Friday I'm In Love (With This Pitching Matchup)

Matt Harvey almost made history today for the Mets, coming within seven outs of pitching the franchise's second no-hitter.  Although he didn't keep the Twins hitless, he did keep them behind the Mets all day en route to his third consecutive victory to start the season.

Given the weather forecasts for Minneapolis tomorrow and Denver next week, the Mets might have to shuffle their rotation if games get delayed or postponed.  If that happens, Mets fans might be in for a real treat next Friday when their beloved team returns to Citi Field to open a ten-game homestand against the division rival Washington Nationals.

Washington has already announced that their starting pitcher for Friday night's game against the Mets will be Stephen Strasburg.  Because of the uncertain weather conditions the Mets face in Minneapolis and Denver, Strasburg's opponent could very well be Matt Harvey.

As things currently stand, Dillon Gee is set to start tomorrow's finale against the Twins.  Gee would be followed by Jeremy Hefner on Monday in Colorado, Aaron Laffey on Tuesday and Jonathon Niese on Wednesday.  Harvey would be in line to pitch in the final game against the Rockies Thursday afternoon.  However, if tomorrow's game in Minnesota is rained out (and there's a 90% chance of rain being forecast for Sunday afternoon), Gee's start would be pushed back to Monday.

Of course, if the Mets have a game postponed over the next few days, manager Terry Collins could bypass Aaron Laffey's spot in the rotation and continue to pitch the other starters on four days' rest.  That would keep Harvey on pace to pitch Thursday.  But there is an 80% chance of precipitation for the Mile High City on Monday.  And on Wednesday night, the temperature is supposed to dip to a ridiculous-for-baseball 12°.  That's 12° Fahrenheit, not 12° Celsius (which converts to a more baseball-friendly 53° F).

If any of the games in Colorado are postponed, we might get a pitching matchup to drool over on Friday night at Citi Field.  It's such a juicy matchup, it deserves its own paragraph, italics, centering, boldface and a pair of photographs:

 Matt Harvey vs. Stephen Strasburg

As Mets fans, we never want to see Mother Nature deny us the opportunity to see our beloved team on a day the schedule tells us that they're supposed to play.  But the potential for a Harvey/Strasburg matchup at Citi Field is too intriguing to pass up.

Do yourselves a favor.  Pay a visit to your local bookstore and ask if they have a "Raindancing For Dummies" manual.  Then send it to a couple of displaced Mets fans living in Minnesota and Denver.  You won't regret it if we get the once-in-a-lifetime pitching matchup of Harvey vs. Strasburg at Citi Field on Friday night. 

Are The Phillies That Much Better With Halladay?

The Toronto Blue Jays waved goodbye to the face of their franchise by dealing starting pitcher Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies. The three-team deal, which also involved the Seattle Mariners, will be considered complete once all the players involved take (and pass) their physicals.

On paper, it looks as if the Phillies improved themselves drastically by adding arguably the best American League pitcher of the past few years. However, while I was focusing on the Phillies/Blue Jays part of the Halladay trade, my one-track, fourth-place mind failed to realize that to make this deal, the Phillies had to deal Cliff Lee to Seattle. Lee is a younger lefty who not only had playoff experience (unlike Halladay) but excelled in the postseason (4-0, 1.56 ERA in the 2009 playoffs). In addition to losing Lee, the Phillies also parted ways with Kyle Drabek, who was supposed to be a major part of their future.

I’m trying to envision the Phillies’ rotation for the 2010 season and I see Roy Halladay leading the staff, followed by the following pitchers:

Cole Hamels

Hamels has question marks after last season’s inconsistent performance. He has been overworked at a young age due to extended postseasons.




Joe Blanton

Blanton gave up more hits than innings pitched last year and was one of only four pitchers who gave up at least 30 HR in 2009. However, every other pitcher who gave up 30 HR made at least 33 starts. Blanton only made 31.


J.A. Happ

Happ is a good young pitcher, but faltered down the stretch and in the postseason. After his last start in August, he made five more starts. In those starts, his ERA was 4.84 and opposing batters hit .344 against him. In the playoffs, his ERA was 5.68 and his WHIP was 2.21. There are clearly some durability issues here.

Jamie Moyer

The man is so old, he got misty eyed when the Phillies played the Yankees in the World Series because it brought back childhood memories of the 1950 Phils-Yanks World Series matchup. His 2009 ERA was just south of 5.00 and his 25 starts were his fewest since 1996, when Todd Hundley was setting catcher home run records for the Mets.

The Phillies can also turn to Kyle Kendrick and that Bastardo named Antonio, who are ready to step in whenever Moyer needs to take a nap or change his adult diaper.

The Phillies’ rotation doesn’t look too different from the staff the Mets currently employ. We have a bonafide #1 starter in Johan Santana, followed by Question Mark (Mike Pelfrey), Question Mark (John Maine) and Off The Mark (Oliver Perez).

The glaring difference between the Mets and the Phillies is very clear. It’s all about each team’s offense. The Phillies slugged their way to the World Series by hitting a league-leading 224 home runs in 2009, including more home runs with men on base (96) than the Mets had home runs (95).

Fine, so the Mets didn’t get an ace pitcher who could complement Santana in the rotation. But their rotation is still comparable to the Phillies’ starters, even more so if they can add Jason Marquis or Joel Piñeiro. If they want to have a chance in the National League East, they’ll need to sign a big bat or two and hope for a return to form by the injured hitters.

Sadly, there may not be enough big bats left out there other than Matt Holliday and Jason Bay and both of them play the same position. If Daniel Murphy leads the Mets in home runs again, it won’t matter what our pitching staff looks like. It’ll be another postseason where we root for certain teams to lose instead of rooting for the Mets to win.

Joey's Soapbox: How To Score Vs. Padres, No Pets At Petco, Mighty Mouse

It might be a beautiful day, but it's ugly inside my head. The Mets continue to lose to inferior teams and now I must release by getting on my soapbox. Today's rants will be about the proper way to score against the Padres, the conundrum that is Petco Park and Mighty Mouse!

How To Score Vs. Padres

Since 2007, the Mets have lost 8 of 9 games at Petco Park. Half of those losses came by one run. Last night's game would have been a one-run loss had Everth Cabrera's walk-off shot stayed in the park. Also, the Mets have scored two runs or less in five of the eight losses. They followed the same script last night when they scored two runs in the first inning and then hit the snooze button for the remaining eight innings, wasting a rare stellar effort by Oliver Perez.

If the Mets want to learn how to score runs against San Diego, all they have to do is study this picture of then-Colorado Rockie Matt Holliday from the 2007 Wild Card play-in game.



Notice the face plant into home plate. Replays showed that Matt Holliday might not have touched home, but the umpire was so impressed with his effort that he was called safe, sending the Rockies into the 2007 playoffs.

The Mets have been showing team solidarity by growing beards. The extra chin fur would give them additional protection when they slide face first into home. If they can get over the fear of French kissing the ground and don't mind removing pebbles caught in their stubble, the Mets might be able to pull out a few more victories at Petco Park.

No Pets At Petco

I find it odd that other than the occasional Dog Day at the Ballpark, there are no pets allowed at Petco Park. How can a ballpark named after a company that has the best interest of pets in mind not allow them to patronize their facility? Does that mean I can't see my Metsies play there?

Let's look up the dictionary definition of "pet" to see what it says:

pet (pet), n.

1. An animal kept for amusement or companionship.
2. An object of the affections.
3. A person especially loved or indulged; a favorite: the teacher's pet

It appears I am a pet. All three definitions apply to me. I believe a boycott of Petco is in order. They won't be able to keep my kind out for long!

Mighty Mouse

I'm not talking about the cartoon character. I'm talking about the Mets' diminutive lefty, Billy Wagner. He is pitching well during his rehab assignment and should be promoted to the Mets at some point during the next homestand. He is also trying to earn a lucrative deal when he becomes a free agent.

Meanwhile, Speedy Gonzalez (Francisco Rodriguez) has been running out of gas after blowing by hitters on the Fastball Expressway. After a brilliant first half, he has been merely mortal, racking up blown save after blown save.


Apparently, the lack of activity since the All-Star Break has caused Frankie to become lazy. He has metamorphosed from Speedy Gonzalez to his cousin, Slowpoke Rodriguez! This change has been responsible for his recent poor outings, including his first back-to-back blown saves as a Met.

I propose that the Mets give Billy Wagner some save opportunities down the stretch. If Frankie is going to continue his downward spiral, then Billy should be given the ball in the ninth inning. After all, who would you trust with the game on the line? Mighty Mouse or Slowpoke Rodriguez?

Final Thoughts

How To Score Vs. Padres: Don't ever shave, Metsies! If you do, it'll just be another excuse for not scoring any runs against the Padres.

No Pets At Petco: What do we want? To see the game! When do we want it? NOW!

Mighty Mouse: Here I come to save the day! So I'll push Slowpoke out of the way!