Phillies 4 Mets 1

So much for taking over first place this weekend.

Fernando Nieve was decent, if unspectacular, allowing 3 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. But, he allowed six hits and walked another six, so every inning was a struggle. About what you might expect from a fill-in fifth starter facing the Phillies.

Meanwhile, the Mets offense was nonexistent. Jamie Moyer and four Phillies relievers held the lineup to six hits, one walk, and one run. Not even Brad Lidge could blow the game; he threw a perfect ninth to earn his 15th save.

Notes

The ghost of Marv Throneberry rode again in this game. We witnessed dropped popups, missed cutoff men, overthrows, improper backup alignment, and myriad other mistakes.

What’s important to note, however, is that few if any of these mistakes would have been avoided if the “cavalry” was on the field. We’ve been discussing the fundamental flaws of this team for two years now. The only difference is that with Beltran, Reyes, Delgado, etc., there is a better chance of the Mets erasing their snafus with scoring.

Alex Cora had three of the Mets’ six hits.

Fernando Nieve drove in the only Mets run with a bloop single.

Jimmy Rollins is in the midst of the worst year of his career, hitting only .216. But, he’s hitting more than 40 points higher than that vs. the Mets, and has more RBI (7) against them than any other opponent.

Next Mets Game

The phinale with the Phillies begins at 1:35 PM on Sunday afternoon. Johan Santana pitches against Joe Blanton.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Hope you are not reading this until after chowing down massive amounts of hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and apple pie, and downing a few choice beverages.

Just wanted to address something, as there is a lot of anger about the Mets — and every other MLB team — wearing red hats this weekend.

First, they are NOT leftover Phillies hats. They’re hats produced specifically to honor our military veterans and troops (well, “our” meaning “US” … I wonder how the Blue Jays fans feel about this?).

Second, MLB is not raking in extra profits as a result of the sales of these special hats. Quite the contrary, in fact.

In a remarkably uncharacteristic move, MLB is donating ALL proceeds of the sales of these hats, AND kicking in an extra dollar for every hat sold, to Welcome Back Veterans, a program which addresses the mental health and job needs of returning American Veterans.

From MLB.com:

Welcome Back Veterans was created by New York Mets Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Wilpon and a group of private citizens. Supported by Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Advanced Media and the McCormick Foundation, the goal of Welcome Back Veterans is to raise $100 million and provide 100,000 job opportunities for Veterans.

With its second round of grants in April 2009, Welcome Back Veterans has awarded $5.5 million in grants to 24 non-profit agencies across the country targeting veterans’ greatest needs, including mental health and job training/placement. Welcome Back Veterans has teamed with the University Hospitals of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, the University of Michigan and Stanford University, which are developing treatment procedures for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health issues of returning Veterans and their families. In addition, Welcome Back Veterans is working closely with corporate America to provide 100,000 job opportunities for returning Veterans.

For additional information on Welcome Back Veterans, please go to www.welcomebackveterans.org.

Hard to believe, I know. Usually Bud Selig and the Wilpons are trying to suck every last dollar from our pockets in the name of profit. But in this case, it appears that the right thing is being done.

Additionally, it’s helpful to know that Bernie Madoff can’t be managing the Welcom Back Veterans funds from his jail cell.