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.

Over at Yahoo! Sports, Jeff Passan thinks Johan Santana isn’t vocal enough on his role as leader of the pitching staff and is too lax on his need to become the ace of the Mets staff and dominate every time through.

Of Santana, Passan writes:

“Such things happen, and were Santana not so laissez-faire about his role and his responsibility – so patently dismissive of his duty to dominate – it would have been just another game. Problem is, Santana does not yet seem to understand that with a $137.5 million contact in your pocket and the words New York striped across your chest, attitude and swagger are requisite. The entire concept of team needs to be put on hold, because aces win games by themselves”.

He also used the world “pedestrian” when describing Santana’s start last night, whatever that means. In any event, you don’t have to be a “loud-mouth” to be a leader. A leader, in my opinion, goes out every night and produces. Just because a guy is vocal, does that make him a leader, if he is not producing on the field? Santana has been more than we could have hoped for, especially in the second half.

Passan goes on to say how Santana should become more like Pedro Martinez:

“Two lockers down from Santana, Pedro Martinez listened. Martinez was a true ace, one who frothed for the big moment, delivered regularly and bore every ounce of responsibility when he didn’t. Certainly you remember the time when he called the Yankees “my daddy.” Martinez understood that there is the ace, the guy who puts up great numbers, and the ace, the one who does so in games big and small – the one in his own category, the rarest of sorts”.

Responsibility? Santana’s responsibility is to win ballgames, and if it weren’t for the bullpen, he’d have 16 or 17 this year.

Listen, there has only been one Pedro Martinez, and there will only be one Pedro Martinez. Pedro was his own person, and didn’t care what people thought of him. From what I’ve seen from Santana so far this year, he doesn’t have the Pedro demeanor, and I do not believe he ever will. Santana has the most will to win on this team, and relishes taking the mound in big games, just as last night’s, just as much as anyone on this team. I don’t see why he has to be more vocal about it as long as he produces, like he did last night.

As far as I’m concerned, this team already has two leaders: David Wright and Martinez, and that’s plenty for me.

Here is a recent conversation Andrew Beaton and I had on the Carlos Delgado topic, so, making its return to Hot Foot, is HOT HEADS.

Andrew: As an American, I have to say Delgado is a bum

Rob: As an American, I say Delgado is a bum who saved our butts this year

Andrew: It only appears that he’s saving our butts because what he’s been doing is a step up for what he did for the first 2.5 months. If we have had an average player for the entire season who played bad at the beginning our record would be exactly the same

Rob: No, not at all.

Rob: Delgado has single handedly won us a handful of games

Rob: He didn’t exactly “cost” us any games in the beginning of th year

Rob: Because the whole team was in a funk

Andrew: He was terrible at the beginning on a new level and longer than anybody else. He single handedly got Willie Randolph fired

(more…)

With Andrew and I making a case for our Mets MVP, I thought I’d ask you guys.

The Mets and Marlins begin a three game weekend set in Miami tomorrow with Chris Volstad making his first career appearance against the Mets. Oliver Perez will look to fry the fish once again, as he tossed seven innings of scoreless ball in his last start against them. So, let’s see how the Marlins have been going, shall we. Since the Mets last played the Marlins on August 10th. Since then, the Marlins have gone 6-10, not a good clip at all. We all knew the Marlins would hit the skids sooner or later, as the schedule got alot tougher for them. They have played the Cardinals, Cubs, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Braves since August 10th.  Two division leaders and a team in the wildcard hunt, along with those always tough west coast teams, no matter what their record is, and then the anemic Braves, who took 2/3 from the Fish. Bad. let’s take  a look at the pitching matchups

Friday: Chris Volstad versus Ollie Perez

Volstad has been a pleasant surprise for the Fish since they recalled him in July, posting 4-3 record with a very respectable 3.42 ERA. He was touched up a bit for four runs in 5.1 innings in his last start. After being near unhittable for all of July and much of early August, Perez has been OK in his last three starts, posting lines of three earned runs twice and four earned runs his last time out. I give the advantage to the Mets in this one, just because of how good Ollie has been against the Fish this year.

Saturday: Ricky Nolasco versus Mike Pelfrey

Nolasco has been not only the Marlins best pitcher this year, he has also been one of the top pitchers in the entire National League. He is 13-7 with a 3.62 ERA, pretty good #s. Pelfrey has been just as good as Nolasco, but he has not been able to solve the Marlins. Pelfrey has not made it past the 5th inning in any start against the Marlins this year, and got roughed up on August 11th in his most recent start against the Fish, posting a line of 4.2 innings and allowing six earned runs. The #s point to an easy Nolasco victory, but I wouldn’t be too quick to write off the Big Pelf, as he has thrown two consecutive complete games.

Sunday: Scott Olsen versus Pedro Martinez

Olsen’s season has been up and down. He is 6-8 with a 4.19 ERA, a decent ERA, but not good win loss numbers. What this tells me is that he doesn’t go far into games. Since July 4th, Olsen has gone more than six innings only twice, hard to win when you don’t give your team enough innings. Martinez had been on a roll until hitting a roadbump his last time out against the Phillies, tossing five innings of five run ball. Both of these pitchers are such a wildcard, i say it’s a toss up.

You think the Mets bullpen is bad? How about blowng a 9-6 lead in the ninth to the BRAVES. Yeah, Kevin Gregg actually did accomplish the feat, allowing four runs to score in .2 of an inning on Tuesday. The Marlins also will be without their main left hander in the series. Renyel Pinto is on the DL with a strained hamstring.

All in all, you can’t count out the Marlins. Should make for a fun series.

A funny exchange between SNY’s Matt Yallof, Lee Mazzilli, and Harold Reynolds on the postgame show tonight..

Yallof: Great game tonight, I couldn’t have taken anymore of those (close) games, my hairline was starting to recede.

Reynolds: Call Giuppe (meaning Giuseppe Franco).

Mazzilli: You mean Giuseppe, Harold.

The Mets split the two game set against the Phillies, taking the second game by a score of 6-3 this evening at Citizens Bank Park. Brian Stokes got the win for the Mets, and Rudy Seanez took the loss for the Phils. Luis Ayala tossed a 1,2,3 ninth for his second save as a Met.

Starter Johan Santana produced another solid outing, allowing three runs in six innings, a “quality” start. Santana got off to a shaky start, allowing a Citizens Bank special, an opposite field two run homer to Ryan Howard. Jayson Werth than added a solo homer.

The Mets got off to a fast start themselves, producing a Reyes Run. Jose Reyes singled, stole second, and was driven in on an RBI single by Carlos Delgado.

In the 6th, Santana ran into some trouble. After Pat Burrell doubled and Howard singled, Charlie Manuel made one of his two questionable moves on the night. He chose to allow Shane Victorino to swing away, big mistake. Victorino struck out, and Santana got out of the jam.

In the 8th, with two men out and nobody on base, it looked bleak for the Mets. Good thing Charlie Manuel forgot he had Brad Lidge available in the pen. Delgado took Seanez deep, right down the left field line to tie it up at 3-3. After Carlos Beltran singled and Ryan Church walked, Daniel Murphy got  the biggest hit of his young career, crushing a hanging slider down the line to drive in Beltran, putting the Mets up 4-3. Brian Schneider than fisted one the opposite way, and it found the chalk, to put the Mets up 6-3.

Ayala tossed a scoreless ninth, getting three groundouts to Reyes to end the game.

Great comeback win. I was losing a bit of faith, especially with the way the 8th inning started.

The Mets travel to Miami to play the Marlins this weekend, starting Friday. Christopher Volstad will face Oliver Perez.

The Mets and Phillies finish up their short two game series tonight in Philly. Gametime is set to start at 7:05. The pitching matchup tonight features Johan Santana opposing Kyle Kendrick, who will still start, even though he threw 40 pitches in the bullpen last night. The game can be seen on SNY and can be heard on WFAN.

Key to the Game:

• Biggest Start Of the Year: Sure, we have said all year long that “oh, this is Johan’s biggest start as a Met”. This time, it is his biggest start of the year. I have complete faith in Santana, as he has fared very well against the Phillies in four starts this year, sporting a 2.60 ERA. That being said, we are going to need at least eight this year, and nine if the game is close. Sorry, no faith in the bullpen for me!

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.

The Mets were defeated by the Phillies by a score of 8-7 in 13 innings this evening at Citizens Bank Park. Rudy Seanez got the win for the Phils, while Scott Schoeneweis took the loss for the Mets.

There is really not much to say about this game, but you cannot blow a 7-0 lead. The Mets got off to a fast start against Jamie Moyer, getting two runs in the 1st, one in the 2nd and three in the third, on the strength of a Fernando Tatis three run homer. Damion Easley also chipped in with a big night, with four hits. Too bad the offense went to sleep and didn’t score for the next nine innings.

At the end of four, the Mets ahd built a 7-1 lead. Pedro Martinez was cruising along until the suddenly red hot Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard hit two run homers each, to make it 7-5.

Brian Stokes relieved Pedro and gave the Mets two shutout innings, Bravo Stokes!

In the 8th, the bullpen meltdown began. Pedro Feliciano came on to allow two hits to Chris Coste and Rollins, but limited the damage to one run by striking out Chase Utley. Joe Smith got Burrell to fly out to the warning track.

Luis Ayala came on to get the save, and it went smooth at the start, getting Ryan Howard to fly out to deep center and getting Shane Victorino to ground out. It all started with a broken bat single by Jayson Werth. Eric Bruntlett, the .214 light hitting utility man, came up to bat, and drove a double to the gap in right center. Ryan Church got the ball in quickly to Easley, and had Easley made a throw on the fly to Schneider, Werth would have been a dead duck. Instead, the ball scooted past and Werth tied the game.

Aaron Heilman threw three innings of scoreless ball, Bravo Aaron!

In the 13th, Scott Schoeneweis allowed a leadoff triple to Victorino, who later scored on a Chris Coste single.

Worst loss of the year. I know there have been alot of these, but in none of them did we blow a 7-0 lead. Absolutely disgusting.

The Mets and Phillies begin a mini two game set at Citizens Bank Park this evening starting at 7:05 EST. Jamie Moyer will face off against Pedro Martinez. The game can be seen on SNY and can be heard on WFAN.

Keys to the Game:

• Solve Moyer: In his career, Moyer has a 2.85 ERA against the Mets. David Wright is one of the few Mets who has been able to hit Moyer, with a .433 career batting average. Moyer has been the Phillies 2nd best starter this year, with his 3.54 ERA. If we want to win this division, we are going to have to beat up the Phillies pitching.
• Hold Down the Big Guns: Ryan Howard hits home runs, Ryan Howard also strikes out a ton. It is not hard to get Howard out, as he does it himself most of the time. Do not throw Howard any good pitches to hit, because if you do he will crush it.

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.

The Mets and Phillies begin a big two game set tomorrow evening, at Citizens Bank Park, where the Mets are 5-2 this season. The Mets are fresh off a nice 9-1 romp of the ‘Stros and the Phillies are fresh off a four game sweep of those sad, sad Dodgers, who can’t hit to save their lives. Seriously, who gets 13 hits on consecutive nights and scores two runs and zero runs, respectively. Anyway, The Phils are rolling. They are getting pitching AND hitting at the same time for the first time in close to eight weeks. Even Jimmy Rollins busted out in a big way last night, going 3-3, after going through a 4-47 streak. Everyone in the lineup seems to be clicking, aside from Ryan Howard, who just can’t seem to get a consistent streak going this season. As much as i hate the guy, Shane Victorino is a hustler, and you have to respect that. With the game tied at two Saturday night, Victorino stretched a single into a double on a lazy throw by Manny Ramirez. The Phils later won the game 5-2 on a Pedro Feliz walkoff homer. Everyone keeps saying their pitching is their achilles heal, but Cole Hamels and Brett Myers have both pitched like aces so far in August. Jamie Moyer may be the biggest surprise of the Phils staff, posting a 3.54 ERA this year. Along with those three, righties Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick have ok stuff, but get away with it with good control. All in all, it should make for an entertaining two games. Let’s take a closer look at the pitching matchups.

Game 1 features the aforementioned Moyer versus Pedro Martinez. Martinez has been terrific in August, not allowing more than three earned runs in any start this month. He has also gone seven innings in his last two starts. With the way Pedro is pitching right now, I’ve gotta give the edge to the Mets in this game, but it will not be a cakewalk, as the Phils won’t roll over.

Game two features ace Johan Santana against Kyle Kendrick. Now, Santana has 12 wins, and Kendrick has 11… What? Yes, Kendrick, who is not 1/10 of the pitcher Santana is, has 11 wins. Don’t get me wrong, Kendrick is a fine pitcher, but benefits from huge run support from that Phils offense. As good as the Phils offense has been for Kendrick, i find it hard they will be getting much off Santana, with the way he is going. Advantage Mets.

Lastly, the bullpens. The Mets bullpen has blown 21 saves this year, while the Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been perfect in save situations this year. If the Mets want to win these games, they are going to need good work out of the pen.

All in all, these are both very winnable games, with the Mets missing the Phillies two best pitchers (Hamels and Myers) and the Mets throwing their best pitcher in one of the games.

Mike Pelfrey has been one of the team’s best pitcher consistently this year, if not the best. What’s truly amazing is from Spring Training through much of May, Pelfrey looked like a deer in the headlights. Him and his unshaven face, the menacing mouthpiece (which, come on, really wasn’t menacing) that got knocked around on a consistent basis. Pelfrey was pitching scared, and I assume he felt like every game he was being closely watched, as this could be his last start if he doesn’t produce. Then there was Billy Wagner’s tee shirt in spring training, which said BIG PELF. Little did we know, that it would actually be used as a nickname, rather than the basis for a joke against Pelf.

Than, the light bulb went off. It all started on that May 31st afternoon, when he went pitch for pitch with Dodgers ace Chad Billingsley. It was was a true coming of age for Pelfrey, as he showed he could hang with the other big time arms in the NL. Sure, there have been some bumps in the road against the Reds, and that team he can’t seem to beat, but overall, Pelfrey has been everything we could have hoped for, and then some. Pelfrey has been a horse, and only looks to be getting stronger as the season goes along.