Mets 4 Reds 2

An entertaining game from start to finish. And once again, the Mets reach that tantalizing .500 mark.

The Mets are in Cincinnati to play the Reds. Here is the lineup they will send to bat against Reds pitcher Mike Leake:

Jose Reyes – SS
Justin Turner – 2B
Carlos Beltran – RF
David Wright – 3B
Dan Murphy – 1B
Jason Bay – LF
Josh Thole – C
Jason Pridie – CF
R.A. Dickey – P

Pridie is in centerfield because Angel Pagan is still suffering symptoms of heat exhaustion / fatigue. I like seeing Pridie in the lineup — he seems to make the most of the opportunities he gets. I kind of wish Ronny Paulino was behind the plate, though. I’m not convinced that Thole needs to be the designated “knuckleball catcher”.

The Baseball Gods have given us Met fans a fun treat today. Two relievers whom evoke completely differently emotional responses share the same birthday. Since he used to set up for Wagner, it is only appropriate that we start with Guillermo Mota. Omar Minaya decided to trade for his services in 2006 after being designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians. He pitched well enough after being acquired, posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings, helping solidify the 8th inning. In the offseason, Mota got hit with a 50-game suspension for testing position for performance-enhancing drugs. Minaya decided to sign him to a 2-year deal despite this (apparently not putting together the reasoning behind his success). To no one’s surprise, he was terrible and was hated almost as soon as he stepped on the mound.

In 59.1 innings with the Mets, Mota posted an ugly 5.76 ERA and gave up 8 gopher balls. In November of 2007, Minaya parted ways with his investment and shipped him to the Brewers for Johnny Estrada. Thanks for PED-assisted 2006 Mota, and Happy 38th Birthday!

The Sandman (Flushing version) enters now as the birthday boy. Only in New York can the tabloids make a controversy out of music that closers choose. On November 29 of 2005, Billy Wagner was plucked off the free agent market to shore up our closer situation. Despite having a tendency to blow saves in important games (much like Trevor Hoffman), Wagner had a nice run with the Metropolitans. He had save totals of 40, 34, and 27 and his ERA never rose above 2.63. Happy Birthday Billy “The Kid” Wagner!

Carlos Beltran is still on Trade Watch, Johan Santana threw a bullpen session, David Wright returned in a clutchy way over the weekend, and the Mets continue their tango with .500.

Here’s the roundup:

• Midwestropolitan has some 2012 advice for Sandy Alderson.  Hint: It has nothing to do with the Mayan calendar.
• Adam Rubin of ESPN recaps Wright’s 6-RBI weekend.
• Faith and Fear in Flushing examines and contrasts the growing pains of Bobby Parnell, Dillon Gee, and Daniel Murphy.
• Hardball Times takes a look at new Hall-of-Famer Roberto Alomar’s career highlights.  One of his two Mets highlights is a base on balls in a 10-0 loss.  That about sums it up.
• The ‘Ropolitans has our daily tribute to Beltran.
• Loge 13 marks the 35th anniversary of a Jethro Tull concert at Shea Stadium.
• The Eddie Kranepool Society reminds us to stay two full car lengths behind Parnell, since he’s still a closer-in-training.

Happy reading, and keep hitting that refresh button on Mets Today for all the latest Mets news.

Terry Collins, like any good manager, is thinking a few innings ahead, a few days ahead and a few trades ahead. The Mets manager has begun contemplating what he will say after the big Carlos Beltran trade expected this week.

According to the NY Times Collins said:

“I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to say and how I’m going to say it when the time comes, because they better understand, it’s not a white flag. They better understand they still have something to prove. This is the major leagues, and if you give in at any time, the other team will kick your butt.

One of the young players Collins will address his message to is Bobby Parnell. The future closer’s job is at stake here for Parnell and Collins would like the team to stay competitive. “There’s some guys in there fighting for jobs now,” Collins said.There are also some guys who will be free agents at the end of the year and are looking to impress.

Mets fans can only hope all players on the roster, regardless of future role or team, play hard every game and finish with a winning record.

If you have been following this blog for a while, you may remember a few posts we did a few months ago with kinesiologist Angel Borrelli, who specializes in the biomechanics of the pitching motion.

You might also have been wondering why we haven’t heard from Angel since then. Well, she’s been busy!

For one, she was helping Giants pitcher Barry Zito get back on track. Zito had been on the disabled list since mid-April with a sprained foot. While on the DL, he thought it might be a good use of his time to fix his mechanics — so he re-hired Angel to help him do that (he originally worked with Angel back in 2005). Zito’s been back now for a few weeks, and pitched well in three of his four starts since his return. How much of that is thanks to Angel? Hard to say, as she works only on his motion — not his pitches nor pitch selection. But I would guess that Zito is probably throwing more safely and efficiently now.

Here is an update on Angel Borrelli from a news program local to the Bay-Area:

Remember when the Mets allowed Pedro Feliciano to move crosstown to the Bronx as a free agent? Well, in return for losing the LOOGY, the Mets received a supplemental pick after the first round of the draft this past June, and they used it to draft high school pitcher Michael Fulmer. According to Baseball America, Fulmer has signed with the Mets for a little under a million dollars — $937,500 to be exact.

Fulmer is 6’2″, 200 pounds, righthanded, and reportedly throws in the mid-90s. I haven’t seen much of him other than the few videos around the internet so can’t comment. You can see for yourself in this youTube video: