Left On Base Applesauce: Mets Leave Equivalent of Small Country On Basepaths, Jose Turns 28, Bay Gets a Hit

The Mets got a gritty complete game effort from R.A. Dickey on Saturday night but the offense couldn't get the big hit, and they fell 3-2 to the Pirates. Daniel Murphy's error in the third inning allowed the Pirates to steal a pair of runs and the Mets' offense left a boatload of runners on base. The Pirate bullpen navigated through some choppy waters to shutdown the Mets the rest of the way. Jason Bay made his long awaited return to PNC Park and managed a single to break an 0-24 streak at the plate. Jose Reyes went 2-5 on his 28th birthday but also was caught stealing in the first inning. Carlos Beltran selfishly stole his first base of the season as well.

After the game, the Mets announced that they had optioned Dale Thayer to AAA Buffalo and recalled D.J. Carrasco. Carrasco made eight starts in his month and a half at Buffalo and really came on strong in his last few. Hopefully he can become the rubber-armed middle reliever Sandy Alderson envisioned when he inked Carrasco to a two year contract in the offseason.

Ted Berg says goodbye to Thayer and wonders what could've been. I'm sure we'll see the stache back at some point in the semi-near future.

A little off topic, but Huey Lewis and the News played a post-game concert at PNC Park, which got a lot of coverage from Mets beat writers. Andy Martino really seems like he's a big fan of the News.

Dillon Gee probably isn't a future ace but is he deserving of a spot on the NL All Star squad next month? If he keeps pitching the way he has so far over the next few weeks, I would agree that he deserves to make the team.

Sandy Alderson may be in charge of the Mets now, but how much of this team was actually assembled by Omar Minaya? While Minaya should get credit for the guys he brought in, he deserves as much blame for allowing so many sub-replacement level players to clog the roster during his tenure.

Former Mets third baseman and hacking hitting coach Howard Johnson can't keep his mouth shut.

Around the NL East

The Mets lost some ground in the division as the Phillies beat the Cubs, the Braves outlasted the Astros and the Nationals beat the Padres. The Marlins did lose to the Diamondbacks, however.

Jason Heyward is almost ready to begin a rehab assignment for the Braves.

The Phillies weren't happy with the umpire's decision to delay the start of Saturday's game. Somebody call the Waambulance.

The Marlins fired hitting coach John Mallee on Wednesday. Mallee released a statement this evening. Logan Morrison made some comments about the firing and was reprimanded soon after.

Nationals reliever Todd Coffey wore capri pants on the mound Saturday. Yup, not much going on in Washington.

Around the Majors

MLB and the Player's Association are apparently discussing the possibility of scrapping the divisions and going to a format of 15 teams in both the AL and NL. This would cause mass confusion because the best teams would actually make the playoffs (shocker, right?), the Astros would possibly switch to the American League and most importantly, Buster Olney would be correct for the first time in his professional career.

The Indians-Yankees beanball war continued sort of, as Indians pitcher Mitch Talbot slipped off the mound and hit Alex Rodriguez in the back. The beanball was not thought to be malicious but umpire Dan Iassogna played the hero and took matters into his own hands by tossing Talbot from the game. In other news, David Wells tells his former team to grow some.

Milwaukee's Ryan Braun is the leader in the National League All Star voting, while Toronto's Jose Bautista leads the American League voting. The Mets have three players in contention for starting spots: David Wright sits in 4th place behind Placido Polanco at 3rd base, Jose Reyes is in 3rd place behind Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Beltran is selfishly in 9th place behind leaders Braun, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman.

Finally, with Buster Posey out for the season, the Giants are going to move Pablo Sandoval back behind the plate. As is the custom with any mention of Sandoval, I am obligated to post this gif for your enjoyment: