http://www.yardbarker.com/users/TheRopolitans Recent Yardbarker Articles: TheRopolitans en-us The Daily News is reporting that, according to sources, Ryan Church will return to the New York Mets on Friday against the Astros at Shea Stadium. Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:13:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/310273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/310273 Looking at those three pitchers last ten games, my vote goes for Maine to move. He's been battling a shoulder issue, so decreased work would definitely help. He's only gotten into the seventh inning one times out of his last ten outings. He's also struggled through those same ten. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:21:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304673 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304673 The Mets bullpen is a mess. We all know it. It's an undeniable fact that they flat out stink. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much available on the waiver wire for the Mets to acquire another arm. That means the Mets must look internally if they want to solve this problem. Too bad they don't have anyone in their farm system either. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:01:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304446 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304446 This time around it's Weezer's latest album, nicknamed the "Red Album." Enjoy... Daniel Murphy is proving to be a Troublemaker for opposing pitching. Mets fans can only hope he will be The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. Seems his parents raised him well on a steady diet of Pork and Beans. Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:09:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303704 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303704 Jack Curry of the New York Times presents a very sobering statistic this morning: The ERA of five members of the bullpen since the All Star Break... Scott Schoeneweis, 5.14. Duaner Sanchez, 5.40. Pedro Feliciano, 8.10. Joe Smith, 9.53. Aaron Heilman, 11.32. Wow. 11.32?! And he's still in the majors? I thought it was bad, but I didn't think it was this bad. Something needs to be done. Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:39:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302916 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302916 David Wright finally got a hit last night. Two in fact. But in the field and on the basepath, he looks lost. Today's noon game would be the perfect opportunity to give him a breather, give him the chance to clear his head. Apparently, Jerry Manuel thinks the same way, but Wright talked him out of it. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:58:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302328 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302328 Don't ever make the fans sit through that again. When he came into the inning, was there anyone who has watched this team over the last few years that he would make it through the inning unscathed? Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:12:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301704 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301704 A recent trend in Major League Baseball has changed the face of free agency. It has led to the current distribution of power, and will continue to shape the results of baseball for at least the next few years. First, let me define what I mean by the term ace. I refer to a pitcher in his prime, your number 1 pitcher that you would unconditionally choose to pitch in the big game. So, this doesn't include the free-agent deals of Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, or Jason Schmidt. This guy would be the (pitching) face of your franchise for years to come upon his arrival to your franchise. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:38:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301213 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301213 This is supposed to be an easy stretch of the schedule the next few weeks for the Mets. Yes, they do match up against the Phillies and the Marlins, but the rest of the games come against the Pirates, Nationals, Braves, Astros, and Padres. Well, we saw how the team played against the Astros last weekend, and we've seen what they can do against the Padres (if you need a refresher from 15 seconds ago, the Mets were swept by both teams). To me, it always seem like the Mets play down to their opponents level. Instead of truly beating up on teams that they should trounce, they seem to want to make it interesting and play a close game and/or lose. If the Mets want to contend this season, these are games they need to win. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:01:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301086 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301086 No, I have not seen Fernando Martinez play...ever. But just looking at his numbers, I am not too convinced this guy is everything he is cracked up to be. F-Mart is supposedly the Mets blue chip prospect, the best we have, the savior of the farm system. Why? Let's take a look at his statistics through his first three seasons in the minor leagues. Granted, he is only 19 years old and still growing and maturing, but it just doesn't seem he's as groomed as Nick Evans or Daniel Murphy seem to be. Let's look at his numbers... Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:35:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300585 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300585 I understand that Ryan Church wants to be with his teammates, with his friends, as they move through the season. But Church is still coming back from migraines and a concussion. He's taking unnecessary plane flights around the country and the Mets don't seem ready to have him start his rehab assignment any time soon. He's been diagnosed with migraines and cleared to start playing baseball again, but so far he's only taken batting practice and done some throwing. Two scenarios could be in place here: In one... Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:35:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300555 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300555 Flat. Dead fish. No oomph. Nada. Zip. Zilch. This team looks dead. It has no spark, no fight. What we saw nearly three weeks ago, the 10 game winning streak, feels like it happened months ago. Such an abrupt fall from grace. After battling back strong, getting within a few games and finally taking over sole possession of first place, the Mets have fallen back to reality, hard. A 1-5 road trip, one marked by bullpen disaster after bullpen disaster, was not easy to swallow. Almost every game, it seemed the Mets had a chance. Even Sunday's game, where they had men on base and threatening nearly every inning, but failed to push across any runs. This team needs a spark... Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:43:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300479 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300479 John Maine is heading to the DL. Billy Wagner is injured and needs to be evaluated. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 12:23:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300152 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300152 Binghamton closer Eddie Kunz was promoted to the Mets. Kunz is 1-4 with a 2.79 ERA, tallying 27 saves for the B-Mets. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:41:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300129 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300129 If the Mets were unsure whether or not to call up AA pitching prospect Eddie Kunz before last night's game, they must know what they have to do now. Short of the bullpen staff making a sign that read "Omar, promote Kunz now! (Hi Mom!)," they could not send a clearer sign to the front office that they need help. They need reinforcements, and they need them now. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:48:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300084 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300084