Mets Sweep Puts Them at the Heart of the Citi

The Happy Recap: Mets 7, Dodgers 3 - First Place!

After sweeping the Dodgers and finishing up a 9-1 home-stand (their best in 20 years), we're starting to see Met hats being worn from the streets of New York, the Strip on Las Vegas, and even on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

THE GOOD: It's been since 1995 that the Mets last swept LA - and it's always nice to welcome Joe Torre back to town. Ike Davis has completely energized this Mets team, today going 2 for 4 with another RBI. David Wright had another good day at the plate, as did Jeff Francoeur (2 rbi), Angel Pagan (2 run triple), and Alex Cora (rbi double). Best news of all was that most of the Mets scoring came with two outs. That's big, and very "early season" un-Met like.

John Maine had by far his best start of the season and got credit for the victory for his 6 innings of work. Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano did admirable jobs getting the game to KRod who struck out the side to end it. (of course it wasn't as easy as that - he threw 23 pitches, walked one and gave up a hit in the inning).

Today was just another total team victory and we're seeing a lot of that lately. Even the most optimistic Met fan out there (and we know you're there) couldn't have hoped for a 10-game stretch of baseball that we're seeing from this team. I for one, am enjoying it all while it lasts.

THE BAD: Granted the Dodgers are woefully bad. But the real bad news is that the homestand is over. Now the Mets travel to Philadelphia for a big 3-game series with (dare I say it) confidence and a first place swagger that we haven't seen since Carlos Beltran took that called third strike.

THE UGLY: Was today "bring a hotdog wrapper to the ballpark" day? What's with all the debris flying around the infield, the pitcher's mound, the outfield, and all the junk lying at the warning track?!? I mean really, folks, deposit your garbage in the proper receptacles rather than just throwing it on the floor. Guess what? When the wind picks up, it makes for ugly viewing on TV. With all the garbage I saw floating around today, I could have sworn I was back in the Bronx.

THE PULSE of the GAME

First Place Mets Two Much For Dodgers

The Happy Recap: Mets 4, Dodgers 0 (Game 1); Mets 10, Dodgers 5 (Game 2)

Johan Santana, Jason Bay, David Wright and a huge effort by the bullpen helped the Mets sweep the Dodgers for the first time since 1971, and it was their first doubleheader sweep since the Phillies in 2007.

THE GOOD: In game one, Jason Bay finally hit his first dinger as a Met, a solo shot in the fourth. And with Luis Castillo's RBI single, he has quietly reached base in 16 of 17 games this season. The team only scored 4 runs, but it was a steady attack with the first six hitters in the lineup having had a hit apiece in the game. Johan Santana wasn't great, but he still pitched shutout ball for 6 innings, after which the bullpen of Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano shut them down to get Santana his 3rd win of the year.

In game two, it was all David Wright, who went 3 for 3 with a triple and drove in 4 runs, He also reached a milestone with his 1,000 career hit and stopped his strikeout-a-game streak at 12. Hopefully he's showing signs of breaking out of his season long doldrums. Ike Davis also came up big with a 1 for 2 night, including a walk, a double, and three RBI. And you just can't say enough about Hisanori Takahashi, who was outstanding once again in the bullpen, going 3 plus innings allowing just 1 run while K'ing 5 and getting his 2nd win of the season. (perhaps a 5th starter for this team at the expense of Perez or Maine?)

THE BAD: The Dodger defense is bad. Plus, Oliver Perez allowed 3 runs in just over 3 innings and clearly didn't have it. His ERA somehow is only 4.35 however. Besides that, if you have to criticize the Mets for something after a day like this, it's that the pitching staff sure allows a lot of men to reach base. Add 5 walks to the 5 Dodger hits in game 1, plus 6 walks in game 2, and eventually it's going to catch up with you. But Met pitchers seem to always pitch out of trouble, so despite walks are bad, it's all good right now.

THE UGLY: All this talk about doubleheaders takes me back to the good old days - when doubleheaders were doubleheaders. You bought a ticket and stayed for both games and if you were lucky enough, it was Banner Day and you got to walk on the field. Today, you go to the first game, then they clear out the stadium for different fans to attend the next game. You should be able to watch two at the ballpark if it's really a doubleheader. Anything else is just plain ugly.

THE PULSE of GAME 1

THE PULSE of GAME 2

Sweep! Rain O'er Me!

The Happy Recap: Mets 1, Braves 0

In a rain shorted game, the Mets scrappy first inning run was the difference as they team pulled off the 4-game sweep and sent the Braves back to their Atlanta trailer homes in last-place humiliating defeat.

THE GOOD: The Mets are actually getting breaks. And being on the winning end of a rain shortened game is one of them. I can't even remember the last time the Mets won due to rain. I remember them losing like that often. Mike Pelfrey improved his record to 4-0 and his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 24 innings without even having his best stuff as he escaped Atlanta rallies in just about every inning. (all 5 of them!). He lowered his ERA to a ridiculous Bob Gibson like 0.69.

For the game's only run, Jose Reyes looped a two-out single in the first, stole second, then scored on Larry Jones' throwing error on Jason Bay's hard hit grounder to third. Jones' named his child "Shea" in tribute to Shea Stadium, but his weekend against the Mets was so atrocious, he's now thinking twice about naming his dog "Citi".

THE BAD: David Wright still looks lost. Perhaps we can blame last night on the soggy, rainy conditions, but he's now riding a 12-game strikeout streak and has struck out 20 times during that span. And despite the game being called in the sixth, shouldn't Raul Valdes have been credited with a save in the game? After all, he was on the mound when the game technically ended. And after 19 games played so far in the season, can ESPN at least give this guy a picture on his profile?

THE UGLY: Every game has one. You know... cell phone guy. The idiot behind home plate on the cellphone waving his hands and probably saying "Hey, look. I'm on TV". Okay, first of all, being on TV isn't that great a deal. Secondly, you're not being original. And finally, you're over 15 years old - you're not being "cool". In fact, it's kind of ugly...

THE PULSE of the GAME

Francoeur's Double Puts Mets at .500 and Ahead of Dog-gone Braves

The Happy Recap: Mets 3, Braves 1

Jeff Francoeur's having a very streaky season so far, but his rbi double in the seventh inning and his throwing arm in the fifth were all the Mets and KRod needed to hold off the Braves for the third straight game.

THE GOOD: Jon Niese turned in a wild but effective 5 innings, but Manny Acosta won the game instead, his first game as a Met and first since he beat the Mets as a member of the Braves last year. And even though KRod recorded his third save of the year, it was really Jose Reyes that saved the game with a leaping backhanded nab of Brian McCann's liner to end the eighth inning with 2 runners on. A nice group effort from the Mets bullpen coupled with Jason Bay's 3 for 4 day plus Henry Blanco's first stolen base in nine years made for a nice day for Mets baseball. After a bad start, the Mets are now at .500 and have a shot at a 4-game sweep of the hated Braves with Mike Pelfrey on the hill next.

THE BAD: Other than David Wright having struck out for the 11th straight game, the Braves bad baserunning skills were on full display in the fifth inning. Troy Glaus hit a sharp liner to right with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out. The Braves Yunel Escobar, perhaps afraid of Jeff Francoeur's strong arm, failed to tag up at third, but Martin Prado (the runner at second) decided to tag to advance to third and got caught in a run-down play. He was quickly tagged out, failing to give Escobar time to score and running the Braves out of the inning. It's nice to be on the good side of bad plays every once in a while.

THE UGLY: Yesterday was "Bark in the Park" day with many fans bringing their dogs on the field before the game. Obviously, the Mets promotional department didn't think this one through as, let us just say, there were many "souvenirs" all around the ballpark.

THE PULSE of the GAME

They Say It's a Game of Inches

The Happy Recap: Mets 5, Braves 2

After a comedy of Atlanta errors, Nate McLouth's ninth-inning bid to tie the ballgame off KRod with a monster shot to right went foul by inches, and Francisco was then able to hold on to save a much needed win for Hisanori Takahashi.

THE GOOD: When you hit your first major league homerun like Ike Davis did last night, it's always nice to launch the ball 450 feet. What a blast! And how about that Hisanori Takahashi? He took over for an injured John Maine, struck out 7 in 3 innings, won his first major league game, and even singled in his first big-league at-bat! Jose Reyes hit in the 3-spot in the order and went 2 for 4 including a double and a triple, and David Wright drove in 2 big runs in the game. It's all good as they say...

