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After a miserable first few days in Philadelphia, the Mets looked like a team on the verge of being swept. Mike Pelfrey was solid enough though, as the Mets managed a 7-4 win to close out the series. Nick Evans three run shot certainly didn't hurt the Mets cause today, and reliever Bobby Parnell also had a nice outing. While Pelfrey was noted for being heckled in his bullpen session by a Mets fan, the NY Times points out that they are becoming a rare breed in Philadelphia this season.
On the injury front, Jose Reyes is scheduled to start his rehab assignment in Binghamton this weekend. Tickets are still available if you live in the area. Johan Santana has also began throwing off of a mound, but with the minor league season coming to a close I really doubt we'll see him making a rehab start this year. The Mets brass seem to be talking about winter ball, which would be a real treat for fans in Venezuela.
Terry Collins is hoping to have Jon Niese back fairly soon. The injury doesn't appear to be serious, but I'd prefer we didn't rush Niese back for the "stretch run" this year. We have plenty of capable guys to come close out the season at or below .500 without risking our best pitcher's long term health. Rounding out the injuries, we should be hearing more about Ike Davis soon.
Patrick Flood tries to remind fans why Angel Pagan was thought of so highly last season. His conclusion that non-tendering Pagan would be a silly move is absolutely correct, and I don't expect it will really be considered.
Fangraphs looks into Jose Reyes value and how much his injuries this year may cost him on the market. I almost think this has been a blessing in disguise, as his value to the Mets should become even more obvious now while his value around baseball should be dropping.
Around the NL East:
As we pointed out earlier...the Phillies lost to the Mets. That's the club's 10,276th loss in it's storied losing history.
It's fitting that the other member of the 10,000 loss club, the Braves, fell to the Jim Hendry-less Cubs by a score of 3-2. Talking Chop took a closer look at the ridiculous strikeout numbers the Braves pitchers have been posting this season.
The Nationals didn't lose yesterday, winning 4-2 over the playoff hunting Diamondbacks.
The Marlins split their double header yesterday with the Reds. At least we're still in front of them in the standings.
Around MLB:
Ted Berg takes a look at one player who could be a bigger name on the free agent market than Jose Reyes this winter. Yu should make yourselves familiar with him (If that's not old already, I'm sure it will be soon).
BtB did an interview with Tom Tango. That's always worth a read.
Former Met Heath Bell was claimed on waivers by the Giants. McCovey Chronicles thinks it may be a blocking maneuver, I'm not convinced Brian Sabean even knows what that is. It's so nice to actually have a good GM now so we can make fun of other teams bad moves...
FanGraphs takes a look at spending in the ML draft. It's nice to see the Mets not being crucified for their cheapness all of a sudden.
Finally, Bud Selig was in Chicago supporting the Cubbies ownership. There is some talk of having the 2014 all star game there, and I don't think I'm alone in thinking teams like the Mets and Twins that have spent 100's of millions on new stadiums should certainly be hosting these things in the near future as well.