Unhappy Recap: Cubs 9 Mets 5

This game doesn't make me angry. This was a game the Mets were supposed to lose, it was Jon Niese on the mound, against the Cubs, and they got their asses kicked. That happens sometimes. But it just makes all those other games, the ones where one play, one hit, one out could have made a difference, seem even more important.

It does add a little insult to injury that the Mets were done in by Jason Marquis. A grand slam by a pitcher? The last three times a pitcher hit a grand slam were all against the Mets. There was Dontrelle Willis back in 2006, and Felix Hernandez earlier this year.

Even despite that grand slam the Mets did have a lot of chances, going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

Even though they got blown out, they had several chances, to come back or at least cut into the lead. In the 4th and 6th they got the first two men on -- and promptly hit into double plays.

It's so frustrating to watch Luis Castillo because he can't even hit the ball out of the infield. And he is signed for 3 more years. I hope Omar can dump him during the offseason (even if he has to eat 90% of his contract) and move Daniel Murphy there next year (assuming he goes to winter ball and becomes proficient enough at the position).

Once again the Mets are putting all their eggs in Johan Santana's basket.

Happy Recap: Mets 5 Braves 0

What a performance by Jon Niese. He obviously shook off the nerves that affected him in his first start. He was in control the whole time because he was able to control his curveball. His curveball was awesome and he was able to get it over for strikes. I think we're going to see with him throughout his career that when he can get that curveball over for strikes he'll be very hard to hit.

And I love the fact that Jerry Manuel let him pitch into the 8th inning, and left him in there even though he allowed a hit to the first batter of the inning.

There wasn't much for Niese to worry about because once again the Mets jumped out to a big lead with 3 first inning runs.

David Wright looks like he might be starting to get hot.

Beltran also getting hot hitting a home run and raising his batting average to .285, which is higher than he's had in any season with the Mets.

If Carlos Delgado continues his hot streak while Wright and Beltran are hitting this way, the Mets are going to be very dangerous.

Happy Recap: Mets 6 Brewers 5

Another huge win and this time the big contributions came from some unexpected sources.

The bullpen pitched 7 shutout innings, which is quite remarkable. Nelson Figueroa and Brian Stokes are proving to be very valubale additions to the bullpen. It seems clear that Manuel is not going to use Smith or Feliciano for more than one batter for the rest of the season. And Ayala got another save, but it's never easy.

But the Mets pitchers also got help from some great defense. David Wright is playing a great third base even though he hasn't been hitting.

But Carlos Beltran came up big with the glove and the bat. First was his 3-run homer in the third to give the Mets the big lead. It was his 5th homer in the past 9 games, maybe a sign that is going to get hot at the right time. But he also made the biggest play of the game by nailing J.J. Hardy at the plate to end the 4th inning and keep the Mets out of further trouble. And a great job blocking the plate by Robinson Cancel.



Also coming up big with the bat and glove was Endy Chavez. What a beautiful throw he made to second to get Weeks. And then he hit the game-winning sacrifice fly. It shocked me to learn this but the Mets actually lead the NL in sac flies.



And the Mets capitalized on a huge mistake by the Brewers. Jose Reyes should not have been bunting in the 10th inning, he's too good a hitter. But because he did, and because Weeks was late covering and because Kendall's throw was into the runner, the Mets won the game.

Now on to Jonathon Niese. I put no stock in his performance in this game. He was clearly nervous in the first inning. And he may have run out of gas by the fourth. Hopefully he can come out on a more even keel next time, start better and last longer. But if we've learned anything this season, it is not to write off a young pitcher too soon.