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The Mets announced today thet they have optioned Robert Carson back to Double-A Binghamton and have called up Jack Egbert from the Buffalo Bisons:

#Mets option LHP Robert Carson to @bmets & select the contract of RHP Jack Egbert from @BuffaloBisons. Egbert will wear #61.

— New York Mets (@Mets) May 25, 2012

They have also announced that they have released RHP D.J. Carrasco.

Egbert, 29, is 2-3 on the season with a 2.08 ERA with the Bisons. He has struck out 5.9 per nine innings and walked 1.7.

This from the official press release:

The Mets claimed Egbert, a Staten Island, NY native who played at Rutgers University, off waivers from the Chicago White Sox on September 25, 2009.  The 6-3, 220-pound righthander missed all of 2010 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery in April of that year.  Over eight minor league seasons, Egbert is 48-56 with a 3.51 ERA (338 earned runs/866.0 innings) in 195 games, 141 starts.

Originally selected by Chicago in the 13th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, Egbert made his major league debut with the White Sox in 2009 and appeared in two games.  He allowed eight runs, earned, in 2.2 innings in what is his only major league action to date.

Egbert will be available for tonight’s game.

Continue reading »]]> During last night’s rain delay, Sandy Alderson came up to the SNY booth to talk to Gary Keith and Ron in an extensive and interesting interview.

Sandy talked about a variety of things- the team’s lack of offense, the David Wright rumors, as well as Ike Davis‘ struggles at the plate- but one thing Sandy spoke about that I absolutely loved was his handle on the minor leagues.

Here is is (h/t Amazin Avenue)

GC: Jeremy Hefner making the start tonight, the third different pitcher that you’ve plugged into that spot that was vacated by Mike Pelfrey‘s injury, and Jeremy’s looked terrific so far, but all every Met fan wants to talk about is Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Zack Wheeler, Jenrry Mejia. Give us an update on the young pitchers and give us, if you can, some kind of timetable for what you guys are thinking about with them.

SA: We’ve got actually three of those pitchers will be in Triple-A as of tomorrow. Jenrry Mejia will be going up there and continuing his rehab stint. He pitched in Binghamton today, so we’ll have Harvey, Familia, and Mejia all at Triple-A, and, of course, Zack Wheeler is at Double-A. What I’ve tried to say in the past is that, not of all four, but certainly Harvey, Wheeler, and Familia at this point, their development is independent of anything that we may or may not need at this level, at least at this stage. Their development right now is more important than any short-term benefit that we might get. Harvey’s pitched well, hasn’t pitched great, we’d love to see him pitch more consistently and well over time. Familia has had some command issues. Mejia is just coming back. You know, I could see Jenrry, perhaps, in the bullpen later this year, just depending on what our need is because I think that if we handle his injury right that he could probably benefit us in that way potentially down the road.

Wheeler was lights out yesterday, apparently. J.P. Ricciardi was there and said he was major league caliber yesterday, but he’s still at Double-A and I would not expect him to move anytime soon. But in Wheeler’s case, I think we’d be doing well if we were to get him a month or two months of Triple-A ball if his performance warrants it, and then we’ll see what those guys at Triple-A do, and if they’re able to string together some solid performances and depending on what our needs are here, we’ll see. But I want to emphasize that those are cornerstone players, potentially, and we don’t want them to fill roles in the margin for us just because of a short-term need here.

GC: Now it’s interesting what you say there because if you get later in the season — I mean, you’re two games out of first place right now — you get to August or even late July and you’re in a similar spot, does that mean that you might consider pushing them a little faster than you otherwise would?

SA: Well I think it’s going to depend on how they perform between now and then, and, again, I think what you try to do is maintain some independence between what’s going on here and what’s going on with them. But if there’s a merger and it’s not rushing them, it’s just recognizing their further development, then so be it

This is great. It’s a huge contrast to Omar Minaya, who directly connected the big league team’s performance with the development of prospects. If you remember a few years back when, in a desperation move, Omar took Jenrry Mejia off the track to being a starter and put him in the bullpen, which needed the help.. Well, it turns out that Mejia is still being affected by that move. Sandy Alderson isn’t going to make that kind of mistake again.

