Here is the lineup the Mets will send to the plate against Cubs righthander Carlos Zambrano:
Jose Reyes – SS
Josh Thole – C
Carlos Beltran – RF
Jason Bay – LF
Daniel Murphy – 1B
Justin Turner – 3B
Jason Pridie – CF
Ruben Tejada – 2B
R.A. Dickey – P
Pretty much the same lineup as last night; we’ll see how it does against someone who is a notch above AAA.
According to Adam Rubin on ESPN-NY, Chris Young has opted for shoulder surgery to repair a tear in his shoulder capsule — effectively ending his 2011 season.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Ike Davis has been placed on the 15-day DL with an ankle sprain, the result of colliding with David Wright on an infield popup the other day. How that collision even happened is a mystery, since the Mets have been focusing on sound fundamentals since Terry Collins took over the team. Surely, Wright properly called for the ball and/or the catcher or pitcher at the time assisted in the process.
To take his place on the roster, Fernando Martinez has been summoned from AAA Buffalo. He’s been hitting .292 with a .838 OPS when not injured himself.
Somewhat strange to see F-Mart get the callup, since he’s an outfielder and the Mets already have 5 of those. One would think they would have promoted a corner infielder — such as a first baseman with some pop — to take Ike’s spot. But both Nick Evans and Lucas Duda are struggling and Zach Lutz has very limited experience at the position.
** UPDATE: it is now our understanding that Duda and Lutz are nursing injuries. Further, Val Pascucci is much too tall and not on the 40-man roster. **
No worries, though. Ike’s injury provides more potential opportunities for Willie Harris and Scott Hairston to get into the lineup. Yippee!
My SweetSpot friend ThePlatoonAdvantage has built an amazin’ tree connecting Jon Matlack to the drafting of David Wright.
On MetsMerizedOnline, there is a comprehensive analysis of the drafts overseen by Omar Minaya, Paul DePodesta, and J.P. Ricciardi over the past 10 years. And guess what? Omar comes out looking a lot better than you might guess.
Greg Prince would like the Mets to act like a New York team.
Kerel Cooper wonders if David Wright should bat fifth.
John Delcos posts memories of Hobie Landrith and Willie Mays.
Finally, Mike Steffanos compares 2005 to 2011 — and misses the optimism of 6 years ago.
A few Mets-related links from around the information superhighway …
Jose Reyes is on pace to have a truly historic year — one that would finish with at least 50 doubles and 25 triples. How many times has that happened before? Never. Whether he can keep it up remains to be seen, but playing half his games at Citi Field makes it plausible.
Former Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels is expected to be arrested soon. Didn’t that already happen? Guess not.
Josh Thole may have trouble giving signs to Mike Pelfrey, but not to his deaf dog (which is pretty damn cool). Makes you wonder who REALLY has the communication problem, eh?
Though, Josh hasn’t been so happy communicating on Twitter, so he’s given it up. Can’t really blame him, considering all the “colorful” tweets sent his way.
Eric Simon asks the question nearly every Mets fan has been asking for years: why must bad hitters bat second? (Though, it would be easy enough to have good hitters in the two-hole, if the Mets would simply find a good-hitting second baseman … ha!)
Finally, Jeff Francoeur makes some suggestions for altering the Citi Field dimensions.
The Mets will send the following lineup to face Rockies righthander Jason Hammel.
Jose Reyes – SS
Daniel Murphy – 2B
David Wright – 3B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Ike Davis – 1B
Jason Bay – LF
Ronny Paulino – C
Jason Pridie – CF
Mike Pelfrey – P
Interesting to see Paulino catching with the righty on the mound.
Remember this quote — it is Bud Selig speaking on ESPN Radio:
“I feel very comfortable that we are going to have a very reasoned economic solution. … We carefully watch [the Mets’] situation, talk to people every day. They are approaching it the way I would approach it, quite frankly. They are looking to add equity and I absolutely have not a scintilla of doubt that that’s going to work out well and we can move on.”
Additionally, Selig insisted that there “isn’t anything” that would cause him to take over the Mets in the same way MLB recently took over the Dodgers’ operations.
Kicking the tires on Kevin Millwood seems to be an annual activity for the New York Mets. Though, in previous seasons, he was considered as a pitcher who might be a “final piece” to help the Mets gain a postseason appearance.
This time, the situation is different for the Mets, and Millwood has changed as well since the days he was seen as a puzzle completer. Yet the two remain a match.
