NewsMets hope to head to break on high note
New York (40-44) vs. Cincinnati (41-43), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Tim Britton and Marty Noble / MLB.com
07/10/09 1:50 AM ET
NEW YORK -- The first half of the Mets' season has contained 84 games, 61 different batting orders and 12 different players spending time on the disabled list. There have been four more losses than wins, 27 more runs allowed than runs scored and six more errors than home runs.The injurious, tumultuous and ultimately disappointing first half of the Mets' season comes full circle this weekend, as they end it the way they started it, with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Mets took two of three in that opening series at Great American Ball Park, showcasing their new bullpen and what seemed to be a deep and powerful lineup.
Suffice to say, a lot has changed since then.
Both that sterling bullpen and sturdy lineup have faded since the start of June. After compiling an ERA of 2.95 through the season's first two months, the bullpen has a 4.54 ERA since the start of June.
The loss of J.J. Putz to injury coincided with the plummeting production of Bobby Parnell and the fallibility of Francisco Rodriguez. It also overlapped with the losses of John Maine and Carlos Beltran, on top of earlier injuries to Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado.
As a result, the lineup that batted .280 through May 31 has hit .251 since then, and just .225 in July. Furthermore, the Mets aren't exactly making the most of their limited number of hits: Only one, by Fernando Tatis, has left the park.
All those losses in the lineup and the pitching staff have equated to, not surprisingly, losses on the scoreboard and in the standings.
All the while, the All-Star break has served as a convenient telos for the Mets for the last several weeks, with manager Jerry Manuel preaching that the team just needed to stay afloat until its three-day summer sabbatical.
At the same time, the Mets know they can't afford to look past the Reds and fall even further behind in the National League East standings. They are currently 5 1/2 games out of first place for the first time all season.
"That doesn't concern me as much as the way we're playing concerns me," Manuel said. "We're just not playing good baseball."
The games against the Reds take on even greater significance given that the Mets may not be getting anyone back immediately after the break. It was once considered a conservative expectation that both Reyes and Beltran would be in the lineup by the time the Mets get to Atlanta next Thursday; with less than a week until that date, there is still no timetable for either's return.
"You've got a room full of guys who've been in some tough times before," David Wright said. "It's a trying time for us; it's challenging for us to go out there and try to turn this thing around, but we're confident we can do it."
The Mets will turn to one of the first half's surprises in the series opener tonight, as Fernando Nieve takes the hill against Bronson Arroyo. Nieve is evidence of just how much things can change in half a season. An Astro in Spring Training, Nieve was one of the few players the Mets could count on in June, winning three of his four June starts as Maine's replacement in the rotation.
Even after consecutive losses to the Brewers and Phillies, Nieve is a respectable 3-2 with a 2.73 ERA for the Mets.
Pitching matchup
NYM: RHP Fernando Nieve (3-2, 2.73 ERA)
Although he wasn't nearly as effective as he had been in his first three starts with the Mets, Nieve deserved a slightly better fate when he faced the Phillies on Saturday. He was charged with four runs in 5 2/3 innings, but the fourth was unearned and scored after he had been removed. Moreover, Nieve's own inability to execute a sacrifice bunt may have denied the Mets a run -- or not. As it was, Nieve allowed six hits and six walks. Now, he faces a team against which he has pitched five times, once as a starter. He has a convenience store ERA -- 7.11 -- in 6 1/3 innings against the Reds. Only three position players on the Reds' roster have faced Nieve, and they have merely five at-bats against him.
CIN: RHP Bronson Arroyo (8-8, 5.85 ERA)
Arroyo's struggles continued in his last start, on Sunday against the Cardinals. He allowed eight runs, five of which were earned, in a 10-1 loss. Since June 13, the right-hander is 1-4 with an 8.41 ERA. Arroyo will look to avoid any first-inning struggles in his next start, against the Mets. This season, Arroyo's ERA in the first is 10.59, dipping to 4.92 the rest of the way. Over his career, Arroyo is 5-2 against the Mets with a 3.92 ERA. He won his first start of the season against the Mets, on April 9, an 8-6 win.
Wright had his second successive two-hit game, the first time the third baseman did that since June 12-13 against the Yankees. ... Livan Hernandez lost his fourth consecutive start for the first time in a single season since 2002. The eight runs Hernandez allowed were a season high. It was the third straight start Hernandez gave up a leadoff double and at least three runs in the first inning. ... Gary Sheffield was ejected from the game by home-plate umpire Marty Foster in the seventh inning for arguing after looking at a called third strike. ... Angel Pagan made his fourth rehab start for Class A St. Lucie, going 2-for-4 while playing center field. Pagan has been on the disabled list since June 2.
This date in Mets history -- July 11
Making the fifth of his nine career relief appearances, Tom Seaver replaced Tug McGraw in the eighth inning and allowed two runs in what became a 5-3 Reds victory in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader at Riverfront Stadium on this date in 1971. The Reds had beaten another Hall of Famer-to-be, Nolan Ryan, 7-2, in the first game. The doubleheader was followed by the All-Star break. Though Ryan started the first game, Seaver and other Mets starters were routinely used in relief in games preceding the break in those years. Seaver had a 1-2 record and 5.40 ERA as a reliever. His final three relief appearances came with the White Sox in the 1980s.
On this day in 1986, Sid Fernandez and Gary Carter buried the Braves. Fernandez pitched a two-hitter, striking out 12, and Carter hit a grand slam and a three-run home run. The Mets won, 11-0. With Bobby Ojeda, Fernandez, Rick Aguilera and Ron Darling starting in the four-game series, the Mets swept, allowing two runs, one earned. They scored 28 runs.
And on this date in 2005, the Mets signed 16-year-old Fernando Martinez -- known then as Jesus -- for $1.4 million.
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MLB.TV
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• Official game notes On television
• SNY On radio
• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Saturday: Mets (Johan Santana, 9-7, 3.29) vs. Reds (Johnny Cueto, 8-5, 3.45), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 6-4, 4.52) vs. Reds (Aaron Harang, 5-8, 3.89), 1:10 p.m. ET
• Monday-Wednesday: All-Star break
Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
