Extra Catcher

Paul Lo Duca was 2-for-5 in the Mets' win in Washington on Friday. It was Lo Duca's 48th multiple-hit game as a catcher this year -- he has one more as a designated hitter -- the most in the majors this season. Oakland's Jason Kendall leads the AL with 47 multiple-hit games as a catcher.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2608065

Willie Randolph's Success

Randolph is the first manager in major league history to improve his team's win total by at least 12 games in each of his first two seasons as a big league skipper (excluding seasons following strike-shortened years). The last veteran manager to do that in his first two seasons with a team was Gil Hodges, also for the Mets. The Mets, who were 61-101 in 1967, won 73 games in 1968, Hodges' first year with the club, then won 100 games (and the World Series) in Gil's second season in New York. (Hodges managed the Washington Senators from 1963-67.)
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2608065

Milledge Gets Hazed

There was a signed taped over Lastings Milledge's locker that read: ``Know your place, Rook. Your teammates.'' Evidently, his act is wearing thin.Milledge wouldn't talk about it, and several Mets dismissed it as ``rookie hazing.''

However, this went deeper than making him wear woman's clothes after a road trip.One veteran said, ``we all need to know our place every now and then.'' And, when asked if it was deserving, said, ``a little bit.''

Oh No Pedro

Pedro Martinez, a doubtful participant in the National League Division Series as of Thursday afternoon, was scratched from the Mets' postseason plans Thursday night after an MRI exam detected a muscle tendon tear in his left calf. General manager Omar Minaya said the pitcher, who had been scheduled to start the Mets' first playoff game, would be baseball-incapacitated for four to six weeks.

Minaya said Martinez experienced pain in the left leg Wednesday night during his flawed performance against the Braves here. A tear in the right calf caused Martinez to be assigned to the disabled list from mid-August to mid-September. The general manager was unaware of any incident that might have led to the left-leg injury.
"It's part of the game," Minaya said. "Injuries are part of the game when you put a team together."
Minaya said he was unsure whether Martinez would rejoin the team and had no definite plans about which pitcher would replace Martinez in the rotation or on the staff.

Remember the scare with Tom Glavine when they thought he could be out for the season. Its a good thing he is availiable and he will need to step it up now. Who will take the 3 spot in the post season rotation Trachale or Maine. I guarentee its Trach thought I would perfer Maine. All I can say now is Houston better not make the playoffs or the Phills... There is no way we can match up with their pitching now that pedros gone.

Mets get blownout 12-0, Concerns?

The story of tonights game was not the loss it was Pedro Martinez. Watching the game I kept thinking how high he was leaving in the strike zone. As a baseball player I know pitchers are not supposed to leave their pitches up and thats what Pedro did. Boy did he pay; Pedro gave up 7 runs on 8 hits in just 2 and 2/3 innings. This is not what we are looking for in his last start before the post season.

As of Now I am concerned about a few things....
1. The mets are ice cold now loosing 7 of their last 8 and only scoring a combined 23 runs avg. 2.875.
2. In the last 5 games the mets have given up 39 runs. Where did the pitching go.
3. I am also very nervous about who they are playing in the playoffs. The Mets need to face an easy opponent the first round to get on a hot streak. Lets hope the Astros and Phillies dont make it. Pitching.

A postitive note into tonights loss is David Wright continues to hit going 1 for 3. Prospect Phillip Humber who was the Mets first round pick, 3rd overall in 2004, had another good outing going for 1 inning and recording a strike out.

And the loss's just keep on comin

Last nights loss 12-0 to the Braves marks that the Mets have lost their last 6 of 7.
Get it together!!!

International Prospect News

The Mets signed Francisco Pena, a catcher from the Dominican Republic for $750,000.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/262506.html

It's Official

The Norfolk Tides closed the book on 37 years with the Mets on Monday, announcing a new affiliation with the Orioles.

The announcement also ended the affiliation shuffling at the Triple-A level, leaving the following changes in place for the 2007 season: the Phillies from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Ottawa, the Orioles from Ottawa to Norfolk, the Mets from Norfolk to New Orleans, the Nationals from New Orleans to Columbus, and the Yankees from Columbus to Scranton.

The Mets had been affiliated with the Norfolk franchise (which has also been known as Tidewater during its history) since it joined the International League in 1969, but Norfolk officials complained about a lack of communication and cooperation from the Mets this year. The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported that neither general manager Omar Minaya nor assistant GM Tony Bernazard had visited Norfolk this season.

"They took us for granted," Tides general manager Dave Rosenfield told the newspaper.

With five of the Northeast's major league teams involved in the Triple-A musical chairs, the Mets were the last team standing. After visiting Columbus and Scranton but not getting affiliations there, and after getting pushed out of Norfolk in spite of a last-minute call from Tidewater native David Wright to Tides owner Ken Young, they'll head to New Orleans.

Aside from the end of a such a long relationship, the move to New Orleans increases the Mets' Triple-A-to-big league commute by nearly 1,000 miles and puts them in the Pacific Coast League, which will further increase travel.

The Mets took the public-relations offensive, however, announcing their new affiliation last Friday, before the Tides and Orioles held a press conference in Norfolk on Monday.

"We are excited to relocate our top minor league operation to New Orleans to become part of the rebirth and renaissance of one of America’s great cities," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said. "We expect to take an active role in the community--on and off the field. We thank the fans of the Virginia Beach area for their support for the past 38 years."

"The New Orleans Zephyrs ownership and front office clearly showed an aggressive desire to be part of the Mets organization and bring our Triple-A affiliate to the Crescent City," Minaya said. "We are thrilled to partner with the Zephyrs organization."

The Mets signed a two-year player-development contract with the Zephyrs, while the Orioles signed a four-year agreement with the Tides.

Triple-A could see another big round of shuffling in two years because Columbus has made it clear that it plans to go after the Indians or Reds affiliation then, when the team will be in a new ballpark. The Clippers lost their longtime affiliation with the Yankees this fall, and they signed a two-year agreement with the Nationals as a stopgap.

Don't Worry....Yet

In the 35 years from 1969 through 2004, the team with best overall winning percentage won the World Series only eight times. Let me emphasize: the team with the best regular-season record has won the World Series only 23% of the time. The winners include some of the best and best-known teams of our time: the 1970 Orioles, the Big Red Machine in 1975 and 1976, the Mets in 1986 and the 1998 Yankees.

How about the teams with the best September record? The answer is exactly the same: they won eight World Series, too. Same impact. In six of the eight examples, however, the team with the best September record was also the team with the best overall record. So there's a lot of overlap between the two groups.

In fact, in about half of the last 35 years (17, to be exact), the team with the best regular-season record was also the team with the best record in September. Of those 17 teams, six won the World Series. Even teams that were Good and had Momentum won it all only 35% of the time.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ten-things-about-momentum-in-the-postseason/
http://www.nmia.com/~roberts/baseball/33.jpg

Minor Awards

The Mets announced that first baseman Mike Carp was named the Sterling Minor League Organizational Player-of-the-Year while righthanded pitcher Mike Devaney earned Sterling Pitcher-of-the-Year honors.

In addition, the Mets also released the 2006 Sterling Awards, emblematic of the team Most Valuable Player, for each of their nine minor league clubs.Outfielder Lastings Milledge was the Sterling Award recipient at Norfolk (AAA) of the International League, first baseman Michel Abreu and outfielder Carlos Gomez were co-winners at Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League, catcher Jesus Flores at St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League, outfielder Fernando Martinez and lefthanded pitcher Jonathan Niese were co-winners at Hagerstown (A) of the South Atlantic League, outfielder Dustin Martin at Brooklyn (A) of the New York-Penn League, shortstop Emmanuel Garcia at Kingsport (R) of the Appalachian League, righthanded pitcher Josh Stinson with the Gulf Coast Mets, second baseman Greg Veloz won with the Dominican Summer League while outfielder Gabriel Zavala captured the award with the Venezuelan Summer League.

http://blogs.trb.com/sports/baseball/mets/blog/

1 Week Left

Going into the last week of the season, Yes the last week, the Mets need to go on a run and get it going after this little skid their having. Remember, their pitching has been fine but that bats have been down. This might have to do with the fact that the Carlos's have not really been playing and since the clincher.

Another note is all Mets fans should pray that the Phillies dont make the playoffs... they got three strong lefties and dont forget how bad the Mets have been since they traded Nady for Roberto Hernadez who has not done anything with the Mets since returning and Oliver Perez who will not pitch in the post season. Was that really a good trade? If you did not know almost know pitchers or players that have been traded at the deadline have had any signifigance in the post season... Who was the last guy who meant anything in the post season, O Yea, who could forget, Arron Boone walkoff.

Slump?

Going into todays game against the Nationals the Mets have lost their last 9 out of 14 and 11 out of their last 19.

Hagerstown Suns leave Mets Organization

Hagerstown didn't last long as a Mets affiliate. The South Atlantic League club has replaced the Mets with the Nationals.

This is devastaing news to me because i went to 2 suns games this year and 1 last year. I loved the suns and am quite sad to see them go.

http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/

Bye Tides

With each passing day, odds that the Norfolk Tides will affiliate with the Baltimore Orioles increase.

Seeing the Orioles as frontrunners in a perceived two-horse race to land Norfolk as a Triple-A affiliate, the Washington Nationals aligned with the Columbus Clippers.

The Nationals' Triple-A affiliate had previously played in New Orleans.

"I'd say it's an 88 percent chance we end up with the Orioles and about a 12 percent chance we go back with the New York Mets," Tides general manager Dave Rosenfield said upon hearing of the Nationals' decision.

Earlier this month, the Tides decided not to renew their working agreement with the Mets, putting a 38-year relationship on hold. The Tides blamed the Mets for a series of communication breakdowns between the two organizations.

The Orioles, who housed their Triple-A players in Ottawa for the past four years, have been viewed as the favorite to replace the Mets from the start.

Over the summer, Tides president Ken Young formed a new ownership group that purchased three minor-league teams in Maryland - the Delmarva Shorebirds, Frederick Keys and Bowie Baysox - all with existing affiliations to the Orioles.

According to Young, the Tides would be seeking a two-year affiliation agreement, or "player development contract," with the Orioles. Baseball's governing bodies require that affiliation agreements be for either two or four years.

With Young on the West Coast conducting business with his food services company it is unlikely that a deal will be completed in the next day or so.

Mets officials visited the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre organization in Moosic, Pa., on Tuesday in an effort to pry that franchise from the grip of the New York Yankees. The Yankees ended a 28-year relationship with Columbus and reports have the Yankees all but locked into signing a deal with Scranton.

The Yankees, Rosenfield said, have not contacted the Tides.

The Mets could likely end up in New Orleans, which looks to be the least-attractive option in the affiliation shuffle. Not only is New Orleans still in a major rebuilding phase more than a year after Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League. Major League teams on the East Coast prefer to have their Triple-A team playing in the International League, based primarily on the East Coast.

Rosenfield said he'd had a lengthy and polite discussion with Mets director of minor league operations Adam Wogan earlier this week. Meanwhile, Young had a similar conversation with Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.

But major damage seems to have been done. Tides officials saw it as a slap when Mets general manager Omar Minaya and assistant general manager Tony Bernazard failed to visit Norfolk this past season. It did not help matters that the Mets constructed one of the worst Triple-A teams to play in Norfolk. The Tides finished 57-84.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=111364&ran=108629

Minor League Attendance

This season, Minor League teams drew a combined 41,710,357 fans, an increase of 377,078 over the 2005 record-setting total. The total includes 176 teams in the 14 affiliated domestic leagues in the United States and Canada, plus the 16 teams in the Triple-A Mexican League.
The 2004 season marked the first year in which Minor League Baseball had increased its attendance in more than 50 years, drawing 39,887,755. The record didn't stand long as the 2005 season brought a boost of almost a million and a half more fans.

http://minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060918&content_id=133949&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

"A-" team wins 3-2

The Mets played mostly reserves in their first game since clinching the NL East, and they still got the job done. Lastings Milledge knocked the game-tying single in the eighth, and Michael Tucker followed with the go-ahead RBI single to help give Tom Glavine his 289th career win.

Why does Willie continue to put Ricky Ledee in key pinch hit spots?

NL East Champs!

Wow, what a game last night. It was so exciting being there and the atomosphere was unbelivable. I was a bit suprised to see how empty it was, only 46,000; I thought it would be sold out. When Cliff caught the ball in the 9th the stadium erupted like I have never heard. I got some great pictures which I will add to the site.

