Overall Record 16-13

Week 5 record 3-2

We started with a case of the Mondays this week. “You know Peter, if somebody said that at work, he’d get punched in the face.” The rain out is scheduled to be made up in August.

Tuesday’s game ran the Mets record to 3-0 in extra innings this year even though the game should have never seen extra frames. Johan Santana started for the Mets it id didn’t take long for him to fall behind. Nate McClouth (a.k.a Brady Anderson Jr.) led off the game with a home run. I can’t say that Johan ever settled down but he managed his way through 5 2/3 innings only yielding another solo shot to Jason Bay in the 4^th. Pedro Feliciano bailed Santana out of a bases loaded jam in the 6^th by getting Adam LaRoche to pop out to shortstop. Mets MVP thus far Ryan Church delivered a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 4^th to tie the game at 2. In the fifth Jose Reyes tripled home Endy Chavez and would later score on an error to push the score to 4-2. The score would remain that way until the 8th despite Aaron Heilman’s best efforts. Duanar Sanchez struggled in the inning walking home a run, but managed to escape the inning with a 4-3 lead in tact. Enter Sandman. Lights out Wagner. Well, he does need a little help with defense. Jose Reyes bounced a throw to Delgado allowing the tie run to reach first. Pinch running for Ryan Doumit, Brian Bixler advanced to second with great base running on a Wagner slider in the dirt. After Wagner struck out McClouth, he induced a ground ball to shortstop (would have been a double play if Bixler didn’t take second) from Chris Gomez and had a man on third with 2 outs. Wagner made a solid pitch to Freddy Sanchez but the ball eluded the diving attempt by Carlos Beltran to tie the game at 4. The score would remain this way until the 11^th when David Wright was barely able to keep the ball fair down the right field line resulting in a game winning single, a Mets 5-4 win and a 3 game win steak.

Wednesday: Oh Ollie! This is one of those game I am thankful was played in the afternoon while I was at work. Control was a major issue yet again for Perez and after Luis Castillo booted a potential inning ending double play ball, the wheels just came flying off. Perez could not get though the second inning yielding 7 runs (2 earned) on only 2 hits and 5 walks. Ouch. An even uglier line was the Mets in the box score. 1 run, 2 hits, 3 errors…yuck. Jorge Sosa gave up 4 runs in the 6^th (only 1 earned) to really cement this stinkfest. Bright spots in the game were Nelson Figueroa’s effort pitching 3 1/3 innings of relief only allowing one run, and Aaron Heilman throwing two scoreless innings (meaningless but scoreless) in the 8th and 9^th inning. The Mets lone run was scored in the 6^th on a double by Ryan Church (who else?) scoring Carlos Beltran in a 13-1 getaway loss.

Friday: After a day off the Mets start a 3 game series with the Diamondbacks who have one of the best home field advantages…for the Mets. The Mets come into the series 13-1 in their last 14 in Arizona. Is there some way MLB can have us play there at least twice a year? It doesn’t even have to be vs. the D-Backs…we could play a neutral sight game their instead of teams having to go to Japan. Anything to get some more games at Chase Field. The ball park worked its magic again…especially for Jose Reyes who led off the game with his 1^st of 2 triples on the night. Ryan Church immediately hit a sac fly and the Mets took a 1-0 lead. The Mets got 2 more in the inning thanks to a 2 run error by 2^nd baseman Orlando Hudson off the bat of…get this…MOISES ALOU. It’s like I have seen a ghost. John Maine was effective through 6 innings getting a little wild at times but only yielding 2 runs. The Mets scored runs in the second and 4^th courtesy of Ryan Church. I barely remember Lostings Mulledge. My favorite moment of the game had to be in the top of the 8^th with Reyes leading off needing a home run for the cycle. He absolutely destroyed a ball to dead center that would be out of most ball parks but since it is nearly impossible with a 25 foot wall 407 feet away in center field to go yard there…it hit the wall and came rolling back towards the infield. Reyes booked it out of the box thinking inside the parker the whole way. Chris Young made a great throw to Stephen Drew who fired a bullet home to Chris Snyder to nail Reyes by about 20 feet, but I love the fact that Alomar waved him around and that Reyes was going for it even though the Mets were up 7-2. It isn’t as consistent this season, but he is still the most exciting player in baseball when he is locked in.

