Mets Morning News: Bay's Bat, 'Mr. Clutch,' & Izzy Helps K-Rod

Jason  Bay's days in the Mets lineup may be numbered if the lefty continues to slump. The only reason he's remained in the lineup as long as he has is because of Terry Collins' new calm, cool, and collect attitude.

Collins implied yesterday that the old Terry Collins -- who wore emotions on his sleeve while managing the Astros and the Angels in the 1990s -- might have benched Bay already.

"One of the personality changes I think I've made is to have some patience. I'm trying to relay that to Jason, certainly -- don't press, you don't have to press the issue. It's going to be there, it's going to come."

Andy Martino of the Daily News has bestowed Jose Reyes with the title, "Mr. Clutch".

It used to be that Jose Reyes would walk into the batter's box in the late innings of a close game, all jittery and twitchy, and flail at the worst pitches. Now he knows: That isn't how you get them.

"I used to give away at-bats. When I was in the batter's box, I was edgy a lot. Now I'm calm."

No doubt, Reyes is a fantastic player, but it's amazing how the quality of play improves during contract years. Look at Carlos Beltran's numbers this year as well. All of a sudden, everyone is healthy and playing everyday. It must be a miracle (or the money).

Jason Isringhausen is paving the way for Francisco Rodriguez to reach 300 saves, all while putting his own dream of 300 saves on hold.

Isringhausen, 38, still has that goal of 300 saves on his to-do list. But in an unusual arrangement resulting from the Mets' wealth of experience at the back end of their bullpen, Isringhausen is in the process of helping Rodriguez pass him on the career list. With 285 saves, Rodriguez needs nine to vault Isringhausen, who has now made it his goal to assist him in doing just that.

"If I can help him achieve something that he wants, then that makes me feel good. Hopefully he ends up with 500."

Mets Offense Giveth, Mets Bullpen Taketh Away

Despite taking a 6-2 lead in the eighth inning, the Mets bullpen couldn't hold it together, handing Milwaukee their 22nd home win of the season.

• Mike Pelfrey went six innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out two. Pelfrey's big mistake in this game led to a two-run home run off the bat of Prince Fielder.

• The Mets broke the game open in the top of the eighth inning. Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan each had an RBI, but the big hit came from Ronny Paulino. Paulino, who was 4-4, hit a monster three-run shot to left field to make it 6-2, Mets.

• If you're keeping track at home, Jason Bay is now 0-800 at the plate. He did get on base in the fourth after getting hit by a pitch. Hey, I guess if you're not going to hit it, let it hit you.

• Pedro Beato and Jason Isringhausen gave up a combined four runs in the eighth inning. Ugly...just ugly.

• In the bottom of the ninth inning, Dale Thayer gave up a walk-off double to Nyjer Morgan.

Next up: The Mets finish their series tomorrow with the Brewers in Milwaukee. Game time is 8:10 p.m.

Mets Look To Make It Four Wins In a Row

June 8, 2011

8:10 PM ET

Miller Park, Milwaukee

TV: SNY

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: Mike Pelfrey (3-4, 5.56 ERA)

Pelfrey did not start the month of June off on a good foot, giving up seven runs in three innings of work his last time out. He looks to turn things around tonight against a team he has gone 1-1 against, with a 3.15 ERA.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Starting Pitcher: Randy Wolf (4-4, 3.69 ERA)

In five innings of work his last time out, Wolf allowed four runs on five hits, and got a no-decision. Wolf has been successful against the Mets throughout his career, posting a 12-5 record and a 3.27 ERA.

METS LINEUP:

Reyes-SS, Turner-3B, Beltran-RF, Pagan-CF, Bay-LF, Paulino-C, Evans-1B, Tejada-2B, Pelfrey-P

Mets Morning News: Jose's Triples, K-Rod's Weight, Carter's Treatment

Jose Reyes added to his league lead in triples Tuesday night, hitting his 11th this season.

"Reyes...became only the third player in the past 80 seasons to reach 11 triples in his team's first 60 games, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The others: Rod Carew, who had 11 through 60 games with the 1977 Minnesota Twins, and Curtis Granderson, who had 12 with the 2007 Detroit Tigers."

About Reyes' triples, manager Terry Collins said:

"I have never seen anything like this. I have never had a player like that, where he is so exciting to watch. When he hits a ball in the gap or down the line, it's three. He is right out of the batter's box, and he wants it badly. And it is so incredible."

Francisco Rodriguez reportedly lost 15 pounds since having two teeth extracted. Despite pitching a 1-2-3 inning last night, pitching coach Dan Warthen believes the sudden weight loss may have played a role in K-Rod's recent struggles.

"Physically, I think the teeth had a lot do with it. I think he lost weight, and it didn't look like he had any power. He just didn't look physically strong. I've seen it when [pitchers] are beat up. On video, he looks the same, but we're just not seeing the same arm strength. It looks like he's lost a bunch of weight. It doesn't look like he has the energy."

Gary Carter underwent his first radiation therapy treatment on Tuesday. Carter's daughter, Kimmie Bloemers, wrote in a private online journal:

"I am happy to report that it went very well! He is ready and determined to take on these six weeks (of radiation) like GAME SIX (maybe there is a small coincidence there all you Met fans!!) ... Pray for dad to have enormous peace and pray for the radiation to SHRINK THESE TUMORS!!"

Capuano Victorious In Return to Milwaukee

The Mets beat the Brewers by a score of 2-1, and have now won three game in a row. They are now also only two games away from .500. This was a big win for the Mets against a team with the best home field record in the majors. Before tonight's loss, the Brewers were 21-7 at home.

• Chris Capuano went six innings in his return to Milwaukee. He allowed just one run on six hits, while striking out five and walking two. His only run allowed came in the sixth inning on a solo home run to Prince Fielder.

• The Mets finally got on the board in the seventh inning with a two-run triple from Jose Reyes. Reyes now has 11 triples this season, ten of them were at Citi Field.

• Ruben Tejada was 2-4 with a double.

• The bullpen was fantastic tonight. Pedro Beato and Jason Isringhausen each pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Even Francisco Rodriguez managed to throw a 1-2-3 inning tonight to record his 17th save of the season.

Oh yeah, with this win, the Mets are also just 4.5 games back in the Wild Card standings.



Let's not get crazy. I'm not saying this is a team that is necessarily a top contender for the Wild Card, but hey...crazier things have happened.

Next up: The Mets continue their series in Milwaukee tomorrow night at 8:10 p.m.

Capuano Makes His Return to Milwaukee As Mets Face Brewers

June 7, 2011

8:10 PM ET

Miller Park, Milwaukee

TV: SNY

RADIO: WFAN 660

NEW YORK METS

Starting Pitcher: Chris Capuano (3-6, 5.19 ERA)

Capuano returns to Miller Park to take on his old ball club. While with the Brewers, he posted a 4.07 ERA in Milwaukee.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Starting Pitcher: Shaun Marcum (6-2, 2.78 ERA)

Marcum has been denied his seventh win of the season his last two times out. Having spent the past five seasons with Toronto, he has never faced the Mets.

METS LINEUP:

Reyes-SS; Turner-3B; Beltran-RF; Murphy-1B; Pagan-CF; Bay-LF; Thole-C; Tejada-2B; Capuano-LHP

Mets Morning News: Draft Selections, Einhorn, & Moving The Walls At Citi

In the first round of the MLB Draft, the Mets selected high school outfielder Brandon Nimmo from Wyoming, with the 13th overall pick. Read more about Nimmo here. In the compensation round, the Mets took Oklahoma high school pitcher Michael Fulmer, with the 44th overall pick. Both have committed to the University of Arkansas.

According to Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson of the NY Times, the Mets are not the first team David Einhorn has tried to buy. Einhorn missed out on the Brewers, who were for sale in 2004, losing to Mark Attanasio.

"In 2009, he met in Manhattan with Bob DuPuy, baseball's president at the time, and Jonathan Mariner, the chief financial officer of Major League Baseball, to discuss the path to buying a team, to find out what teams were on the market and to explore and understand various ownership structures."

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York looks at how moving the walls in left and right field could impact how many home runs are hit at Citi Field. GM Sandy Alderson made changes to San Diego's Petco Park in 2005.

"We did some computations which showed the change would have resulted in perhaps a dozen more homers [during the 2005] season, with a net positive of around five homers for the Padres. We wanted to address the concerns of some left-handed hitters without making a radical change to the ballpark. And I wanted to eliminate the easy triple where the ball just kept rolling toward that 411-foot sign. Fast guys will still get their triples. Bringing in the fence the distance we are talking about is not going to greatly change the way Petco Park plays. There is still going to be a lot of territory to cover in the power alleys. But the change will offer a balance."