The Mets are streaking on both sides of the ball

I was gearing up for a lengthy post on how the Mets have turned it around since Jerry Manuel took the helm and how well the players have been playing in July.

Unfortunately (or probably fortunately), Eric Grissom over at Phillies Flow has beaten me to it.

Here's an excerpt of the article, titles "Men on fire":

Overall, the difference between the Manuel and non-Manuel pitching numbers is far more dramatic than the difference between the Manuel and non-Manuel hitting numbers. The Mets are scoring about 4.96 runs per game since he took over compared to about 4.80 per game before he took over, but the difference between the pitching numbers is much larger. After allowing about 4.67 runs per game before Manuel took over, the Mets have allowed about 3.81 runs per game since.

There's some great statistical breakdowns of the starters in July and the runs scored / runs against breakdown between the two months of June and July.

The Mets have been the team that we thought they could be, finally. Mike Pelfrey has blossomed into a wonderful pitcher, Johan Santana has plugged away at his consistently wonderful pace, and Olvier Perez has switched his mechanics and seen great results.

The bats are back too, as Carlos Delgado is getting on track (maybe), Jose Reyes is on an absolute tear after getting off to a slow start, and Damion Easley is filling in admirably at second base.

The All Star break couldn't come at a worse time for the hot Mets, but hopefully it will carry over into the second "half," down the stretch, and beyond.

Great stuff, Eric. Truly worth a read.

TSTDIA: Mets 4 -- Phillies 2

Oliver Perez coasted through seven innings, the Mets (Carlos Beltran really) scratched out two runs, and the game was handed over the the only New York Mets All Star Game selection for the final three outs of the game. Billy Wagner got the Phillies down to their last strike before surrendering a two-run home run to tie the game.

The Mets rallied back late with a two-run dinger of their own, off the bat of Fernando Tatis, beating the Phills in 12 innings.

Major props must go to Joe Smith for 2 1-3 scoreless innings of relief.

Oliver Perez: Who are you?

The stats on Oliver Perez:
Birth: August 15, 1981
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 160 lb.

Debut: June 16, 2002
Career: 51-58, 4.48 ERA, 1.435 WHIP
2008: 6-5, 4.98 ERA, 1.472 WHIP

Here's the problem. That doesn't show that there are actually two different people named Oliver Perez. They look exactly alike, they talk alike, they do everything the same way...except pitch.

One day, you'll get the Perez we saw against the Yankees last week. 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 earned run.

Other days, we'll see the Perez who can't make it out of the first inning, allowing five hits and six runs in only 1-3 of an inning.

John Delcos has affectionately named him "Coin Flip." How fitting is that?

Any day, either of the Oliver Perez's could show up. Hopefully, today, against the Phillies, we see the good Perez. The one who triumphs over evil and doesn't stink on the mound. We shall see.

Early Morning Madness: Tantrum edition

Jose Reyes is still maturing.

Every time someone claims Reyes has finally matured, become a man, stopped being a baby, he goes out and makes a bonehead move, then mopes about it. This time it was a throwing error allowing a runner on late in the game. Reyes took off his glove, tossed it to the ground, and stood with his hands on his hips.

When the inning finally ended, Reyes' sunglasses and glove were on the ground again, which he picked up before slowly making his way into the dugout.

Though it's nice to see him get mad at himself for botching an easy play, he needs to shake it off and get back in the game rather than sulk and take it to heart. Just turn around, say "I'll get it next time," and keep your head in the game, otherwise more errors will come your way.

** * **

Oliver Perez was simply magnificent yesterday, and most of it stemmed from his brand new windup.

While it wasn't a drastic change, Perez now has a bit of a rocking motion, where he steps back, then forward and his whole body goes into the pitch. This is something new pitching coach Dan Warthen has added to Perez's delivery.

Here I was worried that Perez would completely fall apart if not under the watchful eye of Rick Peterson, and then he comes out in his second start under Warthen and pitches a gem. I feel that Peterson had Perez over-thinking instead of just throwing. Perez came out yesterday pounding fastballs, throwing 25 of his first 30 pitches for strikes, almost all of which were his heater.

** * **

And welcome back to Ryan Church, who picked up two hits in his return to the Mets.

As I've said a million times before, his bat and presence was sorely missed in the Mets lineup, and now that he's back and healthy, this team is poised to make it's move.

Also, I dig the new facial hair sprouting up around the Mets, especially on Church. Maybe it's time to regrow my beard.

Oliver Perez to pitch in relief

For one game.

Oliver Perez, who is coming off his best performance of the year, a seven inning, three hit performance against the Yankees, is now slated to pitch Wednesday or Thursday against the Cardinals out of the bullpen.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen and manager Jerry Manuel are trying to split up the lefty/lefty of Johan Santana and Perez. Perez will pitch against St. Louis from the bullpen before being moved back into the rotation next Sunday against the Phillies.

John Maine will slide in between Santana and Perez, stopping the two lefties from throwing on consecutive days.

The Mets rotation for the next two series will be:
6/30: John Maine @ STL
7/1: Tony Armas Jr. @ STL
7/2: Pedro Martinez @ STL
7/3:Mike Pelfrey @ STL
7/4: Johan Santana @ PHI
7/5: John Maine @ PHI
7/6: Oliver Perez @ PHI
7/7: Pedro Martinez @ PHI

Interesting plan for the rotation. I think these two should be split up, and it's interesting the way they're going about it. Good to keep Perez fresh though.

It's interesting that Perez may pitch again on Pedro's day on the bump. Obviously this couldn't have been planned, but with the way Martinez has been throwing of late, it might be a sign of things to come.

TSTDIA: Mets 3 -- Yankees 1

Behind an amazing effort from Oliver Perez (7 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 8 K, 0 BB), the Mets earned a win and finished the statistical first half of the season one game under .500.

Fix the Mets

We're having a pretty nice discussion over at Mets Lounge about what everyone would do if they were the GM of the Mets.

Pretty simple, I think, but I have a few moves I would make now or in the very immediate future. All moves are in-house.

• Bring up Mike Carp. Send Robinson Cancel back to AAA. This would immediately put pressure on Carlos Delgado.
• Bring up Dan Murphy. Send Trot Nixon back to AAA. This would immediately put pressure on Luis Castillo.
• Look into trading Oliver Perez. If possible, pull the trigger, attempt to get at least two decent minor leaguers in return. Promote Tony Armas Jr.
• If Murphy/Castillo/Damion Easley doesn't work out, call Cincinnati or Baltimore about their second baseman. (via Wrighteous.)
• Don't hurry Ryan Church. Wait until Sunday to bring him back. Make sure he's 110 percent. The Mets need that bat.
• Platoon Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson, Fernando Tatis in right field.

Anything I missed? Hit the comments for your suggestions.

Rebuttal: Blame Santana On This One

Lou Di Falco, over at Never Forget 69, pens his latest article entitled "Blame Santana On This One."

From Di Falco:

No question the second inning was a bit bizarre. After walking a batter and giving up a hit, with two outs David Wright made an error on a routine ground ball that should have ended the inning. The next batter, the pitcher Felix Hernandez, on the first pitch he has seen all season hit an opposite field grand slam home run. How does this happen? Sorry, but Johan Santana has got to do a better job than that. This you would have expected from Oliver Perez, not Santana. He is supposed to be the Mets stopper. Since the Mets won on Sunday, you had to feel good that with Santana on the mound the Mets had a chance to end up on the right side of the .500 ledger.

Ah yes. If you're Santana and your Gold Glove third baseman makes an error to keep the inning alive, then you throw a pitch high and outside of the strike zone to the opposing pitcher, he closes his eyes, swings, and hits a home run, it's obviously all your fault.

How could I not see that?

I do agree this is something I would more likely see out of Perez, or even Jorge Sosa, but we all know, or at least we should, that Santana gives up a lot of home runs. He lead the AL in home runs allowed last year with 33. So far in '08, he's given up 14, running at pretty much the same pace.

After that grand slam, Santana buckled down and allowed only three hits and one earned run through the next five innings. The Mets offense on the other hand, after knocking out King Felix in the fifth, managed only two hits off the beleagured Mariners bullpen.

If you're going to place blame, it's on the offense, not Santana.

Early Morning Madness: Attitude edition

So far, so good. Sure it's only two games, but I like the way Jerry Manuel is handling himself, and more importantly, his team.

He's laying down the law, making it clear he's not going to take any crap from the players, and if they don't give everything they have, they simply won't play.

The team seems like a weight has been lifted off of them. I've never seen them so happy, jovial, and excited to get out and play the bottom of the tenth inning as they were last night. A good start for Manuel, now the Mets just need to keep it going.

As Jerry says, "Gangstas on the field, ladies on the bus."

** * **

A hand must go out to the Oliver Perez and the bullpen for their performances last night.

Ollie was not anything special, but after he gave up three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Manuel brought him out for the sixth, and he allowed only a single before inducing and inning ending double play.

The bullpen then came out and let up only one hit, a single in the bottom of the seventh inning off of Joe Smith. Lights out.

** * **

Every time I think Carlos Delgado is cooked, he does something to surprise me.

One at-bat he looks absolutely lost at the plate, swinging way too early or way too late. A few innings later he comes up and hits a screamer over the center field wall. He then proceeds to look like he's playing in a fog the rest of the game.

Part of me wants the Mets to call up Mike Carp, badly. But, and this part of me must be living in my little pinky toe, thinks Delgado is just a few lucky hits away from getting in the groove. His problem is that he's started to go to left field a whole lot less. Bunt more, I say. And if at all possible, hit the ball to the left side of the mound.

TSTDIA: Mets 7 -- Rangers 1

The good Oliver Perez showed up and the Mets bats beat up on a poorly managed starting pitcher.

Early Morning Madness: I had a better title 4 hours ago edition

I woke up in the middle of the night with a snappy title and a lot of good things to write about, but I can't remember any of them now. Figures, the night I leave the computer on my desk instead of next to my bed. I digress.

*****

The Mets are in trouble, and something needs to be done. They have, in my calculations, two distinct routes they can take: sell or buy.

They could start unloading contracts now (Carlos Delgado, Oliver Perez, Moises Alou), get some prospects in return, and start planning for next year and beyond.

Or, they could start buying. Pick up expendable players for their own expendables, hoping the new player has something the other player lacked. If the pieces don't fit, try and trade them for pieces that do.

I cannot see the team admitting defeat and start trading people left and right. It would raise a white flag and spell out that the team is heading in a wrong direction. I just don't think the Wilpons, Omar Minaya, and the rest of the Mets brass is willing to do that just one year before they crack the champagne on a new stadium.

*****

Another day, another early lead, another loss. What is up with that?

The Mets always seem to jump out to an early lead, look like they're ready to take on the world, and by the time the third inning comes along you can almost visibly see that they're not going to score another run the rest of the game. And they don't.

*****

Do the New York Mets become buyers or sellers? How long will Willie Randolph last? Will they ever win another game? All these questions will be answered...eventually?

Move made official

A move we all saw coming in the first inning was made official after last nights game debacle.

With Oliver Perez throwing batting practice to the Giants, he was pulled after only recording one out. Claudio Vargas, now "firmly" situated in the bullpen, came in and pitch 4 2-3 scoreless innings for the Mets. Mike Pelfrey will stay in the rotation, as Carlos Muniz, who allowed four runs on Monday night, was sent down to AAA.

Muniz was sent down to make room for Pedro Martinez, who is making his return tonight against the Giants.

I hope Martinez can do something worthwhile for two reasons:
1. I want him to do well, obviously.
2. The bullpen was slightly overworked last night.

I can see Pedro pitching into the sixth inning, struggling, and coming out with a line somewhere near 5 2-3 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 6 K's and 2 walks. I would happily take that from Martinez on his first start back.

TSTDIA: Giants 10 -- Mets 2

Oliver Perez stunk it up, big time, as he couldn't pitch himself out of the first inning. The team never recovered.

A nightmare inning

Well, another disaster start from Oliver Perez.

It's currently 4-0 in the bottom of the first, only one out.

It's now 6-0. Still one out.

That actually happened as I was writing.

Claudio Vargas is up in the bullpen, making it pretty known what the Mets are going to do when Pedro Martinez is activated tomorrow. Vargas will, or should it be has, moved to the bullpen, while Mike Pelfrey will stay in the rotation.

I like this. Pelfrey is part of the future for the organization, so let him stick around and do his thing. He's been effective between some miserable stretches. He just needs to iron things out.

Perez still has not recorded another out, and his day is done. 1-3 of an inning, 5 hits, 2 walks, 6 runs, and the smallest hop over the first base path I've ever seen him take.

Something needs to be done about Mr. Perez. He just doesn't seem to have "it."

The 2-for-1 deal for Willie

I'm not yet ready to pronounce this team ready to win the next few games, much less the World Series, but last night was good. Very good.

Here's one of my problems: Willie Randolph still cannot manage a starting pitcher (among other things).

Last night Oliver Perez struggled with the long ball after looking positively dominant his first two innings, striking out four. In the fifth inning, he began to show signs of wildness and fatigue. He made it through the inning, and Randolph trotted him out there for the sixth. After quickly working himself into a jam, Randolph left him in to face Cody Ross, who had already homered off of him earlier in the game.

With Perez still throwing, Ross blasted a pitch, seemingly out of the stadium, erasing the Mets lead and putting the Marlins up by a run.

In a nutshell, I still don't think Randolph is the right manager for this team, even after a nice two game win streak over a "first place team."

I would like to propose a 2-for-1 program for Willie Randolph and his managing tenure.

For every one (1) win the Mets pull off, Randolph earns himself two (2) more games as a manager. With that said, and with this two game win streak, the Mets have bought Randolph four more games as their manager.

If the Mets lose four in a row (and they easily could), Randolph should be fired. If they win another game, Randolph gets at least six more as manager, and so on and so forth.

Sounds good to me, but I thought of it, so I better like it. What are some of your thoughts? I'm very intrigued to hear your side or plans.

Is a win Willie's fault too?

After every Mets loss, without fail, I hear people clamoring for Willie Randolph to be handed a pink slip.

If these people subscribe to that theory, shouldn't every Mets win solidify his place in the dugout?

After pegging the Reds for 12 runs in the early game of the doubleheader on Saturday, Bronson Arroyo came out and pitched his best game in years. Is that the Mets, and specifically Willie's fault? No. It happens. Good teams will be shut down by good pitching from time to time.

I know it's easy to argue against that while looking at Arroyo's numbers this year, but he had everything working for him Saturday night and, as Gary Cohen says, good teams sometimes just have to tip their hat to a great pitching performance.

So after the Mets saw Oliver Perez pitch five great innings and one crappy one, a significant improvement from his last few starts, and the Mets take 2 out of 3, with the one loss coming during Arroyo's brilliance on the mound, where are people praising Willie?

What about Rick Peterson? Oliver looked a lot more in control, though he still walked four, as he struck out eight batters, and only allowed three hits. Shouldn't Peterson be getting a bit of praise for this performance?

I think some fans are inherently negative, and have learned to be negative through the bad years of the early 90's, and don't want to change. It's easy to have a sourpuss attitude and blast every little fallacy or flaw rather than praise the good (I know, because whenever I write papers, I always argue against the point, it's just easier that way).

So as the Mets just to 19-16, three games over .500, and move into a tie for second place behind the playing-over-their-heads Florida Marlins, maybe, just maybe, you can cut Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson some slack, as the team has looked pretty darn good over this past week, and it's only looking up from here.

Game Recap: Mets 8 -- Reds 3

I caught bits and pieces of this game, sneaking away from the family and the chilly weather, and dashing inside to catch a few pitches every now and then, so here's a brief recap.

Oliver Perez pitched a much better game today. The first five innings of the game showed the classic Perez that Mets fans fell in love with. In control, getting his pitches across, and getting really quick outs. I really loved when he got the first out on the first pitch in two consecutive innings. The sixth was a bit of a different story, but he's working back up to what he's capable of if he just keeps his head in the game.

Carlos Beltran had another big day with the pink bat. Beltran went 2-4, scoring twice and driving in three runs with an RBI double and a two run home run. Ryan Church followed up Beltran's blast with one of his own.

Jose Reyes made things happen, getting three hits and scoring twice. Luis Castillo drove in one and scored twice while picking up two hits before leaving the game with a quad injury. Damion Easley, his replacement, added an RBI as well. David Wright and Moises Alou each added an RBI and had one hit.

Scott Schoeneweis put together a nice appearance, stretching out to 1 2-3 of an inning, allowing three hits but no runs. He struck out three while on the bump. I'd like to see this more out of him, but only in the right situation. We need more Schoeneweis, especially after his great start to the year so far.

Photo of the Day: Perez

Again, this photo says it all.
Oliver Perez gave up three home runs Monday night.

Honorable mention to this photo and this photo.

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

Game Recap: Dodgers 5 -- Mets 1

The Dodgers were fans of the long ball tonight, knocking three off of Mets starter Oliver Perez, and coasted to a 5-1 win in the series opener.

Perez struggled through another start, this time lasting much longer. He threw six innings, giving up six hits and two walks, which allowed five earned runs to score. Perez kept the walks down, only giving away two free passes while striking out three batters.

Perez gave up his first dinger to the first batter of the game, as Rafael Furcal homered an 0-2 pitch to center field. Juan Pierre followed this up with a single and a steal, and was driven in by a Russel Martin two out single to center to field.

Perez then got the side in order for two straight innings in the third and fourth. He did not have the same luck in the fifth, as Blake DeWitt crushed his first home run of his career to straight away center field. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Perez allowed a two out walk to light hitting Pierre, and paid for it as Matt Kemp hit a two-run home run to right field.

This is actually a better start for Perez. Kept his walks low, which was big, but he wasn't hitting the glove where Brian Schneider wanted it. He kept it over the plate too much, and it showed as the Dodgers took him deep three times. A step in the right direction, but he needs a few more of these before Mets fans will trust him again.

The Mets got on the board in the sixth inning as Carlos Beltran smoked a ball down the right field line. The ball rattled around in the corner and Kemp booted it once or twice. Beltran coasted into third with a triple, but was being waved around by third base coach Sandy Alomar Sr. It was a moot point as Moises Alou followed it up with a single up the middle, easily scoring Beltran.

Beltran didn't pick up Alomar until it was too late. They have to get the basics down, or they're not going to win anything. Nice to see Alou contributing while he still adjusts to major league pitchers.

Where the heck does the offense go? One day they're there and smacking the ball left and right, the next day they're nonexistent. So far, through these 30 games, this team has been extremely inconsistent. One day they play great, another day they stink up the joint. They need to get into a rhythm somehow and I thought they sort of did that in Arizona. Guess not.

Scott Schoeneweis and Jorge Sosa each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Mets. Sosa allowed one base runner, as Kemp singled during his stint on the mound.

Nice to see these guys turning in scoreless innings. Wish they meant more, like if the Mets had a lead, but alas.

Game Ball: Beltran

Two varied viewpoints and my take on both

This morning, I awoke to a ton of posts and articles in my Google Reader. After sorting through it all I found these two article, which pretty much take the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum viewpoints:

I can't believe that I'm actually going to be the voice of reason here
vs.
The time is upon us - Willie's gotta go.

The first one, from The Coop over at My Summer Family, argues that yesterday was one game, that it happens all the time, to every team.

From The Coop:

I know yesterday was horrible. A catastrophe. And the night before was a tad less worse -because though the Mets actually won, it was a game they should have easily won but did not. But think about the ekers they've won this year. They all seem like - well, at least they won. The rest of the team just looked asleep at the wheel.
---
My point being - look, as Mets fans, we are restless. The sky is falling. And I acknowledge they have not been better than a .500 team since last June, I do say this.

Maybe .500 is all they need to be a good team in the East.

Brooklyn Met Fan takes a completely different side to this, arguing that he's seen enough of Willie Randolph and it's time the Mets take action and fire him.

From BMF:

For they record, this is not a knee-jerk reaction to Wednesday’s 13-1 debacle at the hands of the vaunted Bucs. I said the Mets should ax Willie after the collapse but when Omar and the Wilpons saw fit to bring him back I tried to support my team and rally behind him. But I just can’t watch these crappy Mets under perform any longer.

All the Willie apologists can keep telling themselves, “still it’s early” and “there’s plenty of baseball left”, but guess what folks– it’s not THAT early anymore.

Frankly, I agree with both of them.

Every team gets spanked at least once a season. Heck, we even lost to the Bucs in '06, almost to the same tune. I remember. I was there. It's something that happens every year to every team, and some teams more than others. The Pirates have a few good, hot hitters right now and Oliver Perez really needs to get hypnotized or something so he can focus more.

Remember that guy Brian Bannister, well he had a bad start too last night. Bannister, pitching for Kansas City (a bad team) only lasted three innings against Texas (also a bad team), allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and two walks. See, we're not alone.

On the other hand, I'm starting to get extremely fed up with Mr. Willie Randolph. I never liked his managing style, but I was willing to grant him a reprieve because my opinion really does not matter. I prefer a manager like Jim Leyland, who isn't afraid to get in the players face after a lazy or sloppy loss.

Randolph treats his players with kid gloves, as if he thinks when he yells at them, they'll cower is fear and become mired in a deep slump or preform poorly. He needs to start a bonfire under some of this team because they just don't look ready to play.

Yeah, the team is over .500, but they've been beating up on bad teams like the Nationals, and before yesterday, the Pirates. Something needs to happen, and something needs to happen quick.