NewsMets' second half can be a new season
New York (42-45) at Atlanta (43-44), 7 p.m. ET
By Tim Britton and Marty Noble / MLB.com
07/12/09 6:10 PM ET
NEW YORK -- This wasn't how it was supposed to go.When the Mets imagined how the first half of their 2009 season would transpire, they probably did not envision Gary Sheffield starting 51 games, Fernando Nieve being relied upon in the starting rotation and a revolving door of eighth-inning relievers.
But right hip surgery for Carlos Delgado, a torn right hamstring for Jose Reyes and a bone bruise for Carlos Beltran led to an offense that has lacked production. Right elbow surgery for J.J. Putz, patellar tendinitis for Oliver Perez and a pinched nerve in John Maine's right shoulder led to a pitching staff without consistency.
Add it all up, and you get a team that has lacked too many things and, consequently, has lost more games than it has won.
The side effect of those injuries -- and presumably, players' eventual returns from injuries -- is a second half of the season that harbors as much potential as it does uncertainty.
The Mets sit 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the National League East -- a far cry from where they expected to be at the season's start. But if any team in baseball knows the fragility of second-half division leads, it's the Mets.
"Six and a half games in 80 games isn't that tough," right fielder Jeff Francoeur said after the Mets acquired him from the Braves. "I've played them long enough to know that this team can beat you in a lot of different ways."
Francoeur was one of two key additions the Mets made to their lineup in the last week of the first half. The other was Perez, who returned from two months on the disabled list on Wednesday. Although the left-hander walked seven Dodgers in an erratic five innings, he did earn the victory.
And the Mets can only hope that the returns of their other regulars translate so quickly into wins.
Whether the Mets make more moves in the trade market depends largely on how they perform coming out of the All-Star break. And that, according to manager Jerry Manuel, will depend largely on how they pitch.
"I do believe that if we are to make a serious run, I'd like to see four guys -- solid guys -- get hot," Manuel said of his starting rotation. "If we can find that mix, that gives us a tremendous opportunity."
It was that kind of run by starting pitchers that propelled the Mets in the middle of last season. After lingering around .500 for the season's first three months, a 10-game winning streak pushed the Mets into first place. During those 10 games, the team allowed just 26 runs -- 17 of which came in two high-scoring victories. That included a five-game stretch in which the Mets yielded only four runs and 13 hits.
The Mets may need that type of pitching, at least until their offense gets some of its pop back. The club's 52 home runs are last in the Major Leagues, and by a fair margin. In 18 games after Beltran became the third member of the team's core to hit the disabled list, the Mets batted .226, hit seven home runs and scored fewer than three runs per contest.
But Thursday represents a new start for the Mets and a chance to reverse their script from the past few seasons. This time, the Mets hope to be the team that turns it on in the second half and finds itself charging into the playoffs at the end of September.
That's how it's supposed to go, at least.
Pitching matchup
NYM: Oliver Perez (2-2, 8.78 ERA)
Hopeful of keeping Perez in some sort of routine -- wanting to afford Johan Santana extra rest and mindful of how the schedule breaks after their first series of the second half -- the Mets have Perez starting the first game after their three-day break. Some of the lefty's best performances have come against the Braves, mostly because they were a predominantly left-handed-hitting team. That's no longer as much of a factor in Perez's favor. The lefty has a 5-2 record and a 3.47 ERA in 13 starts against the Braves since the beginning of the 2006 season, and he has a 2-1 record and a 3.06 ERA in five career starts at Turner Field. Chipper Jones has a .423 average in 26 career at-bats against Perez.
ATL: Derek Lowe (8-7, 4.39 ERA
In his last start of the first half, Lowe seemed to rebound from one of the roughest stretches of his career. After going 1-4 with an 8.61 ERA in his previous five starts, Lowe got back on track with a strong outing against the Rockies at Coors Field on July 10, going six innings and allowing one earned run on four hits. Lowe beat the Mets on May 11 at Citi Field, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing two runs.
Gary Sheffield's three RBIs pushed him past Sammy Sosa and into sole possession of 24th on the all-time list with 1,668 RBIs. Cal Ripken Jr. is in 23rd with 1,695 runs driven in. Sheffield tied Sosa with a two-run single in third, then passed him with a broken-bat RBI single an inning later. ... Brian Schneider's seventh-inning solo home run snapped a drought of 80 innings for the Mets without a home run. It was the team's longest drought since April 16-24, 2002. ... One batter later, Fernando Tatis belted a solo shot to left field. Tatis now has two of the Mets' three home runs in July. ... Francoeur is 4-for-9 in his first two games with the Mets. ... At 42-45, the Mets are under .500 at the All-Star break for the first time since 2003, when they were 40-53. Last season, the Mets were 51-44 at the break.
These dates in Mets history -- July 13-15: A home run in the 10th inning was the decisive blow in the Mets' 7-6 victory over the Braves in Atlanta on July 13, 1997. ... Six years later, a single by Jason Phillips in the ninth drove in Jose Reyes with the winning run in the Mets' 4-3 victory over the Phillies at Shea Stadium.
On July 14, 1983, Tom Seaver was the winning pitcher in the Mets' 7-4 victory over the Reds at Shea Stadium. The losing pitcher was Charlie Puleo, whom the Mets had traded to the Reds for Seaver the previous offseason. ... A two-run home run by Mike Piazza off Derek Lowe in the eighth inning provided the tying and go-ahead runs in what became a 6-4 Mets victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 14, 2000.
The late Donn Clendenon was born on July 15, 1935. Thirty-four years later, he was the Most Valuable Player in the Miracle Mets' World Series triumph. ... In 1986, Sid Fernandez became the first Hawaiian-born All-Star. He struck out the side -- Brook Jacoby, Jim Rice and Don Mattingly -- in the American League's 3-2 victory.
Another high-profile member of the Mets of the 1980s was exiled on July 15, 1991, when Ron Darling and Minor League pitcher Mike Thomas were traded to the Expos for reliever Tim Burke. Darling left one victory short of 100 with the Mets. His total, fourth highest at the time, remains fourth, behind Seaver's 198, Dwight Gooden's 147 and Jerry Koosman's 140. Sid Fernandez and Al Leiter are fifth and sixth, respectively, with 98 and 95.
Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• SNY On radio
• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Friday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 7-4, 4.47 or Fernando Nieve, 3-3, 3.03) at Braves (TBD), 7:30 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Mets (Johan Santana, 10-7, 3.09) at Braves (TBD), 4 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Mets (Fernando Nieve, 3-3, 3.03 or Mike Pelfrey 7-4, 4.47) at Braves (TBD), 6 p.m. ET
Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Marty Noble contributed to this report. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
