The Month Of April

The Month of April is now over and the Mets finished with an overall record of 15-9 and are a half game back of the division leader Braves. So far during the first month of the baseball season the Mets and Braves are already in a dog fight for first place switching places game by game, while the Phillies got off to one of the worst starts in franchise history. During the month of April there was some pleasant surprises and some disappointments, and injuries to go with them.

Surprises

1. Shawn Green
Green wasn't even guarenteed a starting spot in right field going into spring training, and after he hit .149 it seemed he might not even win the spot. But Willie picked his veteran Green over 22 year old Lastings Milledge and Shawn Green has responded by hitting .355 (14th in MLB) with 3 homeruns and 15 RBI's. The talk of taking Green out of Right Field, or Platooning him is now done with and we are all waiting to see what May brings for Green.

2. John Maine
Maine showed great things last year as he had a 3.60 ERA in his rookie year, but many thought it was a fluke and the league would catch on to his fastball and he would be very hittable. But so far this year John Maine is 4-0 (3rd in MLB) with a 1.38 ERA (#1 in mlb) Yes John Maine has the best ERA in the MLB, Maine during the off-season worked on his secondary pitches (Slider, and changeup) and this spring Rick Peterson wanted Maine to work at the knees more often. Well come April Maine still has a rising fastball but now keeps hitters off-balance with his slider/changeup combination. Maine ranked at #37 of all pitchers in MLB at rotoworld.com and may deserve to be a little better then that.

3.Oliver Perez
were hoping Perez's great postseason performance would give him the confidence he needed leading into the 2007 season, and so far they were right. Perez had a great spring, and when he Perez made a case in 2006 for worst pitcher in the MLB at 3-13 Perez had a 6.38 ERA, but again Rick Peterson was ready for the challenge and put his uncontrolled talent to the test. The Metsbaffled the Red-Sox I thought right there during a spring training game Oliver Perez was back. Perez has had 4 starts this year 3 good one's and 1 horrible one. That bad outing 2.2 innings pitched 7 WALKS, this coming after a game were Perez completely destroyed the Braves throwing 7 innings and walking none. The problem? Release point Rick Peterson had 4 bullpen sessions in between starts with Perez and so far the results are great 13.2 IP 6 ER 0 WALKS 18k's. So far this season Perez is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA enough to earn him a spot on my surprises.

Disappointments

1.David Wright
All spring training the talk was about moving David Wright to the number 2 spot in the lineup. What ended up happening? Wright stayed at #5 because the Mets wanted his power in the middle of the lineup. Well Wright hasn't had that power the Mets are looking for as he is batting .244 with 0 HOMERUNS 6 RBI's and 23 strike outs in just 24 games. Wright to start the season got on a 26 game hitting streak (continued from last year) and nobody wanted to realize that Wright was in a slump. Well then the hitting streak ended and now Wright's slump is one of the biggest things in the MLB. It seems Wright is trying to pull the ball to much, and is vulnerable to the outside pitch, but Wright is one of the hardest workers in the MLB and if you've been watching all the games you can see Wright is trying minor adjustments in his batting stance and his approach before the swing. Since the homerun derby last year Wright hasn't been the same player last year, but it is getting out of hand with fans booing him at the plate. We laughed at Yankee fans when they booed A-Rod now we are doing the same exact thing.

2.Carlos Delgado
Delgado had a huge slump last year for basically 1/3 of the season before getting on a monster hot streak that would land him at 38 homeruns and 100+ RBI, well this year Delgado is in another monster slump and is hitting just .188 with 1 homerun and 12 RBI on the season. Delgado's slump is very weird compared to David Wright as it seems Delgado is just getting under the ball and missing it. His bat speed is fine, and he's taking good swings he just seems to be missing the ball. Another weird stat is Delgado is hitting .333 off of lefty's and just .100 against right handed pitchers. Without Delgado and Wright hitting the 4-5 in the lineup is basically 2 easy outs and rally killers, but when these two get going watch out for all opposing pitchers.

3.Mike Pelfrey
Pelfrey pitched great early in spring and earned himself the #5 spot, but since that time Pelfrey has been just awful. Pelfrey has showed that he is not ready to be a pitcher in the big leagues as his off-speed pitchers and nowhere near ready, and his sinker is very hittable. A question I've had now with Pelfrey is did Peterson change something he shouldn't of? Pelfrey last year when called up threw extremely hard 98 MPH fastball up in the zone that just blew by hitters now if he could just throw that slider and changeup over he should be an even more effective John Maine, but Pelfrey didn't have the off-speed pitches, and Peterson transformed Pelfrey into a contact hitter that pitches low in the strike zone and now Pelfrey is at 92-93 MPH getting hammered. Entering his start tonight Pelfrey is 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA. According to everyone around Pelfrey he's having terrific bullpen sessions but just can't translate it into the games. If not to the injury to Orlando Hernandez Pelfrey's starting spot could of been on the line with his start tonight. Possible minor league call ups could be Top Prospect Philip Humber, Jason Vargas from the Marlins, and FA pickup Jorge Sosa (4-0 1.35 ERA AAA) We'll see what happens but Pelfrey did not have an April that he expected, and is hoping for a better May.

Business As Usual

1.Tom Glavine
What is there to say about a soon to be 300 win hall of famer? He was asked to be the ace of the staff and so far has done nothing but succeed. Glavine right now is 3-1 with a 2.80 ERA and could easily be 5-0 if not for bullpen implosions/bad defense against the Braves. To start the season with the cold weather Glavine had some issues with the walks because of the disease he has with his hands that he can't feel his fingers. That also prevented Glavine from throwing his Curveball to keep hitters guessing recently Glavine has broken out the Curveball, and the results are starting to show. It'll be more interesting to see how Glavine is doing in August/September to see what he has left at that point for a playoff push.

2.Jose Reyes
Jose Reyes just keeps getting better, and is quickly becoming one of the best players in the MLB. Jose Reyes now known country wide because of his fantasy baseball rank isn't disappointing his owners as he is hitting .356 (#10 in MLB) with 2 homeruns 18 RBI and 17 SB (#1 IN MLB) Reyes's walk/strikeout ratio is now 16:11 2 years ago would you ever think that would be possible? Reyes is the leading the attack against left handed pitchers who gave the Mets fits last year as he is hitting a .433 against left handed pitchers. But aside from his bat and his glove Jose Reyes has greatly improved his defense and could possibly win himself his first career gold glove. Reyes has more range then most shortstops in the MLB and could challenge almost any Shortstops arm. Possible MVP candidate on his way to another all-star game that he hopes to play in this year.

3.Carlos Beltran
and 23 RBI. Beltran told reporters in spring that he wanted to hit for a higher average Check that off and steal more bases. Well so far Beltran has 5 stolen bases, compared to his 18 all of last season so Beltran is on his way to another MVP run after he came in the top 5 last year. So far in April Beltran is hitting a BEAST .356 (#10 in MLB) and is close to #1 in the league with 6 homerunsthats a check to. Two things that Beltran did very bad last year was 1.Hitting at home, and 2.hitting left handed pitchers. So far this season Carlos Beltran is hitting a unprecedented .515 vs lefty's to go with his .347 batting average at home. Beltran has had one of the best April's of his career and will look to keep it going as he is one of the main parts of this batting order.

4.Moises Alou

Moises Alou had an April just like every other April in his career as he hit .349 with 2 homeruns and 11 RBI. Alou looked like a great pickup and the Mets were just hoping he could stay healthy. Well that wish looked like it was in jeopardy as Moises came out of yesterdays game against the Marlins and got 2 stitches in his chin, and also seemed to aggravate the right shoulder that he jammed in a game against the Nationals over the weekend. An MRI came back negative and Alou is back in the starting lineup for the Mets, just as I was about to put him on the injured list.
Alou has filled in nicely with this lineup and with Alou the Mets have one of the most potent lineups in the MLB even with a struggling Delgado, and Wright.

Injuries

We all knew coming into the season the Mets had a "veteran" team, and they would probably have some injuries throughout the season. Well as of now the Mets have 2 guys on the DL age's 38 and ill be nice 244.

1.Orlando Hernandez
Placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 25, with bursitis in his right shoulder. Hernande was having a terrific April and this was just bad news for the Mets. Hernandez was 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA (#17 in MLB) to replace Hernandez Chan Ho Park how'd his outing go? Lets just say we will never have to see him pitch for the Mets again. Hernandez was a risk when he was re-signed especially at a 2 year deal, and the Mets knew sooner or later he would get hurt, and at least this time it's not right before the playoffs started.