Saturday: It is never fun going into a game and seeing Brandon Webb as the opposing starter. Especially if you look at the other side of the match up and see the name Mike Pelfrey. I didn’t expect much from this game and I got what I expected. The big surprise for me was down 5-1 in the 6^th inning and Webb finally getting in to a groove, Carlos Delgado ripped a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall to cut the deficit to 5-4. Was it a fluke? Is the warm weather going to help out that aching body? I won’t rush to judgment just yet. The score remained 5-4 until the 8^th until Duanar Sanchez and Big Show imploded allowing 5 runs in a 10-4 loss. The rubber game would be Sunday with a great matchup of Santana and Haren.

Sunday: Even with a lousy forecast we were actually blessed with some great weather here on the east coast. I broke out the radio and some beers and listened to the game on WFAN in the backyard. As Wayne Hagan went through the lineup I noticed something was off. Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Castillo, Santana…isn’t that the starting 9 we expected for opening day!!?? In the immortal words of Frank Barone “Holy Crap!” I listened to the first 5 innings on the radio and it sounded like the Mets were tattooing Haren, but not getting much out of it. Church and Wright both hit balls to the warning track in center field that were run down by Chris Young. Jose Reyes came up with a clutch 2 out RBI single in the 3^rd and David Wright hit a bomb to left in the fourth to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Delgado would also hit a bomb in that inning that hit half way up that 25 foot wall in center that cost him a home run. In the fourth Chris Snyder ripped a line drive to left field where the Mets caught a break as it hit of the very top of the wall. Upton would easily score from second but the ball caromed funky off the wall flying over Alou’s head and rolling towards center field. Snyder would get all the way to third because of the bounce but it just missed going out and just about any other player on the D-Backs would have turned it into an inside the park home run.  Santana worked his way out of a bases loaded jam in the 6^th to finish up his day. Bullpen time!!! (Those are sarcastic exclamation points if you couldn’t tell) Joe Smith came in and immediately struck out the newly annoying Auggie Ojeda and Eric Byrnes. However after a Connor Jackson single and a walk to Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds singled to left to tie the game at two. The Mets Geico turning point of the game would come in the bottom of the 8^th inning. With Feliciano on the mound Chris Burke bunted for a hit and laid down a beauty. Feliciano got to it first and instead of putting the ball in his pocket he tries to nab Burke at 1^st. The throw went all the way into right field as Burke was going for third. Ryan Church got to it and fired a one hop bullet to 3^rd base and Golden Boy made a great tag to barely get Burke. Feliciano was able to get out of the inning from there. In the top of the 9^th Beltran and Alou led off with back to back singles and thanks to a Connor Jackson throwing error the Mets benefitted with 3 runs and handed the Ball to Billy Wagner who retired the side on just 8 pitches. The Mets hit the road to play arguably the best team in baseball and take 2 of 3 facing both Webb and Haren. I will, but I really shouldn’t complain.

5 Up:

#1 Ryan Church: 2 run homer to tie the game at 2 on Tuesday Night, only RBI Wednesday Night, home run and 3 RBI Friday Night, game saving throw from right field on Sunday. He is the Mets MVP thus far and it isn’t even close. In fact to illustrate that, 2-5 in 5 up this week is being changes to 3-6.

#3 Moises Alou: He didn’t do much this weekend, but I don’t know how long he will be healthy so I better get him on 5 up now. Seriously however, his presence in the lineup allows the Mets to drop Delgado to 6^th and allows Ryan Church to hit in the 2 hole with the Mets now 7-1 with him hitting there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can stay healthy for 2 months before his next month off.

#4 Jose Reyes: Again, the Mets go when Jose Reyes is going. He had three triples this week and got some big RBI’s for the Mets. The baseball highlight of my week was watching him try for that inside the park homer. It’s time to look for consistency out of Jose.

