Bobby Parnell is just one guy who needs to step up in 2010.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Recently, we have been doing a lot of bantering back and forth about what moves the Mets should or shouldn’t make, but there are some guys on this team who, if they step up and make some progress, may take this team to the next level.

Now, I am not talking about the Wright, Santana, Reyes and Beltran that everyone knows should step up, but this is more a look at some secondary guys who could make a difference if they decide to take that step to the next level.

Now let’s get started.
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Unfortunately, Bobby Parnell doesn't seem like the long-term solution for the Mets. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

This article, although written with tongue-in-cheek humor, is exactly the type of thing that ticks me off about this franchise. Granted, you can find something to rank on any team’s stadium, which by the way, Deadspin has done. But the complaints in here just burn me up. The worst part was the Fillie fan talking smack.

Is it just me, or are they an entire fanbase made up of Guido douchebags and people who fell in love with the team somewhere around October of last year? God, I hope Cliff Lee’s apocalyptic numbers from yesterday are what he is going to put up the rest of the year. If that were to happen, and they go in the toilet in the NLDS, I could just write this season off to a statistical anomoly. Please, Dark Lord, don’t let them anywhere near the Series, unless it is to get utterly raped by the other team, to the tune of 60-2 in a four game set. Oh my, would I never let that one go.
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Only The Mets Could Pass On Getting Something for a 40 Yr Old With A Bad Hammy

BY AARON YORKE
STACHE WRITER

Yesterday we talked about how the Mets put Gary Sheffield and Pedro Feliciano on waivers in an effort to salvage something from the last remaining useful parts of the 2009 season. Now it turns out that both players have been pulled back by the Mets, meaning they cannot be traded for the rest of the year.

The keeping of Feliciano makes sense: He has one year of arbitration left, is making less than $2 million, and will be a useful left handed reliever on what should be a contender in 2010. However, I don’t see what the Mets hope to gain by not trading Gary Sheffield.

Are they convinced that by letting him stay on this year he will be more likely to sign for 2010 (and for a reasonable price)? Even if Sheffield wanted to stay with the Mets and not with an AL contender that could guarantee him more at bats, I think it would be difficult to get your 2009 franchise home run leader to sign for a reasonable amount.

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Building a Team after this Moment has been very hard for the Mets (Courtesy of Boston.com)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

I have heard it said the the Mets mission statement over the last two years was to win Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. That they wanted to eradicate the memory of the loss and somehow change the course of history. I don’t think that’s quite true. I think that was something we the interactive fans and the professional writers inferred upon the team, that that particular game was somehow still winnable.

The Mets, in a wise move, just stuck with the core of a team over the next three years that was thisclose to the World Series in 2006, and are just now feeling the fallout from a long barren run at post-season success. After the outcome of the 2006 season, obviously the Mets, as an organization, felt that essentially standing pat with a team that was so close to the promised land was the right choice, hence the Alou signing as a stopgap to shore up RBI production and keep the train rolling.

Management felt that the veteran presence would assist, and not even a beat would be missed on the march back to October. They were absolutely correct. The 2007 season was going along according to script until…no need for specifics in rehashing at this point, we are all well versed. The team that had steamrolled along all year hit the wall and blew up. It happens. Only once in a blue moon, but strange things can happen in baseball. Ask the Cubs, or the Phillies.

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The Mets need to make a splash and bring in this guy (Courtesy of MopUpDuty.com)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

Baseball’s version of Christmas Eve, July 31st, is almost upon us. This is the final day during the season a team can make a trade without having to clear waivers with the players. Many moves have already been made, with more to come throughout the league. The Mets, still tentative on which side of the ledger they should be on, need to decide quickly.

A New York team, in all honesty, should NBS, Never Be Sellin’. This is the largest market in America. Finances should never be considered a detriment, due to all the revenue streams, and waving a white flag mid-season would have dire consequences with the fanbase. The Mets need to pick up one more impact type player, a pitcher or fielder.

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This guy should already be wearing a Mets Uniform (Courtesy of MLB Media)

BY BRIAN NADEAU
STACHE WRITER

Depending on whom you believe, Omar Minaya may or may not have rejected a trade for Toronto ace Roy Halladay. The players mentioned were current Mets reliever Bobby Parnell, soon to be starting pitcher Jon Niese, 17-year-old shortstop Ruben Tejada and 20-year-old outfield Fernando Martinez.

At first glance it seems like a lot. Every glance after that and it seems like next to nothing. We’ve read several articles saying why this trade should or should not have been accepted. Some appear on this site and offer some great insight (Daniel Siegel’s tops the list). So I’ll throw my hat into the ring as well as to why this trade would be a no-brainer for the Mets.

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Do you think Jon Niese would become a star in a Blue Jays Uniform? (Courtesy of NY Daily News)

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

I’m left somewhat confused about this proposed trade that was rejected with a “resounding” no by Omar Minaya. I’m hoping for the Jon Heyman SI.com story to be one of two things. Either it was incomplete, in regards to information or it was a lie. Because if this really happened I don’t know a person alive other than fellow Stache write Aaron who wouldn’t do this deal.

To have the opportunity to trade 4 prospects, none of which are in the Top 25 for a guy like Roy Halladay is what I would call divine intervention. It’s like God is a Met fan and is just been toying with us the past 3 years, just to test our strength. Then he delivers Halladay and they win 5 straight World Series. I mean if pitching wins championships and you have the best two pitchers in the game, does that not help your chances of winning?

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Omar needs to hit a Home Run at the Trade Deadline

BY MATTHEW FALKENBURY
ASSISTANT EDITOR

As July 31st gets closer and closer, the questions surrounding what exactly will Omar Minaya do come the Trade Deadline become louder and louder. With Beltran, Reyes, and Delgado still out for at least a few more weeks, the fans, including yours truly are wondering just what is the plan for this team.

If they are going to sell, what exactly can they get back in return? That answer is actually quite simple, don’t worry about it cause Freddy and Friends wont sell with a new ballpark in its Rookie Season.

Of coursethey could always stand pat and just wait out the injuries, which isn’t too bad an idea. Then again, if your like me, I have a hard time thinking that Beltran, Reyes and Delgado will come back and start hitting the cover off the ball. I have this odd reasoning that states that players coming back from injury need to readjust to Major League pitching, odd right?.

Then their is door number three, which is that Omar goes out and makes either a big move or a few small moves to try to keep the team afloat until the three musketeers or is it muscle-tears come back from their stints on the DL. With that I wanted to present to you the Top 5 players the Mets and Omar should look into acquiring at or before the Deadline to help keep our season alive.

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Francisco Rodriguez has probably been the brightest spot for the Mets so far in 2009. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Through the first half of the season, the Mets currently have a 42-45 record and stand in fourth place in the NL East. Although that sounds terrible at first mention, it really isn’t all that bad. The Mets are just 6.5 games out of first place, and the break couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Mets have been struggling, and obviously injuries have played a large role in the turmoil. With Beltran, Reyes, Delgado, Perez, Maine, Putz and more all out for extended periods of time, the Mets have been lucky to even stay afloat as they have done.

You can thank guys like Gary Sheffield for keeping the Mets in the hunt, and they can use the break to help themselves heal a bit. But in this post, I am going to evaluate players who have been given an extended look thus far this season. Without further adieu, here we go.

Catcher- Brian Schneider
Grade- C+
Explanation: Brian Schneider has been a bit of a surprise with the bat thus far this season, and he has provided some unexpected power. He is really a run-of-the-mill catcher who I have learned not to expect much out of, although he provides solid defensive stability. I can’t expect much more than we have seen so far this season.

Catcher- Omir Santos
Grade- B-
Explanation: Omir Santos burst on to the scene with the Mets after being a career minor leaguer. He started the season by getting big hit after big hit, and he even hit a game-winning homer off of Jonathon Paplebon in Boston. It doesn’t get much better than that. Prior to yesterday’s game, Santos has been fizzling, and he has a rather pedestrian .264 batting average. If he added some patience to his approach, he would be much better off.

First Base- Daniel Murphy
Grade- C+
Explanation: Daniel has been an interesting case thus far this season. Teams have obviously figured out that he is vulnerable inside, and they have started to exploit that. Murphy is now at the stage in which he is trying to figure out how to combat the new attack. He is played better than expected at first base, and he seems to be coming out of his funk.

First Base- Fernando Tatis
Grade- D-
Explanation: Tatis has been downright atrocious this year, and for some reason, he is still in the good graces of manager Jerry Manuel. He grounds into too many double plays and his swing is way longer than it was in his comeback year last season. His defense has been average, and the Mets would be better off just using him primarily as a pinch hitter. It took a lot for me to not give him an F here.

Second Base- Luis Castillo
Grade- B+
Explanation: Whether we like him or not, Luis Castillo has been one of the true constants from this team from the very beginning this season. Going into today’s game, Castillo had a .278 average, and he is really playing well at Citi Field. He has played an above average second base, and he has an excellent on base percentage. Why he isn’t batting lead off every day is beyond me, but he has definitely surpassed expectations.

Shortstop- Alex Cora
Grade- C+
Explanation: I know a lot of people are going to be on me for being rough on Cora, but I feel like he has gotten a bit of a free ride from the critics in Mets’ land. Well, allow me to be the first one to take a stance. Cora may be an excellent leader and he may make one hell of a manager one day, but his .240 average doesn’t exactly have starting shortstop written all over it. I admire the fact that he is playing with a screwed up finger, but he is not helping the team with his 0-for-4 games and his limited range.

Third Base- David Wright
Grade- B+
Explanation: Nobody on the Mets has had a weirder season than David Wright. The homers are just not there, and the RBI numbers are decent, but yet Wright still manages to have a .323 batting average. He is heading to St. Louis to play in the All Star Game, and it would really serve him well to work on his swing. He already has scored 55 runs, and he has proven that he is the most productive Met. If he can add some more consistency in the power department, he will be the real deal. He needs to take that step though.

Left Field- Gary Sheffield
Grade- A-
Explanation: This is a guy who has surpassed all of the expectations. To be honest, I didn’t give him much of a chance to make the team in the Spring. The Mets took a flier on him at $400 K after the Tigers got sick of his attitude and inconsistency, but all he has done since arriving is hit and be a model citizen. One example is after he hit his 500th homer. He had an engraved bat delivered to each of his teammates. He has been nothing short of a class act, and the Mets are lucky to have him right now.

Center Field- Jeremy Reed
Grade- B-
Explanation: Reed has been as good as we could’ve hoped for a replacement player, and due to the injury to Beltran, he and Angel Pagan have been asked to take a bigger role in center field. His bat can be a bit inconsistent, but his glove is stellar. I think Angel Pagan is better for the everyday role, but Reed has proven to be a valuable bench asset.

Starting Pitcher- Johan Santana
Grade- A-
Explanation: Santana has once again been the bearer of bad luck. His record currently stands at 10-7 after yesterday’s seven shutout innings, but the team fails to step it up when he is pitching. Whether it is defense or lack of run support, the troops always seem to be more anxious when he pitches, and that leads to lapses in judgment. I don’t think he has been bad, but he can certainly pitch better. We know he is capable of being the best pitcher in baseball. We just need him to take that step.

Starting Pitcher- Mike Pelfrey
Grade- B-
Explanation: Pelfrey has done well to earn himself a 7-4 record, but his ERA wouldn’t indicate that he has been that good. He is sporting a 4.47 ERA, and he needs to work on the middle innings. Today, it was another fifth inning that did him in. After throwing four scoreless while letting up just two hits, Pelfrey balked (literally) and allowed three runs to score. We need the consistency to carry through an entire start. He seems to hit a wall when we think he is good to go.

Starting Pitcher- Livan Hernandez
Grade- C+
Explanation: It seems like Livan has been held winless since the first Bush was President, and now the Mets might be looking at the real guy they picked up off of the scrap heap in the off season. Livan became the first pitcher in quite some time to allow three runs or more in the first inning for three consecutive starts leading up to the break. That is really not something to be proud of. He is relying on that get-me-over fastball early in the count, and hitters are jumping on it. He has to mix it up more if he wants to be successful.

Starting Pitcher- Fernando Nieve
Grade- C
Explanation: I am kind of indifferent on the Nieve front. We have already gotten more than what was expected out of him. He was the first half’s Cinderella story, but the clock is soon going to strike 12 for him. Jonathon Niese is lighting it up at Triple A, and there is no reason for Niese to sit down there while Nieve is faltering. If Nieve wants to stay, he needs to get his act together…quick.

Bullpen- Other than Closer
Grade- B-
Explanation: There have been some bright spots in the bullpen that were not expected. Bobby Parnell came out of the gate like a bat out of hell and he was pitching lights out before he hit a rough patch. It seems like he is coming back to life, and the Mets can really use his firepower in the second half. Pedro Feliciano continues to be the best lefty specialist in all of baseball, and Sean Green has been very good after a rough start. Pat Misch has even been good in mop up spots, and the Mets need to get Putz back to really get the bullpen at full strength.

Closer- Francisco Rodriguez
Grade- A
Explanation: K-Rod has exceeded expectations, and he is proving that last season was no fluke. He is dominant, although he likes to give fans a heart attack before he eventually completes a save. I love how he is fearless when it comes to certain pitches on certain counts. Sure, he has blown a couple of saves, but overall, Mets’ fans should be ecstatic that this guy will be a Met through 2011.

Livan has been pretty steady so far for the Mets.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

For those of you who are asking yourselves who John Candy is…shame on you. He was the star of many movies, and he was one funny individual. The movie in which I am referencing with the title is the classic, “Rookie of the Year,” in which he states, “The Cubs have their longest winning streak of the season…two!” That is certainly the feeling that I have in regards to the Mets, who narrowly escaped with a 4-3 victory over Atlanta to sweep the Braves in their short two-game series.

The defense was a bit sloppy today, as Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado both botched routine plays. Delgado’s was more important though, as it eventually led to Chipper Jones getting an at-bat with a chance to win the game. Luckily, history didn’t repeat itself, and Chipper flew out to Ryan Church to end the ballgame. I felt a few gray hairs grow in as the game ended.

Ramon Castro had a big game, and that is something to be talked about. His average is slowly approaching .300, and it is becoming clear that he is the better candidate to get more playing time than Omir Santos. Castro seemed to be ticked off when Jerry Manuel pinch hit for him a couple of days back with the bases loaded, and he has taken the best possible action. He took his frustrations out on the baseball. That’s how you get back into the manager’s good graces, and Castro seems to have done just that.

Carlos Beltran continues to be the hottest hitter in the game, and he had a couple more hits tonight to drive his average up and above .400. He is just seeing the ball so well right now, and he is showing some glimpses of 2004 in the playoffs with the Astros. If Beltran continues this pace, the Mets will certainly be alright, and they will probably have the National League’s MVP.

Bobby Parnell continues to impress me. He battled through adversity tonight, and he succeeded while facing some pressure situations. This Mets’ bullpen is solidifying. Now…if the starting rotation is more consistent, maybe we can band a few wins together. Nice job by Livan tonight, who pitched 6.1 innings of one-run ball. Tomorrow, the Mets will once again get the chance to tangle with the Phillies.

Johan Santana gets to duel with Chan Ho Park in what should certainly be a mismatch. The fans will be booing loudly as the Phillies make their first trip to Citifield in 2009.