The Mets take on the Padres for a three game series at home with Mike Pelfrey taking on Chris Young.  The game has a 7:10 PM first pitch and can be seen on SNY.

Keys to the game:

• Help J-Rey.  Jose Reyes has been mashing lately especially in the last series vs. Houston.  However, the rest of the team failed to produce and they only scored seven runs in the three game series despite the great production from Reyes.  The Mets lineup has to figure out how to manufacture runs against a poor Padres team. 
• Prove We Don’t Need Billy.  Prior to tonight’s game, Billy Wagner was placed on the DL with a hurt forearm.  Ruddy Lugo was called up from AAA, and before the game manager Jerry Manuel suggested a number of pitchers can be used at the end of the game, but most likely Aaron Heilman.  Wagner has blown seven saves this year, and Manuel really just has to treat the 9th like any other inning - play the match ups and chose what pitcher is right for the moment. 

For a full lineup, head over to John Delcos’s blog at the Journal News, where you’ll see that Dan Murphy is playing LF and batting 2nd. 

For in-game banter, complaining and conversation head over to chat at the Hot Foot Bleachers. 

Win…please…   

The matter of who goes into the No. 2 hole in the order is often overcomplicated in baseball, and at times, certain hitters are glorified as ideal “No. 2 hitters,” (see: Luis Castillo), when it’s just a sort of backhanded compliment for an okay slap hitter. And that’s not even what the ideal No. 2 hitter should be.

The No. 2 spot is not about intangibles; it’s not about David Eckstein-level scrappiness. It’s about getting on base, period. Perhaps this is just a generalization, but it seems like half the time these scrappy slap hitters struggle to have OBPs around .350, which is hardly exemplary. For example, Eckstein, a leadoff hitter for the most part, has a career OBP of .351. Castillo’s career OBP is better, .368, but that is inflated a bit by great years with the Marlins in 2000 (.418) and 2005 (.391).

The Mets have struggled with the quandry of the No. 2 hole for some time now. Paul Lo Duca was the Mets’ “answer” in 2006 and 2007. How Lo Duca was ever lauded for his No. 2 hitting baffles me. He had an okay OBP in 2006 (.355) based almost entirely on his good batting average (.318). When the batting average left in 2007 (.272) , so did his OBP (.311). That doesn’t even begin to tell Lo Duca’s failure at the No. 2 spot in 2007. He actually batted .234 in 128 ABs in the No. 2 spot in 2007. His overall average was brought up by a .298 average in 151 ABs when batting 7th that year.

Lo Duca was always praised for taking pitches in the No. 2 hole so Jose Reyes could steal bases. However, he took 3.45 pitches per plate appearance in 2006. To put that into perspective, 148 batters take more pitches per plate appearance in 2008 than Lo Duca did in 2006. 2008 Jeff Francoeur is slightly more patient than 2006 Lo Duca.

So the Mets decided to go in a different direction, a platoon for both an offensive upgrade (Castro) and a defensive upgrade (Schneider). But neither was the answer to the No. 2 hole, so the Mets looked to other alternatives, primarily Luis Castillo. For what it’s worth, when healthy, Castillo sports a .372 OBP when batting 2nd in 2008, as opposed to a .318 OBP when batting 8th. Castillo is a step up from Lo Duca, as far as getting on base goes, but that isn’t saying a lot.

It’s fine to try someone like Castillo, who has a history of being this “type” of player, in the No. 2 hole. It’s fine to try some of your better hitters. When it becomes braindead managing is when anyone is just thrown into the role, basically treating the No. 2 hole like it’s a second No. 8 hitter. Does that make any sense, especially considering anybody who bats with any regularity in that role would get more at-bats in those games than David Wright? Yet, this is the methodology taken when poor regular hitters like Marlon Anderson have occasional at-bats in the No. 2 spot or youngsters like Nick Evans are just flung right into the role.

Another common misconception about the No. 2 hitter is that it should be for just any speedster on the roster, regardless of hitting prowess. This is another reason why Castillo is viewed as an ideal hitter, despite the fact that he’s hardly a stolen-base leader these days. Just the capacity to steal bases is the key. Take for example, Endy Chavez, who has collected a whopping 103 at-bats at the No. 2 spot in the lineup in 2008. The speed demon is batting a respectable .291 in those ABs, but his OBP is just .324. And like Castillo, he’s another guy that immediately goes to the No. 8 spot when not batting 2nd.

Someone like Ryan Church doesn’t fit the typical No. 2 hitter mold, but he was a better fit than Lo Duca, Castillo, and Chavez in his limited time there. He scalded the ball at a .322 clip with a .400 OBP. Part of the reasoning why he didn’t become a fixture at the spot was that the Mets lineup ached for power hitters at the time, and Church’s bat was the most potent. It’s a good argument, but I’d expect Church’s power numbers would have eroded a bit, and he would have fit the No. 2 mold even more over time.

The current No. 2 hitter, Carlos Beltran, has of course had the “Bobby Abreu argument” bandied around his name for virtually his entire Mets’ stay. When Beltran is slugging with the best of them, I agree, he probably should not be batting 2nd. But in 2005, with the way he produced, he might as well have batted 2nd. With his 2008, a dip from his 2006 and 2007 mammoth slugging, it’s right that he’s batting 2nd again.

With the way the lineup is stacked up currently, it’s gotta be Beltran in that No. 2 spot. A manager cannot give away at-bats to glorified 8-hole hitters when Beltran is clearly more adept at getting on base. Batting him fifth, as became the custom when Carlos Delgado took over the No. 4 spot, was foolhardy. It was backwards logic. Why have an OBP guy batting towards the bottom of the order? It made no sense. Even with a .266 average, Beltran still sports a .364 OBP, which would obviously shoot up with any hot streak. Beltran is a guy who has effortlessly maintained an above-average OBP throughout most of his career, even when his batting average and power have dipped. Things can change as players get on and off hot streaks, but this is the right move for right now.

I had the pleasure of covering the Cyclones game against the Staten Island Yankees for WGBB. Toby Hyde was there, as you already probably know, doing work for SNY. I had a chance to interview Brad Holt before the game and recap my observations of some prospects at my radio show blog. If you’re interested take a look.

Brad Holt Interview

Silva’s recap of 8/4 Cyclones Game

If you haven’t seen Toby’s appearance yet on SNY, I would recommend going to his site, MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com. He really did a great job outlining the farm system and his thoughts on some Mets prospects.

According to RotoWorld, the Rockies have called up RHP Steven Register.  This year the Mets drafted Register as a part of the Rule V draft, but he did not make the team in spring training.  Because he did not make the team, he was returned to the Rockies who have been using him as a closer for their AAA affiliate the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. 

Register has a 3.28 ERA with 16 saves in 48 appearances this season for the Sky Sox. 

Gee, do I miss him.  It was so cruel of the Mets management to draft him, and allow Mets fans to grow so attached to him before ripping him away by not adding him to the major league roster. 

I had already imagined myself saying to friends, “He Register-ed another hold” or, “He Register-ed another K.”

I already had my Steven Register uniform and t-shirt. 

I kid, I kid.  Steven, we hardly knew you but best of luck. 

Hat tip to Jake Ewald for the news.     

How long will the Mets keep up this charade of having three catchers? The only barely cognitive reason for having three is so the backup catcher can hit. Flying in the face of logic, the Mets have pinch-hit the third catcher, Robinson Cancel, leaving either Brian Schneider or Ramon Castro as the emergency catcher. That was bizarre enough, but now Cancel is getting occasional starts? No, this has got to stop.

When Cancel started his first game of the season, his first start since 1999, he contributed an 0-for-5 night at the plate, leaving four men on base. He helped that game along to an unnecessary 14 innings when it should have been wrapped up sooner.

In his second start of the season, on Sunday, he avoided going hitless. But he canceled out the goodwill of that lone hit by absurdly getting thrown out at third base with two outs and David Wright at the plate. He finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and three men left on base, lowering his season average to .211. He also struck out with the bases loaded, one of two such instances for the Mets on Sunday.

There are some public-relations reasons why Cancel got the start. Castro suffered a nasty collision in a play at the plate in Saturday’s game, plus it was the day game after a night game. But there’s no reason why Schneider should not have gotten the start on Sunday. He barely played in Saturday’s game, coming in the bottom of the ninth inning and catching less than two innings.

