Why Rain this Weekend Should Be Welcomed

I might be the biggest disbeliever in the Mets ability to sweep doubleheaders. History has proven to me that the Mets are unlikely to win both games of a doubleheader.

But I'm telling you that a double header on Sunday is just what the doctor ordered.

Friday's game looks to be a definite wash, which would force a doubleheader on Saturday. Now the key is for the skies to continue to open up on Saturday and force the doubleheader to be moved to Sunday.

That would be a huge benefit to the Mets. You see the Mets are stupidly preparing to send Nelson Figueroa or Brandon Knight out to pitch on Saturday. Basically two hacks are being sent to the mound to determine our playoff chances. By raining out Friday and Saturday, the Mets now have the ability to pitch Mike Pelfrey in game one on extra rest, and then throw Johan Santana in game 2 on normal rest.

A Pelfrey/Santana doubleheader lineup is the best situation for the Mets and allows them to have their top 2 pitchers throw in the most significant games of the season. Then on Monday you can pitch Oliver Perez or whoever is available to close out the season.

The other advantage is that the delay allows the Mets to see what unfolds with the Brewers and Phillies. The Mets will have full knowledge of what they need to do to make the playoffs.

Although I'm usually a guy who hates doubleheaders and likes to play the games as they're written on the schedule, I think a rain out on Friday and Saturday is exactly what the Mets need.

Bats Awaken, Bullpen Still Slumbers

It's a good thing the Mets scored 9 runs. They needed every single one of them. Everybody, except for David Wright who went 0 for 5, seemed to find their stroke against the Nats. Well, it's about stinkin' time!

Unfortunately the Mets pitching was as bad as the Nationals. Brandon Knight gave us a pretty good performance, but the bullpen (surprise!) felt the need to make it a closer game than it should have been.

Man, can we ever get a night off? Every single game is just full of agida.

The important thing is the Mets got a victory to stop this losing streak. The bad news is the Phillies kept rolling and the Brewers figured out a way to win a ball game for a change.

Back to David Wright for a second, he looks seriously angry with himself and I think he's taking this personally. Every single out he's slamming his helmet, his bat, or just looking disgusted about the way he's performing. And you know what? I love it. It shows the kid has heart. He cares. He's sufferring with every loss even if he feeds the media with positive quotes and Switzerland-like commentary.

But he's got to take some of the pressure off himself. Wright got support tonight from his fellow power bats in Beltran and Delgado. Just relax at the plate, go the opposite way, and stop trying to hit home runs every time up and he'll be just fine.

Well it looks like Bryan's call to arms worked. It's got me psyched. It got the Mets to score some runs. Let's hope this lasts longer than 24 hours.

Umpires Blow Game for Mets

And so it wasn’t meant to be. On a night where we saw the Mets roll out yet another spare part from the junk yard, it was Albert Poo Holes’ picture perfect swing, 5 hours after the first pitch, that ultimately did us in.

I’m not going to get too crazy over this one; after all, I was already putting it in the loss column when Brandon Knight was announced as the emergency starter, replacing Pedro Martinez who left the team to be with his family in the DR after the passing of his father.

But, we could have, actually, should have won this game. Sure we left a hundred men on base and were like 1-50 with RISP, but if it weren’t for two blown calls by the umpires in extra innings, we definitely would have come up with another dramatic, come from behind victory, and that is what annoys me.

In the bottom of the 10th, after Reyes led of with another hit, Chavez laid down a bunt that the pitcher hurled to second, gunning out Reyes. Now, I admit, Chavez needs to do a better job there, but if the ump opened his eyes, he would have seen that the ball was actually bobbled and out of the glove when Reyes slid in. So instead of having 1st and 2nd with no outs and D. Wright at the plate, we had one out and a man on first. Big difference. Especially when Wright singled to left, that would have scored Reyes from second.

Then, in the 12th, the fist base umpire inexplicably called Chavez out on an infield hit, when it was clear he was safe. This prompted Manuel to come out and argue the call. That call was even worse than the previous. Of course, what happens next? Jiminez, the Cardinals pitcher, walked the next 3 guys, but survived when he got Super Hero Tatis to ground back to him to end the threat. Do the math, infield single, 3 straight walks, and the game is over.

So while I can live with this loss, it’s still a tough pill to swallow knowing we should have won. We need a strong outing from Johann today, especially since the bull pen was overextended last night in 14 innings. A win today, and we’ll take another series.

Mike Pelfrey Is Albert Pujols' Daddy

That's right Albert Pujols. Mike Pelfrey owns you.

Pujols struck out twice against Pelfrey last night (and once against Joe Smith) in route to an 0 for 5 evening.
Pelfrey was throwing heat right past the best hitter in the NL and made him look foolish a couple of times. The best was a first pitch slider that buckled Pujols' knees and then landed on the corner for a strike. Pelfrey just looks more and more confident out there and it's really enjoyable to watch.

Carlos Delgado continues his hot streak at the plate with his 20th homer of the season. It's like the cleanup spot is his very own fountain of youth.

And then to top the night off Argenis Reyes hits his first major league home run. I'm starting to really like this kid. I think he's one of those guys that will have one good season and then when you try and bring him back the next year it's like he forgot how to play. Let's ride him while he can play.

U.S. Olympian, Brandon Knight, takes his one shot at the big leagues this season tonight. I'm looking forward to a gold medal performance. Ok, I apologize for that, but it was just too easy.