Blogging Mets

I don’t know about you, but I want one of these watches! This is an ad from the 1960s for a Mets watch. Only $9.95. Not bad!

It looked for sure like Matt Harvey would suffer his first loss of 2013, but the Mets bats (!) came back to tie the game to give Harvey a no decision. However the Mets would eventually lose the game to the Reds in a matinee at Citi Field.

Matt Harvey gets no decision against Reds on Wednesday.

The  Mets quickly took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on back-to-back doubles by their first and second hitters, Daniel Murphy and Rick Ankiel. Ankiel advanced to third on a David Wright ground out. But of course Lucas Duda struck out on three pitches, and Marlon Byrd was robbed of an RBI hit on a great catch by Xavier Paul in left field.

With a man on in the third, Joey Votto launched a Harvey offering into the seats in left field to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.

With two outs in the fifth Harvey allowed a double, an intentional walk and a regular walk to load the bases. He was able to escape the jam by inducing Jay Bruce to ground out to second to keep it a 2-1 game.

The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Ruben Tejada led off with a double and moved to third on a Harvey sacrfice. Murphy hit a relatively shallow ball to right. Tejada tagged up, testing the strong arm of Bruce. The throw was up the line and Tejada was safe.

In what has to be considered at least a mild surprise in today’s game, Matt Harvey was sent out for the seventh inning after throwing exactly 100 pitches. He got the first out but then allowed two straight singles to put runners on first and second. Brandon Phillips then singled down the third base line to give the Reds a 3-2 lead, and that was all for Harvey. On that play, Phillips was caught up between first and second but Murphy didn’t see it and Phillips was able to scamper back to first. It turned out to be significant because when Scott Rice came on with runners on first and third and got Bruce to hit a slow roller to first, it would have been the third out. Instead, it was only the second out and the runner at third scored to make it 4-2.

So Matt Harvey ended up throwing 116 pitches over 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits, with six strikeouts and three walks and left as the potential losing pitcher.

But the Mets took care of that in the bottom of the seventh. With Tejada on second and two outs, Murphy came through with a single to cut the lead to 4-3. Murphy had three hits on the game. Ankiel then tripled off the left field wall to score Murphy to tie the game at four and take Harvey off the hook. Ankiel also had three hits (two doubles and a triple) and two RBIs.

The Mets had runners on first and second in the eighth with one out, but John Buck bounced into a double play to end the threat and keep the game tied.

Shin-Soo Choo led off the ninth against Bobby Parnell with a double. He was sacrificed to third. Votto was intentionally walked to face Phillips. That didn’t work because Phillips hit a check-swing bouncer down the first base line that Davis let go by him, apparently thinking it was foul. Instead it was fair and Choo scored to make it a 5-4 game. With runners on second and third Bruce was intentionally walked to load the bases. That didn’t work either as Todd Frazier blooped a broken bat single to center to score two more runs to make it 7-4.

With Murphy on first and two outs in the ninth, Terry Collins pinch hit Juan Lagares for Ankiel because the lefty Aroldis Chapman was on the mound. Odd move since Ankiel was having a great game, but apparently the lefty-righty nonsense is more important to Collins. Lagares struck out to end the game.

Mets lose 7-4 and are swept by the Reds. Matt Harvey’s record remains at  5-0 record with five no decisions and a 1.93 ERA.

With so many poor players on the Mets, the one thing they can’t afford are bad plays by their good players. A first inning error by David Wright led to the latest Mets loss, against the Reds at Citi Field on Tuesday.

That look says it all: the 1st inning was not a good one for Jonathon Niese and Mets.

Things looked good for Jonathon Niese early in the first. He got the first two outs rather easily, but then things got difficult for him. A walk, a single and another walk loaded the bases. Todd Frazier then hit a sharp grounder to David Wright, but Wright pulled his glove up too quickly and the ball went underneath it. Two runs scored on the error. An infield single loaded the bases again and Niese walked Devin Mesoraco to force home a run. Niese finally struck out opposing pitcher Mike Leake to end the inning, but by that point it was 3-0. Niese threw 48 pitches in the inning.