2.Jose Valentin
Placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 29, with a partial tear of the ACL ligament of his right knee. Valentin had a great spring training but started off April horribly and already the questions were asked "Is Valentin Too Old?" But Valentin started to pick his offense up, and his defense was lights out. Before Valentin got hurt he was a .279 with 2 homeruns and 13 RBI, even at 38 years old Valentin is one of the best and feared #8 hitters in the league. Already Valentin's great defense is missed as Damion Easley dropped a ball hit shallow to CF yesterday which opened up a big inning for the Marlins, a ball that Valentin gets to every time. As Valentin was placed on the disabled list 2B Ruben Gotay was called up, and should get a start every once in awhile vs Right Handers.

~Now to start the Month of May David Wright is batting 2nd with Paul Lo Duca batting 7th, and Mike Pelfrey will take the ball and start against the Marlins.

Add Jose Valentin to the list, John Maine top 50 pitcher WICKMAN TO DL

Jose Valentin has now been placed on the 15 day DL with a partial tear in his ACL. Rotoworld says he is expected to miss 2-4 weeks. He now join Orlando Hernandez on the DL and is the age kicking in already?

During the off-season the Mets were faced with these two 37+ year olds, and they had to make a decision. That choice? Jose Valentin 1 year 3.8 million dollar deal. Orlando Hernandez 2 years 12 million dollars.

With 2B Adam Kennedy, Mark Loretta, Marcus Giles, and more in FA the Mets decided to stay with Valentin for a 1 year commitment.

The starting pitching market was way over priced and El Duque at 6 million for this year was a good deal, though I didn't see the point in giving him 2 years as he will be 65 years old at the end of his contract.

If somebody's going to get hurt it might as well be now and not at the end of the season but with all the age on this team you have to wonder who's next?

Now 2B Ruben Gotay has been placed on the 40 man roster and will take Valentin's spot, and it seems the Mets have lost all faith in Anderson Hernandez who was already on the 40 man roster. Gotay was obtained in the Jeff Keppinger trade to the Royals.

JOHN MAINE A TOP 50 PITCHER
Rotoworld.com doing their top 110 starting pitchers in the MLB have ranked John Maine at #37. Here's what they had to say about Maine.

"When Maine was coming up through the Orioles farm system, it looked like he had a chance of making it as a fourth or fifth starter despite being rather hittable. Well, the league is batting all of .203 against him 116 1/3 innings since he arrived in New York in the Kris Benson deal. In 2007, his average against stands at 169. There's no way he can maintain that for a full season, but since he's in a pitcher's park and he has perhaps the NL's best offense supporting him, it's time to take him seriously as a top-50 pitcher."

~Look at it inside the lines pitchers park, best offense, good pitcher = Cy Young?!!

UPDATE:
from rotoworld.com

"Braves placed RHP Bob Wickman went on the disabled list with an upper back strain.

Pitching through pain may be admirable, but if Wickman had been up front about his troubles, there's a good chance the Braves would be 17-6 right now instead of 15-8. Wickman was awful in three straight appearances, blowing saves twice. The Braves didn't announce a closer in his place, but Mike Gonzalez figures to get more opportunities that Rafael Soriano."

~Tubbs

Orlando Hernandez scratched from tonights start

rotoworld.com
'According to WFAN in New York, Orlando Hernandez has been scratched from his scheduled start Monday because of shoulder tightness and is likely headed to the disasbled list.

Chan Ho Park will be called up from Triple-A to start in El Duque's place against the Marlins. Park was 3-1 in four starts at Triple-A, but with a 7.29 ERA and six homers allowed in 21 innings there he should be avoided at all costs."

Wow I'm actually pretty upset about this Orlando Hernandez dominates the Marlins every time out because of their young lineup, and now we have to sit through a Chan Ho Park performance when he has a 7+ ERA in AAA.. The Mets could of easily made the phone call and said that they needed Jorge Sosa for today and not to let him pitch his scheduled start in AAA.

All I'm saying is lets hope the bullpen can keep it close..

=










Enough Said

Mets beat the Nationals 1-0 ATL

Sorry guys really busy this weekend just going to use what Rotoworld had to say..

"John Maine threw seven shutout innings versus the Nationals today to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Maine struck out eight and walked three while yielding three hits. It looked like Maine might blow a 1-0 lead in the seventh after a leadoff double and a walk, but be bounced back to pitch out of the jam unharmed. The right-hander has an impressive strikeout rate to go with his 1.35 ERA through five starts, but he's still an obvious sell-high candidate. Facing the Diamondbacks in Arizona next time out isn't a very good matchup for him, but he still has to be used until he cools down."

~Arizona is a perfect matchup for John Maine young hitters won't catch on to the sneaky fastball, he should have no problems with that lineup.


"Carlos Beltran drove in the only run of the game in a Mets' 1-0 win over the Nationals on Sunday with a solo homer off starter Jason Bergmann.

Beltran has started right where he left off in the 2006 campaign, batting .333 with five homers, four steals, and 22 RBI in 23 games played. He's well on his way to a full repeat of last year's stellar season."

~MVP MVP MVP MVP!!

"Jason Bermann was the hard-luck loser against the Mets on Sunday after yielding just one run in seven innings of work.

Bergmann struck out six, walked three, and gave up just two hits, but one of those was a solo homer to Carlos Beltran. The right-hander has a 2.79 ERA through five starts, in large part because he's given up just two homers. He'll regress at some point, and isn't a strong option against the Cubs on Friday."

~Poor guy well the Nationals only have 1 thing because they didn't score a run.

Don't forget about the bullpen, Aaron Heilman came into the game in the 8th let up 2 hits and a walk left the game with the bases loaded and Scott S. got the final out. Billy Wagner closed the game and that was the game. David Wright had another walk and thats 34 straight games he has reached base.

Atlanta lost a heart breaker to the Rockies today 11-9 in a 11 inning game.

"Bob Wickman blew a save against the Rockies on Sunday after giving up two runs while retiring just two batters in the bottom of the ninth.

Wickman entered a 9-7 game and promptly walked three of the first four batters he faced. An infield single and a groundout scored two runs to tie the game, and Wickman was pulled after hitting Chris Iannetta to load the bases. Luckily for Wickman, Tyler Yates retired Clint Barmes to send the game into extra innings. Wickman blew a save two outings ago and then gave up three runs in a non-save situation on Friday, but unless he's hurt, he's still going to get the next save opportunity the Braves generate. Should he continue to struggle or require some time off, Mike Gonzalez would likely step in."

~See what people didn't understand last year is that Wickman had success because nobody in the league had seem him before, it was obvious the league would catch on.

"Scott Thorman went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBI in a 9-7 loss in Colorado against the Rockies on Sunday.

Thorman hit a solo homer in the second, singled in one run in the fourth, and then finally singled in a pair of runs in the sixth. He also later added a double and an intentional walk. That the outing came at Coors Field lessens the impact a 4-for-4 performance can have on someone's job security, but it was still a big positive for Thorman. He entered the day with an unacceptable 708 OPS."

~The Braves also made a trade trading LF Ryan Langerhans to the Athletics for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Matt Diaz becomes the starting LF

The Phillies beat the Marlins 6 to 1 today in a day were 84 year old Jamie Moyer was masterful.

"Jamie Moyer didn't yield a hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning against the Marlins on Sunday, and he finished the game with 7 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up a win. Moyer's no-hit bid was broken up by a Miguel Cabrera liner just over third basemen Abraham Nunez's head in the seventh. In total, he gave up two hits and a pair of walks while striking out five. With a 3-1 record and 2.65 ERA thus far, Moyer can be considered in most mixed leagues when he faces the Giants in San Francisco next time out."

~Poor Marlins they almost get no hit by John Maine and now Jamie Moyer. I have a lot of respect for Moyer it takes a lot of talent to be able to pitch effectively with a 43 MPH fastball.

"Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases and a pair of runs scored on Sunday.

Rollins has one more game to play in April, but he may already be the league's MVP for the first month of the season. The shortstop leads the circuit in homers with nine and is also batting .299 with a .626 slugging percentage. Fantasy owners will also like his 25 runs scored, six steals, and 18 RBI."

~He's got a big bat but he's got a bigger mouth.

Rotoworld didn't have anything for the Marlins so I'll give a quick recap.

Wes Obermueller started the game and didn't pitch to bad but got the loss. He went 5 2/3 innings and gave up 3 ER. Nate Field came in for relief but didn't give anybody a relief accept for the Phillies offense as he went just 1 inning and gave up 3 runs. Josh Willingham had a RBI Double, and Miggy broke up Moyers no hitter just like he did to John Maine's.

Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
NY Mets	15	8	.652	-
Atlanta	15	9	.625	0.5
Florida	11	13	.458	4.5
Philadelphia	11	13	.458	4.5
Washington	8	17	.320	8.0

Orlando Hernandez left to New York today to get an MRI on his pitching shoulder after complaining about tightness in his shoulder. The Mets didn't stop Jorge Sosa from making his AAA start so unless Chan Ho Park is getting called up expect Hernandez to make his start.

Results still haven't come in for Jose Valentin who left for an MRI to.

If Pelfrey continues to struggle you won't see Chan Ho Park called up, you won't see top prospect Philip Humber either you will see Atlanta reject Jorge Sosa. It seems Sosa has found his groove in AAA after throwing 6 scoreless innings today he now has a 1.13 ERA and is now 4-0.

More updates tomorrow..

A little bit more then Home Cooking for the Nationals

The Nationals came home to Washington, and are getting a little bit more then home cooking. So far in the 2 games played between the Mets and Nationals it seems the Nationals are getting all the calls. Yesterday Matt Chico had a 5 inch bigger strike zone then any Mets pitcher. Carlos Beltran doesn't get the time out call, and today 3 straight bad calls by the 1st base umpire.

There is no reason why when Willie came out to argue that umpire should of got back in Willie's face, and kept the argument going. Very bad calls this series though the Mets should still be able to beat the Nationals..

Is it just me noticing these bad calls all going against the Mets?

CY-Jerome

Through 5 innings the Mets are making Jerome Williams who came into the game with a 7+ ERA just like Matt Chico like a Cy-Young. Ryan Zimmerman has made 46 diving stops and thrown the runner out every time. The Mets continue to leave runners in scoring position and Tom Glavine is throwing a gem with no run support.

A Very Bad Game

unacceptable loss last night to the Nationals. These are the games you have to win, you're facing the worst team in the National League against a pitcher who had a 7+ ERA and has no OUT PITCH. There wasn't just one person to blame the game on it was a team effort in losing. Leaving runners in scoring position over and over again it's just embarrassing that a team like the Mets continues to struggle against these bottom feeders.

Oliver Perez had a ruff start but regained his composure after giving up a 3 run homerun to Austin Kearns in the first inning. Perez threw 7 great innings giving up 4 ER and striking out 9. But unluckily for Perez the Mets had to face the "GREAT" Matt Chico and could only get 2 runs off of him. Willie Randolph was not wrong (for once) for leaving Perez in the game to bat in the 6th inning. Bases loaded 1 out with the 9th hitter up if you pinch hit Franco probably grounds into a double play, it was better to have Perez up there to strike out and then have Reyes up with the bases loaded and 2 outs. It didn't work out thats not Willie's fault.

The only thing I could point out on one person was Moises Alou after he doubled with 0 outs there was a fly ball hit deep to right field? Moises Alou doesn't tag, next batter hit to deep right field he doesn't tag up again. It was bad base running and Moises should of tried to tag up manufacture a run. That could of tied the game right there.

Carlos Delgado just looks lost at the plate, he looks worse then David Wright up there because Delgado unlike Wright isn't working the counts and getting walks Delgado is just going up there hacking, and we all know he's in a slump like last year and we are all just waiting for him to breakout, but I have a question for you. Delgado is getting up there in age whats the age when Delgado doesn't break out of the slump? when is the year when Delgado goes on a heavy decline?

These are extremely bad losses and I've said it once and I'll say it again this division will come down to who has the better record against the Nationals. The Mets have already lost 2 series against the Braves, they should be able to sweep the Nationals every time out. Now I'm not going to lie that umpire had a huge strike zone on the National side and it seemed any pitch within 12 inches for a National pitcher was a strike. But that is still no excuse why the Mets can't beat the Nationals.

I'm not going to be able to do the ATL today so here's the standings in the NL EAST.

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Atlanta	14	8	.636	-
NY Mets	13	8	.619	0.5
Florida	10	12	.455	4.0
Philadelphia	10	12	.455	4.0
Washington	8	15	.348	6.5

Bad news for Milledge (from Metsblog.com)

"Omar Minaya told reporters after last night's game that Lasting Milledge will be out four to six weeks with sprained ligaments in his right foot."

It was a bad game for the Mets but at least the Mets are getting good starting pitching and good bullpen work. The bullpen isn't over worked and sooner or later Wright will find his stroke (Good power to RF last night for a double) and the Mets will go on a streak. It's much better to be a Mets fan right now then a Yankee fan as the Yankees have lost 7 straight games, and word is if the Yankees get swept by the Red-Sox Joe Toree could be fired.

I'm always questioning Willie but Joe is a horrible manager he can't manage a pen for his life. And because of the bad starting the Yankees have gotten lately the bullpen is not going to be able to rebound until the all-star break. Yes the all-star break 1-2 days off isn't going to do it for this pen they need a good 3-5 days off and unless the Yankees get some rainouts before an off-day they are in a lot of trouble. The Yankees could higher Joe Giradi former Marlins manager if Joe is fired.

Mets had the day off 1 game in the NL EAST

There was only one game in the NL EAST yesterday and it was the Phillies vs the Nationals.
The Phillies lost the game to the Nats 4 to 2.

Cole Hamels started the game for the Phillies and didn't have that magic he had last time out when he struck out 15. Hamels had control problems (3 walks) and walked in a run during the game. Hamels final line wasn't horrible 5.1 innings 8 hits 4 ER 4 K's but Hamels took the loss in the game. 3.24 ERA on the year.

The Phillies could only score 2 runs off of starter Shawn Hill who gave the Nationals just what they needed, a win and some innings. Hill pitched 8 great innings giving up just 4 hits and 2 ER. Hill has been the only good Nationals starter this year as he is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA on the year.

The only Phillies to get some hits off of Hill were Aaron Roward who is just on fire right now and hit another homerun last night, and Chase Utley who was 1-3 with a single. Pat Burrel was the lucky man to get the RBI walk but that was it for the Phillies offense.

The Meat Hook Dimitri Young hit his 3rd homerun of the year off of Cole Hamels which was the only bright part of his day as he struck out 3 times.

Austin Kearns was 2 for 3 with an RBI double in the game, and made a great diving catch.

Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
NY Mets	13	7	.650	-
Atlanta	13	8	.619	0.5
Florida	10	11	.476	3.5
Philadelphia	9	12	.429	4.5
Washington	7	15	.318	7.0

Tonight the Mets start a 3 game series in Washington vs the Nats as Oliver Perez takes the ball and faces Matt Chico.

Ok your not going to believe this but last night Carlos Gomez walked 3 times! Thats like 3x the amount he walked last year. Congratulations to Carlos Gomez who we will probably see this September. Gomez also has an RBI Double in the game.

These are some amazing stats that go along with my last post this info from www.mikesmets.com

Mets Pitching Staff -- 20 Games
Innings		ERA		Hits/9		K/9		BB/9		HR/9		AVG		OBP		SLG
181.0		2.88		7.3		6.8		4.2		0.9		.225		.324		.367

Mets Starters vs. Relievers -- 20 Games
		Innings		ERA		Hits/9		K/9		BB/9		HR/9		AVG		OBP		SLG
Starters		117.2		3.21		7.6		6.6		4.1		1.1		.234		.328		.381
Relievers		63.1		2.27		6.8		7.2		4.5		0.4		.210		.317		.341

~Now if it wasn't for Pelfrey's 7+ ERA what would that starters ERA be?

Mets Starters
		GS		Innings		ERA		Hits/9		K/9		BB/9		HR/9		AVG		OBP		SLG
Tom Glavine		5		29.1		3.07		8.3		4.9		3.7		1.2		.252		.341		.439
O. Hernandez		5		32.0		2.53		6.2		7.0		3.7		1.4		.210		.317		.341
John Maine		4		26.1		1.71		5.1		7.5		4.8		0.7		.169		.274		.247
Oliver Perez		3		16.1		3.31		8.3		9.4		3.9		0.6		.242		.329		.371
Mike Pelfrey		3		13.2		7.90		13.2		4.0		4.6		1.3		.351		.431

Mets Relievers
		GA		Innings		ERA		Hits/9		K/9		BB/9		HR/9		AVG		OBP		SLG
Joe Smith		12		11.0		0.00		5.7		9.0		3.3		0.0		.184		.262		.237
A. Burgos		10		11.1		3.97		5.6		8.7		5.6		0.8		.175		.327		.300
P. Feliciano		10		8.1		0.00		5.4		8.6		7.6		0.0		.167		.341		.200
S. Schoeneweis		10		8.0		2.25		6.8		3.4		7.9		1.1		.214		.371		.357
Billy Wagner		8		9.0		1.00		6.0		8.0		3.0		0.0		.188		.257		.313
A. Heilman		8		6.2		2.70		6.7		5.4		1.3		1.3		.200		.259		.480
Aaron Sele		5		9.0		6.00		12.0		6.0		3.0		0.0		.316		.357

Now mike (Mikesmets.com) Goes on to give full detail about each player I'm just giving you stats if you want the true facts of how the Mets pitching staff is doing go to mikesmets.com

Last time I made a prediction I said Alou would go deep and the Mets would win 5-1 vs the Phillies. Alou went deep twice and the Mets won like 7-1. Tonight I'm going to make another prediction. Mets will beat the Nationals 8 to 3 and David Wright will go Deep. Expect a great start from Oliver Perez

"Mets pitching ruling NL"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18337514/

great, great article..

"As April winds down, the New York Mets are at the top of the National League in virtually every major statistical category. And we’re not just talking hitting. We’re talking about pitching, too."

Here’s where Rick Peterson’s staff stood through Wednesday’s games:

Wins: 1^st (13)
ERA: 1^st (2.88)
Hits to innings pitched ratio: 1^st (147 hits allowed, 181 innings)
Earned runs: 1^st (58)

Only Pelfrey in the fifth spot has been cause for concern. After the Rockies roughed him up, his ERA rose to 7.90 in three starts. Remove his numbers, and the foursome of Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez, John Maine and Oliver Perez are a combined 10-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 17 starts. Pelfrey is expected to remain in the rotation for at least one more start, but another bad one could mean veteran Jorge Sosa or top prospect Philip Humber could get an opportunity.

Maine is proving his 2006 postseason breakthrough was no fluke, posting three quality starts, including seven one-hit innings in his first outing. Hernandez has four quality starts in five tries. Perez had one throwaway outing in his first three, with the encouraging sign being a 17-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The bullpen hasn’t missed Guillermo Mota (serving a 50-game suspension) and Duaner Sanchez (season-ending surgery). Lefty Pedro Feliciano and rookie submariner Joe Smith haven’t allowed earned runs. Billy Wagner is three-for-three in save situations with a 1.00 ERA. And other than long man Aaron Sele’s 6.00 ERA, only Ambiorix Burgos has an ERA above 2.70.

And meanwhile, Pedro Martinez reports that he is very pleased with his recovery from surgery, and expects to contribute in the second half.

~I know it seems like I took the entire article but there is much more to read ;)

And this from Newsday Wagner wants more work

"It's feast or famine," Wagner said. "More than anything, it wears on you mentally because you don't get out there. And when you do, you're not in your typical setting."

"I went to [Randolph] after that and told him that he can use me for more than one inning," Wagner said. "Don't get carried away, but I want to be able to be used in those situations to help the team and give another inning. I can't promise you it will be great, but I'll go out there and compete. Maybe save a guy or give us a chance."

so lets just talk about this pitching staff. This is no FLUKE now they won't be able to keep up these 1-2.8 ERA's going around, but this pitching staff led by 40 year old Tom Glavine was doubted all off-season. John Maine is the real deal, and will probably be the #2 starter on this team by the time things are over with, even with Pedro Martinez coming back from injury. Orlando Hernandez when healthy is a great pitcher to have on your staff, just keep him healthy and you can expect a high 3 ERA to low 4's. Oliver Perez will be the comeback player of the year, you won't see him 3-13 and a 6+ ERA this year, Perez has showed signs of dominace and is just to good to have another bad year like that. With the help of Rick Peterson Perez will be a dominant pitcher in this league again.

So basically I agree 100% with the writer, and also agree that Mike Pelfrey is the only question mark in the rotation. Pelfrey really only has 1 pitch his sinker. Right now I'm questioning Rick Peterson on this. Pelfrey had a high 90's fastball that blew by people, Pelfrey's fastball reminds me of John Maine's sneaky but the difference is Pelfrey is throwing in the high 90's while John Maine is throwing 91-92. I know it's Peterson's philosphy that his pitchers should throw down at the knees all the time but Pelfrey is a different type of pitcher. How did Perez turn out when the Pirates pitching coach wanted him to be a finesse pitcher? I would rather see Pelfrey get beat up going after hitters with his best fastball, instead of him trying to throw a sinker that after 3 starts isn't sinking. If you ask me a high fastball makes that low and away slider 10x more affective. Pelfrey needs a lot of work on his off-speed pitches we all know it and it was probably the worst thing possible for him to make this team. Who worked out the best in all of this is Philip Humber who had a horrible spring but is getting his time in the minors to work on his changeup to go with his dominating fastball and amazing curveball to make him a better pitcher, and when he gets his shot he will be ready to face off against big league hitters.

I'd like to see the old Pelfrey out there next time, and I know its unlikely but it's the better option. Pelfrey just isn't making hitters swing and miss, right now he doesn't have a strike out pitch with that sinker. So what Pelfrey will we see his next time out? And what Pelfrey will we see next time he his called up. (I think he'll be sent down after 2-3 more starts in favor of Jorge Sosa or Jason Vargas)

Pelfrey gets bombed, ATL

Mets lost to the Rockies last night 11-5 in a game in which Mike Pelfrey showed why he should not be in the majors.

Mike Pelfrey didn't have control of any pitch and gave up 6 ER in just 3 innings of work to a team that scored just 6 runs all last week. It wasn't walking people that came back to bite him he just couldn't get anybody out Pelfrey walked just 1 but gave up 8 hits in 3 innings.

~Pelfrey should get 2 more starts to prove himself if he doesn't improve I'm all for bringing up Jason Vargas..

Pedro Feliciano and Joe Smith both pitched a scoreless inning and both still have a 0.00 ERA for the season.

It's very weird to see Jose Reyes being on base 4 times and the Mets not winning but it happened yesterday. Reyes was 4 for 5 with 2 doubles. Now batting .356 on the season.

Shawn Green didn't care how well Josh Fogg was pitching Green had 2 hits including a double and 3 RBI's (#11 #12 #13) Green is now second in the league with a .351 average.

David Wright and Carlos Delgado combined for an 0-7 with 2 strike outs. None of the strikeouts belong to Wright as he has been looking better at the plate this week, and we should be expecting better results soon.

Josh Fogg of the Rockies pitched a great game that shouldn't go unnoticed as he shut down the Mets offense and pitched 7 innings giving up just 3 ER and got his first victory of the year.

Marlins win in walk off fashion against the Braves 4 to 3 as the bullpen couldn't hold the lead for Atlanta.

Tim Hudson so far the CY YOUNG of the NL had his great outing wasted last night. It was just another day at the office for Hudson who went 8 innings giving up 12 hits 3ER and striking out 12. Hudson had actually given up no runs through 8 innings but went into the 9th inning and did not record an out, but still he hadn't given up a run.

~This outing actually raised Hudson's ERA on the year he now has a 1.22.

The Braves called on closer Bob Wickman to save the day and thats just what he didn't do. Wickman gave up all 3 runs that Hudson left on and gave up an unearned run of his own to blow the save and lose the game for the Braves 4-3.

Kelly Johnson went deep again last night for his 5th homerun of the year as he was 2 for 4 on the day.

~ I don't know where Kelly Johnson came from but the Braves have to be loving it right now.

Chipper Jones hit a homerun off of Olsen in the 1st inning his 7th of the year, and now after a bad first couple of games Jones has been on fire is now hitting .317

Not to be outdone by Tim Hudson, Scott Olsen pitched an amazing game as well but didn't get a descion in the game. Olsen went 8 innings giving up 8 hits 3 ER and struck out 10, Olsen rebounded from a bad first inning to have a great outing.

Henry Owens got the win for the Marlins as he pitched a scoreless 9th inning before the Marlins made their comeback.

Miguel Olivio was 1 for 4 with a 2 run double and also scored later in the inning on pass ball to win the game for the Marlins.

The Phillies continued their winning ways on Wednesday in blowout fashion as they beat the Nationals 9 to 3.

Jon Lieber looked good for the second straight game as he got his first win of the season going 6 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 ER and striking out 5. ERA for the season 3.21.

It seems the MVP Ryan Howard is back as he hit his 3rd homerun of the season last night and drove in 2 runs (#11,#12)

Jimmy Rollins not impressed with Howards homerun decided he wanted to hit his 8th homerun of the year yesterday.

If anybody has been on fire lately its Chase Utley who continued his tare going 5 for 5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI's. Raising his average to .296

Once top pitching prospect John Patterson is off to a horrible start and continued his bad pitching into last night. Paterson went just 5.1 innings giving up 8 hits and 6 ER. Now has a 7.71 ERA!! This is the Nationals ace here..

