After finally winning a series over the weekend (albeit to the Washington Nationals) and clinching 4th place in the NL East, the Mets look to build off this rare momentum against the Atlanta Braves in this three game set. The Mets have not had a winning streak of longer than 2 games since winning 5 in a row July 25-30th. Meanwhile, winners of 8 of their last 10 games, the Braves are still holding out some hope in the playoff chase. They are 5.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies for the Wild Card. They have a 2.8% chance of making the postseason as their tragic number to elimination stands at 8. The Braves lead the season series 10-5 and hold a 4-2 mark at Citi Field.

Just for Fun Tracker: The Mets currently stand to get the #6 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. The Magic Number to clinch a top-10 spot stands at 8.


Pitching Matchups for this series:

Tonight: Derek Lowe (14-9 4.53 ERA) vs. Pat Misch (1-3 4.21 ERA)
Lowe's last start (ND 6-5 vs. NYM): 2IP, 3R (2ER), 5H, 2BB, 2K
Career vs. NYM: 2-3 7.96 ERA, 1.99 WHIP, .364 BAA in 12 games (6 starts)
Road this season: 8-6 5.07 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, .310 BAA in 15 games (all starts)
Misch's last start (L 0-6 @ ATL): 5IP, 4ER, 8H, BB
Career vs. ATL: 0-1 4.91 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, .366 BAA in 5 games (1 start)
Home this season: 0-2 5.49 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .243 BAA in 11 games (1 start)

Tuesday: Jair Jurrjens (12-10 2.75 ERA) vs. Nelson Figueroa (2-6 5.21 ERA)
Jurrjens' last start (W 7-3 vs. NYM): 7IP, 2R (ER), 6H, 2BB, 5K
Career vs. NYM: 5-1 2.62 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .220 BAA in 7 games (all starts)
Road this season: 6-4 2.86 ERA, 1.28 ERA, .262 BAA in 15 games (all starts)
Figueroa's last start (L 3-7 @ ATL): 5IP, 6ER, 9H, BB, 4K
Career vs. ATL: 2-1 5.11 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, .283 BAA in 11 games (4 starts)
Home this season: 1-3 6.66 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, .362 BAA in 8 games (3 starts)

Wednesday: Tim Hudson (1-1 3.70 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (10-11 5.10 ERA)
Hudson's last start (L 4-9 vs. PHI): 7IP, 3ER, 6H, BB, 3K
Career vs. NYM: 9-5 3.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .260 BAA in 15 games (all starts)
Road this season: 1-0 5.23 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, .356 BAA in 2 games (both starts)
Pelfrey's last start (L 5-6 vs. WAS): 7IP, 5R (4ER), 8H, 4K
Career vs. ATL: 2-4 6.29 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .277 BAA in 9 games (8 starts)
Home this season: 6-4 3.67 ERA, 1.31 ERA, .267 BAA in 16 games (all starts)

Do the Mets have what it takes to spoil the Braves' faint playoff hopes, or will the Braves use the Mets as a springboard once again? Stay tuned.
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Sigh. With the Mets now officially mathematically eliminated from playoff contention at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies, the rest of this season is meaningless to our fans in regards to postseason aspirations. But for the few of us left that will care, this is the time to see how these professionals respond to their earliest elimination since 2005. Will they continue to play hard as they did in Philadelphia; where even though they lost 3 of 4 three of the games were decided by 1 run and the other by 2...or will they roll over? Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves continue to hang in there. Winners of their last four including an extremely impressive three game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on the road, the Braves find themselves 7.5 back of the Phillies in the NL East and 6 back of the Rockies in the Wild Card. Their playoff chances right now stand at 3.5%.


Pitching Matchups for this Series:

Tonight: Pat Misch (1-2 3.86 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson (9-3 2.83 ERA)
Misch's last start (L 3-6 vs. FLA): 6IP, 5ER, 6H, 2BB
Career vs. ATL: 0-0 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, .333 BAA in 4 relief appearances
Road this season: 1-0 2.42 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, .265 BAA in 11 appearances (2 starts)
Hanson's last start (ND 1-2 @ HOU): 8IP, 5H, 7K
Has never faced the Mets.
Home this season: 6-1 3.42 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .242 BAA in 8 appearances (all starts)

Wednesday: Bobby Parnell (3-8 5.49 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (14-9 4.47 ERA)
Parnell's last start (L 4-13 vs. FLA): 5IP, 6R (5ER), 7H, 5BB, 6K
Career vs. ATL: 0-1 10.57 ERA, 2.61 WHIP, .400 BAA in 8 appearances (1 start)
Road this season: 1-2 5.81 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, .327 BAA in 27 appearances (2 starts)
Lowe's last start (W 9-7 @ HOU): 5.2IP, 5ER, 8H, 2BB, 5K
Career vs. NYM: 2-3 7.89 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, .352 BAA in 11 appearances (5 starts)
Home this season: 6-3 3.90 ERA 1.46 WHIP .284 BAA in 15 appearances (all starts)

Thursday: Nelson Figueroa (2-5 4.57 ERA) vs. Jair Jurrjens (11-10 2.81 ERA)
Figueroa's last start (L 2-4 @ PHI): 5.1IP, 2ER, 9H, 5BB, 3K
Career vs. ATL: 2-0 4.22 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .264 BAA in 10 appearances (3 starts)
Road this season: 1-2 1.89 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, .276 BAA in 4 appearances (3 starts)
Jurrjens' last start (W 1-0 @ STL): 8IP, 6H, 2BB, 7K
Career vs. NYM: 4-1 2.87 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, .219 BAA in 6 appearances (all starts)
Home this season: 5-6 2.76 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .224 BAA in 15 appearances (all starts)

The Mets have a mere 2 victories from their starters this month out of their 4. Can the Mets translate narrow defeats into victories? Can Parnell get it together? Will the Mets score for Figueroa? Which Misch will we see, the one that allowed 5ER in the first against the Marlins or the one that shut them down in his next 5IP? Stay tuned.
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Monday April 21
Mets @ Chicago Cubs
7:05 PM
NYC TV: SNY
CHI TV: WCIU
National TV: ESPN

Tuesday April 22
Mets @ Chicago Cubs
2:20 PM
NYC TV: SNY
CHI TV: CSN Chicago

Wednesday April 23
Mets @ Washington Nationals
7:10 PM
NYC TV: SNY
WAS TV: MASN

Thursday April 24
Mets @ Washington Nationals
7:10 PM
NYC TV: SNY
WAS TV: MASN & MY20

Friday April 25
Atlanta Braves @ Mets
7:10 PM
NYC TV: SNY
ATL TV: PTV

Saturday April 26
Atlanta Braves @ Mets
1:10 PM
NYC TV: CW11
ATL TV: SPSO

Sunday April 27
Atlanta Braves @ Mets
1:10 PM
NYC TV: CW11
ATL TV: SPSO
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So when we last spoke, I called out not only the Mets line up, but the Mets bullpen to step it up in this week of games against the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies. A week later, it seems that my challenge was answered by David Wright and company, as the Mets just completed an impressive week of baseball that included a sweep of Washington and a series victory against Philadelphia.

On Tuesday night Mike Pelfrey took the mound on yet another Jackie Robinson Night at Shea (and yes that was said in a negative way). I'm just going to make a quick public service announcement about Jackie Robinson, that I know some of my fellow bloggers share with me. Jackie Robinson was a great player, he was a great American for his contributions to not only baseball and society, and he was a great BROOKLYN DODGER. Listen I am a fan of history, and the Brooklyn Dodgers for that matter, but it seems with the pending opening of Citi Field, Mr. Wilpon is kind of forgetting that we are the NEW YORK METS. My point being, it would be nice to see some more Mets history invovled with not only this ballpark, but the organization in general. Instead of celebrating the last season at Shea with another Robinson Night, let's have a Seaver Night, or a 1969 Night, or something Mets related. I mean, we are the Mets for God's sake, not the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Now back to Tuesday's game. Ladies and gentlemen can we have a standing ovation for Mike Pelfrey please? Where has this Pelfrey been all of the past two seasons. I mean seven shut out innings from him was just what the doctor ordered on Tuesday night. That was the type of start the Mets needed, and the 6-0 victory was the game the Mets needed to kick off the new week. Pelfrey is starting to earn the respect that I so have wanted to give him for the longest time. Even though he didn't pitch as well on Sunday night against the Phillies, he still got himself out of some tough jams. Can you really fault the man for getting burned by the best second baseman in the league. I'm critical, but not that critical.

After a come-from-behind win on Saturday, the Mets and Nationals played themselves a half marathon of a baseball game on Thursday night. Just to put things in perspective, I was already at my third bar of the night once the Mets finally "pushed" across the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning at Shea. Trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning, Carlos Delgado did something correct for the first time all season by pushing across Ryan Church to tie the game. In the 14 inning it wasn't even a heroic RBI base hit, but a wild pitch by Washington's Joel Hanrahan that ended the game. The Washington reliever, already in the midst of a sloppy inning let one get away allowing Damion Easley to score the winning run.

Sloppy was the only way to describe the game, but if there is one positive we can draw from it, that would be the bullpen. Six Mets relievers threw seven scoreless innings to keep the Mets in the game. The bullpen in general looked pretty damn solid this week. Billy Wagner looks dominant as usual (along with his awesome wad of dip), we welcomed back Duaner Sanchez, and Aaron Heilman has seemed to settle down. Once again Joe Smith is having another solid start to the season, we can only hope he keeps it up for the whole entire season this year.

So after making waste of Washington it was off to Philadelphia for another round with the Phillies. Johan Santana made yet another important start in this young season as him and Phillies ace Cole Hamels met up for a highly anticipated Friday night showdown. Seven innings later Santana had struck out 10 Phillies and only gave up 3 runs as he led the Mets to a critical 6-4 victory, extending their winning streak to four games. Oliver Perez had himself another great start on Saturday, but in typical Mets fashion the bullpen went and made things interesting. After Scott Schoeneweis and Smith each gave up a run, Billy Wagner put the meat of the Phillies line up in their place and the Mets walked out with a 4-2 victory. Sunday night as I stated ealier Chase Utley made Mike Pelfrey look normal for the first time this season. Utley drove all of the Phillies first four runs. A solo home run in the first and a three run job in the fifth. The Mets made it interesting by tieing it up in the sixth, but the long ball was our downfall all night as Pedro Feliz hit the go ahead home run to give the Phillies a 5-4 win and end our hopes of a sweep in Philly.

This week was exactly what the Mets needed. Jose Reyes has returned to classic Jose form, Wags looks good, Wright is awesome, and even Beltran is starting to come alive. With road games against the Cubs and Nationals, and a three games series back at Shea against the Braves, it has been the perfect time for the Mets to wake up. If the Mets can win two at Wrigley, it would be a huge momentum push coming into the huge Atlanta series this upcoming weekend. Once again I would like to think that we will steamroll the Nats. All-in-all the Mets get a solid A for their efforts this week, and hopefully the effort they have put forth will continue this week.

P.S. As much as I hate to say it, well done to the New York Rangers. I still hate you though.
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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?
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The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. It was the second straight defeat at the hands of their division foes as the Mets fell below .500 for the first time this season.

It was over when: Mark Teixeria killed the Mets twice, first with this homer in the bottom of the eighth and then with his glove in the top of the ninth. I have a feeling that I'm gonna start to hate this guy very quickly.

Good: This Johan Santana kid is pretty good. Santana gave up one run over seven strong innings but was the hard-luck loser as the offense and Aaron Heilman gave him absolutely zero support. For the second consecutive game, though, the Mets refused to go down without a fight. They brought home a run (finally) in the top of the ninth and had the tying run on first when Brian Schneider hit a bullet down the first base side. Unfortunately, Mark Teixeira made a fantastic play, stopping the ball and making the flip to Soriano to end the game.

Bad: I already mentioned them both. The offense was dead for eight innings and by the time they showed up, Heilman had already given a two-run homer to Teixeira the inning before. You have your ace on the hill and you don't manage to give him a single freakin' run? Maybe the Mets wanted to give Santana a reminder of his days in Minnesota. Right now, Santana is the best 1-1 pitcher in baseball.

Ugly: Reyes: 0-4. Castillo: 0-4. Wright: 0-2, 2 SO, 2 BB at least. Beltran: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 SO including a pathetic at-bat in the top of the ninth in which he didn't take the bat off his shoulder once. Hey Carlos; I'll stop riding you when you start to earn your ridiculous paycheck. Oh yeah, Delgado went 2-4 today but he also left three men on base. I'll just sum all of this up. The Mets sucked at the plate for 8+ innings today. Yeah, they were facing John Smoltz today but Blaine Boyer, Will Ohman and Peter Moylan all held the Mets scoreless today. Are you kidding me?

Overall: Thankfully, I missed over half of this game. Once again, the Braves were the better team and they deserved to win. The bats better show up against the Phils this week. Performances like this at Shea will not sit well with the home fans, boys. Then again, playing like this in Atlanta angers me just as much. If we're going to be excited when the Mets beat up on the AAA-quality Florida Marlins, we have to be annoyed when they play like a Little League team against the Braves.

