The Mets and Marlins play the rubber game of their three game set today against the Marlins in Miami. Scott Olsen will face off against Pedro Martinez. Gametime is slated for 1:10 EST and can be seen locally on the CW11.

Key to the Game:

• Big Outing From Pedro: Martinez was roughed up in his last outing, blowing much off the 7 run lead the Mets gave him Tuesday in Philadelphia. Martinez will look to right the ship, and take the series.

For a lineup, head to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.

As always, to chat during the game head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

Since the end of 2006, Omar Minaya  has made a ton of moves, some for the better, some for the worse. Let’s take a look at Omar’s moves.

Traded RPs Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to the Marlins for SPs Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.

• This trade made no sense when it was made, and still makes no sense to the day. Why you would trade a 26 year old arm who can reach 100 mph for two lefty pitchers who have shown nothing in the majors. Granted, we all knew Owens arm would fall off sooner or later with that funky motion (he had Tommy John surgery), giving up Lindstrom alone is enough to make you pull your hair out. In case your wondering, Vargas has yet to pitch this year and Bostick is sporting a 6.04 ERA. Tsk, tsk Omar. GRADE then: D, GRADE now: D

Traded RPs Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for OF Ben Johnson and RP Jon Adkins

• Well, you really can’t fault Omar for this one. Bell was on the Norfolk Express in his time with the Mets, and although he was dominant in AAA, he could never figure it out in NY. Johnson was a promising OF prospect and Adkins was a stopgap reliever. Unfortunately, neither Johnson or Adkins are with the organization anymore. Because the trade OK at the time it was made, i’ll give Omar a decent grade. Bell was never going to make it here, anyway. To get anything for Bell was an accomplishment. GRADE then: B, Grade now: C

Traded SP Brian Bannister for RP Ambiorix Burgos

• Although Burgos suffered a torn ligament in his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery, I still loved this trade for the Mets at the time it was made. We were on the opposite spectrum this time, as we gave up the average SP for the flamethrowing reliever. Bannister has been a huge bust with the Royals, and is sporting an ERA over 5 this year. Burgos is making his way back, and should be ready for ST ‘09. GRADE then: B, GRADE now: B

Traded C Drew Butera and OF Dustin Martin to the Twins for 2B Luis Castillo

• Castillo has been a big bust for the Mets, especially this year, after Minaya rewarded him with a 4 year 25m dollar contract. Butera has done nothing in the minors this year, but Martin is a bit more intriguing. He is hitting .284 with 10 homers and 69 RBI for the Twinkies AA team. Now, Castillo has an atrocious contract that we have to eat for three more years, and thus blocks Daniel Murphy from playing 2B next year. Grade then: B, GRADE now: D

Traded OF Lastings Milledge for OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider

• When I heard this trade went down, I went into a tailspin. How could you trade Milledge for a journeyman outfielder who has never proven that he can hit lefties, and a C who has no offensive bat at all. Well, Church showed us all really fast that Omar saw something in him that we didn’t. Through the first few months of the year, Church was our best hitter, but unfortunately a concussion derailed his great season and he has missed much of the last three months. Schneider has been OK, we knew what we were getting, Solid D and No bat. The dealbreaker: Until recently, Milledge had not hit a lick this year, making it look like Omar won this trade big. GRADE Then: D, GRADE Now:B

Traded SPs Deolis Guerra Phil Humber Kevin Mulvey and OF Carlos Gomez to the Twins for SP Johan Santana.

• Best news I heard all winter. Getting Santana was a gift. The Mets were the darkhorse, but when the Sox and Yanks wouldn’t trade their best young prospects, the Mets jumped in and stole Santana. Mulvey and Humber have been ineffective at AAA for the Twins, and Guerra has had trouble commanding his pitches. Gomez got off to a fast start, but has since faded. Santana has been all we could have asked for, and then some. GRADE Then: A, GRADE Now: A

Traded 2B Anderson Hernandez for RP Luis Ayala

• Ayala has shown flashes that he can be counted on in the bullpen, but has also had his meltdown moments. Hernandez wasn’t going to do anything with the Mets, so it’s really a low risk high reward type of thing. Grade: B

Traded RHP Aaron Heilman for a bag of balls

• (OK, I’m Kidding)

Also, Getting Brian Stokes for cash from Tampa Bay was a nice deal. I give that a B so far.

Overall, Omar has made some head scratchers, but has also made some great deals. It should be interesting to see whether or not he gets that extension.

Thanks to Gary Grund for gathering all the trades.

The Mets squandered a three run lead, and fell to the Marlins by a score of 4-3 in Miami this evening. Former Met Matt Lindstrom got the win, and Aaron Heilman took another loss for the Mets.

Starter Mike Pelfrey finally solved te Marlins, allowing only two runs in 6.2 innings. The Bullpen was asked to get seven outs, and didn’t do the job once again.

The Mets offense was courtesy of David Wright and Luis Castillo tonight. Wright had a two run homer in the 1st and Castillo had an RBI single in the third, both were off Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco. Again, the Mets score early, and fade into the sunset.

Mike Jacobs, who couldn’t buy a hit before this series, went 3-4, including a game tieing homer off of RP Duaner Sanchez.

Sanchez just doesn’t have it anymore, and should not be pitching in late game situations, especially when Al Reyes comes up on Monday.

Heilman, after a 60 pitch inning on Tuesday, didn’t allow a hit in the 9th. Good News, right? Wrong. Heilman walked four Marlin batters (two were intentional) and walked in the game winning run.

At least let them earn it Aaron, Jeez.

Although the bullpen laid an egg again, Brian Stokes performance should not be pushed to the side. Stokes came in with 1st and 2nd and 1 out, and struck out Luis Gonzalez and John Baker to end the threat.

I love what Stokes is doing, but before long hitters will realize he has a straight fastball, and will try to jump on it early in the count before he gets ahead.

The Mets look for the rubber game tomorrow, with Pedro Martinez on the mound. He will be opposed by Scott Olsen.

The Mets face the Marlins in game two of their three game set tonight in Dolphin Stadium. Mike Pelfrey will go for his 14th win, and will be opposed by Ricky Nolasco. Gametime is slated for 7:10 EST and the game can be seen on SNY. The Mets lead the Phillies by two games in the NL East.

Keys to the Game:

• Kick Them When They Are Down: After a crushing defeat last night, the Marlins may be putting up their last stand tonight. We need to take advantage early, and not allow Nolasco to settle into a nice groove. Hopefully Pelfrey can solve his prior woes against the Fish, because the entire bullpen is spent.
• We Need Innings: Scott Schoeneweis, Luis Ayala, and Duaner Sanchez all have minor injuries. Scho has a bad back, Ayala tweaked his groin, and Sanchez tweaked his knee in Philly. That, coupled with Aaron Heilman’s worn out arm from throwing 60 pitches on Tuesday, leaves the Mets with a depleted bullpen. Another complete game would be a huge lift to the team, git er done big Pelf!

For a lineup, head to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.

As always, to chat during the game head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

With everyone asking Who is the Mets MVP, Carlos Beltran gets lost in the shuffle, because he does everything so quietly. Do any of you think Beltran is on pace for 25 homers 110 RBI and 110 runs? Before i saw the stat, I definitely would not have believed that. Now, no way I am saying Beltran should win the MVP for this team. He has been very up and down this year, mostly down, and if he even goes on one of those Beltran “tears” that he can, he could end up with a great statistical year, even without being great for 4/5 of the year!

Tonight, Carlos Beltran saved the Mets from a tough loss. It was all setting up great for the Marlins, beat the pitcher you have the most trouble against, then beat the pitcher you own tomorrow (Pelfrey). Well, with one swing of the bat, that was crushed, as Beltran destroyed a Kevin Gregg fastball deep into the right field seats. For the first time this year, it felt like Beltran had arrived. That he finally came through, and finally might be going on that tear the Mets so dearly need him to go on to win this division.

Beltran’s defense is another thing that goes unappreciated sometimes, because he is so dang good at manning centerfield. When he doesn’t make the play, we are all speechless and say “Come on Beltran, that was routine, you have to get to that” because we have seen him do it so many times. Just be thankful we have the best fielding CF in the game, and appreciate what he does for the team, even when he is scuffling at the plate.

The Mets defeated the Marlins by a score of 5-4 this evening in Dolphin Stadium, to put the Marlins back seven games in the standings. Joe Smith got the win for the Mets, and Kevin Gregg, who blew yet another save, took the loss for the Fish.

Starter Oliver Perez was a bit wild today, walking five in six innings, but he limited the damage and gave th team six solid innings of two run ball.

The Mets scored in the 1st inning yet again. Jose Reyes came in on a Carlos Beltran sac fly.

Marlins starter Chris Volstad was in control, and looked like he may be a thorn in the Mets side for years to come. He left in the 7th with a 2-1 lead.

The Mets left 10 men on base tonight, against Volstad Joe Nelson Arthur Rhodes and Matt Lindstrom.

In the 9th, it looked bleak, with two outs and no men on. Credit Luis Castillo and David Wright, for fighting off some tough Gregg pitches, and singling to give the big guns a chance.

After Carlos Delgado was hit by a pitch,  Beltran smashed the first offering he saw into the right field bleachers, for his 8th career Grand Salami.

Up three, Luis Ayala gave Mets fans a coronary in the 9th, when he got the tieing and go ahead runs into scoring position, but he got Wes Helms to ground out to end it.

Great win, great job by the 2-5 hitters in the lineup, you guys earned your stripes tonight. To Ayala, don’t do that again. I think the game ball has to Castillo, who has taken alot of flack from Met fans this year, but if it weren’t for him we lose 2-1.

The Mets look for their third straight win tomorrow with Mike Pelfrey on the mound, facing Marlins ace Ricky Nolasco.

The Mets and Marlins play game one of their three game weekend set in Dolphin Stadium tonight, starting at 7:10 EST. Chris Volstad will oppose Oliver Perez. The game can be seen on SNY and can  be heard on WFAN. With the Phillies loss this afternoon to the Cubs, the Mets now lead the NL East by 1.5 games.

Keys to the Game:

• Take Advantage of Scuffling Marlins: The Marlins have not win two games in a row yet this month, and are 10-15. The Marlins are not hitting right now, and the pitching has been good, but not good enough to pickup the struggling youngsters. Now is the time to put away the Marlins, as we know when they start hitting they can keep up with anyone.
• Instant Replay Begins: Today will be the first game where instant replay will be used in Mets games this year on disputed home run calls. As we know, we have been on the short end of the stick twice this year (once in early April in Florida, actually), so I am happy their won’t be anymore flubbed calls.

For a lineup, head to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News.

As always, to chat during the game head to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

Over at Baseball America, Brad Holt makes his third appearance on the weekly Hot Sheet, with another impressive week with the Cyclones. Holt posted a line of .75 ERA in 12 innings, while striking out 15. He is the only draft pick for the Mets that has made the Hot Sheet this year. Of Holt, they write..

“Holt has been a model of consistency, yielding good reason for his meteoric rise up draft boards this past spring. He is third in the NY-P in ERA and he probably wouldn’t even need to make another start in order to finish as the leader in strikeouts. Better yet, Holt is using his breaking ball and his changeup more often, and judging by the results, he is getting comfortable using his secondary stuff”.

Wow, who would have thought Holt would make this kind of splash.

If you are wondering, Ike Davis’s season line is .239 with 0 homers and 13 RBI, and Reese Havens is .263 with 3 homers and 11 RBI. Clearly, both hitters have had a hard time adjusting to the wood bats.

The Phillies have acquired 1B/OF Matt Stairs from the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. Recently designated for assignment, The 40 year old Stairs was hitting .250 with 11 homers and 44 RBI before his demotion.

Why didn’t we go after Stairs? With the injuries to Moises Alou and El Duque, we could have used another 40 year old on the roster… Kidding. In any event, Stairs is better than what the Phillies had on their bench.