#5 Billy Wagner: I know he blew his first save this week (technically since it was caused by a Reyes error) and it’s not because of his still 0.00 ERA. I may be in the minority here but I typically like hearing what comes out of his mouth. He may have went overboard reiterating his comments about Ollie on the Michael Kay show (how did we let this happen…Michael Kay is THE WORST and we let Wagner do a weekly segment with the Yankees homer…argh) but you can’t disagree with anything he said. Most importantly, Wagner is the voice for that bullpen. He runs the show out in right field. Rick’s story of Wagner throwing his glove at Joe Smith for talking to a member of the Braves before a game last year was great. Not only does he represent the bullpen, he deflects attention away from them. Heilman has been dreadful this year…how much has been written about it? Sanchez had a bad week, Show is Show, and Sosa while racking up wins hasn’t been good. What have we heard about it? Everything is about Wagner which takes pressure away from the other guys. He will eventually give up runs this year and rarely hits 99 on the radar gun anymore, but name me 5 closers you would rather have than him. I’d rank him 4^th behind Rivera, Nathan, and Papelbon.

#6 The Mets projected starters: We mentioned Alou is back, but Schneider also came back from the staph infection on Sunday and with Johan on the mound the Mets fielded their projected starters Opening Day for the first time this season. Sadly we are still waiting for others to come of the DL.

5 Down:

#1 Oliver Perez: Can I list him for all 5? What happened to players OVER-achieving in their contract year? Andruw Jones, Carlos Zambrano, and C.C Sabathia have started a nasty trend. We’ll see if having Schneider behind the plate will make a difference. The Mets need Good Ollie to have a successful year

#2 Mike Pelfrey: We are pretty much looking at the Pedro rule from him at this point…anything you get out of him is a bonus. Big Pelf hasn’t been good this year and you have to wonder if his value of a “top prospect” is all but gone forever. Based on performance, if Pedro were to return today you would have to send Pelfrey down and leave Figgy in the rotation.

#3 Duanar Sanchez: A relief pitcher not named Heilman in 5 down??!! I don’t want to kill the guy since he is just back from an 18 month DL stint and he is not Aaron Heilman, but he gave up a run in the 8^th on Tuesday which led to a blown saved, and got hit hard on Saturday. Plus, Heilman actually pitched well this week. It’s not an angry appearance in 5 down, but an appearance none the less.

#4 Luis Castillo: Ollie is still the blame for that meltdown vs. the Pirates but that Castillo error was the match that ignited the fire. Players will make errors but if his defense is poor where is he helping this team? I don’t think this 4 year $24 million deal will pan out well. Just a hunch.

#5 Wild pitches: The Mets have thrown something like 20 wild pitches already this season with Maine throwing 2 on Friday and Santana throwing 3 on Sunday. What the hell? I am sure we are leading the league in this category. Can we keep the ball out of the dirt fellas?

Looking back at Mets history:

May 5 2003 (off)

May 4, 2003

Current Record 13-18

Overall Record 66-95

Mets 5 Brewers 3

The Mets bounce back from a Saturday loss to take 2 of 3 from the Brewers in Milwaukee. Milwaukee jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Al Leiter on a Richie Sexson solo home run in the first and an Alex Sanchez RBI triple in the 3^rd. The Mets big blow came in the 6^th inning. After a leadoff single and stolen base from Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno and Mike Piazza walked setting up an Uncle Cliff Floyd grand slam home run off Brewers starter Mike Kinney to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. Al Leiter would surrender a run in the 6^th but finished the inning to earn the win. The Mets would get an insurance run in the 8^th on a Timo Perez bases loaded walk and David Weathers, Mike Stanton, and Scott Strickland would bridge the gap to Armando Benitez who saved his 9^th game of the year. While that seems impressive the 1 1/3 scoreless innings lowered his E.R.A to 5.82 on the season.

May 5, 2000

Current Record: 17-14

Overall Record: 94-68

Mets 4 Marlins 1

The Mets score a run in 3 of the first 4 innings which provides all the support necessary for Al Leiter in the 4-1 victory. Leiter would pitch 7 strong innings yielding only 1 run in the second on a Mike Redmond RBI single. Leiter gave up only 4 hits, walked 3 and struck out 9 Marlins on the path to victory. Pat Mahomes held the Marlins scoreless in the 8th and John Franco notched his first save of the year. Ricky Henderson led of the game with a walk. He advance to third on a Derek Bell single and scored on a sac fly from Edgardo Alfonzo. The Mets added another run in the 2^nd on a Rey Ordonez two out RBI double scoring Robin Ventura. Mike Piazza homered in the 4^th inning and Ventura drew a bases loaded walk in the 8th for the Mets other 2 runs.

May 5, 1986 (off)

May 4, 1986

Current Record: 16-4

Overall Record: 108-54

Mets 7 Reds 2

The Mets score 3 runs in the first inning courtesy of a Darryl Strawberry two run home run and a Ray Knight RBI single and never look back completing the 3 game sweep of the Reds 7-2. It was the first of 2 home runs for Strawberry who added a solo shot in the 3^rd inning. The Mets added insurance in the 5^th, 6^th and 9^th innings on RBI’s by Gary Carter, Danny Heap, and Wally Backman. Ron Darling was strong for the Mets going 6 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits but walked 6 batters while only striking out 5. Randy Neiman entered the game for Darling in the 7^th but couldn’t retire either batter he faced. Roger McDowell came on for your typical 2 1/3 innings save taking care of all 7 batters he faced. The Mets had now won 14 of their last 15 games and sported the best record in baseball.

May 5, 1969 (off)

May 4, 1969

Current Record: 11-14

Overall Record: 100-62

Mets 3 Cubs 2 (game 1)

After dropping the first two games at Chicago the Mets had a Sunday double header to finish off the four game series. In the opener Tom Seaver threw a complete game in the Mets victory. The Cubs scored first on a two out RBI triple off the bat of Al Spangler. Randy Hundley scored all the way from first to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead after two innings. The Mets tied the game in the fourth on Ed Kranepool’s 3^rd home run of the year. In the 5^th the Mets would go ahead for good. Tom Seaver’s one out walk was followed by a Rod Gaspar single sending Seaver to second. Ken Boswell followed with a single scoring Seaver and sending Gaspar to 3^rd. Gaspar was then able to score on a sacrifice fly by Ron Swaboda. Billy Williams would answer with an RBI groundout in the 5^th, but Ernie Banks struck out leaving 2 runners on to end the 5^th. Tom Terrific took care of business the rest of the way as the Mets take the opener 3-2

Mets 3 Cubs 2 (game 2)

In the nightcap the Mets got a complete game victory from Tug McGraw against the division leading Cubs. The Mets scored 2 runs in the 1^st inning on a Ken Boswell RBI who was immediately brought home on a Cleon Jones RBI single. The Cubs immediately responded with two runs of their own off McGraw. Billy Williams got the Cubs third consecutive hit to score Don Kessinger. Ron Santo then grounded into a double play which scored Glenn Beckert. McGraw and opposing starter Dick Selma cruised until the top of the seventh. After a one out walk by Swaboda, Jerry Grote flew out to left. Al Weis singled to left moving Swaboda to second. Manager Gil Hodges sends McGraw to the plate to hit for himself with 2 outs and 2 on in a tie game. The move pays off. Selma throws a pitch so wild, that Swaboda is able to come home from second to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Tug McGraw worked in and out of trouble for the final 3 innings but managed to secure the double header sweep for the Mets. How about sweeping both games of a double header using only 2 pitchers? When is the last time that happened?

May 5, 1962

Current Record: 3-16

Overall Record: 40-120

Phillies 2 Mets 1

The inaugural season continues to flounder as the Mets drop their fourth straight game 2-1.The Phillies scored in their first at bat. Tony Taylor led off the game with a single and left fielder Johnny Callison followed with a double moving Taylor to third. He would score on Ted Savage RBI ground out. From there Al Jackson and Cal McLish  put up zeros until the 7^th. In the top of the inning Frank Thomas and Sammy Taylor led off with back to back singles. With Thomas at third and 1 out Gus Bell flied out deep enough to center to score Thomas and tie the game at one. However the Phillies would recapture the lead in the bottom half of the frame on a Jackie Davis RBI single. The Mets did not go out without a fight. With Jack Baldshun on in the 9^th gunning for his 6^th save Gus Bell hit a 2 out double to center field to keep the Mets alive. Harry Chiti came to the plate and hit a single to left field. Pinch runner Rod Kanehl rounded third heading for home but Johnny Callison’s throw beat him to the plate and the Mets drop a tough one to the Phillies.