Fight or Flight

Tuesday's win was huge for so many reasons, but the biggest reason you needed to get game one in your pocket was because you did not want to leave two must win games to finish out the series. Sweeping a team is not easy and sweeping a team like the Phillies is certainly not easy. After having two bad starts by Met starting pitchers, the law of averages says that they are bound to get a good start one of these days, but as I'm writing this, Tom Glavine already decided to put the Mets in a bit of hole.

Pedro got roughed up yesterday, but there is no reason to really worry. It seems like he has been struggling more, he's been pretty good. His start of the season was so amazing we are all kind of waiting for him to do that every time he steps out on the field and that was not going to happen. His strikeouts are down a bit and his walks are up, but he'll be the Pedro the Mets need down the stretch and his four homers he gave up will prove to be an anomaly. He had only given up fifteen homers in twenty-five previous starts and giving up four in one game is very unlike Pedro to say the least. He has given up five earned runs four times this year and that happened twice in August and August was the only month Pedro had an ERA over 3.00 and finished with a 3.46 ERA. Even when Pedro is bad, he is better than most still.

On a side note, is anyone else starting to hate Chase Utley? The dude is hitting .326/.442/.721 with five homers, nine RBIs, and nine walks, in fourty-three at-bats against the Mets this season and is quickly becoming the new Met killer on the Phillies. Ex-Met killer Pat Burrell is only hitting .216/.310/.471 this season and thankfully so. Despite those bad numbers he still managed four homers and eleven RBIs.

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Minor update:

• Norfolk beat Durham by one run for the second game in a row by beating them 3-2. Angel Pagan went 2 for 3 with one run scored, one double, and one walk, Anderson Hernandez went 1 for 4 with a double, Ron Calloway went 1 for 5 with two RBIs, Prentice Redman went 3 for 4 with one double, and Chase Lambin went 1 for 2 with two runs scored, his tenth homer, one RBI, and two walks. Jose Santiago managed to give up only two earned runs in six innings despite walking five batters. Royce Ring got the win in three innings of relief and allowed only one hit while striking out two.
  
• New Hampshire beat Binghamton 7-5. Aarom Baldiris flashed some power by hitting his eleventh homer of the year and went 2 for 5 with two runs scored, one double, and an RBI. Brett Harper went 2 for 4 with a run scored, a walk, and a double, Bobby Malek went 1 for 5 with a run scored, a triple, and two RBIs, Russ Triplett went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a double, and Zachary Clements went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Luz Portobanco took the loss and gave up all seven runs in four innings and gave up eleven hits, three walks, and struck out one.
  
• St. Lucie beat Jupiter 8-7 in ten innings. St. Lucie scored three in the top of the ninth but almost gave it way by letting Jupiter score two in the bottom of the ninth. Very uncharacteristically of any Met team on any level, St. Lucie batters walked eleven times total. Wilson Batista went 2 for 4 with a run scored, an RBI, and a walk, Doug Mientkiewicz went 0 for 3 with a run scored and three walks, Andy Wilson went 0 for 3 with a run scored and two walks, Derran Watts went 2 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Blake Whealey went 0 for 2 with two RBIs and two walks. Tim Worthington got the start and went five innings giving up three earned runs on five walk and five hits. Ryan Cullen blew the save and Carlos Muniz walked away with the win despite giving up two runs in the bottom of the tenth.
  
• Hagerstown beat Lakewood 6-5. Carlos Gomez went 1 for 3 with a double, one RBI, and a walk, Joshua Wyrick went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a double, Andy Wilson went 2 for 4, James Burt went 2 for 4 with a run scored, a double, and an RBI, and Kyle Brown went 1 for 4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Michael Devaney started the game and went six innings giving up four earned runs on five hits and two walks and finished with the no decision. Brandon Nall picked up the win in his 1.1 innings of relief and did not allow a hit, walked one, and struck out three while Marcelo Perez picked up the save but allowed a run in his one inning of work.
  
