After being swept by the Florida Marlins at home for the first time since 2004, the Mets look to at least look competent this weekend as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies for the final four times this season. Last night's 13-4 loss (which I had the unenviable privilege to go to) was a microcosm of the entire season- walks, fielding blunders, poor base running, you name it it was there. While the Mets fade into oblivion, the Phillies look to protect and expand upon their 5 game lead in NL East..in which quite honestly they should be able to do with ease. Oh, and one more thing. If the Phillies win at least three out of four, they can officially eliminate the Mets from playoff contention. The Mets' tragic number stands at 6.


Pitching match-ups for the series:

Tonight: Nelson Figueroa (2-4 4.74 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-9 4.32 ERA)
Figueroa's last start (L 3-5 vs. CHC): 6IP, 4ER, 7H, 2BB, 8K
Career vs. PHI: 0-0 2.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, .240 BAA in 4 relief appearances
Road this season: 1-1 1.32 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .231 BAA in 3 appearances (2 starts)
Hamels' last start (L 3-4 @ HOU): 6IP, 4ER, 8H, 2BB, 6K
Career vs. NYM: 1-4 4.50 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, .318 BAA in 8 appearances (all starts)
Home this season: 5-3 3.67 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, .235 BAA in 13 appearances (all starts)

Saturday: Mike Pelfrey (10-10 4.83 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (12-9 4.98 ERA)
Pelfrey's last start (W 4-2 vs. CHC): 8IP, ER, 5H, BB, 5K
Career vs. PHI: 4-2 3.88 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, .273 BAA in 8 appearances (all starts)
Road this season: 4-7 6.55 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, .307 BAA in 12 appearances (all starts)
Moyer's last start (ND 3-4 @ HOU): 6IP, 2ER, 3H, BB, 4K
Career vs. NYM: 8-5 3.55 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .261 BAA in 21 appearances (all starts)
Home this season: 6-7 6.07 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, .303 BAA in 14 appearances (12 starts)

Sunday's 1pm Game: John Maine (5-4 4.52 ERA) vs. Pedro Martinez (4-0 3.64 ERA)
Maine's last start (L 1-7 @ WAS): 4IP, 7ER, 6H, 2BB, K
Career vs. PHI: 5-0 2.54 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, .211 BAA in 9 appearances (all starts)
Road this season: 1-3 6.34 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, .265 BAA in 6 appearances (all starts)
Martinez' last start (W 5-3 @ WAS): 6.2IP, 3ER, 7H, BB, 4K
Career vs. NYM: 11-3 2.37 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .206 BAA in 19 appearances (14 starts)
Home this season: 1-0 1.50 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, .186 BAA in 3 appearances (all starts)

Sunday's 805pm Game: Tim Redding (2-5 5.78 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (13-11 3.13 ERA)
Redding's last start (L 2-4 vs. FLA): 5IP, 4ER, 5H, 4BB, 4K
Career vs. PHI: 5-3 3.13 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, .207 BAA in 13 appearances (all starts)
Road this season: 1-2 5.13 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, .299 BAA in 12 appearances (7 starts)
Lee's last start (W 6-5 @ WAS): 7IP, 5R (4ER), 10H, 0BB, 4K
Career vs. NYM: 1-0 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, .240 BAA in 1 appearance (start)
Home this season (CLE & PHI): 5-7 3.00 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .276 BAA in 14 appearances (all starts)

Will the Mets play spoiler or be a welcome mat once again? How will John Maine do in his first start since coming off the DL? When Tobi Stoner spells him, how will he fare? Will Pedro Martinez continue to torment the Mets? Can Angel Pagan learn the fundamentals of base running? Will the Mets hit into another triple play? Stay tuned.
Read More...

In case you missed today's game, because I almost did due to the 3pm start, you missed John Maine quietly going about his business again. Is this guy serious right now? The fact that he hasn't managed to give up more than 2 ER in any of his starts is pretty incredible. I love when analysts mention how he has labored in some of his starts. If that's laboring, I'd hate to hear bullpen analysis.

The XOXOs are getting contagious. This is a fact that cannot be denied. Apparently the Mets are loving my distribution as well.  The supply is endless so they can keep winning for a while. Tonight was another good show. Good outing by Maine and some nice offensive output from those who are getting paid to do just that. The season is still too early to make a general conclusion, but I'm in a good mood. So the recipient of tonight's XOXOs should take them with a grain of salt.

After making waste of the Florida Marlins in the first series of the season last week, the Mets were quickly brought back down to reality by an Atlanta Braves team that looks like it is going to be right in the mix of things during this 2008 season. It wouldn't be fair to blame one sole person for the debacle that we saw at Turner Field this weekend, as there were many contributing factors to the lack of production we saw.

In a friendly debate with some of my fellow bloggers during Spring Training, I argued that the Mets have more pressing issues in their line up then they do in their starting rotation. Well after the first week of the season I feel both parties can claim victory in that battle. Pitching wise we lost Pedro Martinez for God knows how long. It looks like it will be up to Nelson Figueroa to help us forget about Pedro. But seriously, there can't be many of us over the age of 16 that remember Pedro in a Mets uniform. I mean I can recall seeing him in a Mets uniform about six or seven times in the past year and a half. My message to Mr. Figueroa is simple...make Pedro expendable. Besides that and a shaky first start from John Maine, the rest of the Mets staff looks great so far. Wait a second, that's less then 50% of the staff...oh man. I want to think Maine's poor performance was a fluke after that awesome spring he had. I also want to think that the Mets will throw a no hitter someday. Yeah well, I'm just going to keep hoping and praying.

Now the lineup is a whole 'nother monster. The Mets offense did not produce in big situations this weekend. We must have had six million chances to drive in runs on Saturday, and yet all we got were five small ball runs. All off season I complained that we don't have much in the ways of hitting after Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran. Well you can scratch Reyes from that trio. That .238 batting average looks great at the top of the order. Wright and Beltran have looked great, and Ryan Church along with Angel Pagan are pleasant surprises. But at the same time the Mets have a mere two home runs this season. Carlos Delgado has only two RBI and that is unacceptable for him. We hired him to bat .275 and drive in 115 runs. I don't care if he's batting over .300, because in the long run that means nothing if he isn't driving in any runs. The Mets followed up their "stellar" Saturday performance with a five hit encore on Sunday. Way to go boys. This lineup needs to wake up if it plans on hanging with the Phillies lineup this week. Then again the Phillies haven't looked to hot to start the season either.

The bullpen has been overworked, overused, and at times some questionable calls have been made by Willie Randolph and his staff. Should Jorge Sosa have been relieved by Pedro Feliciano with the bases loaded on Saturday. Maybe. Is it Randolph's fault that Sosa gave up a grand slam to a guy with a girl's name. Not at all. Stop blaming Willie for trusting his pitchers. Trusting your pitchers will get you much further in the long run, and that is what the Mets need to be looking at. Plus has it crossed anyone's mind that Willie might have liked to save his bullpen for the next inning (or possibly two) of work. Keep in mind that he most likely would have seen the heart of the Atlanta lineup in those innings. Sosa didn't do his job, end of story. Not too mention John Maine recorded a mere 12 outs (for those of us that have a hard time dividing, that comes to four innings of work). On a more positive note, Joe Smith looked great in his one inning of work.

With all this being said, it is time for these bums to shake of the cobwebs of last season, and start playing like the team they should be. Santana looks great, Perez looks great, Christ almighty even Brian Schneider hasn't looked half bad. This is a huge tone setting series coming up this week against Philadelphia. The Mets we see in this series might be the Mets we see all season long. Now I ask myself, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Read More...

The Mets lost their first game against the Atlanta Braves of the 2008 season, going down 11-5 in Atlanta.

It was over when: Kelly Johnson hit a grand slam off of Jorge Sosa in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Braves a 9-3 lead. The Mets put two on the board afterwards but in the end it really didn't matter.

The good: The Mets didn't lay down and die when they fell behind. John Maine gave up a run in the first but the Mets came right back and scored in the top of the second. New York was down 4-1 but scored two in the top of the fifth. They even came back and scored two runs after Kelly Johnson hit his game deciding pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the seventh. Tenacity is something this team lacked during the stretch run of '07. It's good to see the Mets actually have some toughness.

The bad: Maine was not the same pitcher he was during Spring Training this afternoon. He managed to strike out five but was still very inconsistent, walking three batters and giving up four earned runs in only four innings of work. Jorge Sosa joins Maine as co-goat of the day. It was Sosa that gave up the grand slam to Kelly Johnson (Kelly Johnson? Are you kidding me?) on a batting practice pitch in the bottom of the seventh. Say what you want about the Mets not cashing in with men on base but when you give up 11 runs, the game probably isn't going your way.

The ugly: What the hell was that in the fifth inning? I was on the phone and missed most of it but I'm glad that the umps got together to make the right call. Just another reason why Major League Baseball needs instant replay.

Overall: The Mets were outplayed by a division foe and rival. That's never going to sit well with fans, be it April or September. The Mets may have a potent offense but expecting them to score five runs or more a game is ridiculous, even for Mets fans. The Braves played better and deserved to win.

Grade: C- Read More...

John Maine and the Mets will take on Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field today at 3:55 on the Fox Saturday baseball game of the week.

The Lineup :

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Carlos Beltran CF
5. Carlos Delgado 1B
6. Ryan Church RF
7. Angel Pagan LF
8. Brian Schneider C
9. John Maine P

The Pitchers:

John Maine will make his first start of the year after having a superb spring in which he went 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA. Maine was 15-10 last season with a 3.91 ERA.

Tim Hudson will go for the Braves, The Mets will have their work cut out for them this afternoon, as Hudson is one of the best starters in the National League and a legitimate ace.

The In-Game:
Be sure to head over to the Facebook group for our in game discussion.
Read More...

In their second series of this young season, the Mets (2-1) will travel to Turner Field in Atlanta to take on that Damn Team From the South aka the Atlanta Braves (1-3).

The Mets come into the series with a 2-1 record after a solid season opening series down in South Florida. Ace Johan Santana looked great in the season opener, while Oliver Perez and the Mets line up were clicking on all cylinders during Wednesday nights 13-0 drubbing of the Florida Marlins.

The Braves enter this series with a 1-3 record after dropping the season opener in Washington to the Nationals, and two of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates back at Turner Field. Larry Jones and young shortstop Yunel Escobar have gotten off to hot starts for Atlanta as they have six RBI each in Atlanta's first four games.

The Mets and Braves split the season series last season, with each team winning nine games. The Mets were 5-4 at Turner Field last season, including a late August/early September sweep in a ballpark that used to be a house of horrors for the boys from Queens.

The series will only be a two game series, as Friday's game was rained out.

Saturday's game will start at 3:55 PM. Tim Hudson (0-0) got a no decision in what was a solid first start of the season against Washington last Sunday. Hudson was 16-10 with a 3.33 ERA last season. The Mets send John Maine out for his first start of the season. Maine was 15-10 with a 3.91 last season, and is looking to improve on that record in 2008. This game will be broadcast on Fox.

On Sunday the Braves will send out Tom Glavine (0-0). Most of us remember Tom Glavine for not showing up in his last start as a New York Met last season, thus putting the icing on the cake of the worst collapse in team history. In his first start back in Atlanta Glavine gave up an earned run in five innings of work against Pittsburgh on Monday. He will get the unenviable task of matching up against Santana (1-0), who looked dominant in his first start of the season against Florida last week. Atlanta will no doubt be Santana's first real test of the season. Sunday's game will start at 1:30 PM, and can be seen on SNY.

Out of market fans, please take note that Braves games are no longer broadcast on TBS, thus you cannot watch Braves vs. Mets game on that channel anymore. For Mets fans in the Atlanta market, the game can be seen on SPSO.

With that said Let's Go Mets & PLAY BALL!!!!!
Read More...

Willie Randolph was on Mike and the Mad Dog this afternoon.
-Said that Pedro was in MRI machines as they were speaking (this was around 5 p.m. this afternoon. So much for Pedro having that MRI first thing in the morning.)
-Randolph fully expects Pedro to go on the DL.
-Hinted that Nelson Figueroa will be added to the rotation. It is being reported that Figueroa is on his way to Miami (according to Metsblog).
-Mike Pelfrey looked great in the bullpen today according to Randolph. And you guys were worried.
-Said that the Mets will in no way hurry El Duque back. Yeah, cause we wouldn't want to rush an injured and aging pitcher back to the rotation.
-Randolph praised the Mets bullpen for their work in the first two games of the season.
-Reassured fans that the clubhouse is indeed emotionally intact after Pedro hurt himself. I, for one, am sick of hearing about how Pedro's injuries will cripple team morale. It's the second game of the season. If losing Pedro Martinez is crippling to anything regarding this team, it's going to be a very long season.
-He continued his praise of John Maine, even saying that Maine has a little swagger going for him.
-Duaner Sanchez may be back before May.
-Also, Luis Castillo has one leg shorter than the other. I can't make this up, friends.

