Blogging Mets

I am not a worrier by nature. I always say, “Don’t worry. Things will work out just fine.” And usually, things do. But sometimes things don’t. For example, last year at this time, we were saying about David Wright: “Don’t worry. Things will work out just fine.” Well, things didn’t — he ended the year with like 2 homers and 12 RBIs.

Now we are saying the same thing about Johan Santana and Jason Bay. I do think things will work out for both of them this season, but maybe they won’t. Is now the time to start worrying?

Santana is a great pitcher who is tough enough to get through a game without his “A” stuff. He’s had to do that more and more this season. His velocity is down dramatically. His fastball barely reaches 90. That leaves his off-speed stuff just a few miles per hour slower than his fastball. That’s no way to fool hitters.

The Mets say Santana is still recovering from last year’s elbow surgery. Perhaps that is the case. But perhaps it’s not. Let’s hope it is, because Santana is signed through 2013 at nearly $25 million per season (and a buyout of $5.5 million if the Mets don’t pick up his 2014 option). That’s a large chunk of team salary to a pitcher who can’t break 90 on the radar gun. But again, I’m not worried. I think Santana will be fine.

Now to Bay. Not withstanding his two homers in Puerto Rico Monday night, should we be worrying about him? Bay has six home runs and 34 RBIs so far this season. That projects to 13 homers and 74 RBIs. That’s very 2009 David Wright. Not good for a guy making $16 million per year, a guy who was supposed to provide power in the middle of the lineup who was penciled in for 30 homers and 100 RBIs — at a minimum.

As Ralph Kiner pointed out during Sunday’s game, Bay is just not getting the ball in the air. That’s a problem. Bay has also fallen victim to Citi Field and its generous proportions. Just last week he hit two balls in the same game that would have been out of most stadiums, and I can remember him hitting that stupid tall wall several times already this season. 

But that’s no excuse for Bay not hitting on the road (didn’t we say the same thing about Wright last season?). Bay is known as a streaky hitter, so I think he’ll get on a hot streak very soon and end the season with 20+ homers and close to 100 RBIs.

I’m not worried. Although maybe I should be.

The Mets are said to be in the thick of things in the hunt for Cliff Lee. The Seattle Times is reporting that the Mets and the Twins are the frontrunners thus far. Of course, the Yankees could always swoop in and piss everybody off, as they often do, but right now the Mets are right up there.

The rumor the Times is hearing is that the Mets could offer Jenrry Mejia and Angel Pagan for Lee. “Wow, that one would be tough to decline,” the paper says.

But not so fast. The New York Post reports its sources are saying that the Mets are “unlikely” to include Mejia in any deal. And the Daily News quotes “several senior Mets officials” who say Pagan is virtually untouchable. “With Carlos Beltran’s health so uncertain, the Mets cannot sacrifice Pagan. If Beltran comes back and lights the league on fire for two weeks, maybe that changes; as of now, Pagan isn’t going anywhere,” the News writes.

Both local tabloids say Ike Davis and Jon Niese are also going nowhere, which is a good thing. But if the Mets can get Lee for Pagan and Mejia, I say do it. Right now.

Pagan has certainly been a revelation this season. He has played beyond anyone’s expectations. But how good will he be in the long run? This might be his peak, and if it is, now is the perfect time to trade him. I think Pagan will be a solid major leaguer for several years to come, but he will never be a superstar or a game changer. Cliff Lee is both of those.

As far as Mejia, he does indeed have the potential to be a superstar. But there have been hundreds of prospects over the years who had the potential to be great, but couldn’t deliver for one reason or another. I don’t think Mejia will be added to that list. I think he will develop into a solid starter. Maybe he’ll be as good as Cliff Lee some day. But if the Mets can get THE Cliff Lee for Mejia, I would do it.

The Mets do have other top prospects that could land Lee — Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez, Josh Thole and Wilmer Flores are the most familiar names. I would trade a couple of them for Lee.

It would be a shame, however, to trade a number of young players for Lee and just watch him walk away in free agency — especially if he doesn’t lead the Mets to the World Series.

That’s why I prefer to trade for Roy Oswalt. He’s signed for 2011 and 2012 at a reasonable $16 million per year (that includes a 2012 club option that I’m sure will have to be picked up in order for Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause). Lee will surely demand a 5-year deal at upwards of $20 million per year. Lee is excellent, but I’m not quite sure he’s worth that much. And with the Yankees making noise that they may get involved in the bidding for Lee, he’ll get that and maybe more. I’d much rather have Oswalt  — whom I consider a better pitcher than Lee anyway — for fewer years and less money.

