It’s Pelfrey Time
A nice three game run against the Pirates closes out this four game series nicely. Frankly, the Mets should be expected to take three out of four from a team like the Pirates. And so the Mets’ lead in the NL East stands at a healthy 12.5 games going into the four game series with The Fish this weekend.
Now we’ve got Jose ‘can you see the runners scoring’ Lima going Friday night and we’re hoping the Mets bats are hot and Eli Marrero is nowhere near center field. But things are getting interesting in Flushing.
First the Mets call up Henry Owens from AA to replace Heath Bell. Owens has been dominant as Binghamton’s closer with a 1.08 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 25 innings. So lets see if he can beef up the pen for a few games prior to the All Star break.
Then the Mets move Pedro Martinez to the DL retroactive to June 29th due to hip (and probably toe) issues. Disappointing to not have Pedro in the rotation but we know he’s hurting and the team needs him as healthy as he can be for the second half. So with the Mets 12.4 games up I think this is a good move.
Finally, we’ll all have a chance to get a look at the man of the hour Mike Pelfrey as he’ll start one game of the double header this Saturday against The Marlins. We’ve all anticipated Pelfrey’s arrival but I think we hoped it would be as a replacement for Soler and not Pedro Martinez. Nothing we can do about that now though.
Pelfrey has a 6-3 record in the minors this year with a 2.45 ERA. He’s had a couple of shaky outings but he has improved his numbers over the last few starts. My fear right now is that this will be too much too soon for Pelfrey. Starting at Shea on a Saturday afternoon with all the expectations heaped upon him is a great challenge. No matter what happens I feel like the fans need to temper their excitement or disappointment depending on the outcome. After all, this guy is at the beginning of what we hope will be a very long career as a Met.
Please chime in and let me know what you think.
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Hoo-hah, three in a row, and this is from our B squad mostly. Not bad! Hope we can stay on a roll vs. the Marlins – especially since I will be sitting in Shea Mezzanine Section 27 for the double dip tomorrow. Extremely psyched, don’t get to many games these days.
I think this is good timing to give some of the kids a taste of the “show” but I hope we get them back down as soon as we can – imagine how much happier we’d be with Milledge if we couldv’e sent him down after only a week. Instead he overstayed his welcome and his next trip up will be alot more pressured. Give em a taste and then send him down. I especially think this is true of Owens – looks like a middle school kid to me but maybe I’m just showing my age.
One good thing you can say about Lima is that he challenges the hitters – he’s not a “nibbbler.” True his stuff is far from overpowering but I hope that attitude catches on among some of the other rookies. Also he looks abit more serious this time up (at least if hairstyle is any indication) – let’s see how that translates to his performance on the mound tonight.
Comment by Dan S | July 7, 2006
Smart move sending Pedro to the DL.. he needs the rest and hopefully he will come back 100%… Who cares if we drop his start on saturday and if he sits out for another start after that.. it’s not like we’ve been winning when he pitched lately anyways… I’d rather loose a couple games now because he’s out then loose them in september because he’s hurt… it’s a lot easier to make up games from now until the end of the season then it is to make them up between september and the end of the season
Comment by Ron | July 7, 2006
*sigh*
what can i say? seriously…i can’t defend anyone anymore. screw it..send willie down to the minors with lima in hand.
we have a 12 game lead…who the hell cares? if we don’t win games, it doesn’t matter. everyone else in the NL right now sucks. you saw how the AL treated us.
this is ridiculous.
i’d rather see kaz matsui on the mound rather than lima…what in the hell were we thinking?!
horse—-…
i’m done…
Comment by Gary | July 8, 2006
Lima’s a bum. The guy is done. I would rather see the Mets give Aaron Heilman a shot. How can they not at this point?
It really is an insult to Heilman that he keeps getting passed over for every last arm in the system, including his pen mate Darren Oliver.
Comment by Rob Safuto | July 8, 2006
Put it in the books! Nice first half of the season. Great to come back even with Billy Wagner’s heart attack special in the ninth.
I’m thinking about a special first half recap podcast so get your audio comments in while you can!
Comment by Rob Safuto | July 9, 2006
Hey Rob,
Waiting patiently for that first-half recap… A word of advice, though: please don’t fall into old habits of die-hard Mets fans. There have been plenty of things to camplain about this season (The Soler debacle, the Lima experiment, Billy Wagner’s meltdowns, the injury bug, etc…) but let me give you my reasons for EXTREME optimism this season:
– THE BEST left side of the infield in all of baseball.
– The fact that we have THE BEST player in the league at 3 positions, as well as 2 potential CY Young candidates.
– We are ABSOLUTELY the best team in the NL… No one even close.
And there have been plenty of small things to get excited about:
– I am thoroughly enjoying the Julio Franco era… .344 as a pinch-hitter and 4 steals… Ill take this guy for another couple years.
– Orlando Hernandez… I’m gonna go ahead and call him El Duque… Who would you rather see in this spot: Zambrano? Soler? Lima? Remember, we are essentially getting this production from Jorge Julio’s spot. Not a bad deal at all.
– Between John Maine and Mike Pelfrey, there’s at least hope for the future.
– Xavier Nady… This is the kind of player that makes a real difference. Did anyone think he was going to be a full-time starter? Well he carried the team through April and has been solid all season, on offense and defense.
Well, I could go on, and I probably have, but this team is worth getting excited about. Just my two cents, or closer to a quarter, but I am expecting big things in the second half.
LET’S GO METS.
–Joe.
Comment by Joe | July 10, 2006
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll definitely use that input when putting together the podcast show tonight.
Comment by Rob Safuto | July 10, 2006
Another come-back-from-behind victory. =) They’re the best, even though Billy Wagner came in. I tell ya, this guy is a heart attack waiting to happen. Good first half of the season. LETS GO METS!
Comment by Mets Lover :) | July 10, 2006
I agree with the optimistic comments – we have alot to be happy about and very few complaints.
My mid-term report card:
Speed = A+
Defense = B-
Power = A-
Hitting = A-
Starting rotation = C+
Bullpen = A
Bench = A
Manager = B
Attitude = A-
Comment by Dan S | July 11, 2006
Thanks Dan. I’ll include your input. Got derailed last night watching the Home Run Derby. Wright look so strong in the first round but I think he got tired. Nice to see the Mets well represented there.
Comment by Rob Safuto | July 11, 2006
Just watching the All-Star Game, kudos to Beltran and Wright for a great game. The only thing I could say about Trevor Hoffman is that he “pulled a Wagner.” Hah. We had the game, but it was like deja vu.. with a different guy.
Comment by Mets Lover :) | July 11, 2006
Great to see the Mets boys produce in the All-Star game. They really look the goods at the minut, particularly David Wright.
Great to actually get the live game too down here in Melbourne, Australia.
Looking forward to the second half of the season. An awful lot to be positive about as long as we can maintain some consistant offensive performances, and settle a starting rotation.
Let’s Go Mets
Comment by Marty | July 12, 2006
Looks like from watching the All-Star game they will be aquiring Hoffman next. Na kidding. But he would fall into the typical Mets closer type, Choke Artist
Comment by Ron | July 12, 2006