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Series Preview: Mets Open Up Inter-league Schedule With Set in Toronto

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May 18, 2012

Tonight, the Mets begin their inter-league schedule with a three-game series against the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have been somewhat of a surprise this year, considering the tough division they play in. They are currently in third place, but are only four games behind the Orioles in the division.

The Blue Jays, so far, have been led by a plethora of young, talented arms in their rotation. The Mets could have trouble with all three guys they face in this series. Brandon Morrow has been fantastic and may finally be living up to his potential. Ricky Romero also seems to be continuing the success he had last season with the Jays.

On offense, it’s been all about Edwin Encarnacion. Carnacion has 13 homers and 34 RBI this season, both of which lead his team. Jose Bautista, the one who was supposed to lead the team in every offensive catagory, is hitting just .207 with ten homers.

Overall, the Blue Jays are a team on the rise and could pose a problem for the Mets in this three-game series.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Game 1- Tonight 7:07

Jonathon Niese (39.2 IP, 3,40 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, .224 BAA) vs. Ricky Romero (53.1 IP, 3.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .222 BAA)

Game 2- Saturday 1:07

Miguel Batista (25.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .295 BAA) vs. Brandon Morrow (52.2 IP, 2.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .200 BAA)

Game 3- Sunday 1:07

Dillon Gee (43 IP, 5.65 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .301 BAA) vs. Henderson Alvarez (55 IP, 2.62 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .244 BAA)

More notes…

– Brett Lawrie will miss the entire series after dropping the appeal of his four–game suspension he received for throwing his helmet at an umpire while arguing over balls and strikes. Lawrie is hitting a team-high .281.

– Frank Francisco will continue to close for the Mets, despite recent struggles. Francisco has pitched, very, very badly of late, blowing a few games in a row. However, he is only part of the problem. The entire Mets bullpen has struggled this season, so Francisco is only part of the problem in the ‘pen.

– David Wright is hitting .411!!!

Tags: Blue Jays, David Wright, Dillon Gee, Jon Niese, Miguel Batista

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Series Preview: Reds Come to Town for Two-Game Miniseries

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Mets thoughts, Series Preview

May 16, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 16, 2012

Tonight, the Cincinnati Reds come to Citi Field to begin their two-game miniseries with the Mets.

The Reds are coming in a 19-18 team, and are currently second in the NL Central. The Reds best two hitters this season have been Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Bruce, 25, had a great season last year, hitting 32 homers and driving in 97 runs, and has continued his success this year. Bruce will not be in the lineup for the first game. Votto has been getting on base at an unbelievable rate. He has only hit five home runs, but is leading the NL with 34 walks, well on pace to surpass his 110 from last season, when he also led the league.

The starting pitching has been decent, but the bullpen has been far more impressive. Former Cuban National team member Aroldis Chapman is pitching really well and may eventually take over the closers role for the team. He hasn’t allowed a run all season.The same is true for Logan Ondrusek, who has done it for 15.1 innings.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Game 1- Tonight 7:10

Johan Santana (2.92 ERA, 37 IP, 1.16 WHIP, .225 BAA) vs. Mike Leake (7.11 ERA, 31.2 IP, 1.61 WHIP, .313 BAA)

Game 2- Thursday 1:10

R.A. Dickey (3.65 ERA, 44.1 IP, 1.26 WHIP, .248 BAA) vs. Mat Latos (4.54 ERA, 39.2 IP, 1.46 WHIP, .263 BAA)

More notes…

– So another two game series? Just weird…

– R.A. Dickey was on the short side most of last season, earning only eight wins despite pitching to a 3.28 ERA. This year, he is 5-1, with Johan Santana being the one not getting the wins. Just wanted to point that out…

– David Wright had two more hits last night before being taken out, raising his league-leading average to .408. About the situation last night… I think everybody handled it correctly. I don’t think D.J. Carrasco was trying to hit Ryan Braun because what’s the point? As the broadcasting crew mentioned last night, Carrasco is on the fringe of the roster all the time, so why would he risk anything by intentionally hitting someone? I also admired Terry Collins for his move last night, taking out David Wright. The Brewers probably weren’t going to retaliate, but there is no point in risking an injury to David. I also loved how David stayed in the dugout afterwards. True professional in every way.

