All Aboard!

With the sweep in Philadelphia Wednesday night, it seems as though more and more people are hopping on the Mets bandwagon.

Yes, it's early and there's still plenty of time left in the season for the team to tank, but for now, they're a lot of fun to watch.

They're a young group that has some personality and some fight.

Raise your hand if you thought, going into Philadelphia Monday night, that after having to face Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee the team would walk away winning not one, not two, but ALL THREE games?

If you raised your hand I think you're lying. But anyway...

The 2012 Mets may not be the most talented group out there, but they have a lot of heart and it's paying off.

This has been a fun season so far. Keep it up. Let's Go Mets!

Harvey: He's Not Ready, So Stop Asking

"He's not ready."

It's a pretty simple sentence that I don't find to be too complicated to understand. But for some reason, there is an alarmingly large group of Mets fans out there that can't comprehend this fact about prospect Matt Harvey.

Sandy Alderson has said himself that Harvey is not ready, and that the organization is not even looking to bring him up any time soon.

With the loss of Mike Pelfrey to Tommy John surgery, and the disaster that followed with Chris Schwinden, I still see fans asking about Harvey.

Right now the Mets need a stopper. Someone who can fill the void until someone is ready to be in the starting rotation long-term.

If I had to guess, I would say Chris Young will get the spot in the rotation as soon as he is done rehabilitating his shoulder.

To date, Harvey has just 30 innings under his belt at Triple-A. His first few starts for Buffalo were ugly, and he has just recently found his groove.

The same thing happened last season when he was called up to Double-A Binghamton. He struggled in his first few starts before finding success.

I don't know about you, but I'm sensing a pattern here.

If Harvey were to get called up now, I'd bet that this pattern continues. He'll probably get shelled in his first few starts, and hopefully straighten things out.

He still has things he needs to work on, and I think we can all agree that the Major Leagues is not a place to learn as a young player.

I understand that fans want to see him pitch, but now is not the time.

He's not ready.

Mets To Host 10th Annual Autism Awareness Day

The Mets announced today that they will host the 10th annual Autism Awareness Day at Citi Field on Sunday, May 6.

According to the team,

"The Mets will take numerous steps to ensure fans participating in Autism Awareness Day have a special day at the ballpark. Based on recommendations from Autism Speaks, the Mets have created a private, secluded area in the Bullpen Plaza where fans can go if they need a break from the crowd. The ballpark's sound system will be turned down in the Left Field Landing and Citi Vision and the rightfield scoreboard will have reduced use of strobe lights or similar pulsating special effects. The club also collaborated with Autism Speaks on a 'Guide to Citi Field' that teaches children what to expect at the game."

This is fantastic. I love that the team is going out of its way to accommodate those on the autism spectrum. (For those who don't know, I work with students with autism during the summer).

Why are all of these accommodations so great? Why are they making them? I'll break it down for you.

It can be very difficult for those with autism to ignore any background noise or visuals like you or I. As a result, bright flashing lights, and loud booming music can lead to sensory overload. This sensory overload can be overwhelming and lead to stress and anxiety.

Hence the private, secluded area in the Bullpen Plaza. This quiet space will help people decrease their sensory overload, and essentially take a break from all the chaos around them.

As for the "Guide to Citi Field," people on the autism spectrum benefit from knowing what to expect. They will need to know what to expect once they arrive at the park (e.g. going through security, getting their ticket scanned, going to their seats, etc.), as well as what will happen and what they will see once they enter the park.

Good for the Mets for taking the time to make sure that everyone who attends Sunday's game, can do so comfortably.

So Long, Big Pelf

Mike Pelfrey underwent Tommy John surgery today and odds are good that he will not pitch for the Mets again.

I can't say I'm terribly upset by that.

I don't mean the surgery. I don't wish injury on anyone, and I hope that he has a speedy recovery. I'm talking about his playing time with the Mets.

Yes, he had some success during his time here, but for many fans and myself, we only remember last season. The ugliness. The hand licking. The wiping of the forehead. Then back to the hand licking.

So gross.

He's been labeled a head case by some. Maybe they're right. Maybe they're wrong.

Either way, I don't think New York was the best setting for him.

Assuming all goes well with the surgery, I'm guessing that he will recover and go on to pitch for a smaller market team and find success...like most ex-Met pitchers do.

Good luck, Pelf.

Interview With Tim Byrdak

Tim Byrdak 

Here is part of our conversation with reliever Tim Byrdak from the Blogger Event.


Talk about this team from last year to this year. Is there a different atmosphere?

Terry's done a great job, last year, even this year. I think the biggest thing about this year, with this team, is Johan Santana. He sets our rotation up where everyone kind of falls into place. You can use R.A. as your number two and Niese, it sets everybody up in a rotation so nicely. Without him last year, we had a couple of injuries, trying to keep guys in the rotation and fill spots. It's a little tough, but the atmosphere he brings around the clubhouse keeps things loose and we go from there.

Losing Pelfrey and having Jason Bay out to the 15-Day disabled list, does somebody say just pick up the slack and go from there?  

There's nothing you can do during the course of the year. Guys are going to go down. It's a shame that it happened so quickly, and again, two or three guys sitting out at the same time, but again it's going to give the young kids an opportunity to come up here and compete, and show them what they can do. I think you've seen in in Nieuwenhuis. The role that he's played out there and stuff like that. It's make or break. Can you play up here or not? He's showing right now that he deserves to stay.

Interview With Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Nieuwenhuis talking with the media.

Before Wednesday's game, Kirk Nieuwenhuis talked with reporters and bloggers. Here's a transcript of most of that interview.

In the clubhouse, who is your biggest influence? Who do you go to the most to talk about hitting, fielding, or adjusting to the major league life?


There's a lot of guys , and that's the great thing, I think, about this clubhouse. There's so many guys I can go to. You know as a young guy, you always want to lean on your teammates for advice, for stuff like that. We have so many guys like that, you know Murph, and Thole, and Duda, and even David, you know there's just so many guys.

Is there something comforting coming up to a major league team and playing with X teammates in the minors? Does that make it easier for you?

I think so. You know, I can only speak from my experience, and it's been nothing but great. Being with guys that I've been around a little bit in spring training the past two or three years, and then also playing with Duda and Ike in the minor leagues...it's been nothing but great.

Blogger Day At Citi

The Mets were nice enough to invite me, along with my fellow bloggers, to Wednesday night's game.

We were allowed to go to Terry Collins' pre-game press conference, watch batting practice, talk to some players, view the game from the press box, and then attend Collins' post-game press conference.

 It was a very cool experience. Below are some photos.