The Grand Old Human Element Applesauce: Mets Shut Out, Baxter Gets Robbed By Umpire, Batista Injured & Schwinden On Taxi Squad

Meet the Mets

The Mets were shut out 2-0, as Brandon Morrow was dominant in throwing a complete game 3-hitter for the Blue Jays. Without David Wright in the lineup, the Mets' offense was basically non-existent. Wright is still sick and may end up missing Sunday's game as well. After Mets' pitching got rocked on Friday, they got a mostly clean game from a combination of Miguel Batista, Jeremy Hefner, Tim Byrdak and Jon Rauch. Batista got the start and tossed two more scoreless innings before being lifted with a back injury. At that point, Hefner entered the game and tossed five solid innings of relief, unfortunately allowing a pair of runs in the fifth inning. That was enough to tag Hefner with his first big league loss even though it certainly wasn't deserved considering the job he did. Meanwhile, Morrow clamped the Mets offense down until the ninth inning. After a Scott Hairston walk and an Andres Torres fly out, Mike Baxter came up and ripped a ball down the right field line. The ball took a gratuitous bounce off of the right field stands to Jose Bautista, who tossed the ball off-line into second base. Unfortunately, Baxter was called out by the second base umpire, despite replays showing that the Jays' infielder whiffed on the tag by a good distance. The Human Element™, everybody!

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Dillon Gee heads to the hill for the Mets as they look to salvage the finale in Toronto. Henderson Alvarez will take the hill for the Blue Jays. Game time is at 1:07 PM and you can catch the action on WPIX11 and WFAN 660.

Jeremy Hefner really did a nice job out of the Mets' pen and it looks like his solid work has led to a roster spot and possibly a rotation slot, should Miguel Batista hit the DL. The team also announced that Chris Schwinden will be on the taxi squad today and may be activated in place of Batista.

With the recent rumors saying that the Mets are planning to offer David Wright a contract extension, Jayson Stark throws a blanket over the fire with a piece saying that some insiders don't think Wright will re-sign with the club. Of course, let's not forget that if Steve Phillips had dealt Wright for Jose Cruz Jr. back in 2002, this wouldn't even be a discussion.

Pedro Beato made a rehab appearance yesterday with the St. Lucie Mets, tossing two scoreless innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Beato was transferred to the 60-day DL but is eligible to come off a week from today. Once he does, the Mets will have to make room on the 40 man roster for him whether he goes to Buffalo or stays with the big league team.

Third base prospect Jefry Marte is off to a great start with AA Binghamton and it looks like the Mets' organizational hitting philosophy has played a big role in his improvements. That and the fact that he's finally in his 20's (he'll be 21 next month). It seems like Marte and Wilmer Flores have been around forever but both are still so young.

Around the NL East

The Marlins copied the Mets on Saturday, as they were shut out 2-0 by the Indians. In other news, it may be time for the Mets to copy the Marlins. The Fish sent struggling first baseman Gaby Sanchez down to AAA yesterday. I'm going to assume he's struggling because he just hasn't faced the Mets enough yet to buoy his numbers. It also looks like Emilio Bonifacio will hit the DL with a thumb injury.

Saturday was Pat Burrell day in Philly, as the long-time Met killer officially retired as a member of the Phillies but the team did not hold up their end of the bargain, as they fell to the Red Sox 7-5. While Chipper Jones is legendary as the Met Killer Du Jour of the 1990's/2000's, Burrell's Met Killing resume may be even more incredible to me: 42 home runs in 162 games is nuts and I'd imagine that the majority of that damage had to come during the early part of his career.

The Rays beat up on Randall Delgado, as they beat the Braves 5-2. Speaking of Chipper, the Braves' third baseman is injured again and will miss a few games.

Luckily, the Mets aren't the only team losing to American League clubs. The Nationals fell to the Orioles for the second straight day, this time by a 6-5 score. That makes Saturday an 0-5 day for the teams of the NL East. Viva American League?

Around the Majors

With Kerry Wood announcing his retirement on Friday, Grant Brisbee took a look back at his infamous 20 strikeout game.

Contract talks have stalled between the Rangers and Josh Hamilton and now, Nolan Ryan expects the outfielder to test free agency this offseason.

Scott Rolen's most recent shoulder injury may very well be his last, as there is no timetable for the veteran third baseman's return. If this is it for Rolen, it's been a hell of a career and probably a bit underrated, too.

It looks like the recently released Orlando Hudson has agreed to a deal with the White Sox.

Bobby Valentine's on-field argument on Friday resulted in one of the greatest GIF's of the year: