Much has been made of the way the new dimensions and fence heights at Citi Field suppress home runs this season, but the Metsdon't have any plans to make their park more homer-friendly. That's probably not good news to David Wright, who has expressed some frustration about the way the new park is configured, but there's no reason why it should be bad news for the Mets.
Just because Citi is averse to home runs doesn't mean that it is averse to offense. HitTrackerOnline told the New York Daily News that Wright missed out on eight homers he would have had at Shea, but all eight of those balls wound up as hits which, as you surely know, are also offensive statistics.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
Yet after missing two months with tendinitis in his right knee, Perez was in midseason form.
That is, missing the strike zone with regularity.
Somehow, though, the Mets beat the Dodgers 5-4 and snapped a four-game losing streak to get to 40-42, which in the tepid NL East is good for 4 1/2 games out of first place.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Mets not only snapped their five-game losing streak, but they did their part to save the world on Wednesday. After manager Jerry Manuel's team meeting in the wake of Tuesday's loss, the Mets all came to the ballpark on Wednesday on buses, instead of players arriving individually in cabs. Although the team-building experience may have actually done more to save on fuel than to actually bond, the result was a 1-0 victory.
Manuel wasn't going to take credit for his speech firing up the team, especially since pitcher Mike Pelfrey missed it. Pelfrey had left the ballpark early Tuesday night to get some rest.
"I told him, 'If he'd been at the meeting, he would have thrown a no-hitter,' " Manuel joked.
NEW YORK – Now batting cleanup for the Mets: faith. Hitting fifth: hope. But how many runs can they drive in?
"You have to believe that somebody is going to catch fire and hopefully pick up some slack," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said Monday after the team placed center fielder Carlos Beltran on the disabled list.
"There is no doubt that this is going to be very challenging for us."
To recap: the Mets are without Beltran (fourth in the NL with a .336 average), first baseman Carlos Delgado and shortstop Jose Reyes.
That's three of the top five hitters from the Opening Day lineup and three guys who combined to score more than 40 percent of the team's runs in 2008.
FORMER BASEBALL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD -- There is a Subway Series this weekend.
There is one again in two weeks.
There will not be one in October.
Friday night's game at Yankee Stadium, which both teams deserved to lose, showed us that.
It will be remembered forever, at least in the five boroughs and surrounding areas, as the Luis Castillo game. The Mets second baseman dropped Alex Rodriguez's popup with two outs in the ninth, allowing two runs to score and the Yankees to win 9-8.
NEW YORK -- Blasphemy, you'll say, but think about it. What are you going to remember about Tuesday night's Yankees-Red Sox game? David Ortiz's third home run of the year? Nick Green's second? Maybe Josh Beckett, fine, but the fact is this isn't 2003-04 anymore, the Red Sox own the Yankees now and they're both probably making the playoffs anyway, what with the Rays looking like World Series-hangover-roadkill.
No, this here is where it's at for big-time baseball rivalries circa 2009. Mets-Phillies has morphed from spring training trash talk to nailbiting, in-season theater, complete with all the subplots, drama and good, intense baseball you can take. Tuesday night had everything anybody could ask of a midseason rivalry game, and in the end it was the battered-underdog Mets who came away with a 6-5 victory that was in no way easy but in all ways satisfying.
WASHINGTON -- Forget their neighbors in the Bronx, there is no better soap opera in the major leagues right now than the New York Mets.
The Mets' latest chapter of intrigue (or sorrow, if you're feeling especially gloomy) has nothing to do with a rickety bullpen or a crushing September collapse. Instead, it revolves around a vicious injury bug that has already bitten first baseman Carlos Delgado and whose latest victims include shortstop Jose Reyes and setup man J.J. Putz.
"You always build a team with depth in mind, and now that's going to be a challenge for us," New York manager Jerry Manuel said.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Mets are beginning to look like the Patriots when it comes to injury information. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you to be worried about Jose Reyes' bum leg when we found out he had a "calf strain." Thursday night, the team confirmed Reyes has a torn right hamstring tendon and this is believed to be something new. Excuse me for being cynical, but this is the latest in a long line of sketchy diagnoses. Let's take a look at what else New York bungled, shall we ...
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what's ahead. You Oughta Know ... That it's awfully hard for K-Rod to earn his money if J.J. Putz isn't doing his job ahead of Rodriguez. For the second straight day, Putz had a rocky outing. He surrendered two runs in a touch and go eighth inning Sunday against the Marlins (the Mets still won the game) and followed that Monday by allowing four runs and taking the loss against the Pirates.
Putz gave up four consecutive singles during Pittsburgh's rally, and attributed much of his performance to misfortune.
"A couple hoppers up the middle," Putz said. "They hit groundballs; they just hit them to the right spot.
"There's not much you can say about that. There's a little bit of bad luck involved."
Much has been made of the way the new dimensions and fence heights at Citi Field suppress home runs this season, but the Mets don't have any plans to make their park more homer-friendly. That's probably not good news to David Wright, who has expressed some frustration about the way the new park is configured, but there's no reason why it should be bad news for the Mets. 
NEW YORK – The Mets needed a win in the worst way.
Starting Five
NEW YORK – Now batting cleanup for the Mets: faith. Hitting fifth: hope. But how many runs can they drive in?
FORMER BASEBALL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD -- There is a Subway Series this weekend.
NEW YORK -- Blasphemy, you'll say, but think about it. What are you going to remember about Tuesday night's Yankees-Red Sox game? 
WASHINGTON -- Forget their neighbors in the Bronx, there is no better soap opera in the major leagues right now than the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