Randolph of course said more but nothing earth shattering. Perhaps we'll learn more about Martinez during tonight's game. Read More...

John Maine is set to play Santa Claus at the team's annual Christmas Party Tuesday.

Anybody else miss Anna Benson as much as me? Read More...

Heartbroken, anger, and disbelief, are just a few of the many emotions being shown by the 15,000+ members in the facebook group after the Mets historic meltdown.

Who can really blame them? This wasn’t the ending we all planned on. Two weeks ago we held a very comfortable 7 game lead with 17 to play. We were sitting in the driver’s seat looking at the SNY pocket schedule, seeing 13 of our last 17 games against the lowly Nationals and Marlins. In a year full of injuries and so called disappointments this is when we were finally going to get it done. Guess what? It didn’t happen, but life moves on.

Though we didn’t win the World Series, there are many individual moments that us as fans can look back on and be very proud of. Watching things like the continuing development of young players Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfrey, exciting plays like the Endy Chavez drag bunt or the Carlos Beltran catch in Houston, the scoreless inning streaks of Pedro Feliciano and rookie Joe Smith, Tom Glavine’s 300th career win, John Maine’s two near no hitters, Shawn Green chasing Hank Greenberg for the all-time Jewish home run record, the return of Pedro Martinez, etc… these are the things that when I look back on the 2007 Mets I’m going to remember.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m just as upset as the rest of you. But in a year in which 99% of us are going to call it a letdown, there are those little things that we should all take with us, that we can all look back on, and that we can all remember to put an instant smile on our faces. And if that doesn’t work? 2008 is just around the corner. Read More...

I don’t know what hit this team, but whatever it was, it hit at the right time. Whether they all drank that "secret stuff" (see Space jam) or Pedro showing up lit a fire under them, the Mets have played their best ball in September essentially running away with the division. Since September 1, the Mets are 9-2 spreading their division lead from 2 games to 7 games.

While I like what I see there are still some things I want to see happen before the postseason is official.

Number 1: Keep Schoeneweis, Sele or Mota off the post-season roster.

The reason I say one of the 3, is because these three are dead weight in the bullpen. Chances are Schoeneweis will not be kept off because he is lefty. However, the Mets need to put someone like Pelfrey in one of their spots. Mota, who Willie loves, will probably be on the post-season roster due to experience, likes to give us all heart attacks. Hopefully he’ll get a good streak when we need him. Sele seems like the odd man out .

Number 2: Put John Maine in the long man role replacing Sele.

With Pedro coming back the Mets are in a very good dilemma. They have 5 quality starting pitchers. Obviously, the odd man out will either be Oliver Perez or John Maine, both of whom have been very good over the season, but inconsistent at points. My personal take is that Maine should be the “long man” (cough Darren oliver) being that Oliver has shown that he can pitch 6 strong innings in a huge game (see game 7 last year). Not that I don’t have faith in Maine, but if Perez or someone else can only go 3 innings, Id love to see Maine pitch 4 innings.

Number 3: Rest the starters before the playoffs

David Wright and Jose Reyes have been iron horses and played the majority of the games this year. I want them to have a few days off before the playoffs begin. Also, with Alou, Castillo, and Beltran being fragile, they need a day or two off as well. I wouldn’t mind seeing a “B” team lineup out a few days in a row, once the Mets are officially in the playoffs.

I believe the Mets will go into the playoffs as the National League favorite. Not saying its going to be a cakewalk, but hopefully the Mets will use their head going in, so that they aren’t shortchanged on how far they go this year.

With this being said, let's beat the Phillies this weekend!
The photo is courtesy of Sal Iovine's Blog
Read More...

Over the last two nights the Mets have won as many games at PNC Park as they have in their team history. Coming into the series the Mets were 2-7 all time at PNC, including being swept last season in mid September; which temporarily denied the Mets in clinching the NL East. While El Duque and Maine have pitched decently over the last two days, I don’t think beating the Pirates should get Mets fans excited.

Yes, we have won two in a row, yes the offense has come out, and yes we have lowered the magic number; these are all givens. However, last night was a golden example of how our offense decided to “sit back” and not push for more runs until they definitely needed some. While having a five run lead is great, if you are held scoreless the rest of the game, one big inning can get the other team back in the game. Fortunately for the Mets, they were able to score another five runs in the top of the 9th, thinking they were on their way to a laugher. Luckily, the Pirates could only muster four runs instead of six.

