Hello fellow friends and fans, welcome back to another edition of Stir-Up Sunday! Well, if you read yesterday’s post, then you saw how upbeat and excited I am about the current run the Mets are on. Coming out of the cellar and springboarding themselves to the top of the division has totally made me giddy and pumped for some meaningful baseball this summer. I said that not only do I believe the Mets are for real, but that they had the potential to sweep Philadelphia this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. And then what happens…
Well, the Mets ran into Roy Halladay that’s what. And though I thought yesterday would be a close, nailbiter of a game, it was anything but. A Phillies 10-nothing victory highlighted by yet another Halladay complete game. OK, so maybe I got a little ahead of myself yesterday, but hey, you’ve got to either dream big or not dream at all right? But that being said, Halladay vs. Pelfrey, I suppose Halladay had the advantage all along going into yesterday’s game, despite Pelfrey’s superior April, and he showed why he’s one of the top pitchers in the game today. And even despite the Mets catching bad breaks on dropped pop-ups and Halladay singling to continue the already painful 4th inning, the Mets were probably destined to drop this game as soon as run #1 crossed home for the Phillies. Halladay is just too good, and yesterday was the kind of game Philly acquired him for. Pelfrey couldn’t go perfect all year, and the Mets weren’t going to win every remaining game in 2010, at least we fell to a worthy foe. Now if we fall tonight with our version of "Roy Halladay", Johan Santana on the mound, and with Jamie Moyer going for the Phillies, then we can be aggravated. But yesterday, I guess it doesn’t come off as too much of a shocker when you think about it.
In other Mets news, it has been revealed that once Daniel Murphy is finished rehabbing down at extended spring training, he’ll be ticketed for the minor leagues. This appeared to have been one of the two paths the Mets could have chosen for Murph, having everyday AB’s in AAA Buffalo. The other was having him ride the bench up at the major league level, and getting occasional AB’s whenever the Mets could provide him with a few. Frankly, I’m not sure what the best route is. It’s more than obvious that he has been replaced for good at 1st base by rookie Ike Davis. And with every other position on the field kind of set, Murphy just can’t start anywhere. As predicted, he’s essentially become trade bait. The only question now is, will he get more looks from other major league teams playing every day down in the minors, or will he receive more looks just playing sporadically on the big team? They certainly have space for him on the bench if the team cuts ties with Frank Catalanotto, who at .150/.190/.200 in 20 AB’s has looked downright awful.
And how about John Maine? The dude looked decent Wednesday against the Dodgers, striking out 9 and allowing just 2 runs in 6 innings of work for the win. However, like I’ve said in the past, the great Ric Flair once said, "One time means nothin’!" Just because he tossed one good start, does not automatically absolve him of all his past stinkers. Unlike Oliver Perez, John Maine does not have a ridiculous contract, and is liable to lose his spot in the starting rotation. You did well John, I will give credit where credit is due. But at the same time, the negatives have so far outweighed his positives in 2010, and in order to change the balance on that scale, he needs to keep it up.
What do you guys have to say? Did you expect yesterday’s blowout, or did you feel it would be closer? Will Johan Santana and the Mets rebound tonight and claim the first series victory over Philadelphia in 2010? And where do you think is the best place for Murphy to be playing once he’s back from his rehab, on the major league bench, or in the minor league starting lineup? Comment below, enjoy tonight’s game, and thanks for stopping by everybody!
