THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Good Morning! I wanted to make the announcement that New York Mets Today will be shutting down. It is just too much work for one person and I have been having trouble getting other writers to work for free. I want to thank everyone who supported the site. It is greatly appreciated it. I will be looking to sign on with another blog in the near future so I will keep you all updated as to what blog I will be writing for. Once again, thank you all for the support and I will speak to you soon and although it has been a rough few years, keep the faith, the franchise will turn it around sooon! Lets go Mets! Thank you!

Post-Game Wrap-Up: Cubs 7 Mets 6

Post-Game Wrap-Up from Wrigley Field:

• The Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the Top of the 1st highlighted by a 2-RBI 2B from David Wright. Joaquin Arias would bring Wright home on an RBI FC later in the inning to make the score 3-0.
• The Cubs took the lead in the Bot of the 4th with a 4 run inning. Three of the runs came in to score on Alfonso Soriano’s 22nd HR of the year. 4-3 Cubs after 4.
• The Mets tied the score in the Top of the 6th. Lucas Duda recorded his first Major League Hit and RBI of his career when he doubled in the 6th to tie the score at 4.
• The Cubs would regain the lead in the Bot of the 6th on a 3-run HR from Blake DeWitt. 7-4 Cubs.
• In the Top of the 7th, David Wright connected on his 23rd HR of the year, a Solo shot cutting the Cubs lead to 7-5.
• Luis Hernandez hit a Solo HR in the Top of the 8th, his 1st as a Met and of the season, making the score 7-6 Cubs, which is the way this one finished.


R.A. Dickey did not pitch well today. He was up in the zone most of the day. He gave up 2 3-run HR’s which led to his demise today, the big blow, a 3-run HR to Blake DeWitt. He finished the day going 6 IP, giving up 7 ER, 8 H, 1BB, and struck out 3. His record fell to 9-6 with today’s loss.
David Wright had a very good day. He went 3-5, while hitting his 23rd HR, and drove in his 90th run of the year.

Angel Pagan made his return to the starting lineup today and didn’t miss a beat going 3-5, with 2 Runs scored out of the lead-off spot.

Lucas Duda had a great day today. He recorded both his first career hit and RBI in Today’s game. He also made another fabulous play in LF as he came in to catch a line drive off the bat of Geovany Soto and gunned the ball to first, doubling up Xavier Nady who was running on the play.

Former Met Xavier Nady had a good day against his former club by going 3-4 with an RBI and R scored.

The Mets and Cubs will meet again tomorrow at 1:05PM. Mets rookie RHP Jenrry Mejia will make his 1st career start. He will be opposed by Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano.

Pre-Game: STARTING LINEUPS FOR 9/3/2010

The Mets begin a 3 game series today at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The starting pitchers for today's contest will be RHP R.A. Dickey for the Mets against fellow RHP Randy Wells. The wind is blowing out to RF today. I wonder what kind of effect this will have on Dickey's knuckleball. The Cubs lineup will look a lot different than it did when the Mets faced them earlier in the year, as they have traded away 1B Derek Lee (Atlanta), INF Mike Fontenot (SF), and INF Ryan Theriot (LA). Angel Pagan makes his return to the lineup for the Mets today. Game time is 2:20PM. Here are the starting lineups:

For the 57-77 Chicago Cubs:

1. Kosuke Fukudome RF
2. Starlin Castro SS
3. Marlon Byrd CF
4. Aramis Ramirez 3B
5. Xavier Nady 1B
6. Geovany Soto C
7. Alfonso Soriano LF
8. Blake DeWitt 2B
9. Randy Wells P

For the 66-68 New York Mets:

1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Lucas Duda LF
3. Chris Carter RF
4. David Wright 3B
5. Ike Davis 1B
6. Joaquin Arias 2B
7. Josh Thole C
8. Ruben Tejada SS
9. R.A. Dickey P

LETS GO METS!

Rumor: Omar Minaya

Mets GM Omar Minaya has told friends that he enjoys scouting and talent evaluation. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wonders aloud if this is a precursor to Minaya has accepted that he will be assigned to a new position. Some in the organization wonder if owner Fred Wilpon traveling to the minors with assistant GM John Ricco means that the Mets intend to elevate Ricco to the GM position. It's possible, however, that Ricco was just assisting on a scouting mission.

I would not be opposed to re-assigning Minaya within the Organization. He is very good at scouting and evaluating talent. I think he would be an asset in that capacity. I do believe that it is time to move on from Omar as GM. Whether or not Jeff and Fred Wilpon agree is another story.

Post-Game Wrap-Up: Mets 4 Braves 2 - Santana Wins But Exits Due To Injury

The Mets were able to salvage the final game of their 4 game series in Atlanta tonight by the score of 4-2. The story of tonight's game however was Johan Santana, as he was forced to leave the game early due to injury. More on Santana later. Here are the game highlights:

For the first time in the 4 game series with the Braves, the Mets scored first. After Tim Hudson retired Luis Castillo and Lucas Duda to start the game, Carlos Beltran lined a ball to the gap in RF. CF Melky Cabrera looked slow getting to the ball and it continued to roll all the way to the wall. Beltran took a turn at 2nd base and continued on to 3rd. The throw from the cut-off man to 3rd wound up getting past 3rd baseman Martin Prado and carried into the dugout which allowed Beltran to score. The Mets wound up scoring 1 more run in the 1st. After 2 singles and a BB, Joaquin Arias, who was making his first start as a Met hit a ball that 3rd baseman Martin Prado couldn’t handle. Arias would reach on an infield single, scoring Chris Carter from 3rd to make the score 2-0.

The Braves cracked the scoreboard in the Bot of the 2nd. Brian McCann leading off the inning, took the second pitch he saw from Johan Santana and drove it deep over the RF wall for a Solo HR, cutting the Mets lead in half at 2-1.

The Mets would increase their lead in the Top of the 6th when David Wright crushed a Tim Hudson Fastball over the LF wall for a Solo HR, his 22nd of year that made the score 3-1.
The Mets would tack a run on in the Top of the 7th. With 1 out, Luis Castillo singled to CF. Next batter Lucas Duda grounded a ball to 2nd base that was mishandled by Omar Infante allowing him to reach on an error, advancing Castillo to 3rd. Carlos Beltran would then ground a slow ball to 2nd which enabled Castillo to cross the plate, putting the Mets ahead 4-1.

The Braves got a little closer in the Bot of the 8th. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs, Omar Infante hit a Baltimore chop that bounced high up into the air. David Wright eventually fielded the ball but had no play. Melky Cabrera would come in to score from 3rd on the play to make the score 4-2, which is the way the game would end.

As mentioned earlier, the story of this game was Johan Santana. Despite picking up the win, Santana was forced to leave the game after completing 5 innings. He left with what the club is calling a strained pectoral muscle and the team has listed him as day-to-day. Santana was good but not great tonight. He did a very good job of negotiating around trouble this evening. He was able to get the big out when needed. He left the game after 5 innings pitched, while throwing only 65 pitches. He allowed 1 ER, 3 Hits, 1BB, and 3 K's while picking up the victory. He moved to 11-9 on the year, and lowered his ERA to 2.98 for the season.

David Wright had a good night at the plate. He connected for his 22nd HR of the year, and went 2-3 on the night. Wright now has 87 RBI on the year. Before Wright's HR, Braves pitcher Tim Hudson retired 13 straight Mets hitters.

Lucas Duda went 0-5 tonight, and is now 0-8 on the season. He did however make a very nice play, robbing Alex Gonzalez of an extra base hit and possibly a HR. This was his second straight game with a fine defensive play.

New comer Joaquin Arias started at SS tonight and struggled. He clearly is not a SS as he turned a routine groundball into an infield hit for Omar Infante. I would be surprised to see him play SS again.

Angel Pagan, who has been nursing tendenitis in his wrist, was brought on tonight as a defensive replacement. Reports are that he and Jose Reyes are both improving, and hope to play in the upcoming series at Chicago.

The Mets will travel to Chicago tonight and begin a 3 game series with the Cubs tomorrow beginning at 2:20PM. Startng pitchers for tomorrow's game will be RHP R.A. Dickey for the Mets VS RHP Randy Wells.

News: Johan Santana

Johan Santana left his start in Atlanta tonight after 5 IP and only 65 pitches. Still waiting word as to what caused him to leave the game but the Mets fans and organization have their fingers crossed. Stay tuned for updates.

UPDATE (9:35PM):

Johan Santana left tonight's game with a strained pectoral muscle. Listed as "day-to-day", no word as to whether he will miss his next start.

Pre-Game: STARTING LINEUPS FOR 9/2/2010

The Mets look to salvage the final game of their 4 game series with the Braves in Atlanta. After playing un-inspired ball the first 3 games of the series, Johan Santana will take the hill and try to sneak the Mets out of ATL with a win. Santana is 0-3 in his last 3 starts despite throwing back to back complete games during that span. Against the Braves this season, Santana is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA is 3 starts. Santana will be opposed by Braves Cy Young candidate Tim Hudson. Hudson is in the midst of his best season of his career and has to be considered a favorite to win the Cy Young. Against the Mets this season, Hudson is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Game time is 7:10PM. Here are the starting lineups:

For the 78-55 Atlanta Braves:

1. Omar Infante 2B
2. Jason Heyward RF
3. Martin Prado 3B
4. Derek Lee 1B
5. Brian McCann C
6. Matt Diaz LF
7. Alex Gonzalez SS
8. Melky Cabrera CF
9. Tim Hudson P

For the 65-68 New York Mets:

1. Luis Castillo 2B
2. Lucas Duda LF
3. Carlos Beltran CF
4. Chris Carter RF
5. David Wright 3B
6. Ike Davis 1B
7. Joaquin Arias SS
8. Henry Blanco C
9. Johan Santana P

LETS GO METS!

News: Mike Nickeas

Mets purchased the contract of C Mike Nickeas from Triple-A Buffalo.

Nickeas was acquired from the Rangers way back in 2006 in exchange for Victor Diaz. The 27-year-old backstop batted .276/.389/.382 with five home runs and 33 RBI in 293 at-bats between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Buffalo. He'll be the third catcher in Queens.

Update: Hisanori Takahashi

Mets general manager Omar Minaya told David Waldstein of the New York Times that the team would like to re-sign Hisanori Takahashi. We’ve been very happy with him," said Minaya. "He’s done everything we’ve asked of him, and he’s shown the ability to pitch in New York. I’m sure we’ll sit down after the season and, hopefully, we can work something out."

Takahashi has been one of the lone bright spots on the club this year. He has shown that he can pitch out of relief or as a starter. I would not be opposed to bringing him back as a reliever, but I would much rather spend the $2-3Million it would take to wrap him up on a more pressing need for the ball club. If Omar Minaya makes re-signing Takahashi a priority, we should all expect to be in for another long season in 2011.

Post-Game Wrap-Up: Braves 4 Mets 1 - Un-Inspired Baseball From The Mets Again

The Mets were defeated by the Braves 4-1 tonight at Turner Field. The Mets again had no offensive attack as they were held to 1 run and only 2 hits on the evening.

The Braves got on the board early again tonight. Leading off, in the Bot of the 1st, Omar Infante looped a single to RF. Jason Heyward would quickly follow with a 2B to Left-Center, setting the Braves up with runners on 2nd and 3rd. The next hitter Martin Prado then drove a ball to the LF gap, scoring both Infante and Heyward, to put the Braves ahead 2-0.

The Braves added another 2 runs in the Bot of the 2nd. With 1 out, Rick Ankiel singled to CF. After a Tommy Hanson SAC bunt advancing Ankiel to 2nd, Omar Infante would record his 2nd hit of the game, an RBI single to Left-Center to put the Braves up 3-0. Jason Heyward would then bring Infante around to score on his RBI double to make the score 4-0.

The Mets finally got on the board in the Top of the 8th. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, Luis Hernandez singled up the middle to drive in the Mets lone run of the night.

Once again, the Mets played lifeless un-inspired baseball. The offense was non-existant. The only thing that made this game even watchable was the debut of Lucas Duda, and he even struggled going 0-3 with a K on the night.

Despite going 0-3, Duda looks like a ball player. He is a big young kid and I am very much looking foward to how he does on the big league level with a decent amount of at-bats.

Mike Pelfrey did not look good tonight. His fastball was up in the zone much of the evening which resulted in a lot of balls in the air. He was hit extremely hard tonight. He finished the night with a line of 5 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 0BB, and 2 K's while taking his 8th loss of the year.

David Wright finally broke his Turner Field drought in 2010 tonight by doubling to LF. He went 1-4 on the evening and is now 1-32 on the season at Turner Field.

Omar Infante and Jason Heyward, the Braves 1 and 2 hitters respectively, combined to go 7-8, with 3 runs scored, and 2 RBI.

The Mets are now 9-53 at Turner Field when the Braves score first.

The Braves have now held the Mets to 3 runs or less in 13 consecutive games.

The Mets conclude their 4 game series with the Braves tomorrow night at Turner Field. The pitching match-up is a beauty as Mets ace Johan Santana takes the hill looking to salvage the final game of the series VS Braves Cy Young candidate Tim Hudson. Game time is 7:10PM.

News: Jenrry Mejia

The Mets announced that Jenrry Mejia will start Saturday’s game against the Cubs in Chicago.

This announcement just confirms the assumed. Mejia will make his first career Major League start. I hope for the sake of his future that the start goes well. The last thing this franchise needs is for their top prospect to struggle going into the 2011 season.

Pre-Game: STARTING LINEUPS FOR 9/1/2010

The Mets' continue their 4 games series with the Braves tonight at Turner Field. By falling 2 games under .500 for the first time since May, the Mets have finally realized that they will not make the playoffs and therefore will be starting to play their youngsters for the remainder of the season. Tonight, Lucas Duda makes his Major League debut for the Mets. The 24 yr old OF has a ton of power. Combined between Double-AA and Triple-AAA, in 114 games, Duda hit 23 HR's, 87 RBI, and had an average of .299. Here are the starting lineups for tonight's game:

For the 77-55 Atlanta Braves:

1. Omar Infante 2B
2. Jason Heyward RF
3. Martin Prado 3B
4. Brian McCann C
5. Eric Hinske LF
6. Freddie Freeman 1B
7. Brooks Conrad 3B
8. Rick Ankiel CF
9. Tommy Hanson P

For the 65-67 New York Mets:

1. Luis Castillo 2B
2. Josh Thole C
3. David Wright 3B
4. Chris Carter RF
5. Carlos Beltran CF
6. Ike Davis 1B
7. Lucas Duda LF
8. Ruben Tejada SS
9. Mike Pelfrey P

LETS GO METS!

Rumor: Dillon Gee To The Big Leagues?

According to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewyork, the Mets will soon promote 24 yr old P Dillon Gee to the Major League club. Rubin goes on to say,"there are rumblings the Mets' youth movement will extend beyond right-hander Jenrry Mejia and outfielder/first baseman Lucas Duda, who are due to join the Mets on Wednesday. A source also expects right-hander Dillon Gee will receive a promotion at some point in the coming days."

The 24-year-old Gee, a 21st-round pick in 2007 from the University of Texas-Arlington, is listed as Thursday's pitcher for Tripe-A Buffalo. He is 13-7 with a 4.69 ERA in 27 starts for the Bisons. In 157 1/3 innings, he has 161 strikeouts, which set the Bisons' modern-era single-season strikeout record.

Rumor: R.A. Dickey Contract Extension?

The New York Daily News reports that According to a source, the Mets are willing to engage in extension talks with Dickey this offseason, in lieu of salary arbitration or a one-year deal. Dickey is arbitration-eligible for one more season, meaning he will be under team control in 2011 regardless of whether he agrees to a new contract. Because of that, the Mets could wait to see if the 35-year-old knuckleballer can duplicate his 2010 success.

I would not be opposed to an extension for Dickey as he has been one of the most consistent parts of the Mets all year. I just hope that the contract is within reason as the knuckleballer is 35 yrs old.

Trade: Jeff Francouer to TEX

According to multiple reports, OF Jeff Francouer has been traded to the Texas Rangers for utility INF Joaquin Arias.

This move had to be made. As great of a guy Jeff Francouer is in the clubhouse and in general, he was just not producing on the field. I think the Mets will miss his personality and clubhouse presence but the bottom line is production. I wish Jeff nothing but success in Texas and his future.

Joaquin Arias is a good fall back option to build depth in the infield. In 101 plate appearances for the Rangers this season, the 25 yr old Arias hit .276 with 0 HR and just 6 extra-base hits.

News: Mets promote Lucas Duda and Jenrry Mejia

According to SNY, the Mets have promoted P Jenrry Mejia and OF Lucas Duda from Triple-AAA Buffalo.

Jenrry Mejia is expected to make his debut as a starting pitcher for the Mets on Saturday in Chicago VS the Cubs. We all know that Mejia has the talent to be very successful in this league, however, I question whether he has been seasoned enough as far as his development as a starting pitcher is concerned. We will find out starting on Saturday.

Lucas Duda is a very impressive under the radar prospect. This kid can definately hit and has tremoundous power. Combined between Double-AA and Triple-AAA, in 114 games, he has 23 HR, 87 RBI, .299 AVG, 73 R, and an OPS of .960. Those are some nice numbers for the 24 year old OF.

Post-game Wrap-Up: Braves 9 Mets 2 - David Ross' GS Chops Down The Mets

The Mets lost to the Braves by the score of 9-2 tonight at Turner Field and fall 2 games below .500 for the first time since May.

After both teams went scoreless for the first three innings, the Braves got on the board in the Bot of the 4th. After a Martin Prado lead off double, Derek Lee singled to LF driving Prado in from 2nd and giving the Braves a 1-0.

The Mets would come right back in the Top of the 5th and gain the lead. With the bases loaded and no outs, Jeff Francoeur hit a SAC fly to CF scoring Luis Castillo from 3rd to tie the game at 1-1. Then after a BB to Ike Davis re-loaded the bases, Henry Blanco hit a SAC fly also to CF, scoring David Wright, giving the Mets the lead 2-1.

The Mets lead would disappear quickly in a big way. After Nate McLouth lead off the Bot of the 5th by being hit with a Jon Niese fastball, Omar Infante hit an easy double-play ball right at Luis Castillo. Castillo however let the ball skip under his glove setting the Braves up and opening the flood gates. Jason Heyward quickly capitalized on the mistake and lined a ball to the gap in left-CF driving in both McLouth and Infante, putting the Braves ahead 3-2. After a Prado single and a Lee BB, Alex Gonzalez singled to RF scoring Heyward increasing the Braves lead to 4-2. On the play, Prado tried to score from 2nd, but was gunned down at the plate by Jeff Francouer. This was only the beginning of the inning however. The next hitter Melky Cabrera walked, setting up the stage for David Ross. Ross crushed a lined drive over the wall in Left Field for a Grand Slam, his first HR on the year, and broke the game open. The inning would finally end with the score 8-2 ATL.

The Braves would add their 9th run of the game in the Bot of the 7th on an Melky Cabrera RBI double.

Another horrible display of baseball by the Mets tonight. This team is defeated before even taking the field. This game was icing on the cake to what has been a disasterous 2 months of baseball. Luis Castillo's error in the Bottom ofthe 5th opened the flood gates and the Braves never looked back.

Jon Niese, although not having his best stuff tonight, deserved better. He wiggled out of a few tough jams in the first few innings, but couldn't get past the Castillo error in the 5th. On his 41st pitch of the inning and last of his outing, Ross took him deep for the Grand Slam. He threw 106 pitches over only 4 2/3 innings. He allowed 3 ER, 10 Hits, 2BB, and struck out 6 while taking the loss.

Here are a few baffling stats regarding the Mets:

David Ross' Grand Slam tonight was the 10th given up by the Mets this year, the most in baseball, while the Mets offense has not hit one all year.

The Mets batting average with the bases loaded this year is .194 (21-108), which is 100 percentage points less than when the opposition loads the bases.

David Wright is now 0-28 at Turner Field this year.

The Mets are now 9-52 VS Atlanta at Turner Field when the Braves score first.

The only words that can describe the above statistics are absolutely terrible. The Mets continue their 4 game series with the Braves tommorow night at Turner Field. The starting pitchers will be RHP Mike Pelfrey for the Mets opposed by RHP Tommy Hanson of the Braves. Game time is 7:10PM.

Pre-Game: STARTING LINEUPS FOR 8/31/2010

The Mets continue their 4 game series with Atlanta tonight at Turner Field. The pitching match-up for tonight's game features Mets rookie RHP Jon Niese VS Braves rookie LHP Mike Minor. Mets OF Angel Pagan will not be in tonight's lineup as he is nursing tendinitis in his right wrist. This will force Jerry Manuel to use a makeshift lineup with both Jose Reyes and Pagan out of the lineup. The lineups are as follows:

For the 76-55 Atlanta Braves:

1. Omar Infante 2B
2. Jason Heyward RF
3. Martin Prado 3B
4. Derek Lee 1B
5. Matt Diaz LF
6. Alex Gonzalez SS
7. Melky Cabrera CF
8. David Ross C
9. Mike Minor P

For the 65-66 New York Mets:

1. Luis Castillo 2B
2. David Wright 3B
3. Carlos Beltran CF
4. Jeff Francouer RF
5. Ike Davis 1B
6. Henry Blanco C
7. Chris Carter LF
8. Ruben Tejada SS
9. Jon Niese P

LETS GO METS!

Rumor: Jeff Francoeur

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Rangers are “kicking the tires” on acquiring Jeff Francoeur, and it’s possible he could be moved today.Teams have until midnight tonight to add players to the roster in order to be eligible for the postseason.

Rumor: Bobby Valentine

Earlier today, MLB Network's Peter Gammons told WFAN that he believes Bobby Valentine will be the Mets next Manager. Gammons stated,"I think there are two things: 1) He has a history and a good working relationship with Omar Minaya and 2) he is one guy that, though Jeff Wilpon will not always like what he hears from Bobby, I think they can have a relationship where Bobby could say to Jeff, ‘No, we’re not doing this, that’s the wrong thing,’ and in the end they’ll win out together, because they have a mutual respect. I just think now is the right time to bring Bobby back."

From an organizational standpoint, I think Bobby Valentine is the ideal fit to take over as the Mets' next Manager. He is beloved in NY and has the fiery personality that this team needs to get the most out of its players. Personally I would love to see Valentine back in a Mets uniform. There is just one thing to consider. Earlier in the year when the Florida Marlins were trying to hire Valentine, it was reported that he was demanding a contract in the $3-4 million range per year. I don't know how I feel about dishing out $4 Million to a Manager when this money could have been spent on improving the roster. Just a thought to consider.