After all the big talk surrounding Hisanori Takahashi the last few days he didn’t follow through after getting the “start” in this game.  He got hit pretty hard giving up 4 hits (all extra base hits).  He still maintained his impeccable control.  He looks greatly suited for a job in the bullpen and can be that “Darren Oliver” the Mets have lacked the last few years.

David Wright looks like he is coming to play this season.  Just in time for the season he is picking things up with 3 hits including a double.  I like the power he has been showing so far in spring training even if some of his homeruns have been out of luck.  This season is going to be the one where David is going to have to step it up and carry his team if he wants to become a true leader like Derek Jeter.

In an exclusive to New York Baseball Digest, a source with intimate knowledge of the results has confirmed that Meet the Mets is the runaway winner in the 2009 Eighth Inning Sing-a-Long Contest. While official vote totals and results cannot be released at this time, pending their certification by the New York Mets Board of Elections, we can reveal that Meet the Mets easily defeated second-place finisher Twist and Shout. Curly Shuffle finished just behind Twist and Shout, with Mama Said Knock You Out, inexplicably, a strong fourth.

The Ropolitans – Oliver Perez’s Balls and Strikes

This is a simple pie chart of Oliver Perez’s balls and strikes from his start on July 8, 2009.  I guess this is where the seven walks stems from.

When David Wright stood up and admitted after Tuesday’s game, “We stink right now,” it seemed out of place and out of character for the face of the franchise.It seemed right on target, but unlike what the politically-correct face of the Mets franchise usually would espouse, even under the worst of circumstances. So it caused you to wonder, had the frustration finally boiled over in Wright?“Last night wasn’t frustration,” Wright said before Wednesday night’s 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. “That was the truth.”

This week, Sports Illustrated magazine has come out with their annual “Where Are They Now” issue. There are two articles in the issue that are so good, I feel the need to comment on them. Article number 1 deals with the most special of all the Met teams, the 1969 World Champions. In the article there is a picture of Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan wearing Mets jackets (Ryan even has a Met on). Maybe I’m just a sentimental old fool, but there’s something about seeing the Franchise wearing Mets blue and orange that gives my the goose bumps.

Oliver Perez has rejoined the Mets in advance of his activation, for what’s confirmed as a start on Wednesday against the Dodgers. Here’s the lineup for Saturday’s matchup with the Phillies:

Amazin’ Stories – F-Mart is Out

Fernando Martinez is out of action with pain behind his right knee.  He said he experienced similar pain two years ago and it cost him six weeks. But he insisted this should just be a couple days. He will be examined by team doctors Monday in New York.

Metsblog – News: Redding Out of Rotation

Oliver Perez will make the start against the Dodgers at Citi Field on Wednesday, replacing Tim Redding in the starting rotation.Redding will be moved to the bullpen.

The Star Ledger - New York Mets’ David Wright won’t have much time to rest during All-Star break

David Wright is a virtual lock to be named the starting third baseman on the NL All-Star team Sunday, which is both good and bad for the Mets. Good because it reflects the fact that Wright has stayed healthy and played well during a first half of the season in which the Mets have lost most of their best players to injuries. Bad because, after playing in all but one of the Mets’ 79 games so far, Wright could use a few days’ rest as much as any player in baseball.

Mack’s Mets – Mets 2009 Draft Stats Update

Nefli Zapata – C – 18-yrs old – GCL – .391/.483/.565/1.046

Travis Ozga – 1B – 22-yrs old – GCL – .143/.217/.190/.408

Cody Hoiliday – LF – 21-yrs old – GCL – .125/.300/.188/.488

ZeErika Hall – OF – 21-yrs old – GCL – .000/.333/.000/.333

Daniel Carela – RP – 21-yrs old – GCL – 0-0, 6.00, 1.33

…This is great news.   Although I’ve been mildly impressed with Fernando Martinez (the all can’t be Doc Gooden) he is clearly not ready for the bigs and needs some seasoning in the minors.  Beltran is needed in this lineup right now to come in and create a force in this lineup who can come in and help out David Wright. If this would have been bad news with the way the Mets have been going lately it would have been like sticking a fork in the Mets season as something as something they could not recover from

Trade wise it also makes the Mets look slightly less desperate and could help Omar make a deal for slightly less because this will be like acquiring a big bat right after the All-Star break with Carlos Delgado being a second big bat…

**Ike Davis Update: Davis found his power stroke in May at St. Lucie, bringing his numbers there up to .288/.376/.486, very nice numbers for the Florida State League. Promoted to Double-A last week, he’s hitting .400/.538/.550 through six games at Binghamton. He’s 8-for-20 with three doubles, five strikeouts, and six walks so far. The fact that he’s maintained the walk rate at the higher level is a good sign. He will likely need some consolidation time at this level and if I were the Mets I wouldn’t consider a promotion to Triple-A until August at the earliest, if he’s hitting well. Nevertheless, he’s exceeded the expectations I had for him in the book and has calmed concerns about his bat.

NY Post – What the Mets Should Do

I think one really dumb thing that is getting repeated over and over again is that the Mets shouldn’t make any moves because they have so much wrong with them that no one move would help. If your house is flooded, you start one room at a time to clean it up, though all the other rooms remain flooded when you are working on that first one. If the Mets truly believe that they are going to get back major pieces from injury starting in about 1-2 weeks with Oliver Perez, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and others, then they[...]

Mets Merized ed Online - Is the Mets Organization Falling Apart?

It seems to me that the Mets are in a lot of trouble.  I’m not talking about the fact that the Mets are now in 3rd place and are now under .500.  I’m talking about the 9 baseball players that are currently on the disabled list or that their salaries equal almost 70 million dollars.  The organization itself seems to be in disarray.  The organization from top to bottom seem to be throwing each other under the bus to preserve themselves.  Last winter we all know that Manny Ramirez was a free agent.  Before it was revealed that Manny used performance enhancing drugs there was a lot of people who wanted Manny to be part of the Mets.  Omar Minaya we all know had been trying to get Manny to become a member of this team since he became the general manager.[...]

Long Island Met Fan – Below .500 Oh Joy

Now we can spend the day saying , oh if we win we are back to .500. Does it matter. I mean we have Argenis Reyes batting lead off. We have Fernando Tatis playing second in a double switch. Brian Stokes giving up a grand slam to the guy who just gave us life the inning before. Then of course David Wright getting another meaning less hit in the 9th inning to drive in a run. Now for the last week everyone is like the Mets need to make a trade. Of course though with every loss the price goes up.

Mets Fan Forever – What More Can I Say?

I am officially running out of things to write about the Mets. What can I add that hasn’t been already mentioned nationwide by people who are now treating our team as a laughing stock. The fact that they are only 3 games out is amazing in itself to me. I just hope that we can hold it together until Delgado, Beltran and Reyes come back but I have my doubts.