New York Mets

Starting Lineup Daniel Murphy – 2B Rick Ankiel – CF David Wright – 3B Lucas Duda – LF Marlon Byrd – RF John Buck – C Ike Davis – 1B Ruben Tejada – SS Jeremy Hefner – RHP Game Preview The Mets open up a home series against the Braves tonight at Citi Field where the Mets will look to Wright the ship (I’m writing this at 5:40 AM, I’m allowed a terrible pun, deal with it). Anyway, the Mets find themselves 10 games under .500 after being swept by the Reds this week and its not even June yet. There are two ways to look at that: one with deep depression, the other with optimism that there is plenty of time to turn it around. Anyway Kris Medlen will get the nod for the Braves tonight and square up against Jeremy Hefner. Hefner is 0-5 over 9 games this year, 8 starts while pitching 45.0 innings with a 5.00 ERA. Hefner struggled in his last start allowing 4 ER over 4 innings of work. In the Month of May he’s pitched 16.o innings while allowing 11 ER. He hasn’t faced the Braves yet this season but last year he allowed 6 ER over 6.1 innings of work. The Braves have the following numbers against him: Freeman 2-4, HR McCann 2-4, 2B Medlen 1-3, 2B Uggla 2-3 Heyward 1-3 The Mets will get a crack at Medlen tonight who is 1-5 this season over 9 starts with a 3.02 ERA. In his last four starts he’s pitched 26.1 innings with a 2.73 ERA. In 27.2 innings against the Mets last year he posted an amazing 1.3o ERA while striking out 21 batters. The Mets have the following numbers against him: Davis 4-15, HR Wright 2-16 Murphy 2-14, 2B Tejada 3-13, 2B Duda 1-8 Baxter 2-7 Lets Go Mets!

Mets vs. Braves Series Preview The Mets begin what will be a very tough three-game series against the Braves tonight at Citi Field, weather permitting. The Braves are on fire right now and pulling ahead in the division at 28-18, four and a half games in front of the second-place Nationals. They are 7-3 in their last ten and are one of six teams in the NL (and one of 11 in all of baseball) to have a winning record on the road. They are going to be a tough team to beat. The Atlanta pitching has been what has carried them, but recently, the offense has stepped it up as well. Over their last seven days, the offense is hitting .273/.353/.448, compared to .245/.322/.418 on the season. This is all happening while the Upton brothers are cooling down. B.J. has not been able to hit all season and he is currently batting .155 on the year and Justin has hit just .239 this month with two home runs, after hitting 12 in the month of April. Evan Gattis, of all people, has been their leading home run hitter (along with Dan Uggla)  this month with four. Freddie Freeman has also stepped up, leading the team in hits with 21. While the offense has come and gone, however, the one thing that has remained constant for Atlanta has been their bullpen, which is third in baseball with a 2.79 ERA and tied for first with a 1.14 walk. Despite some injuries to some key pieces, the Braves have kept their strong bullpen, led by Craig Kimbrel, together. Just like the last time these two teams met, this should be a hard-fought battle with some very close games. Pitching Matchups Game 1: Jeremy Hefner, RHP (0-5, 5.00 ERA, 45 IP, 6.0 K/9, 3.6 BB/9) vs. Kris Medlen, LHP (1-5, 3.02 ERA, 56.2 IP, 6.0 K/9, 3.5 BB/9) Medlen’s win-loss record does not at all tell the story of his season. Despite being 1-5 on the season, he has actually been very good. It was difficult to expect him to match his magical run last season in which he posted a 1.57 ERA in 50 appearances (12 starts). One major concern though is his walk rate, which is uncharacteristically high this season at 3.5 batters per nine innings. That’s unusual for Medlen, who, throughout his minor league career and most of short time in the majors, has walked somewhere around 2.1 to 2.3 per game. Another thing to note is his strikeout rate, which is down almost two full strikeouts per nine innings over last season, and a strikeout and a half below his career average. Medlen career vs. Mets: 15 G, 1.58 ERA, 45.2 IP, 37 K, 12 BB Game 2: Dillon Gee, RHP (2-5, 6.04 ERA, 44.2 IP, 6.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9) vs. Mike Minor, LHP (5-2, 2.78 ERA, 58.1 IP, 7.9 K/9, 1.9 BB/9) Minor, a former top pitching prospect, has had only a so-so career on the mound. The 25 year-old has a career ERA of 4.11 after shooting through the minor leagues out of the University of Vanderbilt. Minor posted a 4.12 ERA last season in 30 starts, his first full season with the Braves. He hasn’t lived up to expectations, but Minor has settled in as a decent fourth or fifth starter. Minor career vs. Mets: 7 G, 5.63 ERA, 38.1 IP, 28 K, 13 BB Game 3: Shaun Marcum, RHP (0-5, 6.59 ERA, 27.1 IP, 6.6 K/9, 2.6 BB/9) vs. Julio Teheran, RHP (3-1, 3.99 ERA, 49.2 IP, 5.4 K/9, 1.6 BB/9) Teheran is trying to ressurrect his status as a future star for the Braves. He is finally getting his first chance at a full-time role this season. He struggled badly last year in Triple-A, unable to strike guys out and finishing with a 5.08 ERA in 26 starts. That terrible year brought him from #4 on Baseball America’s top 100 list to outside the top 30. This year has been better for him in terms of ERA and actual results, but his strikeout rate is down (although so is his walk rate), which is a bit concerning. It’s still too early to tell what the Braves have in Teheran. Teheran career vs. Mets: 2 G, 5.63 ERA, 8 IP, 5K, 4BB Series Notes The Mets have scored three runs or fewer in 12 of their past 16 games. Matt Harvey was upset about the way he pitched in his las

With Ike Davis all, but assured of a trip to Triple-A Las Vegas, the easy part is done. The difficult part will deciding on how to replace him, in body only, at first base. On the current roster, we already discussed some of the options available and they range from moving Lucas Duda from left field to first base, moving Daniel Murphy over to first, or giving Justin Turner significant playing time at first as well. None of those options sound very appealing and each one opens up a new set of problems. Instead, the solution should come from the minors. The simpleton’s choice would be to turn to Zach Lutz. However, he has struggled of late after getting off to a torrid start and is now batting just .271/.354/.421 in 140 at-bats. Only 12 of his 38 hits were for extra-bases. Scarier still, is the 42 strikeouts. How well do you think those metrics will translate at Citi Field? Not very well I can assure you. The smart money would be on Josh Satin. Already the starting first baseman for Las Vegas, he is having a very solid 2013 season, batting .299 with six home runs and 24 RBI. His on-base is at .410 and he boasts a .470 slugging percentage. What I love about Satin and why I feel he would be the ideal choice is this… In 164 at-bats he’s struck out just 37 times, but he has also drawn 30 walks. This is someone who is obviously ready for the next challenge. Additionally, Satin has regularly played first base (198 games) while the position is still relatively new to Lutz who has logged just 42 games at first base in his entire pro career. Back on May 1, I wrote the following about Josh Satin: Satin has always been a great and disciplined hitter and one look at his career .397 on-base in six minor league seasons should have the suits in the front office with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, as would his .466 slugging percentage. I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of watching Ike Davis suffocate this offense and have been calling for a reduced role for him since the season began. He’s not suddenly going to magically begin teeing off against lefty pitching as a few lingering fans still believe. That’s a wooden bat he has in his hands, not a magic wand. Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best. I’ve said that before and continue to stand on that position. Josh Satin deserves a chance to prove he belongs. He’s paid his dues and has nothing left to prove in the minors. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long. Let’s give this kid his well-deserved shot. The worst thing that a team as bad as the Mets could do, is to keep trotting out the same undeserving and underperforming ballplayers while some hidden gems waste away at Triple-A when they should be here instead helping the team score runs. Before that on April 17, in a post entitled, “Time To Promote Josh Satin and Platoon Ike Davis“, I said: Satin has been hitting the ground running from the moment he signed his first professional contract and has posted an.865 OPS during his minor league career with the Mets, and has made the Minor League All Star Team as the starting third baseman, first baseman or second baseman every season since 2009. Wow… I think it’s time to call this and tell it like it is… Ike Davis is nothing more than the long end of a platoon player at best. Enter Josh Satin, who despite the gaudy stats I already posted, is even better against left-handed pitching. He torches southpaws unmercifully like a demon from Hell. Let’s get this done and right a wrong that has gone on for far too long and give Josh Satin his well-deserved shot. The fact that it’s taking this long is a cardinal sin. I was called nuts when I wrote that, but who’s nuts now? Some guy from Bayonne who knows baseball and can see things with his eyes, told me I lost my baseball mind and that Ike was fine and I should shut up about this. Anyway… The choice is pretty clear as to what th

