A few days ago we were told that Ryan Church had been progressing with his “baseball activities” and as a result would be returning to the Mets “soon”. At the same time, we were given the message that “there was no timetable” for his return.

After taking batting practice yesterday, however, Church’s return became “not optimistic” according to Mets manager Jerry Manuel.

But that’s OK, because Fernando Tatis is showing no signs of letting up, and rookie Daniel Murphy is hitting .455. So if by chance Church returns, it will be gravy.

But wait, Matt Cerrone says Church looked strong in batting practice yesterday, and much hinges on his evaluation later today.

This back and forth thing is eerily familiar … didn’t we get similarly mixed messages regarding Pedro Martinez, Orlando Hernandez, Moises Alou, Angel Pagan, and Jose Valentin? Sometimes I feel like a yo-yo.

Padres 4 Mets 2

Pedro Martinez made a valiant effort, but the Mets’ bats couldn’t support it.

The Mets bats were shut down by Cha Seung Baek, he of the 5.03 ERA and the same man who allowed 9 runs in the 9 2/3 innings he threw in his last two starts. But hand it to the Mets to be completely baffled by a no-name, never-saw’em-before hurler.

Pedro “Real” fought his way into the seventh before yielding to Pedro “Lite”. The final line for Martinez: 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 ER, 2 HR, 101 pitches. Certainly, a strong enough performance to win.

Unfortunately, the Mets could manage only two runs, despite a 3-for-5 day by rookie Daniel Murphy, who was hitting in the two-hole. The first three batters in the lineup reached base six times in the game, but hitters 4 and 5 — the two Carloses — were hitless. Hard to win games when you don’t push runners home.

Notes

Despite the relative success of his outing, I do NOT like the way Pedro looks. His arm angle is way too low on release, not unlike Aaron Heilman’s problem when he’s fatigued. Before the shoulder injury, Martinez had a low three-quarter release, but his fingers stayed on top of the baseball at release. In his last two starts, his elbow has dropped below shoulder level, making it almost impossible to keep his fingers on top of the ball at release. If the fingers are at the side, then movement tends to be side-to-side. More importantly, the fingers can easily get under the ball at release, which causes the ball to be up in the zone, with no downward movement whatsoever. That explains the gopher balls. Simple physics and biomechanics — when the fingers are on top of the ball, and the release point is out in front of the head, you get downward movement. Pedro is often off to the side or under the ball, and releasing a little early / behind the head.

Eddie Kunz gave up the first homerun of his professional career, and first since his freshman year at Oregon State, at age 19, in 2005. That worries me a bit — as a reliever, one needs to be unflappable, and be able to recover from adversity. Kunz hasn’t seen much adversity in his baseball career, and WILL see it at the MLB level.

Was David Wright on drugs during this game? Or perhaps he needs some (greenies) ? Wright made a critical error in the seventh to allow the Padres to score the go-ahead run, and an inning before was blazing around the bases thinking there were two outs on a pop fly (there was one). I vaguely remember Jerry “Jenius” Manuel talking about how all of his starters would be getting regular rest under his regime. Wright was given a day off on June 24th and had two homers the next day. Since then? No rest for the weary. Not for Wright, nor Reyes (who hasn’t rested since April 13th). Carlos Beltran has had one day off — July 3rd.

Wright must have gotten a cup of joe from the “special” pot between innings, because he made a great diving stab of a liner in the eighth to rob Luis Rodriguez of a hit.

Next Game

The Mets and Padres finish the series in an early afternoon game at Shea. First pitch will be thrown at 12:10 pm, with Johan Santana scheduled to face Josh Banks.

Mets 6 Padres 5

Maybe Fernando Tatis IS the answer in the outfield after all.

Tatis blasted two homeruns, driving in the Mets’ first four runs, in leading the Mets to a much-needed victory over the Padres.

On the mound, Mike Pelfrey allowed only 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, spreading out nine Padres hits and one walk. The runs scored on two solo homers — one by Kevin Kouzmanoff and the other by Adrian Gonzalez.

Luckily, the Mets were able to tack on two extra runs from sources other than Tatis — ironically, both from deep doubles off the bats of the “other” corner outfielders, Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans. It would figure, since I publicly announced my lack of confidence in all three on MetsBlog about 24 hours before the game. But hey, if that’s what it takes, I’ll be happy to look the fool.

The ninth inning was an adventure, as Aaron Heilman began the frame with a 6-2 lead but exited the game with the score 6-5 and only one out on the board. He wasn’t helped by a poorly played Texas Leaguer behind second base that set up a three-run homer off the bat of Jody Gerut. However, Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis came to the rescue, getting the last two outs to save the win.

Notes

While we knew Billy Wagner was unavailable (he was put on the 15-day DL prior to the game), I would imagine that he would NOT have been called upon to start the ninth inning, since it wasn’t a save situation. That said, it’s curious that Heilman — anointed the “interim closer” by “interim manager” Jerry Manuel — was called upon to start the frame. If he’s the “closer”, why is he pitching in a non-save situation? Once again an inconsistency in Manuel’s supposed bullpen roles has been identified.

Regardless, Heilman did not pitch effectively, and nearly blew the game. Looking at his face after the Gerut blast, his confidence is shot. This has happened too many times, to the point where we must consider that late-inning relief is something he cannot handle — emotionally nor physically. This is not an indictment on Heilman’s character — not everyone has the gumption, thick skin, and “rubber arm” necessary to succeed as a setup man and/or closer. At the same time, he has great stuff that shouldn’t be wasted. So hopefully the Mets will smarten up and move him back to starting after this season.

Speaking of late-inning relief, my wife had an outstanding point: why wasn’t Eddie Kunz brought in to start the ninth? Since it wasn’t a save situation, the Mets had a four-run lead, and there were plenty of arms to rescue him, it appeared to be an ideal spot to give Kunz a shot. Remarkably, Kunz was warming up at the very end of the game, with Schoeneweis on the mound with two outs and a one-run lead. Presumably, Kunz would have come in to relieve Scho if Scho did not retire either Brian Giles or Adrian Gonzalez to end the game. Are you kidding me? So, you don’t bring in Kunz to start the inning with a cushy lead, but you’ll have him come in with the go-ahead run on base? Wild, crazy stuff.

In the third inning, the Mets had a chance to put a toll on Chris Young, as Mike Pelfrey led off with a 9-pitch at-bat before grounding out to second. Two batters later, rookie Daniel Murphy saw 9 pitches as well before walking. That’s 18 pitches between two batters. Unfortunately, the two veterans who hit in the inning — Jose Reyes and David Wright — both popped out swinging on the first pitch they saw. So what could have easily been a 25-30+ pitch inning, instead turned out to be Young getting very lucky after wasting a number of pitches and effort on the two least-experienced batters in the Mets’ lineup. In other words, the Mets let him off the hook. Little things like this are often the difference between a win and a loss, particularly in close ballgames.

In case you missed it, Nick Hundley is not related to Todd nor Randy, despite the fact he’s a backstop. And for the record, former MLB catcher Eric Munson is not related to Thurman Munson, either.

Next Game

The Mets host the Friars for another 7:10 pm game on Wednesday night. Pedro Martinez is scheduled to start against Cha Seung Baek.

Last month I had a piece of humble pie in honor of Mike Pelfrey‘s dramatic turnaround as a starting pitcher. May I add it was delicious.

Today for breakfast I am having TWO LARGE HELPINGS of humble pie in honor of Carlos Delgado and his recent rejuvenation in all phases of the game. Loyal readers of MetsToday know I have strong opinions and often stick my neck out in making bold claims, predictions, and criticisms. As such, I’m just as quick to admit when I’m wrong as when I pat myself on the back on those few occasions I’m right.

And I was completely dead wrong about Delgado. In fact, I was downright nasty toward what I perceived as a poor attitude, lack of leadership, and questionable effort. Nasty might not even be a harsh enough description — I did, after all, refer to him as “poisonous”.

Interestingly enough, Delgado’s resurgence can be tracked to the day after that June 5th post — when he was hitting .229 with a .386 slugging percentage. On June 7th, he went 3-for-4, and on June 8th, he went 3-for-5, and things started “clicking”. Move ahead to today, and he’s lifted his batting average 40 points, to .268, and his slugging over 100 points, to .499, hitting 15 homers along the way.

In short, Delgado has reinvented himself as the fearsome slugger we knew in 2006 — while also becoming a tough out who goes the other way when behind on the count. Just as inspiring, he’s been getting his uniform dirty, hustling out of the box and around the bases, and even speaks to the media after games (the games won, at least).

Thank you, Carlos, for proving me wrong and making me look like an arse. I am happy to eat as many slices of humble pie as you deem necessary.

The Mets didn’t make a move at the trading deadline … but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have an opinion!

Head over to Live From Mickey Mantle’s to listen to what fantasy guru Lenny Melnick, Gotham Baseball‘s Mark Healey, and I had to say about the trades made and not made.

You can let the show stream on your PC, or download it for listening later.

Please note the show was done in two 45-minute parts, so be sure to download both.

Feel free to post your comments regarding the show here, below.

Let’s stop pretending that the Mets “are fine” with the corner outfield situation. They’re not. Nick Evans is overmatched, and has shown nothing in his past to suggest he’ll suddenly become the #5 or #6 power hitter the Mets so desperately need right now. Dan Murphy has the unknown on his side, but, like Evans, isn’t exactly on a talent level that one would compare to, say, a young Darryl Strawberry. Further, since being handed a regular job, Fernando Tatis is hitting .238. Add in the fact that Ryan Church couldn’t take batting practice the other day, and now has “no timetable” for his return, and suddenly there is a mild panic regarding left and right fields.

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a concern if Carlos Beltran were living up to his $18.6M salary this year. However, he’s been moved to the #2 spot in the order, leaving the middle of the order devoid of yet another potential run producer. And perhaps we wouldn’t worry so much if we knew Ramon Castro would be in the lineup against lefties, but he just suffered a “mild ankle sprain”, which based on the medical info we’ve received from the Mets this year, may as well be a broken leg. In other words, the bottom of the lineup will be featuring two “automatic outs” — the pitcher and whomever is catching. That means there is even more pressure on the #5 through #7 hitters to drive in runs.

I have an idea, though, and it’s fairly realistic. It’s based on a suggestion made on July 30th involving the Orioles, and makes more sense for the Mets every day.

The Mets can trade a few of their “lesser” prospects — say, anyone other than Jon Niese and Fernando Martinez — in return for Chad Bradford, Aubrey Huff, and Ramon Hernandez. In Bradford you have an adequate reliever who can pitch in just about any situation, and has been successful with the Mets previously. Huff is the power bat you need in one of the corners, and Hernandez gives you a solid catcher with more potential to hit than Brian Schneider. Hernandez can also play some first base, as can Huff.

All three of these veterans should pass through waivers due to their hefty contracts, which continue through 2009. Though, Bradford may be tough to slip through considering the dearth of quality relievers available. (Funny, ChadBrad’s $3.5M for ’09 looks like a bargain now, compared to when the Mets thought his contract was “overpriced”.) Why would the Orioles give up those three players in return for a less than elite package of prospects? Same reason they’ll pass through waivers — hefty contracts. Huff will make $6.75M next year and Hernandez is owed a minimum of $9M in ’09. Both players will be 33 years old next season, and therefore don’t figure into the O’s rebuilding plans. Further, Hernandez is merely keeping the position warm for phenom Matt Wieters, who is ripping the ball at a .354 clip between high-A and AA ball this year. Wieters should be ready to take over behind the plate some time this year, certainly by Opening Day 2009 — making Hernandez an expensive caddy. He’s only hitting .250 but his 12 HRs are more than all Mets catchers combined, and if Castro’s ankle injury is more serious than the Mets are letting on, his potential pop would be a welcome addition to the lineup.

What, if anything, is keeping this deal from happening? Pride. By reacquiring Bradford, Minaya would be admitting the mistake in letting him go to begin with. But, there’s a good chance ChadBrad won’t pass through waivers anyway, so if the Mets can swing a deal to get the two bats, at least the lineup holes will be plugged. They might have enough arms in the system to alleviate the pitching problems.