Meet the Mets
If there's one thing I've learned about building goodwill in your fan base, it's that losing five of your last six games is counterproductive. The Mets accomplished that feat while striking out 16 times yesterday, with Tim Lincecum emasculating most of the lineup. It's tough to enjoy what Lincecum did last night when he's doing it at your house. Then again, Citi Field looked like whatever the Giants call their park in San Francisco last night as the away fans appeared to outnumber the folks in attendance who root, root, root for the home team.
Mike Pelfrey toes the rubber this afternoon to help the Mets avoid a sweep at the hands of the defending World Series champs. I hope Pelf can find enough incentive to get the job done against the Giants.
Pedro Beato also found his way to the disabled list yesterday with elbow tendinitis. That's the regular DL, not a special Rule 5 DL that counts against his service time.
The cavalry may be on the way, though. Jason Bay may return to the lineup today after he and his wife Kristen welcomed Garrett Jason Bay to the world yesterday. Congratulations to the Bays on the birth of their third child.
Angel Pagan may also return on Saturday as he continues to make progress in his rehab assignment.
Josh Thole taught his deaf dog to understand sign language. Can the dog reciprocate by helping Thole find his mojo?
Can we refrain from banishing Jenrry Mejia to the bullpen until he returns to action?
Mookie Wilson wants to debate whether the best team always wins.
Around MLB
You should start paying more attention to the weather when scouting players. A study published by the American Meteorological Society observed that cloudy weather helps hitters while blue skies favor the pitchers.
Zack Greinke returned to action against the Braves yesterday, though he didn't exactly wow critics with his 2011 debut.
Brewers reliever Zack Braddock landed on the disabled list with what team officials described as a sleep disorder. Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke felt compelled to defend the decision by saying, "This is a real thing."
Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti concedes that pitchers of his era were held to a more unrealistic standard regarding workload as compared to modern hurlers.
The Padres relegated Orlando Hudson to the disabled list with a sore hamstring. It's unclear whether he booed the fans who supported that decision.
Someone thinks R.A. Dickey stands a chance at throwing the next no-hitter.
Some parental advice from a Phillies fan: It's OK to hit your kid if they boo Jayson Werth.
The Dodgers shut down Jonathan Broxton with elbow soreness. While that gets him out of the bullpen, it still doesn't explain how the Dodgers will cover him and the rest of the payroll at the end of the month.
Burt Blyleven took his first lap of Cooperstown as an inducted member yesterday.
Pittsburgh police arrested the jerk who chose to take the money and run rather than help a seizing Pirates usher after a game who later died from a heart attack.
Say what you will about Jeff Francoeur, but Frency has a hell of an arm.