Rick Ankiel Headed to the Big Apple

By ZACH DOLEIDEN

NEW YORK – In an attempt to improve one of the worst outfields in Major League Baseball, the Mets have agreed to terms with veteran Rick Ankiel on a Major League contract.

To clear a roster spot for Ankiel, New York optioned outfielder Andrew Brown to AAA Las Vegas. Ankiel is slated to start in center field against one of his former teams when the Mets begin their series with the Cardinals this evening.

The 33-year old outfielder began the season with the Astros but was cut by the team after batting .194 with five home runs and 35 strikeouts in just 65 plate appearances.

Ankiel holds a career batting average of .243 split between time spent with the Cardinals, Nationals, Royals, Braves and Astros.

Ankiel figures to be more of a defensive upgrade for the Mets though, who envision a platoon in center field between the veteran outfielder and right-handed rookie Juan Lagares. With runs coming at a premium lately, the defense has to play that much tighter and Ankiel has a strong arm the Mets believe can help save some runs.

“Because offense is something that we certainly covet a lot, we’ve tried to put some offensive players in the game,” manager Terry Collins said. “And right now, nobody’s hitting. So we’ve got to go catch the baseball.”

Two-Week Recap: Offensively Challenged Mets Drop to 14-20

By ZACH DOLEIDEN 

NEW YORK – Two more weeks have gone by and the Mets still find themselves struggling to get anything going offensively. In the team’s four series against the Marlins, Braves, White Sox and Pirates, New York was outscored 55-36 and fell to 14-20 on the season as they remain locked in fourth place in the NL East.

After salvaging game three of their first series versus the Marlins in what was Miami’s first series victory of the season, the Mets split a rain-shortened tilt with the Braves.

Against the White Sox, the Metropolitans could only scratch off a meager four runs in two games, the first of which saw New York’s ace Matt Harvey toss nine shutout innings of one-hit ball and still receive a no-decision as the go-ahead run didn’t score until the tenth inning in a 1-0 victory.

From there, they dropped four of their last five contests with their only victory coming in Thursday’s 3-2 win in the series opener with the Pirates.

For a team that ranked amongst the highest scoring teams in the National League just a few weeks ago, the frustrations have continued piling on for the Mets as the bats of several key players have grown quiet.

First baseman Ike Davis has gotten off to another dreadful start for his second straight season, batting a disappointing .169 with only four home runs and nine RBI. Davis was able to turn it around last season and ended the year with 32 homers, but there are no signs of improvement at the plate that signal a rapid turnaround on the horizon.

Catcher John Buck, who carried the team for the first two weeks, has also cooled off at the dish. Buck has just seven hits in his last 36 at bats and has seen his season average slide to .228.

Left fielder Lucas Duda has been a symbol of inconsistency thus far as his average has fluctuated between the mid .280’s and the .213 mark that it stands at right now.

If just these three bats are able to heat up and perform at a consistent level long enough for the rest of the team to find its stroke at the plate, the Mets may be able to get on a small winning streak.

As long as the whole team remains in a slump however, the wins may prove hard to come by.

Two-Week Recap: Mets' Bats Go Cold as Team Falls to 10-13

By ZACH DOLEIDEN

NEW YORK – After a hot start to their 2013 campaign, the Mets have suddenly hit a wall, losing five of their last six contests while falling to 10-13 on the season. The free-fall leaves New York in fourth place in the National League East and 4.5 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves.

On the surface, it is easy to blame the Mets’ schedule during week three of the season for a cluster of losses to the Rockies in snowy Colorado for throwing the Mets off track, and understandably so: the poor weather conditions forced two postponements and a day-night doubleheader. This undoubtedly made things tough on a pitching staff trying to retain proper rest between starts.

But when push comes to shove, the Rockies took the field and captured victories in a snow-shortened three game series (game three was postponed with no makeup date set yet).

More likely to be responsible for the struggles experienced by the Mets is the team’s recent power outage and lack of execution offensively.

Coming into week four of the season, the Mets offense ranked as the third-highest scoring team in the National League. The big swings have begun to grow quiet in the Big Apple however, as the team has scored four runs or fewer in five of their last six games.

This prompted manager Terry Collins to rearrange his lineup in a weekend series versus the Phillies in order to try and ignite a spark of some sort in the last three games of week four. Instead, the move appeared to backfire as the Metropolitans were swept and outscored 18-5 in the three games.

Part of the Mets’ offensive woes are a result of catcher John Buck falling back to Earth. After a red-hot start to his first season as a Met, Buck has since cooled off, batting just .167 in his last eight games.

It was assumed that Buck, a career .236 hitter, wasn’t going to be the one to carry the team offensively for the entire season. If nothing else, the recent lack of offense is a sign that the time has come for other players in the lineup to step up and earn their keep by contributing at the plate.

Two-Week Recap: Harvey and Buck Lead Mets to 7-4 Record

By ZACH DOLEIDEN

NEW YORK – Two weeks into the 2013 regular season, the Mets are quietly making some noise in the National League. While the team’s record of 7-4 is not as impressive as that of other teams (the 11-1 Braves certainly come to mind), New York finds itself in second place in the NL East, just 3.5 games behind those Braves and a half-game up on the reigning Division Champion Nationals.

While some may argue that the Mets have had a fairly easy schedule over the first 11 games of the year (Padres, Marlins, Phillies and Twins), the simple fact remains that the team has taken the field and competed in every game. This has resulted in the Mets taking three of their first four series, dropping their first of the campaign to the Phillies.

There are several key factors involved in the Mets’ early successes this season.

First off is the strong pitching of rookie right-hander Matt Harvey. Thrust into the number two spot in the starting rotation after Johan Santana’s season-ending surgery, Harvey (3-0) has shown he has what it takes to excel at this level. Over his first three starts, he has pitched to a 0.82 ERA while striking out 25 batters in 22 innings of work.

Harvey’s dominant performance throughout his first 12 Major League starts, dating back to last season, has even warranted comparisons to former Mets’ aces Nolan Ryan, Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver.

The second major reason behind the early-season success of the Mets has been their propensity to hit the long ball. The team that some experts said had a noticeable lack of power within the lineup has launched at least one home run in each of its first 11 games.

And bear in mind that this is with David Wright and Ike Davis hitting just one homer between the two of them to this point.

On the contrary and almost unbelievably, the offensive catalyst thus far has been John Buck, who batted just .192 last season with the Marlins before being acquired in the trade that shipped R.A. Dickey to Toronto this offseason. Buck is batting .317 and has swatted a team-leading six home runs with 19 RBI to lead the offensive attack.

I know that Buck’s torrid pace probably will not continue the entire season. I also know that the starting rotation as well as the bullpen will have their ups and downs and experience some growing pains during the course of a 162 game season as well.

But as for right now, these first two weeks have provided Mets’ fans with something to be excited about.  

Santana Retears Shoulder Capsule, May Need Surgery

By ZACH DOLEIDEN

VIERA, Fla. — The Mets were dealt a fairly serious blow when they learned that two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana tore his left shoulder capsule for the second time in three years.

While nothing is set in stone at this point in time, a second surgery on Santana’s throwing shoulder is “a strong possibility” according to Mets general manager Sandy Alderson. Another shoulder surgery would almost certainly bring an end to Santana’s tenure in New York and could threaten to bring his career to an abrupt end as well.

The 34-year old left-hander missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing surgery to repair his torn left shoulder capsule for the first time in 2010.

After a long and arduous journey back to the majors, Santana appeared to be back to his old form, going 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA from Opening Day of the 2012 season through his 134-pitch no-hitter against the Cardinals on June 1. After that, he struggled mightily, posting a 3-7 record and an 8.27 ERA over his final 10 starts.

Santana has been one of the most gifted pitchers of his time, going 111-51 with a 2.88 ERA from 2003-2009 with the Twins and Mets before his body began to show signs of wear.

Once regarded as one of former general manager Omar Minaya’s best acquisitions, Santana never really lived up to his mountainous expectations, undergoing knee surgery in 2008 and elbow surgery in 2009 prior to his shoulder operation in 2010.

With Santana out, the Mets will look to right-hander Jeremy Hefner to fill his spot in the rotation…that is, until prospect Zack Wheeler, one of the most talented pitchers in the Minor Leagues, gets the call.