Mets 4 Diamondbacks 1

The Mets won two games in a row for the first time since April 3, improving their record to 7-13 behind the fine pitching of Mike Pelfrey.

After seeing him struggle mightily in his first four starts of the season, we as Mets fans naturally would like to see Mike Pelfrey pitch well for a change.

However, if he does pitch well, there could be a drama brewing behind the scenes.

Because tonight, Mike Nickeas gets another start behind the plate. It could be argued that he’s in the lineup because Arizona starter Joe Saunders is a lefty, and Josh Thole struggles against lefties. Fair point.

Additionally, Nickeas hit his first MLB homer last night, and seems to be swinging the bat well. Again, fair point.

Also, there is the idea that the Mets just won for the first time in a week, so why mess with success? Trot out that same lineup again if you can.

All good points, I’m sure you agree. But, there’s another less-obvious reason why Nickeas should be getting the start, and might be getting another start five days from now: his ability to communicate.

Those who watched last night’s win no doubt noticed that Chris Capuano pitched well, and rarely shook off Nickeas — the two had a good rapport, and Capuano was apparently pleased with Nickeas’ game calling. In contrast, Thole and Pelfrey have had some trouble being “on the same page” — to the point where Pelfrey all but criticized Thole’s pitch selections. One must wonder: if there was a righthander on the mound for Arizona tonight, and Nickeas hadn’t hit his first big-league homer, would Nickeas still be getting the start? More importantly, if Pelfrey goes out and pitches six or seven strong innings, and Nickeas gains his trust, what does that mean for Josh Thole?

Nickeas caught Pelfrey in his last start against Atlanta, and the end result wasn’t anything to write home about — 5 innings, 11 hits, one walk, 4 earned runs. Despite the high hit total, I saw a mild improvement in the consistency of his mechanics and in turn, his command — might that have been because he was less concerned with the fingers thrown down by Nickeas and therefore able to focus on repeating his delivery? I could be reaching, but it’s a possibility.

Considering how important Pelfrey is to the Mets’ rotation, it will be interesting to see what transpires tonight. If Pelfrey struggles again, I would think that the Mets consider sending him to the bullpen — or the minors — to work on things when Chris Young comes off the DL. If Big Pelf has a strong outing, Mike Nickeas may find himself with another start behind the plate in five days — regardless of who pitches for the opposition. In turn, Ronny Paulino may be held back in rehab for another day or so.

Tonight’s Mets lineup against lefthander Joe Saunders of the Diamondbacks:

Jose Reyes – SS
Dan Murphy – 2B
David Wright – 3B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Jason Bay – LF
Ike Davis – 1B
Mike Nickeas – C
Jason Pridie – CF
Mike Pelfrey – P

I’m a little surprised to see the lefthanded-hitting Pridie starting in center against the lefty Saunders. Wasn’t part of the point of signing Scott Hairston that he could capably play all three outfield positions? If all Hairston is going to do is pinch-hit and occasionally botch balls in left field, I’m not sure why the Mets spent $1.1M for him.

Nice to see Nickeas back in the lineup, after hitting his first MLB homer.

According to the lineup distributed by the Mets’ PR department, Jason Pridie is batting eighth and playing centerfield.

Adam Rubin tweeted that Pridie has been promoted and Angel Pagan is likely to be going to the DL.

Pridie was hitting .186 with a .226 OBP through 58 at-bats with Buffalo. However, he has hit 3 HR. I hope he still has that crazy beard.

The 8-9 Diamondbacks are coming off a loss to the Reds as they enter Flushing to face the Mets in a three-game series.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups.

What is Bud Selig’s definition of “the best interest of baseball” ?

We know the clause is subjective and can be loosely interpreted depending on the commissioner’s end goal (be it Bud Selig, Bowie Kuhn, Ford Frick, or any other MLB commissioner.). So if we had to guess, what does the term mean today, in Bud Selig’s mind?

I ask because there appears to be some inconsistency with the way Selig is handling the situation in Los Angeles compared to how he is handling a similar case in Flushing. In fact, there seems always to be inconsistency, if you look at what happened in the past in Montreal, Texas, Miami, and Washington DC; there have been books written about that, so I won’t reinvent the wheel here — see the one to the left or anything written by Andrew Zimbalist.

The Dodgers are in a financial mess, as are the Mets. Why is it in baseball’s “best interests” to take over the Dodgers but not the Mets?

In case you missed it, Rule 5 pick and Opening Day second baseman Brad Emaus was returned to the Toronto Blue Jays; he will report to AAA Las Vegas.

For those unaware, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

I find it mildly surprising that