With pitching prospects, things are very up and down. When evaluating them on a start-to-start basis, you can’t get very high or low on them because you just don’t know what’s going to happen next like you do with major league pitchers. If they string together a couple of good starts in a row, you can’t use that as reason to suddenly call a guy up. A GM should only wants to call up a pitching prospect one time. If the pitcher isn’t completely ready to pitch in the big leagues and stay in the big leagues, don’t call him up. That’s Sandy’s philosophy and I like it.

Continue reading »]]> Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game set in Pittsburgh with the Pirates.

The Pirates, 19-22, are currently third in the NL Central.

The Pirates are led by Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen, the one and only star on the Pittsburgh roster, is leading the team in almost every major category, He is hitting .336 with seven home runs, 20 RBI, and 24 runs scored. The Pirate offense as a whole, is in the bottom three in baseball in runs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The pitching is the only thing keeping them from the bottom of the division.

The Pirates are led by ace (for the moment) James McDonald. McDonald, who had a 4.21 ERA in 31 starts last year, is currently 3-2, but has a 2.68 ERA. The back end of the bullpen has also been stellar. Jason Grilli, the setup man, has ten holds on the season and has a 2.25 ERA.  The closer, Joel Hanrahan, has nine saves and a 3.07 ERA.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Game 1- Tonight 7:05

Johan Santana (1-2, 2.89 ERA) vs. Erik Bedard (2-5, 3.07 ERA)

Game 2- Tuesday 7:05

R.A. Dickey (5-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. James McDonald (3-2, 2.68 ERA)

Game 3- Thursday 7:05

Jonathon Niese (2-2, 4.85 ERA) vs. Charlie Morton (2-4, 4.35 ERA)

More notes…

– The bullpen finally didn’t blow it yesterday! … but it sure gave us a scare, didn’t it? Bobby Parnell allowed two runs in his inning of work, but luckily, Frank Francisco held on for the win.

–David Wright once again had two hits and an RBI. He is now hitting .412 for the year.

– I think this past series was a snap back to reality about what this team can really be. Yes, they have a very bright future, but the expectations of .500 baseball seem to be coming true. The bullpen needs help. Also, this lineup isn’t going to carry us anywhere, especially without Ike Davis stepping up.

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Tonight, the Mets begin their inter-league schedule with a three-game series against the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have been  somewhat of a surprise this year, considering the tough division they play in. They are currently in third place, but are only four games behind the Orioles in the division.

The Blue Jays, so far, have been led by a plethora of young, talented arms in their rotation. The Mets could have trouble with all three guys they face in this series. Brandon Morrow has been fantastic and may finally be living up to his potential. Ricky Romero also seems to be continuing the success he had last season with the Jays.

On offense, it’s been all about Edwin Encarnacion. Carnacion has 13 homers and 34 RBI this season, both of which lead his team. Jose Bautista, the one who was supposed to lead the team in every offensive catagory, is hitting just .207 with ten homers.

Overall, the Blue Jays are a team on the rise and could pose a problem for the Mets in this three-game series.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Game 1- Tonight 7:07

Jonathon Niese (39.2 IP, 3,40 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, .224 BAA) vs. Ricky Romero (53.1 IP, 3.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .222 BAA)

Game 2- Saturday 1:07

Miguel Batista (25.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .295 BAA) vs. Brandon Morrow (52.2 IP, 2.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .200 BAA)

Game 3- Sunday 1:07

Dillon Gee (43 IP, 5.65 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .301 BAA) vs. Henderson Alvarez (55 IP, 2.62 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .244 BAA)

More notes…

– Brett Lawrie will miss the entire series after dropping the appeal of his four–game suspension he received for throwing his helmet at an umpire while arguing over balls and strikes. Lawrie is hitting a team-high .281.

– Frank Francisco will continue to close for the Mets, despite recent struggles. Francisco has pitched, very, very badly of late, blowing a few games in a row. However, he is only part of the problem. The entire Mets bullpen has struggled this season, so Francisco is only part of the problem in the ‘pen.

– David Wright is hitting .411!!!

Continue reading »]]> Tonight, the Cincinnati Reds come to Citi Field to begin their two-game miniseries with the Mets.

The Reds are coming in a 19-18 team, and are currently second in the NL Central. The Reds best two hitters this season have been Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Bruce, 25, had a great season last year, hitting 32 homers and driving in 97 runs, and has continued his success this year. Bruce will not be in the lineup for the first game. Votto has been getting on base at an unbelievable rate. He has only hit five home runs, but is leading the NL with 34 walks, well on pace to surpass his 110 from last season, when he also led the league.