Grade: D. Which is sad because Johan Santana deserved better.
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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.
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Well, apparently all of the Eastern United States has faced rain and tarped fields today. After I got to leave work early due to the inclement weather, I raced home to get back in time for Mets & Braves: Round 1. Five minutes after I flick on the tube, Matt Yallof informs me this game is canceled too. Without baseball games, I was forced to Baseball Tonight, which would include highlights of Glendon Rusch. Yes, that Glendon Rusch. Don't look now either, but Carlos Gomez is trying to be a stud in Minnesota. Since canceled baseball games make me irritable, Mother Nature is a viable candidate for Ass of the Day. But even she couldn't outpour Ruben Gotay's man tears.

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!!!!!
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Despite many Mets fans pushing the panic button last Thursday night, just five days later the Mets are alive and well. Was the four game sweep from the Phillies finally the last straw of complacency? Was it Pedro's return to the clubhouse & rotation that bolstered the attitude and confidence level of this team? Everyone has their own theories and opinions; I believe it was a little bit of both. Either way, the Mets have finally won 5 in a row. They may have waited until the last hour of the regular season to find it, but this team has a pulse.

Make no mistake about it, the Mets bats are alive. If this was the lineup everyone raved about in April, then there is reason for excitement. The Mets have been quite balanced in their offensive approach in the past 6 days, with the bottom of the lineup putting up pretty hefty numbers. Since the beginning of the Atlanta series, the Mets have outscored their opponents 36-15. They have outhit the opposition 51-27, with 11 home runs. The opposition has 1 long ball, which came off the bat of Brandon Phillips, courtesy Scott Schoeneweis. The pitching has been strong; the defense has been solid despite a few spotty moments; the offense has been relentless. Put the panic button away.

Oliver Perez's stubborn ways are also alive and well. The rollercoaster ride that he is may be a ride we never get off. Despite all that you still have to like the kid and be content with 13 victories to this point. My only concern is that if he continues to walk 127 batters every outing, his hopes of being a part of the postseason rotation may not live much longer.

Many people have spent countless hours trying to compare the 2006 Mets to the 2007 Mets, which I believe is a complete waste of time and energy. Team dynamics, injuries, the competition, etc all vary from year to year. That is the beauty of baseball so to expect a replica of 2006 is absurd. As fun as last year was, I don't want the '06 Mets. The 2006 Mets broke my heart. Would you rather have a team that dominates all year, only to look a little flat in September like last year...or a team that goes up and down all year, only to peak at the right time heading down the stretch? I would take the latter. Only time will tell if that will be the tale of this year's team. One thing is for sure, we can take this team off life support. They look alive. There is a pennant in sight and October is just a calendar page away. This is the stuff baseball fans live for. And over the next 25 days , the 2007 Mets will begin to define their season. We'll see how long they can stay alive...or if they will make this a season that live forever.
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The Mets seemed down and out after being swept by the surging Phillies on Thursday, three days later, things couldn't look brighter. The Mets headed into Atlanta over the weekend knowing they had to come with their A game, and they did. Turner Field has never been kind to the Mets in the month of September, but the "new" Mets we're up for the challenge.

The Mets outscored the Braves by a score of 3 to 2 in the final game of the series on Sunday to put the Braves back an insurmountable 7.5 games with only 25 games to play.

The Mets pitching was superb, allowing only 4 runs the entire series, and keeping the Braves big bats of Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira and Andrew Jones in check throughout the series. The Braves only got one extra base hit the entire series, which was Brian McCann's double in the 9th inning Sunday against Billy Wagner. The highlight of the weekend had to be the fantastic outing by Mike Pelfrey, who earned his first win of the season on Saturday allowing just 1 run on 1 hit over 6 innings. We hope to see more of this in the future from Pelfrey.

The hitting was equally as good, scoring 15 runs on 28 hits, with 2 home runs from Carlos Delgado, who seems to have his swing back, as well as homers from Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Lastings Milledge and Jose Reyes.

The Mets will look to keep the hot streak going, as Pedro Martinez will make his long awaited season debut tomorrow in Cincinnati, he will be faced by Reds ace Aaron Harang.
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The Mets completed the 3 game sweep of the Nationals at RFK stadium by beating the Nationals by a score of 8-2. The Mets outscored the Nationals 21-8 during the series.

The Mets' bats continue to produce as this was the 8th straight game in which the Mets had scored at least 5 runs, and their 5th straight game of scoring at least 6 runs.

The Mets went 5-1 on the 6 game road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington, which helped them extend their lead over the Phillies and Braves to 4.5 and 5.5 games respectively.

Last week, I had said that the Mets would need to win at least 6 of the 9 games against the "second rate teams" (the Marlins, Pirates, and Nationals). The Mets accomplished that goal, and have now opened up a bit of a lead in the NL East.

However, the road from here is difficult, over the course of the next 4 series, the Mets will face the Padres, Dodgers, Phillies, and Braves; all of whom are contenders looking to make a playoff run.

LAST NOTE: Congratulations Global New York Mets for this the 100th post on the Blog, may there be hundreds more Read More...

As the old saying goes, to make the playoffs, all you have to do is play .500 ball against your division rivals, and beat up on the second division teams. The Mets will need to use this lesson the next week and a half.

After a disappointing series loss to the division rival Atlanta Braves, the Mets will spend the next three series facing three of the worst teams in the National League with a series at Shea against the Marlins, before traveling to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates and to Washington to face the Nationals.

It is incredibly important that the Mets (for lack of a better word) "beat up" on these pathetic teams, in order to get back to winning and opening up their minuscule 3 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. This is especially important with the Phillies and Braves playing each other this weekend.

The Mets have to win at least 6 of the 9 games in this set of bad teams, in order to maintain a safe lead in the NL East for the immediate future. This should be easily doable for the Mets despite their heartbreaking loss to the Marlins in the opener of the series. With the return of Carlos Beltran, the Mets lineup is finally back to full strength, and should have a series of bad starting pitchers to face over the next 8 games.

The Mets still have 7 games remaining with the Phillies, and 6 games remaining with the Braves, so every win from here on out (including those against the second rate teams) will be crucial. Read More...

After a week-long vacation everybody's favorite writer has returned. Welcome to the weekly feature that freely admits to being worn out by the Braves all season long. This is Touch 'Em All Time.

If you're looking for an optimistic article I suggest you just close your browser now. The fact is that I am less than happy with the Amazins at the moment after they dropped yet another series to the Braves, this time at Shea. Say what you will about Delgado's home run being snatched away at the last moment. The truth remains that it would have taken a four-run ninth to even tie the game. The Braves own the Mets in 2007 and what's worse is that they know it. The Mets aren't done with the Braves yet. The Mets will travel to Atlanta and have a chance for redemption at home in September.

Despite what Willie and many of the Met faithful appear to believe New York's woes against the Braves are a big deal. Even if the Mets do win the division the reality is that the Braves aren't going anywhere in the playoff race just yet. As of this post the Braves are only 0.5 games behind the Padres for the Wild Card. If the Mets and Braves meet up in the post season...well, that's something I just don't want to think about at this moment.

Rick Ankiel hit a three-run homer in his return to the Majors last night as St. Louis defeated the Padres 5-0. I couldn't be happier for this guy as it really is a great story. How many of us get a second chance to live out our dream? I wish Rick plenty of success (until he plays the Mets).

Speaking of "feel good" stories in baseball; how about those Seattle Mariners? They went on a long winning streak earlier in the season only to be rewarded by having Mike Hargrove, their manager at the time, resign. This was a move that came out of nowhere and shocked the baseball world. Instead of folding or mailing it in the Mariners are in first place for the American League Wild Card and are only two and half games out of first in the AL West behind the (overrated) Angels. While teams like the Yankees, Indians, and Tigers have been receiving most of the publicity from the media (*cough* east coast bias *cough*) the Mariners have quietly become one of the best teams in the league. I'm quietly cheering for Seattle, if only to ensure the Yankees will be sitting at home come October.

Speaking of which; the Tribe hosts the Yanks this weekend. I'll be cheering for my Indians for more than one reason these next three days.

Please welcome the newest addition to the Baseball Tonight team: David Wells, everybody.

My favorite statistic regarding Barry Lamar Bonds? The San Francisco Giants are 49-64. Thank you, Barry, for finally breaking the record. It's the last time your pathetic excuse for a Major League team will be on national television in 2007.

The Mets play hosts to the Marlins this weekend and should have little problem winning at least two out of three (jinx jinx jinx). With a three and a half game lead in the NL East and the end of the season rapidly approaching every win helps. Hopefully the rain subsides by this evening and all of you heading out to Shea will see a win for the home team. Lets Go Mets. (F-A-N). Read More...

With their flurry of acquisitions on Tuesday, the Braves left themselves with a roster dilemma on Wednesday. Finding roster spots for their two new relievers, Ron Mahay and Octavio Dotel, forced them to make two transactions.

Opting to option right-handed reliever Jose Ascanio to Double-A Mississippi didn't provide the same stress as deciding whether to designate either Julio Franco or Scott Thorman for assignment.

Knowing there was a strong chance that Thorman would be claimed by another club and possibly flourish elsewhere in the future, the Braves opted to designate Franco, who had just signed with them after being released by the Mets earlier this month.

Franco, who will celebrate his 49th birthday on Aug. 23, can be claimed off waivers over the course of the next 72 hours. If nobody claims him, he'll have the opportunity to accept a Minor League assignment with the Braves.

If this occurs, the Braves would have the option of utilizing Franco in September, when the Major League rosters expand. Since signing with Atlanta, the ageless wonder has batted .250 (9-for-36) and provided strong defense at first base.

"Julio has been great since we got him," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He's really perked us up offensively and defensively. He was as good as ever."

Cox said it was difficult to deliver this news to Franco, who has aspirations to continue playing until he's 50.

Because of Chris Woodward's defensive versatility, the Braves decided their only option to create this final roster spot was to designate either Franco or Thorman.

Franco left Turner Field before speaking to reporters on Wednesday. But some of his teammates believe as long as he's not claimed by another organization that he'll accept a Minor League assignment.

When general manager John Schuerholz acquired Mark Teixeira to serve as his first baseman on Tuesday, Franco shared the resulting excitement with his Braves teammates.

"I'm not a selfish player," Franco said Tuesday. "I just want to be part of the ballclub. Whatever we can do to improve the ballclub, I'm happy about."

As the Braves attempt to gain entrance into the postseason, Franco would seemingly be a better asset than Thorman, who has hit .220 this season and .203 since May 1. The 48-year-old's value as a pinch-hitter has seemingly increased in his past seven games, during which he hit .333 (8-for-24) with three doubles and eight RBIs.

But for now, they'll have to hope Thorman proves to be an asset off their bench. Though he has struggled mightily in his first full Major League season, the 25-year-old first baseman would still draw some waiver wire interest from other organizations, especially those who are aware of his history. Read More...

MLB.com reports that the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres have completed a three-player trade today, as the Braves acquired hard-throwing left-handed pitcher Royce Ring in exchange for left-handed pitcher Wil Ledezma and minor league left-handed pitcher Will Startup. Ring will be assigned to Richmond, the Braves' Triple-A affiliate.

Ring, 26, appeared in 27 games for Portland (AAA) in 2007, going 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA, a .188 opponents' batting average and 44 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. He also appeared in 15 games for the Padres this season and posted a 1-0 record with a 3.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.0 innings pitched.

Originally drafted and developed by the Chicago White Sox, Ring was traded to the New York Mets in 2003. He spent the 2004-2005 seasons with the Mets and appeared in 26 games, with a 3.47 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.

Ledezma, 26, was designated for assignment on Sunday (July 29). Startup, who turns 23 on August 4, has spent three minor league seasons with the Braves organization. Read More...

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune mentions that the Cubs, Braves, Mets, and Diamondbacks as teams that like Silva. He could be used as a starter or reliever. Read More...

A number of sources including MetsBlog and MLB Trade Rumors are reporting that the Mets have acquired second baseman Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for minor leaguers Drew Butera and Dustin Martin.

This seems like a good trade for the Mets, it brings a veteran second baseman who still has decent speed, a good on base percentage and an above average glove, to replace the unproven Ruben Gotay, who the Mets believe can one day be the future second baseman. From what I gather, the Mets weren't very high on Butera or Martin anyway, so this upgrade comes at a small price.

In other news, the Braves have been busy today, acquiring First Baseman Mark Teixeira, and appear to be close to landing former Met Octavio Dotel. The Braves gave up two big prospects in Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Elvis Andrus for Teixeira, which tells me the Braves are looking to make a serious push for the playoffs this season.

Omar better have something in the works for a big time reliever within the next 24 hours to counter the braves moves, otherwise we could be looking at a closer race than we anticipated. Read More...

Mets pitcher Tom Glavine is moving out of Greenwich, Conn. His five-bedroom Colonial just went on the market for $5.4 million, we hear. Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton, denies that means the 41-year-old player is retiring at season’s end, when his contract is up. Glavine, whose family is based in Atlanta, "probably feels he doesn't need a house that big," said Clifton. A Mets rep says, "Whether or not he sells has no bearing on what he does next year."

(Submitted by Luke)

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