Not many bright spots here for the Nationals on offense as its been all season..

Dimitri Young was 1 for 3 with an RBI single.. (#10)

Brian Schneider was 1 for 4 with a Double and a RBI (#11)

Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
NY Mets	13	7	.650	-
Atlanta	13	8	.619	0.5
Florida	10	11	.476	3.5
Philadelphia	9	12	.429	4.5

How about that Mets lineup? When your thinking about this amazing lineup you probably wouldn't start with the 7 and 8 hitters Shawn Green, and Jose Valentin. But these 2 Vets are off to great starts and here's some more info on the #7 and #8 hitters in the mets lineup from Mets.com

"Consider that Shawn Green, the regular seventh hitter, is batting .351 on the year. His three home runs rank second on the team, his 13 RBIs third. Then there's Jose Valentin, a rock in the eight hole. Valentin clocks in at .281 -- paltry by comparison, though his 12 RBIs stand as proof of his clutch start."

"Those guys have done a fantastic job," Wright said of the bottom two. "It's definitely easier for the guys that are struggling to put less pressure on ourselves when we're winning. It'd just be nice to join the party."

Lets compare the #4-5 hitters Delgado and Wright to the #7-8 hitters Green to Valentin.

Carlos Delgado .193 1 homerun 12 RBI.
Shawn Green .351 3 homeruns 13 RBI.

David Wright .263 0 homeruns 4 RBI.
Jose Valentin .281 2 homeruns 12 RBI.

Now Wright and Delgado aren't going to slump for the entire season so these numbers won't hold up until the end of the season, but it's great to see that the #7-9 hitters aren't auto outs and that with Green or Valentin up with the runners in scoring posistion there is a good chance those runs will be driven in.

Shawn Green with RISP has 1 homerun and 11 RBI.

Jose Valentin is hitting like .350 with 1 homerun and 11 RBI.

Pedro expecting 2nd half return ESPN.COM

"Pedro Martinez is encouraged by his recovery from rotator cuff surgery and confident that he'll return to the New York Mets for the second half of this season."

"I am super excited with how things are progressing. I feel as good as I did in 1996 and 1997," the 35-year-old ace told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"I haven't felt any pain during rehabilitation and I think that in a month I'll be throwing from the mound and then do a short rehabilitation in the minors," he said.

~See the last thing I heard was Pedro would be throwing from a mound as early as May 1st. Guess not but I think Pedro will be back before August.

Lastings Milledge was placed on the minor-league disabled list today, after he was diagnosed with a strained ligament in his right foot.

~Milledge was on a tear in the minors before he got hurt, and I'm not sure how long he'll be out probably just the 15 days.

At ESPN.COM Jerry Crasnick has made a list of best leadoff hitters in baseball, and guess who was #1.

"Based on his performance in 2006, quick start in April and the people hitting around him, a healthy Reyes appears to be a lock for 20 homers, 15 triples, 120 runs, 80 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. His on-base percentage, which spiked from .300 to .354 last season, continues to trend upward as his discipline and pitch recognition also improve."

"Reyes will still chase a two-strike pitch outside the zone, but he hardly ever swings at the first pitch unless it's a strike. A little maturity and some guidance from teammates Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jose Valentin have turned him into a man with a plan."

"Even when Reyes gets a tad reckless on the bases, he has the speed to outrun his mistakes. He's been successful on 81 percent of his career stolen base attempts, and he's off to a 12-for-14 start in 2007."

Continue reading about other top lead-off men here..
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=2848182

No Mets game tonight as they get a travel day going to Washington. More updates to come today as there isn't much to watch tonight.

~Sorry this update took so long to come I was going to come home and do it right away but I fell asleep right away.

Mets win a great game

Amazing game last night as the Mets beat the Rockies in 12.. Endy Chavez walk off drag bunt

Orlando Hernandez pitched great got a no descision

Joe Smith got the win pitching .2 scoreless innings

no big updates today but I don't think Pelfrey will be sticking around after his second bad outing against a Rockie team that has shown they can't score runs

Rotoworld NL EAST Updates

Duaner Sanchez (shoulder surgery) has been cleared for light exercise and plans to pitch for the Mets this season.

"There's not a timetable to start throwing," Sanchez said. "I have to get my shoulder back strong and make sure everything is fine and then there is going to be a timetable to throw." Sanchez had a screw inserted in his right shoulder during the first week of April.

Pedro Martinez (shoulder surgery) continues to have a smooth rehab and is on schedule to return to the Mets in August.

"He looks great and feels great and he's working extremely hard," Chris Correnti, Martinez's personal trainer said. Pedro has increased the distance he is throwing from 75 feet to 180 feet in the past month.

18-year-old Deolis Guerra allowed two hits in six scoreless innings Monday for Single-A St. Lucie.

He's 1-2 with a 2.18 ERA. The velocity spike the Mets were hoping for has taken place, and Guerra is now throwing in the low-90s with regularity. He's on his way to developing into one of the NL's top pitching prospects.

Fernando Martinez was back in Double-A Binghamton's lineup Monday after being pulled from Sunday's game for not hustling.

Martinez was "not running as hard to first base," according to Mets VP of player development Tony Bernazard. The 18-year-old went 0-for-3 on Monday and is now batting .214 for Binghamton.

Nook Logan was able to run hard sprints on Sunday for the first time since injuring his foot.

"From last week to this week, it's going faster than I thought," Logan said. "If you told me last week that I'd be out there running sprints, I'd have looked at you like you were crazy." Logan should play in an extended spring training game this week and could go on a minor league rehab assignment early next week.

Christian Guzman (hamstring) has done fielding and agility drills the past few days.

The Nats hope to have Guzman play in some extended spring training games this week. He is still a week or two from being activated from the disabled list.


Mike Jacobs (thumb) sat out his third consecutive game on Monday.

"He is moving the thumb and taking some swings in the cage," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "A couple of days ago, it looked like a fat toad." Jacobs could return to the lineup on Wednesday.

Brian McCann is questionable for Tuesday's game against against the Marlins due to his bruised finger.

"It's black and blue," McCann said of his fingertip, "but it's not serious." X-rays on the fingertip came back negative.

Mike Gonzalez returned to action on Monday and pitched a hitless inning against the Marlins.

Gonzalez hadn't pitched in a week because of a sore left elbow.

Just some updates for you to read.. I think Pedro will be back earlier then August, and Sanchez I don't think will be back until late August.

Mets beat the Rockies ATL

Another great start by John Maine but just watching the game you could see this Rockies offense is not in the same league as the Mets. How much better is the Mets offense? with Wright and Delgado struggling the Mets have scored 39 more runs this year then the Rockies. Here's how it all went down..

John Maine started the game and again was brilliant Maine was the first Mets pitcher this year to throw a pitch into the 8th inning but could not finish the inning. It doesn't matter he pitched GREAT and earned his 3rd win of the season. Maine's final line was 7.2 innings 7 hits 1 ER 5 k's now has an ERA of 1.71 on the year.

~Tom Glavine, and El Duque are getting up there in age, they aren't going to be able to go deep into games most of the time, and with Perez inconsistent and Pelfrey with 1 pitch Maine will have to be the work horse of the rotation.

Carlos Delgado finally finally went deep his first homerun of the year and ended a 117 at bat homerless streak. Delgado's homerun was a 2 run shot and if he can get it going good luck for all opposing pitchers.

Moises Alou MR APRIL had 3 more hits yesterday in 3 at bats. Alou is batting 2nd in the league with a .397 batting average and what a pickup it has been for the Mets.

Jose Valentin had a 3 run shot to give the Mets the lead in the second inning then also added a sac fly.

~The presence of Reyes really affects pitchers.. Valentin was up with 1 out and a man on third, and instead of just walking Valentin to getting to the pitcher you have to worry about the pitcher bunting Valentin to second and Reyes getting up with runners on second and third.

David Wright was 0 for 3 last night and had 2 more strikeouts. He looked horrible in his first two at bats but in the sixth inning Wright hit a ball deep to right field which is a good sign. If Wright can stop trying to pull pitches this could be a time when Wright finally breaks out.

The Marlins held off the Braves last night 8 to 7 as the Marlins bullpen almost blew another one.

Dontrell Willis started the game for the Marlins and didn't have his good stuff but got enough run support for a win as he went 6.2 innings and gave up 5 earned runs. Willis after getting off to that great start now has a 5.58 ERA but he is 4-1

~Dontrell Willis's wife was supposed to induce labor last night and unlike Delgado instead of going to be with his wife Dontrell stayed with the team.

X-Met Henry Owens had another ruff outing last night as he went just .2 innings giving up 2 ER and almost blew the game. ERA 3.19

Dan Uggla hit another homerun last night his 3rd in the last two days and drove in 3 runs. Uggla now really starting to breakout has 15 RBI's.

Miguel Olivo had a 3 run homerun last night his first homerun of the year.

Kyle Davies was knocked out in the 5th inning as he gave up 5 ER in just 4 innings of work. What really killed Davies was his walks as he walked 6 batters, he was working in trouble the entire game.

Jeff Francoeur had a grandslam last night his 4th homerun of the year and is now leading the National League in RBI's at 22.

Chipper Jones added a solo homerun of his own (#6) and had 3 hits in 4 at bats. .319 average

Andruw Jones didn't go deep but he had 2 hits of his own including a double and 2 RBI's.

Oscar Villarreal gave up 2 runs in 2 innings as the Braves bullpen couldn't stop the Marlins from scoring.

The Phillies pounded the Astros last night 11 to 4 .

Adam Eaton didn't pitch good but got a win as he gave up 4 ER in 6 innings of work inlcuding 2 homeruns. Eaton is now 2-1 with a 6.46 ERA

Phillies bullpen 3 innings 2 hits 0 runs.

Jimmy Rollins may have a big mouth but he has an even bigger bat. Rollins crushed his 7th homerun of the season last night which was just 1 of 4 hits on the day raising his average to .312.
Rollins 7 homeruns 14 RBI's guess the bottom of the lineup isn't doing it's job.

Chase Utley now with 4 had a 3 run homerun of his own and homered for the second straight night Utleyhomeruns and 13 RBI

The Flyin Hawian Shane Victoriano had 3 hits last night and 3 RBI's as he's now batting .319

~Rollins back batting leadoff, and Victoriano at #2..
This Phillies team can hit, and once Howard starts going their going to have a great offensive team, but all off-season all the question marks were on the Mets starting rotation but this Phillies starting rotation has alot more questions right now then the Mets.

Mets and Braves already battling back and forth for 1st place.

Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
NY Mets	12	6	.667	-
Atlanta	12	7	.632	0.5
Florida	9	10	.474	3.5
Philadelphia	7	11	.389	5.0
Washington	6	13	.316	6.5

El Duque pitches tonight for the Mets..

From MLB.com

"But there was something fitting, if not glamorous, about Orlando Hernandez's outing against the Marlins on Thursday night. The aging right-hander was coming off a start in which he appeared, as he has so many times before, on the brink of extinction. Disaster loomed."

"And then, three hours later, the Marlins were left muttering and perplexed, wondering about the silent carnage of seven innings, two runs, three hits and 10 strikeouts. "

We all know even though El Duque is 37 or 41 he will still give you good outings and a chance to win every time out. As long as you keep him healthy and give him some extra rest and skip starts in between he'll stay effective.

Deolis Guerra the young 18 year old was dealing last night in A+ as he went 6 IP giving up just 2 hits and striking out 4 on the day. He now has a 2.18 ERA on the young season.

Jorge Sosa has good outing #3 in a row as he went 7 innings last night 2 ER and struck out 8. Now has a 1.38 ERA in AAA.

You know he is dominating but I really don't trust Sosa to many flat fastballs I can't see him being any good. If somebody gets hurt it would be him or Vargas coming up I guess who ever is doing better in AAA.

Lastings Milledge had to be taken out of the game last night with a bruised right foot. He is day-to-day

Fernando Martinez was benched the other day for not running out a groundball to first base.

Have a good day updates later~

Mets blow game to Braves ATL

Mets blew the game against the Braves yesterday 9-6 on what seems to be bad managerial moves by Willie and a misplayed ball by Shawn Green.


Tom Glavine pitched well enough for his 294th win of his career yesterday as he pitched 6 innings giving up 3 runs and striking out 5.

Ambiorix Burgos seemed to be pitching well in relief when Willie after 7 pitches took him out, and thats when the game started to get out of hand.

Scott Schoenweis gave up yesterday giving up 2 runs of his own and 1 of Burgos's in just .1 of an inning. He also walked 2 batters he is not going after batters and it should be of concern it really doesn't matter that he blew the game everybody does it once in a while but he is walking way to many batters.

Aaron Heilman got the loss as he gave up 3 unearned runs because of Shawn Green dropping another fly ball hit to him in right field.

Jose Reyes had 2 hits including a bases loaded 3 run triple, and stole a base. Now batting .370 16 RBI's 5 TRIPLES and 10 STOLEN BASES. An MVP type start for Reyes.

Shawn Green though making kind of the game losing catch still continues to hit. Green had 3 more hits last yesterday including a solo homerun. Green now hitting .338 on the young season.

David Wright had another hitless night, and its really started to worry me that he just is not the same player anymore. "If you look at his split stats from last year he just isn't a power hitter anymore." Mack

John Smoltz allowed 6 earned runs in 5.2 innings raising his ERA to 4.26

Kelly Johnson was a key for the Braves offense as he had 2 homeruns 1 solo shot and 1 three run homer off of Heilman

Edgar Renteria also had 3 RBI's of his own and continues to stay hot.

~Hmmm.. Shawn Green making a game decicding error against the Braves in a game when John Smoltz faced Tom Glavine and Aaron Heilman was on the mound. Didn't that happen game 2 of the Mets vs Braves last week?

The Marlins beat the Nationals yesterday 12 to 6

The Nationals needed somebody to give them innings as that bullpen is more overused then the Yankees pen.

Jerome Williams was the victim of it as he pitched 6 innings giving up 9 Earned Runs including 3 Homeruns. 0-4 7.74 ERA

Ryan Zimmerman had 2 hits including his 1st homerun of the season which was a grandslam in the 9th inning off of Marlins new closer Gregg.

Wess Obermueller (I'm not going to lie I have no idea who this is) started his first game as a Marlin and pitched well against the Nationals as he went 6 innings giving up just 2 earned runs for a win.

Miguel Cabrera after getting off to that great start started to cool down but yesterday he hit his 5th homerun of the season.

Dan Uggla had a huge night at the plate as he hit 2 homeruns and had 6 RBI's. After getting off tot that horrible start he's only hittting .260.

Josh Willingham had 2 hits of his own and had a homerun to go with it, it was his second homerun of the year.

The Phillies got a win over the Reds yesterday 9 to 3.

Phillies got a good outing from Freddy Garcia who is s till trying to get back from his spring training injury. Garcia pitched 5 innings (89 pitches) and gave up 2 earned runs while striking out 3. His first win as a Philly.

Ryan Howard, after missing three games, homered (#2) and drove in three runs (#8,#9,#10)

Chase Utley has 2 doubles last night and drove in a run and also scored 3 times. .250 average.

Brett Myers pitched the 9th inning and gave up 1 run, but overall the Phillies bullpen pitched well 4 innings 1 run. Not Bad.

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Atlanta	12	6	.667	-
NY Mets	11	6	.647	0.5
Florida	8	10	.444	4.0
Philadelphia	6	11	.353	5.5
Washington	6	13	.316	6.5

Things look good for the Mets as I took a look at the upcoming schedule.

3 against the Rockies AT HOME.
3 against Washington on the road.
3 against the Marlins AT HOME.
4 against The Diamondbacks on the road.
3 against the Giants on the road.
3 against the Brewers AT HOME.

These are not good teams now some of these teams like the Brewers, and Rockies have some talent but really should not win more then 1 game against the Mets..
Mets should sweep the Rockies or win 2 out of 3
Mets should SWEEP the Nationals
Mets should at least win 2 out of 3 from the Marlins
Mets have Murdered the D-Backs in Arizona they should win atleast 3
Giants always give the Mets problems but they don't have Moises they should take 2 out of 3
Mets should take 2 out of 3 from the Brewers.

So not going best possible all sweeps it should be something like
14-5

add that with the 11 and 6 they are now they should be 25-11 by the time the Cubs and Yankees come to town in mid-may.

I'll do tonights pitching matchups later as the Mets vs the Rockies at home.

Updates tomorrow

Been busy today didn't even get to see the game as I had a double header, and sadly it seems I'm having the exact same problems David Wright is having right now. Its frustrating because you know what your doing wrong it just takes more and more swings before you can fix it.

I wanna see at least the highlights from all the games in the NL EAST before I do a real update but just by looking at the boxscore I can say that Willie Randolph made a bad move by bringing in Burgos. And WOW Shawn Green is proving me wrong.

Perez bounces back as Mets win ATL

Perez had 4 bullpen sessions since his last start against the Phillies when he walked 7 batters in 2 and 2.2 innings. The sessions proved helpful as Perez had a much better night as the Mets beat the Braves 7 to 2.

Oliver Perez was again a completely different pitcher then last time out. Perez pitched 6 2/3 outstanding innings giving up 0 WALKS while striking out 9, and only giving up 2 runs. Perez now is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA

Carlos Beltran now leads the National League in batting average (.385) and RBI's (19) and did nothing to hurt his cause today as Beltran kept his hot clutch hitting going. Beltran today had 4 hits including an triple as he had 2 RBI's on the day. Beltran making an early bid for MVP as Pujols, and Howard are off to horrible starts.

Jose Reyes went deep tonight for his 2nd homerun of the season, Reyes also had 2 other hits on the night and stole a base. Reyes is now batting .368 with 9 stolen bases.

How about Ramon Castro the backup catcher hit his 3rd homerun of the season today and now has 3 homeruns in 18 at bats. Ramon was filling in for the hurt Paul Lo Duca who should get a couple of more days off since Castro seems to have the hot bat.

David Wright read the article below

Joe Smith came in the game in a crucial situtaion with bases loaded and Andruw Jones at the plate. Smith struck out Jones on a nasty slider to end the inning and still has a 0 ERA on the season.

Chuck James started the game for the Braves and got beat up by a Mets offense that is now 5-0 against left handed starters. James gave up 10 hits and 6 ER in 5 and 1/3 innings pitched. James took his second loss of the season and now has a 4.22 ERA

Edgar Renteria Chipper Jones Andruw Jones and Brian McCann all had 2 hits on the day, but Andruw was the only one with an RBI out of the 4.

The Phillies beat the Reds tonight thanks to an AMAZING start by young phenom left hander Cole Hamels who didn't give the Phillies pen a chance to blow this game.

Cole Hamels had the best start of his young career pitching a complete game 5 hitter and struck out 15!!! Red batters. The only run Hamels gave up was a 9th inning homerun by Conine.

Chase Utley supplied all the offense the Phillies would need going 2 for 4 with a Homerun and a Double as he had 3 RBI's on the night.

The Phillies today tried out a new lineup since Ryan Howard is still out, moving Jimmy Rollins down to the number 3 spot Shane Victorino leadoff and the hot Rowand 2nd. The results:
an 0-4 by Rollins 2 for 4 by Victorino and a 1 for 4 with an RBI for Rowand.

Florida beat the Nationals today 9-3 ending a 6 game losing streak. The Marlins scored early and often against this Washington pitching staff.

Anibal Sanchez got the win for the Marlins as he pitched 5 innings giving up 3 ER and striking out 5. Sanchez has a 4.15 ERA on the season.

X-Met Matt Lindstrom pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief and struck out 2 lowering his ERA to 2.16.

Hanley Ramirez who is compared to Reyes is having a start very similar to Reyes's. Hanley today like Reyes went deep and hit his 3rd homerun of the season. Ramirez on the season is hitting .364 with 5 RBI's

Josh Willingham had 3 hits including his 10th RBI of the season.

Jason Wood played for the injured x-Met Mike Jacobs tonight and a homerun and 2 Walks tonight.

Matt Chico failed to go 5 innings tonight and picked up his 2nd loss of the season as he gave up 5 ER in 4 2/3 innings. 6.38 ERA

Ryan Wagner came in and didn't do a very good job keeping the game close as he gave up 4 R 3 ER in an 1 inning and 2/3.

Ryan Zimmerman looks to pick up his slack has he was hitting under .230 before the game started. Zimmeran tonight was 2 for 4 with an RBI just his 4th of the year.

Ryan Church was 2 for 4 with an RBI double and raised his average to .299

Standings

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
NY Mets	11	5	.688	-
Atlanta	11	6	.647	0.5
Florida	7	10	.412	4.5
Washington	6	12	.333	6.0
Philadelphia	5	11	.313	6.0

Philip Humber pitched great for New Orleans tonight going 7 strong innings giving up just 1 ER while striking out 3. Humber got a no descion as New Orleans is in a 3-3 game in the 9th. Humber now has a 3.00 ERA.

If somebody gets hurt or if Pelfrey doesn't work out who is the next pitcher to be called up? The Vet Park who is getting knocked around in AAA? Philip Humber who had a ruff spring and is finally getting the time he needs in the minors? Jason Vargas who is dominating the minors right now gaining confidence? Or Jorge Sosa who is off to a good start but just isn't somebody to trust with the ball.

Carlos Gomez had another 0 for as his average diped down to .312 after tonight.

Lastings Milledge had a hit in 5 trips including an RBI and after a slow start Milledge is now hitting .343

For the rest of your minors news go to metsprospecthub.blogspot.com

The Fan who was caught with the laser gun was arrested and if charged will face up to 1 year in jail and $5,000 bail.

Tomorrow the best buds Glavine and Smoltz will face off again. as Glavine goes for Career win 294. Last time they met Smoltz out pitched Glavine and got the win.

In his last outing against the Phillies Glavine pitched 6 innings giving up just 1 ER as he got his 293 win of his career.

David Wright could be in for a massive slump..

Well we all know the quote "A hit a day keeps the doctor away" and that was basically what David Wright was doing up to the other night. Wright looks horrible at the plate probably the worst he's ever looked in his career. But because Wright has been getting his 1 hit a night sometimes 2 in the 9th inning with no one one Wright's average kept rising and it was fine. But now without Wright getting a hit for 2 nights you can see how bad he looks at the plate. Call it the homerun derby curse, or just say pitchers have finally caught on to him but Wright is looking horrible at the plate.

Wright right now is hitting .290 with 0 homeruns and 4 RBI's. He's got 4 extra base hits all season not very good. Now it seems simple what pitchers are doing with Wright here's what I see.

Pitch One: Fastball right down the middle Wright never swings first pitch 0-1
Pitch Two: Wright gets beat somewhere and fouls it off 0-2
Pitch Three: out of the strike zone Wright takes 1-2
Pitch Four: Out of the strike zone Wright takes 2-2
Pitch Five: Slider outside corner maybe a bit outside Wright looks foolish STRIKE 3.

It keeps on happening and nothing David Wright is doing seems like he's trying to change it. Right now it seems Wright is trying to pull everything and must think pitchers are going to come inside on him.

Wright needs to do something different, maybe move a little closer to the plate to hit the outside pitch, maybe use a lighter/heavier bat, maybe change his batting stance. Something he's doing isn't working and it needs to be fixed before he goes into a massive slump.

Last year prior to the all-star break Wright was taking that slider outside and hitting it the opposite field with power. After the homerun derby Wright developed a slight upercut and now can't hit that pitch.

Wright is also getting beat on fastballs no matter the speed which is why he might want to go to a lighter bat. Wright needs to approach hitting right now like SHAWN GREEN. YES SHAWN GREEN the guy I said is horrible, and should not be the starting right fielder. But Shawn Green has a great approach right now that has led to him hitting .311 with 2 homeruns and 9 RBI. So far this season when any pitcher attempts to go outside on Shawn Green, Green looks to go to the opposite field and hits it that way.

Wright is a good hard working kid, and I really don't believe that all this "Success" has gone to his head because you can tell whats wrong with him. I say let Keith Hernandez go to him during a batting practice and lets see what happens. I'm not a big fan in Rick Down and thought Howard Johnson would do a good job helping when batters get into slumps.

Extra Thought~~
Last year Delgado looked horrible at the plate, and Keith Hernandez kept saying when a hitter like him goes into a slump sooner or later their going to break out in a big way. Maybe we just have to wait and sooner or later Wright will break out. But will he ever be the same player he was in the first half of 06?


Mets recap and around the league when all the games in the NL EAST go final.

Managment Mistakes

Just a couple of things leading up to this series with the Braves and then tonights game.

First off you have a sinkerballer in Mike Pelfrey. It's a known fact that when a pitcher like Pelfrey gets to many days off they get to strong and their sinker doesn't sink. Next you can either have a pitcher with 4 career starts face a team you just killed when they had their best pitcher out there, or a very good team that you are battling for first place. All I'm saying is Mike Pelfrey could of pitched yesterday against that struggling Marlins team got his confidence up and had him pitch on a day less of rest, then today had Orlando Hernandez pitch against the Braves in a game you really want to win. This could be a completely different game right now and the Mets would definitely not be down by 7 runs.

My next question is keeping Pedro Feliciano in for a 2nd consecutive inning. Your trying to win a game ok the guy pitched very well his first inning but first sign of something bad going to happen you have to get him out there. Now you had Johnson a lefty Jones a switch hitter and McCann a lefty so ok maybe you wanted a left handed pitcher in there. But then why not pitch Schoeneweis? Or with Jeff Francore up why not bring in Joe Smith? Why then after he walks a runner in bring in Burgos who pitched the night before? Then just to bring in Scott for the 8th inning a now meaningless inning because your down by 7 runs. So basically you blew the game and now Feliciano will probably be available tomorrow.

Maybe its just me noticing this but I always see Willie making these mistakes.. I also thought Lo Duca should of took another day off, now thats not Willie's choice thats Paul's but you can see he is still favoring that hand and Ramon Castro is hitting everything right now it wouldn't of been a bad idea to sit another one.

In other news Tim Hudson is looking amazing right about now, and it seems David Wright's hitting streak has come to an end at 26. Only good news about tonight Hudson is on my fantasy team.

And now Joe Smith comes in the game so you weren't keeping him fresh for tomorrow. What are your thoughts??

Mets Stats

Mets team leaders as of 4/20

Average
Jose Reyes .356
Reyes is just getting better and better an no he won't be able to keep up that .356 average but there is a good chance he could lead the team in average though he'd have to beat out David Wright. Possibly in the .310 range


Homeruns
Carlos Beltran 4
No surprise here Beltran top 5 in the MVP voting last year will most likely end the year with the most homeruns on the team. Should be in the 40 range

RBI
Carlos Beltran 17
Again no surprise here he's a great player and him Wright and Delgado should finish a close top 3 in RBI's on the team. Should be in the 120 range

Doubles
Shawn Green 6
Early on it seems Shawn Green has found his stroke. The thing Green is doing is going to the opposite field and is not trying to pull the ball every time. Unlikely Green leads the team in doubles by the end of the year. Green will probably have around 35 doubles.

Stolen Bases
Jose Reyes 8
Its not even close and by the time the season is over it still won't be close. Reyes should be around 65-70 steals again this year, but I think the thing he wants to do better when stealing his his stealing % Reyes does get thrown out his fair amount of times.

(starting pitching)
Wins
Tom Glavine 3
Glavine is being asked to be the ace of this staff and so far so good. Glavine has had his control problems early on but thats due to the control. So if Glavine can walk 5 a game and still be dominant what happens when it heats up and he doesn't walk batters? Glavine should be around 16 wins for the season

ERA
John Maine 1.93
Maine like Glavine has had his fair share of walks but in his last outing against the Marlins Maine was just dominant. Maine still needs some work on his changeup but he is still a good #3 starter. Expectations around a 3.7 ERA

Strike Outs
Orlando Hernandez 20
Well El Duque got help with those strike out numbers last night as he struck out 10. El Duque should lead the team in strike outs if he can stay healthy all season maybe Maine or Perez could have more. Expectations around 170k's

It's way to early to do bullpen since they have like 5 innings pitched. But some things you might want to know are Joe Smith has 8 scoreless innings to start off his rookie season with 8 k's. Billy Wagner has 6 scoreless innings pitched including 3 saves. Wagner says he's not a thrower anymore he's a pitcher.

Ramon Castro
Is tied for 2nd in homeruns on the Mets with 2. But Ramon only has 14 at bats this season.

This Mets team is on fire right now offensively and defensively and once Wright and Delgado got hot this team could be on the verge of a huge streak. Amazingly one of the biggest question marks in all of baseball the Mets rotation has one of the lowest if not the lowest ERA in baseball.

Tom Glavine 3-1 2.70 ERA
Orlando Hernandez 2-1 3.24 ERA
John Maine 2-0 1.93 ERA
Oliver Perez 1-1 3.72
Mike Pelfrey 0-0 3.18 ERA

Did You Know??
Jose Valentin is hitting .298 with a homerun and 7 RBI's.

Now I know we are only a couple of weeks into the season, but if the Mets players can get hot at the same time (right now they are except wright and delgado) they can get on a run and push themselves ahead of the pack, and make all the teams in the division be looking up at them.

Mets win 3rd straight ATL

The Mets again crushed the young Marlins 11-3. The biggest scare for the Marlins was in the first inning when the Marlins had just scored a run and had their best hitter up in Miguel Cabrera up and Cabrera bunts the ball and comes up lame. Cabrera came out of the game and is now day-to-day. The Mets played with a modified lineup with Paul Lo Duca sitting. The Mets have now won 3 straight games as the Marlins have now lost 5 straight.

Orlando Hernandez took advantage of the young right handed hitting Marlins lineup, as he went 7 innings giving up just 2 ER (Both in the first inning) while striking out 10 batters.

Carlos Beltran hitting 2nd had a big night at the plate as he had 4 hits including his 4th homerun of the year and also had 2 RBI's. Beltran now hitting

Ramon Castro has taken advantage of any opportunity he's had to play. Castro who started last night for Lo Duca had 2 hits including his 2nd homerun of the year and had 3 RBI's.

David Wright had a single that extended his hitting streak to 26 games.

Jose Valentin has found his stroke Valentin had 2 more hits last night including his 1st homerun of the season.

Shawn Green hit 2 balls the opposite way that almost got over but Green still had 2 hits and 2 RBI's on the night.

A prime example of why you don't bring a kid up from Single A. Now Vaden Hurk has great stuff but you could see the lack of experience. Once he got in trouble he had no idea what to do and crumbled under the pressure.

X-Met Henry Owens gave up his first Earned Runs of the season last night. Pitching one inning he gave up 2 ER while striking out 2. ERA 2.00

Around The League

Atlanta lost to the Chicago Cubs last night 3-0 as Rich Hill threw another gem.

Mark Redman took the ball for the Braves last night and pitched well but got the loss. Redman went 7 and 2/3 innings while giving up 3 ER and striking out 5. ERA 8.62

The Braves only had 4 hits last night 2 of them coming from Kelly Johnson.

Really how about Rich Hill this guy has been amazing this year, he's got one of the best curveballs in the game and he can spot all of his pitches. Last night as he threw 8 scoreless innings striking out 7 he improved to 3-0 on the season and now has a 0.41 ERA yes thats POINT 41.

The Phillies held of the Nationals last night winning 4 to 2, in a game in which they didn't have their best hitter Ryan Howard who is day to day.

Jamie Moyer started for the Phillies and seems to be the only sure thing they have in that rotation. Moyer improved to 2-1 on the season as he pitched 8 innings allowing only 2 ER. ERA 3.05

Aaron Rowand continuing his hot start hit his first homerun of the season last night. He's now hitting .340

Shane Victorino had 3 hits last night and an RBI improving his average to .300 on the season.

Tom Gordon got his 3rd save of the season giving up 1 hit while striking out 1 closing the door for the Phillies.

Who didn't get in this game is new bullpen man Brett Myers.

Standings

NY Mets	10	4	.714	-
Atlanta	10	5	.667	0.5
Florida	6	9	.400	4.5
Washington	5	11	.313	6.0
Philadelphia	4	10	.286	6.0

Tonight~

The Mets start a 3 game series with the Braves with a half game lead in the NL EAST. Mets have finally gotten the bats going and look to keep the trend going against the Braves.

Tonight Mike Pelfrey takes on Tim Hudson.

Mike Pelfrey
Pelfrey hasn't pitched since his start vs the Nationals when he pitched 5 and 2/3 innings giving
up 3 ER. Pelfrey had some control problems in that game but with temperatures around the high 50's tonight Pelfrey will look to set the tone with his slider and changeup.

Tim Hudson
Hudson has been AMAZING this year as he will be going for his 3rd win tonight against the Mets. Hudson's ERA on the year is .86 and it looks like he has rejuvenated his career. Hudson is one of those guys who likes to make hitters swing at the pitches that look like a strike but dip out of the strike zone at the last second.

Notes
Mike Gonzalez might not pitch in this Mets Braves series as he has a little bit of inflammation, and little tenderness in his shoulder.

Willie on the series
``I usually don’t put a lot of emphasis on and early season series,’’ Randolph said. ``But, it’s the Braves and they are a team we have to beat because they are in our division. This will be a big series for us. I’ve always had a lot of respect for them and always will.’’
~Metsfever.blogspot.com

Minor Leagues~

Carlos Gomez lost his hitting streak as he went 0 for 5 last night dipping his average to .357

Lastings Milledge (rf) 2 for 4, run, RBI, K, .346
Carlos Gomez lost his hitting streak as he went 0 for 5 last night dipping his average to .357
Metsprospecthub.blogspot.com

Mets as a team have a .303 TEAM AVERAGE
Mets also have a team 2.40 TEAM ERA

More updates later~