Let’s start counting the Mets magic number from day 1 this year. Below is an explanation of the letters / numbers in the formula:

The magic number is based on the Mets clinching first place and does not take into consideration the wild card. Also, I’m not sure what the result of the formula will be if the Mets don’t stand in first place. Does that turn into an elimination number? I’ll figure that out when it comes. Or, maybe Joker can figure it out for us.

Go Mets!

The Braves stranglehold on the NL East division is almost over. There are numerous magic numbers floating around for the Mets right now:
1. Remove Braves from NL East contention = 2
2. Clinch NL East = 4
3. Clinch NL and home field through Wild Card and NL Championship series = 8

This past week I had some e-mail conversations with friends about who will start for the Mets during the playoffs. It was almost a consensus that Martinez, Glavine, and Hernandez are the top 3 pitchers on the staff. It was the fourth starter for the playoffs that seemed to get different opinions. I’m pushing to see Williams as the fourth starter. He’s been a solid pitcher during the past month (3 quality starts in his last 4 appearances since joining the Mets) and provides a second lefty starter in the rotation. That would allow the mets to go righty, lefty, righty, lefty during their postseason series. Add the fact that most teams have trouble against lefty pitchers (including the Mets who are 4-11 against lefty starters in the past 15 games where a lefty has started for the opposing team).

There was a vote to have Maine as the fourth starter. He’s also a solid option as he’s pitched a quality start in 3 of his past 5 starts. And he only gave up 2 runs in 5 innings during the other start.

Now, there’s also a vote to have Trachsel as the fourth starter. Arguments for Trachsel include his won-loss record (14-7) and a show of faith for a player with such a long tenure on the Mets. I’m having a lot of trouble with this philosophy, especially with his lousy outing today (4 runs in 2-2/3 innings). Trachsel is supporting a 5.17 ERA this season, which is fine for a 5th starter during the regular season, but does not bring any warm fuzzies during playoff time. Also, his won-loss record is a result of great run support when he pitches. That’s where the quality start stat comes into play. Trachsel has 2 quality starts in his last 5 starts. And, as I noted in a previous post, his quality start percentage is less the 50%.

I understand Maine and Williams don’t have a lot of big game experience, but neither does Trachsel. All he has is experience. Let’s just hope Randolph makes the right choice and leaves Trachsel as a long releiver or off the playoff roster.

Lets go Mets!

Ok, it’s a forgone conclusion that the Mets are going to make the playoffs and have home field advantage through the wild card and division series’. Either way, I’m going to keep the countdown going. The Mets lowered their magic number by 3 to 15 as they took 2 of 3 against the Rockies and the Phillies lost 1 of 3 against the Nationals. The magic number for home field through the wild card and division series’ is at 20, with the Cardinals chasing them from way back.

On Tuesday I got to see the Mets beat the Rockes 10-5 at Coors Field in one of the suites courtesy of some business contacts. It was my first game this season at Coors Field and it didn’t dissapoint. The Mets took an early lead in the game and never looked back. It was 10-3 by the end of the 6th inning. The only negative in the game was the human rain delay named Steve Trachsel. It’s great having a player on the team that you can trust each season to put in 200+ innings and rarely goes on the DL. But he is such a slow pitcher and it only gets worse when runners are on base. The game ended up taking well over 3 hours and I didn’t get home until about 11:30, which is way past my bed time on a school night. The people at the game were great. My brother, the bandwagon Yankee fan, had some fun conversations with Gerry, the Red Sox fan. Gerry has pretty much given up on this season following the 5 game sweep at the hands of the Yankees and multiple players getting injured since. So no fights ensued.

Lets Go Mets!

This is getting exciting. I’d almost say this is one of the best parts of the year with baseball coming to an end and football getting started. Today the Mets finished off their seriers against the Phillies winning 8-3. By way of taking 2 of 3 against the Phillies, the Mets lowered their magic number by 4 to 18. Of note, Wagner seems to be hitting his stride the past few weeks. He finished off the Phillies today in the top of the ninth with 3 k’s and hasn’t given up a run since August 9th. Having Wagner at the top of his game in October will be huge for the Mets.

The Mets dropped their magic number to clinch first place in the National League East by 4 to 22 by way of a 3 game sweep against the Cardinals and 1 loss by the Phillies against the Cubs in their 3 game series. The Mets magic number to clinch the best record in the National League is 24 (over the Cardinals).

The series against the Cardinals had a lot of positives for the Mets (both on and off the field). First of all, the Cardinals are the next best thing in the National League. At least right now they are. To sweep them sends a message to the league that the Mets haven’t lost their edge. This is something I hope they can keep as they finish off the season.
Off the field the Mets got some good news too. Test results on Tom Glavine’s left shoulder and arm showed that he doesn’t need surgery to fix the blood clot. Somehow, taking baby aspirin along with other medication will do the trick. The Mets also traded for Shawn Green to cover right field. This was one of those trades that the Yankees usually do (or just did when they go Abreu). Either way, I’m happy to have him on board for the stretch run and next year. I’ve been a fan of his for some time now. He even had an RBI single in his first game with the Mets today.

The Mets lowered their magic number by 4 this weekend to 26 with a sweep of the Rockies and one loss by the Phillies in their series against the Nationals. I almost feel bad for Rockies fans. A buddy of mine told me on Friday that the Rockies need to take 2 of 3 in order to get back in the wild card race. No such luck Matt . Although, not all is well with the Mets as a result of the sweep. Tom Glavine, one of the Mets top 2 pitchers, is listed as day-to-day as he goes through tests resulting from a cold feeling in one of his fingers. From what I’ve been reading, it seems he might have a blood clot in his shoulder. His return date ranges anywhere from next weekend to next year. That’s not good news for a team with high hopes of reaching the promised land. At this point, the Mets are left with a depleated starting staff. Pedro Martinez is their ace and probable game 1 starter in the playoffs assuming he comes back healthy from a calf injury. I’d probably put El Duque Orlando Hernandez as the game 2 starter. El Duque has a reputation for big game pitching. After that, it’s all up in the air. Pitchers with names of Bannister (rookie), Williams, Trachsel, Maine (17 career starts), and Pelfrey (rookie) lead the list of game 3 and 4 starters. I’m thinking the Mets take a look at these 5 pitchers over the last 30+ games and go with the hot hand come October. Either way, I’ll take this scenario against what the Rockies fans are going through.

Lets go Mets!

The Mets lowered their magic number down to 30 during their 4 game series against the Phillies, missing a great opportunity to do some serious damage to the team chasing them in the standings. Each game the Mets could have won during the series would have dropped the magic number down by 2. Well, they only took 1 of 4 against the Phillies, lowering their magic number only by 2. Not that I’m worried, the Mets still have a 13 game lead in the National League East. Next up are the Rockies for 3 in NY. I’m excited since the games will be televised here in Denver, maybe I’ll catch a couple.

The Mets lowered their magic number by 4 this weekend to 32. They took 2 of 3 from the Nationals while the Phillies lost 2 of 3 to the Reds. Today, Steve Trachsel took the mound against the Phillies giving up 1 run over 6-1/3 innings. Although Trachsel has an 11-5 record, he’s probably one of the weaker pitchers for the Mets. Of his 23 starts this season, he’s only managed 10 “quality starts.” A quality start is defined as pitching 6 or more innings allowing 3 or fewer runs. This probably means he’s had his fair share of offensive run support during his starts. Martinez (13/19), Glavine (16/25), and Hernandez (11/22) have beeter quality start to games started ratios. I’d bet that Martinez, Glavine, and Hernandez are the Mets starters IF they make the playoffs.

Let’s go Mets!

Thanks to Mike for keeping me apprised of the magic number for the Mets to clinch first place in the NL East during the past week. I’ve decided to keep track every few days here on my blog. After a win by the Mets today against the Padres and a win by the Phillies against the Braves, the Mets now have a magic number of 37 with 50 games to go. In order to clinch first place, a total of 37 Mets wins or Phillies losses are required.

On a side note, it’s nice to see Mike Piazza doing so well this season with the Padres after spending the past 7+ seasons with the Mets. Even better was reading about the NY fans giving him a standing ovation after he hit his first of two home runs during the game today. During his career with the Mets, Piazza batted .296, with 220 HR’s and 655 RBI’s. Piazza ranks 2nd all time with the Mets in HR’s and RBI’s and 4th in BA. Stats courtesy of mlb.com. Anyone care to guess who is first on the Mets all time list for HR’s and RBI’s?

Lets go Mets!