Padres Honor Pearl Harbor Veterans, Then Bomb Takahashi

The Recap: Padres 18, Mets 6

Yes, that is a "1" in front of the "8" in the Padres score, as they set a PETCO record last night for most runs scored in a single game against a woeful Mets bullpen consisting of Raul Valdez, Ryota Igarashi , and (gasp!) Oliver Perez, along with a pretty bad starting performance by Takman, who was mercifully bounced after just 4 innings of work.

THE GOOD: Despite the shellacking, it's hard to hate the Padres organization. Not only are they the "United States Armed Forces" team, but last night on Memorial Day was Military Night and they did it up in such a nice way, you have to give them a ton of credit. In fact, the team initiated a promotion a few days ago asking season ticket holders to donate their tickets to the game to give to veterans of Pearl Harbor and other wars - and the response was so great, they actually had season ticket holders on the waiting list! I wonder how that would have played out in New York.

And when the Padres put on those army fatigue uniforms, for some reason it really works, unlike the contrived throwback uniforms you see other teams pathetically wear on guilt-ridden occasions, like last week's Bears vs. Cubans game you saw at Milwaukee.

As for the good part for the Mets, hey, they did score 6 runs! And Gary Matthews Jr. did get a hit!

THE BAD: The following players appeared in the game for the Mets: Oliver Perez, Gary Matthews Jr., and Fernando Tatis. You don't need a degree in engineering to predict the outcome when that happens.

It's hard to get on Takman for his miserable outing, since he's been so inexplicably good for the Mets thus far. But what's really concerning is the brutal outings "Why, I oughta!" Igar is turning in since "coming back" from his injury. Pre-injury, Ryota Igarashi was unhittable. Post-injury, the Mets medical staff declared him "fine" to pitch. Well... maybe not, as he's giving up 11 runs already in just 3 combined innings of work. Check out last night's line on him: 6 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks in a third of an inning (and watching the game, it seemed worse than that!)

MetsFanClub.com, without any medical training whatsoever yet right on just about every medical issue facing this team so far in the past 2 years, will now issue the exact same diagnosis we did for John Maine - it's hard to come back from the type of injury WhyIOughta has sustained. He may never be the same pitcher again.

Also concerning is the brutal beating Raul Valdes took (4 runs, 3 walks, 2 hits, without retiring a single batter) and of course, the usual beating any team gives to Oliver Perez when he's on the mound.

THE UGLY: The Mets lost for the third time in four games. They have lost 13 of 17 road games in May. Jerry Manuel is still the manager and Omar Minaya is still having drinks at his beachfront oasis. The Oliver Perez situation is getting beyond disastrous. It's June 1st and we're about 33% into the season with the Mets in last place. I could go on and on...

Go Ahead - I Dare You to Fire Me!

The Happy Recap: Mets 10, Brewers 4

Jerry Manuel's really living the life, isn't he? No matter how many stupid moves the man makes (such as resting a 23-year old Ike Davis after he hits a home run in the previous game, and his continued use of such stalwarts as Fernando Tatis - batting cleanup to boot! - and the ever continuing strikeout machine that is Gary Matthews Jr.), the Mets somehow are winning. It's almost as if he's making bonehead moves on purpose, sneering at us all and saying "Go ahead. Fire me. I dare you!". Seriously, is there any other explanation? He can't be THAT stupid, can he?

THE GOOD: R.A. Dickey was shaky at best, but he somehow got the job done as well, giving the Mets 7-innings of knuckleball dancing, picking up his 2nd win of the year, mainly due to a balanced hitting attack highlighted by 4-for-5 Jeff Francoeur, a two-run dinger by Angel Pagan, a clutch bases-loaded 2-run single from Luis Castillo, 3-for-4 hitting by Henry Blanco (who threw out another potential base-stealer), and two hits apiece by David Wright and Jose Reyes. Dickey even drove in a run himself.

No one was happy to see Dickey leave the game when Manuel turned it over to the bullpen in the eighth for absolutely no reason, but despite a one-batter appearance by Pedro Feliciano, Elmer Dessens and KRod finished the game out nicely, the latter pitching a 1-2-3 ninth with 2 strikeouts.

THE BAD: The Mets battered the Brewers horrific bullpen, but the real bad part of this game was the original lineup card, which had Fernando Tatis in the game for Ike Davis, and batting cleanup in the process. Why would you possibly start Tatis over Davis is a game you have to win to avoid being swept on the road? And why on Earth would you bat him in the four-spot. Tatis has never met a doubleplay he didn't like. I don't want to hear about this lefty-righty crap - we know what Tatis can do. And there's no reason whatsoever to "rest" a 23-year old in May after he banged out a big homerun just the previous game. NONE!

Not surprisingly, when Davis finally did enter the game (which was inevitable), he went 0-for-3. Manuel = young player momentum killer (just ask Daniel Murphy).

THE UGLY: Things are getting pretty ugly with Oliver Perez, who won't accept a Trachsel-like demotion to the minor leagues to work things out and would prefer to embarrass himself and his teammates just sitting around and laughing at Omar Minaya and all us Mets fans about his $36 million dollar contract. Boo me all you want, he's saying. How much money do you make? Who's laughing at who?

Jerry Manuel says there's no role for him on this team besides mopup duty, which makes him the most expensive useless garbage the Mets have ever seen. Somewhere, Bobby Bonilla and Mo Vaughn are smiling at their respective all-you-can-eat buffets.

Mets on Wrong End of Shutout

The Recap: Mets 0, Brewers 2

The Brewers snapped the Mets' longest shutout streak in nearly 41 years with a 2-run homerun by Corey Hart off Mets loser Ryota Igarashi in the bottom of the ninth inning , ending the Mets defensive shutout streak at 35 innings, and extending their current offensive shutout string to 10.

THE GOOD: Johan Santana pitched a masterful eight innings, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 5. Johan's record stayed at 4-2, but considering the run support this team affords him, he really should be in the 7-1 range - you know... like The Sheriff. (We can't excuse his pitiful Sunday night game against the Phillies however). The good for this game is that it continues the feel-good attitude that every time a Mets starter takes the mound, you have a chance to win the game. (except when your manager over-manages of course - more on that later)

THE BAD: Despite being shutout, you can't say the Mets didn't have their chances. Angel Pagan struck out looking with two-on, two-out in the ninth. Rod Barajas singled in the eighth, but went nowhere when Jeff Francoeur grounded out into a double-play. Then there was Jose Reyes striking out to end an inning with Santana of all people on second after he stroked a double. But the worst was when the Mets had the bases loaded with no outs and guess what? Didn't score! In a game where all you need is just one stinking run, you can't allow that to happen. (bases loaded, no outs, no runs - where have we seen this before?)

THE UGLY: When you enter a game with a streak of 27 consecutive shutout innings AND you have Johan on the mound AND you're playing the totally underachieving Milwaukee Brewers (who have the worst home record in the majors), you have to think you'll at least win the game, must less be on the wrong side of the shutout. We've said it over and over again: where's the support for Johan when he pitches well?

But more importantly, can someone tell me why Pedro Feliciano can only pitch to one hitter in the ninth inning after actually retiring the batter? How's that righty-lefty automatic by the book, mindless strategy working out for ya, Mr. Manuel when everything's going fine and you make changes anyway causing you to lose the game because of it?!?!?!

These Kind of Things Happen Every 40 or So Years

The Happy Recap: Mets 3, Phillies 0

Not only are the Mets zero-ing in on first place, but yesterdays great outing by The Sheriff, Mike Pelfrey, helped the Mets complete a 3-game SHUTOUT sweep of the first place Phillies. The last time the Mets did that was also against the Phillies back in 1969 - and it was only the third time in Major League history that a team has done that to a first-place team ever.

THE GOOD: This game was all about Mike Pelfrey. The Sheriff went seven innings (should've been more), allowed just 3 hits, struck out 5 and raised his record to 7-1, once again solidifying his standing as the Mets "ace" of the staff. He also contributed a single at the plate.

Angel Pagan has another 2-hit game and is approaching a Beltran-like .300 batting average. He's also stealing bases at a Beltran-like pace as well, swiping his 8th of the year. Good thing he's not stealing off Mets catcher Henry Blanco (did the Phillies get the memo - this guy throws runners out!)

Jose Reyes drove in 2 runs and had another great night at the plate, going 3-for-4 while scoring a run in the process. He'll be at .300 in no time it looks like. And speaking of which, Jason Bay's almost there himself, finishing the game at .297. That's amazing considering how bad he's been most of the time. It just goes to show what a little momentum can do.

THE BAD: The NL Champions got swept in the series without scoring a single run. That's bad enough, but it wasn't even the first time it happened to them. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the Mets did it to them in 1969 and believe it or not, Philly was blanked three times in a row back in 1983 too. Sure the Mets have a history of losing, but wow... that's pretty bad. When the Mets swept them in 1969, they had names like Seaver, Koosman, and Gentry (with Nolan Ryan pitching as well). Think of who did it this time: Pelfrey, Takman, and R.A. Dickey.

THE UGLY: According to Omar Minaya, Carlos Beltran probably won't rejoin the Mets until after the All-Star break. While that's a far cry from the 3 weeks to start the season we were told he was going to miss, I can't say that I'm surprised at the "news".... Another great diagnosis from the Mets medical staff

Takman Adds Blankman to Growing List of Nicknames

The Happy Recap: Mets 5, Phillies 0

Hisanori Takahashi, also known as HTak, Hi-Tak, Hisaner, The Hisanator, Hashy, Takometer, rihi, and of course Takman, pitched six scoreless innings as the Mets shut out the Phillies for the second straight game, raising their record above .500 and eyeing first from their current last-place standing.

THE GOOD: Takman's had two starts so far this year, both against last year's World Series opponents - and he hasn't let up a single run against the two of them. That's remarkable considering he's been the Mets replacement in the rotation for Oliver Perez, whose nicknames can't be printed here. Blankman went 6 innings, allowed no runs and only five hits, struck out six, walked none, lowered his ERA to 2.13 and raised his record to 4-1.

The hitting stars of the game included Rod Barajas, who hit a two-run double and sacrifice fly to drive in 3 runs and lead-off hitter Jose Reyes, who had his fourth straight multiple-hit game including his first home run in who knows how long. Jose batting third? What idiot thought of that!? When you start hearing Jose Jose Jose chants, you know the Mets are going good!

Despite technically being in last place, the Mets are just 3 games off the lead in the NL East as a result of this victory.

THE BAD: The Phillies were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since August 2008, and they were blanked for the third time in four games. These defending NL champs are hitting .199 (51 for 256) in their last eight games and have been outscored 37-15. Even by Met standards, that's pretty bad. Thank you, Mr. Schedule maker, for allowing the Mets to face them at this moment in the season.

THE UGLY: While Takman continues to lead the league in cool nick-names, this "Frenchy" thing with Francoeur has to go. "Frenchy"? Just because his last name sounds French? I know French people who don't want to be reminded that they're French. A grown man being called Frenchy?... what's next, Chipper?

Can a Met No-Hitter be Far Behind?

The Happy Recap: Mets 8, Phillies 0

35-Year old R.A. Dickey became the first Met knuckleball pitcher to ever win a meaningful game in a NY Met uniform, baffling Philly hitters for 6 innings with the help of a Mets offense where just about everyone in the lineup contributed something. Can a Met no-hitter be far behind?

THE GOOD: We have just 2 words for tonight's game: R.A. Dickey. Okay, well maybe that's three words, who knows? Dickey won as big a game the 46th game of the season could be for his first win as a Met, with Raul Valdes picking up a big "save" in the process (more on that later). Let's see... R.A. Dickey or Oliver Perez in the starting rotation... Dickey or Perez... hmmmm... tough decision there.

Jose Reyes was superb going 3-for-5 with a triple, an rbi, and 2 stolen bases. He's really showing signs of breaking out of his season long (2 month) slump, which surprisingly enough is about the exact time-frame of spring training, which he missed due to his thyroid condition. Maybe Jose's right on track now for a monster rest-of-the-season after getting his 1,000 career hit in the game.

Jeff Francoeur and Jason Bay both drove in 2 runs in the game, while Luis Castillo, Angel Pagan, David Wright, and Rod Barajas all had hits in the game as well. Bay even stole a base! The win put the Mets back at .500 and although they remain in last place, they're also only 4 games out of first! What a strange roller-coaster year this team is having so far.

THE BAD: When was the last time you watched a major league baseball game where both starters combined never threw a pitch faster than 85 mph? There's a reason why there's only two knuckleball pitchers left in baseball: the knuckleball doesn't work! Sure, we'll take the win, but think about this truism: there's never been a knuckleball pitcher that's ever won a really big game in the history of baseball. (or at least in the modern era which everyone knows started after the Mets inception in 1962). There's been a lot to lose big games (think Tim Wakefield for Boston against the Yankees - who could ever forget that one?), but let's face it: major league hitters NOT on the Phillies will knock you to tomorrow (to borrow a phrase from Rocky) hitting that junk. Shouldn't the score of tonight's game have been more like 14-10 or something?

THE UGLY: Raul Valdes came into the game and performed well in late inning mop-up duty, but does he really deserve a save? So he went the required 3 innings - a save? Really? In an 8-0 game where the Phillies were just going through the motions trying to get this game over with? Next time you hear someone talk about how ridiculous and meaningless the "save" stat is, think of this game. Ninth inning... Mets up 8-0... and the guy gets a save. That's just ugly!

Un-BAY-lieveable! The Mets Tried to Lose, But Couldn't

The Happy Recap: Mets 6, Yankmees 4

With NY bragging rights on the line, Jason Bay FINALLY showed some muscle by banging out 2 home runs off CC Sabathia and even better: with runners on the corners in the ninth inning, KRod secured the win by striking out a clueless looking A-Roid to the Citi faithful's delight.

THE GOOD: Will this be the start of a rejuvenated Jason Bay? We hope so. Will this be the start of a rejuvenated Johan Santana? We hope so even more. Santana was awesome, going 7 2/3rds innings allowing just one run, striking out five, and raising his record to 4-2. Who says Johan doesn't like the spotlight of a Sunday night game!? And in typical Frankie Rod fashion, he somehow saved the game, but it wasn't pretty. Mission accomplished however, so as they say in James Bond land "they live to die another day".

Will this be the start of a rejuvenated Jose Reyes? Reyes went 2 for 5 and looked nothing like the guy who's hitting a horrendous .222 on the season. Ike Davis was solid again and David Wright had another RBI game (but did K twice however).

THE BAD: Leave it to the Mets to turn a 6-1 lead into a nail-biter."I've got a bad feeling about this", said just about every Met fan watching the game when Ryota Igarashi entered the game for what was presumably ninth inning mop-up duty. Igar proceeded to allow 3 runs and allow the Yankees to get back in the game, and should have been a lot more if not for KRod's escape antics. Once again we ask: why do we have to use 4 pitchers in a game when Santana's breezing right by? I'm reminded of a recent quote by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan:

"there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that a starting pitcher can't go nine innings. In fact, with today's conditioning, starters should go further into games than when we pitched years ago".

Finally! Someone not buying into this ridiculous "each pitcher owns an inning" idea, which is the cause of many a "sure win" turning into excruciating loses. Once again, "by the book" Manuel tried hard to lose this game, but KRod just wouldn't let him.

And could this game be the start of a rejuvenated Jeff Francoeur? 0-for-3, strikeout, now hitting a miserable .211... sadly, the answer is no.

THE UGLY: Met fans had high hopes of getting swept by the Yankees this weekend so necessary housecleaning would begin. Instead of the subway series being the "end of the line" for Manuel and Omar Minaya, this win just postpones the inevitable. It's like when you keep putting something off, and putting it off, until finally you have to act and say to yourself, "I really should have taken care of that way earlier" when the damage becomes irreversible. As of this morning, we're at that exact stage with the Mets. This team desperately needs Manual to go - one step forward with the Yankee series win, two steps back with the same management.

Manuel to KRod: Gimme Five!

The Happy Recap: Mets 5, Yankmees 3

The Mets had a precarious lead in the eighth when Jerry Manuel summoned KRod for a 5-out save. I guess you can say he earned his keep with his 7th save of the year, while helping the Mets to avoid the embarrassment of a possible sweep at home at the hands of their hated arch-rivals.

THE GOOD: Besides KRod's big save, there's a lot of good to pass around from this game. Jason Bay went an amazing 4-for-4 and scored three runs. David Wright shook off a horrible game ending at-bat from the previous game by just trying to hit the ball up the middle, resulting in two clean hits that drove in 2 runs. "In a slump? Try hitting the ball up the middle". That's basic batting advice that you learn in little league. I wonder who told this to Wright, as I'm positive it didn't come from the Mets hitting coach.

Jose Reyes had two hits and Angel Pagan is proving our point over and over again that he's the best overall hitter on this team by going 3-for-4 with 2 big rbis and solid outfield play as well. Even Alex Cora pinched hit a single in the game!

But what's really good about this game is it showed the continual emergence of "The Sheriff", Mike Pelfrey, as the Mets number one pitcher. Pelf (6-1) pitched six strong innings and then was mysteriously removed from the game, giving way to the bullpen. I don't care what the pitchcount is, a bad Pelfrey is better than a good anyone-in-the-bullpen. Let's stop this pitchcount nonsense please!!!! It only serves to allow the other team to get back into the game.

THE BAD: And that brings us to the Feliciano-Nieves show. Missed it? Don't worry - you'll see it every game. Pedro gave up 2 quick runs and Fernando wasn't any better, setting the stage for KRod's escape routine. The Mets had a nice lead, their number 1 pitcher on the mound pitching well (sorry Johan... you'll have to start showing us something to regain #1 status after scarring everyone with your last outing featuring the 80 mpg fastball), and even then Met fans have to squeek by because of the continued bullpen misuse from manager Jerry Manuel.

And worse news yet: I think this win may have saved Manuel's job (for now at least - he'll be fired next month after the real damage is done to the season).

THE UGLY: It's sad when people get old and just "lose it". It happened with Ralph Kiner who's now semi-retired. It happened a long time ago with Dodger announcer Vin Scully, who at this moment, is perhaps the worst announcer in the game. Poor Dodger fans - Scully still calls the game with himself only in the booth... trust me that's torture. Now it's happening with one of the all-time greats in Tim McCarver. McCarver, once insightful and interesting, is now resorting to inane babble about ridiculous topics such as this doozy: "I don't think pitchers should ever have to bat in baseball. It's just too dangerous." after Yankees starter Javier Vazquez hurt himself bunting in the previous game. He hurt himself bunting - now that's ugly!

30 RBI? How is that possible? "Deer In Headlights" Batting Strategy Not Paying Off

The Recap: Yankees 2, Mets 1

Once again, in a clutch at-bat situation, David Wright came up small, grounding out meekly to second with the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose the game. Much like the Loch Ness Monster, we've all heard stories of big hits from Wright, but haven't seen them at all this year while his strikeouts are being amassed at an alarming rate. Somehow however, Wright's stats shows him to have 30 rbi on the season so far that when projected on a yearly basis would look quite impressive - must all be before the late innings against the Pirates and Cubs when the runs don't matter.

THE GOOD: This was actually an exciting game. In a pitching duel like tonight, you have to give credit to the starting pitchers - Takman was brilliant once again, giving the Mets a much-needed solid outing after the "Maine" bizarre incident of the previous game and the "Ollie" incidents during the entire year so far. (Perez even made an appearance in relief in the game, so you know the Mets lost - AND he only walked one batter in his 1/3 of an inning of work). It was Takman's first start of his career and by the looks of things, it won't be his last.

And as every Met fan knows, if it takes an embarrassing sweep at the hands of a hated rival to clean house (manager, GM, medical staff, coaches, scouts, grounds crew, stadium vendors, parking attendants, etc.), I'm all for it. Calling Mikhail Prokhorov... please help.

THE BAD: Welcome back Elmer Dessens. On the team for less than 24 hours, he immediately entered the game in Takman's relief, blew it, and took the loss. It wasn't entirely his fault though, Remember last year, when our second baseman dropped a sure out popup and mysteriously threw to second as the Yankees won the game? This time the Met second baseman caught the ball and mysteriously threw to centerfield hoping to start a sure-fire double play, helping the Yankees win the game. Too bad for Alex Cora, because he was one of the few Mets that actually got on base against Yankee pitching.

But here's what's really bad: you can make an excellent case right now that Angel Pagan is the best all-around hitter on this team. I mean really, man on third, one out, late inning, down by one - who do you want at the plate?

Certainly not Jose Reyes, who looks over-matched and completely intimidated each time he steps up to the plate.

Just as Mike Piazza was never the same after getting drilled in the face by Roger Clemens, David Wright hasn't been the same player since Matt Cain nailed him in similar fashion. Wright looks scared, especially with that "deer in the headlights" look he flashed while stepping into the batter's box against the mighty Mariano tonight. I'm shocked he even hit the ball, quite frankly.

You can't put Jason Bay in that situation since he's horrific in the clutch as well. Bay doesn't look scared at the plate however, he just looks disinterested. Either way, you get the same result. And by the way, somehow Jay Ray Bay has 16 rbi this year and he's hitting fourth most of the time. Where did those rbi come from? How is that possible, part 2?

Francoeur? You're kidding me right?

Luis Castillo once batted over 600 times in a season and accumulated just 39 rbi for the entire year with an offensive stacked order, so you know you don't want him hitting in the clutch.

Fernando Tatis? Not unless you want a double play grounder.

The catchers? Way too many strikeouts.

Ike Davis? Maybe, but he's way too young for a sample-size on what the kid can do.

Nope - Angel Pagan is your best hitter, and that's pretty bad.

And speaking of Davis, while the "veterans" Reyes, Cora, and Wright stepped up to the plate scared beyond belief of facing a Mariano cutter, Ike Davis - in his first at-bat against his greatness - calmly stroked a ball into the gap to account for the Mets only run and rbi. I like this kid... he looks like a gamer.

And speaking of Castillo: he was scratched from the starting lineup today due to pain in his left foot. You run with your feet, right? So what does Jerry ManGenius do after Ike Davis doubled in a run in the ninth? HE PINCH RUNS CASTILLO FOR DAVIS! He pinch runs him!... as in we need speed, let's put the guy who we scratched from the lineup with the bad leg into the game to hopefully score the tying run!?! What, Steven Hawking wasn't available? It didn't matter of course, but if the Mets did tie the game, I wonder who was going to play first for the rest of the game?

THE UGLY: Today the Mets honored the 2000 World Series team at the ballpark, which was a real nice idea. It was great seeing Piazza, Benny Agbayani, Rick Reed, and the rest of that improbable World Series team (who managed that team, by the way? And wasn't that guy fired by the all-knowing ESPN analyst and baseball guru Steve Phillips?)

But seriously, did the Mets have to pick the Yankees as the opponent on the day they honor the 2000 team? Didn't the Yankees beat the Mets in that World Series (even if they did cheat with all their players on steroids and all - but that's another story)? Why not honor the team in front of a team you beat instead? How about the Cardinals? Or the Giants?

Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera, Posada - all current Yankees who beat up on the Mets soundly watching the Mets honor their 2000 team that lost to them! Can the Mets do anything right?

Inside-the-Park HR? Triple Play? Still Not Enough!

The Recap: Nats 5, Mets 3

Angel Pagan hit an inside-the-park home run AND started a triple play (it was the first time in 55 years both feats occurred in the same game and the Mets first triple play since 2002), but it wasn't enough for the Mets, as they lost another game they should have won and have now dropped 9 of their last 11 games.

THE GOOD: NY Jet Morgan tried for the spectacular catch, and couldn't get it done, creating the impetus for Angel Pagan's inside-the-parker. But besides Pagan, you have to hand it to knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey, who made his debut in a Mets uniform in the game and threw a solid 6 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 2. Major League Baseball calls that a "quality start", and since the Mets have just 2 real pitchers in their starting rotation, we're calling his performance yesterday an unexpected bonus.

More good: after splitting a 2-game series in Atlanta by identical 3-2 scores, there's talk that house-cleaning may happen (Manuel, Omar, both gone?) after the Mets get swept by the Yankees this weekend! We can only hope...

THE BAD: The top four hitters in the Mets lineup combined to go 1-for-15 in the game. Is Livan Hernandez rejuvenated, or are the Mets just a team of bad hitters? What does that say for HoJo as batting coach?

And we bring up the point over and over again, but no one listens: there's no reason to make pitching changes when pitchers are pitching well, REGARDLESS OF THE PITCH COUNT!!! We saw it again in this game when Manuel pinched hit for R.A. Dickey with Alex Cora (he sacrificed, something Dickey could have done equally well in that situation), then had to go to his bullpen with Raul Valdes and Fernando Nieve. On cue, Washington blew the game open with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning.

And at this point, it's always bad to see Oliver Perez on the mound, as he made is relief debut with the team and only walked one batter in his 1/3 of an inning of work.

THE UGLY: The Mets tied the game at 2 in the sixth when Jeff Francoeur hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly. While that may sound good, it's just another example of the Mets not driving in runs with hits and their mind-boggling inability to hit in big situations that would blow a game wide open. I guess we shouldn't complain, as I'm sure everyone watching the game thought Francoeur would strike out in that situation as any other Met player probably would. But bases-loaded, one-out... I want more than one run there against the Nationals.

... There Are No Words Left to Speak

The Recap: Mets 8, Marlins 10

What a team! After the Marlins swept the Mets this weekend in Florida, the Amazin's are now under .500, in last place, losers of 5 in a row, with an anemic offensive lineup, a pitching staff in shambles, a buffoon as a manager, an idiot GM, and looking at having to play the Yankees next weekend.

THE GOOD: The good news is that the bad news isn't worse. You can speak of the Mets coming back from a 6-0 deficit yesterday to almost tie the game as a positive, but there are no moral victories in baseball these days any more when you're getting paid millions of dollars to perform.

On Saturday night, guess what happened to Jose Reyes when he was moved back into the lead-off spot? He just went 2-for-5 and looked like the Jose Reyes of old. Thank you Jerry Manuel for reading our last post about how stubborn you were to not make this change sooner.

The Mets also got some nice at-bats from David Wright, who drove in 2 runs on Saturday and joined Alex Cora on Sunday with two-run doubles. Jason Bay responded well in the third-spot in the order. And Luis Castillo finally got an extra-base hit from the left side this season.

And speaking of switch hitting, did you know that EVERYONE is a switch hitter if they want to be? But realistically speaking, if it takes you 38 games into the season basically playing every day to get your first extra base hit batting lefty, THEN YOU'RE A RIGHT-HANDED HITTER! Stop batting left-handed! If you're batting .230 lefty and .290 righty, then I hate to break it to you, but you're a right-handed hitter. Period.

THE BAD: Where do we start with this? The lackluster play for the first 3 games of the series? The inability to hit in clutch timely situations, despite the fact the Mets have a hitting coach whose .236 lifetime average in the bigs indicates that he couldn't hit MLB pitching himself? The atrocious starting pitching we've seen from this team in this series? The strikeouts in key situations and the inability to move runners on the basepaths? How about the lack of desire to even care about any of this? (Doesn't that reflect on the manager?)

Nobody's coming up big for this team. Even the sure-handed "Takman" couldn't come through yesterday, allowing 2 runs in 3 innings in relief of Jon Niese who was ineffective and (guess what?)... hurt! And even though it was obvious that Manny Acosta "had it" on Sunday, bonehead Manuel replaced him with Fernando Nieve, who promptly blew whatever hopes the Mets had at a comeback by allowing 3 quick runs to seal the loss. And why? Because every relief pitcher "owns" a certain inning.

You have your 6th inning guy, followed by your 7th inning guy, who gives way to your 8th inning set-up guy, who hands it to your closer in the 9th. REGARDLESS HOW ANY OF THEM ARE PITCHING!?! When did this become "the book" in baseball? Meanwhile, you pitch your relievers every day and wonder why the bullpen is the least effective part of any baseball team by definition. What's wrong with this rule: when your reliever's pitching well, YOU KEEP HIM IN THE GAME! You don't know what you're going to get everyday from the guy warming up. So many games are lost because of the "5 pitchers in a game at least regardless" rule and I hate it.

Oh, and by the way, as mentioned in a previous post, ESPN... can you get this guy a Met hat please? Fernando Nieves has only been on the team for what, 2 years?

The Mets are trying hard to develop their young talent and not put too much pressure on them. That's the reasoning behind why Ike Davis isn't hitting third, as so many Mets fans would like to see. So what does Manuel do yesterday? - He bats Chris Carter CLEANUP!... Nah, that's not a lot of pressure for the kid, is it? Especially when you're looking at a game you need to win to avoid an embarrassing 4 game sweep.

THE UGLY: Let the ugliness begin:

1. Not only did the Mets make errors on Florida bunts, but they also had two runners doubled off first before the game was even 4 innings old. When the other team bunts, the implication is that they are "giving" away an out. Everyone in the ballpark plays for that, yet the Mets allowed six runs in the third when they couldn't execute fielding plays on simple bunts. Once again, this reflects on the manager, who commented after the game: "well, we just didn't play baseball good today". Nice English, Jerry...
   
   
2. Saturday's 7-5 loss saw the Marlins load the bases in the first inning without any Florida batter even swinging the bat as John Maine's first 12 pitches where thrown for balls. I don't know if you can get uglier than that. Maine gave up 6 runs in 5 innings and is now 1-3 on the season with a 6.13 ERA... oh yeah, John Maine's back alright.
   
   
3. Actually, you can get uglier than that. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Oliver Perez, who was mercifully pulled after just 3 innings of work in Friday's 7-2 loss, allowing 7 runs and walking 3 to lower his record to 0-7. Perez is basically stealing money at this point and finally has been dropped from the rotation. Why he's still on the team is anyones guess (his outrageous contract perhaps? Thank you Omar, once again). So while Ollie continues to suck it up, he's getting a big last laugh on the rest of us who actually have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet.
   
   
4. After another 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts day on Saturday, Jeff Francoeur looks more and more like Stevie Wonder at the plate and got yesterday off. However, with his .126 batting average in the past MONTH, I think we need to go further than that and re-evaluate the entire Francoeur dream and DFA this guy for the young talent. Let's face it, he's just not a major league talent at the plate and has become an automatic out. Meanwhile, Ryan Church is hitting 100 points higher in Pittsburgh...
   
   
5. The Mets have the fewest road wins in baseball and are now 4-12 on the season away from Citi.
   
   
6. And if you think it gets better, Mike Pelfrey is scheduled to start tonight's game in Atlanta, where he's 1-2 with a 8.41 ERA lifetime at Turner Field.

Stubbornness... Thy name is Manuel

The Recap: Florida 2, Mets 1

While the Mets left their bats in New York, Fernando Nieve unleashed a wild-pitch in the bottom of the ninth, allowing the Marlins to win the game in "run-off fashion"

THE GOOD: If you like pitching duels, this one was a classic. Johan Santana and Florida ace Josh Johnson each went 7 innings until both were taken out due to the ridiculous pitch count theory of "saving a pitcher's arm". Meanwhile there are more pitchers on the disabled list today percentage-wise than at any point ever in the history of the game. What does that tell you?

THE BAD: I guess we're all stubborn to some extent. Maybe it's lingering in a bad job too long. Or perhaps staying in an abusive relationship. In the Mets case, it's Jerry Manuel continuing to bat Jose Reyes third when just about every indication tells even the most casual of fans that the move just isn't working. Once again, Reyes went 0-for-4, couldn't even bunt a runner over in a key at-bat, and the situation doesn't look to be getting any better. Every Met fan knows Reyes is best suited to bat leadoff and reek havoc on the basepaths like he does very well. Every Met fan knows it doesn't matter at this point who Jason Bay has batting in front of him and every Met fan knows despite all his strikeouts this year, David Wright is the most complete hitter on the team and should be batting third. Every Met fan knows this, every baseball analyst knows this, every commentator knows this, every Pepsi T-shirt crew member knows this, and every member of the grounds-crew probably knows this. Who doesn't know this? The manager (and probably the GM for that matter). And the reason we're still seeing this? Stubbornness.

