The John Delcos New York Mets Report Featuring Mets' commentary, analysis and news.

John Maine is one of the things the Mets hope to salvage from this dead season. Maine, who spent the bulk of the season on the disabled list, is the perfect example not to get too excited over the phrase, “will have surgery but is expected to be ready for spring training.

Maine underwent shoulder surgery last September, but was sidelined again with the generation of scar tissue which irritated the nerve and caused weakness in the arm. There has been a drop-off in velocity which Maine hasn’t regained. However, he’s looking at it as spring training when a pitcher gradually builds up his arm strength over five or six starts.

Maine will make his third start since coming off the disabled list tonight at Florida and will get another before the season ends. Maine is hoping get back enough strength to where he can look at going to his normal offseason program.

Maine is coming off a strong outing last Sunday against Washington in which he gave up two hits in five scoreless innings. He threw 75 pitches and could go as high as 90 against the Marlins. In his first start off the DL, he gave up a run in three innings at Philadelphia.

“I’m happy with it,” Maine told reporters about his progress. “I think I went out and did my job. I think you can always be a little more pleased with your performance when you look back at it. But I thought I did okay.

“I don’t go out there thinking it’s going to hurt. You can’t. It hasn’t hurt. I’m hoping it’s behind me.”

There had been speculation Maine would not be offered arbitration and would be cut loose. However, the pitching-depleted Mets will undoubtedly offer arbitration considering how well he has pitched. Maine can become a free agent after the 2011 season.

Maine took a step back last season after winning 15 games in 2007. He is 6-5 with a 4.13 ERA this season.

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NOTE: Something has come up and I don’t think I’ll make the chat room. Please carry on without me and have a great night.-JD

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

Fred Wilpon’s goal when hiring Omar Minaya was for the Mets to play meaningful games in September. That ended with Sunday’s double-header loss at Philadelphia. The Mets are playing for answers and pride, and that’s about it. Some individuals have statistical motivations, and, of course, the Mets are playing to sell more hot dogs and T-shirts.

The Mets (63-81) need to run the table to finish at .500. Guess what?

The Mets are in Atlanta tonight to face the Braves, who are 7.5 games with 19 remaining, are close to seeing their season end. What’s working against Atlanta is that the Mets aren’t in first place. Cruel, but a degree of truth.

Turner Field has not been kind to the Mets recently, as they’ve lost 11 of their last 15 games there, with the Braves hitting .337 in the victories.

Pat Misch (1-2, 3.86) will start tonight for the Mets. Misch is looking to rebound from a horrid start against Florida in which he gave up five runs in six innings, including two homers. Misch has a 3.00 ERA in four relief appearances against Atlanta.

NOTEBOOK: Francisco Rodriguez is not be available tonight due to the birth of his twins in New York.

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

The Mets (62-79) continue their four-game series with the Phillies (80-59) today at Philadelphia, with Mike Pelfrey (10-10, 4.83) going against Jamie Moyer (12-9, 4.98).

Including today, there are 20 games left in this dismal season. The Mets are 19 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 19.5 games behind Colorado for a wild card. I’m just being official when I say do the math.

Pelfrey is 3-0 with a 3.70 ERA in four starts against the Phillies this season. He is coming off one of his rare good starts, when he gave up one run on five hits through a a season-high eight innings last weekend against the Cubs.

The following is yet another line-up for the Mets:

Luis Castillo, 2B
Fernando Tatis, LF
David Wright, 3B
Carlos Beltran, CF
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Omir Santos, C
Daniel Murphy, 1B
Wilson Valdez, SS
Mike Pelfrey, RP

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

A lot of bad things have happened to the Mets this season. Being swept at home by a National League team is not one of the them. The Mets with Bobby Parnell will attempt the Marlins from sweeping them out of Citi Field tonight.

Parnell (3-7, 5.25) is coming off a no-decision last Friday night in a start against the Chicago Cubs, giving up five hits over seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Parnell, who opened the season in the bullpen, was shifted to the rotation because of injuries to Johan Santana and Oliver Perez.

Parnell should get at least three more starts this season, and with more showings like he had against the Cubs it should give the Mets a sense of comfort for spring training.

Of all the Mets’ make-shift starters, a list that includes Pat Misch, Nelson Figeuroa and Tim Redding, Parnell is the most likely to stay in the rotation for next year. Misch, a lefty, has a chance as a long man. Both Figueroa and Redding have only long-relief possibilities, barring surgery setbacks by Santana and Perez, and an inability to pick up a quality starter in the off-season.

Another question is John Maine, who is scheduled to pitch the second game of a day-night double-header Sunday against Philadelphia.

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

The Mets’ decimated pitching rotation in tatters, it continues to be Mike Pelfrey and The Cast of Thousands, trying to see who that day can make it through five innings, or to touch the unimaginable — six innings.

Tonight’s starter, Pat Misch, Nelson Figueroa, Tim Redding and Bobby Parnell have all flashed positive signs that gives one pause to think, “maybe, must maybe, we have something here.”

Then it all goes a way in a flurry or walks and home runs, a reminder why these pitchers are journeymen to begin with. Of the four, Parnell has the best stuff and is the youngest. He has the best chance. He also needs experience. This year the Mets kept him to work out of the bullpen, then turned to him out of necessity. Next spring they should make a decision and stick with it, and that decision should be as a starter.

The others? Well, if Misch, Figueroa or Redding were in next year’s rotation, it would mean Omar Minaya didn’t have a good winter, somebody is still hurt, and count on another long year for the Mets.

Misch, Figueroa and Redding have shown enough positives to where they should be invited to spring training to compete for a long man role. Misch (1-1, 3.25) earned his first major league win Thursday at Colorado, giving up two runs (two solo homers) on four hits in seven innings of an 8-3 victory.

“The key was I minimized the traffic on the bases,” Misch said. “There wasn’t any one on when they got the home runs.”

The Mets will have Carlos Beltran in the line-up again tonight. Beltran was activated from the disabled list Wednesday and went 1-for-4 in his first game since June 21.

“It will probably take him a few games to really find his rhythm at the plate,” manager Jerry Manuel said of Beltran. “I think once that starts he will get on track, so to speak. He looked pretty good.”

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

In each of the past two seasons the Florida Marlins put the finishing touches on a Mets’ collapse. The Mets can get a measure a sweet revenge with a three-game series beginning tonight at Citi Field.

In September of 2007, the Mets (62-75) lost 12 of their last 17 games to blow a seven-game lead to Philadelphia. Several Jose Reyes brain cramps highlighted the collapse, but the game most people will remember is Tom Glavine not getting out of the first inning in the season finale, which turned out to be his last game as a Met. Glavine further alienated Mets’ fans when he said he wasn’t “devastated,” by the loss. Glavine was speaking in the literal sense of the word, but emotionally charged Mets’ fans wanted no part of it.

Last season, the final at Shea Stadium, the Marlins took it to the Mets in the season finale again as they dropped 10 of their final 17 games to kick away a 3 1/2-game advantage over the Phillies. Not only did the Phillies win the NL East, but went on to win the World Series.

The Marlins (72-65) have won seven of 12 games this season against the Mets (including splitting six games at Citi Field) and including tonight, have six games remaining against New York.

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

The enigma known as Mike Pelfrey will face the Chicago Cubs this afternoon in an attempt to avoid his third straight loss. At 9-10 with a 5.03 ERA – dare I say it? – Pelfrey has been no better than Oliver Perez in what was supposed to be a breakout year for him as the No. 2 starter.

Showing poise absent earlier in his career, and a better command of his secondary pitches, Pelfrey won 13 games last season. He might equal that this year, but it would be with a struggle because there’s been little consistency in his game despite his fastball.

“I would say when you see his stuff you still get excited, but there has to come a time of maturation or development where there has to be some consistently,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “We’re just not getting that from him. He is a product of being inconsistent. The inconsistently is a concern, the stuff is not. We feel very confident that what he has is good enough to compete, but we need to see it on a more consistent basis, and we’re not seeing that.”

Pelfrey is 5-3 with a 3.80 ERA in 14 home starts this season to give the Mets a sense of confidence this afternoon, but he’s been miserable since the All-Star break at 2-6 with a 6.10 ERA in nine starts. That includes giving up seven runs in four innings last Tuesday at Colorado.

The Mets have lost 10 of their last 14 games, and finishing .500 is not even a realistic possibility, even with the news they might get Carlos Beltran and John Maine back this season. Beltran could be ready for the Marlins series Tuesday at Citi Field and Maine, who pitched well in a rehab start yesterday at Port St. Lucie, could pitch Sunday in Philadelphia.

Maine needs to show something to be counted into the Mets’ plans for next season. If he busts out then exists the chance they might not tender him a contract for next year.

NOTEBOOK: Manuel said he doesn’t expect Gary Sheffield (back spasms) to return this season. … Cory Sullivan has homered in both games of this series. … Luis Castillo has four hits in the series.

Here’s the line-up for today’s game:

Angel Pagan, CF
Luis Castillo, 2B
David Wright, 3B
Daniel Murphy, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Cory Sullivan, LF
Brian Schneider, C
Anderson Hernandez, SS
Mike Pelfrey, RP

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09

Reportedly, the dimensions at Citi Field will remain the same next year, probably to the dismay of National League hitters everywhere, including those in the first base dugout. The Daily News reported GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel recommended the status quo.

And, it shouldn’t, because if you’re going to tailor a stadium, it better be in favor of pitching.

According to hittrackeronline.com, Citi Field averages 1.67 home runs per game, 11th out of the 16 National League stadiums. Shea Stadium averaged 2.15 home runs per game in 2008. A significant explanation has to be the injuries to Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, and David Wright’s horrendous power slump. The Mets enter today’s game at Colorado last in the major leagues with 77 home runs.

Said Wright: “I would say it’s probably built the opposite than for me. I think one of my strengths is driving the ball to right field. I sometimes think I have to hit it twice to get it out there. It is what it is. It’s not something I’m going to complain about or anybody else should complain about. It’s the park and we have to adapt.”

Shea Stadium was 378 feet in right center; Citi Field ranges from 378 to 415 feet in that area. Left center at Citi Field ranges from 364 to 384 feet, but features a 15-foot wall. Some hitters, such as Jeff Francoeur, thinks a normal sized wall would be fine.

In keeping the dimensions the same, at least for 2010, the Mets aren’t making a panic move based on one season. The injuries along with the unseasonable weather for much of the first half had to contribute to the fall off in power. As the season progressed, power numbers did spike.

In the long run, it is better to have a pitcher friendly part than a hitter friendly site such as Coors Field, where the Mets are playing today. If a franchise builds it team on pitching, defense and speed, it has a better chance of winning than a team built solely on power, such as the old Red Sox and Cubs teams in Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, respectively. As much as a launching pad old Yankee Stadium was, it was deeper in left and center, and those teams were as much pitching as power.

The Mets conclude their series with the Rockies with Pat Misch taking on Jason Marquis.

Here’s today’s line-up:

Angel Pagan, CF
Anderson Hernandez, 2B
David Wright, 3B
Daniel Murphy, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Cory Sullivan, LF
Josh Thole, C
Wilson Valdez, SS
Pat Misch. LP

Posted under New York Mets 2008-09