The starting pitching has been decent, but the bullpen has been far more impressive. Former Cuban National team member Aroldis Chapman is pitching really well and may eventually take over the closers role for the team. He hasn’t allowed a run all season.The same is true for Logan Ondrusek, who has done it for 15.1 innings.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Game 1- Tonight 7:10

Johan Santana (2.92 ERA, 37 IP, 1.16 WHIP, .225 BAA) vs. Mike Leake (7.11 ERA, 31.2 IP, 1.61 WHIP, .313 BAA)

Game 2- Thursday 1:10

R.A. Dickey (3.65 ERA, 44.1 IP, 1.26 WHIP, .248 BAA) vs. Mat Latos (4.54 ERA, 39.2 IP, 1.46 WHIP, .263 BAA)

More notes…

– So another two game series? Just weird…

– R.A. Dickey was on the short side most of last season, earning only eight wins despite pitching to a 3.28 ERA. This year, he is 5-1, with Johan Santana being the one not getting the wins. Just wanted to point that out…

– David Wright had two more hits last night before being taken out, raising his league-leading average to .408. About the situation last night… I think everybody handled it correctly. I don’t think D.J. Carrasco was trying to hit Ryan Braun because what’s the point? As the broadcasting crew mentioned last night, Carrasco is on the fringe of the roster all the time, so why would he risk anything by intentionally hitting someone? I also admired Terry Collins for his move last night, taking out David Wright. The Brewers probably weren’t going to retaliate, but there is no point in risking an injury to David. I also loved how David stayed in the dugout afterwards. True professional in every way.

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Tonight, the Mets begin a brief two-game set  against the Brewers at Citi Field.

The Brewers are a team that has been riddled with injuries. After losing Prince Fielder this offseason to the Detroit Tigers, the Brewers needed everyone on their roster healthy and productive more than most teams. However, Mat Gamel, once thought to be the heir apparent to Fielder at first base, recently suffered a torn ACL which will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez, a new addition that was brought in to supply some veteran leadership, as well as an RBI threat, also has a torn ACL and won’t be ready until next season as well. Lastly, Carlos Gomez, the former Met who has made himself into a Gold Glove contender defender, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the past week and a half.

With the lack of offense this year, the Brewers have also needed to rely on their ace, Yovani Gallardo, to carry the load, which he has failed to do. He has a 5.35 ERA in 28.2 innings this season to go along with a 1.55 WHIP. Compare this to his performance last season, in which he went 17-10 along with a 3.52 ERA, and you have a big disappointment. The only bright spots for the Brewers has been the performances of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, two pitchers the Brewers snagged from the American League a few years back. Marcum has a 3.07 ERA in 44 innings this season, while Greinke has a respectable 3.35 ERA over 43 innings this season.

Here are the pitching matchups for these two games:

Game 1- Tonight 7:10

Miguel Batista (18.1 IP, 5.89 ERA, 2.13 WHIP, .338 BAA) vs. Yovani Gallardo (38.2 IP, 5.35 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .284 BAA)

Game 2- Tuesday 7:10

Dillon Gee (37.2 IP, 4.78 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .296 BAA) vs. Zack Greinke (43 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .252 BAA)

—————————————————————————————————————————–

Here’s a table comparing the two teams:

More notes…

–Don’t be surprised if Terry Collins tries some new tactics with the bullpen in this series. After last night’s awful performance/blowup of Frank Francisco, we may be seeing a change in who closes games from now on, which I think is a good thing. I’m not sure Francisco was the right fit from the start. He is eerily similar to Armando Benitez. He keeps you on the edge of your seat whenever he pitches, putting the team in a bad position often at the beginning of innings. In his first blown save against the Marlins over the weekend, he gave up a leadoff double to Giancarlo Stanton that set the tone for the Marlins in that inning and then again last night, giving up the leadoff triple to Emilio Bonifacio. You just can’t do that as a closer, or any type of relief pitcher for that matter. The ejection from the game was also a sign of Francisco’s growing frustration with himself. Maybe a little break from closing games will help him clear his mind.

–Wow, is David Wright hitting! He had another great series down in Miami over the weekend, raising his average from .376 to an even .400. He also had a home run in the second game, and has been making some fantastic plays in the field. His range and the accuracy of his arm have been unbelievable so far this year.

–Daniel Murphy has also been quietly putting things together at the plate. Murphy is in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak, and was 8-12 against Miami over the weekend. He is hitting .405 in his last ten games.