A team can't lose if it doesn't allow any runs, and Steve Trachsel did his part, holding the Marlins to just three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Jose Valentin provided three RBIs with two home runs.

BRING ON THE PLAYOFFS!

Tonight

I will be at the Mets game tonight in hopes to see them clinch. Upper decks all the way!

Magic Number is 1

If the Mets win tonight or the Phills loose the Mets will Clinch the playoffs!!

Mets Attendance

The New York Mets announced that they have eclipsed the 3 million mark in attendance for the 2006 season at Shea Stadium. Including today's crowd of 48,760, the Mets have attracted 3,040,920 through 73 home games, including eight sellouts. The Mets have sold a total of 3,451,585 tickets to date. 9/10/06

Mets Farm Teams

Final Mets organizational leaders:

Average

Corey Coles, St. Lucie: .341
Michel Abreu, Binghamton: .332
Dustin Martin, Brooklyn: .315
David Wabick, Brooklyn: .306
Jorge Padilla, Binghamton: .295
Ivan Naccarata, Brooklyn: .289
Mike Carp, St. Lucie: .287
Junior Contreras, Kingsport: .284
Carlos Gomez, Binghamton: .281
Emmanuel Garcia, Brooklyn: .281

HR

Jesus Flores, St. Lucie: 21
Jay Caligiuri, Binghamton: 18
Michel Abreu, Binghamton: 17
Mike Carp, St. Lucie: 17
Nick Evans, Hagerstown: 15

RBI

Mike Carp, St. Lucie: 88
Michel Abreu, Binghamton: 70
Jesus Flores, St. Lucie: 70
Nick Evans, Hagerstown: 67
Jay Caligiuri, Binghamton: 64

Steals

Carlos Gomez, Binghamton: 41
Sean Henry, Hagerstown: 30
Ambiorix Concepcion, Binghamton: 29
Emmanuel Garcia, Brooklyn: 22

ERA

Michael Devaney, Binghamton: 2.13
Tobi Stoner, Brooklyn: 2.15
German Marte, Brooklyn: 2.24
Jake Ruckle, Brooklyn: 2.69
Todd Privett, Brooklyn: 2.73
Greg Mullens, Brooklyn: 3.00
Salvador Aguilar, St. Lucie: 3.11
Eric Brown, Brooklyn: 3.11
Willie Collazo, Binghamton: 3.54
Timothy Stronach, Kingsport: 3.76

Wins

Michael Devaney, Binghamton: 12
Evan MacLane, Norfolk: 12
Jonathan Niese, St. Lucie: 11
Jose Sanchez, St. Lucie: 11

Saves

Carlos Muniz, St. Lucie: 31
Henry Owens, Binghamton: 20
Kevin Tomasiewicz, St. Lucie: 20
Matt Lindstrom, Binghamton: 13
Heath Bell, Norfolk: 12

Strikeouts

Jonathan Niese, St. Lucie: 142
Michael Devaney, Binghamton: 129
Mike Pelfrey, Norfolk: 109
Eric Brown, Brooklyn: 106
Willie Collazo, Binghamton: 105

http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/

Bye Bye Braves

The Atlanta Braves have been dethroned…

By winning last night, the Mets have eliminated the Braves from contention in the race to win the National League Eastern Division…

For the first time since 1990, the Braves will not win their division…Its about time

Mets get crushed in Loss to Marlins

The Mets struggled from the outset on Monday, dropping their series opener to the Marlins at Dolphin Stadium. Cliff Floyd went deep, and Carlos Beltran became the third player in Mets history to reach 40 home runs in a season, joining Todd Hundley and Mike Piazza. Dave Williams took the loss, allowing nine runs in three-plus innings.

Floyd?

Cliff Floyd got the message Sunday: Play now or maybe not at all come October.

Profile
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM HR RBI R OBP AVG
85 10 38 43 .318 .237

Floyd has been limited to 85 games and 291 at-bats this season, bothered by chronic pain in his left Achilles tendon. He met with Mets manager Willie Randolph for about 20 minutes before New York's series finale against Los Angeles on Sunday.

"Physically, we all know where I stand. Mentally, you have to block all the mess out. If you don't, then it allows you potentially to not have the confidence or not have whatever it is you need to get it done," Floyd said. "I have to play. If I'm going to be on the roster and be able to help this team, I have to play. I have to be counted on to go out there."

Randolph doesn't think Floyd's injury will get much better until the offseason, when he has extended rest. Floyd said he took himself out of Sunday's lineup to work on his calf, then said he intends to play most games for the rest of the season, starting with Monday's trip opener at Florida.

"I don't see Cliff as a platoon player. I don't see him as someone that can go to the end of this month not playing, and it's going to be effective for us," Randolph said.

Floyd doesn't want to be a distraction. The 33-year-old left fielder is hitting .238 with 10 homers and 38 RBI.

"Now is not the time to be worrying about Cliff's health," Floyd said. "It's about this team winning."

Go St. Lucie

ST. LUCIE SWEEPS DUNEDIN, WINS 5TH FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP!

The St. Lucie Mets were perfect in the playoffs. After sweeping the Palm Beach Cardinals 2-0 in the division series, they completed a three game sweep of the Dunedin Blue Jays, en route to capturing their fifth Florida State League Championship.

Jose Sanchez earned his second win of the playoffs throwing six and two-thirds innings, allowing just four walks, while striking out four. Carlos Muniz earned the save. Muniz saved all five of the Mets playoff wins.

The Mets were paced at the plate by catcher Jesus Flores who went 4-for-4 with an RBI. Corey Coles had three hits while Fernando Martinez collected two hits and Jose Coronado, JE Cruz, Alhaji Turay and Jonathan Malo all chipped in with one.

hotfoot.com

Mets Loose 9-1

The Mets continue to have trouble with left-handers, especially rookies, as Eric Stults became the second rookie southpaw to beat them in the last three games. The Mets' only offense against Dodgers pitching came on Jose Reyes' 19th homer in the sixth inning. With the Phillies' loss Sunday, the Mets' magic number was reduced to four.

Mets get shutout 5-0

One night after the Mets blanked the Dodgers behind a solid 6 1/3 innings from Tom Glavine, the Dodgers received a quality start from Hong-Chih Kuo to beat the Mets, 5-0, on Friday in front of 52,077 at Shea Stadium.

The Mets, who belted two home runs off the National League's league leader in wins, Brad Penny, on Thursday, could not do much against Kuo, who held the Mets hitless until David Wright singled in the fifth.

Kuo, a 25-year-old rookie left-hander who had not started in the Major Leagues before Friday's outing, gave up only three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.

The Mets' only threat came in the fifth after Kuo allowed the single to Wright, followed by another single by Shawn Green. But Chris Woodward struck out, and Lastings Milledge grounded into a double play.

The Dodgers scored two runs in the first inning on a throwing error by Wright with two outs and the bases loaded.

The visitors added insurance runs in the fifth inning off Mets starter John Maine on two solo home runs by Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra. After the inning, in which Maine escaped with two men left on base, the starter was removed after 87 pitches. Maine allowed six hits and four runs, two earned, with three walks and four strikeouts.

mets.com

Mets shutout Dodgers

The Mets can only hope that Thursday's game was a playoff preview. Jose Reyes continued to top himself with his first career inside-the-park homer, and Tom Glavine pitched 6 1/3 superb innings to blank the Dodgers, 7-0, in a duel of first-place clubs.

Minor League Playoffs

The Brooklyn Cyclones in the Short Season A league are the only mets team in the Minor League Playoffs. They are playing as I write this and are up 3-2 in the 8th.

History

The last time the Mets won a doubleheader with left-handed starters emerging as the winning pitchers was July 13, 1979, when the Mets swept the Giants with Kevin Kobel and Andy Hassler winning. They qualified as retreads too, though Kobel made 27 starts for the Mets in 1979. He had a 6-8 record.

mets.com

DoubleHeader Sweep!!!!!

The Mets today swept the braves in a double header. In game 1 Dave Williams went 6 innings and only gave up 1 run. Delgado hit a two run home run and thats all the Mets needed as they won 4-1.

In game 2 the Oliver Perez was in the zone recieving a 5 hit, complete game shutout. The Mets had a big 6th inning getting 4 runs. They won 8-0 in a dominating performance.

