The Mets (26-25) take on the Padres (30-20) tonight in San Deigo. Hisanori Takahashi (4-1, 4.23) looks to continue his recent success against Kevin Correia (4-4, 4.03).

Takahashi has been excellent in his only starts of the season – allowing five hits in six scoreless innings against both the Yankees and Phillies. He should find his job a bit easier tonight against a relatively weak Padres lineup in spacious Petco Park.

Correia has been solid for San Diego so far this season, especially in Petco. While pitching at home, he has allowed more than 3 earned runs only once. That rough start came after a 12-day layoff, following the untimely death of his brother. Last season, Correia was 4-6 at home with a 3.68 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a .236 BA.

Here is the lineup, as per the Mets PR team:

Jose Reyes- SS
Alex Cora – 2B
Jason Bay – LF
Ike Davis – 1B
David Wright – 3B
Angel Pagan – CF
Rod Barajas – C
Jeff Francoeur – RF
Hisanori Takahashi – LHP

First pitch at 10:05pm Eastern.

Discuss…

And feel free to leave links to any Mets-related links you’d like to discuss. That includes Tweets, Twitpics, articles, videos… etc. That’s why it’s called an OPEN thread…

In an earlier post, I outlined some of the possibilities surrounding the future of Oliver Perez. Mike Puma of the NY Post reports that several Mets players want Ollie gone asap. One of the unnamed players had a great line about how the Mets might use Ollie if he stays in the bullpen:

“What, we need another 20-inning game and then use him after we’ve used all our pitchers and if a position player’s sinker isn’t biting?” the player said.

With the Mets suddenly in the thick of the NL East race with a 26-25 record, they continue to look for an answer to the Oliver Perez situation. Right now, Ollie is languishing in the bullpen after refusing to go to Buffalo to work out his problems in AAA. Neither the Mets nor Team Ollie (population: Scott Boras) wants to see Perez in the bullpen, but he will remain there until someone blinks.

So what can be done?

ESPN’s Adam Rubin is reporting that the Mets still think they can get Perez to accept a minor league assignment. But even if Ollie accepts the assignment, there is no guarantee it would work. Going to AAA might help Ollie by forcing him to focus, but the move could just as easily embarrass him and send his mental state spinning off in another direction, even farther from where he needs to be.

Mike Flam of The New York Times thinks the Mets should take a different path with their troubled southpaw. Rather than demote Ollie, Flam suggests the Mets might be better off releasing Perez. He points out that the Tigers recently got rid of their own troubled southpaw when they designated Dontrelle Willis for assignment.

Bill Price of The Daily News thinks the Mets should consider a Willis-for-Perez swap, basically trading one troubled lefty for another. A change of scenery is a longshot, but it could be the only solution left for either pitcher.

What do you think the Mets should do with Ollie?

ESPN New York – To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first episode of “Seinfeld,” Mark Simon has a list of the show’s many Mets references.

OnTheBlack – Kerel Cooper highlights the many streaks of the 2010 New York Mets. It’s been a roller coaster ride, to say the least.

Daily News – Matt Gagne has a great article about R.A. Dickey’s life as a journeyman knuckleballer. (Note: Check out Jim Bouton’s “Ball Four” if you want to read about the day-to-day madness of being a journeyman knuckleballer)

The Mets Police – Shannon Shark relieves the infamous Tom Seaver trade, via Faith and Fear in Flushing and this SI article.

ESPN – Adam Rubin reports that Padres closer Heath Bell is still sore at the Mets on account of how he was treated in his days with the team. He seems to have a point, but it might be time to let it go, dontcha think?

Daily News – Bill Madden thinks Omar Minaya has done a better job than Brian Cashman so far this season. It’s a long season, Bill. And Cashman has a pretty lengthy track record of putting solid teams on the field. Just sayin…

*Bonus Link* Hangin’ ’em up – After reading the Tom Seaver article at Mets Police, I looked up Steve Henderson’s career stats… which led me to Henderson’s stint with the Senior Professional Baseball Association (SPBA)… The SPBA was a short-lived over-35 professional baseball league. In the league’s first season, George Foster led the league with 11 home runs, followed by Dave Kingman (8), and Bobby Bonds (5).

Mets 10 Brewers 4

The game was a little closer than the final score would indicate.

The Brewers and Mets swapped leads early in the contest, until the Mets pulled ahead 4-2 in the sixth, then extended it to 6-2 in the seventh against Jeff Suppan, then trounced Zach Braddock for another four runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away.

Game Notes

R.A. Dickey is starting to make a case to remain in the rotation indefinitely. He tossed 7 full innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and no walks, striking out 3. Not the most brilliant outing ever, but the Mets could use a starter who can provide that kind of length on a consistent basis.

If I told you that a Mets starter would pitch 7 innings and not walk a batter, would you guess it to be a knuckleballer?

Jeff Francoeur had a chat with Jerry Manuel after Saturday night’s game and went 4-for-4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. Cause and effect or coincidence? If the former, then is Jerry to blame for Francoeur’s extended slump? Considering that Frenchy was hitting .400 in the four games previous to his meeting with Manuel, I’m betting on the latter. But I won’t be surprised to hear/see a ton of hype about how Manuel got Francoeur back on track.

Henry Blanco also had a big day, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI. He also threw out Carlos Gomez attempting to steal.

Angel Pagan collected another two hits, including his fourth homer of the season.

Jonathan Lucroy struggled behind the plate for the Brewers, halting the game with incessant mound conferences and unable to get into a rhythm with starter Randy Wolf nor most of the Milwaukee relievers. To be that much of a distraction can negatively affect an entire pitching staff — remember Omir Santos? Don’t be surprised to see the Brew Crew pick up a veteran backstop such as Paul Lo Duca, or deal for someone like Chris Iannetta.

Next Mets Game

The Mets head further west, playing the Padres in San Diego on Monday night. Hisanori Takahashi goes to the mound against Kevin Correia. Game time is 10:05 PM EST. Ugh.

Can the Mets avoid a sweep in Milwaukee?

Brewers 8 Mets 6

My wife summed it up perfectly: a long game is OK if it’s interesting. But when it’s not, it’s like you had your Saturday night stolen from you.

Although there were 14 runs scored, and although the Mets were within 2 runs for the last half of the game, the contest did more to suck the life out of you than provide entertainment. 345 pitches and 10 walks over 3 hours and 28 minutes can do that. Had it not been for an Ike Davis three-run homer to cut the lead to two, I might’ve flipped the remote to Fried Green Tomatoes by the fifth inning.

Game Notes

Jerry Manuel’s managerial decisions were mind-boggling, beginning with the decision to start Fernando Nieve. I realize that Nieve made a request to audition as a starter, but that didn’t mean Manuel had to appease him. Nieve was terrible, despite reaching 95 MPH on the radar gun. It took him nearly 50 pitches to complete the first frame, which was highlighted by a Corey Hart grand slam. The final line was 2 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 ER — and 5 Ks. But that’s to be expected from a relief pitcher who was burned out by the end of April. My guess is Nieve is so worn out he can’t even feel his fingers.

Oliver Perez followed in Nieve’s footsteps, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in the next two innings.

Offensively, the Mets weren’t terrible — at the beginning. But they petered out after Ike’s blast. Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur, and Angel Pagan all had two hits apiece. Of those four, only Bay didn’t have a stolen base.

Rollie Fingers is back with the Brewers closing out games. Actually, that’s not true — but his waxed handlebar mustache has returned to Milwaukee for save situations, attaching itself to the upper lip of a fireballer named John Axford.

Next Mets Game

Mets avoid the sweep in Milwaukee by sending R.A. Dickey to the mound against Randy Wolf. Game time is 2:10 PM. If it’s between staying at home to watch the game and going to a barbecue, I recommend the BBQ. Fry up some green tomatoes.

Fire away …