Mets sweep season series from Yanks for first time ever

By Steven Inman

Thanks to a brilliant pitching performance from Dillon Gee that only a few saw coming, along with a two run homer by Marlon Byrd into the upper deck, the Mets swept a season series from the Yankees for the first time ever.

The Mets have now won five straight and improved to 22-29. The team still has some work to do if they want to get back into this race but it’s definitely doable.

The team now faces the 13-40 Miami Marlins in six of their next nine games.

The most shocking thing of today’s game was Dillon Gee. Gee came in with an ERA of over six and opponents were batting .488 off Gee the third time through the order. Combine that with a desperate Yankee team looking to avoid a five game losing streak for the first time in years and the Mets didn’t appear to have a great chance in this one.

Gee struck out a career high 12 in 7 1/3^rd innings. Gee threw just 88 pitches and made a major statement that it shouldn’t be him to lose his rotation spot when Zack Wheeler is summoned to the big leagues.

The only negative of today is Terry Collins used Scott Rice again. Rice has been used in 31 of the teams first 51 games, putting him on pace for over 100, the most appearances for a pitcher ever.

On tonight’s SNY broadcast Gary Cohen called him “every minute Rice”. Rice did his job once again but Terry Collins must find other guys or he is going to wear Rice down.

Not meaning to nick pick but another great win and the team now heads to Miami where Shaun Marcum will get the start coming off a game where he set a career high in strikeouts.

Ryne Stanek is latest player linked to Mets Draft

By Steven Inman

With just one week before the MLB Draft, Arkansas RHP Ryne Stanek is the latest player linked to the Mets. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo believes if the bats the Mets want aren’t on the board, Stanek could be the pick. “The Mets would be happy if Shipley or McGuire were available, but if they’re gone, the next best college pitcher, Stanek, could be theirs”

Stanek was once considered a top five pick but has fallen in the last few weeks. Again the Mets have $6.99 million in slot money to spend on their draft.

The Mets would like a bat but as of now it seems as if the guys they want could be off the board. High school bats like Clint Frazier and Austin Meadows are both off the board before 11 on most mock drafts.

Things could change however and there is always a surprise or two in the top ten. If there is again next week, then maybe a premiere prospect like Frazier or Meadows could fall to the Mets. If they don’t a pitcher like Stanek who could move through the Mets farm system quickly wouldn’t be a bad pick.

The draft will be live on MLB Network at 6 p.m. on June 6^th.

Jon Niese to miss “at least” one start

By Steven Inman

Terry Collins announced Thursday afternoon that LHP Jon Niese will miss “at least” one start with shoulder tendinitis. Collin McHugh, not Zack Wheeler will take his spot in the rotation on Saturday.

This isn’t good news as anything involving a pitching shoulder is concerning. Niese didn’t sound too concerned about this even saying he has pitched with the issue in his last four starts.

As of now, Niese will not be put on the disabled list.

Niese has been up and down this season but the Mets need him to be the #2 starter in this rotation now and in the future.

I thought it was interesting that Terry Collins said there was no dialogue about bringing Zack Wheeler up even though Saturday is his day to pitch. That means the Mets are determined to get Wheeler through this Super Two time period. He should still be up in the next two weeks.

Hopefully the Mets have Wheeler and Niese pitching well with the Mets in two weeks.

Ruben Tejada to DL, Omar Quintanilla called up

By Steven Inman

According to Jon Heyman, the Mets are set to place SS Ruben Tejada on the 15 day DL with an injured quad. Tejada had left last night’s win vs. the Yankees with an apparent injury. The Mets have called up Omar Quintanilla from Las Vegas to take his place.

The Mets will also have to make a 40 man roster move in this transaction.

Quintanilla did a nice job filling in for Tejada last year when Ruben got hurt. Quintanilla is a steady glove and was hitting well in the hitter friendly pacific coast league.  Expect Omar to play everyday.

With the way Tejada was hitting, Quintanilla will feel like an upgrade to Mets fans. Tejada was on the verge of being demoted after another puzzling game in the field.

I thought Quintanilla should have made the team out of spring training as the team didn’t actually have a backup shortstop on the roster.

The interesting thing is, they never were even punished for it as they never really gave Tejada a day off.  Hopefully some time off will do Ruben some good as they will need his defense and his old two strike approach if they want to climb back into this race.

UPDATE 11:25 a.m: The move is now official. To make room on the 40-man roster for Quintanilla, the Mets moved RP Frank Francisco to the 60-day DL.

Wilmer Flores is hitting well in Triple A

By Steven Inman

Mets 2B prospect Wilmer Flores has been hitting well in Triple A. The 21 year old is now up to .302 on the year with 4 homers and 33 RBI’s in 192 at bats this season.

Flores has three more hits in his last game on Tuesday and has looked decent at second base according to 51’s manager Wally Backman

Flores has hit at every level he has been at, his issue like most current Mets have been, where can he play on the field?

Flores had come up as a teenager playing shortstop but he has simply outgrown the position. He has played some third base but the Mets best player resides at third. In 2013 Flores has played mostly second base.

If the Mets send down Ike Davis, they would probably move Daniel Murphy to first and could play Flores at second every day.

If the Mets don’t send Ike down, then I have no idea where Flores fits into the equation. He probably doesn’t have the speed to play the outfield every day.

MLB.com has ranked Flores as the Mets 7^th best prospect.

His bat is legitimate though and could become trade bait down the road for an established outfielder. Flores could showcase himself to other teams if he gets a call up in the upcoming months.

Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada both put on notice

By Steven Inman

The Mets had a meeting with both 1B Ike Davis and SS Ruben Tejada telling both that they much change their approach at the plate immediately. If this doesn’t change they can be both be in the minor leagues by the weekend. Both players are on thin ice.

Omar Quintanilla would probably be the replacement for Tejada. The plan for Ike Davis’ potential replacement remains a mystery. The team would probably move Daniel Murphy to first and then give more playing time to Jordany Valdespin and Justin Turner at second base.

These two players have by far been the most disappointing players on the Mets. Both have been bad offensively and defensively and seemingly have just lost their way at the plate.

Keep in mind that Sandy Alderson didn’t draft or develop either of these players and could have no problem pulling the string on a demotion.

Davis seems to have a different batting style everyday at the plate but will not have any success until he moves his hands down and move closer to the plate. It would also behoove Ike to stop swinging at breaking balls in the dirt.

I don’t think the Mets would make the move during the subway series but perhaps they would after but before the team flies out to play the Marlins on Friday.

Should the Mets send both Tejada and Davis to the minor leagues and who should be called up?

 

After fantastic pitching performance, Mets walk off Mariano Rivera

By Steven Inman

Matt Harvey gave the Mets eight strong innings, giving up just one run and striking out 10 Yankees. It looked as if he was going to get the loss but before you could blink an eye the Mets had three straight hits and defeated Yankee closer Mariano Rivera on nine pitches.

Rivera who threw out the first pitch at Citi Field last night, also lost the game on the last pitch as Lucas Duda’s game winning RBI single gave the Mets their 20^th win on the season 2-1.

Daniel Murphy did an excellent job of taking a Rivera pitch the other way for a ground rule double. Then David Wright singled him home to tie the game and Duda won it with a base hit to right field.

Rivera has now blown more saves (3) vs. the Mets, than any other team in baseball which is incredible. What’s even more incredible is that was the first Rivera blown save where he didn’t record an out according to Elias. Rivera has had 700 save opportunities in his career.

The Mets now have a classic Subway Series win, perhaps the best regular season win the team has ever had vs. the Yankees.

The team now heads to Yankee Stadium for a mini two game series, where Jeremy Hefner looking for his first win of the season will face David Phelps.

The Mets are thinking of sending Ruben Tejada down

By Steven Inman

The Mets have discussed sending Ruben Tejada to Triple-A, a high-ranking team source told Andy Martino of the Daily News.

However, the source said, “If we call up Omar Quintanilla, we can’t send him back down,” because the Mets would be dangerously thin on organizational shortstop depth if he’s later claimed off waivers.

They don’t have another shortstop in Triple A but that shouldn’t stop the team from making a move if they think it helps the team. Sandy Alderson can always sign a minor league shortstop.

Tejada is batting .209 with just 10 doubles and 14 walks in 49 games and has looked very shaky at times in the field. Tejada also got picked off of second base in the 7th inning in Tuesday’s nights game after reaching on an error.

Meanwhile, Quintanilla is batting .328 with a .415 OBP in 125 at bats this year for hitter friendly Triple-A Las Vegas.

Quintanilla is a backup shortstop, something the Mets don’t have right now. He should be on this team but the idea that the Mets are considering sending down their shortstop is a disaster.

The Mets need Tejada so badly to be decent and he’s been anything but. It seems as if he lifts everything in the air instead of long at bats that end in line drives like last year.

Tejada has regressed badly so far in 2013 and the Mets need to use the rest of this year to determine what they have in Tejada.

Unlike most teams, Yankees let David Wright beat them last night

By Steven Inman
David Wright tied the game at 1 in the 7th inning Monday night, off Phil Hughes. The Mets eventually won the game on a go ahead RBI by Daniel Murphy.

The Mets struggled against Hughes all night, as they do with most starters that consistently pump in strikes. Hughes didn’t throw a full count pitch until the 7th inning.

Throughout this season in close games, teams have pitched around David Wright and told Ike Davis and Lucas Duda to try and beat them. Well those two haven’t as they have a combined 25 RBI’s through the teams first two months.

Yesterday the Yankees didn’t do that. With a 1-0 lead in the seventh and Mariano Rivera looming, Phil Hughes challenged David Wright with a fastball and he absolutely crushed it to tie the game. Most teams pitch around David late in the game, hoping he chases a bad pitch. If he doesn’t they simply have to face Ike and Lucas who have struggled.

The Yankees probably regret that strategy from Monday’s game and will now have their hands full with Matt Harvey who has been fantastic this season. The Mets have a legit chance of taking both games here at home before continuing the Subway Series at Yankee stadium.

Scouting the Yankees

By Steven Inman

The Mets play their next four games against their cross town rivals, the New York Yankees. The Yankees are in first place in the American League East but in unlikely fashion. Superstar players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira are all out for the foreseeable future.

Also key players like Kevin Youkilis and Curtis Granderson have missed most of the season. So how have the Yankees been so successful? Well their starting pitching has been fantastic. Hiroki Kuroda continues to get better with age and has been the Yankees best pitcher. Kuroda will face the Mets tomorrow.

Youngsters like David Phelps and Vidal Nuno have also held up their spots in the rotation nicely. Yankee closer Mariano Rivera has 18 saves already or the same number of wins the Mets have.

Offensively the Yankees have been paced by perennial MVP candidate Robbie Cano. His supporting cast has been players like Travis Hafner, Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells. Those three have been players who have had a lot of success in their careers but have certainly over achieved to this point.

The series starts off Monday night with Jon Niese facing Phil Hughes. Niese and Hughes have struggled this year. Hughes especially with the long ball.

How will the Mets fare in their 4 game series vs. the Yankees?