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Meet the Mets
Yuck. I'm not really sure how else to describe Tuesday evening's 7-6 extra inning loss. On the one hand, the Mets' offense mounted a number of comebacks throughout the night. Chris Young also looked solid over five innings. On the other hand, the defense was abysmal and while Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy were involved, it begins and ends with the Jordany Valdespin experiment at shortstop. Valdespin came on in the 6th inning as a pinch hitter and cracked a solo home run to get the Mets on the board. Later, he ripped a double in front of Andres Torres' two-run triple. But his work at shortstop in the bottom of the 10th inning? Ghastly. So bad, that I prefer not to relive those memories here. It did lead to the game-tying run crossing the plate and probably should've lead to the game ending right there. But to his credit, Bobby Parnell worked his way out of the jam and the Mets moved onto the 11th. In the top of the 12th, Scott Hairston hit a home run off of Ross Detwiler because, simply, it was Scott Hairston facing a lefty. It's just what happens these days. That gave the Mets a 6-5 lead but Elvin Ramirez, on to pitch his second inning in the bottom of the 12th, was visibly gassed. He allowed the Nats to score a pair of runs to win it on a Bryce Harper single. By that point, Mets fans were begging for the game to end and thankfully, it did.
Choose Your Recap: MLB.com, ESPN NY, Daily News, New York Times, Associated Press, Star-Ledger
Jeremy Hefner will get the start for the Mets on Wednesday, in place of Johan Santana, as they look to get back on the winning track. He'll be opposed by veteran righty Edwin Jackson for the Nationals. Game time is at 7:05 PM.
The Mets placed Ramon Ramirez on the DL, while designating Jack Egbert for assignment. In their place, they activated Chris Young and Miguel Batista from the DL. Meanwhile, it looks like Jason Bay will be activated tomorrow. The news isn't as good for Ruben Tejada, who left his rehab appearance in Buffalo with quad tightness. He'll head back to Florida to start this process all over again. Sigh.
Jon Rauch is back in New York and is letting his elbow rest after an exam showed "debris" in the joint. Too many injuries.
Tuesday was Day Two of the MLB Amateur player draft and you can review the Mets' selections in rounds 2-15 here, or you can look at Alex Nelson's excellent scouting reports on the front page of this site.
David Wright leads NL third baseman in all-star voting. TRAID!
Around the NL East
Cliff Lee once again tried to pick up his first victory of the season and again, that effort was thwarted. The Phillies fell 2-1 to the Dodgers, as Lee gave up a pair of runs in the eighth inning.
Atlanta's offense exploded for 11 runs, as they shut out the Marlins 11-0 behind the arm of Tim Hudson.
Around the Majors
Dodgers' legend Tommy Lasorda suffered a mild heart attack on Monday, though it sounds as if he'll be okay. Get well soon, Tommy!
Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick is frustrated, so he decided to speak candidly about Stephen Drew and Justin Upton. That is never a good idea.
The Red Sox sent struggling pitcher Daniel Bard down to AAA Pawtucket. The set up man turned starter has not been good in the Sox rotation, as he has a 5.30 ERA and two more walks than strikeouts.
SS Carlos Correa went #1 overall to the Astros in Monday's first round but righty Mark Appel, who was long thought of as the front runner for the Astros' slot, apparently turned down a $6 million offer by Houston. Of course, Appel was drafted by the Pirates and their entire draft pool is $6.6 million.