THE BAD: Poor John Maine. He had his best start of the season, but had to leave the game in the fourth inning with muscle spasms in his left elbow. Jerry Manuel has indicated he may not make his next start. But other than that, we like the Mets and hate the Braves so let's concentrate on how bad Atlanta was. While our rookie phenom hit a monster dinger, Atlanta rookie Jason Heyward went 0 for 4 and struck out three times (once with the bases loaded - nice!). And although McLouth almost tied the game in the ninth as mentioned before, he went 0 for 5 with the golden sombrero.

THE UGLY: You don't see this too much from the Braves, but the bottom of the seventh turned ugly when Chipper Jones dropped Jose Reyes towering pop fly to the infield. Although the infield fly rule was invoked, Braves catcher Brian McCann ended up unnecessarily throwing the ball to first base so first baseman Eric Hinske could tag Reyes out (he was out automatically). Meanwhile, a heads-up Angel Pagan broke for home and slide in headfirst just under the tag from Chipper Jones, who had to run quickly himself to cover the unoccupied homeplate. A play like that usually happens AGAINST the Mets, so in this case, we'll take ugly...

THE PULSE of the GAME

It Had to Happen Sooner or Later

The Recap: Mets 3, Cubs 9

The Mets bullpen has been so good so far this year, but today they let down Oliver Perez (who didn't pitch that great himself either), thereby ending the Mets modest 2-game winning streak. Met fan Peter Mocello said it best at the game from the right-field stands: "Why did it have to stop raining?

THE GOOD: We're not going to say the Mets will finally win a series (there's still tomorrow's game with Johan going), but at least they can't lose this one either. Today's heavy bat went to Rod Barajas, who went Citi Yard for his 3rd dinger to go with 7 rbis on the season. Those are pretty good numbers in the catching position this early in the season. Luis Castillo also legged out a nice triple to drive in Jose Reyes in the eighth and eventually scored himself on a David Wright single. But that was it for what's considered a Met rally these days. But what's really good about today's game was that Wright actually got hit by a pitch and WASN'T injured! Maybe the tide's turning here folks. Now when are we going to get Beltran back?

THE BAD: Manny Acosta was supposed to give the team some emergency bullpen relief, but 3 runs and 2 walks in just over an inning of work is not good. Exxon Valdes didn't fare much better with his 2 hits and 1 walk in 2/3 of an inning. What's really bad is they both actually looked good compared to the performance we saw tonight from Hisanori Takahashi who imploded in the ninth by allowing 3 runs. It didn't really matter however - the way the Mets were hitting, they weren't going to come back in this game either way. Oliver Perez took his second loss of the season against no wins. And is Jeff Francoeur swinging at every pitch these days? After a great start, he's just hitting .281 and he's 0 for Colorado, St. Louis, and Chicago.

THE UGLY: At first it was funny. Now it's really getting ugly. Gary Matthews Jr. pinched hit in the game - and struck out. Like he always does. This guy is done - Omar, admit you're wrong on him and DFA ala Mike Jacobs. I mean really... I've never seen anything like this before. He's now hitting .179 and has struck out in 8 of the last 9 games he's played - and many of those games he's had just ONE at-bat. Really ugly!

THE PULSE of the GAME

He Is What We Thought He Was

The Happy Recap: Mets 4, Cubs 0

Mike Pelfrey was tremendous once again, but Jose Reyes' 4 for 5 night was the big story of the game. We knew he had it in him, and if this is a sign that Reyes is back, watch out National League!

THE GOOD: Reyes tripled, drove in 2 runs and rose his batting average about the Mendoza line for the first time this season. Mike Pelfrey's looking good too, pitching 7 innings of 3-hit ball for his 3rd win to go along with a "Pedro Martinez in his primelike" 0.86 ERA. Plus he's now gone 19 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Wow!... And although we knock on this guy quite often, Fernando Tatis smoked his first homerun of the season in the eighth inning to provide some insurance runs for the very shaky KRod.

THE BAD: KRod doesn't make anything easy, does he? Come on... who out there thought he was going to blow the lead after his second walk of the inning? And how about that middle of the Mets lineup - Wright, Bay, Francoeur, Davis going a combined 0 for 13. Where's Frank Catalanotto when you need him?

THE UGLY: Mets fans are starting to get on David Wright for his lack of perceived clutch hitting. The numbers paint a very ugly picture and the CitiField boo birds are starting to make their voices known.

THE PULSE of the GAME

We Like Ike

The Happy Recap: Mets 6, Cubs 1

The Mets put up a 5-spot in the seventh inning to put the game away against the hapless Cubbies, while Ike Davis' debut went just about as well as you can hope for.

THE GOOD: The Mets finally made a good move, calling up Ike Davis and DFA'ing the totally useless Mike Jacobs. Davis responded to the opportunity by singling in his first major league at-bat, then drove in a run in the seventh with another hit, going 2-4 on the night. While we can't consider Davis the savior for the team's early season woes, he certainly brightened up the lineup. And despite Ike's successful start, the real hitting star of the game was Angel Pagan, who homered and drove in two runs. Even Jason Bay contributed with an rbi, as did Luis Castillo - and Jon Niese provided the team with 5 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run.

THE BAD: Another day, another strikeout for the ridiculously bad Gary Matthews Jr., who couldn't even advance a Jose Reyes on a simple sacrifice. Luckily, his failure didn't hurt, due to Pagan's homerun, which was the Mets' first extra base hit since the ninth inning Friday night in St. Louis. Jose Reyes was 0 for 17 and hitting just .154 when he got hit by a pitch to reach base. It was bad, it was painful, but Reyes at least took one for the team!

THE UGLY: In honor of Jackie Robinson, I got to bowl on lane 42 last night in our Monday night bowling league. Trust me, the scores were not pretty...

THE PULSE of the GAME

Manuel's Power Hitting Cleanup Hitter Not Enough to Beat Cards

The Recap: Mets 3, Cards 5

The Mets dropped their 4th straight series when Adam Wainwright settled down after the 2nd inning to allow just 1 hit for the rest of the game. Listening to the insane drivel from Joe Morgan on Sunday night's ESPN telecast didn't help either.

THE GOOD: You'd have to search deep to find any good in this game, but perhaps Tobi Stoner's performance out of the bullpen wasn't horrific, even though he did take the loss. And at this point, if you're going to tell me the Mets would get 5 innings and 3 runs from John Maine for the rest of the season, we'll take it I'm sure. Let's not forget Angel Pagan with 2 hits and 2 rbis in the game, raising his average above .300. He's certainly no Carlos Beltran, but Mets fans are beginning to like this guy.

THE BAD: Well, just about everything was bad about this game. Jeff Francoeur looks like he's slumping. David Wright looks way overmatched against good pitching. Jose Reyes looks rusty. And of course no one can figure out why Omar picked up Gary Matthews Jr who (along with the benched Jason Bay) is striking out every game at an alarming rate. At least Bay has some power, we think.

THE UGLY: You can't get much uglier than the Mets starting lineup with Frank Catalanotto (he of the 3 homeruns total in the past 3 years) inexplicably batting cleanup. Here's what I want you to do: tomorrow, go to work and purposely screw up in your job really badly and see what happens to you. How Jerry Manuel continues to have his job is beyond us all...

THE PULSE of the GAME

It's Been A Long Day's Night - Twenty Innings is Plenty Innings

The Happy Recap: Mets 2, Cards 1 (20 innings)

Nothing comes easy for these Mets, and when we say nothing, we mean nothing - as in 0-0 for 18 innings of fingernail biting tension in almost a 7-hour marathon before someone actually scored a run in the 19th inning. But you know what they say: the 20th time's the charm!

THE GOOD: If you like pitcher's duels, you saw a great game (until the last few innings when Tony LaRussa's continual over-managing forced him into using position players to pitch). Johan was great as was the entire Mets pitching staff, except of course K-Rod, who came in the game for his first save of the year in the 19th inning and blew it. Meanwhile, he vultured the win as Mike Pelfrey earned his first career save. How about that - Pelfrey saves the game for KRod! You won't see that again (hopefully).

It was the longest scoreless game in the majors since the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos went 21 innings without a run on Aug. 23, 1989. As a result of the game, Pelrey now leads the Mets in wins AND saves. What a crazy year so far, but as the late great Bob Murphy once said in exasperation: "The Mets win the damn ballgame!"

THE BAD: Jason Bay, we expect better. O for 7 with 4 strikeouts isn't going to do it, especially when you're hitting against shortstops and leftfielders. Bad - I mean "Bay" - now has 18 strikeouts in his first 45 at bats as a Met. And while we're talking bad, Jose Reyes was 0 for 7 (who's average stands at .171, as was Jeff Francoeur (who's average dipped about 80 points in the game to .381). Angel Pagan was picked off first base, Gary Matthews Jr. extended his "strikeout in every game" streak by whiffing miserably in his only pinch hitting appearance. And Fernando Tatis was... well... Fernando Tatis (and that's never good). The entire team was 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base during the game. You could have watched 7 episodes of 24 in the same time it took for this game to end.

Oh, and by the way, if you REALLY want some bad news, Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez threw Colorado's first ever no-hitter tonight against the Atlanta Braves. With the Mets pitching rich history, how is it possible that no Met pitcher has done that yet in a Met uniform?

THE UGLY: It got a little ugly when Tony LaRussa resorted to pitching shortstop Felipe Lopez and centerfielder Joe Mather in the last three innings. In fact, Mather became the first position player to lose a game since Padres' shortstop Josh Wilson last June. But what's really ugly about the entire situation was that these guys were throwing batting practice type pitches, AND THE METS BARELY WON THE GAME!!! In fact, none of the Mets runs were even scored with hits! They were both driven in by sacrifice flys. Lopez actually pitched an entire inning without giving up a run. Henry Blanco, Mike Jacobs, Luis Castillo, and David Wright couldn't hit safely against a non-pitcher. And this is the major leagues... Meanwhile the Cardinals left the bases loaded in the 10th, 12th and 14th and stranded 22 runners, including 14 in extra innings. Was it the Mets pitching?... or was it just ugly?

THE PULSE of the GAME

WHEN WILL ANYONE IN MLB LEARN?!

This, I do not understand, and never will - no matter how many times those who eat, sleep, and live baseball explain it to me. To me, it has been proven NOT to work more times than it does: The use of the dreaded pitch count, or as some like to refer to it as ... time for the middle reliever.

As I write these words, this evening's Mets game against the Cardinals has yet to end, but as a fan, I know how it will already end. If you have followed this team, as most of us here at MetsFanClub.com have, you know that it is over - for the New York Mets that is.

Earlier in the evening before I had to get some work done, I went to ESPN to check out what the score was and saw that at the start of the 3rd Inning, our illustrious Mets were up 1-0. After finishing up work, I headed home. Listening to the radio it was still 1-0, Mets. It was then that I found myself thinking, could they actually do it, could they pull it out?

Instead of going straight home, I stopped for a cafe and to chill. Then it occured to me to check on the game and see how my team was doing. So I checked ESPN again, only this time the score was 4-1 Cardinals. At that moment, I would have bet the farm, as they say, that, due to whatever excuse the manager would give this time, that the starting pitcher would be relieved. Sure enough, I popped up ESPN's Gamecast (great feature by the way) of the game and scrolled down to see how the game progressed, knowing beforehand that I would have won the farm... and then some.

Ollie Perez started the game and pitched as follows:

1st inning faces 4 batters
2nd inning faces 4 batters
3rd inning faces 3 batters
4th inning faces 3 batters
5th inning faces 4 batters
6th inning faces 3 batters

Now comes the top of the 7th. Our smart and all-knowing nanager lets Ollie bat who strikes out looking. Anyone with half a brain, or even those who know nothing about the game would think that Perez would be coming back in the 7th. Manuel brought him back in, but at 97 pitches what does he do? He pulls Perez and puts in Nieve. If you had even the smallest thought of relieving Perez, why have him bat in the 6th? Is anyone going to ask Jerry "By The" Manuel that? Doubt it! ... Doubt it severely.

So, in came Nieve, and he lasted only 5 batters and was replaced by Valdes. And what does Valdes then do? He gives up a homer to the next batter, Lopez.

I heard on one of the sports talk stations today (don't remember which one since I jump around station a lot) Nolan Ryan. It was great to hear that the Texas Rangers are about the only team that does not work with a pitch count and lets their pitchers at least attempt to go the distance. Can't help but think that if Ollie were allowed to pitch deeper into the game, what the end result would have been.

All that comes to mind is when your starter is on a roll, why not let him go as far as he can? Especially in a 1 run game against a most hated foe ... when will they learn? When will this manager learn?

Johan Who? Is There a New Sheriff in Town?

The Happy Recap: Mets 5, Rockies 0

It was Jackie Robinson day, and since the Mets have no one on the team named Robinson, Mike "Robinson" Pelfrey decided to come up big with a game the Mets (according to manager Jerry "Robinson" Manuel) 'had to have'.

THE GOOD: Perhaps the Mets have found their number 2 (or better) starting pitcher with the performance Mike "Robinson" Pelfrey gave the team for his second victory of the season. Pelf went 7 strong innings of 5-hit ball, striking out 6 without walking a batter. Those are Johan numbers - and let's hope that comparison stands because that would mean the Mets would have quite the 1-2 punch. Plus he was the hitting star of the game as well with an RBI single and scored a run as well. After the game, Pelfrey gave all the credit to Henry "Robinson" Blanco for calling the game, certainly not for Blanco's 0-4 batting however.

Fun fact to know and tell: The rockies were the only team not to have been shut out at all last season - Watch out for the Mets, National League...

THE BAD: No one likes to harp on anything bad after a victory like this, but in the third inning, the Mets almost made every out on the basepaths due to lack of concentration (which we see all the time... I blame the manager). For whatever reason, when Luis "Robinson" Castillo hit a grounder to third, Mike "Robinson" Pelfrey raced for home and would have been a dead duck had it not been for a Colorado error. Then Castillo was tagged out going for second on an aborted double steal, followed by Jose "Robinson" Reyes being thrown out trying to steal third with David "Robinson" Wright at the plate. Good thing you only get 3 outs!

THE UGLY: You couldn't find a Met fan who didn't think this team would do any better on their current 6 game roadtrip against Colorado and St. Louis than 1 win, 5 losses. Now that they have that victory thanks to Pelf, even if the team gets swept in St. Louis, they will have played to expectations. When fans are happy when you actually win just 1 game on a roadtrip, that's UGLY!

THE PULSE of the GAME

Mets to Rockies: That's Not Niese!

The Recap: Mets 5, Rockies 6

Chris Ianetta's walk-off home run in the 10th inning against Jenrry Mejia spoiled the Mets 8th and 9th inning comeback (although at one point, the Mets did have a 3-1 lead).

THE GOOD: Did we mention the Mets once had a 3-1 lead in this game? Besides that, David Wright and Jeff Francoeur (who has hit safely in all eight games this season) both went yard in the game, and as mentioned, the Mets came back from being down by 2 runs by scoring late in the game. Okay, so the tying run resulted from a botched error play by Colorado - the Mets still scored the run, albeit not from anything closely resembling a rally. Let's just say the team provided some excitement for those die-hard Met fans actually watching the game.

THE BAD: Jon Niese got battered around pretty nicely, allowing five runs and nine hits in just five innings. He also allowed a home run to Ryan Spilborghs that I wonder if it landed yet. Jenrry Mejia took the loss (which is okay... it happens), but he sure looked "deer in the headlights" knowing a walk-off was imminent. Finally, today's loss insures the Mets will once again lose a series to an opponent, regardless of whether they win tomorrow (ha ha ha) or not.

THE UGLY: Jose Reyes was hitless in five at-bats. He’s now 4 for 18 since returning from the cozy disabled list. Alex Cora was seen in the dugout giving him batting advice. Oh well... I guess that's better than any advice Howard Johnson can impart, but either way, that's ugly!

THE PULSE of the GAME

Dr. Zachary Smith: "Oh, the Pain"!

The Recap: Mets 3, Rockies, 11

Seth Smith homered and drove in three, while Greg Smith turned in seven quality innings on the mound for the Rockies, but we're reminded of Dr. Zachary Smith from the old TV show "Lost in Space" who would wail "Oh, the pain" when faced with unfortunate outcomes. Mets fans moaned "Oh, the Maine" after Colorado's rocking of Mets starter John Maine.

THE GOOD: According to the Nielsen ratings system, Mets fans collectively set a record last night for the most simultaneous channel changes after Brad Hawpe's 2nd inning double scored two quick Colorado runs. It seems 100% of Met fans watching the game switched channels at the exact same time, never to return to the game again, setting the all-time record. "It was a west coast game, I was tired, and I knew the Mets weren't going to come back from that big a deficit", said loyal Mets fan Stefan Gill. "I just wasn't aware that I was part of a historic and collective fan effort, but I will cherish being part of the record forever", he continued.

THE BAD: We've said it once and we'll say it again: John Maine is done... finished... caput... over... put a fork in him. And once again, it's not his fault. He's a good guy, he tries, but he'll never get over his injuries and he'll never throw again with velocity and movement. He just won't. Let's recognize this, part ways, and get someone else in there who won't embarrass himself and the team any longer. Otherwise, it will continue to get ugly.

THE UGLY: Besides the meaningless show of runs (down 8-0 late, the Mets started scoring on Wright's completely meaningless homerun and Jason Bay's completely meaningless RBI single (and by the way, 7 games into the season in the cleanup spot and that was his FIRST rbi of the year), you know it's ugly when your manager comes up with this dozy: "It's a struggle when you get down that many runs that early"

THE PULSE of the GAME

Livan Exacts Revenge on "Unprepared" Mets

The Recap: Mets 2, Nats 5 - Last Place

I guess we totally forgot how good Livan Hernandez really is. I believe our last memories of him were his consistent 7 to 8 run losing efforts he gave the Mets last year.

THE GOOD: If you have to look for good in today's game, I guess you have to point to the continuing excellence of the Mets bullpen, which hasn’t allowed a run in 12 2/3 innings. We also saw Mike Jacobs break a 1 for 13 slump with his first homerun of the year, and despite it being completely meaningless, it raised his batting stats to 2 for 15 on the season. Hurry back, Daniel Murphy!

THE BAD: Despite a sub-par performance from Johan Santana, can we say enough bad things about Gary Matthews, Jr., who batted four times with two outs and runners in scoring position, and went 0 for 4? It's only been 6 games, but seriously: this guy's been BAD - no wonder the Angels, Rangers, San Diego, Baltimore, Toronto, and the White Sox couldn't wait to get rid of him. (But our GM wanted him for some reason) And it wasn't just him - the team went a combined 1-9 in those situations as well. Where's the timely hits on this team?!?! And by the way, why do the Mets have a guy who used to cork his bat when he was playing as the hitting coach?

THE UGLY: K-Rod overacting after hitting Willie Harris and causing a confrontation in the ninth is certainly ugly. But after a game in which the Mets appeared completely out-hustled by the powerhouse team that is the Nats, (and against a washed-up, 60 year pitcher to boot), in his post-game press conference, Jerry Manuel told the media the Mets were "unprepared" to play this game. How can that be after just 6 games? Doesn't being "prepared" fall on the manager? How many more times do we have to see this bozo in the dugout? It looks like it's going to be 2009 all over again, and that... is... going to be... ugly!

THE PULSE of the GAME

Jose's Back - But So Is the Rest of the Team

The Recap: Mets 3, Washington 4

The Mets lacked timely hitting and couldn't overcome Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Perez' usual unpredictable outing. Heard from the 3rd base box seats: "It's a good thing Johan's pitching tomorrow... these Nationals are THAT good!"

THE GOOD: No one can spell or pronounce any of their names, but you have to like the Mets bullpen so far. They've all been outstanding. It was also nice seeing Jose Reyes out there, who tried to start a ninth-inning rally with his first hit of the season, but also made a error in the field as well. Doesn't matter... Jose, it's nice to have you back - just STAY back!

THE BAD: Like most Mets fans, we at MetsFanClub.com really want to see Oliver Perez do well. But 5.2 innings of work with 4 earned runs and 4 walks is pretty bad - especially considering the competition. (although I bet Washington's John Lannan and the whole Nat team for that matter is probably saying the same thing about the Mets).

THE UGLY: The Mets loaded the bases in the third inning, only to see Jeff Francoeur nubbing a pitch into the dirt in front of the plate, where catcher Ivan Rodriguez stepped on the plate and fired to first for a rarely (if ever) seen double play. And of course Gary Matthews grounded out to end the "rally". Based-loaded, no one out, no one scores... how many times have we seen that with this team just this year alone?!? Only the Mets...