But if Oswalt is not available, I’d roll the dice and trade for Lee, with the hope that he’ll love the Mets so much, he’ll sign with them at a slightly lower rate. Don’t laugh, it worked with Mike Piazza.

It’s taken around two months longer than expected, but Carlos Beltran is on the way back. Omar Minaya announced on Tuesday that Beltran will begin his minor league rehab assignment Thursday in Port St. Lucie. The team has 20 days from the beginning of the assignment to activate Beltran. That would put his return to the big leagues at around the All-Star break.

Once he comes back, what will become of Angel Pagan? Pagan has done more than just an admirable job filling in for Beltran. He is the Mets leading hitter with a .304 average after Tuesday night’s four-hit game. He is tied with Jose Reyes for the team lead in triples with five, and is second in stolen bases with 14. And perhaps most surprisingly, Pagan is third on the team with 35 RBIs — six more than the high priced Jason Bay, and just as many homers as Bay (four).

Of course, Bay isn’t going anywhere, nor should he. And despite his ups and downs this season, Jeff Francoeur is second on the team in RBIs with 38 and is playing his usual solid defense in right field. He’s done nothing to warrant a demotion.

My guess is Pagan will get a couple of starts a week, giving Beltran’s creaky knees a rest, as well as an occasional day off for Bay and Francoeur. But if Francoeur goes into one of those deep, deep slumps, Jerry Manuel might be tempted to insert Pagan on a more regular basis. All in all, it’s not a bad problem to have.

*****

It was nice to see Bobby Parnell back on the Citi Field mound Tuesday, where he should have been all along. I never did quite understand why he started the year in the minors. He did well last season, and deserved to make the club out of spring training. I can only assume he shared my puzzlement as such luminaries as Manny Acosta, Raul Valdes, and Tobi Stoner got the call instead of him. But now Parnell is back, and hopefully he’s here to stay. Now if we can just get Pat Misch onto the team in place of the increasingly unreliable Valdes, the pitching staff would be complete.

*****

Meantime, the Mets continue to roll. After a successful 7-2 road trip, the Mets returned to Citi Field and blasted the Tigers 14-6. They are now ten games above .500, in second place a game and a half behind the Braves. The offense was firing on all cylinders. Now imagine Beltran hitting like his old self in the middle of that lineup, and that’s quite a powerhouse. Add a Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt to the rotation, and well, dare I say, that would be a team that would be hard to beat.

The Mets are once again the hottest team in baseball — winners of four straight, and eight of their last ten. They are in second place, just a game and a half behind the surprising Braves. But perhaps more importantly, they are two games in front of the Phillies, who are by far the best team in the division, but having trouble scoring runs without Jimmy Rollins (now Phillies fans know what the Mets went through last year without Jose Reyes — not to mention Beltran and Delgado).

While that series sweep (by shutout) over the Phils a couple of weeks ago was the biggest series of the season so far, this weekend’s interleague set in Baltimore was also huge. While the Mets have been extraordinary at home (24-10), they’ve been less than ordinary on the road (8-18 entering the weekend).  The Mets needed to show that they could win on the road in order to be serious playoff contenders.

And the Mets did just that, sweeping the Orioles out of Camden Yards, winning Sunday’s game 11-4 behind two David Wright homers (left). Now, naysayers will say it is only the Orioles, the worst team in the league. But these are the teams the Mets have to beat. Losing on the road in Baltimore would have been a horrible sign — not only can’t they win on the road, they can’t even beat the Orioles. Fortunately that didn’t turn out to be the case.

Now the Mets have to continue their run and take at least two out of three from the last place Indians in Cleveland. This is key because the Mets play the Yankees next weekend. The Yankees are on a pretty good roll of their own — they are now tied for first in the AL East. The Mets will be lucky to take one game from them. That would mean a 6-3 road trip, something we could all be happy with.

Following the two September collapses in 2007 and 2008 and the miserable 2009, the word “heart” is not one often used to describe the New York Mets. But that is changing, because the Mets have been showing a lot of heart lately. I’m sure I was not the only Mets fan who wrote them off on Sunday when they were down 5-0.  But they fought their way back to win the game and sweep the Marlins.

They did it again Tuesday night. Down 1-0 and not showing much in the way of offense, a Jose Reyes home run in the seventh tied it up, and Ike Davis’ monstrous blast in the 11th gave the Mets the win.

Come-from-behind victories like these tend to get a team fired-up.  The Mets are on another one of their hot streaks. They are winners of four in a row, and are 5-1 in June. They are four games over .500, and in the thick of things in a very competitive NL East.

Jeff Francoeur is red-hot, raising his average a whopping .50 points over the past ten games. David Wright has as many homers (10) already this season as he had last year. Reyes is looking more like the Reyes of old. And Angel Pagan has somehow raised his baseball IQ from last season’s rating of “bonehead” to this year’s “competent.”

