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Mets Owner Jeff Wilpon in Atlanta… Why?

OK, first we find out Omar Minaya is in town for the Atlanta series to “support his team.” Now we find out Mets owner Jeff Wilpon has also strolled into town right behind him. NOT a good sign.

Somewhere, Willie Randolph is smiling.

Somebody’s got to go and if I had my way it would be both Omar and Jerry Manuel. In the beginning of the season I stated that if the Mets had a slow start that these two would have to go. I would consider last place, six weeks into the season, a slow start.

On top of that here come the Yankees and Phillies who could bury them in last place for a long time. It’s not looking good, my fellow Mets fans, but I have always followed an age old rule, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results .“

This is insanity I’m watching. Firing Jerry will not make me happy. I would just as well keep Jerry and watch Omar go.

Let’s not make the same mistake twice by only letting the manager go. This time it’s got to be Omar.

Omar put this team together. Only Omar can take credit for Oliver Perez and his obscene contract. Only Omar can take credit for Jason Bay , Jeff Francouer, and a pitching staff that only has two legitimate starters and nothing in the farm system to back them up. And he has to own up to the fact many of our star players injuries were not handled correctly.

My feeling is, with the Yankees coming to town, big changes are in order. So that makes me think that both Jerry and Omar could be gone.

Going forward, what manager would fill all those empty seats in Citi Field?

The only person who could fill some of these empty seats in Citi Field is Wally Backman. Bobby Valentine is a longshot. Give Backman the job. Let him entertain us a little, maybe even light a fire under some of these overpaid players. Make Ollie run laps in the bullpen for the entire game! Earn all those millions!

But something has to change or the Wilpons stand to lose a lot in tickets sales and all other avenues of revenue related to the Mets.

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New York Mets-Atlanta Braves: Mike Pelfrey Delivers Ends Mets’ Losing Streak

The Mets won in front of Jeff Wilpon behind a really strong start by Mike Pelfrey . He went 7.2 IP and gave up only 2 ER on 7 hits and 2 walks. His velocity was great, at times throwing his fastball in the high 90s. This kind of start is exactly what the Mets needed right now.

The offense wasn’t great again. Surprisingly, Chris Carter started in right field and hit cleanup again for the second day in a row. The team only had five hits. But Rod Barajas was 2 for 4 with 2 big RBI.

The game got tight in the eighth when Pedro Feliciano came in and gave up a hit and a walk. But he managed to get out of it with a big strikeout of Brian McCann. K-Rod closed it out pretty cleanly. He only gave up one walk in the ninth but got the job done.

Nice win for the Mets to break their five game losing streak.

Box score

 

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Preview: Mets at Braves May 17, 2010

New York Mets (18-20) at Atlanta Braves (18-19)  7:10 pm

Mike Pelfrey (4-1 3.14) vs Derek Lowe (5-3 5.73)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets go into Turner Field at 1-8 on the road in May and 4-12 this season, the worst in the National League. The Mets swept the Braves at Citi Field at the end of April. This is the first time the Mets will face Lowe this season. The Braves won their last two series against the Brewers and D-Backs.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Minaya Traveling with Mets To Atlanta

NEW YORK - JUNE 23:  General Manager Omar Mina...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Mets General Manager Omar Minaya was with the team while they got swept in Florida. He was scheduled to come back to New York but changed his plans after the Marlins completed the sweep. Minaya will travel with the team to Atlanta to “offer support”.

The last time Minaya traveled with the team to “offer support” was in 2008 before Willie Randolph got fired. He went to Denver and then Anaheim for his midnight firing. Having Minaya around “offering support” is like getting a pat on the back from the grim reaper.

I don’t expect Jerry Manuel or anyone else to get fired this week, but I do expect the Mets to shake things up if they’re still in last place at the end of May.

It seems to be almost a consensus that Bob Melvin will get the job if Manuel is canned. If so, expect Dan Warthen and Howard Johnson to go too.

It should make for an interesting two weeks. With the Mets, when isn’t it.

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Marlins Top Mets 10-6 in Four-Game Sweep

New York Mets at Cincinnati Reds

The Mets lost their fifth straight game as the Marlins finished off a four-game sweep. Jon Niese started the game and wasn’t very sharp for the second start in a row. He left the game due to injury after fielding a ground ball. It looked like it might have been the same hamstring that ruined his season last year. He ended up throwing two innings and giving up two ER (earned runs).

Hisanori Takahashi relived Niese and went three IP, which precludes him from taking Oliver Perez‘s spot in the rotation. The Mets will have to dip into Triple-A Buffalo to replace Perez.

Fernando Nieve got rocked in the seventh inning for three ER on two hits a walk. His ERA is up to 4.64 as he’s cooled off quite a bit from his hot start in the bullpen.

The defense was pretty sloppy in this one too. David Wright and Niese both had errors. But Wright had several plays that he didn’t make at third that were scored as hits by the Florida scorekeeper.

The Mets did have 12 hits and four walks in the game. The lineup featured Chris Carter hitting cleanup and playing right field. Jeff Francoeur got a “mental health” day off but he did end up pinch hitting. The big shock is that Gary Matthews, Jr. went into right field and went 2-for-2 with his first RBI of the year.

The Mets head to Atlanta for a two-game series starting tomorrow night.

Box score

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Preview: Mets at Marlins May 16, 2010

New York Mets (18-19) at Florida Marlins (19-18)  1:10 pm

Jon Niese (1-1 4.52) vs Ricky Nolasco (3-2 3.66)

TV : SNY   Radio : WFAN

What to watch : The Mets are trying to avoid being swept this afternoon. The Mets have won four of the last five games that Niese started. Although his last start against the Nationals was the worst of the season giving up 6 ER in 4.1 IP. Nolasco and the Marlins beat the Mets on April 7 when he went 6.2 IP and gave up 3 ER in a 7-6 win.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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New York Mets Links: Oliver Perez Refuses Demotion

The Mets are in a bad way right now. Dropping below .500 yesterday could be a dangerous sign for the 2010 season and where it’s headed.

Expect the Wilpons to enter their first decision point in two weeks. If the Mets aren’t moving in the right direction at the end of May, it could spell the end for Jerry Manuel as manager. I would also expect Dan Warthen and Howard Johnson to be fired as well. If Manuel, Warthen, and HoJo make it into June in their current jobs that’s a very good sign for them.

So much has happened over the last few days, here are the links.

The Mets are 4-11 on the road this year and have no offense in those games at all. You would think they would take advantage of getting away from Citi Field but they haven’t. It’s been just the opposite.

It’s been well documented that Oliver Perez lost his spot in the rotation yesterday. But ESPN broke the news that Omar Minaya brought up the possibility of going to the minors and Perez refused.

Perez has nine years in the bigs and doesn’t have to agree to go to the minors if he doesn’t want to. I wouldn’t either. If he went, he would have no control over when he came back. They could leave him in the minors all season.

The difference between this situation and Steve Trachsel going to the minors in 2005 is that the Mets would have released Trachsel. They won’t release Perez. He doesn’t have to worry about that because of his big contract. There’s no motivation for him to go to the minors.

Carlos Beltran stopped by Miami yesterday to see the Mets. He’s still rehabbing from knee surgery in Port St. Lucie. Beltran wouldn’t speak to the media while he was there. The word is that once he resumes full activity (which he hasn’t yet) he’ll need four to six weeks to get ready to play.

Ryota Igarashi started his rehab from a hamstring strain yesterday and got knocked around in 0.2 IP in St. Lucie. He gave up four hits and two runs.

In 1985, Bernie Carbo tried to hire thugs to break Keith Hernandez’ arms for testifying that Carbo was the one that got him started on cocaine. Hernandez testified during the Pittsburgh drug trials about his use and acquisition of cocaine while playing for the Cardinals.

Sabernomics adds a little more analysis to the Mets shrinking attendance this season.

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Mets-Reds Preview: New York Looks To Bounce Back Against Cincinnati

New York Mets (14-11)  at Cincinnati Reds (12-13) 7:10 p.m.

Oliver Perez (0-2 4.35) versus Mike Leake (2-0 3.25)

TV: SNY, Radio: WFAN

 

What To Watch

The Mets roll into Cincy for a three-game series this week. Perez starts things off for the Mets. He got into trouble in his last start against the Dodgers and couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. Jerry Manuel clearly had a quick hook with him. Expect that to continue. Leake is a rookie that’s been pitching well for the Reds. They’ve won three of the four games he started this season.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Phillies 11 – Mets 5 May 2, 2010

The Mets and, more so, Johan Santana got absolutely torched by the Phillies in the final game of their three game series. Santana gave up 10 runs in 3.2 IP including four home runs, one of those a grand slam to Shane Victorino. It was really ugly tonight for the Mets.

The Mets did have some offense against Jamie Moyer. David Wright had a big 3-run homer in the first inning and things were looking good. But not for long. Rod Barajas hit another homer as well. But the five runs the Mets put up weren’t enough to overcome the disastrous start that Santana had.

Santana looked worse than I’ve ever seen him as a Mets player. He gave up a bases loaded walk to Moyer of all things. Then Victorino hit the grand slam. It was hideous.

The Mets leave town losing two of three in Philly and a half game back in the NL East.

Box score

Related posts:

  1. Phillies 10 – Mets 0 May 1, 2010
  2. Mets 7- Phillies 5 May 7, 2009
  3. Preview: Mets at Phillies May 2, 2010

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2010 Mets – Chokers or Champions?

That graph to the left says it all. The game yesterday was pretty much over by the fifth inning. With the way Roy Halladay was pitching, you could say it was over by the fourth.

I was looking forward to a pitching duel between arguably the best pitcher in the National League and Mike Pelfrey, the current NL ERA leader. Until the fourth inning, the matchup was living up to the hype.

Then, the old Mets showed up, the ones who choke in critical situations. Two pop-ups in the fourth that couldn’t be handled and the game began to unravel.

The Phillies proved once again they can came back from a bad game. True champions do that. They also showed the world the Mets still struggle with choking and they did it on national TV.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Johan Santana is going to need a strong game today and needs to start the process of removing the “choke” label from this team. This team needs to pick itself up, brush itself off and get back out there.  No trash talk, no excuses, just play the game to the best of their abilities.

Today’s game with Santana on the mound will answer a lot of questions. Will these Mets be able to come back from a bad game in true champion style? Can the Mets finally throw down the choker label and hold onto first place in the process?

Today’s game just might answer the question, “Is this team a Choker or a Champion?” They will either leave Philly in first, or the Phillies would have put the Mets in their rightful place. I know it’s early, but psychologically, this is an important game.

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Related posts:

  1. Mets 2010 Slow Start – Nats Swat Back!
  2. Phillies Hamels Clarifies Mets Chokers Comment
  3. Phillies 10 – Mets 0 May 1, 2010

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