Mets Have It Niese And Easy Against The Phillies

Before the season began, the Mets were picked by the general consensus to finish in last place in the NL East.  The main reason for the prediction?  The division was supposed to be so much stronger that the Mets would have no chance in head-to-head competition.  So if that's the case, then why are the Mets cruising with a 6-2 record, especially since all of their games have been against division opponents?

After today's 5-0 victory over the Phillies, the Mets are now 5-0 against Philadelphia and Atlanta, the two teams that finished atop the division in 2011.  The top three pitchers in the rotation (Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese) have combined to post a 1.77 ERA in six starts, collecting more strikeouts (35) than hits allowed (28).  In addition, the bullpen has been superb, with the three new acquisitions (Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez) combining to allow one earned run in 13⅓ innings.

But the main reason why the Mets are playing so well is because each player is capable of picking up one of his teammates when that teammate doesn't perform.  For example, in today's game, Jason Bay came up to to bat in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and no outs.  He promptly grounded into a double play, scoring a run but leaving the Mets with two outs and a potential big inning squelched.  In the past, the next batter would have been retired and the Mets would be left to wonder "what if".  But not the 2012 Mets.

After Bay's double play, Lucas Duda smacked a two-run homer to give the Mets a 4-0 lead, which gave Niese all the cushion he needed.  The Phillies never really threatened after Duda muscled Vance Worley's pitch out of the ballpark.

The teams that were supposed to compete in the NL East all have flaws.  The Phillies and Braves can't hit.  The Marlins can't field.  The Nationals have fewer flaws than the other teams in the division, hence why they're in first place.  But the Mets are not far behind.  They know they have flaws but they're finding ways to play around them.  Whereas past Mets teams continued to repeat their mistakes, this Mets team is learning from them.

Jason Bay and Ike Davis are not hitting well over the first eight games of the season.  But Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole are.  David Wright is not swinging and missing as much as he has in the past.  The result of his better approach at the plate is a 10-for-17 start with only one strikeout.  And the pitching staff has excelled during the first week and a half of the season.  Even when it experiences hiccups (such as Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee's first starts of the season), the bullpen has kept the damage to a minimum.

No one expected the Mets to do anything in the NL East in 2012.  No one except the Mets themselves, that is.  With continued belief in their ability to perform well on the field, plus a dash of good health (which hasn't exactly been the Mets' forté over the past few years), don't be surprised if the Mets shock the league this year.  The Mets might not make the playoffs in 2012, but they won't be pushovers either.

The first eight games have me believing in the team.  Are they making believers of you?

Joey's Post-Game: The Tejada/Collins Summit

Ruben Tejada showed up to camp yesterday on time, but on time wasn't good enough for manager Terry Collins, who expressed disappointment and called for a meeting with the new Mets shortstop this morning.

I'm Studious Metsimus roving reporter Joey Beartran and here is my report and commentary on the Ruben Tejada/Terry Collins Summit.

According to Adam Rubin, Tejada wanted to show up to camp early, as his manager wanted, but had problems obtaining his visa from the Panamanian embassy, which was closed for a few days.  Perhaps the embassy employees had to report to their own manager early or had to close the shop to play a hockey game on the roof.  Regardless, Tejada should have not left his visa issue to the last minute, especially since it was important to his manager for him to arrive early.

This wasn't the only time that Tejada didn't do what his manager asked him to do, as Collins wanted his shortstop to spend a chunk of the winter at the Mets' complex in Florida.  Collins was hoping for Tejada to work with his strength coach and to familiarize himself with Daniel Murphy, who will be his double play partner in 2012.

To this, Tejada responded that he already worked with Murphy as a double play partner in 2010, albeit for a brief 20-game stretch, when both players were members of the AAA-Buffalo Bisons.  As for getting stronger, Tejada said that he used his own personal trainer in Panama, and that he is now feeling "a little bit stronger".

This reporter would like to remind you that Ruben Tejada hit no home runs in 328 at-bats in 2011, and has one home run in 544 career at-bats in the major leagues.  His .314 lifetime slugging percentage is just slightly higher than former Met shortstops Rey Ordoñez (.310) and Rafael Santana (.307).  Therefore, if Tejada hits an inside-the-park homer in 2012, he will have surpassed his 2011 home run output and doubled his lifetime total.  He'll have to be a little more specific when he says he got "a little bit stronger".

For all we know, his quote could mean that he expects to elevate his power from Rey Ordoñez levels to Felix Millan levels.  (For those not in the know, Millan slugged .337 in five years as a Met from 1973 to 1977.  He did this by "blasting" eight home runs in 2,677 at-bats in New York.)  Who needs Terry Collins' strength coach when Tejada's own personal coach can give him one-in-a-Millan power?

That fearsome stance.  The way he holds his bat.  Nothing screams power more than Felix Millan.

Ruben Tejada is only 22 years old.  He was born on the same day Jonathon Niese and his original nose were celebrating their third birthday.  He has a lot to learn about what it takes to be in the major leagues.  Not all of that learning takes place on the field.  Some of it has to do with taking instructions from your manager.  Ruben Tejada failed his manager twice by not showing up to camp early and by not working with his double-play partner and the team's strength coach in Florida.

Tejada is not Jose Reyes, nor should anyone expect him to be.  But he is a major league baseball player, and major league baseball players are supposed to conduct themselves a little better than Tejada is right now.  Ruben Tejada might be feeling "a little bit stronger" now.  What he should also be doing is feeling "a little bit wiser".  He'll have to work on that as well if he wants to be an accepted part of Terry Collins' team.

Joey's Soapbox: The Calm Before The Storm

Have you noticed that I’ve stayed silent about the Mets in 2012?  Ihaven’t climbed on my soapbox in over a month.  Why haven’t I gone on achicken nacho-fueled rant in some time?   The answer is simple, really.

Shhhh.  Be vewwy, vewwy quiet.  The Wilpons are hunting wabbits.  Or at least it seems as if that's what they're doing.

Things have been very quiet around Citi Field this offseason.  Otherthan a brief flurry of activity at the Winter Meetings to solidify thebullpen and the continuation of the OWS movement (Operation Whittling Salary) by replacingAngel Pagan with Andres Torres, the Mets have not added many players tothe team that succeeded in furthering the tradition of fourth placefinishes in Flushing.

Instead, they’re going by the time honoredtradition (and by time honored, I mean since 2009) of adding playersfrom within.  These players are the ones coming off injury-shortenedseasons or seasons in which they didn’t take the field in a game at all.

Every player scheduled to start in the infield in 2012 did not playfull seasons in New York.  First baseman Ike Davis missed the rest ofthe season after playing footsie with David Wright at Coors Field inMay.  Second baseman Daniel Murphy might have competed with Jose Reyesfor the National League batting title had he not been spiked whiletrying to lay a tag on the Braves' Jose Constanza.  Third basemanDavid Wright injured his back against the Astros and missed two months. At least shortstop Ruben Tejada didn’t get hurt.  But he did start the2011 season fielding grounders hit by minor leaguers in Buffalo.

The starting rotation is also counting on the walking wounded from 2011to make a triumphant return in 2012.  The last time Johan Santanapitched in a major league game, the Texas Rangers were still in searchof their first American League pennant.  Jonathon Niese is alsoattempting to pitch an entire season without checking in to the DLHotel.  Both pitchers expect to be on the mound during the Mets’ firsthomestand in April.

With David Wright entering the final guaranteed year of the contract hesigned an eternity ago (2006 is an eternity to Mets fans such as myselfwho have memories, however faint, of a time when the team was alegitimate contender), he should have a bounceback campaign in 2012. Maybe.

Daniel Murphy could resume doubling opponents to death (Murphy hit 28 doubles in only 391 at-bats before suffering his season-ending injury), assuminghis defense at second base doesn’t send him back to the bench.

And what about Jason Bay?  (Thought I had forgotten about him, didn’tyou?)  The walls at Citi Field have been lowered and moved in.  But howwill that help him on the road, where he hit .215 with only seven doubles, six homers and 28 RBI in 2011?  In addition, with Reyes (39 steals) and Pagan (32 steals) gone,is Bay going to have the added responsibility of being one of the topbase stealers on the team?  He’s quietly reached double digits insteals in each of his two seasons as a Met.  Who else is going to stealbases on the team besides David Wright (13 steals in 2011) and AndresTorres (19 steals as a Giant in 2011)?