The real bad news is that the middle of the Mets batting order will remain stagnant until Manuel "mans up" and admits his experiment has failed. And that won't happen, because he really needs a managerial win in his corner and can't admit that once again he's at the helm of another bad move. It's a vicious cycle.

THE UGLY: What is it with this team and Johan Santana? When Johan's on, the team can't score any runs for him. And when they do get him runs, he turns into Jose Lima and looks atrocious. Should Lebron James leave Cleveland for the big-time money and hopes of a championship? Ask Johan how that move's working out for him.

KRod Give-ith and KRod Take-ith Away

The Recap: Nats 6, Mets 4

A day after saving one of the most improbable of wins for the Mets, KRod entered the game and met his match: Roger Bernadina. Need we say more? Yes, only because no one knew who this guy even was until he hit 2 homeruns yesterday, including the game winner off KRod in the ninth inning in the Mets 6-4 loss last night at Citi. Adding insult to injury saw the Nats starting pitcher Craig Stammen driving in 3 runs with a pair of hits as well.

THE GOOD: Mike Pelfrey went 5 and 2/3rds innings, threw 119 pitches, walked 3, gave up 4 runs and DIDN'T take the loss! In a game like this, that's considered the good part. We should also mention a continually improving Angel Pagan, who had 2 hits and drove in a run. Alex Cora did the same and David Wright and Jason Bay only combined for just 3 strikeouts in the game. (as mentioned, we're reaching for good here)

THE BAD: How can you not like Jeff Francoeur? But folks, let's face it, this is bad. After another 0 for 4 game, he's now hitting just .235 on the season and is in the midst of a 12-84 funk. Can you imagine what this guy'd be hitting if not for his torrid start? And guess what Gary Matthews Jr. did in his pinch-hitting appearance? - Strikeout! Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder why he even brings a bat with him at the plate. Just get hit by a pitch or work out the walk or something. Can we send this guy to Frank Catalanotto country yet? - or does he have compromising pictures of Omar. I've yet to hear a valid excuse at this point why he's getting any more plate appearances in a Met uniform.

THE UGLY: How can you not like Jose Reyes? But can someone drill it into clueless manager Jerry Manuel's mind that the "Reyes in the Three-Spot" experiment is not working!? After finally driving in a run, Reyes is now still just 7 for 38 (.184) with runners in scoring position. It's obvious he just doesn't have the mindset to bat in that position in the order. The original idea of him batting third was so Jason Bay would see more fastballs. The problem with that is that it doesn't matter what Bay sees, he's still not hitting either! So let's at least put Reyes where he belongs and move on...

More ugly: the Mets are now 0-6 for the season in series rubber games.

The Kid's Hitting The Cover Off the Ball!

The Happy Recap: Mets 8, Nats 6

Everyone's been talking about how Chris "The Animal" Carter has been tearing up TripleA minor league ball, and on cue, he came up big in his first Met at-bat with a big go-ahead double in the Mets 6 run eighth inning, giving them an amazing comeback win following their 6-1 deficit.

THE GOOD: Acquired in last year's Billy Wagner trade, many Met fans thought Carter should have made the team to start the season over the likes of those who shall remain nameless but you know who they are. And he sure came up big tonight! But Jason Bay and David Wright were the real hitting stars of the game, each going 3-for-4 and scoring 2 runs apiece. Jeff Francoeur and Rod Barajas each drove in 2 runs and Angel Pagan had the big clutch hit in the eighth to tie the score at the time. The Mets bullpen (especially Hisanori Takahashi, also known as "Takman") was stellar once again combining for 4 and 2/3 scoreless innings, with Raul Valdes picking up his first major league win with the help of KRod's uncharacteristic 3 quick outs in a save situation. And to cap it all off, Ike Davis made another one of his patented "catch a foul ball while tumbling into the dugout" moves, this time ending the ballgame in spectacular fashion.

THE BAD: While not really bad, Ike Davis missed hitting a grand slam homerun in that 8th inning by literally inches. The umpires had to conference and review the play, where the replay showed the ball traveling slightly to the right of the foul pole. I'm not sure whether Davis really thought the ball was fair, but he did a great job "selling it", only it was not to be.

Jose Reyes, hitting out of the three-spot for whatever reason, went 0-for-4 and looked even worse doing it. But Jonathan Niese was pretty bad with his 5 walks and 6 earned runs allowed. Is he just hyped up or can this guy eventually be good? Right now, his 4.58 seems low compared to how he's been beaten up in his recent outings.

THE UGLY: I don't want to hear any more of that "Oh, it's just the Nationals" talk. True, they're not the Yankees, but this team isn't bad at all - and a comeback win is a comeback win, right? After all, the Mets went all last year without a comeback win at CitiField, or so it seems.

You Can't Argue This: Frustration's Mounting

The Recap: Nats 3, Mets 2

Back to back homeruns off John Maine and an ineffective Pedro Feliciano combined to doom the Mets, who couldn't muster any offense at all against a depleted Washington team playing on the road with a rookie pitcher on the mound.

THE GOOD: Every position player on the team had at least one hit in the game, but no one hit in the clutch until Angel Pagan's solo homer in the ninth. And with Rod Barajas' 2 hits, how is he hitting only .244? He's been the biggest surprise on this team in a good way - you'd think he'd be hitting .300 at least! And speaking of surprises, John Maine is quitely turning in some nice outings, today going 6 innings while allowing just the 2 back-to-back dingers from Met killers Adam Kennedy and Ryan Zimmerman. Of course, as a reliever, Takman was solid as usual again.

THE BAD: If you can't beat a team with their top 2 relievers not available and with a rookie pitcher on the mound, that's pretty bad. Gary Matthews Jr. pinch hit in the game and struck out. Please copy and paste that statement and insert into every recap of each game he plays this year. He's beyond bad at this point, but unfortunately I can't think of a worse word I can use while keeping this blog rated G.