Mike Pelfrey simply amazes with each outing — he went nine innings Tuesday, but got a no-decision. Speaking of no decisions, Johan Santana has been the hard luck guy lately, but he’ll rack up the wins. Other than that, the pitching is still a bit shaky. But as long as the Mets bats can bail them out, the Mets will be a tough team over the course of the season. And if they continue to show heart, a playoff spot is theirs for the taking.

*****

I was flipping back and forth Tuesday between the Mets game and Stephen Strasburg’s debut with the Nationals. That guy is everything they’ve said, and more. He is simply incredible. His fastball reaches 100 mph. But more importantly, it has amazing movement that makes it impossible to hit. His off-speed stuff is 90 mph! And his breaking ball is simply unhittable.

Even though Strasburg is going to be a thorn in the Mets side for a long time to come, I’m glad he’s living up to the hype. So many athletes come in with great fanfare and crawl away with their tails between their legs. It reminds me of the hype surrounding Tiger Woods, whom they were calling the “next Jack Nicklaus” when Woods was a teenager. I never thought he could be that good. But it turned out he lived up to the billing (his marriage issues not withstanding).

Superior athletes like Strasburg come along once in a generation (twice, if you believe the Bryce Harper hype). We’re lucky that we get to watch him progress. But judging from what I saw Tuesday, he’s already progressed to the point that he’ll be among the best pitchers in baseball in no time.

It was without a doubt the most unfair, heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen in a baseball game. Wednesday night, Detroit Tigers starter Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game — a perfect game – when the Indians Jason Donald hit a slow roller right of first base. Miguel Cabrera made the play, threw to Galarraga who was covering first — and safe! Perfect game gone.

One problem, though – he was out. By a lot (left).

Jim Joyce blew this call big-time. The replay showed Donald was out by at least a step. At first it appeared as if Galarraga may not have had his foot on the base. But the replay showed it was clearly on there. Tigers manager Jim Leyland argued briefly, but Cabrera let Joyce hear it until the next batter grounded out to end the game.

Afterwards, Leyland, Cabrera and several other Tigers yelled vehemently at Joyce, as the rest of the team congratulated Galarraga — the most somber display after a one-hit shutout you’ll ever see.

Joyce is going to feel horrible after he sees the replay. His mistake denied a man from being part of baseball history. As for Galarraga, it’s impossible to imagine how he must feel. He should have had a perfect game, and through no fault of his own — no fault on the part of any of his teammates – it was taken away from him.

And there’s not a damn thing anybody can do about it.

Whom do you believe when one liar tells a story, and another liar denies it? It’s a tough spot, but at least there’s a hapless reporter to help further things along. In this case, the liars are agent Scott Boras and the Mets organization, and the hapless reporter is, of course, Peter Gammons.

According to a report in the New York Post, Gammons appeared on WFAN on Tuesday with a story about how Boras went to the Mets a couple of weeks ago, and proposed putting his client Oliver Perez on the disabled list so Perez could go down to Florida and be treated by a sports psychologist. Gammons said the Mets said no. “Jeff Wilpon didn’t think it was an appropriate thing to do,” Gammons claimed.

But a Mets source tells the Post’s Mike Puma that Boras never presented the club with this scheme.

Let’s look at this story. Gammons source was, of course, Boras. And in his usual thorough fashion, Gammons didn’t take any pains to confirm the story. He obviously didn’t call the Mets, because they would have given him the same denial the Post got. And this guy is in the Hall of Fame.

Boras is not the most reliable person when it comes to telling the truth. Neither are the Mets, who have proven in the past that their officials are a bit truth-challenged as well.

So whom to believe? I am going with the Mets on this one. There is no harm in admitting Boras made the proposal if he actually did. It’s not like Perez went on a killing spree after the Mets denied him help. And if Boras really wanted Perez to see a psychologist, he could have done it locally without going on the DL.

The only thing this little incident proves if that if you want to get your phony story out, Peter Gammons is your go-to reporter. He’ll take what you say as gospel. Did I mention this guy is in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

*****

Another Boras client, Carlos Beltran, is reportedly getting ready to make it back onto the field. Jerry Manuel said Beltran is on a “nice track,” and could soon start playing rehab games. That’s the good news from Manuel. The bad news is that the Mets might ask Beltran to play the occasional game in right field to save wear and tear on his knees. I seem to remember that the last time a centerfielder played out of position in right field, it left Mike Cameron with a smashed-in face — courtesy of Beltran’s head. It just seems like a bad idea. Let’s get Beltran back in the lineup before deciding to fiddle around with his position.