With two outs in the fourth and Lucas Duda on first, John Buck doubled off the wall in right. Third base coach Tim Teufel held Duda at third; with struggling Ike Davis coming up, it was probably a bad idea. Davis grounded out meekly to first and heard some pretty loud boos as he failed to come through yet again. Davis went 0-3 and is now batting .149.

Niese settled down after that terrible first inning and ended up going six innings. He didn’t allow any more runs (the three runs in the first were unearned). He struck out seven and walked three, giving up five hits.

The anemic Mets bats could not manage anything against Leake; he threw seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits.

The Reds made it 4-0 in the ninth when Mesoraco hit Collin McHugh’s first pitch into the seats in left field.

Mets lose 4-0.

Sandy Alderson paid a visit to the broadcast booth during Tuesday’s game to discuss the state of the Mets. As usual, he used a lot of words to say very little, and looked and sounded extremely uncomfortable sitting between Ron Darling and Gary Cohen.

The first question was about Ike Davis. Sandy Alderson said it is “concerning” that he is struggling to the start of the season yet again, but Alderson is hoping Davis can turn it around, like he did last year. On whether Davis might be sent to the minors, Alderson said, “Maybe he is better off going to Las Vegas for a period of time but at this point we are going to live with Ike for a little longer.”

Alderson admitted this was always going to be a transition year, but he said it’s been disappointing that “some of players we brought in for the transition are not performing well at this point.” He said the most troubling aspect of the season is that players who were supposed to be the core of the team have taken steps back.

When Cohen asked who were those core players aside from Davis, Sandy Alderson would only say it was a “number of other guys who we hoped would be better.” He refused to name names, but said, “Fans can identify them as well as I can.” An awkward silence followed.

On Zack Wheeler and when we can expect to see him in Flushing, Alderson said, “I’m very hopeful that he can pitch well two or three times and then he can be strongly considered for a promotion.”

Alderson also suggested that we might not see Travis d’Arnaud anytime soon. He pointed out that with d’Arnaud’s current injury and the one that ended his season prematurely last year, “He’s only played 10 or 15 games in the past year… hopefully he’ll be playing (in the minors) by July 1. If he’s healthy he’ll be here sometime this year, but we’ve got to give him some playing time.” Which means they won’t be starting his free agency/arbitration clock, which is all the Mets really care about.

When Cohen thanked him, Sandy Alderson said, “I enjoyed it.” It sure didn’t seem like it.

A report on Tuesday claims the Mets are considering demoting half of their starting infield as well as arguably their most promising outfielder to the minors.

Artist’s depiction of Sandy Alderson banishing players to minors.

Speculation has been running rampant that Ike Davis could be banished to Las Vegas. It would not be unwarranted; after all, he is batting .152 with four home runs and nine RBIs to go along with 48 strikeouts. Even during his first half struggles last season Davis’s batting average was never this low.

But now the Daily News reports that those pesky “team sources” who apparently don’t like seeing their name in print say the Mets are also considering demoting Ruben Tejada and Jordany Valdespin.

Tejada is hitting just .213. But he does have nine doubles and hey, he has one more RBI than Davis. However his .278 on-base percentage just won’t cut it for someone who is supposed to hit at the top of the lineup and get on base consistently. After a rough start in the field in which he rang up six errors in the first couple of weeks of the season, he has settled down and has become more reliable. Still though, his seven errors are tied for the most of any shortstop in baseball. He had 12 errors all of last season.

Valdespin is hitting just .218 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. His demotion has more to do with his much documented off-the-field immaturity problems than what he is doing between the lines.

I think all three demotions would be a mistake, for the simple reason that the Mets do not have anyone better than Davis, Tejada and Valdespin ready to go in the minors. Anyone they bring up will not likely perform any better.

In Davis’s case, he has shown the ability to break out of his slumps at the major league level; just give him the chance to do it again. It’s not like Davis is getting in the way of the Mets contending for a playoff spot.

Tejada also deserves a chance to work things out.

As for Valdespin, will a trip to the minors really make him more mature? If he didn’t grow up after last season in which he apparently had similar problems, what makes the Mets think he will get any better now? The Mets would be better off just trading him (if there is any market for him at all) and be done with him. Such a move will come back to haunt the Mets because I think Valdespin will be a solid player, but if the Mets brass does not like Valdespin as much as it appears, Sandy Alderson should just end it now.

