Kuzul

Fresh off the heels of rookie Jon Niese’s near-perfect one-hit complete game shutout, the Mets head to Baltimore tonight to resume interleague play.

After all the troubles the Mets have had on the road, the schedule softens up for the next week as they face the Orioles and Indians, two of the worst teams in baseball. If there was ever a time to remedy the putrid 8-18 road record the Mets are currently sporting, these six games are the time to do it.

Especially since after Camden Yards and the Jake in Cleveland, they’re headed to the Bronx to face a Yankees team that will likely have revenge on the mind, not to mention the home field advantage.

The Mets finished a 5-1 homestand by taking two of three from the Padres, a surprising team that had the best record in the National League coming into the series. The Mets are now 24-10 at home, the best record in the majors.

The most refreshing thing about the Mets lately is the contributions they’ve gotten from their homegrown prospects. For the first time in my lifetime, the farm system has produced quality and quantity on the big league team unlike anything I can ever remember.

When Jon Niese and Mike Pelfrey are on the mound, they join David Wright, Jose Reyes, Ruben Tejada, Ike Davis and Angel Pagan in the Mets starting lineup, giving them six homegrown guys in their starting nine.

Think about that for a second. This is not the Tampa Bay Rays or the Minnesota Twins here. The New York Mets, a big market National League team known for their uneven free agent signings, actually has an entire homegrown infield at the moment, with Luis Castillo on the shelf.

David Wright and Jose Reyes are still only 27 years old, and it feels like they’ve been here forever. Both are multiple time All-Stars who are just now hitting their prime. Now they’re joined by wunderkind Ike Davis, he of the sweet lefty glovework and the timely moonshot homers. Davis, for the record, is second among all rookies in SLG only behind the superhuman Jason Heyward.

The youngster Ruben Tejada, a 20-year-old middle infielder from Panama, has taken over the everyday second base duties in the past few days filling in for the injured Luis Castillo, and he’s brought a defensive presence that Castillo has lacked since his Florida Marlins days.

Tejada, a defensive wizard who only played 37 minor league games at 2B, impressed the Mets brass with his surprising offense after hitting .289 as a 19-year-old in AA last year and .294 in AAA this year. If he hits .250 with the big league squad and continues to play fabulous defense, the Mets seem likely to hand him the job for the foreseeable future.

Amazingly enough, another 2B down in the minors, 2008 first rounder Reese Havens, is tearing up his first go-around in AA , and gives the Mets even more potential homegrown depth at the position, should Tejada start to fade.

Angel Pagan, yes, is technically another homegrown guy. Drafted by the Mets in the fourth round of the 1999 draft, Pagan was an original Brooklyn Cyclone in 2001 and toiled in the minors for six years before the Cubs acquired him and gave him his first taste of big league ball.

Before the 2008 season, Pagan was reacquired by the Mets and he has become invaluable in center field, both with the glove and the bat, a classic late bloomer who has become a under-the-radar star in New York.

According to FanGraphs, Pagan leads all National League center fielders with a 6.9 UZR this year, second in the majors behind Alex Rios, who himself is having a monster season as well. Looking at his value, it’s amazing how good he’s been without the accolades or hype of more highly touted players.

Pagan was worth 29.2 Runs Above Replacement in 2009, and another 19.9 RAR so far this year. Not bad for a guy who had to beat out Gary Matthews Jr for the starting center field job going into the season. As you can see in his WAR rating, he has been worth almost five full wins above replacement in the last two years replacing Carlos Beltran.

Then there’s Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese, two gems drafted by the Mets back in 2005, a draft class that’s shaping up to be one of the best in Mets history. Pelfrey was the ninth overall pick in round one, Niese was picked in round seven.

They also picked up flamethrowing reliever Bobby Parnell in round nine, and top catching prospect Josh Thole in round 13 that year. Kudos to the scouting department on that one. Parnell and Thole are being groomed down in Buffalo right now and likely will be a huge part of the future of the team as well.

Niese was born on the day of the Mets last World Series victory, the day of game seven of the 1986 World Series. I guess he was just destined to be a Met. Niese is 2–0 with a 0.56 ERA in his two starts since returning from the disabled list, and he’s struck out 12 batters and walked one in those 16 innings.

Not too shabby for a 23-year-old who tore his hamstring off the bone following a horrific injury last August that epitomized the 2009 Mets in a nutshell.

