New York Mets

R.A. Dickey seems to be a player that doesn’t get excited by much.  As a matter of fact, I don’t think I have seen him smile since he was brought up from Triple A.

Maybe it’s because I am so used to seeing players pound their chests and point to the sky for every success on the field.

This includes getting a hit, a walk, a sacrifice fly, a productive out, striking out a hitter, getting down a sacrifice bunt, and grabbing the regular flavor of sunflower seeds instead of the dreaded barbecue-flavored ones.

It's been a crazy year for the New York Mets. They will enter the month of June either 27-25 or 26-26, neither bad considering what their expectations were in spring training.

It will only get tougher for them and even strange as they play June baseball. Starting with Monday night's game in San Diego, the Mets will play 27 games through June 30, all of which are fun, intriguing, and exciting in some way.

As of now, many see the Mets as a .500 team.  The Mets' biggest problem is pitching.  The team is very talented offensively, but only has two great pitchers.

Ace Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey are anchoring the Mets' rotation right now.  Everybody knew that Johan was going to be great, but Pelfrey has been a pleasant surprise.

No one really knew what to expect from Mike "Big Pelf" Pelfrey in 2010.  Pelfrey labeled himself as a talented kid with an unstable mental side of the game. 

All he needed was confidence and a better mindset. 

Unbelievable? 

Amazin?

No. Just Same Ole Mets.

Just when you thought the Mets were going to pull themselves out of the cellar, they prove us wrong once again. The 2010 Mets are the greatest mirage in baseball. One minute they look like world beaters, the next like chumps.

Let me ask Mets nation: Is Jerry Manuel back on the hot seat?

The New York Mets were hotter than a fire cracker after an inspiring three game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies—a 5-1 home stand that saw them beat both Philadelphia and the New York Yankees.

MILWAUKEE—The Mets took a huge risk throwing a pitcher whom hadn't thrown more than 2.1 IP in a game this season. It came back to bite them and the way they had to use their bullpen.

Both pitching staffs had awful nights and it was a game that felt as if it lasted five-plus hours.

It started well for the Mets in the first inning when they took a 1-0 lead on a Reyes run. After Reyes walked to leadoff the game, stole second, and moved to third on a groundout, Jason Bay doubled him home.

If chicks did the long ball, there's not going to be a whole lot of love if your team is squaring off against the Mets.

For all of the questions about Jerry Manuel's rotation coming into the season, it has been an unlikely group of pitchers who have helped New York remain in contention in a highly competitive NL East.

Every team has their faults in the division, and with no one team running away with things one-third of the way through the year, it is as wide open as it has ever been.

Fernando Nieve is starting against the Milwaukee Brewers tonight and because he hasn’t started since last July and has primarily been a reliever throughout his career I thought now would be a good time to go over his numbers as a starter.

Here are Nieve’s numbers against the Brewers:

4 G, 2 GS, 1-1 record, 5.11 ERA, 12.1 IP, 19 H, 7 ER, 4 HR, 3 BB, 10 K, 1.78 WHIP.

Here are his numbers as a starter:

Johan Santana and the Mets got in a pitcher’s duel agianst the Brewers yesterday, but lost 2-0 as Yovani Gallardo went the distance.

Here are some notes:

MILWAUKEE: Things aren't working out right now for the Mets away from Citi Field. At 6-15 on the road this season, the Mets will put their series hopes in the hands of reliever Fernando Nieve.

Last season, Nieve came up to make seven starts and didn't do a bad job. His overall numbers last season, including one relief outing, were 3-3, 2.95 ERA.

The problem here is, he hasn't been used as a long man this season, so how much of a big transition will it be to make a start?

MILWAUKEE-- For a while, it seemed as if the Mets were about to throw their fourth consecutive shutout. It took until two outs in the ninth for the streak to be snapped after 35 2/3 innings.

It was a classic pitcher's duel between two aces. For the Mets, Johan Santana was on the mound. He was lights-out, as he became the first pitcher for the Mets this season to go eight innings.