ESPN is reporting that El Duque suffered a calf strain and may miss his start tomorrow.

Willie Randolph announced that Orlando Hernandez might not be able to make his start in Game 1 of the division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Randolph said that Hernandez felt something in his right calf while running in the outfield Tuesday. Hernandez, who is 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA with the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks this season, was scheduled to have an MRI exam this afternoon.

Source: ESPN

The Mets' postseason rotation is quickly becoming a mess.  I hope Heilman and Oliver are ready to pick up the pieces.

In a somewhat fitting conspiracy of events, the NL East champion Mets play the same team they faced when they last finished atop the division in 1988, hopefully this time with more satisfactory results.

Game 1 will be played at Shea on Wednesday, 10/4 at 4pm. We know the Mets will be using Orlando Hernandez in that game, but I don't know that the Dodgers have announced their starter as of yet. Good money is on Brad Penny, who was last seen pitching just one inning on Thursday in Colorado. That sets up a Game 2 matchup of Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, who last started on Saturday.

AA reader Jeremy has an extra ticket for Wednesday's Mets/Red Sox game at Fenway. Probable starters: Pedro vs Beckett. Per Jeremy:

I live in NYC and have been planning a trip up to Boston for the Mets series there. I bought the tix back in March, and recently one member of our group had to cancel, so we have one extra ticket. As luck would have it, the ticket is for Pedro's start on Wednesday night. It is a great seat: 3 rows from the field in Section 40, which is the small triangular section adjacent to the Sox bullpen. I paid $100 for the ticket, so I need to get that much for it.

If you are interested in the ticket you can contact Jeremy via e-mail.

John Helyar has a looooooong article on ESPN.com about the Yankees-Mets rivalry. If anyone feels like reading it and summarizing it for me I'd be much obliged, and happy to append it to this post.

Source: mlb.com

Is it just me, or would anyone else prefer the Mets just be playing the Phillies or Braves this weekend instead of the Yankees?

From the official pre-game notes:

• The Mets are 7-0 in the first game of a home series and 11-3 overall in series openers.
• After 18 home dates this season the Mets have drawn 705,245 fans; last season after 18 home games the Mets drew 597,975 fans, an increase of 107,270 fans.
• The Mets and Yankees have played a total of 156 times, with the Yankees holding a 92-63 edge with one tie in the series ... The Mets have faced the Yankees in 48 regular season games, with the Yankees holding a 29-19 lead.
• Willie Randolph is only the second man to play for both the Mets and Yankees and then manage the Mets ... Yogi Berra is the only man to play for both the Mets and Yankees and also manage both squads.

Let's go Mets!

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At 6:30pm tonight, prior to the Mets' subway series opener against the Yankees, WB11 will air a special called "Jeep Showdown at Shea". Per the press release:

The special will provide viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at David Wright's pre-game routine, interviews with Willie Randolph and Joe Torre, live "Tailgate Trivia" from Shea Stadium and the results of "WB11 All Time Mets Team" online fan poll.

Some of the highlights include:

• Sal Marchiano interviews managers Willie Randolph and Joe Torre, and Lolita Lopez gets the lowdown on what the Subway Series means to new Mets acquisitions: Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca.
• Get an inside look at Mets rising star David Wright's pre-game routine and rituals. From his arrival at Shea Stadium until he steps out onto the field, WB11 tags along with Wright.
• Gary Carter or Mike Piazza, John Franco or Tug McGraw? The fans have spoken and the results of the "WB11 All Time Mets Team" web poll, where Mets fans were able to vote online at http://wb11.com/ and select their favorite players, will be announced LIVE during the program.
• Take me out to the ballgame! During the 3 game Subway Series at Shea Stadium, 18,000 pounds of hotdogs, 6500 pounds of peanuts, 8,000 bags of Cracker Jacks and 10,000 gallons of soda will be sold. In "Shea by the Numbers" we provide the stats on Shea's top treats and show you what it takes to host the series.
• In addition, Mookie Wilson and WB11 Morning News anchor John Muller will host "Tailgate Trivia" LIVE from the pre-game parking lot at Shea Stadium, where two lucky fans will go head to head to win prizes and game tickets by answering Mets trivia questions.