THE PULSE of the GAME

Mets Victory a 4-Gone Conclusion

The Happy Recap: Mets 8, Nats 2

The Mets hit 4 homeruns in the same game for the first time at CitiField, two each by Jeff Francoeur and Rod Barajas

THE GOOD: Twelve hits... 8 runs... plenty of good to spread around. Mike Pelfrey pitched well, the bullpen was solid once again, the defense was tight, and even Frank Catalanotto got an at-bat. So what if it was against the lowly Nationals, a win's a win - especially for this team.

THE BAD: Even though Pelfrey got the win, he sure got batted around. He stuck out his pitching hand to snag a hard comebacker which forced a visit by the trainer. The very next inning, he was nicked on his right forearm while trying to bunt. That's all we need - an injury to the number 3 starter! Stay healthy, Mike... stay healthy!

THE UGLY: Somewhere, Timo Perez is smiling. David Wright thought he smoked the Mets 5th homerun of the game and took a leisurely trot to first before putting on the speed for a double. C'mon David - you of all people know being a Met means never taking anything for granted!

THE PULSE of the GAME

Last Place Didn't Take Long, Did It?

The Recap: Mets 1, Florida 3 - Last Place

Here it is just three games into the season and the Mets are already tied for last place with those pesky Washington Nationals

THE GOOD: Jon Niese provided the team with what's called in baseball a "quality start", giving up 3 runs in 6 innings of work for a season opening 4.50 era. The Mets bullpen looked good too, allowing just 1 hit over the last three innings of the game. Also, it looks like the team may finally get Jose Reyes back as they open a weekend series against Washington. (unless he slips in the shower and falls or trips walking up the stairs or whatever)

THE BAD: Wasn't it just a few days ago we mentioned the return of the Mets rally? Once again, it's no where to be found - just like clutch hits. Wright, Tatis, Tejeda, Barajas, Castillo, and Bay went a combined 3-22. And it's not like they were facing Cy Young award winners either. You may want to chalk it up to ironing out the kinks at the start of the season - but we've seen this lack of offense many times before.

THE UGLY: The Mets are 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position in their last two games. And watching Jerry Manuel argue with umpires - UGLY!

THE PULSE of the GAME

Mets Let Fish Off the Hook

The Recap: Mets 6, Marlins 7 (10 innings) The Mets lost it... then they had it... then they blew it.

THE GOOD: Unlike last year's team, which seemed to never come back from anything, these Mets showed some fight, coming back from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game with 3 big runs in the bottom of the eighth. Perhaps there's a new psyche on this team? And I like how their runs were manufactured - the Mets rally is back!

THE BAD: Let's see... how do we put this? John Maine went 5 innings and gave up 4 runs. Folks, that's the best we're going to get from this guy all year. We saw John Maine at his best last night. I'm sorry to say it, and it's not Maine's fault, but injuries take a toll, and I'm afraid as a result, we're never going to see the John Maine that we thought we would 2 years ago. He's a good guy and all, but if Maine's our #2 starter... that's bad. I hope he proves me wrong, but I don't think so.

THE UGLY: Florida pitchers walked 9 batters and their bullpen was pathetic to say the least. As Keith Hernandez said: "I don't think I can remember this bad of a bullpen performance since... well... uh... never". And they still won the game. Talk about letting the fish off the hook!

THE PULSE of the GAME

Santana Starts the Year Off Wright

The Happy Recap: Mets 7, Marlins 1 - First Place!

THE GOOD: Let's cherish being in first place for as long as possible. It probably won't last long. But today on a beautiful New York day, Johan Santana started the season off great by retiring the first seven batters he faced (shame on you if you noticed that during the 8th hitter and caused Gabi Sanchez to break the no-hitter immediately afterwards!) and David Wright hit an opposite field 2 run homerun in his first at-bat of the year to lead the Mets. Wright is now on pace to hit 162 home runs this year, a far cry from his 2009 total of 10.

THE BAD: Other than Alex Cora and Mike Jacob's combined 0 for 8 hitting, and the Mets scoring ZERO runs in the with bases loaded no-out in the 4th, the Florida defense in the bottom of the sixth was nothing short of atrocious. Hard to believe only 1 of those runs were unearned!

THE UGLY: Whether you're for health care reform or not, THIS is ugly! And if you think that's bad, check out the worst first pitches of all time... And one more pitch that's truly Amazin'!

THE PULSE of the GAME