Is this a celebration for a two-run homer or a double steal?  In 2012, it could be both.

Despite all the injuries that have beset the Mets since they movedacross the parking lot to Citi Field, they’ve still managed to win atleast 70 games in each of the last three seasons and have averaged 78wins over the last two campaigns.  That may not seem like much, butthink of all the walk-off losses created by the shaky bullpen, theballs that clanged off the former Great Wall of Flushing instead ofgoing over it, not to mention all the (you know it’s coming) INJURIES! Surely, this team can find a way to add four wins to what they’veaveraged over the past two years, right?  If they do, that would givethem 82 wins.  And what does 82 wins give you?  A WINNING RECORD!

It may be easier said than done, but why can’t the 2012 Mets win 82games?  Sure, it seems as if every team in the National League Eastimproved by leaps and bounds.  But remember that just seven years ago,the Washington Nationals played in an über-competitive NL East.  TheBraves won their 14^th consecutive division title with 90wins.  The Phillies and Mets were up-and-coming teams who were on theirway to becoming the rivals they were over the next three seasons.  Eventhe Marlins finished with a winning record and were just two yearsremoved from their second World Series championship.  Despite all theintense competition in the division, the little team that could inWashington still managed to win 81 games.

It’s not impossible for the Mets to finish with a winning record in2012.  They just have to be consistent and play the game.  All teams gothrough their share of injuries and cold streaks.  But it’s the goodteams that find a way to overcome those obstacles.  Right now, the Metsare not a great team.  They don’t have the personnel to pose alegitimate threat to the Phillies in the NL East.  But why can’t theybe a good team?

Eighty-two wins.  That’s all the Mets need to be a winning team.  The2005 Mets won 83 games after finishing with losing records in each oftheir previous three seasons.  The following year, they were one winaway from the World Series.  This year’s Mets are also coming off threeconsecutive losing campaigns.  I’m not crazy enough to assume thatwinning 82 games this year will push the Mets near a pennant in 2013. But it would be a step in the right direction.

There are many question marks surrounding the 2012 Mets.  Will theinfield be able to stay together for a full season without succumbingto the injury bug?  Will Jason Bay realize that it’s okay to hit a ballover the wall every once in a while?  Will Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda andDillon Gee - all members of the 2011 Buffalo Bisons’ Opening Day roster - be able to continuetheir development now that they’re assured a spot on this year’s majorleague roster?  And then there’s the Johan Santana question…

All teams have question marks.  Although the front office was mostlyquiet this offseason, some questions have been answered, particularlyin the bullpen.  Now it’s up to the players to provide the otheranswers, or else the quiet offseason will lead to a quiet summer atCiti Field.  Oh, well.  At least the line for chicken nachos won't be very long if that happens.

With Or Without Reyes, Ruben Tejada Is A Keeper

In today's 7-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves, Ruben Tejada filled in for Jose Reyes both at shortstop and in the leadoff spot.  Tejada reached base three times (walk, double, single), stole a base and drove in four runs.  His two-out, three-run double in the fourth inning broke a 1-1 tie and his two-out, RBI single in the eighth inning gave the Mets a 6-5 lead, a lead they never relinquished.

Ruben Tejada was once viewed as a light-hitting, slick-fielding middle infielder, similar to Rey Ordoñez, although not as flashy.  However, this season he has shown that he can handle the bat better than anyone expected him to, and has handled pressure situations like an established veteran.

Tejada has been a model of consistency at the plate, hitting .281 vs. RHP and .276 vs. LHP.  He is also hitting .272 at Citi Field and .287 on the road.  His .356 on-base percentage ranks second on the team behind Jose Reyes for players currently on the active roster.  Tejada has also struck out only 47 times in 339 plate appearances.

But what sets him apart from the Tejada we saw in 2010 is his ability to hit under pressure and in RBI spots.  This year, Tejada is batting .304 with men on base and has a .377 OBP in those situations.  With runners in scoring position, Tejada is a .286 hitter, but has reached base at a .383 clip.  But those numbers are nothing compared to what he does when there is a runner 90 feet away from scoring.

In all situations when he has stepped to the plate with a runner on third base, Tejada is hitting .375 and has a .425 OBP.  These numbers improve when Tejada bats with the bases loaded.  In today's game, Tejada came up to bat twice with the bags full.  He cleared the bases when he doubled in the fourth and drove in another run with a bases-loaded single in the eighth, with a potential fifth RBI cut down at the plate on a fine throw by Jason Heyward.  Therefore, with his 2-for-2 performance in bases loaded situations today, Tejada is now hitting .500 this season with the bags full and has a .538 OBP.

Clearly, the stat sheet proves that Tejada is quite valuable as a hitter.  Although he doesn't hit for power, he collects base hits as a consistent pace and picks them up with more regularity when the Mets are close to scoring a run.  There is one thing that doesn't show up on the stat sheet that Tejada is also good at.  He's a master at working the count and making the opposing pitcher throw numerous pitches.

Take today's game, for example.  In the first inning, Tejada flied out, but did so on the sixth pitch of his at-bat.  In the third inning, Tejada worked out a walk on the tenth pitch of the at-bat.  By seeing 16 pitches from Braves' starter Brandon Beachy in his first two plate appearances, Tejada saw his opponent's entire repertoire and was able to make adjustments the third time he faced him.  Sure enough, Tejada hit a long double in the fourth inning off Beachy (on the second pitch of the at-bat), driving in three runs.

Ruben Tejada will never produce the numbers that Jose Reyes does when he's healthy.  In addition, no one will ever confuse the professional Tejada for the effervescent Reyes.  But don't say that Tejada can't be a key member of this team.

In only his second year on the Mets, Tejada has improved by leaps and bounds.  He makes up for his lack of power by working counts and making the pitcher throw him his pitch.  He's a fantastic situational hitter and amps up his game in tight spots. (Did I mention Tejada's a .310 hitter when he comes to bat in a tie game?  In case you were watching football and not the Mets game, today's two bases-loaded hits by Tejada came when the score was 1-1 and 5-5.)

Simply put, Ruben Tejada knows how to play the game and plays the game to win.  At the young age of 21, he has played like a ten-year veteran.  With continued development and the opportunity to play, there's no reason to think that he can't become one.  Even if Jose Reyes isn't a Met in 2012, Ruben Tejada has proven that he belongs on this team.

The Kids Are All Right

This year's Mets team has been a pleasant surprise, going 45-42 with makeshift lineups and a lack of star power. They have performed above everyone's expectations, despite a slow start and injuries to their corner infielders and ace pitcher. The Mets are proving that the best teams aren't always the ones with a roster full of overpaid superstars (see New York Mets, 2007-2010). In fact, sometimes all a team needs is a young group of players with the hunger and desire to succeed.

Daniel Murphy, Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, Bobby Parnell, Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada were all supposed to be bit players on the Mets in 2011. Other than Niese, none of the players listed above was guaranteed a spot on the 25-man roster, with some of them opening the season at AAA-Buffalo. But through injuries and Terry Collins' desire to give his young players a chance, all have been instrumental in the team's success over the first half of the season.

Who would have thought that Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner would lead the Mets' infielders in RBI?

Daniel Murphy has kept his average around .300, while collecting his share of extra-base hits and clutch hits. His 17 doubles rank third on the team, while his .350 batting average with runners in scoring position have helped him collect 35 RBI, good for second on the team behind Carlos Beltran.

Jonathon Niese has continued his development from fringe pitcher to top of the rotation starter. He leads the team with 92 strikeouts and is tied for the team lead in wins with eight. Since starting the season slowly with a 1-4 record, Niese has gone 7-3 and has a 2.73 ERA over his last ten starts.

Dillon Gee went from Buffalo to near All-Star. He won his first seven decisions this season and is currently tied for the team lead in wins. His .800 winning percentage is tied for the National League lead with the Braves' Jair Jurrjens, a pitcher Gee defeated in their head-to-head matchup on June 4. He is also the hardest pitcher to hit in the Mets' starting rotation, allowing a .222 batting average to opposing hitters. As a result, the Mets are 11-2 in Gee's 13 starts.

Bobby Parnell has been an on-again, off-again pitcher since making his major league debut in 2008, but since returning from AAA-Buffalo in late May, he has been constantly in "on" mode. Parnell is the owner of a 0.96 ERA over his last 16 appearances and has held opposing hitters to a .200/.241/.218 mark in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, respectively, since the beginning of June. He has also become a strikeout machine, averaging 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings, after averaging 7.7 K/9 innings from 2008-2010.