If you miss the special you can catch segments of it on WB11.com after it airs.

For the record, my vote for best Mets player at each position:

C - Mike Piazza
1B - Keith Hernandez
2B - Edgardo Alfonzo
3B - Howard Johnson (for now)
SS - Rey Ordonez (sad)
LF - Kevin McReynolds
CF - Mookie Wilson
RF - Darryl Strawberry

At shortstop you could make the argument that Bud Harrelson was the best, but he wasn't really very good. He was actually a poorer offensive player than Ordonez and for a longer period of time. You could also very easily pick Cleon Jones as the best left-fielder, but I felt that McReynolds was more consistently good over his career with the Mets.

Eventually, David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran will be the best at their respective positions.

Source: mlb.com

It's kind of pathetic that Aaron Heilman is stuck in the bullpen and Lima Time! gets to go out there and embarrass himself (and the Mets organization) every fifth day. I'll consider it a quality start if he allows fewer runs than innings pitched, something he has yet to do in two previous attempts this season.

Let's go Mets!

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Over at Sportszilla and the Jabber Jocks (gotta love the Simpsons reference), Ben Valentine makes a compelling case to move Aaron Heilman into the rotation:

On the other side, the Mets have guys who should be able to do a decent enough job as the seventh inning man. Heath Bell is pitching well enough at AAA. In 15 innings this season he has struck out 26 and walked just three, with a 1.15 ERA. Doesn't he deserve a chance at the bigs more than Gonzalez or Lima? Heck as much as Met fans hate him, Jorge Julio's strong peripherals suggest he's not nearly as bad as people think. This season he's striking out 14.73 batters per nine while posting a 3.73 K/BB ratio. His high WHIP and ERA suggest he's been more the victim of bad luck than anything else. And even if those options don't float your boat, there's always the trade market. A seventh inning guy shouldn't cost you much, but a good starter will cost you Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey or both.

Ben makes a good point here. He mentions elsewhere in the article that we don't know exactly what to expect from Heilman, but the likelihood is that he will represent a significant upgrade over Lima, Gonzalez, and likely Bannister (at least the Bannister we've seen to this point). Refusing to give Heilman a shot in the rotation because you don't want to lose your third-best relief pitcher, well, that's just absurd.

Game 2: Cardinals 1, Mets 0

(Source: fangraphs.com - what's this?)

Steve Trachsel's line from Game 2:

 IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR   PC-ST   GS
7.0   4   1   1   3   2   0  112-70   64

Losing a game as the Mets did last night is infinitely more frustrating than a 10-0 blowout. I suppose it's the opportunity lost that infuriates me the most; that the Mets were on the cusp of winning, only to be undone by their biggest flaw to this point in the season. Namely, their inability to produce in high leverage situations. The data from a hundred years of baseball tells us that these things tend to regress (or progress) towards the mean over the course of 162 games; that good players (and teams) hit well in the clutch and that bad players (and teams) hit poorly in the clutch. This isn't much solace to me right now.

The Mets could have clinched a series win last night, but instead they may have booked a one-way ticket to their third straight series loss with Lima Time! taking the hill this afternoon. Steve Trachsel pitched a whale of a ballgame against a tough offensive club, but came up on the short end of another Mets offensive brownout. You have to give credit to Mark Mulder (for eight innings) and Jason Isringhausen, who pitched the Mets really tough and kept them at bay for most of the night.

It's a quick turnaround, as the teams go back at it at 1pm this afternoon.

Game balls go to:

• Steve Trachsel, 23.7% WPA
• Jose Reyes, 12.5% WPA

Source: mlb.com

Mark Mulder has been struggling this year, but Steve Trachsel is Steve Trachsel. The Mets really have to win tonight if they stand any chance of winning the series, as the specter of Lima Time! looms over tomorrow's matinee. Can't wait!?!

Let's go Mets!

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