New York Mets

There appear to be two factors in the Mets' home success and road failure.

First, they just aren't scoring runs on the road (47 percent fewer runs).

Second, Mets pitchers are giving up 58 percent fewer home runs at Citi Field than on the road.

As a result of allowing fewer home runs, the Mets are also allowing 30 percent fewer RBI at Citi Field (135 away, 95 home).  

One could argue that other factors, including the number of hits (singles, doubles, and triples) and walks could account for this, but statistics suggest otherwise.

This is all fun and games, as I have given up sports gambling since moving from Las Vegas. If you are going to gamble, remember a few things:

1. Don't pick your own team to win (we are all homers.)

2. Watch out for hooks (a push is better then a loss)

3. Five picks should be your maximum for any parlay.

Here are five MLB picks for Friday, June 11th 2010.

1005 ET: Seattle Mariners (+131) @ San Diego Padres (-141)

Over/Under: 6.5

As many of you are now aware, Jonathon Niese pitched the 24th one-hitter in Mets history last night. Niese had six strikeouts during his outing and looked dominant.

Obviously, we cannot expect Niese to pitch this well every time he is on the mound. The real question is what can we expect from Niese the rest of the season? 

Neise had moderate success in the majors last season in five starts. He went 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This small sample size does not give us a lot to predict Niese's future.

Fresh off the heels of rookie Jon Niese’s near-perfect one-hit complete game shutout, the Mets head to Baltimore tonight to resume interleague play.

After all the troubles the Mets have had on the road, the schedule softens up for the next week as they face the Orioles and Indians, two of the worst teams in baseball. If there was ever a time to remedy the putrid 8-18 road record the Mets are currently sporting, these six games are the time to do it.

Seventh Round (212th) — Jeff Walters | RHP | University of Georgia | 11/6/87 | R/R | 6’3 190 lbs.

I've recently finished one of the most gruelingly busy months I've ever had in the five years since I've started my career.

In that time, I haven't been able to watch many, but I have been able to listen to every Met game, and I have to say I like what I've been hearing.

The Mets front office has made all the moves the fans were clamoring for (even if it did take way too long to do so.  See Gary Matthews Jr.)

BALTIMORE—This season, the Mets are 24-10 playing at Citi Field. That's pretty "amazin'." The Amazins, though, are only 8-18 on the road.

If there was ever a road trip for the Mets to fatten up on, it's this one. Starting tonight, the Mets will play six games against two of the three worst teams in the American League.

The Orioles are first on the docket, and if the Mets can't win a series from a team 26 games below .500, then they just don't deserve a playoff spot, no matter how good they are at home.

When the season started, everyone expected this team to fail. This writer thought the Mets were good enough to win 79 to 83 games this season.

The Mets finished April by going 14-9. They started the month of May playing .500 ball until the Marlins swept them at Florida.

This caused concern within the hierarchy. Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya visited Jerry Manuel in Atlanta after the team's series with the Marlins. They demanded answers from Manuel about what happened that weekend.

NEW YORK—The Mets have never had a no-hitter thrown in their 48-year history. Tonight, although the lone baserunner came in the third, it could've happened.

Jon Niese allowed a leadoff double to Padres center-fielder Chris Denorfia, and that was the only baserunner he put on all game.

Niese retired 27 of 28 batters, including the last 21 to face him, in one of the greatest pitching performances in Mets' history. It was the first Mets one-hit shutout since Aaron Heilman on April 15, 2005. 

The Mets currently sit at 31-27, three games out of first place in the NL East and three games back in the Wild Card race. With just less than two-thirds of the season left, the Mets are going to need to make some things happen if they want to make the playoffs.

1)    Carlos Beltran Needs to Return Before/At the All-Star Break