Mets Lessons Learned from Atlanta

Welcome to the second half of the baseball season. So far it's zero fun. Just a lot of pain, agony and horrendousness if you ask me. The debacle in Atlanta should give the Mets a few lessons they need to learn (preferably quickly) in order to keep their 2012 season in check. Here they are:

1. The Mets BLOWpen is BLOWriffic: You thought the bullpen was bad. Now you definitely know it's not bad, it's atrocious. The Mets have leaned on starting pitching for the entire first half which is has allowed the BLOWpen to only be an issue once or twice a week at best. What we saw this weekend is if the starters struggle through 5 innings, the Mets have zero chance of holding or regaining a lead as this BLOWpen has more holes than a Dunkin Donuts. Something has to be done about it...now.
2. This Offense Can Score Runs: Let's ignore the Ben Sheets Homecoming on Sunday. The first two games of the series the Mets averaged 6 runs per game. And David Wright went 0 for 5 on Saturday in which they scored 7 runs. The Mets have a way of getting guys to fill in when others are struggling. They've done it all season so it shouldn't be a surprise to see it continue. Sure it takes 5 hits to score 2 runs, but the run production with the Mets is solid even without a solid slugging bat in the middle of the lineup.
3. The Braves Aren't Going Anywhere: The Nats are in first place but don't be shocked if Atlanta catches or passes them by the end of August. The lineup is solid 1 through 6 and they've got home run potential on their bench. Freddy Gonzalez isn't the most adept manager out there but he's got enough pieces to make a run during Chipper Jones' swan song.
4. We Wish Bobby Parnell was Craig Kimbrel: A right handed pitcher who can reach triple digits, mix his fastball with off speed pitches and be the legitimate closer of the future. That's what we thought we had with Parnell but we're not even close when you see Craig Kimbrel. This kid is unreal. He hits every spot. Throws with authority and appears unflappable on the mound. I would trade Ruben Tejada and Matt Harvey for him right now if I could. Mark my words. He's going to dominate the Mets for the next 5 years or more.
5. Never Take Ruben Tejada Out of Game on a Double Switch: Idiotic move of the month was made by temporary manager Bob Gerin on Saturday when he took Tejada out as part of a double switch and replace him Ronny Cedeno. I get that a double switch was necessary as the pitcher was due up in the following inning, but why take out the best defensive player in the entire franchise during a tight game? Oh and he just also happens to be your second best hitter after David Wright too. So of course a ball is hit to shortstop that might have been playable by Tejada. No guarantees but still every Mets fan was thinking the same thing when that ball was hit....Tejada would've had it.

Ruben Tejada Might Be More Valuable Than You Thought

David Wright is clearly the MVP of this team. You want to argue Santana or Dickey? That's fine. But let's stick to every day players. After Wright though, the most valuable asset the Mets have is currently on the disabled list. I'm talking about Ruben Tejada.

Tejada was having a great season before his fluke injury sidelined him for the last month, but his absence has shown just how much the Mets need him in the lineup every day.

He gives the Mets a reliable lead off hitter. I'm not suggesting Tejada is the best lead off man in the NL East or anything like that but look at how many different people have batted lead off since Tejada went out. You have Baxter, Kirk, Turner, Cedeno and others. Whenever Collins puts a new lead off man in there it messes with the rest of the lineup. When Tejada is playing you know he can bat lead off and then everyone else can fall into their normal batting slot.

The same thing happens in the field as Tejada is the linchpin of that infield. With him out, it's a carousel out there. Cedeno, Wright, Turner & Valdespin have all played short in his absence and it effects Murphy's progress at 2nd base as he doesn't have that familiar and reliable man to his right that he can develop a rythmn with on double plays and covering a runner stealing a base.

Tejada also has great plate discipline to work counts. He can be relied upon to bunt. And although he hasn't done much of it this year so far, he's one of the few options the Mets have to try and steal a base if they need it.

When you put all this together and look at the other everyday players the Mets have, outside of David Wright and possibly Daniel Murphy there isn't another Met who's as integral to the whole ball club as Ruben Tejada.

We need him back more than you might think.

Monday Morning Mets Rant

This post has not structure and probably no intelligent thought in it, but it's a rant kind of day.

Love that the Mets took 2 out of 3 from the Braves and in Atlanta no less! Where the heck was this kind of play about a month ago when the Mets were still in the Wild Card conversation? Can Bobby Parnell pitch an inning without a walking a batter? He's like a crack addict with walks. How does Ronnie Paulino only have one home run? He's the size of a defensive end and you're telling me he can't muscle more than one ball over the outfield wall?