Came across this post from Josh Chapdelaine over at AroundCiti where he takes an early look at the second half of the Mets season which considering how the 1st half is shaping up I can’t really blame him. In his post he talks about how he thinks the club will start to hit their stride in large part due to the upcoming promotions. Some of the reasons reasons that he provides for this are players like Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero. Below is what he has to say regarding the outfield. Outfield Opportunity: If you’re no longer thrilled with seeing Rick Ankiel, Marlon Byrd, Mike Baxter, Jordany Valdespin, or the other six players who have started in the outfield for the Mets this season, things will be changing shortly. It’s likely than one or both of Ankiel and Byrd will be shipped off at the deadline for a lower-end prospect or cash considerations that will open to road for people like Cory Vaughn to get his shot in Flushing sooner rather than later. Collin Cowgill and Kirk Nieuwenhuis will likely get another look before the year is over, but there will be more opportunity for a name to breakout at the big league level. Vaughn is looking more and more to be the person as he’s now posting a .300/.385/.469 line in Binghamton and will be seeing time in Las Vegas this summer. He’ll likely be a September call-up, but his potential is definitely intriguing. Check out AroundCiti to read the rest of his post and tell us what you think.

Any East Coast fans who tuned in to watch/hear the Mets take on the Dodgers in Los Angeles on May 24, 1973 likely figured they'd be asleep by a reasonable hour, what with the relatively punchless away team sending Tom Seaver to the mound against Tommy John in one of the league's best pitchers parks. For the first six innings, the expected hurler's duel went more or less to script. Seaver held the Dodgers to three runs, while John did him one better, allowing just two and pitching into the seventh. In the top of the eight, outfielder George "The Stork" Theodore singled to tie the game. That would prove to be the last offense outburst of any kind until well past four a.m. EDT. A consortium of five relievers (two for the Mets, three for L.A.) limited both teams to a mere 14 singles in the ensuing eleven frames. The Mets finally broke the game open in the 19th, scoring four thanks to extra base hits off the bats of Rusty Staub and Ed Kranepool. Jim McAndrew came on tossed an efficient bottom half for the save, his final pitch coming five hours and 42 minutes after the game's first delivery. Final score: Mets 7, Dodgers 3. Birthdays Former Mets reliever and current Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto is 45. Over the course of his two seasons in New York, Dipoto made $275,000. In the two years he's helmed the Los Angeles née Anaheim front office, he's shelled out roughly half a billion dollars of owner Arte Moreno's money. Justin Hampson turns 33. The left-hander pitched in 13 Mets games last year and is presently plying his trade for Triple-A Las Vegas. Hampson would be a candidate to help ease some of the burden on Scott Rice, who apparently has to work on all days ending in Y, save for two things. First, he's not on the 40-man roster. Second, he wasn't all that effective in his 2012 cameo. In the summer of 2005, Jae Weong Seo, 37, reeled off four straight starts that rated as 70 or higher according to game score. Small sample size? Yes. Arbitrary start and endpoints? Yes. Impressive nonetheless? Also yes. Only eleven pitchers in franchise history have gone on similar such streaks and all but Seo and Jim McAndrew were All-Stars. Assuming Matt Harvey gets the nod in a month or so, that is... The entire big league career of Bill Wakefield, 72 today, consists of 62 pitching appearances for the '64 Mets. On the evening of May 6, Bill started the first-ever night game at Shea Stadium, though he got the hook before the stars were fully out in the sky. His final line: 4 IP, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 HR. Wakefield did make one more appearance in a Mets uniform, post-64, however. It came 45 years later when the team honored his small place in franchise history by inviting him to throw out a ceremonial first pitch during Citi Field's inaugural season. TransactionsIn retrospect, it's amazing that the 2006 Mets were ten games over .500 by Memorial Day weekend considering that Brian Bannister, Geremi Gonzalez, Jose Lima, Alay Soler, and Victor Zambrano all took turns in team's rotation at some point. That parade of awfulness prompted Omar Minaya to make arguably his savviest in-season trade on this date seven years ago, sending spare bullpen arm Jorge Julio to Arizona for Orlando Hernandez. Incredibly hit-unlucky in 45-plus innings for the Diamondbacks, Hernandez reverted to his career norms upon escaping the Valley of the Sun and turned in 12 quality starts in 20 chances to stabilize the back end of the rotation. Amazin'-ly Tenuous ConnectionThe Brooklyn Bridge, still standing strong after over a century of foot, horse, streetcar, and automobile traffic (not to mention countless purchases by gullible parties), celebrates its birthday today. The venerable span, which has connected Manhattan and its namesake borough for 130 years now, has served as a greater New York City icon since the day it opened. It's also been a part of New York Mets iconography since the franchise's beginning. Ray Gatto, the cartoonist who designed the Mets team

Mitch Petanick of MetsMinors.net examines what he says is a major misunderstanding of what Moneyball really is among Mets fans. If you haven’t read it yet you should check it out. It’s a good read. Here is the link.

The post Dwight Gooden and Mariano Rivera? Sure! appeared first on The Mets Police.Related posts:Dwight Gooden and Miss America? Sure!Dwight Gooden — Removed From Home After Threatening Estranged Wife | TMZ.com

As is the case with many of baseball's most important innovations, the origins of the rally cap remain murky. What we can say for sure is the popularity of the rally cap soared alongside the fortunes of the Mets of the 1980s. The Mets' 1985 campaign is often pointed to as the tipping point for rally cap mania, and their use of it during that season spread the practice around baseball. When the rally cap first emerged, it was met with skepticism and derision by non-believers, but the power of the rally cap was so potent that infidels could be converted at the mere sight of their favorite team sporting them. Such powers were on full display during the epic Rick Camp Game between the Mets and Braves on July 4-5, 1985. During the wee hours of that insane contest, Mets players in the dugout wore caps turned inside-out and placed in strange positions, hoping this would somehow grant them victory in a game that seemed it might never end. Atlanta's announcer John Sterling (yes, that John Sterling) had never seen such a thing before, and his first impulse was to mock the Mets' fashion statement. A few innings later, however, the Braves mimicked the look, hoping to counter the Mets' mojo. Sterling professed to find this sight delightful, and thus a heathen was brought over to the cause. In the national consciousness, the rally cap ritual was forever endowed with special powers once Mets players were seen wearing them during the NBC broadcast of game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Rally caps caught on with the public quickly because they were manifestations of an idea fans had long held: They could will their team to victory through the execution of some simple action. Rally caps also blew up because they were spiritual cousins to the-lampshade-on-the-head, a practice whose enjoyment is directly proportional to how hammered everyone in the room is. The Mets dedicated themselves to the cause of Rally Cap Evangelism by scheduling a Rally Cap Day on July 26, 1987. It was an idea whose time had come, as the team proudly announced it was "one of the greatest give-a-way days in Mets history" that was "sold out farther in advance than any other game" that season. By making an official Rally Cap Day, the Mets were attempting to transform a folk ritual into an organized religion. Prior to this, there were no formal rules about what constituted a rally cap. One would simply shape a cap into whatever their mood (or level of alcohol consumption) dictated. The undercurrent of Rally Cap Day, on the other hand, insisted that a true talisman must be worn in the right manner and at the right time to make full use of its magic. The point of the event was not to celebrate an organic cultural expression, but to force orthodoxy on a polyglot congregation. And so, fans who arrived at Shea that Sunday afternoon were not simply given Official Rally Caps. They were also given a thorough catechism for this sacred rite. The rally caps came with a little velcro baseball, and a set of instructions as to exactly where to place the ball, and when, and why. It's important to note that because this was 1987, the giveaway was sponsored by Crazy Eddie, the electronics store whose aggressive commercials ran nonstop on television, and whose signature yellow t-shirts were a staple in the wardrobe of every self-respecting mook in the tri-state area. As a business, though, Crazy Eddie was also little more than a shell game, and while this event was taking place, they were in the midst of executing one of the biggest securities frauds of the 1980s. It wasn't easy to stand out as a huge securities fraud in the 1980s, but Crazy Eddie did it. I can't say for sure if Crazy Eddie had any input for this event, but the litany of rules listed (as reproduced in a page from an official Mets program scanned below) seem to be the product of a not entirely sane mind. Or at least one gripped by a crippling case of OCD. "Put ball in left-top side of hat in fifth and eighth innings TO MAKE