Tags: David Wright, Johan Santana, Mat Latos, Mike Leake, R.A. Dickey, Reds

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Series Preview: Mets Take Their Struggling ‘Pen Back Home to Face Brewers

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Mets thoughts, Series Preview

May 14, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 14, 2012

Tonight, the Mets begin a brief two-game set against the Brewers at Citi Field.

The Brewers are a team that has been riddled with injuries. After losing Prince Fielder this offseason to the Detroit Tigers, the Brewers needed everyone on their roster healthy and productive more than most teams. However, Mat Gamel, once thought to be the heir apparent to Fielder at first base, recently suffered a torn ACL which will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez, a new addition that was brought in to supply some veteran leadership, as well as an RBI threat, also has a torn ACL and won’t be ready until next season as well. Lastly, Carlos Gomez, the former Met who has made himself into a Gold Glove contender defender, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the past week and a half.

With the lack of offense this year, the Brewers have also needed to rely on their ace, Yovani Gallardo, to carry the load, which he has failed to do. He has a 5.35 ERA in 28.2 innings this season to go along with a 1.55 WHIP. Compare this to his performance last season, in which he went 17-10 along with a 3.52 ERA, and you have a big disappointment. The only bright spots for the Brewers has been the performances of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, two pitchers the Brewers snagged from the American League a few years back. Marcum has a 3.07 ERA in 44 innings this season, while Greinke has a respectable 3.35 ERA over 43 innings this season.

Here are the pitching matchups for these two games:

Game 1- Tonight 7:10

Miguel Batista (18.1 IP, 5.89 ERA, 2.13 WHIP, .338 BAA) vs. Yovani Gallardo (38.2 IP, 5.35 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .284 BAA)

Game 2- Tuesday 7:10

Dillon Gee (37.2 IP, 4.78 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .296 BAA) vs. Zack Greinke (43 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .252 BAA)

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Here’s a table comparing the two teams:

Mets	Statistic	Brewers
.270 (5^th in MLB)	AVG	.237 (23^rd in MLB)
.343 (3^rd in MLB)	OBP	.312 (15^th in MLB)
.392 (13^th in MLB)	SLG	.412 (9^th in MLB)
4.25 (25^th in MLB)	ERA	4.62 (26^th in MLB)
1.44 (26^th in MLB)	WHIP	1.45 (27^th in MLB)
19 (13^th in MLB)	QS	18 (17^th in MLB)

More notes…

–Don’t be surprised if Terry Collins tries some new tactics with the bullpen in this series. After last night’s awful performance/blowup of Frank Francisco, we may be seeing a change in who closes games from now on, which I think is a good thing. I’m not sure Francisco was the right fit from the start. He is eerily similar to Armando Benitez. He keeps you on the edge of your seat whenever he pitches, putting the team in a bad position often at the beginning of innings. In his first blown save against the Marlins over the weekend, he gave up a leadoff double to Giancarlo Stanton that set the tone for the Marlins in that inning and then again last night, giving up the leadoff triple to Emilio Bonifacio. You just can’t do that as a closer, or any type of relief pitcher for that matter. The ejection from the game was also a sign of Francisco’s growing frustration with himself. Maybe a little break from closing games will help him clear his mind.

–Wow, is David Wright hitting! He had another great series down in Miami over the weekend, raising his average from .376 to an even .400. He also had a home run in the second game, and has been making some fantastic plays in the field. His range and the accuracy of his arm have been unbelievable so far this year.

–Daniel Murphy has also been quietly putting things together at the plate. Murphy is in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak, and was 8-12 against Miami over the weekend. He is hitting .405 in his last ten games.

–Go Mets!

Tags: Brewers, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Frank Francisco, Miguel Batista, Yovani Gallardo

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It May be Time to Send Ike Davis to Triple-A

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Mets thoughts

May 14, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 14, 2012

I’ve been wrestling with this idea in my head for a while now. The idea of sending Ike Davis down to Triple-A Buffalo to find his swing.

I have been very hesitant to decide on anything up until this point, but now I think it’s tim the Mets made the move.

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

Ike is struggling, and I mean really struggling, hitting .174 for the year, including .147 in 34 at-bats in May so far. He’s never slumped like this before. He had huge expectations coming into this season, with many people talking about 30-40 home runs for him, but now that seems really unlikely and a huge stretch. At this point, I’d be perfectly happy with him hitting .260 with 20 homers. But Davis can’t do that until he fixes his swing.

Ike has to find what made him so successful in the five weeks he spent healthy last year. He went on a tear to start the season, hitting seven homers while driving in 25 and hitting .302 in 36 games before going down with a season-ending injury. What has slowed him down this season, in my mind, has been his plate discipline. He is swinging at every outside curveball thrown to him. His walk rate is down to almost half of what it used to be. He just can’t seem to find it at the plate.

A similar thing happened to Cliff Lee in 2007 with the Indians. Of course, Lee is a pitcher, so it is a little different, but it still relates. In 2007, Lee started the year 5-8 with a 6.38 ERA. He was very inconsistent with his mechanics and was sent down to the minors to refine his mechanics. Now, this wasn’t some rookie being sent down. This was an established pitcher, who had won 18 games two years prior, but he just could not stop walking people. After ten starts in the minors, Lee was recalled and resumed his role as a starting pitcher in 2008. That year, he went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA, winning the Cy Young Award. Lee hasn’t looked back since. He is 65-34 since then and has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game today. This just shows that it can work, even with players who have already had success on the big league level.

This is definitely a move Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson should at least consider. Will it work for Ike? I don’t know. Every player would handle this type of situation differently. Some would be angry, while others would be humbled and use the opportunity to their advantage. The option should at least be explored and discussed. Who knows? Maybe a minor league stint would make Davis the premier slugger that he has the potential to be.

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Tags: Ike Davis

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The Phillies Won’t Really Become Sellers, Right?

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General Baseball

May 12, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 12, 2012

“My job is to keep all lines of communication open, for the good of the club today and tomorrow,” Amaro said. “I can’t shut any doors down. You try to be creative. And there are a lot of creative GMs out there who have different goals.”

Amaro first mentioned the possibility of the Phillies as sellers to CSNPhilly’s Jim Salisbury earlier Thursday. It sounded as if he was speaking out of frustration or trying to send a message to his players. But Amaro said he was only being realistic.

“If we continue to play like this and keep dropping out of the race, it’s going to be tough to be buyers,” he said. “The one way we can be buyers is by keeping our heads above water — if we’re five games out, seven games out, within striking distance, then yeah.”

–Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports

The future of the Phillies rests on this man's shoulders (Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

It seems like just yesterday that we were sulking as the Phillies celebrated a World Series championship in 2008. They were led by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, two young stars on the rise, poised to lead the Phillies to greatness for the next ten years. Ryan Howard was the next great slugger, hitting 48 homers and driving in 146 runs that year. They had Brad Lidge, who didn’t blow a save the entire season.

Since then, the Phillies have made a few great runs. In 2009, they fell short in the World Series to the Yankees, losing four games to two. Last year, they blew away everyone with a 102-60 record, but allowed the Cardinals to slip by them in the divisional round.

I didn’t think the Phillies would blow things up so early. However, the entire direction of the franchise has been determined by the health of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Without them, there is little to no chance that the Phillies could muster up another championship run.

What may keep the Phillies from becoming sellers is one man: Ruben Amaro Jr. Amaro is known to be a big spender. He may try to spend his way out of this mess. He was the one who traded for Roy Halladay. He was the one who stole Cliff Lee. And he was the one who dealt for Hunter Pence last season. There is a point where every GM has to realize that there’s no use in desparately trying to put together a team at the deadkinep but where that point is remains to be seen.

I don’t think he, or the Phillies, will go down without a fight.

Tags: Chase Utley, Phillies, Ruben Amaro Jr, Ryan Howard

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Series Preview: Mets Make First Trip to Miami

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Mets thoughts

May 11, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 11, 2012

Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game series with the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:10.

Here are your pitching matchups:

Game 1: Tonight at 7:10

Johan Santana (31 innings, 2.61 ERA, 1.194 WHIP) vs. Mark Buehrle (41.1 innings, 2.83 ERA, 1.089 WHIP)

Game 2: Saturday 1:05

R.A. Dickey (38.1 innings, 3.76 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) vs. Ricky Nolasco (39.2 innings, 2.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP)

Game 3: Sunday: 1:05

Jonathon Niese (33.2 innings, 4.01 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) vs. Carlos Zambrano (41 innings, 1.98 ERA, 1.02 WHIP)

The Marlins have been much better than many thought they would be before the season started. Many (including me) thought that the star power they have wouldn’t be enough. However, so far, the team has been carried by the guys you would least expect to break out. While Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez struggle, Giancarlo Stanton and Omar Infante flourish.

The pitching has also been pretty spectacular for the Marlins this season. They have a team 3.16 ERA, third in the National League. Newly-sogned ace Mark Buehrle, who the Mets will face in game one, has been pretty solid this season. He had a bad start at home against the D-Backs, but bounced back in his last start in San Diego, tossing a complete game. His strikeout per nine rate (4.8) is right in line with his career averages and his walks per nine rate (1.3), is by far the best of his career. Age and 11 straight years of at least 200 innings doesn’t seem to be affecting him.

Miami has also gotten some results from some unexpected places. Carlos Zambrano has been great this season after basically being dumped by the Cubs after years of headaches. Zambrano has not only avoided blowing up the clubhouse, but also has been the Marlins best pitcher this season. His ERA is just 1.98 and his walk rate is much lower than years past. He may be returning to the pitcher that earned him a $91.5 million contract a few years ago. Ricky Nolasco, arguably the most unpredictable pitcher in baseball, has also provided some great results for Miami. Nolasco has been pretty awful throughout his career, with the exception of a 15-8, 3.52 year with the Marlins in 2008. This year? Undefeated (somewhat meaningless) with a 1.109 WHIP.

The Marlins have won three series in a row and the Mets are also starting to catch fire, or so it seems. This should be an exciting series.

Let’s go Mets!

Tags: Carlos Zambrano, Johan Santana, Jon Niese, Mark Buehrle, Marlins, R.A. Dickey, Ricky Nolasco

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Notes: Tejada, Hamels, Werth

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Mets thoughts, News and Notes

May 8, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 8, 2012

Here are a few notes…

—– Ruben Tejada was placed on the Disabled list yesterday, and was replaced on the roster by Jordanny Valdespin. Tejada has a strained right quad muscle, which he hurt while falling into first base. He also apparently hurt his eye on the play. From ESPNNewYork.com:

Tejada had a significant cut on his left cheek Monday, but there are no current concerns about vision issues or a concussion. He said he fell as a result of the quadriceps injury — not the opposite, that awkwardly falling caused him to be injured.
“The MRI yesterday confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right quad strain,” assistant GM John Ricco said. “He was feeling a little bit better today, but still feeling something in the quad, which confirmed what the MRI showed.”
Ricco added that the organization considered keeping Tejada active but not in the lineup for five days or so, but decided the DL was prudent given how much season remains.

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

It’s sad to see a young guy go on the DL like this in such a freak incident, especially a player who has been playing so well. In 27 games, Tejada was hitting .305 with a .362 on-base percentage. He has also scored 14 runs and driven in eight.

Tejada has shown great strides at the plate this season, hitting a ton of extra-base hits. He had 15 doubles in 97 games last season. This year, he already has ten. Hopefully, as the Mets have insisted, Tejada is alright and will be ready to go in two weeks.

——Yesterday, Cole Hamels of the Phillies was suspended five games for admitting that he intentionally hit Nationals phenom Bryce Harper in the first inning of Sunday night’s Phillies-Nationals game on ESPN.

