I think Terry Collins made the right move pulling David Wright. D.J. Carrasco hit Ryan Braun the inning before right after a home run. With David Wright coming up, it was expected he would get plunked in retaliation. With the score 8-0, in favor of the Milwaukee Brewers, there was no reason to risk David Wright getting hit and injured and out for an extended period of time. I’d prefer him to sit a few innings and not get hurt over him getting hurt.

Bottom line is this: while David Wright didn’t agree with it, Terry Collins definitely made the right decision to pull him based on the situation. If it was a 4-2 game or something like that, I would say definitely keep him in, but it was an 8-0 game, so no reason to keep him in and risk injury to him. He has had a great season so far, and there is absolutely no reason to risk it in that situation just to play. David Wright is a wise player, a leader, and a gamer. He’ll realize eventually that Collins was right when he made that decision. He’ll also accept that and move on. It is who he is. I like that Terry Collins cares about his players and wants to protect them.

The New York Mets sent Miguel Batista to the mound in the first game of the two game series trying to get back on track. He didn’t disappoint. He pitched seven shutout innings on the way of getting a win. The New York Mets took the lead in the first inning on a Daniel Murphy run-scoring single and then never looked back. They tacked on another run in the sixth inning with a perfectly executed suicide squeeze, and another in the eighth inning on a wacky play in itself. That third run shouldn’t have scored, but an error by Aramis Ramirez allowed David Wright to come in to take on some insurance.

After Batista’s stellar start, the New York Mets went to the bullpen in the 8th, hoping for them to hold the lead. Tim Byrdak did his job, retiring the batter he faced. Bobby Parnell did his part too, retiring the two batters he faced for a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th. Then it came time for the New York Mets to turn to Frank Francisco. He got into trouble early in the ninth, and the New York Mets quickly got up Jon Rauch in case Francisco had another implosion. After giving up a run, and putting the tying runs on, Francisco was able to settle down. A strikeout and a fly ball to right finished off the Brewers.

The New York Mets needed to rebound after the tough loss in Miami. Frank Francisco needed to rebound too. This was a huge game for both.

I don’t think this would be a great move for the Mets. They’re going through some cash flow efforts, have a terrible farm system, and are stuck in a bad contract. There is a ton of work to be done, and I’m not sure giving Wright a 100 million dollar contract is the best way to go. I know Wright has been one of the better third basemen through his career, but you have to think he’ll slow down at some point over the course of that contract.

If David Wright gets the money I think he’ll end up getting, I think in the long run the Mets will regret it. If they put Wright on the market, they could rob someone for top prospects. What about the Yankees? A-Rod isn’t the same player, and they are loaded in pitching in the minors- something the Mets lack.

I’m not saying the Mets should or shouldn’t extend Wright. I just think they should at least kick the tires and see what’s out there before they go nuts with this one.

The Mets are a big market team, so you think they’ll be back in the title running sooner rather than later. I just don’t think a major extension for David Wright is the best thing for the franchise right now. Hopefully it works out- if it happens. The Mets’ fanbase needs something good to happen.

The New York Mets come into this series really dominating their own division. While they sit at third place, a game out of first place, they are 13-5 against teams in their division. This includes sweeps of the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves. They’ve only lost two series to teams in their division, to the Braves and the Washington Nationals. They’re going to want to continue this in Miami. The Marlins are coming off of a strong road trip. This time the New York Mets face Jose Reyes in his new environment, not just with his new team.

The pitching matchup tonight is highly anticipated, and is going to be a really good one. Johan Santana will face Mark Buehrle. While neither has a really good win-loss record, they’ve both still pitched pretty well thus far, and this is going to be a real pitcher’s duel. I expect this game to ultimately come down to the bullpens. The start time is 7:10pm.

The second game has a great pitching matchup as well. R.A. Dickey will be pitted against Ricky Nolasco, and both have pitched well this year too. Dickey is 4-1 with a 3.76 earned run average while Nolasco is 4-0 with a 2.72 earned run average. I think the main thing about this game is will Dickey’s knuckleball hang a bit, or will the movement on it be great? Of course, that’s a question in every start of his. The start time is 1:05pm.