Mejia looked sharp last night, hitting 96 MPH. Last Night’s Quick Scores Las Vegas got blanked by Iowa, 4-0. Binghamton was shutout by New Britain, 1-0. Savannah slid by Augusta, 3-1. St. Lucie defeated Dunedin, 8-5. Prospect Pipeline Jenrry Mejia made his second rehab start last night in St. Lucie and impressed with eight strikeouts over five innings. We were all curious as to how he would come back in terms of velocity, command, and the break on his pitches. Six of his eight strikeouts were swinging, he walked merely one batter, and he touched 96 MPH in the first inning when he struck out two batters. I think it’s safe to say he’s definitely on his way back. He’s expected to get a chance to start either in AA or AAA later this season. Speaking of getting a chance to start, Rainy Lara found himself promoted to St. Lucie yesterday. The right-hander posted a glistening 1.42 ERA over 50.2 innings (eight starts) with the Sand Gnats. He also continued to showcase sterling command, recording 51 strikeouts to just six walks, and now owns a 0.97 WHIP during his brief professional career. The Mets have yet to determine when he makes his first start with them. (Bill P.) A high-ranking team official told the NY Post on Thursday that barring a setback, Zack Wheeler is expected to make 2-3 more starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and then join the Mets. If Wheeler remains on normal rest, that would put his Mets debut somewhere in the June 6-11 range. (Joe D.) Domingo Tapia returns from the DL after his hand burning incident to make a start for St. Lucie today. Cory Mazzoni Mark Cohoon pitched brilliantly in defeat yesterday – going eight innings and allowing just one earned run. Robert Gsellman had a stellar performance in victory – where he allowed just one earned run over seven innings. Kevin Plawecki hit double # 20 last night for Savannah. #Promotethismannow Baseball America’s most recent mock has the Mets taking Ryne Stanek after they suggested D.J. Peterson in the first one. I’ll have a post up on MetsMinors.Net in a little while about that. Stat Line of the Day Mark Cohoon: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 ER, 7 K Transactions RHP Rainy Lara was promoted to St. Lucie from Savannah. RHP Hansel Robles was placed on the 7-Day DL. RHP Marcos Camarena was demoted to Savannah from St. Lucie.

Run Time: 2:52:27 Agenda: 0:00- 9:12: Intro / Feelin' kind of blue / Bill Pulsiper or Kevin Elster? / Agenda 9:12- 39:14: What to do with Ike Davis? / Is 2013 for competition or evaluation now? / It's gotten so bad, Rob thinks Eric Campbell might get called up / Jeffrey does not have lobby / Is Davis the long term answer at first base? / The problem with moving Duda to first / Buying very, very low / Projecting Ruben Tejada / When does Ike go down? 39:14- 1:07:53: Adventures in Prospectsitting / Lessons learned in New Britain / Always pay for premium parking when you are running late to the stadium / Logan Verrett and what is possible / Jack Leathersich and major league stuff / Cesar Puello and who are you facing / Jacob deGrom and scouting the box score / Chase Huchingson and the prospect grind / Rob and Jeffrey get sappy 1:07:53- 1:48:10: PitchFx talk with Josh Smolow / Matt Harvey: How does he work / ICYMI, Matt Harvey has a really good fastball / Matt Harvey shoves it against lefties / Jeffrey and Josh argue about Harvey's change-up / Three problems with Jon Niese / Josh is not the biggest Dan Warthen fan 1:48:10- 2:52:27 Housekeeping and e-mails / Jeffrey immeditely sidedrains the segment by talking about his search for a Korean Jae Weong Seo jersey and a Yusmeiro Petit bobblehead / Prospect injury updates / So where is Luis Mateo anyway? / More from Rob on Wilmer Flores / Wilmer Flores is Danny Valencia? / Randy's report from Omaha / Apologies to Meredith / If you are wondering where the podcast goes off the rails, it's right about here / Jeffrey goes on a looooong Josh Satin monologue / TRAIDing for Carlos Gonzalez / We don't get the Rockies / Jeffrey's not sold on Shin Soo Choo / TRAIDing John Buck / "Uh, this is becoming an utter train wreck" / We got jokes / Cat Latos / Who does Zack Wheeler replace in the Mets rotation / Rob's power goes out so Jeffrey just wraps up the show As always, you can listen or subscribe to the podcast through iTUNES, listen through the embedded player below, or download the podcast at amazinavenueaudio.com Next week is our Rule 4 draft preview, so feel free to e-mail us draft questions at podcast@amazinavenueaudio.com and tune in to see if we can break the three hour mark.