Bobby Parnell, future closer? For now, he's an outstanding set-up man.

It's a fact that no one saw Justin Turner coming, but once he arrived, he made his presence felt, setting Mets rookie records in consecutive games with an RBI and consecutive games reaching base. He has also been the team's best hitter with runners in scoring position, batting .386 in such spots. As a result, he sits just one RBI behind Daniel Murphy for second place on the team despite having only played in 57 games.

Ruben Tejada was supposed to be the kid with the slick glove who wasn't supposed to do much with the bat. But in addition to his fielding prowess, his offense has been a pleasant surprise. In 44 games hitting mostly in the eighth spot in the batting order, Tejada has collected 18 RBI, the result of a .314 batting average with runners in scoring position and a .318 average with men on base. Also, unlike most free-swinging young players, the 21-year-old Tejada has made excellent contact this season, striking out only 25 times.

All of these players have given the Mets significant contributions this season despite lacking the experience that their higher paid colleagues possess. In addition to their mutual success, there is one other important feature shared by all six players. None of them is older than 26 years of age. Therefore, they all stand to have long careers in the major leagues should they continue to build on their achievements.

Hakuna Tejada! He's not "lion" down on the job. He's just playing his game.

There was a time when “the kids” meant Jose Reyes, David Wright and no one else. The team didn’t develop their own players, preferring to sign or trade for 30-something players like Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, Orlando “The Dookie” Hernandez, Moises Alou and Luis Castillo, rather than giving their young players a chance. Many of those veteran players performed well at the start of their careers in New York, but broke down long before they played their last games for the Mets.

The 2011 Mets have not lived by this mantra, giving players such as Daniel Murphy, Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, Bobby Parnell, Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada the opportunity to succeed at the major league level. Their success has translated into more wins for the Mets and the hope for meaningful games in the second half of the season, something that hasn’t been seen since the Mets moved across the parking lot into Citi Field.

Sure, having veteran leadership is always important, but how can those veterans lead when they can’t withstand the rigors of a 162-game season? The current Mets are better suited to play the entire season and are showing that they deserve to play. Before too long, there will come a day when Murphy, Niese, Gee, et al. are going to be the veterans that the next generation of players will be looking up to for leadership. It’s good to know that the 2011 Mets are getting the on-the-job training that will lead to success for this generation and future generations of Mets players.

Broken News: While We Were Away In San Francisco

As some of you may or may not have known, the Studious Metsimus staff (minus roving reporter/culinary expert Joey Beartran) spent the past five days in San Francisco, visiting the plethora of tourist attractions (see photo, left) and hoping to bring back some of that championship attitude that has permeated the Bay Area now that the Giants have finally won their first championship since leaving the Polo Grounds over half a century ago.

However, we were unsuccessful in our attempts to take that winning attitude aboard the plane. You see, the baggage check people at the airport noticed that we were dressed in our Mets gear. Since we're only allowed one piece of carry-on luggage, they claimed that as Mets fans, we have too much baggage as it is.

On that note, let's see what we might have missed while we were trying to find a place on Alcatraz for Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo to play their next game of catch.

The Mets dropped the ball on one of these guys. The other guy dropped the ball for the Mets.

Carlos Beltran suffered a setback on the road to becoming the 198th rightfielder in franchise history. Beltran will not play until next week, after it was announced that he is suffering from tendinitis in his left knee. With the prognostication of time missed due to injuries not high on the Mets' accuracy list, it would not be a surprise if Beltran was not ready for Opening Day.

For years, Carlos Beltran has been 85% healthy any time he has been afflicted with aches and pains. For now, it appears as if he's 85% sure that he's 85% healthy.

Yes, we still like Carlos Beltran...85% of the time.

There is still no clear-cut favorite for the opening at second base, leaving room for plenty of competition over the final three weeks of Spring Training. As sad as the situation may seem, it might be true that the best second basemen currently employed by the Mets are AA-Binghamton manager Wally Backman and AAA-Buffalo manager Tim Teufel.