Did Dillon Gee go off steroids? He's Jekyll and Hyde this year. Stop the trade David Wright talk. It's stupid. Finding a reliable, All Star third basemen isn't easy. He's the face of the franchise and if he was healthy this year he'd have a shade 30 homers and 100 RBI...like he has practically every year.

Is Lucas Duda going to be Mike Jacobs? A surprising inaugural season only to falter the next. Never to be heard from again? I hope not.

When's the last time you though about Daniel Murphy? Do we even care that he's gone or is that just the eliminated from the playoffs yet again talking?

RA Dickey is the charter member of the No Joy No Luck Club. And by the way, why the heck are you pitching to Chipper Jones in that spot? Has the guy not murdered the Mets enough over the years. Hit him in the head, load the bases and deal with whoever is next. Just don't let Chipper do it to you yet again. Get beat by somebody else for a change.

In the time it took me to type that last paragraph, Bobby Parnell just walked 3 more batters.

Where on earth is Fernando Martinez? Oh wait, he's hanging with Lastings Milledge in the Mets Over Hyped Prospects group home.

Ruben Tejada has fouled off more pitches this year than anyone in history.

Angel Pagan is half the man he used to be. Jason Bay is having a renaissance. His best game appears when teams are out of contention.

How much would you hate being Terry Collins right now? That laughter you hear is Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya.

The Mets Kids Can Be Clutch

I watched all of 15 minutes of last night's game, but the portion I did see made me smile. As I turned on the game around 9:30 last night, I caught the bottom of the 9th inning where the Mets were down by a run against the Brewers. What I saw was hope.

There's Ike Davis standing on second base representing the tying run. Here comes Josh Thole who fights off an inside fastball to bloop one down the 3rd base line. 1st and 3rd with one out. Now the Mets realist in me sees Ruben Tejada coming up to bat and is thinking, double play.

Tejada has had a season long affair with the Mendoza line and is potentially the last person in the Mets lineup/bench/organization that you would want up in a clutch situation. Forget about the Mets being out of contention and it's the last week of the season. For a 21-year old in his first year at the big league level, he can feel the pressure.

The most impressive thing that Tejada did was swing at the first pitch. Normally in this type of situation, a hitter takes a strike. No need to hit a ground ball to the shortstop on the first pitch and end the game in one swing. But Tejada actually was thinking. Here he is, the worst hitter in the Mets lineup, facing a predominantly fastball pitcher. Chances are he's going to throw a heater on the first pitch.

Tejada made the right choice clocking a fastball to the gap in left center field. Game over. Mets win. Tejada's reaction to his heroics may have been the most surprising. He calmly clapped in celebration and without any theatrics started to walk off the field. His teammates stopped his subtle exit by pounding him with joyous shots and I just couldn't help but feeling happy for this kid.

I'm not ready to anoint Tejada or Thole as the future saviors of the franchise. I believe Ike Davis will be a solid player for years to come, but it was a rare moment in an all together disappointing season to be able to enjoy baseball at its purest. Three rookies, without bloated heads and attitudes, getting the chance to come through for their team in the Big Apple.

It's a rare sight. Glad I got a chance to catch it because you never know when you'll see it again.

Can You Live With This Mets Lineup in 2011?

The off season is almost here and it's one of my favorite times of year as I take on a second job of becoming a virtual Mets general manager. It's an unpaid role, but I consider it to be an unwanted charitable cause that I feel compelled to undertake.

Chances are the Mets will look to pinch pennies and we shouldn't expect them to go out and make multiple big signings to improve this team. If I had to choose between pitching or hitting, I'd want the Mets to focus on a starting pitcher. A Cliff Lee. A Felix Hernandez. Some type of #1 starter that can lock up this Mets rotation.

Bullpen help would be great, but I think almost every team outside of the Padres could use some form of bullpen help. But that leaves the Mets lineup to potentially be as follows if they don't make another signing:

1. Jose Reyes-SS
2. Angel Pagan-RF
3. Carlos Beltran-CF
4. David Wright-3B
5. Ike Davis-1B
6. Jason Bay -LF
7. Josh Thole-C
8. Luis Hernandez/Ruben Tejada/Luis Castillo/Daniel Murphy-2B

The big question lies with second base. Can the Mets unload Castillo? Will Tejada be another Rey Ordonez? Can Daniel Murphy play and hit at second base? If the Mets end up with a Castillo/Tejada platoon, that's a very light hitting option at second base with potentially only one home run tallied between the two of them.

Couple that with Josh Thole as your potential starting backstop and you may only get 5 or 6 home runs for a season out of your catcher and second basemen. That's not a good thing.

The focus has to be pitching. I had been campaigning for Roy Halladay the last two season to no avail, but whether it's Cliff Lee or someone else the Mets absolutely need a #1 starter. Even so the power outage at catcher and second base could be a serious issue. Second baseman, outside of Dan Uggla and Brandon Phillips, aren't known for their home run hitting talent, but you can't have that huge of a drought from both your catcher and middle infielder.

Lots of questions need to be answered. What's your comfort level with the lineup listed above?

The Second Coming of Anderson Hernandez

The Mets have a long and storied history of tremendous fielders who couldn't get a hit if their life depended on it. Rey Ordonez. Rafael Santana. Anderson Hernandez. And now Ruben Tejada.

Tejada is a young and inexperienced player at the plate. At 21 years old it's amazing that he's even at the major league level playing every day. But we all know the reason why he's here. Necessity.

Tejada would not be in the majors if the Mets didn't have an injured Reyes to start the season and an abysmal Luis Castillo at second. Alex Cora was beyond awful so they released him and made Ruben Tejada the fixture at second base for the remainder of the season. Tejada has the fortune of being a versatile player at the right place and at the right time.

His glove is masterful. I openly admit there have been at least two games in which Ruben Tejada should have notched a save because he prevented hits and runs from happening that any of the Mets other options would have had no chance at stopping. The problem is Tejada has one major flaw. He can't hit worth a lick.

As a replacement for this year, it's worth having Tejada around. None of the other Mets second baseman could hit either so the fact that Tejada is currently batting a whopping .177 is overlooked. I keep hearing Gary Cohen talk about how he's hard to strikeout and makes good contact, but that's because pitchers don't care about striking him out because whenever he hits the ball he's an automatic out.

I'd like to think/hope that Tejada can develop into a major league hitter or at least be serviceable with an average around the .240 mark. But I don't think Tejada is built to be a major league hitter.

Only time will tell but like Anderson Hernandez and Rey Ordonez before him Mets management and Mets fans will soon grow tired of his amazing glove and demand some results at the plate. Tejada may have the rest of this season to enjoy his time in the spotlight, but come next spring he may find himself back in the minors struggling to earn his way back.

Prove us wrong Tejada. I hope you do.

Ruben Tejada Knotches His First Save

Johan Santana pitched most of the game in masterful fashion. Jeff Francoeur was the lone player to drive in a run. Pray Rod amazingly pitched for 5 outs without giving up a run. But Ruben Tejada is the one who saved the game for the Mets.

The recently called up babyface second baseman went 0 for 4 on the night. In fact, he'll probably hit a shade over the Mendoza line for the rest of the season, but he proved what a liability the Mets had at second base with Castillo and Cora.

Tejada made three separate plays tonight that drastically affected the outcome of the game. All three of these of the plays would have been impossible for Castillo or Cora to make because of their lack of quickness. But Tejada has the agility, the speed and the youthful ignorance to be able to make some amazing plays in the field.

Tejada was able to save the Mets from back to back crushing defeats not with the bat, but with his glove, or more specifically his young legs. So long Alex Cora. You're a great character guy, but character doesn't get you W's. Castillo, you're on notice.

Halladay for Pelfrey and Tejada? Do It.

In a post on Metsblog.com this morning, Matt Cerrone wrote about the Mets chances of trading for Roy Halladay. According to Cerrone's sources the pieces the Mets would have to part with to get Halladay included Mike Pelfrey and up and coming minor leaguer Ruben Tejada.

I say, "where do I sign?"

Seriously. If that's a legitimate request and a realistic offer, I say do it and throw in Luis Castillo as a bonus.

Pelfrey was a guy that I thought had the potential to be a real stud for the Mets well into the future, but his lack of mental fortitude and total inconsistency over the last two seasons have made me think otherwise. Tejada is a potential All Star, but the key word is potential.

What surprised me the most was there was no mention of FMart, Flores or even Niese, but a Pelfrey/Tejada of Halladay deal should be a no-brainer as long as the Mets workout a contract extension to lock up Halladay for more than one year.

Now these rumors are here today and gone tomorrow, but this could be the best deal the Mets could make and set the team on the right track for 2010.