Actually there are probably around 15 players on the Mets who warrant a demotion. Why pick on just these three guys?

What do you do when you have 15 minutes or so to fill and you have to talk about one of the worst teams in the league? The Mets may be bad, but fortunately there is always something interesting go on in the circus in Flushing, so Phil and I had no problem filling the time on the most recent edition of “The Phil Naessens Show.”

While the Mets reside in a replica of a long-gone stadium in which they never played, their history in the Polo Grounds is all but forgotten. The Mets played in the New York Giants abandoned home for two years until Shea Stadium was ready in 1964. Here are some photos of the Mets in their original home.

Polo Grounds exterior.

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Original Mets Frank Thomas, Gil Hodges, Don Zimmer & Roger Craig jump for joy; it was obviously before the season began!

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Opening Day on 4/13/62.

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The official 1962 team photo. Why is no one looking at the camera?!

Riding a four-game losing streak, the Mets were facing a pitcher on Tuesday making his major league debut. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to get back to winnings ways. Well, the by the time the feeble Mets offense got to him, it was a case of too little, too late because the Cardinals potent offense was busy destroying Mets pitching.

John Buck can talk to Dillon Gee all he wants, but it didn’t help Mets avoid 5th straight loss.

The Cardinals jumped all over Dillon Gee in the first. Matt Carpenter led off with a walk. Carlos Beltran hit a grounder to Ike Davis. He tried to throw to second base to start a double play; instead he hit Beltran with the throw and the error put runners on first and third. Matt Holliday doubled just over the outstretched glove of Juan Lagares in center to score Carpenter and move Holliday to third. Allen Craig singled and just like that it was 3-0 before Gee could record an out. Gee was able to get out of the inning without allowing any more runs.

A single and a walk put runners on first and second with one out in the fourth. Pete Kozma singled past Justin Turner, in at short in a desperate attempt for offense, to plate one run to make it 4-0. After starter John Gast struck out trying to sacrifice for the second out, Carpenter singled to right to extend the Cardinals lead to 5-0. Beltran then singled up the middle to score another run — 6-0 Cards.

Gee lasted four miserable innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits with three walks and five strike outs. He is now 2-5 with a 6.13 ERA.

Robert Carson was even worse. He walked the first two batters in the fifth, including Gast who was trying to sacrifice. After getting one out, Beltran hit a blast into the second deck in left field. The 437-foot home run made it a 9-0 game.

With one out in the sixth Daniel Murphy singled. David Wright walked and John Buck singled to left to score Murphy and put runners on first and third. Lucas Duda hit a sharp grounder to the first baseman. He stepped on first for the second out and Buck was hung up between first and second. However the Cardinals botched the rundown and Buck was safe at second. Wright also scored on the play to make it 9-2. That extended the inning, and that was bad news for Gast because Marlon Byrd took him deep to cut the lead to 9-4.

Carson was back on the mound for the bottom of the sixth, and he was no better in his second inning of work. Jon Jay hit a ball over the wall that was just out of the reach of Lagares to make it 10-4. Carson’s ERA now stands at 12.00. That is not good.

Mets lose their fifth straight, 10-4.

Scott Atchison has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with bone spurs in his pitching elbow. Collin McHugh was recalled from Las Vegas to take his place in the bullpen.

Atchison got off to a solid start with the Mets, but he has given up runs in five of his past nine appearances as his ERA has risen to 4.50.

McHugh has been pitching well in Triple-A — he is 3-2 with a 2.74 ERA in eight starts. Last season with the Mets he went 0-4 with a 7.59 ERA in eight games, half of them as a starter.

It will be interesting to see what happens if McHugh pitches well and Jeremy Hefner, Dillon Gee or Shaun Marcum continue to struggle. It is conceivable, as well as justifiable, that Collin McHugh could take the place of one of them.

I’m not sure exactly what this Mets video is, but it is billed as a Coke commercial. It shows some guy (probably an actor) on the field at Shea Stadium wearing a Frank Howard jersey greeting the real Frank Howard, then giving batting tips to someone who may be Mike Jorgensen. It was likely shot in 1982 or 83, the only years Howard and Jorgensen overlapped.