The most important thing is that the Mets got wins. However, the Pirates won’t be the type of team that will be in the playoffs. In order for the Mets to be successful in making a run to the playoffs, they need to work the kinks out against the bad teams. This means getting good pitching, constant hitting, and good defense. I know a win is a win, but the consistency is still not where it should be. Hopefully, beating the weaker teams, will lead into a consistency that will carry the Mets into the tough part of their remaining schedule. Read More...

With some shuffling of the lineup and getting everyone healthy, the Mets may finally have everything they need to play some good baseball. The bullpen will hold its own and if Beltran can stay healthy and find ways to produce, Mets fan may be able to sleep better at night.

One of the most needed lineup changes has come with Willie giving Lastings Milledge more playing time. I have never been crazy about Milledge, but it has been obvious that he needs to play. Shawn Green is probably at the end of his road, which is unfortunate, but that's the way the game goes. Milledge provides this team with much needed youth and defense, while Green has proved to be a liability for the Mets is every sense. Let me add, I really have no idea what the Mets expected out of Green is signing him last August. From '98-'02 he put up significant power numbers and have seen an incredible drop-off since. I know the Mets had a hole to fill in RF last summer, yet all he has provided is a random 4-4 day, awkward belly flops, and a flying hat. Hopefully, Milledge will embrace this opportunity to prove himself to this organization once and for all.

Yesterday I posted an update on Pedro's 2nd rehab start and although all of us have been warned some Mets fans still believe that Pedro is going to come back and be a savior for this ball club. Do not hold your breath friends...you may end up turning blue. If Pedro continues to progress, he will be at best an average pitcher when he returns. The energy that is Pedro should be a shot in the arm if he returns to New York, but he will not be a front end starter who will go deep into games. If he can provide the Mets will quality starts during the stretch run, that would be a success for this season. Expecting too much from Pedro Martinez may only be setting yourself up for disappointment.

Moises Alou used to make me see red. While he was injured, his status was always the biggest mystery of the early summer. What's even better is that while we have no idea if he would return this century, the Mets tease me on the scoreboard with "Moises Alou's favorite vacation spot in the Dominican Republic." Well, that's nice Mo, but could you find your way back to NY? Thankfully he did, and I take back any anger I had towards him in June. If he stays healthy and continues to come up in clutch situations, I am officially an idiot.

Last but not least, some red flags. I still have faith in John Maine and Oliver Perez, but there is some concern regarding these 2 young arms. John Maine has never thrown this many innings, and should we get to the postseason, I don't know if we'll see the Maine of last October. Oliver Perez could be suffering from fatigue as well, yet he has some more experience from his time in Pittsburgh. The Mets do not have the luxury of rest their starters as they did last August with a 15 game lead. These kids need to dig deep and come up big for the Mets as we head for the home stretch.

We're 75% of the way there...keep the faith Mets fans! Read More...

When I write my article next Thursday all the MLB trade rumors will be over and done with, due to the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline passing this upcoming Tuesday. This means no more thinking that the Mets will acquire Dontrelle Willis for Scott Schoeneweis (hahahaha); or something else wild that we can only dream about. Of course with the trade deadline coming, the debate of "Do we trade prospects for ballplayers that are established?" will come into play. Will players like Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, and Fernando Martinez be a Met after July 31st? I most certainly hope so.

While thinking of what to write about before the deadline, I came across a great article on the SNY website; written by Ted Berg. It's almost like we share a brain, because I agree 110% with what he is saying. While we have our share of veterans like Delgado, Green, and Lo Duca, we also have a lot of up-and-coming players that have already contributed. Players like Gotay, Gomez, Reyes, Milledge, Maine, and Perez--all of which are between the ages of 22 and 26--could help out the Mets for a while to come. In addition to these ballplayers who have contributed, we also have Mike Pelfrey, and Mike Carp waiting in the wings.

Why trade any of these ballplayers for a guy who might only be here for 3 months, and then go back to his old team (Mike Bordick anyone)? Of course it's hard to tell if Gotay will pan out to be a great, like Wally Backman; or a dud, like Carlos Baerga. Will Lastings Milledge be the next Dave Kingman, or the next Alex Ochoa? Let's not make the same mistake that Jim Duquette did in 2004, by trading our stud Scott Kazmir for a broken Victor Zambrano. Let's make it so that we are not just contenders in 2007, but contenders for years to come.