For those who don’t know, Hamels came out after the game saying he intentionally hit the 19 year-old outfielder, claiming to be welcoming him to the big leagues.

Now, for Hamels to admit this is arrogant and just plain stupid. Admitting that he hit Harper on purpose won’t help anyone. In fact, it almost guarantees a suspension. Why would anyone want that? Of course, Hamels didn’t and it was probably a heat-of-the-moment thing, you have to check yourself before going there. I have no problem with Hamels hitting Harper, because well, that’s part of baseball. Pitchers hit batters for all kinds of reasons- rivalry, retalliation, or as Hamels did, “welcoming someone.” The admitting of the intent to hit Harper was what I had a problem with. What good can possibly come out of that? At least the Phillies might lose one more game because of it…

—— Another notable thing happened in Sunday night’s game. Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth broke his wrist in an awful-looking play in the outfield. Werth dove for a pop fly, with his left hand getting caught on the ground. It was bent really far back. What was even worse was him having to get up, retrieve the ball, and throw it back into the infield.

Now the already struggling Nationals offense will be without one of their best hitters. This will only put more pressure on Bryce Harper to perform.

Tags: Bryce Harper, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ruben Tejada

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Series Preview: Banged-Up Mets Head to Philly

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Mets thoughts, Series Preview

May 7, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 7, 2012

Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

The Mets play the Phillies, who, up until this point, have been unable to get on any kind of a roll. Many thought before the season that due to the injuries to Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, as well as the age of Jimmy Rollins, their offense would struggle but no one thought it would be this bad. The Phils are in the bottom third in baseball in runs scored, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Catcher Carlos Ruiz has been their best hitter, which is a little odd considering he is a career number seven or eight hitter.

The decent pitching the Phillies have has been the only thing keeping them alive. Despite Cliff Lee (eho will return on Wednesday) hitting the DL, the Phillies’ staff is in the top ten in baseball in quality starts, WHIP, and ERA. Cole Hamels has been stellar, but luckily will not face the Mets in this series.

Here are the pitching matchups for the series:

Game 1- Tonight 7:05

Jon Niese- Niese finally had a bad start in his last outing in Houston. He went only three innings, but that was due to a desparation pinch-hitting move that Terry Collins made in the fourth inning. Niese allowed five earned on six hits in the start.

Roy Halladay- At 35 years old, Halladay is still going strong this season. He is 3-2 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.110 WHIP. He is averaging about seven innings per outing this year.

Game 2- Tuesday 7:05

Miguel Batista- Here we go with Miguel Batista. The 41 year-old has been awful this year, but somehow got the nod from Terry Collins to join the rotation in place of Chris Schwinden. Batista is 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA this year.

Joe Blanton- You would think that you would have an easy go of it against a team’s fifth starter. That’s not the case with Blanton. He threw a shutout against the Braves in his last start, and has been looking good on the mound thus far in 2012.

Game 3- Wednesday 7:05

Dillon Gee- Gee pitched well on Friday against the D-Backs, tossing six innings of two-run ball. He also walked three and struck out six.

Cliff Lee- Lee, who has been suffering from a strained left oblique, will come off the DL on Wednesday to face the Mets in his first start since April 19. In three starts this year, Lee is 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA.

More notes

– Ruben Tejada left yesterday’s game with a strained right quad. Tejada hit the DL today and will be replaced on the roster by Jordanny Valdespin.

– Even with Valdespin in the big leagues, we will probably not see much of him. Terry Colins has expressed his liking for Justin Turner. Turner, not Valdespin, will likely get the majority of the playing time at shortstop. I’m not the biggest fan of having Valdespin ride the bench in the majors. I’d much rather have him getting playing time in Buffalo, developing. For those of you wondering, the rule that states a player cannot be recalled until ten days after they were sent down does not apply if they are replacing an injured player.

– Ike Davis is hitless in his last four games, going 0-11, which brings his batting average down to .168. Ike has shown signs of coming back to life, only to return to struggling.

–Daniel Murphy, on the other hand, had a great series against Arizona. Murphy was 7-12 in the three games, and had two RBI. It’s great to see that maybe Murphy’s fantastic run at the plate last year may not have been a fluke. Terry Collins has moved him up in the lineup in place of Ike Davis.

–Tonight’s and Wednesday’s pitching matchups should be pretty interesting to watch. Both Niese and Gee have pitched well this season. Their ERA’s don’t quite say that, but each of them had one bad outing that basically ruined their ERAs. Other than that, they have pitched well this season. Of course, they will both be going up against two of Philly’s aces, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.

–Jonathon Paplebon has been great so far for the Phillies, saving nine games and pitching to a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings pitched. Just something to look out for if any of these games are close.

Tags: Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Daniel Murphy, Dillon Gee, Ike Davis, Joe Blanton, Jon Niese, Jordanny Valdespin, Miguel Batista, Phillies, Roy Halladay, Ruben Tejada

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An Idea With Upside

Categories:

General Baseball

May 6, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 6, 2012

I came across an article today on CBS Sports (h/t Minor League Ball) in which Bryan Fischer talks about a possible between Major League Baseball, and the NCAA in which MLB would help fund some scholarships. Fischer said:

The partnership is aimed at expanding the importance of college baseball and is expected to result a significant investment by MLB that could include funding scholarships across the sport. The NCAA Board of Directors was briefed on the matter last week at their annual meeting.

“It’s very early,” a source said. “But we’re hopeful something meaningful will come out of the talks.”

Baseball is currently an equivalency sport at the collegiate level, with schools allotted 11.7 full scholarships to distribute how they see fit. This results in players receiving a wide range of scholarship money to attend school, from nothing to a select few getting a full scholarship depending on how the coach recruits. What form an MLB sponsorship will take is yet to be determined but it could result in a general scholarship fund or additional scholarships for each school paid by the league.

A move like this could not only put college baseball back on the map, but also offer greater opportunities to players after baseball. Think about all the high school players who get drafted. The vast majority of them don’t make it. However, if they can afford to go to college thanks to a scholarship, they won’t be left with nothing.

The fact that baseball only get 11.7 scholarships is ridiculous. Scholarships are divided up in odd ways to fill out a roster. That’s not how it should be. Everyone who is good enough should be able to play college ball. Also, as Matt Garioch pointed out on Minor League Ball, the quality of play in the NCAA would rise and it would become a great developmental way.

Anything that encourages high school players to attend college, and makes it readily available to them- is something I’m all for.

Tags: MLB, NCAA

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Batista In the Roatation Is the Wrong Move

Categories:

Mets thoughts

May 5, 2012

by Connor O'Brien

May 5, 2012

Before last night’s 5-4 loss at Citi Field, Terry Collins announced that with Chris Schwinden heading back to Buffalo, Miguel Batista will enter the rotation, making his first start on Tuesday against Philadelphia.

“One of the things we brought Miguel Batista in for was not just to be a bullpen guy, but if we needed a spot starter at any time, he was the one to do it,” Collins said. “We saw last year how effective he can be in that role. As we wait to see how Chris Young comes along, this guy, we brought him here so if we needed a starter he was here. We’ve got to give him a look in that spot.”

-Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com

What Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson are doing with this is just wrong. What’s the point of putting a 41 year-old, washed up veteran into the rotation? Does he even give you the best chance to win? Absolutely not. The only thing keeping Batista in the rotation is the four starts he made at the end of last season. He had a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings, including a shutout on the last day of the season. However, since then, Batista has been awful. In 10 games (13 innings) ha has a 6.92 ERA. He has given up at least one run in half of his appearances this season.

Why the Mets didn’t call up Jeremy Hefner really puzzles me. He is 26, certainly old enough and experienced enough to earn a big league job. Also, he has actually pitched well this year, unlike Batista. In Buffalo, he has a 1.64 ERA and a 0.970 WHIP in five starts. On top of that, he lines up well with Tuesday. He would only have three days of rest if he were to go on Tuesday, but adjustments could have been made. Even if Terry Collins thinks they are about the same skill level, why not start the younger guy with more potential?