Jeff Francoeur is still swinging at pitches that Vlad Guerrero takes and Jason Bay only hits the ball when the pitcher throws it at the exact spot he happens to swing the bat, as in today's game when he struck out for the final out with the tying run on base. Something has to be done about the lack of timely hitting and the alarming strikeout rate that's permeating the middle batting order on this team. Could it be the batting coach? After all, who hires a batting coach that only hit .240 for his career?

THE UGLY: Frustration is ugly, and it was certainly on display in this game when Jose Reyes was ejected for arguing a called third strike, just a day after David Wright was booted in a similar circumstance. Jerry Manuel was also ejected for defending Reyes (he didn't defend Wright however... hmmmm...). Reyes had another bad game hitting out of the 3-spot with 2 more strikeouts and probably overacted to the call. But you never know, sometimes good things come from ugly incidents.

Walks and Walkoffs - Mets Give Back Mother's Day Presents

The Weekend Happy Recap

The Mets stole 2 games from the Giants aided by walkoff homeruns by Rod Barajas and O'Henry Blanco, but couldn't take advantage of Giant gifts on Mother's Day, including 2 sure Jason Bay pop outs that fell for "hits", the result of a very lenient official scorer. Watch the recap video for our take on the series.

ESPN ... Who Is Running the Show?

As I write this, the Mets are at CitiField playing the San Francisco Giants. And hey, they are winning. Hope mentioning that does not jinx the game.

When on the road and not able to either watch or listen to the game, I go to ESPN's GameCast. Nice feature by-the-way. However, yes there is always a however, one thing that I do not understand and find beyond comprehension is that player photos are not updated. Keep in mind, this is not a recent thing. This has been a rant of mine amongst friends for the past few years with the sports conglomerate.

ESPN has got to be worth Billions of dollars. The latest figures that I was able to find on a quick search was that the company is worth over $800 Million dollars net, and nearly $6-8 Billion gross. Yes folks, that is Billions with a capital "B". Now, in this day-and-age of technological wizardry, one would think that a company worth so much would be on the ball. Although there is the human factor when dealing with life, there are some things that just should not be. In the case of ESPN here is my rant, complaint:

How can you not be updated with player photos?!

In the famous words of MetsFanClub.com guru Costa, "That is totally unacceptable!"

As of this moment listed on the ESPN NY Mets team roster, there are six (6) players who are pictured wearing a former teams ball cap. They are Manny Acosta (Atlanta Braves), Fernando Nieve (Houston Astros), Rod Barajas (Tampa Bay Devil Rays), Henry Blanco (San Diego Padres), Frank Catalanotto (Texas Rangers), Kevim Escobar (Anaheim Angels). Tried to paste some of the photos into this article, but ran into a little problem. it's a plot. So, you will just have to click on the corresponding name and see for yourself.

Also, there are three (3) players who do not even have a photo. Those with just a shadowed image are: Hisanori Takahashi, Raul Valdes, and Ryota Igarashi.

Included below the regular roster, are those who have been banished to the minors: Two are wearing former team ball caps, Chris Evans (Boston Red Sox), Jason Pridie (Minnesota Twins), and two (2) have no photos at all, Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada. Maybe this is all a sign of things to come for them.

Some of you out there might think that this is nothing to be ranting about, but hey, it gets a little unsettling watching on GameCast when a Mets player is up at bat and he is wearing the opposing teams ball cap. Some of this has been going on for at least a year with some of the same players posted wearing the incorrect ball cap. Not only that, like I mentioned before, in this world of
technology that makes everything instant there has to be someone at every MLB ball game from ESPN who has a digital camera and laptop, hell, any camera phone will do. How hard can it be to snap a headshot of a player wearing a Mets ball cap during warm-ups, and then eMail it to the ESPN webmaster, or whoever they have handling web update duty, before the game starts.

Folks, for a company worth BILLIONS of DOLLARS, it is sad to see the simple things handled sloppily.

Oh, b-t-w, Mets win in the 11th, homer by Blanco.

One-Run Games Making Mets tiRED in Cincinnati

The Series Recap

The Mets lost 2 out of three games in Cincinnati, all of which were decided by just 1 run, losing Monday 3-2, winning Tuesday 5-4, and losing yesterday 5-4. Both loses were extra inning games where the Mets looked flat-out tired. The teams combined to hit a total of 11 home runs in the series - all solo shots - and the games were decided in the ninth inning or later. Exciting, but also very frustrating at the same time.

THE GOOD: It's nice to see the Mets show some spunk in yesterday's game, tying the game in the ninth before eventually losing to Orlando Cabrera's walk-off homerun off Pedro Feliciano. (by the way, did you know that EVERY TIME the home team wins a game in extra innings, it's a walk off win? Let's stop thinking these "walk offs" are a rare event. And I'd really like to see these "jumping up and down at home plate" celebrations toned down a bit - even in victory, I find them annoying unless it's really a special win.).

David Wright looks like he's back. He smoked one deep into the stands for his 7th homer of the season (maybe his grand total of 10 last year really was an aberration). He also homered in Tuesday's win as well and went 2 for 5 on Monday. But he doesn't lead the team in dingers - he's now tied with Rod Barajas, who hit his 7th in the Mets win on Tuesday.

Angel Pagan's looking good with his 5 hits in the series and the Mets got their best performances by John Maine and Oliver Perez this season (although neither was involved in the decisions). And let's not forget another outstanding performance by Hisanori Takahashi, who we at MetsFanClub.com are officially referring to him from now on as "Takman" and who pitched 3 perfect innings again while striking out 4.

KRod picked up his fourth save Tuesday with a very impressive 1-2-3 ninth inning. I guess he reads MetsFanClub.com and is trying desperately to prove us wrong. Lastly, I know Met fans from all over always get on this guy, but Luis Castillo is quietly having a great season so far and continues to do all the right things, both on the field and at the plate.

And you saw something yesterday that I can almost guarantee you'll never see for the rest of the season and maybe ever: consecutive hits from Gary Matthews Jr. and Henry Blanco (who throws out just about every base-runner who tries to steal - this guy's amazing behind the plate.)

THE BAD: Remember that consecutive hits comment above? Well, the Mets had the bases loaded with 1 out in that inning, could have broken the game wide open, yet settled for just one run that wasn't even driven in with a hit (Alex Cora walked with the bases loaded before Jose Reyes first-pitch flied out to right). Which brings us to the real bad here: I think we have to admit the Jose Reyes batting third experiment is a failure. I'm not sure he has the mindset to hit third and I'm not sure he even wants to. He's doing the right thing by quietly obeying his clueless manager but he was 2 for 10 in the Met losses and the move certainly doesn't look to be helping Jason Bad (oh, I mean Bay) who went 0-12 with 5 strikeouts and looked worse than those stats sound! Is he hurt as predicted by MetsFanClub.com when Minaya signed him with no effort by Boston to keep him? Originally we thought that scenario was a longshot, but when the news came out that the Mets don't do physicals on players before acquiring them (see the J.J. Putz story), it's looking more and more like the Mets (and Minaya) have been fleeced by yet another American League team once again.

We're going to give Fernando Nieves (who tried hard to give Tuesday's win back to the Reds) and Pedro Feliciano passes on their bad pitching performances, mainly because Jerry Manuel pitches them everyday for some reason. Jon Niese went a shaky 6 innings, giving up 4 runs, in an outing that many I think expected better from him. (although he K'd 4 without walking anyone). His ERA somehow stands at only 3.60, which I guess these days is pretty good.

Even though Omar Minaya's hand-picked big winter acquisition finally singled in his first AB yesterday breaking an 0 for 15 draught, Gary Matthews Jr is still only 4 for 39 with 16 strikeouts since April 7th, without once ever facing what's considered a "strike out pitcher" in that stretch.

The Mets are now 1-4 in extra innings and 3-6 in one-run games. What's the old adage? You want to know how good a team is, look at their one-run game record. Finally, what's with Mike Pelfrey? Is he hurt, or not? I feel a disaster from the Mets medical staff about to happen very soon....

THE UGLY: There were many ugly moments in this series for the Mets, but none more uglier than David Wright trying to steal second in the second inning yesterday. Was it a hit-and-run with the free swinging (and missing) Jason Bay at the plate or was it a straight steal? Either way, Wright was thrown out by at least 30 feet (no exaggeration here). The ball from the catcher's throw arrived at 2nd base before Wright was even in the picture! How do you get thrown out by that much? And if it was a hit and run, shame on Jerry Manuel for calling the play with Bay at the plate, who's swinging through grooved fastballs these days at an alarming rate.

Mets Go from 9-1 to 911

The Weekend Recap

The Mets rolled into Philly on about the highest of high notes, beat them soundly on Friday 9-1, then lost miserably against Philly ace Roy Halladay on Saturday, ending their 8-game winning streak. But Saturday was a walk in the park compared to their embarrassing and humiliating 11-5 loss on Sunday night's ESPN national TV game against 47-year-old Jamie Moyer - a loss that may have the team spiraling downward once again and exposing the team's severe lack of heart to win.

THE GOOD: Rod Barajas hit his 6th homerun of the year in Piazza-type style and David Wright's first inning 3-run blast were about the only good things you can point to in the Mets 2 loses. Friday night however, was a different story. Barajas hit two homeruns in that game and Jon Niese pitched 7 impressive innings for his first win of the year. The game saw Angel Pagan come up big with 3 hits and 2 rbi, with David Wright and Jeff Francoeur poking dingers as well. And always remember: whenever Frank Catalanotto gets an at-bat in a game that the Mets actually win, that's always a good thing. Too bad the Mets had to play the next two games.

THE BAD: Saturday night saw Mike Pelfrey finally returning to Earth, as his consecutive scoreless innings streak ended at 27 when Philly broke open the game with 6 runs in the fourth. Roy Halladay needed just one of them however, tossing a complete game shutout and allowing just 3 Met hits. Pelfrey took the loss (his first of the season against 4 victories). Then came Sunday's night's ESPN game where Johan Santana and his 80 mile per hour fastball were really bad. Despite staked with a 5-2 lead, Santana gave up 10 runs (Philly scored 9 in the 4th inning - all with 2 outs), with the turning point of the game being Santana's based loaded walk to 47-year-old Jamie Moyer. Pathetic, considering he walked the number 8 hitter to face Moyer. Nice strategy when your pitcher is having a bad night and can't throw strikes. Why is it that whenever the Mets don't score for Santana, he's always on top of his game, but give him runs and he implodes. Santana's now lost to Livan Hernandez and Jamie Moyer, two of the oldest pitchers still active in the league. Hopefully Roger Clemens stays retired.

And speaking of bad, I guess I can understand why Ike Davis needs a day off. After all, he's only 24.. we can't expect him to play more than 4 games in a row now, can we? But even if you do have to sit him, what's with playing Gary Matthews Jr at this point? Does Jerry Manuel have any clue to how bad this guy is? Here's a hint: he's hitting an atrocious .139 and hasn't had a hit since April 18th. And batting him leadoff? Inexcusable.

Here's some advice to number 3 hitter Jose Reyes, who went 1-13 in the Philly series swinging at every first pitch he saw regardless of it's location in the ballpark. Jose, work the pitcher a little please. Take a strike now and then. We all know the mindset of batting third is very different than leadoff, but boy did he look bad. Even Vlad Guerrero thought you were free-swinging. That's pretty bad.

Finally, it's not really bad, but why is it that in just about every meaningless relief stint KRod appears in (as he did in Sunday's game), his retires the side 1-2-3 with no problems, but just about every save situation includes walks, pitching from behind, hit batters, wild pitches, and scoring threats? There's a word for this guy - OVERRATED. I hope it doesn't come down to this guy being clutch in September. You read that here folks, I'm afraid I'm right on this one.

THE UGLY: Losing 10-0 to Roy Halladay is understandable. He's the best pitcher in baseball and as soon as Philly put up a six-run spot, everyone knew the game was over. Sunday's game was different. After the Phillies knocked out Santana in humiliating fashion in the fourth, any self respecting team would have at least tried to do something to show some heart their next time at bat (or at least in one inning for the remainder of the game). Instead, the Mets went the rest of the ballgame without getting another hit and looked completely disinterested. Mind you, it was against a 47 year old pitcher, followed by the likes of Chad Durbin and 8.10 ERA Danys Baez. That's downright embarrassing and ugly. But more importantly, it shows a complete lack of heart on display for a team that has just about zero chance of playing inspired baseball along the way when things get bad, rendering their lastest 9-1 homestand and 8 game winning streak completely meaningless. How would Keith Hernandez, Ray Knight, Daryl Strawberry, Gary Carter, etc react to being beatdown on a nationally televised game while their opponent's 47 year old pitcher is taking extra bases on the basepaths, trying to steal bases late in the game with a 6-run lead, and throwing at their hitters with no retaliation? How many times does Jeff Francoeur need to be blatantly brushed back or hit by a pitch before just one Met pitcher shows some guts? Someone call 911 ...