Rob Neyer on ESPN.com tells Mets fans not to panic…

I'm not sure Rob understands the Mets play better on the road, despite their recent trip. I do like the fact that the Phillies have a tougher schedule.

The Mets got swept, as their offense came alive and their pitching staff came apart.

Philly pulled ahead, up five at one point, then the Mets tied it up with runs in the 4th and 5th, only to give up 3 more in the bottem of the fifth. Things quited down for awhile.

Until of course, the 8th.  The Mets scored five runs to pull up 10-8. Gotay drew a one out walk, and then pinch hitting Alou drew one as well. Anderson came in to pinch hit, and doubled to score Gotay. The slumping Reyes was intentionally walked, and Endy responsded with a two run single. He and Reyes double stole, Reyes then scoring on the throw. Wright and Beltran both walked, and a Delgado groundout brought in Endy.  When Green made the last out the inning finally ended. An odd one at that. Only two actual hits to score five runs, and 2 of the 3 outs where made by Shawn Green.

Ten htis overall today, including four doubles. Endy went 2 for 5, Green 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBIs, and Wright went 3 for 4, also with a double and a stolen base. Though hittless again, Reyes walked twice, once intentional, and stole a base.

The pitching however…bad. Pretty much in all senses fo the word.  Duq lasted just three, giving up three homeruns and five runs overall. Sele added another three, and Billy takes the loss. He gave up three runs, 2 in the 9th and 1 in the 8th. 

I understand, and agree with, using him in the 8th today. It was the harder part of the order, he probably had a better chance of shutting them down. Fine. After he escaped the 8th, and having given up a run, I don't agree with having brought him in for the 9th. I understand he hasn't pitched lately, but he hasn't pitched because his arm has been feeling numb, so having him toss two innings seems like a bad idea.

For everyone out there who thought Sandy Alomar brought a lot to the table, and belongs in a Mets uniform: wish grated.

Sandy has cleared waivers and will report to AA Binghamton.  No word on if he'll be a catcher, or dressed as the Binghamton Met Bee.

Occassionally here at Hot Foot, we'll share with you some non-Mets related stuff that we're digging. This is a hilarious parody of the MTV series made where a Jersey boy realizes his dream to become a real life LES hipster. Check it out…

Another ugly game offensively. Maybe theyre tired, maybe they're having some problem, I don't know. But just another lackluster offensive performance. Reyes got picked off twice. Milz went 0 for 2. Seven runners were left on.

Not all bad though.  Ollie had a pretty decent performance. After giving up two single homeruns in the first, he went six full, striking out ten. His walks were a little high (5) and the two single shots really were unpleasant, but hey, 10k. Sosa went two full, gave up one hit.

Delgado looking a little better at the plate. Two for four, both to the same spot. Wright had a homerun, which would have been worth two had Reyes not been picked off. Beltran doubled, part of a 2 for 4 night.

Seriously Willie, give Jose a day off. Kids tired. exhausted. He needs some rest. Hell, I get tired watching the game. So I assume he's super exhausted.

No comment on the play that ended the game. I'm at a loss for words.

After no offense for two days, the Mets look to try that hiting thing all the cool kids are doing.

Ollie takes the mound, 12-8, 3.34 ERA. Ollie's won his last two, even goign seven against LA, but lost against the Phils last time they met. The dodger start was his best in awhile, maybe even tracing back to his previous dodger start. Man Ollie hates dodgers. Since the Mets can't hit, hopefully he'll repeat his last starts performance, but if possible with more efficiency.

He'll face Jamie Moyer, 11-10 5.16 ERA. He's carreer 4-3 with a 2.59 ERA against the Mets. The good news, he's lost his last two starts, not making it through five, and tallying 13 ER (16 total runs) in the meantime.

lineups:
SS Reyes
2B Castillo
3B Wright
CF Beltran
LF Alou
1B Delgado
C Lo Duca
RF Millz
P Ollie

Lastings Milledge, the General, returns to the lineup.  He sat a few days, to give some time to Endys return, and to get back into shape after the Flu Symptoms knocked him around for a few days. Hopefully Lastings Energy will help recharge the offense.

Gametime is 7:10, SNY, WFAN, and as always the Hot Foot Bleachers to talk teh game, Mets baseball, and how dead arm effects your blogging.

The Daily News reports that Damion Easley has left the team, and is officially done for the season. 

Just from seeing the way his ankle looked, it was pretty much a given that he wasn't coming back. Plus, with a semi healthy Castillo at second, and the adddition of Conine and return of Endy, Easley's use was not as high as it once was.

Looking back at a few deals, hindsight is 20/20.

After deciding to pass on giving Chad Bradford the big deal he was looking for, Omar Minaya wound up giving a similar deal to Scott Schoeneweis

Did Omar misjudge the market for Bradford? Perhaps. Bradford has a pretty solid career resume, and considering the inconsistency of middle relief, he seems like a rare commodity.

Another deal that Omar pulled in the offseason was trading Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.

Henry Owens has been a useful arm in the Marlins pen this year and Lindstrom has put up some pretty solid numbers as well. The jury is still out on Vargas and Bostick. Vargas is pitching for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs and recently shut down the Iowa Cubs with a 7 inning shutout, yielding just 4 hits and striking out 8. Bostick has been inconsistant for the Zephyrs. In one game on July 30th, he struck out 7 of the first 9 batters he faced. Most recently, he gave up six runs on eight hits over 4 innings against the Oklahoma Red Hawks. Its too soon to tell if this was a bad deal, but early indications are that Omar gave up two pretty good arms. The conventional wisdom at the time was that Omar was getting two younger guys with more upside, for the older Owens and Lindstrom.

The next trade I can't really fault Omar for because Heath Bell did not seem like he was made to pitch in New York. The Mets dealt Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the San Diego Padres for
outfielder Ben Johnson and right-handed reliever Jon Adkins. It could have been the way Bell was not really given a chance to be a 100% member of the bullpen and was mostly shuttled back and forth between the team and the minors, in any event, he seems to be flourishing this year in San Diego.

Here were Omar's comments at the time of the deal…

“Ben Johnson is a versatile outfielder who can play all three spots,
has speed and shown some power, He is
just 25 years old, and we feel he has yet to reach his potential.”

“Jon Adkins has had success on the Major League level and can pitch
multiple innings,” Minaya said. “He's another quality arm to add to our
bullpen staff.”

Omar also signed Guillermo Mota to a  $5 million, two-year
contract. Here are Mota's numbers this year…

Brian Bannister was dealt for Ambiorix Burgos who is recently underwent Tommy John surgery and will not likely see a pitchers mound for quite some time. Bannister has been a solid addition to the Kansas City staff.

Overall, not a particularly good offseason for the Mets in the bullpen department. Its hard to tell how bullpen arms will be from year to year, and the cards the Mets have been dealt have not been nearly as good as last year's set.

I will take a look at the performances of Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, and Billy Wagner in future post, to see if they were able to balance out the poor return on the arms they received in the deals we have discussed here.