July 4: Independence Day Mets Links and Open Thread

Long Live Shea Stadium – A scouting report on Washington RHP Craig Stammen.

OnTheBlack – A recap of some historic Mets happenings on July 4.

BrooklynMetFan – Return of the Boogey Met? No, not yet. But soon, maybe.

NY Times – The case for Ruben Tejada.

ESPN NY – A statistical analysis of Franciso “Blow Rod” Rodriguez’s problems. In a nutshell, his velocity was down when Omar brought him in. What is JJ Putz doing these days?

Bleacher Report – Matt Esposito thinks the Mets must make bolstering the bullpen their top priority. It is unclear whether this post was written before or after Brian Bruney was signed to a minor league contract. Huzzah!

ESPN NY – Here are Buck Showalter’s thoughts on Rodriguez:

TODAY’S GAME

The Mets (45-36) look to split the series with Washington (36-46)today. Hisanori Takahashi (6-3, 4.24) takes the mound for the Mets and he will be opposed by Craig Stammen (2-2, 5.13). First pitch at 1:35pm.