–Go Mets!

Continue reading »]]> I’ve been wrestling with this idea in my head for a while now. The idea of sending Ike Davis down to Triple-A Buffalo to find his swing.

I have been very hesitant to decide on anything up until this point, but now I think it’s tim the Mets made the move.

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

Ike is struggling, and I mean really struggling, hitting .174 for the year, including .147 in 34 at-bats in May so far. He’s never slumped like this before. He had huge expectations coming into this season, with many people talking about 30-40 home runs for him, but now that seems really unlikely and a huge stretch. At this point, I’d be perfectly happy with him hitting .260 with 20 homers. But Davis can’t do that until he fixes his swing.

Ike has to find what made him so successful in the five weeks he spent healthy last year. He went on a tear to start the season, hitting seven homers while driving in 25 and hitting .302 in 36 games before going down with a season-ending injury. What has slowed him down this season, in my mind, has been his plate discipline. He is swinging at every outside curveball thrown to him. His walk rate is down to almost half of what it used to be. He just can’t seem to find it at the plate.

A similar thing happened to Cliff Lee in 2007 with the Indians. Of course, Lee is a pitcher, so it is a little different, but it still relates. In 2007, Lee started the year 5-8 with a 6.38 ERA. He was very inconsistent with his mechanics and was sent down to the minors to refine his mechanics. Now, this wasn’t some rookie being sent down. This was an established pitcher, who had won 18 games two years prior, but he just could not stop walking people. After ten starts in the minors, Lee was recalled and resumed his role as a starting pitcher in 2008. That year, he went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA, winning the Cy Young Award. Lee hasn’t looked back since. He is 65-34 since then and has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game today. This just shows that it can work, even with players who have already had success on the big league level.

This is definitely a move Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson should at least consider. Will it work for Ike? I don’t know. Every player would handle this type of situation differently. Some would be angry, while others would be humbled and use the opportunity to their advantage. The option should at least be explored and discussed. Who knows? Maybe a minor league stint would make Davis the premier slugger that he has the potential to be.

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“My job is to keep all lines of communication open, for the good of the club today and tomorrow,” Amaro said. “I can’t shut any doors down. You try to be creative. And there are a lot of creative GMs out there who have different goals.”

Amaro first mentioned the possibility of the Phillies as sellers to CSNPhilly’s Jim Salisbury earlier Thursday. It sounded as if he was speaking out of frustration or trying to send a message to his players. But Amaro said he was only being realistic.

“If we continue to play like this and keep dropping out of the race, it’s going to be tough to be buyers,” he said. “The one way we can be buyers is by keeping our heads above water — if we’re five games out, seven games out, within striking distance, then yeah.”

–Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports

The future of the Phillies rests on this man's shoulders (Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

It seems like just yesterday that we were sulking as the Phillies celebrated a World Series championship in 2008. They were led by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, two young stars on the rise, poised to lead the Phillies to greatness for the next ten years. Ryan Howard was the next great slugger, hitting 48 homers and driving in 146 runs that year. They had Brad Lidge, who didn’t blow a save the entire season.

Since then, the Phillies have made a few great runs. In 2009, they fell short in the World Series to the Yankees, losing four games to two. Last year, they blew away everyone with a 102-60 record, but allowed the Cardinals to slip by them in the divisional round.

I didn’t think the Phillies would blow things up so early. However, the entire direction of the franchise has been determined by the health of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Without them, there is little to no chance that the Phillies could muster up another championship run.

What may keep the Phillies from becoming sellers is one man: Ruben Amaro Jr. Amaro is known to be a big spender. He may try to spend his way out of this mess. He was the one who traded for Roy Halladay. He was the one who stole Cliff Lee. And he was the one who dealt for Hunter Pence last season. There is a point where every GM has to realize that there’s no use in desparately trying to put together a team at the deadkinep but where that point is remains to be seen.

I don’t think he, or the Phillies, will go down without a fight.

Continue reading »]]> Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game series with the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Tonight’s game will begin at 7:10.

Here are your pitching matchups:

Game 1: Tonight at 7:10

Johan Santana (31 innings, 2.61 ERA, 1.194 WHIP) vs. Mark Buehrle (41.1 innings, 2.83 ERA, 1.089 WHIP)

Game 2: Saturday 1:05

R.A. Dickey (38.1 innings, 3.76 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) vs. Ricky Nolasco (39.2 innings, 2.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP)

Game 3: Sunday: 1:05

Jonathon Niese (33.2 innings, 4.01 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) vs. Carlos Zambrano (41 innings, 1.98 ERA, 1.02 WHIP)

The Marlins have been much better than many thought they would be before the season started. Many (including me) thought that the star power they have wouldn’t be enough. However, so far, the team has been carried by the guys you would least expect to break out. While Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez struggle, Giancarlo Stanton and Omar Infante flourish.

The pitching has also been pretty spectacular for the Marlins this season. They have a team 3.16 ERA, third in the National League. Newly-sogned ace Mark Buehrle, who the Mets will face in game one, has been pretty solid this season. He had a bad start at home against the D-Backs, but bounced back in his last start in San Diego, tossing a complete game. His strikeout per nine rate (4.8) is right in line with his career averages and his walks per nine rate (1.3), is by far the best of his career. Age and 11 straight years of at least 200 innings doesn’t seem to be affecting him.

Miami has also gotten some results from some unexpected places. Carlos Zambrano has been great this season after basically being dumped by the Cubs after years of headaches. Zambrano has not only avoided blowing up the clubhouse, but also has been the Marlins best pitcher this season. His ERA is just 1.98 and his walk rate is much lower than years past. He may be returning to the pitcher that earned him a $91.5 million contract a few years ago. Ricky Nolasco, arguably the most unpredictable pitcher in baseball, has also provided some great results for Miami. Nolasco has been pretty awful throughout his career, with the exception of a 15-8, 3.52 year with the Marlins in 2008. This year? Undefeated (somewhat meaningless) with a 1.109 WHIP.

The Marlins have won three series in a row and the Mets are also starting to catch fire, or so it seems. This should be an exciting series.

Let’s go Mets!

Continue reading »]]> Here are a few notes…

—– Ruben Tejada was placed on the Disabled list yesterday, and was replaced on the roster by Jordanny Valdespin. Tejada has a strained right quad muscle, which he hurt while falling into first base. He also apparently hurt his eye on the play. From ESPNNewYork.com:

Tejada had a significant cut on his left cheek Monday, but there are no current concerns about vision issues or a concussion. He said he fell as a result of the quadriceps injury — not the opposite, that awkwardly falling caused him to be injured.
“The MRI yesterday confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right quad strain,” assistant GM John Ricco said. “He was feeling a little bit better today, but still feeling something in the quad, which confirmed what the MRI showed.”
Ricco added that the organization considered keeping Tejada active but not in the lineup for five days or so, but decided the DL was prudent given how much season remains.

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)

It’s sad to see a young guy go on the DL like this in such a freak incident, especially a player who has been playing so well. In 27 games, Tejada was hitting .305 with a .362 on-base percentage. He has also scored 14 runs and driven in eight.

Tejada has shown great strides at the plate this season, hitting a ton of extra-base hits. He had 15 doubles in 97 games last season. This year, he already has ten. Hopefully, as the Mets have insisted, Tejada is alright and will be ready to go in two weeks.

——Yesterday, Cole Hamels of the Phillies was suspended five games for admitting that he intentionally hit Nationals phenom Bryce Harper in the first inning of Sunday night’s Phillies-Nationals game on ESPN.

For those who don’t know, Hamels came out after the game saying he intentionally hit the 19 year-old outfielder, claiming to be welcoming him to the big leagues.

Now, for Hamels to admit this is arrogant and just plain stupid. Admitting that he hit Harper on purpose won’t help anyone. In fact, it almost guarantees a suspension. Why would anyone want that? Of course, Hamels didn’t and it was probably a heat-of-the-moment thing, you have to check yourself before going there. I have no problem with Hamels hitting Harper, because well, that’s part of baseball. Pitchers hit batters for all kinds of reasons- rivalry, retalliation, or as Hamels did, “welcoming someone.” The admitting of the intent to hit Harper was what I had a problem with. What good can possibly come out of that? At least the Phillies might lose one more game because of it…

—— Another notable thing happened in Sunday night’s game. Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth broke his wrist in an awful-looking play in the outfield. Werth dove for a pop fly, with his left hand getting caught on the ground. It was bent really far back. What was even worse was him having to get up, retrieve the ball, and throw it back into the infield.

Now the already struggling Nationals offense will be without one of their best hitters. This will only put more pressure on Bryce Harper to perform.