The final game of this series seems to strongly favor the Marlins. The New York Mets send Jon Niese to the mound while the Marlins send Carlos Zambrano. Zambrano has pitched brilliantly this year. This is the Carlos Zambrano the Marlins were hoping they’d get. Meanwhile, Niese started off the year well, then his past two starts it all started falling apart. Niese needs to return to pitching like he was at the beginning of the year. The start time is 1:10pm.

As I said recently, this team doesn’t quit. This game was back and forth for a good portion of it, as the Phillies would score, and then the next inning the New York Mets would tie it right back up. Dillon Gee didn’t pitch great, but he kept them in the game and kept it close enough for the New York Mets to come back and take the lead eventually. He struggled a bit in the 6th inning, giving up two runs but Tim Byrdak came in and closed the gate. That set it up for the team to take the lead in the 7th.

They say leadoff walks will kill you, it sure seemed to do so for Kyle Kendrick. He gave up a leadoff walk to Kirk Nieuwenhuis pinch hitting, then a Justin Turner double brought him home. Another double, where the runner doesn’t score, and a walk later and the bases are loaded with still nobody out. Lucas Duda, pinch hitting, gets hit by a pitch, bringing home a run. Andres Torres grounded out to bring home another run. They didn’t finish scoring for the day there.

In the 8th inning, they kept up the New York Mets kept up their good play against the Phillies bullpen. They had a leadoff double from David Wright, then a run scoring double for Scott Hairston. Ike Davis added a 3-run home run. I’m hoping that’s a sign that Ike is coming out of the slump. Add in a home run from Torres in the 9th inning and the New York Mets scored 10 runs.

Now they head to Miami to face the Miami Marlins this weekend.

This New York Mets team was down 4-0 this evening. They were able to make it to 4-1, and then came the 7th inning. A four-run inning? Kirk Nieuwenhuis, David Wright, and Lucas Duda all had big hits that inning. Makes it a 5-4 New York Mets lead. Those four runs also all came with two outs. The New York Mets have been great with bringing runs home with two outs, which they didn’t have much success with the past few years.

They then added a few runs in the ninth for insurance. Jon Rauch came in and once again delivered a strong outing. He’s done a great job this year, and earned his first save as a member of the New York Mets. It didn’t take a ninth inning heroic home run for this game. Miguel Batista kept the team in the game, and they came back and won it. The player of the game today has to be Lucas Duda, with a big hit in the 7th to give them the lead and a big hit in the 9th to give them some insurance.

Valdespin was signed by former Mets GM Omar Minaya on June 6, 2007.  He made his Major League debut on April 23^rd of this season and made his first start on April 26^th against the Miami Marlins.  He was sent down on Sunday but was recalled after the Mets placed Ruben Tejada on the 15-Day DL.  In his first six at-bats, Valdespin had yet to collect a hit.  However, last night, manager Terry Collins called on Valdespin to pinch-hit for reliever Tim Byrdak.

The Mets were down to their final out.  Papelbon entered the game without allowed a run over his last nine appearances and retired the last 18 batters he had faced.  The first batter, Daniel Murphy extended Papelbon’s streak to 19 straight hitters retired.  Then, Ike Davis drew a walk.  Justin Turner then went down on strikes, bringing up Mike Nickeas who was replacing Josh Thole who left the game after a collision at home plate with Ty Wigginton.  Nickeas doubled, moving Davis to third.  It was now Valedspin’s turn.  Top of the 9^th, the score tied at 2, the go-ahead runs at second and third.  Papelbon immediately jumped ahead to an 0-1 count with a fastball on the outside corner.  The next pitch Papelbon left out over the plate and Valdespin swung.

The ball sailed over Phillies right fielder Hunter Pence and into the stands, 402 feet away from home plate.  As Valdespin rounded the bases he began pumping his fist.  He moved swiftly around the bases as if he were trying to get to home plate before he awoke from his dream.  As he crossed home plate, Valdespin pointed to the sky before heading to the Mets dugout.

The jubilant Mets team awaited Valdespin  at the top step of the dugout, pounding fists, slapping hands and backs.  They had taken a 5-2 lead off of one of the better closers in the game who came in for Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in the game.  Three more outs separated the Mets from a big victory over one of the teams that have tormented them over the past few seasons.  No one victory could erase those years of suffering but this was as close as it could be for the moment.

After Mets closer Frank Francisco retired the Phillies in order in the bottom of the ninth the Mets celebrated in the clubhouse.  Valdespin was showered with beer as his teammates made it appear as if they had just won the World Series.  Reporters flocked to Valdespin’s locker, anxious to get a quote from New York baseball’s newest hero.  Valdespin wasn’t dreaming.  He had just gotten his first big league hit, a game-winning home run off of Jonathan Papelbon.  The fairy tale had become reality, at least for this night.

Thole is first likely headed to the seven-day disabled list for concussions.

Thole took a shoulder to the head from Ty Wigginton who was sliding into home plate to score a run. At this time, Mike Nickeas is expected to fulfill the role as the catcher. However, do not be surprised if the Mets decide to call up a prospect within their farm system to supplement Nickeas. Vinny Rottino, Rob Johnson and Lucas May are all possible call ups for the Mets to replace Thole on the active roster if worse comes to worst.

Thole was doing great with the Mets before this injury. He played in 25 games for the team this season. He hit one home run and has totaled seven RBI. He is batting .282/.356/.372. This is a big loss for the Mets catching spot as it would seem that everyone else in the organization is under developed to an extent.

Hopefully for Thole this concussion will pass and it is nothing too serious. Remember, outfielder Jason Bay missed almost a half of a season with the Mets due to concussion-like symptoms. Thole has to be extremely careful and he must take the proper precautions to help himself heal so that he will not be prone to these concussions in the future.

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The Mets are expected to use either Jordany Valdespin or Justin Turner at shortstop while Tejada is on the shelf. The Mets are also expecting that Ronny Cedeno may return later in the week from an intercostal strain he suffered April 21.

Valdespin and Turner have been playing on an off for the team. Valdespin has played seven games for the Mets this season. But in those seven games he has garnered six at-bats and has not gotten a hit. A little more playing time for Valdespin and may be he will right the ship for himself before being demoted to the minors.

As for Turner, he has played in 18 games for the Mets this season. Turner is batting .226/.294/.258. Turner has three RBI on the season as well which is semi-better than Valdespin even though Turner has played in more games. Expect both players to get a chance to prove themselves.

Both of them will have to fill the shoes of Tejada. Tejada has played in 27 games for the Mets this season and is batting .305, so far one of his best seasons yet. He has also driven in eight runs and has crossed the plate 14 times for the Mets.

The Mets are currently 15-13 and are in third in the National League East division.

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While I do feel the New York Mets need to win the second game against the Diamondbacks, I don’t think we should act like they have lost any chance they’ll make the playoffs because of this four game losing streak. We should also support the players who have given their all so far this season. We can’t go overboard just because of a four-game losing streak.

Do I think Terry Collins is a great manager? No, actually I think he is far from it. He is working hard with the pieces he has though. His in-game managerial decisions have been questioned, but he is wiser than most of us when it comes to baseball. He also is the one with the manager job, and we aren’t. I will still support him because he is with the New York Mets.

Do I think Ike Davis is playing great right now? No, he still has his share of struggles, and he needs to work through them. I am sure he is going to be a great player, but his play so far this season has affected this team. Does his play thus far deserve cheers? Not at all. However, I will still support him because he is with the New York Mets.

Sure, Jon Rauch had a bad outing, but everyone has a bad outing now and then. He’s had two this week, but he at least acknowledges it. Let’s support him. I will still support him because he is with the New York Mets.

What I’m saying is this: we shouldn’t overreact to a four-game losing streak by lacking in support for players who work hard day in and day out for the New York Mets.