What A Load Of Bull, Pen! Applesauce: Lots Of Four Letter Words Should Go Here

Meet the Mets

Good things from Tuesday night: Jon Niese was really good, throwing seven innings and allowing just a run on three hits, while striking out 8 Nationals. Jordany Valdespin hit a pinch-run go-ahead home run to give the Mets a 3-2 lead in the ninth. Bad things from Tuesday night: EVERYTHING ELSE. The Mets' offense, non-Valdespin division, was mostly dreadful all night. Jason Bay made his triumphant return to the Mets' lineup with an 0-3 night. And the bullpen. Oh, the bullpen. Up 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Bobby Parnell came in and surrendered the tying run after a few hits. After the Mets took another lead in the top of the 10th, Tim Byrdak came on to face a slew of righties for some silly reason and naturally was roughed up (though the game-tying hit was a scorching triple off the bat of Bryce Harper). Fast-forward to the Mets loading the bases with Nats with one out and Pedro Beato entering the game. On the fourth pitch to Tyler Moore, Beato bounced a curveball that Josh Thole could not handle and the Nationals were victorious 5-4 on a walk-off wild pitch. Yikes.

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The Mets look to snap their losing streak, as Chris Young takes the mound tonight up against Jordan Zimmermann. First pitch is at 7:05 PM.

Looks like Saturday's start against the Dodgers will go to Miguel Batista. Sandy Alderson announced that Matt Harvey will stick around at AAA for a bit longer, though he'll see major league time later on this season. Patrick Flood had a real rational look at the whole situation. Basically, it's nice to pine for the young option with upside but there's no guarantee he's actually any better than Batista right now.

Sandy Alderson spoke to the media before last night's debacle and he said that the team will focus on acquiring bullpen help before July 31st. Obviously, Sandy can't force teams to deal their relievers to him but here's hoping the Mets can pull something off sooner rather than later. Rumor has it that the Mets are looking at Jonathan Broxton, though as Rob Neyer points out, they should be wary of his pedestrian strikeout rate. This is not the Broxton of Dodgers' fame.

As mentioned above, Jason Bay is back with the team. In order to make room for him, the Mets designated Omar Quintanilla for assignment. Q did a fine job filling in for Ruben Tejada, so hopefully he'll make it safely back to Buffalo in the event a future need crops up.

Mike Baxter is still on the rehab trail, as he played his second game for St. Lucie after a rain delay on Monday washed away the mini Mets.

Dillon Gee was discharged from the hospital yesterday and will be able to start throwing in about six weeks. Glad to hear Dillon is doing well.

Around the NL East

Jair Jurrjens got rocked as the Braves lost to the Giants 9-0 at Turner Field. Roy Halladay made his return for the Phillies, allowing just 2 runs in a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers. The Marlins defeated the Cubs 9-5.

Around the Majors

Cubs' pitcher Ryan Dempster is one of the better starters on the market and it looks like he could be calling a new ballpark home by the end of the week. Looks like a lot of teams are in on him.

Jose Bautista is on the DL for the Blue Jays with a wrist injury, though it looks like there was no structural damage and he's looking to return at the end of the 15 days. In the meantime, they called up top prospect Anthony Gose.

Francisco Rodriguez has taken over as the Brewers' closer for the struggling John Axford. Can you say "TRADE BAIT"?

The Melky Cabrera for Jonathan Sanchez deal last offseason seemed like it may've been a decent enough swap for both parties. Well, try telling that to Royals fans now. The club DFA'd the lefty Sanchez, who is in the midst of an abysmal season. Meanwhile, Melky made the NL All Star team and has been great for the Giants all year. Ouch.

Former Mariner Jay Buhner says that he'd vomit if the club gives Ichiro another multi-year deal. Considering Ichiro's 86 and 82 OPS+ over the last two seasons, I may agree. I wonder what Frank Costanza would say.

The Braves are looking to lock up Martin Prado long term. Even though he often seems to kill the Mets, they probably should.

Seems like ages ago when Scott Kazmir was a Mets' top prospect, right? Now at 28, the lefty is getting roughed up in the Atlantic League. Incredible how somebody can just lose it so quickly.