Tonight’s Mets Lineup vs. Pirates

This is the lineup the Mets are sending to the plate against Pirates righthander Kevin Correia:

Angel Pagan – CF
Justin Turner – 2B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Jason Bay – LF
Daniel Murphy – 1B
Ronny Paulino – C
Willie Harris – 3B
Ruben Tejada – SS
Chris Capuano – P

Personally I’d prefer to have seen Nick Evans in there again, but it’s more important to get Willie Harris’ slick glove at the hot corner and his lefthanded bat in the lineup right now than find out if Evans will ever hit righthanders. Mildly strange, though, not to see Josh Thole behind the dish with the righty on the mound. Is it possible that Capuano prefers to work with Paulino? Inquiring minds want to know …

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Ike Davis Re-Booted and Other Injury Updates

Every time my computer acts up, the IT department tells me the first thing I should do is “re-boot”.

It appears the Mets are following a similar strategy with disabled first baseman Ike Davis, who is going back into a boot for three weeks — though possibly longer.

Unfortunately, that likely means he will be out of a Mets uniform for at least 5 weeks, since you have to figure in the “back to baseball activities” part of the process and the minor league rehab assignment. Supporting that theory is Sandy Alderson’s statement that he “hopes” Davis will be back before the All-Star Break.

In other injury-related news, David Wright will get an X-ray on Thursday to determine when he can return to baseball activities. So hopefully we’ll get an update tomorrow.

One bit of injury news that may have flown under the radar — I certainly missed it — was that Angel Pagan’s strained oblique was not a strained oblique, but rather, a stress fracture in his ribs. Oops. I guess an X-ray wasn’t part of the examination process early on.

Meanwhile, R.A. Dickey is going to grin and bear it through his plantar fascia tear; it didn’t seem to affect his pitching last night.

Finally, though he’s not injured, Jose Reyes is expected to return to the Mets tomorrow night. Terry Collins has indicated that temporary leadoff hitter Angel Pagan would not bat second upon Reyes’ return, but is more likely to be placed somewhere lower in the lineup. I suppose as long as Justin Turner remains hot, that makes sense.

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Mets Game 54: Loss to Pirates

Pirates 5 Mets 1

For seven innings, R.A. Dickey’s dancing dipsy-doodle devoured the Pittsburgh Pirates batters. If this were a high school game, Dickey would’ve finished with a shutout victory. Unfortunately, they play nine-inning contests in the Major Leagues.
Continue reading

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Tonight’s Mets Lineup vs. Pirates

Here is tonight’s Mets lineup against Pirates righthander James McDonald:

Angel Pagan – CF
Justin Turner – 2B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Jason Bay – LF
Daniel Murphy – 3B
Nick Evans – 1B
Josh Thole – C
Ruben Tejada – SS
R.A. Dickey – P

Happy to see hot-hitting Angel Pagan in the leadoff spot.

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Buster Posey: What Should Change?

On Twitter, my friend JamesK from AmazinAvenue tweeted:

I’d like to hear @metstoday’s opinion on the Buster Posey situation and any rule changes going forward.

Since I’m a huge fan of Buster Posey, but the subject doesn’t really fit into a Mets blog, I posted my opinion over at my other blog, OnBaseball.com. It’s the lead story, so if you are interested in my take on the Buster Posey situation, go ahead and check it out.

Many thanks to James K. for making the request.

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What Was Fred Wilpon’s Endgame?

You may have been wondering why it’s taken me so long to respond to the quotes by Fred Wilpon in the recent New Yorker and SI articles. There were a few reasons. Continue reading

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Mets Game 53: Win Over Pirates

Mets 7 Pirates 3

The Mets extend their winning streak to two games with a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Continue reading

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Tonight’s Mets Lineup vs. Pirates

Here is tonight’s Mets lineup to face Pirates righthander Charlie Morton:

Willie Harris – 3B
Justin Turner – 2B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Daniel Murphy – 1B
Angel Pagan – CF
Josh Thole – C
Jason Pridie – LF
Ruben Tejada – SS
Dillon Gee – P

It seems like whenever I knock Willie Harris, he reaches base four times. But I don’t care about those blips beyond the mean — with Jose Reyes and David Wright out of the lineup, I want Angel Pagan getting a guaranteed at-bat in the first inning. In fact, I probably want Pagan somewhere in the top three even with Reyes and Wright in the lineup. But that’s just me.

Question: if Willie Harris and Justin Turner flipped positions, would Harris be batting second?

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