Sometimes I think things will turn around once a season starts. That’s not the case this year. The Mets have problems. Many problems. They are playing with practically a Triple-A team. We’re constantly losing, have an under .500 record, and see absolutely no solution for the near nor distant future. Therefore I find it difficult to write about heart-wrenching losses, undesirable moves,  and poor play. But then again I’m a Mets fan so I’m used to it! About the only thing I’ve seen the Mets do is try to upgrade their defense in the outfield by signing Rick Ankiel, who was released by the Houston Astros. But what does that do for our offense? I’ll tell you what—nothing!

Mets fans want to see action. Wright told fans in the offseason (after signing his big contract) that he liked where this team was going and the outlook for the future. I would really like to know where he was looking because I certainly don’t see any bright outlook as of right now. This season is basically a bust. I’ll still watch games and hope for wins and cheer on players and bask in the amazingness that is Matt Harvey, but I have no grandeur ideas of making the playoffs. I love baseball and that’s why I watch, but it would nice to see some improvements. 

1. We need to bring up Zack Wheeler. Enough with this “he’s not ready” stuff that the Mets are spouting. He needs to be put in a Major League Baseball setting so he can grow just like Harvey did. And let’s face it, our pitching hasn’t exactly been up to par. 

2. Ike Davis needs to go. I love the guy. And when’s he on, HE’S ON! But when he’s not, it’s like he couldn’t hit a grapefruit being thrown from 2 feet away while he has a tennis racket instead of a bat. He is a great person, but the Mets cannot wait around forever for him to get going. Yes, he had a great second half last year. But the Mets are in no position to have a part time player. We need to make smart decisions. We need to build this team up, not tear it down. Collins even put Davis in the four hole behind Wright and in front of Duda to try and get some offense going, but it hasn’t been working obviously!

3. Someone else needs to be traded so that we can get some outfield help. There are no words for our outfield. We need defensive players that also bring an offensive presence. I know it’s a lot to ask, but you cannot play and expect to be competitive when you only have a quarter of a team. 

NEXT UP:: Mets set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at 7:05PM with Jeremy Hefner on the mound and the newest Met Rick Ankiel starting. Hefner is looking for his first win of the season. He hasn’t been phenomenal like Harvey, but Hefner has suffered from some bad luck and lack of run support. Hopefully, the Mets can change that tonight. LGM!!

Well after some snow outs, you would think the Mets would be refreshed and ready to go. Even if they were, they still couldn’t get any wins. Maybe the delays have caused a “loss in momentum” as Terry Collins liked to put it. The Mets have lost their last 3 games.

*Their bullpen faced a lot of work on Tuesday in their doubleheader against the Rockies. Dillon Gee raked in another loss in the two hour delayed afternoon game as the Mets fell 4-8. (Side Note: Sandy Alderson was out there shoveling snow before the game to make sure the Mets got on the field.) Gee went 4 2/3 innings and gave up 5 runs on 7 hits. He just couldn’t seem to keep the lead when it was handed to him. Murphy and Tejada‘s defensive blundlers didn’t help too much either. On a positive note, David Wright finally got his first homer of the season in the 1st inning, a 2- run blast off Nicasio. And then his second of the season, a solo shot in the 5th, all in the frigid weather of Coors Field. On a night when gripping the bat must have been a constant struggle, Wright went 3-4 and further boasted his already successful numbers at Coors Field. Check out his first one here and the second one here!)

*The Mets also fell to the Rockies in their second game on Tuesday in 10 innings, 8-9. The Mets put up some great offensive numbers early and should have won the game, but Ruben Tejada made a costly throwing error in the 8th inning allowing the two tying runs to score. Now Tejada has been giving us a great offensive addition this season in that 8 hole, but his defense has suffered. I have no idea what’s going on with him, but I would rather him work on his fielding right now. Aaron Laffey only went 4 innings with the Mets hoping to pitch him again on Sunday on short rest. The bullpen was unable to seal the deal despite a 6-run lead. Burke took the loss on Jordan Pacheco‘s walk-off single in the 10th. This is where the postponed games really hurt us. As of Tuesday, Collins was unsure about our rotation this weekend and going forward.

*Their Wednesday game was once again postponed. The Mets are scheduled to make this game up on June 27th. 

*The Mets pulled in their 3rd straight loss and Jon Niese was handed his first loss of the season as the team fell to the Rockies yesterday, 11-3. Despite Wright’s RBIs and a sensational catch, spin, throw from Tejada to get a much needed out in the 3rd inning, the bullpen got crushed. To say the least, this was a road trip the Mets would like to forget immediately. I’m hoping they can get back on track tonight since they’re back home and in nicer weather, but they’re facing some pretty difficult teams coming up- the Nationals, Phillies, and Dodgers. It’s not going to be easy, but if they want to remain competitive, they need to get wins. They need to be resilient and not fall into a dark hole of constant loses and bad play. This will be a big test for the team.

INJURY REPORT: I actually screamed out loud when ESPN app sounded off and my alert read: “Mets top prospect Travis d’Arnaud breaks ankle.” He was sent to New York and will be examined by staff doctors to determine whether he will need surgery. This is awful and will most likely delay his progress this season, never mind his call-up. Let’s just hope he won’t need surgery and that he can recover as quickly as possible. All I have to say is, I’m extremely thankful that John Buck has been playing so well. Here’s to a speedy recovery for Travis. Send him some well wishes on Twitter- @travisdarnaud!!

And Shaun Marcum says his rehab is going well, but he may need an extra start to get to the place he wants to be. He had 41 pitch outing in Florida yesterday, striking out five in four perfect innings, but Collins said he was supposed 65-70 and then work up to 90 in his next start. Things are moving slow, but I guess any news is good news at this point. We just need Marcum back in the rotation- healthy and effective. 

NEXT UP:: Looking to end their losing streak, the Mets send their young phenom, Matt Harvey (3-0), to the mound to match up against the Nationals and their own young phenom, Stephen Strasburg (1-2). If the Mets are searching for a winning recipe, Harvey is just the ingredient they need. Tune in to SNY tonight at 7:10PM to see if Harvey can get something cooking for the Mets. LGM!

With the Twins game tonight postponed due to snow, the Mets head to Colorado to start their three game series against the Rockies tomorrow night. The Mets hope to keep their winning streak and their offense going tomorrow night. 

So since the game was postponed I thought I would talk about the last two games…

*Friday night Jon Niese took the mound in the frigid Minnesota weather. It was 34 degrees at first pitch! I don’t know how they played in that! Niese was not at his best on a very cold night. He struggled in his 5 innings of work. There was a definite lack of control, but it could have been the weather. He still got the win though! It was the first time ever that the Mets won in Minnesota. But unlike Niese, the Mets offense was on its game. Both David Wright and Daniel Murphy had 4 RBIs on the night. Murphy went for 4 for 5– wait, wasn’t he hurt before the season started?! He’s really seeing the ball well right now. And Wright was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. It would have been nice for him to accomplish that, but it would have been better to see him hit his first homer of the season. I guess we’ll just have to keep waiting. You know who we don’t have to wait for? JOHN BUCK! He is an absolute wrecking machine right now and he makes it look easy! It’s the 2nd inning, bases loaded, and cue the Buck shot! With his grand slam, Buck had 19 RBIs this season. That is the MLB record by a player in his first ten games with a team and the most in Mets history through the first ten games of a season. Buck’s grand slam also marked his fourth straight game with a homer, making him the first Met since David Wright in June 2007 to do so. I really hope he can keep this up. Check out his monstrous grand slam in the Mets 16-5 win over the Twin here. 

*Yesterday afternoon, Matt Harvey once again dazzled us with his masterful pitching this season, making it through six innings with a no-hitter going. Justin Morneau broke up the possible bid in the seventh with a solo home run. I missed Johan’s no-hitter in June because I was out of the country and yesterday I wasn’t home, so when I looked at my game alerts and saw I almost missed a second no-hitter, I almost died! But if anyone is going to pitch the second no-hitter in Mets history, I would love to see Harvey do it. Harvey still got the win, 4-2, giving up only one run on two hits with 6 strikeouts in 8 innings. (Here’s Harvey’s recap) Mets offense did just enough to break through and get runs. Buck didn’t hit a blast, but Marlon Byrd did hit his first homer as a Met (Here it is!)! The Mets have continued their streak of hitting a home run in every game this season. 

NEXT UP:: Dillon Gee tries to get it together after his shortest outing of his career tomorrow night against Juan Nicasio and the Rockies at Coors Field. First pitch is at 8:40PM on SNY. LGM!!!

I don’t know why or how, but San Diego’s Eric Stults managed to keep the Mets scoreless and completely confused yesterday afternoon. The only person who had any good at-bats against him was Justin Turner (starting at 2nd while Murph takes a rest), who managed to go 3 for 3 off him. To prove just how poorly the Mets fared you had David Wright going 0 for 3 with 3 Ks. So with a complete lack of offense especially with runners in scoring position, the Mets fell to the San Diego Padres, 2-1. 

Dillon Gee made his first start since July 7th of last year and even though he had some trouble with his control, he looked good out there. He didn’t deserve the loss pitching 6 1/3 innings of one run ball giving up only three hits and serving up 4 strikeouts and 4 walks. I’m sure it’s a hard one for him to take, but considering he was coming back from a pretty serious injury, Gee held his own on that mound. I would like to see him get his walks down and show a little more control, but he’s bound to make adjustments throughout the season.

The Mets had plenty of chances to comeback, but John Buck‘s solo homer in the 9th (check it out here) was the only sign of life coming from the team. Now, you’re not going to win them all obviously. However, this game showed some of the holes in this team that everyone has been talking about before the season even started. As guys get more at-bats and playing time, I’m hoping we can fill those holes and find ways to win games. I think getting our offense into a consistent pattern and really working on hitting with runners in scoring position would be a great way to start. 

INJURY REPORT:: Shaun Marcum has been diagnosed with nerve inflammation in his neck and doctors have shut him down for 48 hours after receiving injections. There is no word on how long Marcum will remain inactive, but he is listed as day-to-day. With an injury like this and his absence from the mound for over 3 weeks, it is unlikely that Marcum will be pitching any time soon. Presumably Aaron Laffey will be taking his place in the rotation as long as Laffey pitches well, according to Terry Collins. I feel bad that Marcum is injured, but this is just our luck! We pay the guy $4 million dollars in the offseason, and he ends up getting hurt. I was hoping our rotation would be a consistent stepping stone this season, but it looks like it’s once again in limbo. 

NEXT UP:: Jeremy Hefner will make his season debut as he takes the mound tonight against Alex Sanabia and the Miami Marlins. Tune into SNY tonight at 7:10PM to cheer the Mets on! LET’S GO METS!

The Mets suffered an 11-4 loss at the hands of the Cardinals this afternoon at Tradition Field. But everyone is breathing a sigh of relief once news came in that Jeremy Hefner was  diagnosed with a bruised elbow following a darting (and what looked to be extremely painful) hit to his right elbow off a Carlos Beltran comebacker in the 4th innning. Yes, I said a sigh of relief! If you were watching the game, it looked a heck of a lot worse. Hefner automatically fell to the ground and was immediately rushed off the field to be sent for x-rays, which fortunately for the Mets rotation, came back negative. Hefner would fill in the rotation with Johan Santana taking a seat on the DL, so we definitely need to keep him healthy. 

Updates from SNY’s Facebook today!

This is especially true today as our ever slimming rotation was hit again! Shaun Marcum, on top of shoulder issues, is now experiencing neck problems and will miss his next start on Thursday, maybe even more! Well, isn’t this just peachy! Our rotation was the only slightly solid thing going for us coming into Spring Training and now that’s destroyed. I really hope this isn’t a prolonged problem, but with the Mets, it’s just our luck! Contingency plans will have to be drawn up in case Marcum misses significant amounts of time. But I don’t see them doing something “drastic” like bringing up Wheeler. The Mets will probably go with left-hander Aaron Laffey, making it clear they will not look for any outside options (aka former Met Chris Young). 

In other news– Matt Den Dekker has been diagnosed with a fractured right wrist, but will not need surgery. Jenrry Mejia has right elbow tendinitis and is not allowed to throw a baseball for two weeks. And Pedro Feliciano has decided to accept a Minor League deal with the Mets.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE– *Lucas Duda is definitely making progress offensively and showing signs of life! He started off miserably, but was carrying a .316 BA with three home runs and five RBIs prior to today’s game. But what makes it better is that he added a double and RBI single today. I really hope this offensive surge lasts well into the season, preferably the entire season. =)

*David Wright played in a Minor League game today as DH and took the field to work on grounders. Things are looking pretty good for him to start Opening Day!! Click here to see what Wright had to say.

*Jon Niese will make his final start of Spring training tomorrow at 6:10PM against the Astros. He’ll be limited to around 50 pitches so he can save up his energy for Opening Day.

ONLY 6 DAYS REMAINING UNTIL THE 2013 SEASON!! LET’S GO METS!

This time next week I will be making myself comfortable in my seat at Citi Field to watch the Mets take on the San Diego Padres to open up their 2013 season. So with only 7 days remaining, let’s see how the team is shaping up…Here’s some current news and tidbits:

Graphic courtesy of the 7 line, who makes the best t-shirt designs! Visit them at the7line.com!!

* Yesterday, the Mets made their last round of roster cuts following Harvey getting rocked by the Tigers. Even though we knew this was coming, Travis d’Arnaud is making his way to -Triple-A Las Vegas. The Mets want to avoid giving Travis enough time to be eligible as a Super Two arbitration player. If he gets enough service time and becomes qualified for it, the Mets could lose a lot of money and a year of team control. Despite posting some exceptional numbers this Spring Training (batting .343 with four doubles in 35 at-bats) and building up strong relationships with pitchers, Travis will have to wait it out in Vegas until at least May while John Buck starts the season as our #1 catcher. Sandy Alderson did, however, mention that if Buck happens to get injured, Travis would be coming up no matter what. 

*Bullpen Status– Pedro Feliciano was working on his comeback for the Mets, but it was cut short today when he was informed that he would not make the Opening Day roster. Although he posted some good numbers, his velocity never made it up there, mostly staying in the range of the low to mid 80s. With the bullpen beginning to take form, Robert Carson is probably the most likely to make the team. The only remaining two battling it out are the submariner, Greg Burke and the flame-throwing right-hander Jeurys Familia. We’ll have to wait and see who wins that one. 

*ON THE WRIGHT TRACK– Thank God is all I have to say! David Wright seems to be working his way straight to Opening Day- hopefully! David took full batting practice yesterday at Tradition Field and noted no pain. This is a great sign! He seems to be making progress and according to him, plans to be out there against the Padres. But given the fact that Wright is such a tough player and always wants to be out on the field, the training staff hides his work out schedule from him until he gets to the ballpark in the morning!

*BAD NEWS FOR DEN DEKKER– Matt den Dekker was likely to receive a Minor League demotion given his struggles offensively, but MAN was he having an amazing Spring Training defensively! Until yesterday, when he lunged for a fly ball and landed awkwardly on his wrist. After x-rays, it was clear Matt broke his wrist! It’s such a misfortune because he was really was playing a great outfield. The rookie was sent back to New York to see if surgery will be necessary. Hope you have a speedy recovery, Matt!!

*Why is it that I didn’t even know Daniel Murphy was hurt? He is coming back from a strained left intercostal muscle! Murph felt no pain at the plate (thankfully) when he played in a Minor League game yesterday for the first time in nine days. He is such a persistent worker, always trying to get better and he is trying his hardest to be there on Opening Day. But he even admits that his timing is off and his swing is nowhere near where it usually is by this time of year. Let’s hope that Murph can find his rhythm and be out on the field soon!

Jeremy Hefner pulled a nice game out of his back pocket today in the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Braves. There’s no doubt he is competing for a spot in the starting rotation, especially with Santana almost guaranteed to start on the DL. Hefner showed some prowess striking out seven (six of them in a row) and allowing only two runs on five hits in five innings. We’ll have to wait until the last minute as always to get any details about the starting lineup once the season begins, but Hefner is definitely putting in the work. It’s a good sign, unlike Dillon Gee‘s miserable start yesterday.

Lucas Duda also showed some life today with a home run off of Tim Hudson in the second inning. Another good sign. But of course, there’s always the bad news to follow some good news…

David Wright was diagnosed with a moderate left intercostal strain sidelining him for about 3-5 days, according to the Mets. (Well there goes the USA’s chances of making it to the finals) And so begins the line of injuries that usually mark the Mets’ seasons. But I don’t blame Wright or the World Baseball Classic. He was tearing it up out there! And he could have just as easily gotten hurt in Spring Training. Sandy Alderson will not say whether Wright will be healthy enough to start the season at 3rd base- what’s new- but Justin Turner will be the likely candidate to replace Wright if he can’t start on April 1st.

I feel bad for Wright. He was doing an amazing job in the Classic and showing the world exactly what he can do. I doubt he’s going to be winning anything with the Mets anytime soon, so it would have been nice to see him lead the U.S. to victory in this tournament. =(

But Wright is a beast and I know he will make the effort to be in that lineup and on the field come Opening Day!

First of all- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MR. NO HITTER HIMSELF, JOHAN SANTANA!

Now onto the real issue at hand, with all the negative press going around concerning   Santana, it’s hard to really know what’s going on from a baseball perspective. Right now, I don’t care about who said what and if Santana really is upset with Sandy because of his comments about Santana’s less-than-ready arm condition coming into Spring Training. That’s not my concern. My concern is who will get the start if Santana ends up on the DL to start the season? 

I doubt Marcum or Gee will be our go-to guy so that leaves Jon Niese and Matt Harvey. Both have been doing pretty well in the Grapefruit League. Both have shown they can get players out and win games, so it comes down to an experienced pitcher in the Big Leagues who pitched like a champ last year or a young pitcher who has been on the fast track of domination since he came up last season. I’m comfortable handing off the the ball to either one of those guys to be perfectly honest.

I wonder whether Niese can handle the pressure of being our number one starter once the season starts. But you don’t want to give Harvey that much responsibility all at once. I want to see Harvey slowly make his way to the #1 spot and stay there. It’s hard enough pitching in the bright lights of New York baseball when you’re pitching well, but to be a young pitcher leading off the rotation and you begin to struggle, it will be a test to say the least. So I guess it depends on how long Johan will be out. If it’s for more than one or two starts, I would go with Niese, but if Santana is coming back sooner than we think, why not give Harvey a chance and see how he handles it. I’d say having to choose between these two strong pitchers is the least of our worries this season. 

 Loading ...

WRIGHT BASEBALL CLASSIC!– The World Baseball Classic has become the Wright Baseball Classic with our very own captain showing that he is a one-man wrecking machine well-worth the money he gets paid. While all Met fans knew that already, now the world gets to see what David Wright can do. David knocked in 5 RBIs last night in Team USA’s 7-1 win over Puerto Rico, including a 3 run double just missing Angel Pagan’s glove. That makes 10 RBIs in total during this WBC!! Wright’s play has garnered so much attention that he’s being hailed as Captain America now! That’s right! David Wright knows how to represent the Mets and this country the right way! Keep it up David and don’t forget to bring that hot bat and glove back for April 1st!!

With the USA team making it into the second round of their pool, I started to think about the importance of the World Baseball Classic and whether it is really gaining the attention of more fans.

Many people think it’s useless and believe it should have fizzled out by now and judging by ratings, I can understand that. But the World Baseball Classic needs to work on gaining a stronger presence. They have to fight it out against basketball and hockey seasons right now and that’s tough competition. Plus, games are only being offered on MLB Network. Does that sound like good odds? Probably not. And I can understand why fans aren’t embracing it- big names aren’t playing and nonsense rules are in play such as low pitch counts for pitchers or pitchers can’t pitch in three games straight. I love the World Baseball Classic and I’m one of those fans that hopes it gets better ratings and builds itself up to a higher status among global events, just like the World Cup. 

But how will this happen? For one thing, the only way to attract more U.S. fans is to get bigger names to play and adjust these stupid rules. This is a constant problem with sporting events such as these. Players aren’t getting paid and fear getting hurt, so they decide to sit it out. Maybe it’s because I’m not a player, but playing for your country seems like a big deal and it’s understood that you have other priorities, but whatever happened to the fun of the game, rather than the business side. Feeling that sense of pride, engaging players from all around the world, seeing how different countries play their baseball, and just playing for love of the game. It’s every four years, not every year or every day, so why not take part and help this World Baseball Classic capture more attention. 

I missed the U.S. game versus Italy where David Wright hit that grand slam to win the game, but when I heard about it and saw the recap videos, I was overly excited and filled with pride. Part of it was because he’s a Met,  but then there’s that part that felt a really strong sense of pride in this country. Rooting for players I normally put hexes on during games seems foreign, but it‘s all in good fun! I hope that the World Baseball Classic draws in better ratings and finds a way to show fans that it’s not just some nonsense competition. 

METS NEWS– Closer Frank Francisco finally threw off a mound, Zack Wheeler was sent down to Triple-A Las Vegas most likely because of a strained oblique injury along with 9 others, and Jordany Valdespin is tearing it up on the field showing he’s ready for the season, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JEREMY HEFNER!!!

With only 4 days until pitchers and catchers report, the Mets have made what seems to be their final move to finish off their bullpen “makeover” this offseason by giving a one-year contract to the veteran right-hander, Brandon Lyon. With Bobby Parnell as the setup man and presumably Frank Francisco still at the closer position (we’ll see what happens in Spring Training -_- ), Lyon could be slipped in next to Parnell or possibly fill in as a closer if needed.

Lyon has had some injury problems- right shoulder and biceps tendon surgery in 2011- and split time with the Astros and Blue Jays last season. He racked up a 3.10 ERA in 67 appearances with 63 strikeouts and 20 walks in 61 innings pitched.

I don’t know what to make of this so-called improvement especially since our significant changes to the bullpen last year led us to be 29th in the league in ERA. As Spring Training comes around, there are several pitchers fighting it out for spots on the Opening Day roster. Hopefully the competition will bring out the best in all of the contenders and maybe…just maybe…our bullpen will improve this upcoming season. **Trying to think positive thoughts!!**

FOR YOUR READING/LISTENING PLEASURE… Check out (here) ESPN’s Adam Rubin interviewing David Wright as he discusses his hectic offseason, which included a big contract making him a Met for life (Oh, HAPPY DAY), the long negotiating process, his engagement (BOOOOOO!!), and his recruitment call to a certain player on the Mets radar (cough**BOURN**cough). It’s a good read even if you don’t watch the short clip, so take a look!