Shawn Green was my Mets player of the day going 6 for 8 with 3 rbi's and 4 runs.

Carlos Delgado said there was "double meaning" in his being selected as the Mets' 2006 recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing players who exemplify the game through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions to their teams.

Delgado is now eligible to win the national 2006 Roberto Clemente Award, which will be selected from among the 30 nominees representing each Major League club.

"I think it's pretty cool for me," Delgado said. "I'm Puerto Rican and he's an icon in Puerto Rico, where he represents both on the field and off the field. It's a great honor. I don't want to compare myself by any means to him, but I'm in a fortunate position where I can help others. It gives me a lot of satisfaction and a lot of joy."

Delgado wears No. 21 to honor the late Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder. He selected the number when he was first promoted to the Toronto Blue Jays, but yielded it to Roger Clemens in favor of No. 25. This season with the Mets, Kaz Matsui wore No. 25, so Delgado took the opportunity to return to his original -- and Clemente's -- number.

Still, Delgado said he agreed with those who have suggested Major League Baseball should universally retire Clemente's number, as was done in 1997 with Jackie Robinson's No. 42.

"I think Clemente represents an icon, a person who opened a lot of doors for his community," Delgado said. "For us, that was crucial. I don't know if it's going to happen or not, but if they ask me, they'll get my vote. I'll be the first one to take that jersey off my back."

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060906&content_id=1648950&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym

Phillip Humber

There are always questions surrounding pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery, and Humber has handled them all thus far. The 23-year-old went 2-0, 0.75 in his final two starts of the season for the B-Mets and was rewarded with a September callup, though it is unclear how much he will actually get to pitch fro the Mets.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/262386.html

Mets Prospects Henry Owens is money in Olympic Qualifires

Mets prospect Henry Owens picked up his third save of the qualifying tournament as Team USA captured the gold in Olympic qualifying with an 8-5 win against Cuba yesterday. Both teams qualified for the 2008 Olympics in China.

http://blogs.nydailynews.com/mets/

Reinforcements

After Monday's game, the Mets announced that they plan to recall outfielder Lastings Milledge, left-hander Dave Williams and right-hander Brian Bannister from Triple-A Norfolk of the International League. In addition, the Mets will recall right-hander Philip Humber from Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League.
The Mets will also purchase the contracts of catcher Kelly Stinnett and outfielder Ricky Ledee from Norfolk. The Mets plan to place right-hander Steve Schmoll (right hamstring) on the 60-day disabled list.

Pedro rejoins Mets

Pedro Martinez rejoined the Mets on Monday, and though there is still no immediate timetable for his return to the mound, the team is pleased with the ace's progress and expects him back later this month.
Martinez, 34, has been on the disabled list since mid-August with a minor strain in his right calf, and had spent time at the team's Spring Training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

He threw a 38-pitch side session over the weekend in Florida, the first time he had thrown since leaving an Aug. 14 start at Philadelphia after just one inning.

"Everything's going the way we hoped they would go, based on the medical reports we have," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. "He's throwing, he's on the mound, he's throwing well. He says he's feeling good. We have to go on that."

Martinez was unavailable for comment before Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves but was spotted in the dugout prior to first pitch. Manager Willie Randolph said that he would guess the right-hander would return in mid-September.

"A lot of it depends on how he feels," Randolph said. "The main thing is that he's making steady progress, building up his pitch count [and the] volume of his count."

Minaya and Randolph both said they believed Martinez could pitch as many as three games in September before the postseason, based upon the Mets' schedule and Martinez's projected progress.

Randolph described Martinez as being in "great spirits" and noted that Martinez's schedule -- as it has been for much of the season -- remains flexible. The three-time Cy Young Award winner will alternate between throwing long-toss, side sessions and eventually simulated games as he works his way back to game action.

"The good part about it is that he's feeling good, he's feeling strong," Randolph said. "He's continuing to long-toss, and before he gets out there, he'll do a simulated game. Then we'll give him the ball and let him go."

I'm back

I had a great vacation in Bethany Beach where the waves were 8-10 feet high because of Ernesto. Im back and ready to give you all your mets news!

Away

I wiill be away this weekend and i will be unable to post.