If only former first round draft pick Reese Havens were not so injury-prone, perhaps this could have been the year for the second base prospect to make the jump to the major leagues. However, perhaps Ike Davis said it best when he spoke of the man who was drafted four spots ahead of him in the 2008 draft:

"All I know is that he plays 10 games a year, and hits 10 home runs."

Havens' power potential at a position where long balls are scarce (except for division rivals Philadelphia and Atlanta, who can boast Chase Utley and Dan Uggla as their second sackers, respectively) would have provided a big boost for the Mets in 2011.

Last season, the Mets used Luis Castillo, Ruben Tejada and Luis Hernandez at second base. The trio combined for three home runs in 507 at-bats in 2010, including the September blast hit by Luis Hernandez soon after an unnamed teammate wished him luck by telling him to "break a leg", which of course, was taken literally by the 26-year-old Hernandez.

Had Luis Hernandez chosen Wheaties instead of Rice Krispies for his pre-game meal, perhaps his leg wouldn't have gone "snap, crackle, pop" as he fouled a ball off it prior to hitting this home run.

Terry Collins, Dan Warthen and Sandy Alderson have decided to move Oliver Perez to the bullpen, thereby not allowing Ollie the opportunity to invade the Top 20 on the club's all-time list for games started. (Currently, the lefty ranks 23rd all-time with 91 starts over his 4½ seasons with the Mets.)

Perhaps a better idea would be to banish him from ever appearing in a Mets uniform again. That would give Ollie the opportunity to appear in Major League 3 (although it would actually be the fourth film in the Major League franchise of films, as Major League: Back To The Minors was released in 1998 to the delight of all five people who watched it).

Since Charlie Sheen is busy promoting his "Winning Is Everything" World Tour, he would have difficulty reprising his role as Rick Vaughn. What better role for Oliver Perez to make his film debut than in the role of "Wild Thing"? His performance on the mound since 2009 (100 walks, eight hit batsmen and six wild pitches in 112⅓ innings) should save the film production company plenty of money in casting costs. He'd be a natural for the role, and he could reunite with the unemployed Carlos Delgado, who'd be a natural to fill Dennis Haysbert's shoes in the role of Pedro Cerrano. Of course, Delgado would have to pry away Jobu from the hands of Carlos Beltran, who allegedly bought the icon as a means to improve his curveball hitting skills.

Pedro Cerrano and Carlos Delgado, or is that Carlos Delgado and Pedro Cerrano? Dang doppelgangers!

That's all for this edition of Broken News, where someone else breaks the story before us, then we break it some more. Remember, if you catch wind of a Mets-related story, send that wind over to us. We have no problem breaking that as well.

Enjoy the rest of Spring Training!

Gee Whiz! Dillon Gee To Get First Start On Tuesday

If I were a faster typist, this would truly be breaking news. In case you haven't heard it yet, SNY is reporting that Johan Santana will not make his scheduled start on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals. In his stead will be Dillon Gee, promoted from AAA-Buffalo to make his first major league start.

In SNY's post-game show, Jerry Manuel stated that Johan Santana wants to pitch through his injury in the worst way, but will not be swayed to start his ace, as it is in the best interests of the organization for Santana to skip a start. 'Han the Man will continue to receive treatment and will be re-evaluated before the decision is made whether or not he will make his next scheduled start against Pittsburgh on Monday, September 13.

Manuel also stated that Dillon Gee will make the start for the Mets on Tuesday. In 28 starts for AAA-Buffalo, Gee finished with a 13-8 record, but his ERA was very high (4.96). One of the main reasons for his high ERA was the career-high 23 hone runs he allowed. Prior to the 2010 season, Gee had only allowed 13 HR in 45 starts and three relief appearances. On the bright side, Gee struck out 165 batters in 161.1 innings, while only walking 41 batters.

Dillon Gee has proven that he can throw strikes. He fans over one batter per inning, while maintaining a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Unfortunately, some of his strikes are so good that opposing batters have yanked them out of the park.

In a season filled with successful rookie seasons (Ike Davis, Jonathon Niese) and other young players being given an extended look-see (Ruben Tejada, Josh Thole, Lucas Duda), Dillon Gee will try to become the latest Mets player to make the transition from the minor leagues to the big stage.

The future is now for the Mets. These will be the players who will replace the high-priced stars and overpaid busts in the coming years. For Dillon Gee, he will be getting his first shot to join these young players at the big league level on Tuesday night. Will it be a "Gee Whiz" moment for Dillon or a "Gee, I'm being overmatched" outing against the Nationals? Until then, we'll have to wait and Gee.

Hello And Goodbye (Part 2): Duda Hustle!

When the Mets traded rightfielder Jeff Francoeur to the Texas Rangers for infielder Joaquin Arias earlier this week, it opened up a spot for Lucas Duda to play every day. Wait. Lucas Who-da?

Before this season, Lucas Duda wasn't considered one of the Mets' top prospects. In fact, in this year's Maple Street Press Mets Annual, Duda wasn't even listed as one of the top 25 prospects (for position players). When you look at his performance at AA-Binghamton in 2009, it's easy to see why he was overlooked. Last year, Duda played 110 games at Binghamton and managed a .281 batting average. His 9 HR and 53 RBI was a slight decline from his 2008 numbers at St. Lucie, when he produced 11 HR and 66 RBI. Neither year was spectacular.

However, one thing that few people noticed was his doubles production. It is said that with age, doubles turn into homers, and an increased amount of doubles usually leads to a power surge once a player gains valuable experience.

At Brooklyn in 2007, Duda hit 20 doubles. That number rose to 26 in 2008 at St. Lucie and 29 in 2009 at Binghamton. Then came his 2010 season.

Duda began the 2010 season again at Binghamton, where he started hitting double after double, picking up an amazing 17 doubles (along with 6 HR) in only 45 games. That earned him a promotion to AAA-Buffalo, where the doubles continued, but the homers finally arrived as well. In 70 games at Buffalo, Duda hit 23 more doubles, but also added 17 HR.

Between AA and AAA, Duda hit a combined .304, with 40 doubles, 23 HR and 87 RBI, numbers that are very similar to what David Wright has produced for the Mets in 2010 (.292, 32 doubles, 22 HR, 87 RBI entering today's game against the Cubs).

That earned Duda a promotion to the Mets, where he has played every day since being called up on Wednesday, the day after Jeff Francoeur's spot in the outfield opened up due to his trade to Texas.

What will the future hold for Duda? That remains to be seen. But should he do well, the headlines of the New York tabloids will be splashed with "DUDA HUSTLE" and "DUDA RIGHT THING". If he is seen in public wearing the outfits that the veterans force rookies to wear during their hazing, the headlines might say "DUDA, LOOKS LIKE A LADY" after the Aerosmith song with the similar title.

Speaking of music, his entrance song when he makes his first appearance at Citi Field might end up being "Lucas With The Lid Off" , the 1995 kinda-sorta hit by one-hit wonder Lucas.

One thing is for sure with new Mets outfielder Lucas Duda. He has improved from year to year, going from a non-prospect to a major leaguer virtually overnight. His progress in the minor leagues looks very similar to David Wright's year-to-year progress, especially in the extra-base hit department:

Lucas Duda:
2008: .263 average, 26 doubles, 11 HR, 66 RBI
2009: .281 average, 29 doubles, 9 HR, 53 RBI
2010: .304 average, 40 doubles, 23 HR, 87 RBI

David Wright:
2002: .266 average, 30 doubles, 11 HR, 93 RBI
2003: .270 average, 39 doubles, 15 HR, 75 RBI
2004: .320 average, 52 doubles, 32 HR, 97 RBI (combined between minors and majors)

The homegrown movement has begun for the Mets. With Lucas Duda joining Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada and Jonathon Niese, the Mets have proven that they had a better farm system than most experts gave them credit for. Before this year, the farm system had only produced Jose Reyes, David Wright and Mike Pelfrey (Angel Pagan came up through the Mets' farm system, but made his major league debut for the Cubs before coming back to the Mets in 2008).

Once the Mets shed themselves of the cancers in the clubhouse (El Perez-idente, Frankie Knuckles) and the bad contracts given to gimpy players (Luis Cast-"E"-llo), their youth movement will shine.

Lucas Duda is just the latest in a string of young players who will do his best to carry this team back to respectability. The future will be bright at Citi Field, so long as "the Duda abides" and takes the rest of the young Mets stars with him.

For Part 1 of "Hello And Goodbye", please click here.