The Mets have announced that Fernando Tatis has been placed on the 15-day DL with a right shoulder AC joint sprain and that lefthanded pitcher Raul Valdes has been recalled from Buffalo. Valdes will wear #22 and will be available for tonight’s game vs. Cincinnati. Tatis will undergo further testing at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery tomorrow.

Funny, I had nearly forgotten that Tatis was still on the roster.

Valdes gives the Mets another relief pitcher that Jerry Manuel won’t use, and is expected to sit next to Fernando Nieve in the bullpen. He may get a chance to pitch against a LH hitter in certain situations, even though lefthanded hitters have pounded him to the tune of a .341 AVG / .977 OPS. The 5-11, 190-pounder made two starts at Buffalo after he was optioned on June 24. He allowed one run on seven hits over 9.0 combined innings with one walk and 13 strikeouts.

Mets 4 Cubs 0

Things are starting to look up for the Mets.

Mike Pelfrey pitched 7 strong innings, the offense provided four runs, and the bullpen held up their end of the bargain to give the Mets their sixth win of the season.

Game Notes

Big Pelf allowed no runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6 in his 7 innings pitched. Finally, he has an offspeed pitch to compliment the fastball — the forkball. Not to pat myself on the back, but I’ve been clamoring for Pelfrey to develop a change of pace of some sort since 2007. If you follow those links and read those posts, you won’t need to know what I’m thinking — which is, the fact that Pelfrey is changing speeds is THE point of differentiation between him being an enigma and fulfilling his sky-high potential. Great outings like this will also build his confidence, which in turn feeds off itself and will push his performance to another level. It’s early, and I may be prematurely excited, but I’m liking what I’m seeing from Mr. Pelfrey.

Jose Reyes went 4-for-5 with 2 RBI and a triple; I think it’s safe to say he’s on his way back.

Fernando Tatis hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer off LOOGY John Grabow in the bottom of the 8th to give the Mets breathing room. Why anyone would throw a low and inside pitch to Tatis is baffling — it’s pretty much the only pitch he can put over the fence.

Ryota Igarashi left the game with a hamstring strain in the 8th. He will get an MRI on Wednesday to determine the extent of the injury.

In relief of Igarashi, Fernando Nieve came up big with a called strike three against Jeff Baker to end the 8th, stranding Koyie Hill on second base and working out of a mini-jam.

Frankie Rodriguez continues to look shaky; he walked two batters with a four-run lead in a non-save situation, expending 26 pitches in the process.

Next Mets Game

The Mets have a chance to win their first series of the year in the third game of this 4-game sequence with the Cubs. Oliver Perez (or Mr. Hyde) faces Carlos Silva in a matchup of the two worst contracts given to

After four seasons away from Flushing, Mike Jacobs returns to the Mets.

Jacobs signed a minor-league contract with the Mets, and though I’ve always been a huge fan of his and happy to see his return, it seems like a strange acquisition.

For one, the Mets already have two lefthanded-hitting first basemen in Daniel Murphy and Chris Carter, and Jacobs doesn’t project to be appreciably better than either of those options. His one tool is the ability to hit the ball over the fence; the rest of his game is ordinary at best — for a first baseman.

However — as I suggested back in early December — Jacobs would have much more value as a catcher. It’s too perfect a solution for both the catcherless Mets and the quickly dwindling career of Jacobs, though, to happen. The Mets don’t have the chutzpah to suggest it, and Jacobs might not want to go back behind the dish. Such a return wouldn’t be unprecedented — Robert Fick, for example, extended his big-league career by 2-3 years making such a move from right field, and Brandon Inge was a semi-regular catcher for the Tigers in 2008 after not squatting for almost four years.

If such a fantasy turned true, the Mets would have an almost acceptable tandem behind the plate. There are many fans who sincerely believe that Josh Thole should be platooning with Henry Blanco come Opening Day. For those wearing the rose-colored glasses, may I suggest that if Jacobs were willing to don the tools of ignorance again, he’d immediately be on par with or possibly be ahead of Thole in terms of defense. Jacobs wasn’t a great defensive catcher, but he wasn’t godawful, either — and he was a backstop going all the way back to little league. His defensive development was stunted by a shoulder injury in his early 20s and the fact that the Mets’ organization was loaded with good young catchers in the early 2000s (Justin Huber, Vance Wilson, Jason Phillips, Joe Hietpas). With better backstops in the system and a hole at 1B, it made sense to move Jacobs out from behind the plate and fast-track his bat to the bigs.

Enough with the fantasy though … I honestly do not believe Jacobs will consider the catcher’s gear, unless he doesn’t make the 25-man roster and is sent to Buffalo. Let’s get to the reality of the situation.

There is a glimmer of hope for the 29-year-old Jacobs, considering that he’s only a year removed from a 32-HR, 93-RBI season in Florida. The Beaneheads will be quick to point out that RBIs don’t mean anything and his OBP was awful in 2008, but the fact is this: Jacobs will likely get on base as often as Dan Murphy / Fernando Tatis, and be a similar player all-around (baserunning, defense, etc.), but is more likely to hit more homeruns than Murphy and Tatis combined. And that’s the bottom line, isn’t it? It’s not like the alternative is Adrian Gonzalez or Albert Pujols — Jacobs need only be better than Tatis and Murphy.

The Mets have signed Fernando Tatis to a one-year contract.

According to various sources, Tatis agreed to less than the $1.7M salary he received in 2009. So, you could say he gave the Mets a “hometown discount”.

As mentioned a few days ago, I very much enjoy watching Fernando Tatis. However I don’t really believe he is worth a guaranteed MLB deal on a club that already has Alex Cora cemented on the roster.

It has been reported that Omar Minaya sees Tatis as more of a possible platoon partner to Daniel Murphy at first base than a super utilityman. Ironic, isn’t it, considering that Murphy / Tatis was the platoon plan for left field this time last year?

With this signing, three of the four open, non-catching bench spots are guaranteed (barring injury), consisting of Fernando Tatis, Alex Cora, and Gary Mathews. That said, there is one open spot on the 25-man roster for a position player / hitter.

Art Shamsky has re-launched his offical website, and it’s looking good. Nice to see the internet can properly rekindle Mets history, since the Mets themselves are incapable. Be sure to check it out and “eduMETcate” yourself.

James K at Amazin Avenue likes the idea of Fernando Tatis returning to the Mets. I disagree, and you will read my argument later today.

Andrew Vazzano has posted a poll at TheRopolitans asking who you believe will be the Opening Day centerfielder. Carlos Beltran is not one of the options.

Finally, watch Kerel Cooper’s take on the Gary Matthews trade:

Eight 2009 Mets filed for free agency: Alex Cora, Carlos Delgado, Elmer Dessens, Ramon Martinez, J.J. Putz, Brian Schneider, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Tatis. Let’s go through them briefly, one by one.

It was a wonderful story in 2008 when Fernando Tatis came back from the baseball dead, found his way back to the big leagues, was a key cog for the Mets in the second half of the season, and earned money to build a church in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris.

The Mets front office was obviously drunk with the feel-good story when they re-signed Tatis to a one-year, $1.7M contract for 2009 — a mere drop in the bucket for the NL’s highest payroll, but nonetheless an extreme price to pay for a 30-something utilityman with average all-around skills. As with most of their signings, the Mets were bidding against themselves, as Tatis was re-upped before he had a chance to file for free agency.

After 65 games at first base, Dan Murphy has shown he can be defensively adequate at the position. Other than a few brain farts and errors due to inexperience, Murphy is, right now, better than Mike Piazza ever was at the position.

If the Mets are serious about going into 2010 with Murphy penciled in as the starting first baseman — or even if they’re not — there is another player who should be getting reps at first base: