The Mets are looking for the sweep as the finale of the Shea half of the Subway Series kicks off in about 90 minutes.  John Maine will get the start, he's currently 5-1 but has been a bit shakey in his last few starts. Maine currently has a 2.15 ERA, and pitching is a big question on both sides.  Maine has little experience against most of the Yankee lineup last facing them while with Baltimore, and Yankee starter Tyler Clippard has what could be described as little experience in general.  He'll be making his major league debut.  Behind him, a tired bullpen, after an Endy Chavez single took out starter Rassner on his 9th pitch of the game. While the Met bullpen was a little sloppy in the rain, it has the rest factor.  Sele hasn't pitched in five days, and Heilman came in for an extremely brief appearance.

The lineup:
SS Reyes
LF Chavez
CF Beltran
1B Delgado
3B Wright
RF Green
C Lo Duca
2B Easley
P Maine

With a late start tonight after a day game yesterday and a day off tommorow, the everyday guys will all get the start tonight, in pretty much the exact same order as last night.  Endy has run hot for the series with his defense and his bat, having gone 5 for 8 so far with his first fo the season homerun.  In their sole game against Maine the O, the Yankees racked up seven runs over the course of an inning including some key hitting from Posada who's been one of the few Yankees to continue to run hot. Maine has improved a lot since then, and the Mets are 7-1 in his starts this season.

Tonights game is on ESPN and WFAN, as always come on by the Bleachers to talk the game, Mets baseball, and the blue and orange glow of the Empire State Building.

After last nights never ending rain delay, and the resulting game that ended past midnight we get…well, the type of lineup one would expect. Recently called up minor leaguer Vargas will take the mound. Vargas is 2-3 with a 5.3 ERA for the Zephyrs. He's given up 21 ER in just over 35 innings. The good news? The cubs are starting Angel Guzman, who hasn't been the most steller of pitchers.  He's had a few good performances, but has yet to win a game.

Back to the less than good news, the lineup:

CF Chavez
SS Gotay
RF Green
1B Delgado
3B Franco
2B Newhan
C Castro
LF Gomez
P Vargas

The bench is starting to rest up most of the everyday players, between the late ending last night and the fact that the Mets have a rather large number of consecutive games scheduled, including a series vs the Yankees if you have not yet heard. I'm not even entirely sure how I should feel about this lineup. Franco has actually proved himself to be pretty decent defensively in his few starts at 1st, so lets see if he can do as well at 3rd. Or  at least respectable. The outfield will be our strong point, with Endy and Gomez out there with Green.  The three of them might even prove to be most of our offense.  Castro has been off and on, starting the season decently hot and has shown increased power this season. 
Gotay and Newhan will provide the biggest question marks, both defensively and at the plate. I wouldn't rule the Mets out here, but this could be an ugly game.  Uglier than Green and Newhan bald.

Game time is 1:10 and can be caught on WFAN and SNY. If you aren't working, head on by the Bleachers to talk Mets baseball, the game, and thoughts on Vargas.

Another late night west coast game, as the Mets continue their western trip, tonight in San Fran. Oliver Perez takes the mound.  At 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA.  He seems to still be pitching solid ball, but historically he's struggled against the Giants though done well vs Bonds. He'll face off Barry Zito, who is um…not liked so much by the Mets. Something about comments to the media about the Mets having too much ego.  Zito struggled early in the season as he played with a new delivery. 

the lineup:

SS Reyes
3B Wright
CF Beltran
LF Alou
1B Delgado
C Lo Duca
RF Green
2B Easley
P Perez

Everyone comes back to the party.  Beltran after his day of rest is back. Alou and his knees are back.  Wright will bat 2nd and Alou cleanup.  As with the other day, either the move will help him hit, or it'll keep Wright and Delgado's slumps away from each other.

Game time is 10:15pm, and can be caught on SNY and WFAN. As always, head on by the Bleachers to talk the game, Mets baseball, and which Molina catcher you dislike the most.

The Rockies (8-11) come to Shea as they face the Mets for the first time this season.  John Maine takes the mound, and has yet to face the Rockies. Ever. Maine is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA.  He pitched incredible well last time up, keeping the game hittless till the 7th.  The Rockies, in general, have faired poorly at Shea, having won only one of their last 14 visits. Maine will face off against Bucholtz, who's 1-0 with a 5.68 ERA.  A high ERA against a Beltran and Reyes that have been hitting well lately is probably not the most reassuring thing for the Rockies staff. 

The lineup:

SS Reyes
C LoDuca
CF Beltran
1B Delgado
3B Wright
LF Alou
RF Green
2B Valentin
P Maine

Different day, same lineup.  Wright has gone hitless since ending his streak, dropping his average to .273.  Other Mets have continues to thrive though, with four of our starting eight still hitting over 300.  Despite going hitless yesterday, Beltran still the pack with .373, and has almost hit for the cycle twice (one hit shy both times) in the last week. Stache hit a grandslam off Rockie start Bucholtz last season.  Ex Met and current Rockie  Kaz Matsui is still out with back spasms,  an area that has kept him on and off  the DL since his time as a Met. 

Game time is 7:10, and can be caught on SNY or WFAN.  As always, head on by the Bleachers to talk the game, Mets baseball, and your NL Player of the week.

Another chapter in the Mets Braves rivalry as the Braves come to Shea for a 3 game series.  Mike Pelfrey makes his second start, getting a no decision in his first start of the year that had its ups and downs. He pitched himself into some trouble, got help from the Mets D, and lasted just over five innings.  He enters tonight with a 3.18 ERA.  He'll be facing Tim Hudson, who's been solid this season. Hudson's at 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA. The Mets bats will need to continue to perform as they did the last few games to keep Pelfrey in this tonight.

The lineup:

SS Reyes
C Lo Duca
CF Beltran
1B Delgado
3B Wright
LF Alou
RF Green
2B Valentin
P Pelfrey

They're getting the band back together. Lo Duca rejoins the lineup to once again give us our standard eight in their rightful spots in the field and in the batting order. Five of our everyday players enter tonights game batting over .300, with Alou leading the pack at .367.  Beltran has been heating up though, going 4 for 6 last night including a homerun and two doubles.  Reyes, Wright and Green join them in the over 300 club, with Valentin just outside with a .298 BA as the icing on his highly defensive skilled cake. The Stache has now gone 115 innings without an error, while adding 40 put outs and 50 assists. He's also participated in 16 of the 23 Met double plays. His, as well as the rest of the Mets, Defense will be key in tonights game, especially if Hudson continues to dominate hitters.

Game time is 7:10, and can be caught on SNY and WFAN.  Assuming we have no problems tonight, head on over to the Bleachers to chat Mets baseball, the game,

After a loss yesterday, the Mets look to bounce back and take the series with a win tonight. Tom Glavine takes the mound.  His start against the Braves was quick, lasting only 4 innings, during which he gave up two earned runs on four hits, to bring his ERA to 2.38. 

The Lineup:

SS Reyes
C Lo Duca
CF Beltran
1BDelgado
3B Wright
LF Alou
RF Green
2B Easley
P Glavine

Jose Valentin has the day off, giving Easley his first Met start.  Easley has appeared just once so far this season, making one at bat in which he did nothing remarkable. Though Easley was the last man on the 25 man roster to make an appearance in game this season, he is the second to fill in as a starter (Castro filled in once for Lo Duca).

Lo Duca and Reyes lead the team with a .333 BA. Carlos Delgado has done well in past face offs with philly pitcher Moyer, batting .456 with 15 RBI's.  He's currently battign .316 with 8 RBI's for the season.

The game is broadcast on SNY, WFAN, and as always, come on by the Bleachers to talk Mets baseball, what Lo Duc is doing for his birthday, and everything else Mets.

The second game of the home opening series, as the Phills play the Mets.  Oliver Perez makes his second start of the year for the Mets, hoping to have yet another strong outing.  He took the win in his last performance, and currently has a 1.29 ERA with 7 innings pitched.  David Wright looks to make this the 20th game in a row his hit in, and Jose Reyes has reached safely every game so far.

The lineup, courtesy of mlb.com

SS Reyes

C Lo Duca

CF Beltran

1B Delgado

3B Wright

LF Alou

RF Green

2B Valentin
P Perez

Same old same old as far as lineups.  Beltran and Reyes remain at top with RBI's, and after his performance monday, Paul Lo Duca now leads the the starters with a .385 BA, followed closely by Green with .370.

Game time is…well in four minutes.  Watch on SNY. Listen on WFAN. And as always, stop on by the Hot Foot Bleachers, tonight and everynight, to talk Mets baseball, your sole fond Richard Hidalgo memory, and your favorite at bat music.

After a day of rest, during which everyone else kicked the season off, the Mets and Cards play game 2 of their series in St Louis.  El Duque takes the mound for the Mets.  After being sidelined with neck problems, El Duque started the spring slow but finished strong. This is his first regular season game vs the Cards.  He'll be facing the Cards Kip Wells.  The lineup, courtesy of John Delcos at LoHud:

SS Reyes

C Lo Duca

CF Beltran

1B Delgado

3B Wright

LF Alou

RF Green

2B Valentin

P Hernandez

All the starters, in their normal spots, both in the order and in the field. Everyone seemed to get off to a decent start both at the plate and defensively, hopefully we'll see more of the same tonight.  The game is broadcast on SNY, can be listened to on WFAN, and talked about in the Bleachers, where we chat the game tonight and everynight here at the Foot. Gametime is 8:10.

As we hit the final stretch, today also marks our final split squad game of the preseason.  The A team will be hosting Baltimore and Chan Ho Park gets the nod on the mound, presumable because it will make it easier for the Mets brass to watch him as they get ready to finalize the roster.  Yesterdays solid performance by El Duque probably changes somethings, and makes those of us (me for starters) calling for his placement on the DL to start the season look a bit foolish.  The lineup for the A team (and yes, I know there's no first baseman), courtesy of John Delcos

SS Reyes

3B Wright

CF Beltran

LF Alou

C Duca

RF Green

DH Franco

2B Valentin

RHP Park

Delgado is still in Puerto Rico, having left yesterday morning to be with his wife, who went into labor.  I would assume either Franco is actually playing 1B, or its being covered by Carp or Newhan. No word yet though. I'll be back with that info, and hopefully the lineup for the B team playing in Jupiter and led by John Maine as soon as it becomes available.  Meanwhile, come on by the Bleachers today and everyday where we talk Mets baseball, as we too get into inseason chatting shape.

followup

Courtesy of mlb.com, the lineup for the B team game in Jupiter, vs the Marlins.

RF Milledge
3B Newhan
CF Johnson
C Castro
1B Carp
LF Ambres
2B Gotay
SS Hernendez
P Maine

With that solved, its probably safe to assume that Franco is playing 1B rather than DHing, being that the most likely other 1B candidates (Newhan and Carp) are both playing in the B game.