Kuzul

There have been rumors that the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners have been in discussions regarding Cliff Lee. Lee obviously will not bring back the package that he did the past two times he was traded.

Lee will be a half season rental, and has stated that he wants to go to free agency. This is a smart move by Lee as he is likely to get more money on the open market with this winter’s weak free agent class.

The Mariners would most likely be able to bring in one or two young players or major league ready prospects plus a mid-level prospect for Lee. There is one player in particular on the Mets that has caught the Mariners eye.

It has been reported that the Mariners have lots of interest in Jon Niese. Niese has been a solid starter in his appearances for the Mets this year. He has a bright future ahead of him and is one of the Mets’ top young players. It appears that the Mets have been reluctant to include Niese in a deal for Lee.

It appears that the Lee’s price will drop the longer the Mariners hold on to him. The Mets can attempt to play hardball and wait it out until the deadline and then put together a package for Lee that does not include Niese. This may work, but they will be bidding against more teams who want Lee’s services.

With all that being said, Lee would be… (to read the rest of the article click on the link below)

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The city of Chicago has seen its share of hard times. In 1871 they had a massive fire that lasted for days. It destroyed everything in it’s wake. The city rebuilt though and once again became a prominent destination in the United States, both economically and competitively.

They have had sports teams struggle in mediocrity and succeed to the heights of their profession. Among their teams are the Bears, who have such a storied history in the NFL that it speaks for itself and the Bulls, who have won many NBA championships and were the sports dynasty of the 90’s.

Just a week ago, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, the most prized trophy in the NHL.

Both the White Sox and the Cubs have tasted success as well, although the White Sox remain the only one of the two teams to win a World Series in the past century.

These days, despite all that success, the city is preparing for another fire of sorts: a fire sale. Both of the baseball teams are mired in over-sized contracts for players and have been underachieving.

Both the Cubs and the White Sox have openly discussed the possibility of trades for several players on each of the teams.

This rebuilding stage has led to other players wanting to be traded. The uproar has, and will, create a domino effect over the next month as the trade deadline looms closer.

As these teams unload their highest paid and most attractive talent, the frenzy can benefit a contending team.

Provided that there are teams that have a savvy general manager, I believe several other MLB competitors can grow stronger from the Chicago fire sale.

If a team is close to first or second place in their division, in other words if they’re in contention, expect them to become possible buyers for the talent that Chicago has to offer.

One such team is the New York Mets. They have a few weaknesses that, despite being a few games over the .500 mark, are still noticeable. They do need another starting pitcher to go along with their two aces, Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey.

The rumor swarm is buzzing all around the internet that the Mets are in serious contract talks with the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.

However, the Mariners will be asking for a lot if they’re going to send Lee to Queens. In particular, they would want the man who just last week joined a small list of Mets pitchers to throw a one hitter, Jon Niese. To many fans, that will be too much to ask. Allow me to propose another alternative.

One player that does not want to stay around for the rebuilding in Chicago is Jake Peavy . 

Lee will be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Mets are not guaranteed the chance to resign him if they pull the trigger on that trade. So they would give up Niese and others for Lee for a half of a season.

Peavy may command just as much for the White Sox, but he is still under contract for several years. If the Mets have to include Niese in any package for a top tier pitcher, than it should be a pitcher under a contract like a Jake Peavy or a Roy Oswalt . Both have recently been rumored to being open to trades to contenders like the Mets.

Personally, I think the Mets should only pull the trigger if they can keep Niese and include someone else in a trade package.

There will be many mid-level starters open to trade as the deadline nears. Starters that would cost the Mets far less and still be productive for the team now and in the next few seasons.

These major trades are the hardest to pull off. The Mets would be more prudent if they were to think of small splashes instead of major tidal waves.

With this in mind, the Cubs have expressed interest in trading several players also. Players like Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukodome would cost far less for the Mets to acquire.

The Mets don’t have a need in the outfield, so Fukodome would not be worth any interest, but Theriot proposes an intriguing proposition. He is currently a .289 hitter with 14 stolen bases. He has been on winning teams, so he knows what that winning experience entails and what it takes to get there.

The Mets do need another starter, but they also need another utility infielder with a solid bat. They have tried Frank Catalanotto, Mike Jacobs, and Gary Mathews Jr. among others to fill that void on the bench.

Struggling defense or cold bats have led to all of them being demoted or released. The Mets still search for a bat to contribute in that part time role.

Theriot could be just that bat, and the Mets could get him with only giving up one player. Perhaps that player would be Nick Evans. I wrote on Evans being wasted in the minors. If the Mets don’t want to promote him to the majors or even to AAA to face better pitching, then perhaps they should consider using him as trade bait.

There are several players the Mets have to choose from at the minor league level. Despite the opinion of some, the Mets are deeper than most think in the farm system. Nick Evans makes more sense, though, because he has some experience at the major league level.

The Mets have a short list of untouchables. That list includes Johan Santana, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Francisco Rodriguez, Ike Davis, and Reuben Tejada.

Just about everyone else is up in the air. There are some players that no team would take off their hands. That list includes Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and John Maine.

The Mets have to be smart when they decide to make a move. They must consider financial restraints, roster depth, minor league depth, and impact on the current team. These are all factors. They can’t over spend and be stuck with an enormous contract.

They can’t trade too many prospects and leave the cupboard bare. They can’t tinker with the current team’s chemistry and cost them the confidence and unity that they have developed in recent games. However, they need to improve on a few aspects.

If the Mets can use the desperation of teams like the White Sox and Cubs to their advantage, they may be able to improve and not over spend or give up too much.

They must act with wisdom and patience if they are to make the right move for this current team. Otherwise, by the wrong deal or inactivity, they could be burned by the Chicago fire sale.

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The last time the New York Mets played the Cleveland Indians in Ohio, George W. Bush was in his second year of office, Emma Watson and Caroline Wozniacki weren’t even teenagers, and Sammy Sosa was still bla…no, whi…no. Never mind.

In fact, the last time the Mets played in Cleveland was the first time the Mets played in Cleveland. Heck, it was the first time they had played Cleveland.

The scheduling Gods have only ever pitted the Mets against the Indians six times across two series, even though the two clubs have played more than 24,000 combined games in their joint history. The first time they met came in 2002, and the second was two years later at Shea Stadium in 2004.

There is only one team the Mets have played fewer times than the Indians and that is the White Sox, who they have played just three times.

The Mets have won both series against Cleveland—both 2-1—and they will look to maintain their momentum against the 25-37 Indians following a three-game sweep of the Orioles tonight with Johan Santana on the hill.

In the six games these clubs have played, only one game has been determined by one run. The two games the Mets have lost have been by the scores of 8-3 and 9-1. Don’t expect a repeat of that today.

Santana has faced the Indians more than any other team in his career (30), but he won’t exactly have great memories about facing his old AL Central nemesis.

He picked up the loss in four of his last five outings against the Tribe, including an 11-strikeout performance in May 2007 where the Twins lost 2-0. No run support for Johan? Sound familiar?

Still, you have to feel pretty confident as a Mets fan going into this one. Even though Santana gave up four runs against the Padres last time out, he has been spectacular over the last month, posting a 1.91 ERA in seven starts since the blowout in Philly. Over those seven games he recorded five consecutive starts with two earned runs or fewer. On three occasions he kept his opponents—Florida, Milwaukee, and San Diego—off the board completely.

It’s going to be a familiar Santana squaring off with a familiar foe, even if the names on the fronts and backs of the jerseys have changed.

No current member of the Indians with more than four at-bats against Santana have hit better than .167 against him, and only Travis Hafner has more than one extra-base hit against the southpaw.

Feel for Johnny Peralta though who is 3-for-28 lifetime (.107) with 22 strikeouts against Santana. He has fanned 20 times in his last 23 at-bats against him. He has only sat out three games this season, but tonight might be a good idea to make that four.

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Currently, the Mets sport a rotation of Johan Santana , Mike Pelfrey, Jonathon Niese, RA Dickey, and Hisanori Takahashi. Dickey and Takahashi did not start the season in the rotation, but after John Maine and Oliver Perez hit the DL, Dickey and Takahashi took over.

As of right now Dickey and Takahashi are pitching very effectively, and are a big reason the Mets find themselves seven games over .500. With the likely return of Maine, the Mets should avoid tinkering with the success of the rotation and put Maine in the bullpen.

To start the season the Mets held out hope that John Maine and Oliver Perez would finally be able to put it together, and prove to be reliable pitchers in the rotation; however, neither impressed during their time with the team.

Oliver Perez, probably the player the Mets had the most staked on after awarding him a 3 year, 36 million dollar contract a season ago, played so poorly that the Mets tried hiding him in the bullpen. Unfortunately, he was just as ineffective there, and, after he refused a minor league assignment, the Mets banished him to the DL.

Maine’s story is a little more promising. He did not pitch very effectively to start, but after returning to being primarily a fastball pitcher Maine was able to pitch well enough to keep the Mets in games. The problem was he still had trouble pitching late into games and sustained an injury that forced him out of a game after throwing just five pitches.  This came just before he landed on the DL.

Maine has recently thrown in a rehab game and is working his way back to the majors. The question is: Should the Mets put him back in the rotation? Right now, the Mets are clicking, and a big part of that is the current starting rotation.

In addition the bullpen has been more effective as pitchers are pitching six, seven, or more innings. In fact Pelfrey and Niese started back to back games where they pitched for nine innings. While Dickey and Takahashi will never be top-line starters, they are getting the job done right now and that should not be tinkered with.  Especially in favor of a player that struggles to pitch five innings.

John Maine’s best career move looks like a transition to the bullpen. He has a lively fastball, but not a ton else, and like I keep mentioning, he has trouble going deep in to games. In the bullpen only one or two strong pitches are needed to be effective. It would be great to convert Maine into a set-up guy, or if we’re lucky, an eventual cheaper option to K-Rod at closer when Frankie’s contract is up after next season.

While Dickey and Takahashi’s effectiveness might wane as the season continues, John Maine is not a good replacement. He has had numerous times to prove his worth, and outside of 2007 has failed to do so.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

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I’ve recently finished one of the most gruelingly busy months I’ve ever had in the five years since I’ve started my career.

In that time, I haven’t been able to watch many, but I have been able to listen to every Met game, and I have to say I like what I’ve been hearing.

The Mets front office has made all the moves the fans were clamoring for (even if it did take way too long to do so.  See Gary Matthews Jr.)

There’s been an injection of young, home grown players into the starting line up who play hard and have fun, and I’m enjoying watching the team again for the first time in a very, very long time.

Guys like Ike Davis, Mike Pelfrey, and Jon Niese have stepped well beyond their intended spots as role players and have moved into the spot light as legitimate players and future stars.

The weekend series against the first place San Diego Padres featured some of this young talent on display, and did they ever shine.

The first game of the series featured Mike Pelfrey’s strongest outing to date, a nine inning, one run gem that was capped off by an Ike Davis walk off home run in the 11th.

Davis hit the ball as far as I’ve seen a Met hit a home run so far at Citi Field.  He entered Adam Dunn territory in right field.  With that kind of power coming out of a such a smooth swing, I can see Davis developing into a great home run hitting first baseman.

There was some concern in the first game of last night’s double header, when Johan Santana continued his “struggles” walking four batters in six innings.

I’m pretty sure if I had the kind of struggles Johan had, I could get $10 million a year to pitch in the majors, but it’s very uncharacteristic of Santana to struggle with his control and to give up so many hits.

He’s pitched a few great games and a few games like yesterday afternoon this season.  The one constant in all of his starts is a general lack of offense.

The best story of the weekend was Jon Niese’s start last night.

Niese pitched a brilliant complete game one hitter and was that one hit away from perfection.  He pounded the strike zone all night, throwing 76 of his 108 pitches for strikes.

I’ve got a tremendous amount of confidence when Jon Niese is on the mound.  He seems to have a great deal of confidence in himself too.

My favorite part of this weekend was the absolute elation shown by the weekend’s young heroes, Davis and Niese.

When Ike Davis was interviewed following his walk off home run he was all smiles telling reporters

“He hung a splitter and I was looking fastball, saw it early and happened to hit it on the sweet spot… Oh, God, it was awesome.  To win a game with one swing, walk-offs are amazing.  I think that’s really the first true walk-off in my life, so that was pretty sweet… I was gonna jump really high (on to home plate), but I saw my teammates yelling, ‘No,’ so I gave like a fun little hop.”
~Metsblog.com

Niese, after finding out last night that he was one pitch away from a perfect game, looked like a kid in a candy store smiling and bouncing around the field.  He even took a pie in the face courtesy of Angel Pagan.

I know the Mets have a lot of problems, particularly winning on the road, but I’ll give them this…

They’re a fun bunch to watch, and a fun bunch to root for.  I’m enjoying 2010.

Let’s go Mets

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Catcher

1. Yadier Molina (Cardinals) 494,517

2. Carlos Ruiz (Phillies) 416,585

3. Ivan Rodriguez (Nationals) 403,874

Mets Candidate: Rod Barajas

It is absurd that Barajas is not even in the top 5 in the voting for catchers. Barajas is batting .268 (9th among NL catchers) with a .544 slugging percentage (2nd), 11 home runs (1st), 30 RBIs (1st), and 22 runs scored (4th). Clearly Rod has done more than enough to be near the top of the voting. The leader, Yadier Molina, has a .259 (12th) batting average, a .343 slugging percentage (15th),  two home runs (t-11th), and 28 RBIs (2nd). Barajas is outperforming Molina in every single one of these categories. As of now, Barajas is on pace for a career year, and he is more than deserving of an All-Star Game appearance.

1st Base

1. Albert Pujols (Cardinals) 1,006,149

2. Ryan Howard (Phillies) 532,729

3. Prince Fielder (Brewers) 315,936

Mets Candidate: Ike Davis

While Ike is putting together a nice season so far, there is no way that he could compete with for an All-Star spot at 1st base. Albert Pujols, even with his struggles, has been dominant this year. He is batting .318 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .566 slugging percentage. Ike Davis may not reach the All-Star Game for many years because of all the talent that the National League has at first base.

2nd Base

1. Chase Utley (Phillies) 1,103,430

2. Rickie Weeks (Brewers) 261,591

3. Martin Prado (Braves) 260,349

Mets Candidate: …

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Painful.  That is the perfect word to use when describing the Mets loss to the Padres in the series finale.

The Mets had a chance to accomplish something they haven’t since July 25 and 26 of 2009: Win back to back games on the road.

Unfortunately, they lost a game that they were one strike away from winning.

Johan Santana’s Aceness

I have always said that the true mark of an ace, is a pitcher that can hold offenses at bay when he doesn’t have his best stuff.

That’s exactly what happened last night.  Santana gave the Mets a very gritty performance as he did not have his best control of the season.

He walked a season-high five batters and allowed five hits, but somehow managed to hold the Padres scoreless for seven innings.

One of Johan’s greatest attributes is his competitiveness.

Santana marched out to the mound in the seventh inning already having thrown over 100 pitches.  His total for the night was 123.

There isn’t a pitcher in baseball that is more deserving of  his offense going out and putting up a whole mess of crooked numbers on his next start than Johan Santana.

You Said It

David Wright on the Mets’ road woes:

“If we were just decent on the road we’d be in pretty good shape.  But it hasn’t been the case. We are where we are because of not being able to get it done on the road.”

Play With Fire And You Might Get Burned

The F-Rod show is starting to become unbearable to watch.

Allowing two hits on 0-2 counts is inexcusable.  Eckstein’s at bat that tied the game was particularly frustrating.  He was able to get Eckstein to swing and miss on two curveballs.  He then went to the well one too many times.

Rodriguez has to know he can’t fool a gritty veteran like David Eckstein on the same pitch three consecutive times.

F-rod allowing Gwynn to steal is also inexcusable.  After Gwynn reached first on an 0-2 pitch that had way too much plate, he was able to get a huge jump off of F-Rod to steal second.

Steals happen.  What irritates me about this particular one, is that Rodriguez never even looked over at first, let alone throw one over to keep him close.

I do give Franky credit for going out to pitch the 10th.  Apparently, he made the following request in the dugout:

“I made a mess. I’d like to clean it up.”

Wake Up Call

My hope is that this game serves as a wake up call.  The Mets can ill afford another month of .500 baseball.

They need to start putting together some winning months if they hope to make the playoffs.

My opinion is that 90 wins will do it.  To get to that bench mark, the Mets need to win games like this.

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Do you know how many times Johan Santana has posted a zero for the Mets? There have been 14 times when he has not allowed a run. Not an earned run, but any run.

Four times he has earned a no decision in those 14 splendid games, including a ridiculous three times this season. There have been three further times where he has allowed two or fewer unearned runs in his two-and-a-half years in New York. He is 0-2 with a no decision in those contests.

It’s looking eerily like 2008 all over again. In his first season with the Mets, Santana allowed one run or fewer 11 times. The Mets lost three of those games.

On Wednesday against the Padres, Santana allowed one run or fewer for the eighth time in his 12 starts. He has only won four of those solid outings, and the Mets have gone on to lose three of the others.

Santana’s seven shutout innings against the Cardinals on April 17 were only saved by a 20th-inning rally long, long after he had left the game, but the Mets fell 2-1 against the Marlins four weeks later when the only run he gave up came following a third-inning error.

He was victimized even further against the Brewers last time out on Friday when he threw eight zeros on the board, only to see Igarashi dish up a walk-off home run to Corey Hart, and on Wednesday Jerry Manuel made the mistake of thinking the bullpen could hold down a one-run lead on the road.

Santana is currently riding a 15-inning scoreless streak without a win in either game. I don’t work for Elias, but over his last five starts, Santana has a 0.74 ERA and the Mets are 1-4. That is absolutely criminal.

For a team that does not have great depth, heck, any depth, in their starting rotation, they can not afford to keep letting these outing go to waste. If you can’t pick up your ace when he is on the mound, the team has no chance of success over any extended period of time.

Santana wasn’t at his best against the Padres in Petco Park, but he worked out the kinks and pitched a smart ballgame. He worked his way both into and out of jams, but he was smart enough to see what wasn’t working and he adapted accordingly.

As evidenced by the meltdown against the Phillies a month ago today, Johan is not perfect. He will have bad outings and he will get hit hard when he leaves stuff over the plate against a good lineup.

But if he is fighting hard to put the team in a position to win, it is so incredibly frustrating to see the Mets either fail to give him some support or to blow a late lead. No decisions mean precious little if the team still wins, but losing a game that you were one strike away from winning when your stud has blanked a team for seven innings is inexcusable.

Sure, it’s great to win 10-5 or 8-2 games, but until the team can win those tight contests they are going to stay in the middle of the competitive NL East pack. Middle might even be generous in their inability to win outside of Citi Field continues through the summer.

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If chicks did the long ball, there’s not going to be a whole lot of love if your team is squaring off against the Mets.

For all of the questions about Jerry Manuel’s rotation coming into the season, it has been an unlikely group of pitchers who have helped New York remain in contention in a highly competitive NL East.

Every team has their faults in the division, and with no one team running away with things one-third of the way through the year, it is as wide open as it has ever been.

We know the story about the Mets struggles and that is why their pitching has surprised so many people over the past week or so.

John Maine went on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis in his right arm a week ago, Jonathon Niese will make a rehanb start today after straining his left hamstring a couple days ago, and Sean Green and Kelvim Escobar—although bit parts—are out indefinitely. Add to that dilemma the head case that is Olly Perez, and you can see why there were serious problems throughout the starting rotation.

But then a strange thing happened. The Mets started keeping the ball in the yard and the wins began piling up.

Sure, it helps when you’re playing half of your games in a park that admittedly plays big, but that shouldn’t take anything away from what the Mets are accomplishing with a makeshift pitching staff.

It has been well documented that the Mets had not given up a run in 35.2 innings until the walk off home run to Corey Hart. But similarly impressive and not so widely praised has been the ability to limit the home run completely.

Starting on May 19, the Mets had not allowed a home run at all in eight consecutive games, spanning contests with the Nationals, Yankees, and Phillies. Putting it into perspective, if the Mets had shut out the Brewers last night, that stretch of home run-less games would have been tied for the fourth most in franchise history.

As it stands, the run of eight games ranks 11th all-time for the Mets.

Adding more context to the accomplishments of New York’s pitching, there have only been five instances in the last decade when a team has not allowed a home run in nine consecutive games. That is truly impressive.

R.A. Dickey has not allowed a home run in his two outings and neither has Hisanori Takahashi—two men who didn’t really figure to feature in New York’s plans eight weeks ago. Mike Pelfrey has maybe been the best of all, allowing just three long balls in 63.2 innings.

While the Mets have been significantly worse on their travels this year, it is worth pointing out that they have recorded six straight games at home without surrendering a home run. Florida comes to Citi Field on June 4 for three games and the weak-hitting Padres complete the six-game homestand between June 8 and 10.

It’s asking a lot for the Mets to keep the ball in the yard for all of these games, too, but considering how well they have been playing at home it is certainly possible.

No team has gone more than 10 consecutive home games without allowing a home run since 1997, so it would be an impressive feat.

All of this, however, is set against a backdrop of success. If the Mets do not allow a home run in each of their next four games, for example, but lose all four, then the impressive statistical anomaly counts for very little.

Winning is the name of the game, and I can guarantee the Mets would rather give up three home runs in a game and win than keep the ball in the park for nine innings and lose.

Just as vital to the team’s success is scratching out a victory on the road. That challenge resumes again today in the second game of a three-game set in Milwaukee.

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Originally posted on Midwestropolitan. 

Admit it pessimists, this was an encouraging weekend for the Mets.

It’s okay to feel good about this weekend. It doesn’t mean that you can’t go back to your grumpy ways during the next Mets slide.

The series victory over the Yankees is a potential stepping stone. Nothing more, nothing less.

Johan Is An Ace

Tonight’s performance for Johan Santana is exactly the type of start he was signed for.

He was called upon to go against the opposing team’s ace, C.C. Sabathia no less, and was asked to out duel him.

Johan answered the call, going deep into the eighth inning. He gave up only one run, six hits, and struck out five batters.

His counterpart, was chased after five innings, allowing six runs (five earned), and ten hits.

A scary thought for opposing hitters, Johan is traditionally a better second half pitcher.

If he and Mike Pelfrey can continue to put together starts like this, the Mets will find themselves on the other side of .500, and climbing.

Jason Bay, Streak Killer

Jason Bay continued his torrid hitting. This time, he flexed his muscles a bit as he hit two home runs, and drove in three runs.

His second home run was a screaming line drive that went straight into the bullpen in right center.

Bay ended an impressive streak for the Mets offense. His lead off homer in the fifth stopped the two out run scoring streak the Mets have enjoyed during their last two games-they had scored nine straight runs with two outs.

The Rest Of The Lumber

Alex Cora started everything off for the Mets with a great at bat in the second inning in which he produced a two strike hit that drove in two runs.

David Wright drove in a run on an RBI double.

Jose Reyes, and Ike Davis each collected two hits.

A-Rod vs. K-Rod

Francisco Rodriguez has earned his pay check this weekend. Although he didn’t have his best stuff when asked to come in with runners on in the ninth inning, he got the job done.

Derek Jeter was able to drive in a run on a double that hit off the left field wall.

Another run came in when Rodriguez was able to get the second out of the inning when Brett Gardner was thrown out by David Wright on a very close play at first base.

Mark Texiera then proceeded to bounce one a mile high off the plate,  and get an infield hit.

This brought Alex Rodriguez to the plate, representing the go ahead run.

We were then left to watch a tense eight pitch at bat, in which Franky got the best of A-Rod, and got him to swing and miss on a change-up.

The “Wussification” Of Baseball Continues

I miss the old school way in which teams protected their hitters. Hit our guy, expect your guy to get one in the ribs the next inning.

Now, the minute a pitch sniffs someone’s jersey, the umpire’s warn both teams, and the next pitcher that hits someone is ejected along with the manager.

In the bottom of the seventh Jason Bay was hit by a pitch in the back by an obvious breaking ball that got away from Sergio Mitre.

Home plate umpire, Marvin Hudson felt it was necessary to warn both teams.

I understand the intent of the rule, but I don’t agree with it. It brings too much subjectivity into the game.

Let the players handle issues on the field. Not the umpires.

On Deck

The hated Phils come calling on Tuesday night.

R.A. Dickey will get his second start as he faces Jamie Moyer.

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