And what can you say about Mike Pelfrey right now? If it weren’t for the unconscious Ubaldo Jimenez out in Denver, Pelfrey would be a Cy Young contender. He is not a flash in the pan who’s gotten lucky. What we’re seeing with Big Pelf is a 26-year-old who’s finally learned how to pitch and get hitters out.

A far cry from the pitcher who used to throw fastballs three out of every four pitches in his early days, Pelfrey has mixed in a devastating splitter to become a true ace in the making, a man who throws with a purpose on every single pitch to every batter he faces.

Always a heavy ground ball pitcher, (career GB% of 50.2% ) Pelfrey’s strikeouts have shot up dramatically this season, a career high 6.47 K/9 that, paired with his minuscule BB/9 and HR/9 have translated into high marks in the more traditional stats as well. Pelfrey is 8-1 with a 2.23 ERA in 12 starts, including a 4-0 record and a 1.19 ERA in his last five starts.

Jenrry Mejia, still being held hostage by Jerry Manuel , is another 20-year-old with tremendous upside, that is, whenever the Mets smarten up and send him down to the minors to stretch him out so he can join the rotation.

Needless to say, with the home-cooking the Mets have gotten from their young stars, as well as the hospitality of their home ballpark, it’s looking like home is where the heart is for the Mets.

And that is a big credit to Omar Minaya and his scouting department. He deserves a ton of credit for turning around the farm system, and although it takes years to pay off at times, clearly it’s paid huge dividends to this 2010 team, and it might end up saving his job.

Hey. Winning cures all ailments, doesn’t it? Now, if they can play close to .500 baseball on the road, this will be a team that could be playing in October. Clearly the pressures of the big leagues haven’t deterred the young stars yet, and as long as they keep flying under the radar, this rollercoaster season could have a happy ending for Mets fans.

(This article was originally posted on my personal blog, MetsJetsNetsBlog and can be found here .)

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The MLB First Year Player Draft is a beast unlike any other compared to the drafts in the other major pro sports.

You won’t see the New York Jets or the Chicago Bulls drafting any player without the intent of seeing that guy play right away as a rookie.

Yet in baseball, teams are drafting guys who they know they won’t see for at least a year or two, and usually a lot longer than that.

The Mets have the seventh overall pick in tomorrow’s draft, the first time since 2004 that the Amazin’s are drafting so early in the first-round. Actually, the Mets didn’t even have a first-round pick in 2009, 2007 and 2006, as they had to give up those picks as compensation for signing Type A free agents those years.

Ike Davis was the last first-round pick the Mets had, back in 2008.  (They actually had two first rounders that year, the second of which was 2B Reese Havens, who’s tearing it up in AA ball right now.) Needless to say, if the Mets can hit the jackpot on a pick like they did in 2005 (Big Pelf) or 2008, the Mets would be thrilled.

From what I can gather, the 2010 draft will be headlined by a “big three” that is led by 17-year-old phenom Bryce Harper, a catcher/outfielder from the College of Southern Nevada who appears to be a lock to go number one overall to Washington.

The Pirates will likely choose between two high school stars with the second pick, either pitcher Jameson Taillon of The Woodlands High School in Texas, or shortstop Manny Machado of Brito High School in Miami. The Orioles will likely take the guy the Pirates pass on.

The Royals reportedly have reached an agreement with University of Miami catcher Yasmani Grandal with the fourth pick, but everything after that is up in the air.

In a piece for MLB.com , Peter Gammons quotes a National League general manager as saying that “there’s virtually no difference between the fourth and 44th picks. So in many ways, it’s really a scouts’ Draft. If your scouts are really good, you will be fine, except that it will be expensive.”

The Mets sure hope their scouts are really good, because in recent years baseball has been transformed by the influx of young talent that has teams relying more on pitching and defense again as opposed to all-bat-no-glove power threats.

Let’s look at a couple guys the Mets could target in the first-round tomorrow just to get it started.

Matt Harvey, Right-hander, UNC

Harvey is an interesting name that’s been floated out there recently. He walked a ton of batters in his first two years at North Carolina but is having a tremendous junior season in 2009 that has restored his draft value, albeit not as high as it was back in 2007, when he was considered of the better prep pitching prospects in the country. (Interestingly, Harvey and Rick Porcello were considered the two best high school hurlers that year, both committed to UNC, but Porcello signed with the Tigers instead.)

Harvey has a fastball that tops out at 96-97, according to MLB.com’s scouting report , as well as a slider and change-up. He threw a curveball in high school but it looks like the slider is his new favorite weapon. Both Baseball America and ESPN.com’s Keith Law rank him as the 20th best player available, and it’s looking more and more that the Mets will go in a different direction at seven.

Justin O’Conner, Shortstop/Catcher, Cowan High School (Indiana)

O’Conner is an intriguing guy, and has been linked to the Mets a lot recently. He’s been a shortstop and a pitcher most of his prep career, but his strong throwing arm and good footwork have led many to believe that he’s destined to be a catcher at the next level.

You have to remember that when evaluating amateur athletes, you don’t really draft for positions of need at the major league level, considering the time it takes for prospects to pan out. So it’s not far-fetched that O’Conner would be a top target of the Mets, who looks like he’s got the tools to be a serious bat in pro ball.

MLB.com’s scouting reports say that O’Conner is a very good hitter who “stays inside the ball well and is short to the ball,” who also has raw power to all fields. He’s even got enough talent on the mound to warrant consideration from some teams as a pitcher, but if the Mets take him, he’s likely to find a home behind the plate, in my opinion.

To put it frankly, this is the guy I think will be hearing his name called on draft day by the Metropolitans. But until then, it’s all a guessing game.

Zach Cox , Third Baseman, Arkansas

Cox is a good college bat, but rumor has it that his asking price is going to cause him to fall. The Mets don’t really go overslot very often, so don’t expect the Mets to go for him.

He’s got a lot of leverage as a draft-eligible sophomore, (he can return to school if he doesn’t get a suitable offer) so it’ll be interesting to see who takes the bait. He may be a good player someday, but he’s likely too risky for the Mets to roll the dice on.

Chris Sale, Lefthander, Florida Gulf Coast University

To be honest, Chris Sale (not to be confused with Josh Sale, a prep outfielder who also may be a top ten pick) is likely to be gone by the time the Mets pick, as the Indians or Diamondbacks (fifth and sixth, respectively) probably won’t let him fall to seventh.

But, in the off-chance that he slips to the Mets, they’ll likely snap him up ahead of O’Conner. Sale is a 6’6″ lefty who has scouts divided on his future. Some see him as a starter, some see him as a reliever. At any rate, MLB.com’s trusty scouting report says that he’s got a fastball that sits around 92 and has sink on it, along with a big slurve that eats up lefties and a solid change-up.

His mound presence is notable, as MLB.com rates him as perhaps the most poised pitcher in the draft, and he’s also got impeccable control. Again, he’s likely going one or two picks before the Mets get a chance to draft him, otherwise he’d be a good target. If I was a betting man, I’d say Justin O’Conner is the pick.

(This article was originally posted on my personal blog, MetsJetsNetsBlog , and can be found here .)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

OK, so here’s one you don’t see every day. Today in the Angels/Mariners game in Anaheim, Angels first baseman Kendry Morales hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th to win the game 5-1 for L.A.

Morales, who’s quietly become one of the best players in the American League, was doing what every single player in the big leagues would do. He saw his teammates in a mob at the plate, ready for him to make the big leap into the pile to celebrate the winning runs.

And then the happy mob of Angels players had the shortest celebration in recent memory.

Morales appeared to land on a teammate’s foot, and he landed very awkwardly. He had to be carted off the field and X-rays later revealed a “fracture of the lower left leg.” He literally broke his leg celebrating a walk-off hit. A grand slam, to boot.

Now it appears the Angels will be without their star first baseman for quite some time. In one trip around the bases, Morales goes from a walk-off to a cart-off.

Could this be the death of the walk-off mob at home plate? Certainly it would have to be scaled down, at least in the Angels case, effective immediately.

“It’ll change the way we celebrate,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “It sure was exciting, but you always wonder if it’s an accident waiting to happen.”

For the Angels, they lose their leading hitter in AVG, HR and RBI.  Losing your leader in the triple crown categories is bad enough, but Morales is also one of the better defense first basemen in the game.

In his breakout season last year, Morales led all major league first basemen in UZR, and was second in the majors in UZR/150 to the Twins’ Justin Morneau. For the first two months of this season, he was second in the AL and third overall in UZR. So the Angels aren’t just losing their best hitter, they’re also losing one of the game’s best defenders.

Apparently, it may not be a quick stay on the DL, either. Early reports are that Morales might miss the rest of the season and will have surgery tomorrow.

As bad as it is for the Angels, could this have ramifications across baseball in regards to the way teams celebrate walk-off home runs?

As Scioscia said, managers always wonder when something like that is going to happen. Morales is not the first player to get injured celebrating a walk-off. But the walk-off home run specifically is the only time a player hops high into the air and comes down on home plate so violently like that.

Some players get some serious air on their jumps. Morales didn’t exactly out-jump Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, but then again McCutchen isn’t 225 pounds.

When a team scores a walk-off win on anything other than a home run, the team comes out to celebrate but the run has already scored and, for the most part, no one gets injured because of the lack of the home run leap into the plate.

That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but it’s still relatively rare. I wouldn’t be surprised to see teams taking it easy on those dog piles at the plate, though, regardless of the type of hit. I also wouldn’t expect to see too many guys going “Air McCutchen” too often anymore either.

A freak injury may have cost the Angels one of their best players for the season, and it may have cost baseball fans around the globe the chance to see any more spur-of-the-moment, adrenaline-filled, crazy celebrations on walk-off homers. It’s a shame, considering how unlikely the odds a player can get so seriously injured on a freak incident like that.

But you’d have to think that every general manager in the majors will be talking to their respective teams and coaches about taking it easy. No one wants to see an injury like this ever happen again. Meanwhile, the Angels are still three games under .500, struggling to keep afloat in a winnable division.

Ouch.

(This article was originally posted on my personal blog, MetsJetsNetsBlog, and can be found here.)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

(This article was originally posted on my personal blog, MetsJetsNetsBlog , and can be found here .)

July 30, 2004 is a day that lives in infamy for Mets fans of my generation.

The Mets were six games out of a playoff spot, not exactly contenders, but not exactly out of it. So, they decided to become buyers at the deadline.

That’s when arguably the worst trade since the Nolan Ryan deal came about. The Mets traded stud pitching prospect Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano.

Unlike most fans, I was a Zambrano supporter, believe it or not. At least he tried.

Zambrano was already injured when New York acquired him, with a messed up elbow that the Mets soon-to-be-former medical staff approved, despite insufficient medical reports.

It wasn’t Zambrano’s fault the Mets higher-ups traded their best pitching prospect for a run-of-the-mill starter. It also wasn’t his fault that New York traded their best pitching prospect for damaged goods.

Zambrano pitched parts of three seasons with the Mets. He’ll likely be remembered for his bizarre final appearance in Queens, when Zambrano’s screwed up elbow finally gave way. If you recall, he struck out Andruw Jones. Then, without warning, the pitcher ran off of the mound, and into the clubhouse, never to be seen again.

The Mets, of course, would go on to finish the 2004 season with a 71-91 record. Art Howe was fired, and Omar Minaya was hired to fix the mess.

I hate to rehash the memories of that fateful year, but I bring it up for good reason.

It’s starting to feel, to me at least, like this 2010 season is playing out like 2004.

Like 2004, the Mets have a lame-duck manager. It’s one of the worst kept secrets in baseball.

Like 2004, the roster is littered with young talent, in Mike Pelfrey, Ike Davis, and Angel Pagan, that is showing signs of stardom.

Like in 2004, the Mets have a top pitching prospect in Jenrry Mejia, who is being mishandled by people who shouldn’t be in charge of such decisions.

And, like 2004, the Mets are pseudo-contenders, middle-of-the-pack, and in prime position to sell if they don’t improve by the trading deadline.

That is, of course, as long as a stupid trade isn’t made in a desperate attempt to save someone’s job.

Why, I ask you fellow members of the Shea Faithful, does it feel as though Omar Minaya’s leadership hasn’t brought this franchise anywhere in his six years with the club, but back to square one, right back where the franchise was in September of 2004 when he got the job?

Wasn’t he hired to make this team relevant again?

Instead of fixing the Mets by being an intelligent, thrifty baseball mind (such as Rays general manager Andrew Friedman, for example) Minaya tried to rebuild the Mets by aimlessly throwing money at good players. He showed them the money to make them come to Queens, and make the Mets a contender again.

To his credit, the Carlos Beltran deal was a success in my book. As was the Billy Wagner signing and the Carlos Delgado trade, among others. Pedro Martinez, Manaya’s first big splash as Mets GM, was great for the first two years. Unfortunately, there were too many years in Martinez’s contract.

But, that’s what Omar Minaya did. He got his man, no matter how recklessly he had to spend to do it.

For every Beltran, Johan Santana and Endy Chavez acquisition, there was a Heath Bell-for-scraps, the J.J. Putz deal, and the Luis Castillo contract, etc.

Here we are, in 2010, with the fifth-highest payroll in Major League Baseball , behind only the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies. Yet, the Mets are six games back of the Phillies in the division, 4.5 games back in the Wild Card, with a whole lot of teams in front of them. Their manager’s job is on the line in every series.

Will anyone be shocked if Minaya gets the boot after this season? Is there someone out there, maybe a Kevin Towers, or maybe even a John Ricco, who can oversee this franchise without running it into the ground?

I’m inclined to say yes, because I’m the optimistic Mets fan. But, it’s clear that something has to change.

2006 should not have been the peak of the Minaya era, but it’s obvious in retrospect that it was.

The Mets have gone in a circle over these past six seasons. From upstarts in 2005, to runaway kings of the National League to 2006, to chokers in 2007, to near-misses in 2008, and to rock bottom in 2009. 

Yet, the same people are still in charge.

Some people have criticized the Mets for having a weak off-season, signing only Jason Bay and wasting money on Chris Coste and Alex Cora.

But, I think the off-season was actually one of Omar Minaya’s best.

He didn’t give Bay too much money, all things considered. Most importantly, Minaya didn’t trade away our top prospects. Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, Jon Niese, Josh Thole, Wilmer Flores, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis are still here.

The Mets are going in the right direction, especially since they hired Terry Collins to run the farm system. They’ve got bright managers in the minors in Ken Oberkfell, Wally Backman and Tim Teufel. If they hire a guy to run the big league team, they need to find the right man for the job.

They need a 21st-century general manager to run the show. Someone who understands the value of pitching and defense, unlike the man in charge currently who talks about pitching and defense, but doesn’t walk the walk.

I want a general manager who can understand UZR and BABIP. I want a general manager who can talk the finer points of FIP and wOBA.

In other words, I want a general manager who can get us to the promised land. And keep us there. And that guy is not Omar Minaya. Not anymore. 

The man who’s responsible needs to get his walking papers after this season.

Thankfully, there is nowhere to go but up. This roster is too talented to fail.

They’ve shown the ability to play up to competition, like they did this weekend against the defending World Champions.

With the right leadership in place, from the General Manager on down, this team can be contenders in the near future. It’s only a matter of time.

Ya gotta believe.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

New York’s two franchises had remarkably different 2009 seasons. The Yankees, with their shiny new free agent additions in Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett, ran away with the American League East and came away with their 27th World Series championship, beating the Phillies in six games.

For Mets fans, the 2009 season was a nightmare, as Mets players, including eight former All-Stars, spent more than 1,480 days on the disabled list as the team limped to a 72-90 record. To literally add insult to injury, they watched as their hated rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, completed the best three-year stretch in their franchise’s 127-year history by reaching the World Series for the second straight season.

Mets fans, at least the ones who were still willing to watch, had to choose between which rival team they wanted to win—or lose—the World Series. The division rival who had given you fits the past three seasons, or the cross-town rival whose fans would never let you hear the end of it.

In the end, it was the Yankees who came away with the title, ending their nine-year “drought” of October failure.

So now in 2010, the World Champion Yankees come to Queens for their second visit ever to the beautiful Citi Field for a three-game series with the Mets.

The Yankees are pretty banged up at the moment, especially in their outfield. Starting center fielder Curtis Granderson is on the disabled list with a groin injury, and Nick Swisher and Marcus Thames are day-to-day and may not play during the three-game series.

Jorge Posada was also recently placed on the disabled list with a fractured foot, joining designated hitter Nick Johnson and reliever Alfredo Aceves.

The Mets went into the season without Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy, but have gotten surprising contributions from their replacements, Angel Pagan and Ike Davis, respectively. The Mets’ problems however, run far deeper than that.

The Yankees head across town after being swept in the Bronx by the best team in the majors, the former AL East whipping-boys-turned-juggernauts from Tampa Bay. The Mets have lost 60 percent of their starting rotation in the past five days, and have lost nine of their past 12 games, although they are coming off of a 10-7 win in Washington.

As unfair as it may be for Mets fans, let’s break down the two teams to gauge what to expect from this National League version of the 2010 Subway Series…

Begin Slideshow

Former Mets first baseman and current television analyst, Keith Hernandez has said a few times during the course of the season that a team is never as good as they look during a hot streak, and is never as bad as they seem to be during a cold streak.

Well, the Mets have seen both sides of the coin early in this young season, which leads me to believe that they’ll end up, eventually, some place in the middle.

Right now, that middle seems to be the .500 mark, where the Mets are now hovering close to at 18-20, following a dismal four-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins down in Miami.

It’s not exactly the way the Mets envisioned the first four games of an eight-game road trip against division foes happening. Plus, things won’t be much better when they come home next weekend to host the Yankees and Phillies at Citi Field.

It seems like ages ago now that the Mets finished April on an eight-game tear, including a 9-1 homestand that saw them reach first place in an ultra-competitive NL East in which all five teams look like they’re for real this year.

Yet, since that eight-game win streak in April, the calender has not been kind to the Mets, who are now 4-11 in the month of May. In fact, had the Mets not rallied for six runs in the eight inning against the Nationals last Tuesday, they could be staring at an eight-game losing streak right now.

But it’s not as if the season is over. The season is not even one quarter of the way over yet. There is still time to try to fix this team and lift them back towards respectability.

One thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is that, despite the 4-11 record in May, the Mets have played games decided by 2 runs or less in 12 of their last 13 games, which tells me a few things.

Primarily, it tells me that the offense doesn’t quit, and they try to rally until the 27th out is recorded. We’ve seen them rally back from five, six, even seven runs down (with mixed results) and I love to see the fight and the never-say-die attitude. It’s a refreshing change from last year when often they’d look dead after falling behind in the game.

In addition, it tells me that at some point, the breaks have got to start going the Mets way. With so many close games decided by a few plays that go either way, at some point those breaks have to go the other way. It’s not as if the opposing team is going to continue to make every diving catch and get every slow roller to bang off the third base bag for a base hit.

I still believe that the core talent on this team has so much potential that it hasn’t fully realized yet, so today I’ll look at five moves that the Mets should make to try to salvage this season, with the hopes of contending both now in 2010, and in the future.

Begin Slideshow

The New York Mets finally made an overdue roster move late Monday night, when utility man Frank Catalanotto was designated for assignment to make room for Chris Carter.

Carter came over from the Boston Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade, and introduced himself to Mets fans during spring training when he had arguably the strongest spring of any offensive player.

Despite the injury to Daniel Murphy, Carter did not make the Opening Day roster, as the Mets chose to take the vastly inferior Mike Jacobs north instead. Eventually, the Mets realized the error of their ways, and sent Jacobs packing when Ike Davis was called up.

Carter, who can play first base and the corner outfield spots, played 29 games for AAA Buffalo, and leaves the Bisons after posting a triple-slash line of .336/.390/.611, good for a 1.001 OPS in 123 plate appearances.

In addition, the lefthanded Carter also has a very impressive .448 OBP against lefties for the Bisons.

It’s fair to be skeptical about a 27-year-old who only has 26 plate appearances in the big leagues, but I’ll cut Carter some slack. As a Red Sox minor leaguer, he was effectively blocked on the major league roster by Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew. Conversely, he’s not known as a very strong defensive player, so his value is in his bat.

Carter’s career minor league numbers reflect that.

His overall numbers are .307/.380/.514 in parts of seven minor league seasons, including a pretty solid .305/.373/.499 line in 540 games at the AAA level.

As a Met, Carter’s primary job is going to be the big lefty power bat off the bench, something they’ve sorely lacked all season. He also figures to get some spot starts in the corner outfield spots if Jerry Manuel so chooses.

Making the moves to call up Davis and Carter took a little bit longer than fans would’ve liked, but it’s a breath of fresh air when the transactions do finally happen.

However, there are a few more moves that I believe need to happen that will improve the Mets in a few different ways. The most important move, in my opinion, is the demotion of Jenrry Mejia back to AA Binghamton.

Mejia, the Mets’ top pitching prospect, made the roster out of spring training as a reliever mostly based on the uncertainty of the bullpen. Aside from All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez, and set-up man Pedro Feliciano, the Mets pen was full of unknowns.

Mejia, a 20-year-old rookie who had never pitched in relief prior to this season, possesses an electric high-90’s fastball, and is developing a breaking ball to keep hitters honest.

But if the Mets brought Mejia up from AA to shore up the bullpen, wouldn’t it make sense to send him back down if he’s not needed? Through 32 games, the Mets relievers are third in the majors with a 2.70 ERA, and are second in the majors with a .215 batting average against.

It’s not like they’re doing it on the cheap, either. Mets relievers have combined to record the second-most innings pitched in MLB with 116.2 heading into Tuesday’s games.

So, with the bullpen being a major strength, and key reliever Ryota Igarashi set to return soon from the disabled list, the Mets would be wise to send their prized prospect Mejia back down to the minors to continue his development as a starting pitcher.

I can’t speak for an entire fanbase, but personally, I’d rather have my team’s best prospect develop into a starting pitcher rather than being wasted as a mop-up reliever on the big league squad. (In the first 32 games of the season, Mejia has pitched a total of 13.2 innings.)

Unlike the bullpen, the Mets bench has been dismal all season. Carter’s presence helps that a little bit, as his bat should make a major difference over the course of the season. Henry Blanco, currently on the bereavement list tending to an illness in the family, has been fantastic as the back-up catcher.

Fernando Tatis’s defensive versatility will likely keep him on the roster for the foreseeable future. Alex Cora, the back-up middle infielder, has some pretty brutal offensive numbers (.163/.265/.256), but has played solid defense, and more importantly, does not have an immediate replacement breathing down his neck in the minors. (I think that the Mets would likely to prefer to have a veteran on the bench rather than waste a prospect, such as 20-year-old Ruben Tejada, in that spot).

That leaves Gary Matthews Jr., the Opening Day centerfielder with the final bench spot. Matthews is off to a horrible start at .140/.229/.186, and that’s despite having two hits in the opener. Matthews, a switch-hitter, is hitting under .160 from both sides of the plate, and has struck out an astounding 17 times in 43 at bats.

Clearly, his ability to play centerfield is the only reason he’s still on the roster. Isn’t there anyone with a pulse who can provide anything better? Well, to answer that rhetorical question, yes, there is. Jason Pridie has been playing CF down in AAA Buffalo, and although he’s no Chris Carter, he’s hitting .292, which is pretty respectable. I don’t know much about his defense, but chances are if he’s playing centerfield, he’s not Adam Dunn out there.

With Angel Pagan the unquestioned starter in center at the moment, Matthews’s role on the Mets is unclear. I can’t imagine that Jason Pridie would be any worse for the last bench spot than Matthews, and either way, that bench spot will likely disappear when Carlos Beltran is able to return.

Jacobs and Catalanotto had no business suiting up for the 2010 Mets, and thankfully they are both gone now with over 125 games left to go.

Still, it frustrates me when I see Matthews striking out to kill a rally, and it infuriates me to see Mejia being so horribly mishandled.

My biggest fear is the fact that the Mets have both a manager and a general manager who may be looking for work after the season. Both men control Mejia’s destiny, and may be ruining his future out of desperation for their own jobs. It’s a very helpless feeling as a fan to see this playing out.

There is zero benefit to stunting the development of Mejia, and I hope with every fiber of my being that the Mets smarten up and realize this before it’s too late.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s hard being the younger, less tradition-rich franchise in the city that never sleeps. Despite the memories of some of the greatest moments in big league history, the New York Mets find themselves feeling like second-class citizens in their own city going into 2010.

Begrudgingly, that is where the Mets find themselves after a spectacular stretch of baseball in the Omar Minaya era.

The high point was the young 2006 team that ran away with the National League East during the regular season, only to fall a game short of the pennant.

After two seasons of barely missing the postseason, the team bottomed out in 2009, when Mets players spent more than 1,480 days on the disabled list, the most in the majors, a list that included eight former All-Stars.

The Mets path during the Omar Minaya era has been a rollercoaster, but it could be much worse. The Mets spent more days in first place in the NL East from 2006-2008 than any team in the division, but it isn’t how to start, it’s how you finish.

Over the past decade, there were a lot of potential moves that the Mets could have made, that some fans clamored for, that the team decided not to make. A team with the passionate fanbase such as the Mets faithful ends up with a thousand different opinions on how to make the team better.

Today, I’ll look at some of these potential moves that never happened. Whether it’s trades that weren’t made, or free agent targets that ended up elsewhere, I’ll take a look at ten players that almost called Shea Stadium and/or Citi Field home.

Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and no one really knows what could’ve happened in different circumstances if we change the past. But just for fun, let’s imagine what it would be like if the fans, at least the most vocal ones, had really gotten their say on player decisions.

Read on…

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