Mets (45-38) vs Cubs (31-51) Preview

Johan Santana 6-4, 2.76 ERA

Travis Wood 3-3, 3.05 ERA

The Mets open a three game series against the Chicago Cubs in which they will head into the All Star break closing out the first half of the season on a strong note. The Mets have been showing high expectation so far this season, a season in which no one counted them to be in such a great position as they are in the standings. The Mets are currently 4.5 games back of the first place Nationals and sit in second place. Coming into tonight Johan Santana is 4-1 with a 1.16 ERA in eight starts at Citifield and hasn't lost at Citifield since his duel with Stephen Strasburg back on April 11th. "I'm very happy to be at this point right now and very happy the way everything has gone," Santana said. "There were a couple of tough games, but the good thing is that I feel good and I'm still competing. I'm just hoping that I stay consistent the whole year."

Notes:


David Wright capped a comeback 9th-inning rally last night in which it gave him his seventh career game-winning hit. Wright went 3-for-5 with a homerun, two singles and four rbis. Over his last nine games he has driven in 18 runs.

Jason Bay is scheduled to fly to florida today to begin his reban from his concussion. Bay was sidelined yet again with another concussion when he crushed into the left field wall back on June 15th. Mets hope he will return sometime after the All star break.

Scott Hairston hit yet another homerun against a lefty pitcher, this time against Cole Hamels. He sits with 12 homeruns on the season, seven of which have come against lefty pitching.

Mets DFA Justin Hampson, Recall Jordany Valdespin

The Mets have designated Justin Hampson for assignment the team announced via twitter (@Mets). The move clears a roster spot for INF Jordany Valdespin.

Hampson pitched in 3 games with the Mets, he allowed three hits and a walk in his first big league appearance since 2008.

Mets DFA Hefner, Recall Pedro Beato

After today's Mets 9-2 loss to the Phillies, the Mets made a roster move by sending Jeremy Hefner down to Triple-A Buffalo and recalled Pedro Beato. Before being demoted, Hefner pitched in 10 games with the Mets, while starting in three of them. Hefner has a 5.64 ERA during that span.

Pedro Beato missed the first two months of the season with a right rotator cuff strain. Since coming back from the DL he pitched in 16 games with the Buffalo Bisons. Over that span Beato went 3-2, 1.13 ERA in 24 innings pitched. He held opponents to just a .179 batting average.

Recalling Beato will give the Mets a much needed fresh arm in the bullpen. A bullpen in which hasn't been pitching well as of late and Beato hopes to give them stability in the pen.

Marlins Acquire Carlos Lee from Astros

According to Buster Olney the Miami Marlins have acquire OF/1B Carlos Lee from the Houston Astros for 3B Matt Dominguez and LHP Rob Rasmussen.

Astros have agreed to take on a huge portion of the 9 million owed to Lee as part of the deal. This past Sunday Lee declined to be trade to the Dodgers. Carlos Lee is the in the final year of his 6 year $100 million contract. Lee on the season is hitting .286/.336/.412/.773 with 5 homeruns and 29 RBIs.

Buster Olney's Twitter - @Buster_ESPN

Mets (20-15) vs. Brewers (15-20)

Dillon Gee 2-2, 4.78 ERA

Zack Greinke 3-1, 3.35 ERA

The New York Mets take of the Milwaukee Brewers in this short two game series. New York won the first game 3-1 on a heart wrenching ninth inning as usual. Francisco gives us the same type of anxiety as former closers Frankie Rodriguez and dare I say it, Armando Benitez. The Mets have battle so far all year and they have two bright spots in this line up named David Wright & Daniel Murphy.

Daniel Murphy is hitting .333 on the season with 10 doubles and 14 RBIs on the season. Honestly who would have thought that Murphy would be having this kind of season, especially after hurting his knee last year. Not only is Murphy hitting well, he is absolutely tearing it up at Citi Field, batting .382 and helping the Mets to an 11-6 home record. Last year the Mets were miserable at home but a new year brings new hope.

Another bright star in this line-up goes to David Wright. After playing last year with a broken back he has not missed a beat this year at all. Wright ranks among the leaders in MLB with his .398 average. He also leads the Mets with 21 RBIs on the season. Many have criticized Wright's lack of leadership and calling him unclutch at times but Wright in 2012 he trying to prove all the doubters wrong.

Quick Notes -

"He wanted to be in there bad, so I thought I should give him the opportunity," manager Terry Collins said. "I thought he made some better pitches. He's still got to get his secondary pitches in the strike zone." Terry Collins speaking on closer Frank Francisco who has struggle in the pen as of last. He converted his ninth save last night but still yields an ERA of 8.59. Francisco commented on his confidence as a closer by saying, “FIRST, I BELIEVE IN GOD. AND THEN I BELIEVE IN ME.” Granted Frankie has been squeezed a couple of times this year in the struck zone, he should never lose his composer as a closer because once that happens it's total MELTDOWN from their.

• Dillon Gee Career vs. Brewers - 0-1, 3.00 ERA, 6.0IP 7H 4R 2ER 3BB 2K .292BAA
• Zack Greinke Career vs. Mets - 0-1, 6.43 ERA, 7.0IP 5H 5R 5ER 1HR 2BB 2K .200BAA
• Frank Francisco has an 11.81 ERA since April 18, a span of 13 outings.
• Jason Bay was examined by a team doctor on Monday and will begin baseball activities at Citi Field. Bay went on the DL with a fractured left rib on April 24th and was recommended to not engage in any baseball activities since. 
• David Wright went 1-for-3 Monday, lowing his average to .398. This marks highest batting average in franchise history through May 14 of a season. As made a spectacular grab at third last night. 

Mets all-time record vs Milwaukee Brewers - 57-39 

Mets Pitchers and Catchers Report in 11 Days

With only 11 days until pitchers and catchers report for the New York Mets, Who are we most excited to see in the Spring Training this year? For me, I personally want to see Johan Santana get back to his old form and hopefully Mike Pelfrey gets back to his 2010 first half self. With the absence of SS Jose Reyes and OF Carlos Beltran, I am pretty curious to see how this team will mesh with its current core of players.

I see David Wright, Ike Davis and Lucas Duda as the new core of the team. I for one am expecting big contributions from this trio. I also am expecting Jason Bay to get his money's worth and actually put up some quality numbers (ie: 15-20 homeruns 85-90 RBIs). This is going to be an intriguing 2012 season for the New York Mets and I am hoping they can get on the right track to start their 2012 campaign.

With the recently additions to the bullpen via Free Agency and trades, the Mets look to have strengthen there bullpen in hopes to minimize the blown saves from a year ago. With this said, they are hoping to get quality starts from their rotation, especially with Johan Santana back into the fold. I person hope the Mets can put on a strong 2012 campaign and make a run at a possible post-season. Is a post-season to much to ask for from this New York Team? Answer - Probably, but like the old saying, "Ya Gotta Believe"

Follow NY Mets GM Sander Alderson on Twitter - @MetsGM

Mets Hire Firm that worked in Rangers Bankruptcy

It has been known that the New York Mets have been financially in trouble that they have hired the consulting company that has worked with the Texas Rangers during the teams 2010 bankruptcy. The team has stated last Thursday that the Mets Limited Partnership has negotiated with CRG Partners in order to provide services in connection with the finances and budgeting. Mets recently had reached out to non-controlling share holders to help with the finances of the Mets organization following the collapse of a potential deal with Hedge Fund manager David Einhorn. If that wasn't bad enough, the Mets currently owe Major League Baseball $25 million, a loan that was suppose to be repayed in November and has been extended until March; and owe Bank of America $40 million.

As a fan I wonder to myself what are the Wilpons actually thinking with all this going on. How can they make us fans suffer year after year? Even with all the money they have outside of the Mets with other investments, why continue to lose money every year and not even try to fix things. I personally think the Wilpons should consider either bankruptcy or just sell the Mets because we as fans don't deserve this kind of treatment. New York Mets fans are by far the most passionate fans I've ever seen. All we can do is hope for a mircale to happen for this organization by way of new ownership and developing the youth in our minor league system. Sandy Alderson reported last month that the team lost $70 Million and didn't put a timeframe for the losses. Even with the Mets losing that much, they still are trying to deal with the Madoff Ponzi Scheme they are being sued for. The trustee victims originally wanted $1 billion from the Mets, saying the Mets should have known that the money they were collecting from the Ponzi scheme represented phony profits. Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz have denied these claims. On September 27th, U.S District Judge dismissed 9 of the 11 counts, limiting the Mets ownership to $386 million. A trial will be scheduled for March 19.

C.J Wilson Joins Pujols, Will join the Angels

The Angels and LHP C.J Wilson have agreed to a five year, $75 million contract according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Wilson went 16-7 this season with the Rangers with a 2.94 ERA in 220 innings. This is the second big signing for the Angels, the first being first basemen Albert Pujols and now Wilson.

Albert Pujols signs with the Angels

The Angels and first basemen Albert Pujols have agreed to a 10-year $260 million contract. Pujols will be guaranteed a full no-trade clause. It came down to the Marlins, Cardinals and a mystery team which happened to be the Angels for Pujols services. Marlins offered Albert 10-years $220 million and Cardinals had a 10-years $210 million offer as well for him. Ultimately Pujols took the bigger money and took his talents to the West Coast.

Pujols hit .299 with 37 home runs and 99 RBIs, falling one RBI short of his 11th straight consecutive season with at least 100 RBIs.

Jose Reyes Official Introduced as Miami Marlin

Jose Reyes officially became a Miami Marlin today in a press conference to introduce the new shortstop to the Marlins fans. Reyes who signed a 6-year, $106 million contract with an option for 2018 spoke to the media during his introduction interview. "I always said I wanted to stay in New York, but that don't happen," Reyes said. "Like I said, I need to move on. They don't offer anything really. They don't make a real offer. They don't want me there. Like I said, I need to move on. I'm not part of the New York Mets anymore. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to play in this game, but now it's all about the Miami Marlins."

Sad to see Jose Reyes in a Marlins uniform and the fact that he is now with a division rival. But nonetheless we as Mets fans can only wish the best for him and his success. Granted he is with a bitter rival but the Mets never even attempted to give Reyes the opportunity to come back to the only team he has ever played for. Signing a contract with the New York Mets at the age of 16, Reyes was a bright young star and we watched him develop into the player he is today. Business is business now a days in the world of Major League Baseball and Reyes did what he felt was good for him and his family. April 24, 2012 will be the first time we see Jose Reyes in a different uniform playing shortstop for the opposing team. I'm pretty sure a lot of Mets fans will be in attendance to either cheer, boo or just watch Reyes be Reyes.

The New York Mets have been told they will receive the Marlins 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft, not a 3rd rounder they thought they were getting as compensation for Reyes signing with Miami.