• Staten Island beat Brooklyn 12-8. Gregory Gonzalez continues to hit and went 3 for 6 with two runs scored, Joseph Holden went 3 for 5 with two doubles, Caleb Stewart went 1 for 4 with a run scored, an RBI, and two walks, Nick Evans went 2 for 5 with two runs scored, a double, a homer, and two RBIs, Jonel Pacheco went 2 for 4 with a run scored, a double, an RBI, and a walk, and Dirimo Chavez went 1 for 5 with a homer and two RBIs. Jorge Reyes took the loss and started the game but did not make it out of the third inning. He gave up nine hits, one walk, one homer, and six earned runs. The next three Cyclone pitchers game up two runs each and only Jacob Ruckle managed to not give up a run in his .1 innings pitched.

From Wednesday's Daily Dish:

The race for the minor league stolen-base title is heating up. The Mets' Carlos Gomez went 2-for-4 last night with three stolen bases to bring his season total to 62 in 84 attempts for low Class A Hagerstown. The 19-year-old trails the Dodgers’ Todd Donovan, who has 63 in 79 attempts, 60 of which came for Double-A Jacksonville.

Begin laughing...



...end laughing.

Begin crying...

Jeremy Hermedia makes his Major League debut and hits a grand slam in his first at-bat and a pinch hit at-bat no less.

I guess you can keep crying because he'll be around for a while. After Jeff Francoeur coming up and tearing up the league and Hermedia poised too, I kind of feel like the Mets need to try and one up these guys with Milledge. Those two are some talented kids.

Bullpen-banished Steve Trachsel wasn't traded before yesterday's postseason roster-freeze deadline. If the Mets pick up Trachsel's $2.5 million option for next season, he will retain 10-5 rights (10 years in the majors, with at least five with the same team), meaning he'll have the right to veto any trade. One Mets player said Pedro Martinez told Trachsel earlier this week "they should pick up your option and add two more years."

Veto any trade? That's easy to overcome. Steve, you are going to the bullpen or you can accept a trade to any team. Ok? Good. As for Pedro, he is just playing good soldier. There is no way in any universe that it makes sense to tag on two more years to Trachsel's reign in a Mets uniform.

From the Daily News:

First baseman Doug Mientkiewicz (back) will be activated from the disabled list tomorrow, joining the Mets in Florida. Mientkiewicz, out since Aug.4, has been rehabbing with the Class-A St. Lucie Mets.

Mike Jacobs, we hardly knew yee. I hope Willie gives Jacobs a few more games to see if he can keep adding some offense.

T.R. Sullivan from StarTelegam.com takes a look at the playoff picture.

NEW YORK METS

Why they’ll make it:

Pedro Martinez will simply will them to the playoffs. His impact has been tremendous, on and off the field.
Why they won’t make it:

Their schedule is difficult, and with so many young players (David Wright, Jose Reyes, Victor Diaz), the pressure could be hard to handle.
One to watch:

Carlos Beltran. The center fielder has not been what the Mets hoped when they signed him this winter, but he was phenomenal for the Astros late last season.
Which 5 they’d like to repeat:

The Mets went 98-64 in 1985 behind young phenoms Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.

The kids not able to handle the pressure? The Mets are where they are now thanks to the kids and more specifically David Wright. He's not the problem and won't be the problem. I do not know much, but I do know that.

Is 2 for 16 really slumping?

"I still feel confident," said Jacobs, who started last night and batted sixth. "I know what I'm capable of because I proved it when I got here. I'm still having good at-bats at the plate, I just have to fight through it."

First of all, he's not slumping. Second of all, he's still hitting the ball hard and has good at-bats. Must be a slow news day if that is a topic.

Pessimism abound. The Mets have issues, but they have a more well rounded team than any other vying for the Wild Card in my eyes.

With Matsui and Cairo completely sucking in the number two spot, a vital spot of the order, why will Randolph not try and shake things up? How about moving Beltran up or letting Anderson Hernandez try and continue his season long hot streak in Queens. Something has to be done in some form and the fact that Willie keeps putting out poorly constructed lineup this late in the year is inexcusable. I still prefer Matsui to Cairo, but that is not exactly a favorable pair to choose from. It is way past time for Willie to try and make something happen in that two spot.