog dedicated to the New York Mets. The Metropolitans. The Amazin's. Metsies if you will. There are a handful of other names for my team. Both good and bad. We'll only focus on the positive of course. Well, at least most of the time.

Before I go any further I just wanted to address all my readers, if any, that yes I know there are many other sports blogs out there. Some focus on baseball as a whole and then others zero-in on specific teams. I'll let you know that 99.9% of the time you'll be reading about the Mets. The other .1% will probably be about a random story going on in the world of baseball. Honestly, I cannot tell you what will make my blog stand out from all the rest. I just hope you enjoy reading what I write.

So, the Mets. The Mets. The Mets. The Mets. I don't even know where to begin. Actually, yes I do. At this exact moment in time, they are currently standing at .475. Three games under the .500 mark and are only 3.5 games back in their division. Only sixth in the entire National League East. No big deal right? Well, tonight, is the final game in their three game set in Chi-town against the Chicago Cubs played at none other than the historic Wrigley Field. At this time, I would like to point out that the team, that is the Cubs are 22-34 in wins and losses. That's .393. Eleven (ELEVEN!) games back in their division, NL Central. That is LAST PLACE in Major League Baseball. What does this have to do with the Mets you ask? Nothing much...except they've lost the last two games to the Cubs. They have lost the series. To the Cubs. Just a little disclaimer: I am in no way saying that the Chicago Cubs are incapable of winning games at this point but both defense and offense have been lacking for the Cubbies since the beginning of the season. But, they've been able to throw in some wins in their losing mix. The same could probably be said of the Mets as they have also had a pretty jagged start this season as well which began since Opening Day and the ugly blown save against the Washington Nationals which then looked like a season that would be looming with perpetual losses. Nothing new here. But, with constant changes by the organization, they seemed to have somewhat cleaned up their act. A few (just a few) winning streaks here and there but when they lose, they lose. It's almost an art. Fast forward to now, the first two games in the series are ones that, let's be real, the Mets should have won. But, games plagued with fumbled balls, one or two bouts of bad base running, a handful of missed opportunities to score runs and the absolute kryptonite of this ball club, leaving runners in scoring position stranded on the bases. I do not have enough fingers to count how many times this has happened so far in this season. As of now I have no predictions for tonight's game. Like they do once in a while, the Mets just might surprise me with a win. Just hopefully they won't get swept by the Cubs. I can't think of anything worse than that. Other than losing a previous series in May to the Diamondbacks, another struggling club this season. The first two games made me want to rip my eyes out...just saying.

All I can say is that it would be an absolute miracle and a very long time time coming to us all if and when (trying to throw in a some hopefulness) the Mets are back on top whether its Division Champs, League Champions or even another World Series victory! Heck! Just make it to the post season! A wild card would sit just fine with me, for now. Then, we can work our way up from there.

Like any other dedicated Mets fan, no matter the agony that this team puts us through, I guess we'll always be there, even if we don't want to be. Nothing like a Mets fan.