Blogging Mets

The Mets were never going to score 13 runs a game (their average in their previous four games) forever . Tigers ace Justin Verlander brought them down to earth on Thursday, snapping the Mets four-game winning streak, beating them 5-2.

The Mets did manage ten more hits, including two from Jose Reyes (below, getting thrown out on a stolen base attempt in the third). At the exact midpoint of the season, Reyes has 121 hits and is batting .352. He leads the league in those categories as well as runs, doubles (tied) and triples. What more can you say?

Daniel Murphy also had two hits (his fourth straight multiple hit game) and is batting .302 — good for 12th in the league.

Mike Pelfrey had another disappointing outing. He allowed five runs (four earned), walked five, and couldn’t even make it through the fifth inning. It was his second consecutive start where he gave up an early lead and didn’t give the Mets the chance to win.

In any case, this was a very good road trip. They won four out of six, taking two series from AL division leaders. They take on the other division leader, those damned Yankees, this weekend.

So at the halfway point the Mets are at 41-40, which seems about right. The Mets are a .500 team, plain and simple. As we’ve seen lately, they do show some flashes of brilliance that could keep them in contention for the Wild Card. A couple of more runs like that and hey, you never know.

The Mets are just out of control. They scored 16 runs Wednesday night in Detroit, meaning that on this four-game winning streak, the Mets have scored a stunning 52 runs (16, 14 twice, eight in a slumping game)!

They knocked out a season-high 20 hits, four each by Ronny Paulino and Angel Pagan (below), and too-many-to-mention two hit games, led of course by Jose Reyes.

The Mets are also coming up clutch — 22 of the 30 runs they have scored against the Tigers have come with two outs. It got so bad for Detroit, manager Jim Leyland called on a position player, Don Kelly, to get the third out in the ninth.

This is an offensive performance by the Mets the likes we have never seen before, or at least the likes that I can remember.

Speaking out out of control, how about Bobby Parnell? We knew he could throw hard, but he reached 103 mph on the radar gun! When was the last time a Mets pitcher broke 100? Billy Wagner, probably.

If there was one down note on the game it was the pitching. Chris Capuano was cruising along until his inevitable breakdown in the sixth inning. Then Pedro Beato and Tim Byrdak gave up runs to allow the Tigers to get as close as 10-8. But luckily the Mets had plenty of runs left in their bats to make it a more comfortable lead.

The 16-9 win leaves the Mets at 41-39. They will have to face Justin Verlander Thursday afternoon in order to complete a sweep of the Tigers. A tall order indeed, but the way the Mets are socking the ball, anything could happen.

It says here that Jose Reyes will end up signing a long-term contract with the Mets by default — no one else will be able to afford him.

The Yankees and Red Sox are the usual suspects for such high-end free agents. But both teams have said they will likely not be interested in Reyes. The Yankees have a shortstop — some icon named Jeter. And the Red Sox have too many huge contracts to take on another.

The Giants are constantly mentioned as a possible fit. But having been burned on big contracts before (Barry Zito), I don’t think they’ll do one for Reyes. Besides, Tim Lincecum is due for a nine-figure deal soon, and I think the Giants will give their money to him.

The Cardinals and Brewers? If they are going to spend $20 million or more per season on a player, they will sign their own free agents — Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, respectively.

Many people are mentioning the hated Phillies. Jimmy Rollins is a free agent after this season. But the Phils already have some major contracts (Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay) and a bloated payroll. With their pitching, I don’t think they need Reyes to win. I think they will resign Rollins.

Some are talking about the Nationals. They made a big splash by overpaying for Jayson Werth last off season, and could surprise everyone and make a play for Reyes. But Washington’s budget is limited. Ryan Zimmerman is due a monster contract in a couple of years, and looking down the road, it is likely they will have to spend big on Stephen Strasberg and Bryce Harper if they progress as planned. I think the Nationals will save their money.

The two teams I worry about the most are the Orioles and Angels. Baltimore has just $35 million in salary committed to next season. If the Orioles ever hope to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox, they have to go out and get players. Remember, they were in the thick of things for Mark Teixeira, so the team does not appear averse to spending money. This is a definite landing spot for Reyes.

As far as the Angels, Arte Moreno is a big spender. Their payroll is $140 million this year, but they have just $80 million committed for 2012. They have do that albatross of Vernon Well’s contract of nearly $25 million per year for the next three seasons hanging around their neck, which would be the only reason they wouldn’t sign Reyes to a big deal. But I wouldn’t count them out.

I think with those options, Reyes will stay right here in New York, which is where he says he wants to be. The Mets won’t be getting a discount though. I’ve been saying all along that Reyes will get something in their neighborhood of five-years, $75 million. But with the season he is having, I’m going to increase that to five-years, $90 million. All bets are off if the Yankees or Red Sox somehow get involved — then he gets his “Carl Crawford money.”

Where do you start with a game like this? Do you start with the Mets scoring 14 runs for the second time in three games? Or Jose Reyes having four more hits, including his 15th triple? Or even R.A. Dickey going seven strong innings for the win? Nah, you have to start with the grand slams. And yes, that’s plural.

The Mets hadn’t hit a grand slam since August 2009. But Tuesday night they exploded for two, in consecutive innings no less. In the fourth inning Jason Bay (below) broke the futility to make the score 9-0. Then in the fifth it was Carlos Beltran’s turn. Beltran, by the way, has 53 RBIs on the season. That’s good for sixth in the league.

Jose Reyes now leads the league with a stunning 15 triples. That’s the most before the All-Star break since 1945 — and Reyes still has two weeks before the break to add to that total. His four hits raised his average to a league-leading .349. He has 117 hits. Absolutely amazing. I sensed a prolonged slump coming last week when he struggled for a few games, but Reyes was able to shake it off. We could be watching something really special here.

Dickey is finding himself on a pretty good streak. Except for one bad start in Atlanta, he has pitched well in seven of his last eight starts. He has had some trouble with run support that cost him some wins, but that was not a problem this time around, as the Mets won 14-3.

The Mets are now winners of three straight and are 40-39. It is the first time the Mets have managed to be above .500 since the first week of the season. The Mets need to keep this streak going and prove their are contenders, not the pretenders many people think they are.

If only Jon Heyman had only bothered to pick up a phone…

Well, that was quick. A day after Heyman’s tweet that the Rangers were “interested” in trading for Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, Rangers president Nolan Ryan said he is “not interested.”

“I can’t believe that we have an interest in either,” Ryan told ESPN Radio in Dallas on Tuesday.

Ryan based his opinion on K-Rod after watching him allow the Rangers to get back into Sunday’s blowout by giving up two runs in the ninth inning.

“I go by what I saw from K-Rod and I don’t see that’s an upgrade,” Ryan said.

As far as Beltran, he said there is the injury problem. However, Beltran has actually been surprisingly healthy all season, thus far at least.

“And Beltran, you worry about his knee. And you’re taking on an awful lot of salary. With his history with the Mets he’s had so many medical problems and played so little at times, it’s just a real risky situation.”

Perhaps this is just posturing on Ryan’s part to lower the Mets asking price. Or perhaps Heyman should call someone whose opinions matter in issues like this, instead of the low-level club official or some other nobody who likely gave Heyman the “information.”

You’ve got to love the media in the 21st century. One sportswriter can send a simple tweet and people go nuts. The latest example of this happened Monday afternoon when Sports Illustrated‘s Jon Heyman tweeted that the Rangers could be “interested” in trading for Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez.

Remember the good old days when a reporter would investigate a story, then print a nice big write-up in a newspaper the following day? Well, those days are over. In 140 (or fewer) characters, Heyman created a story that was likely generated by an off-hand conversation he had with someone. No need to look into it further — not in this day and age.

Having said all of that, I hope this is true. I would make this trade tomorrow, regardless of where the Mets stand in the playoff hunt. They would get a few prospects and save a bunch of money — two positives as the Mets move into the future.

When Terry Collins said during spring training that Sandy Alderson did not put any restrictions on how he could use Francisco Rodriguez, did anybody believe him? Didn’t we all think Alderson ordered Collins to only use K-Rod in save situations in order to keep him from finishing 55 games and triggering his $17.5 million option? Well, it appears we were all wrong.

Once again on Sunday, Collins brought in Rodriguez in a non-save situation with the Mets up 8-3. Forget for a moment that he almost blew the game. This is around the fifth time that K-Rod finished a game that he didn’t necessarily have to finish.

I wrote back in January that Collins would never use K-Rod in such situations. Man, was I wrong.

I wonder what Alderson’s thinking is. Perhaps he is supremely confident that he will deal Rodriguez to a team by the trade deadline that will use him as a set-up guy, or a team desperate for a closer down the stretch. Or maybe he is sure he can trade him after the season, even if the option does vest.

Sources say the Mets don’t look at it as a $17.5 million option; since they are on the hook for a $3.5 million buyout, they look at the contract as a $14 million deal. So maybe Alderson thinks he can deal K-Rod and throw in around $6 million, leaving the new team to pay $11.5 million — not too much for a one-year commitment to a top closer.

Then let’s say the Mets made Bobby Parnell the closer and pay him $1 million. In effect the Mets would be paying $7 million for a closer in 2012 (Parnell’s $1 plus the $6 million sent away in the trade). It’s lousy to pay that much money for someone not playing for the team, but it results in a net saving of $10.5 million.

Either way, the Players Association will likely have no beef with the Mets over their handling of Rodriguez. You can be sure it is watching this closely.

The Mets took the rubber game of their series with the AL West-leading Rangers Sunday afternoon, beating them 8-5. The Mets can thank the umpires in part. They were the recipient of several questionable calls that led to runs scored (and not scored by the Rangers).

The Mets up 3-2 in the second inning with runners on first and second and one out, Justin Turner lofted a fly ball to short right for the second out. Angel Pagan easily advanced to third, but Jose Reyes tried to go to second. He looked to be out by a mile for an inning-ending double play, but the umpire called him safe. Subsequent replays showed that perhaps the second baseman got his tag down too early and Reyes was able to slide by. Rangers color guy Tom Grieve said, “Maybe the glove came down a split second early, but how could he see that?” Well, if that is what happened (and the replays were inconclusive), then the umpire did see it and made a good call. However in plays like that where the ball beats the runner to the base, it is almost always called an out, whether the fielder gets the tag down or not. Carlos Beltran followed with a single to score both runs.

Then there were two questionable calls against the Rangers in the fifth. With no outs, runners on first and second and a run already in to cut the lead to 5-3, Reyes fielded a grounder and threw to third to get the lead runner. The throw was a bit wide, pulling Justin Turner off the base. He had to tag Michael Young, who clearly got in before the tag. But Young was called out, the umpire apparently saying Turner was on the base when he got the throw. He was not.

The next batter hit a grounder to first. Daniel Murphy threw to Reyes for the force at second for the second out. The Rangers thought Reyes was off the bag when he took the throw, but the replays show he was just barely on it — but it was close, getting the call the Rangers did not get in the second. The Rangers would not score again that inning.

To the top of the sixth — runner on second, two strikes on Daniel Murphy, he took a pitch right down the middle of the plate. But the umpire called it a ball, apparently fooled by the catcher who was set up outside and had to come back for the ball. But make no mistake — it should have been strike three. On the next pitch Murphy lined a double to left to make it 6-3. That was enough for Rangers Manager Ron Washington, who got thrown out for arguing.

Jose Reyes didn’t need any help from the umpires. He was 4-5 with his 14th triple of the season. Amazing.

Dillon Gee got the win, bringing his record to 8-1. He had a couple of shaky innings pitching in front of his hometown fans, but he was able to muscle it through six innings, allowing three runs.

Things got interesting in the ninth — Francisco Rodriguez was brought in to get some work with the Mets up 8-3. He allowed two runs before finally retiring the Rangers for a very undeserved game finished.

So the Mets are back to .500 — let’s see if they can finally get over that hump and really make a run at the Wild Card.

The Mets are expected to be very busy at the trade deadline in July 31. Several expiring contracts are expected to be dealt. Whom do you want the Mets to trade? In addition to the most mentioned suspects, I threw in a few of more names to make things interesting. Unlike previous polls, you can vote for more than one player in this one:

What a game to miss! Saturday afternoon’s Mets-Rangers game was a Fox game and was not aired in my market, so I couldn’t see the Mets score a season-high 14 runs to beat the Rangers 14-5. But the box score looks entertaining.

Lucas Duda (left) was 4-5 with three doubles and drove in four runs. Carlos Beltran was 3-5 with three RBIs. Ruden Tejada, Josh Thole, Willie Harris and Jose Reyes (of course) had two hits each.

Jon Niese was the winner, but he had to be removed from the game in the middle of the sixth inning with what announced as a rapid heartbeat. Maybe he just got excited watching the Mets score so many runs. But likely it was due to the oppressive heat in Arlington. Let’s hope it’s nothing more serious than that.

Speaking of not-serious injuries, Jason Bay sat out the game with a stiff neck. After going 3-4 in Friday’s game, his neck must have gotten a workout while looking at his rare base hits!

The Mets go for the series win Sunday afternoon in what promises to be another sweltering day. Dillon Gee tries for his eighth win.