Yes, the Mets were facing lefty Randy Wolf and Schneider is a lefty, while Cancel is a righty. Is that really enough reason to start a third catcher over Schneider? Schneider’s batting just .190 against lefties, but Cancel only had four at-bats versus them before Sunday’s start. That small sample size doesn’t put a man barely on the roster above Schneider. Besides, if Jerry Manuel looked to blindly follow the match-ups, why did Castro start on Saturday night against RHP Roy Oswalt? Manuel looked to have a good bat against Oswalt’s arm, but Castro starting on Saturday sets up a decision between Schneider or Cancel. So, in other words, Manuel, who has said he has looked to get Cancel a few starts here and there, mapped out Cancel’s start on Sunday. Scary planning.

Boy, Cancel should really never start again. Some might argue that it’s nitpicking, but it’s these idiotic decisions that cost ballgames.

After a needed off-day today, the Mets have 23 straight games without a rest.  That’s three weeks of baseball without a chance for the team to catch their breath, or for relievers to rest their arms.  Without a doubt, it will put a strain on the team. 

On the bright side, 14 of the games are at home, while the nine road games aren’t far at all - Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  Also, of the 23 games the Mets have in the next 23 days, only five of those games are against teams that are above .500 - the Florida Marlins who they play at home beginning on Friday and two games against the Phillies to end the trip. 

They begin this long stretch with three games against the Padres (43 - 69), who have the third worst record in baseball and have the second worst offense in baseball.  Perhaps the only factor that is keeping the Padres from having the worst record in baseball is ace Jake Peavy, who is 8-7 with a 2.59 ERA this season.  Luckily for the Mets, they don’t have to face Peavy. 

Following San Diego, comes the most difficult part of the stretch - playing the Marlins (59 - 53).  Given the team’s numbers and records so far this season, it should be a fairly even match up with an edge headed towards the Mets because it’s at Shea.  The Mets are 33-26 at home this season, compared to 26-27 on the road. 

Then, the Mets play Pittsburgh (51 - 60) at home for a game as a make-up game for a contest rained out in April.  They then play Washington (41 - 70) for three games on the road, who not so proudly sport the worst record in baseball. 

The Mets then have a quick flight to Pittsburgh where the Mets have the chance to play four games against the mediocre Pirates. 

Following that, the Mets return home to play three games against their long-time rival, the Atlanta Braves (51 - 60).  The Braves were sellers at the deadline, dealing star 1B Mark Teixeira to the Angels.  The Braves staff ace Tim Hudson also has heard the worst news a pitcher can here: Tommy John Surgery.  Hudson is visiting the always dreaded Dr. James Andrews to have the procedure done and will be out for at least a year of rehabilitation.  Despite the rivalry, this is a weak Braves team of which the Mets can take advantage. 

Nearing the end, the Mets have a four game series against the Astros (53 -57) at home.  The Astros are a below average team, and the Mets should come out with a chip on their shoulder following an embarrassing sweep this past weekend.  

Finally, the Mets play two games against the division leading Phillies (61 - 50), before a much needed day of rest. 

All in all, the mets have a long but extremely easy stretch coming up.  18 of the 23 games are against sub .500 teams.  This is an opportunity for the Mets to avenge some bad losses (yes, I’m talking about Houston), and to at least catch up to the Phillies if not pass them.  Too many times the Mets let lousy teams beat them, and if the Mets seriously want to contend they are going to have to learn how to take advantage of easy patches in the schedule when they can. 

Tonight on 60 Minutes, a segment aired with Morley Safer interviewing the father of Sabermetrics, Bill James.  

Among other things, James said the best player in the game is Albert Pujols, and the most underrated player is Chase Utley.  However, when asked if he could have anybody on his team, he answered, “David Wright, of the Mets.” 

Why?

James answered, “Because he does everything I like, and he’s very young.”

To watch the part of the segment where James answers this, watch below and zoom to 2:20 into the video:

This is part 2 of the segment.  To watch part 1, head over to youtube.   

Longtime Braves announcer Skip Caray died today in his sleep at his Atlanta home. He had fallen ill earlier this winter and had failing health for close to a year. He was the son of famed announcer Harry Caray, and was the father of Braves announcer Chip Caray.

I know that they are the Braves, but Caray was one of baseball’s longtime great announcers. He will be missed by many around baseball.