Read More...

By Adam Rossi

As the season rolls on and the Mets continue to fight for their second consecutive NL East title, the focus now seems to be on Tom Glavine, and when he will get career win number 300. Needing only two more victories with two and a half months left in the season, barring injury, it seems inevitable that it will occur shortly or at least by season's end. In any case, whenever a team can go into the post season and throw a pitcher out on the mound that has 300 career wins, a World Series MVP Award, and a Cy Young Award, they should feel very good about their chances. But can the Mets say that about Tom Glavine this year?

As most Mets fans know, despite being 11 games over .500 and 2.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for first place, the 2007 season has been quite a roller coaster ride. While there have been many positive surprises and exciting moments, there has also been inconsistency and bad luck. The same can be said about Tom Glavine's season. So far this year, Glavine has pitched a complete game, one hit shutout (albeit a six-inning, rain shortened game), an 8-inning performance in which he allowed only two hits and one run. He has also gone at least six innings in 17 of his 21 starts. However, he's also had outings in which the Mets have given him first inning leads of 3-0 (at Detroit) and 6-0 (at Los Angeles Thursday night), and Glavine was not only unable to record the win, but not even get through the fifth inning. Thursday night the Mets spotted him leads of 6-0 after the first and 9-4 after the top of the 3rd inning, meanwhile Glavine was unable to record an out in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, the Mets handed Glavine a lead three different times in four innings and Glavine was unable to hold them (the Mets lost the game 11-8). Also, in an early April matchup against John Smoltz and the Braves, Glavine threw 114 pitches and lasted only 5.1 innings to take the loss. It seems that the recurring theme in all his less than stellar outings is that they have come against playoff caliber teams. In fact, against teams with a .500 or better record (also included are the Phillies, who are 57-58, but trail the Mets by 6 games in the NL East) Glavine has posted a 3-5 record with an ERA of 6.67. The Mets are 6-7 in those games. Meanwhile, against teams that are under .500, Glavine has a 5-1 record with an ERA of 1.80, and the Mets are 7-1 in those games. Of course it is much harder to defeat winning teams than it is to defeat team that are struggling. There's a difference, though, between losing to a good team and constantly struggling to beat them.

Come October, the Mets won't be playing teams like the Reds and the Nationals. Glavine is going to have to step on the mound and face teams like the Dodgers, who he allowed 6 earned runs in only 2 innings last night, and the Braves, who he has failed to beat in three outings this year. With the uncertainty of Pedro Martinez's health, and the fragility of Orlando Hernandez, it is essential that Glavine start pitching like the future Hall Of Famer that he is. John Maine and Oliver Perez have pitched well, but there's no guarantee they can keep it up. Maine has already showed signs of coming back down to Earth in his last two outings. The Mets need Tom Glavine to be the number one starter they thought he would be at the start of the season, otherwise, their hopes for a World Series could be in trouble.

Read More...

In the midst of all the All-Star announcements, it is time to gear up for the "Who Got Snubbed?" arguments. As JD discussed, the whole concept of the All-Star Game has become a bit of a farce. We know it's a popularity contest; we know it's difficult at times to represent every single team without leaving someone worthy behind; and we know it most definitely should not determine home field advantage for the World Series. Oh, the All-Star Game...

In an attempt to make fans feel like we're important right up until the final minute, the Final Vote candidates were announced. Both league managers decided to name 5 pitchers as candidates. Okay, fair enough. As discussed in the Facebook forum, many people are up in arms that John Maine was not chosen to the squad, much less as one of these candidates.

In an effort to make sure I was not a homer, I took all five final vote candidate and easily compared their numbers to Maine's. Hands down, John Maine numbers are better in almost every category than every candidate but Chris Young of the Padres. Therefore, I suppose we could all sit back here and argue he got snubbed but what's the use. One of the "bigger name" pitchers will be chosen for that final spot, so sorry Tom Gorzelanny, you can probably book your flight home.

Sure there is an outside chance Maine can still make the squad if someone drops out in the coming days, but his numbers thus far earned him a place on the original All-Star staff, not a spot as an afterthought. If he doesn't end up in San Fran with the Mets contigient, so be it. John Maine may not be known coast-to-coast as a guy to watch out for it just yet, but I'd rather have his coming out party be in October, than San Francisco in a July game with little meaning.
Read More...