I Take Back Everything Bad I've Said About Scott Hairston

The Mets beat up the Phillies this afternoon, winning 11-2.

• Jon Niese went seven outstanding innings, giving up two runs on six hits, while striking out six and walking one. He did not allow a lead-off base runner through the first six innings.

• Scott Hairston had one of his best days at the plate as a Met, going 3-5 with a double and a three-run home run. He had a career-high five RBIs.

• Daniel Murphy continued to produce at the plate. He was 3-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.

• Even Jason Bay got in on the fun, ending his 0-18 slump, and going 2-4 with a run scored.

• Ruben Tejada committed two errors in today's game. That is now three errors in the past two games.

Next up: The Mets send Mike Pelfrey to the mound in their series finale against the Phillies Sunday afternoon. Game time is 1:10 p.m.

Mets Have To Go Without Beltran Against Hamels, Phillies

July 16, 2011

4:10 PM ET

Citi Field

TV: FOX

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: Jon Niese (8-7, 3.88 ERA)

The last time Niese faced the Phillies, he allowed one run over 6.1 innings to get a win. In his career, he is 2-3 with a 3.11 ERA against Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Starting Pitcher: Cole Hamels (11-4, 2.32 ERA)

Hamels finished the first half of the season going 11-4 with a 2.32 ERA. Luckily for the Mets, he hasn't fared particularly well against them, posting a 3-9 record against New York, with a 4.22 ERA.

METS LINEUP:

Pagan-CF, Turner-2B, Hairston-RF, Murphy-3B, Bay-LF, Paulino-C, Evans-1B, Tejada-SS, Niese-LHP

NOTE:

According to Adam Rubin:

Carlos Beltran is not expected at the ballpark today because of the flu, except possibly to see a team trainer or doctor, Terry Collins said. Collins said Beltran had "very high" fever during Friday's game and was nearly pulled from the series opener.

Mets Morning News: Wright & Reyes Updates, K-Rod Works Out New Deal, &The Bullpen

In his first rehab start since going on the disabled list with a fractured back, David Wright was 1-2 at the plate with a double and a strikeout. He played five innings for Class A St. Lucie Friday night.

According to the NY Post, Jose Reyes could be back from the disabled list as early as Monday. Reyes plans to spring in straight lines today, and run the bases on Sunday.

"We have to wait and see how I'm going to perform on Sunday...and then we'll determine what we're going to do after that," Reyes, who has been sidelined with a strained left hamstring since July 2, said before last night's opener against the Phillies. "The last five days, it's been very, very good. So hopefully it can continue to feel like that."

Francisco Rodriguez dropped his $17.5 million dollar vesting option that was picked up by Milwaukee in his trade to the Brewers.

The new buyout eliminates the 55 games-finished clause that would have activated the $17.5 million option and allows the Brewers to use Rodriguez as a closer without worrying about the option. It also calls for Milwaukee to pay Rodriguez $4 million if he opts out.

Meanwhile, the Mets will have a closer by committee. The top three to get a chance to save games are Bobby Parnell, Jason Isringhausen, and Pedro Beato. Isringhausen seems to think it will all work out just fine.

"We move on, so to speak," Isringhausen said. "Nobody is going to take K-Rod's place, we know how good he was so I think we're going to mix and match in the ninth between myself, Bobby and Beato.

"If nobody gets an ego, it'll work just fine. I don't think any of us will, I know I won't and I know they won't so it will work out just the way Terry wants it to work out."

Second Half Off To An Ugly Start For Mets

They couldn't hit, couldn't pitch, and they couldn't field. Stellar start to the second half, boys.

• R.A. Dickey went seven innings, giving up four runs on six hits, while striking out five and walking two. He allowed one home run, a solo shot to Raul Ibanez, in the sixth inning.

• Daniel Murphy picked up right where he left off at the plate in the first half of the season. Murphy was 2-4 with a double.

• Carlos Beltran was 1-2 at the plate with a home run. Beltran hit his 14th homer of the season, a solo home run to center, in the eighth inning.

• The Mets were 0-5 with runners in scoring position, and they left eight men on base.

• As for the defense, it was non-existent in the eighth inning. Tim Byrdak came in to pitch the eighth, and was let down not once, but twice by his middle infielders. Justin Turner botched a potential double play ball. Two batters later, Ruben Tejada committed a fielding error to load the bases.

• Ryota Igarashi, who was called up from Buffalo following the trade of Francisco Rodriguez, comes in with the bases loaded and proceeds to give up a three-run double to John Mayberry.

Next up: Jon Niese takes the mound as the Mets and Phillies play game two of their three-game series on Saturday. Cole Hamels will start for Philadelphia. Game time is 4:10 p.m.

Mets Open Second Half With Series Against Philadelphia

July 15, 2011

7:10 PM ET

Citi Field

TV: SNY

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: R.A. Dickey (4-7, 3.61 ERA)

In his last outing before the All-Star break, Dickey went seven innings against the Giants to get a no-decision. He gave up two runs on seven hits, while striking out four. In his career, he is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA against the Phillies.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Starting Pitcher: Vance Worley (4-1, 2.20 ERA)

Worley last pitched for the Phillies on July 4, going seven scoreless innings and giving up just two hits. In order to help him maintain his routine over the All-Star break, the Phillies sent Worley to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Against the Mets, he is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA.

METS LINEUP:

Pagan-CF, Turner-2B, Beltran-RF, Murphy-3B, Bay-LF, Duda-1B, Thole-C, Tejada-SS, Dickey-RHP

NOTE:

If a save situation presents itself for the Mets, manager Terry Collins stated that veteran reliever Jason Isringhausen will take on the role of closer.

Mets Morning News: No-Trade Lists, Davis' Ankle

The Mets open up the second half of the season with a three-game series against Philadelphia starting tonight. The pitching match-ups go as follows:

• Friday: R.A. Dickey v. Vance Worley
• Saturday: Jon Niese v. Cole Hamels
• Sunday: Mike Pelfrey v. Kyle Kendrick

According to General Manager Sandy Alderson, Francisco Rodriguez's former agent, Paul Kinzer, never submitted a no-trade list to the Mets. This list was made up of ten teams K-Rod would have vetoed a trade to.

"His contract provided for a 10-team limited no-trade provision, so long as a list was provided by a certain date, which was roughly 2-1/2 years ago," Alderson said. "To our knowledge, that list was never submitted, and we proceeded with the trade market on that basis."

In case you missed it, Ike Davis will stay off his injured left ankle for another three weeks. If it does not show significant improvement by the end of that time, he will be undergoing microfracture surgery.

Davis Resting Another Three Weeks, Surgery Possible

Here's some Ike Davis news:



Apparently, after running last weekend, Davis felt pain in his ankle. He then flew to North Carolina to receive a cortisone shot. Out of curiosity, are there no doctors in Arizona who can give a guy a cortisone shot?

Davis will stay off his left ankle for the next three weeks to see if it will get any better, and possibly avoid season-ending surgery. If his ankle does not show much improvement by the end of the three weeks, however, he will be undergoing microfracture surgery.

Sorry to sound pessimistic, but I have a feeling the Mets will be without Davis for the remainder of the season.