Talking New York Mets With Rising Apple

The Pittsburgh Pirates open a nine game homestand with a three game set against the New York Mets.  We reached out to Matt from Rising Apple to see what’s going on with the surprising New York Mets.  Ronny Cedeno and the Mets are 22-19, and 3.5 games out of first place.   The Bucs are 19-22, only 3 games behind the NL Central leading St. Louis Cardinals and 2.5 games behind the Reds.

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Are the Mets bi-polar, or defining Moneyball or just what is happening in New York?

They are unbelievably bi-polar. One day, everything is clicking, then the next, they can’t pitch. Once they show they can pitch again, the offense disappears. I think it is partially due to the starters missing time due to injury, but either way, it’s quite frustrating to watch. Hopefully once Tejada and Thole return from the DL, the offense will be able to stabilize, and God willing, the bullpen will settle down.

Your thoughts on the Mets starters this series?

Surprisingly, I feel pretty good about them going into this series. Anytime I see Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey going 1-2 in the first two games of a series, I feel secure. With an overworked bullpen in tow, I’m confident that they can give the innings we need to give them a rest. Jonathon Niese, on the other hand, I’m a little nervous about after that four homer performance in Toronto.

Is Jason Bay running out of time in New York?

Absolutely. If it weren’t for the solid play from Kirk Nieuwenhuis, I think fans wouldn’t be as unforgiving (or maybe), but I feel that there have been quite a few fans that have tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now that we’ve seen production out of the left field position, it’s hard to think we would have to go back to hoping each day for Jason to break out.

What is the biggest weakness the Mets have coming into this series?

Even before Batista’s injury in Toronto, the bullpen was in flux between ineffective pitchers (Manny Acosta and Frank Francisco) to inexperienced ones (Jeremy Hefner and Robert Carson). Now that Chris Schwinden was recalled, another ineffective and inexperienced pitcher was added to the mix.

Is there anything David Wright can’t do?

He can do everything. Just kidding… But seriously, it certainly seems like it. It’s been so much fun to watch him grow from an up-and-coming prospect to the team’s elder statesman and captain (unofficially). After watching him struggle the past couple seasons, it’s been awesome to watch him play like he has. My hope was that he would play so well this year that Sandy Alderson would have no choice but to sign our “Mr. Met” to a long-term extension. Thankfully, he’s done just that, and more.

Matt has a full series preview up at his site.