The Nats (3-11) head up to Flushing today for a three game series against the New York Mets (6-9) in their brand new ballpark, City Field.  

The Mets are a ball club well known for their large but more importantly well read fan base. As a result the Mets have a collection of some of the best fan blogs around. I reached out to some to get their take on the status of the Mets and their views on the upcoming Nationals series.

We contacted several Mets blogs and to our delight we got a hold of some of the best out there, and hopefully with this we can broaden relationships and give the readers of The Nats Blog the best experience possible.

We spoke to: Will from Mets Fans Forever (MFF), Joe D from Mets Merized Online (MMO), JJ from and New York Mets Global Blog (NYMGB)

1. The Mets are off to a 6-9 start, are you disappointed with how things are going right now?

"Definitely. Although I wouldn't say I'm surprised by their early performance, it's still disappointing to experience. The sad part is I don't see an easy way out right now given the current makeup of the rotation after Johan Santana."-MMO

"This early in the season you try not to look at wins and losses, it's more about how the team has been playing. Clearly the team has had it's struggled, but its hard not to be optimistic."- NYMGB

"As of now I am disappointed. Other than Johan Santana you have no idea what you're going to get out of the other four pitchers. Also the Mets  can't seem to hit with RISP. THat needs to change. The bullpen I believe is fine, but in order to hand the ball to Putz and K-Rod the Mets have to be winning which they are not."-MFF

2. What do you think of the new ballpark? Better than the new Yankee Stadium?

"Citi Field is a wonderful throwback to the old parks of baseball's golden era. It's unique in many ways and has plenty of character and charm.  I'm not sure what to make of the new Yankee Stadium yet. It seems to be more of a temple than a ballpark and for the $500 million dollars more that it cost to build, I still prefer Citi Field for my money. If they were going to have it look so similar to the previous Yankee Stadiums, why didn’t they just renovate and modernize instead of spending all that money?" -MMO

"Mets' fans had known Shea for 44 years, so obviously Citi field will take a little getting use to.  It's a beautiful park and has spectacular food and views.  My only issues with the stadium is that there are a bunch of seats that have a limited view of the playing field, and the stadium itself seems a bit too similar to Citizens Bank and AT&T(Pac Bell.) Overall it's gonna take some getting use to before it really feels like home." –NYMGB

"I've been to Citi Field twice and it is beautiful. Great food, great enviornmnet. I miss Shea but it had to go. Even if you don't like baseball you'll have a good time.  Also the Mets do plan to add a Mets HOF since Citi is lacking Mets memories. I have not been to Yankee Stadium yet, but from what I've heard other thatn their insane ticket prices, it's really nice."-MFF

3. Six Mets starters are hitting above .300 coming into this series, what are you thoughts on how the line up is working right now?

"It’s not working at all right now, but if those averages hold, it will eventually get better simply because it has to. Manuel just decided to change things up a little with the batting order, and that might finally get things moving in the right direction." -MMO

"Carlos Beltran is coming into the series red hot with the bat, and should carry the team through the next 6 games.  Other than that the Mets have had no trouble getting on base, which can be seen by their ba's, but they've had an awfully hard time driving in runs.  So until the Mets are hitting with RISP I think the offense will be lacking."-NYMGB

".300 hitters mean nothing to me, if you can't get runs in. Now if they were scoring runs it would be great. With the way Luis Castillo has been hitting I think you should put him in the 2 hole, and OF Dan Murphy in the 7th hole. Also Jerry Manuel should flip-flop David Wright, and Carlos Beltran. Put Wright in the 5th spot, and Beltran in the 3 hole." -MFF

4. John Maine, Oliver Perez, and Mike Pelfrey have struggled, do you see them turning it around this year?

"Here’s the thing, predicting performance is so hard to figure out because there’s so much stuff you have to consider. But the Mets knew Maine was coming back from an injury, and they certainly understood they were playing with fire when they increased Pelfrey’s workload last season. They knew how wildly inconsistent Oliver Perez was when they resigned him. You can gamble on one of those situations, but the Mets gambled on all three. Maybe Maine can turn it around, Pelfrey too, but all three?" -MMO

"It's still very early in the season.  Between the three they've made a combined 8 starts.  As young and talented as all three of them are I think you have to believe they'll be strong over the course of a full season." -NYMGB

"I think Maine will turn it around, it's just a matter of when. In his first start he gave up only 2 hits. In his 2nd start he was dreadful, he couldnt locate his fastball, and was all over. His 3rd start, his pitching line may not look good, but it seemed to me that he was just missing his location. As for Perez, this is what he is. You look up inconsistent in the dictionary you will see his name. When he's good, I think he can ben better than Santana.He gets SO, many 1-2-3 innings, limited walks. But when he's bad you better hope to god that the offense shows up that day.  He doesn't strikeout any batters, and most importantly he walks WAY to many batters. I think it's a mind game with him. For Mike Pelfrey I hope he does well, but to be honest I have no idea. Is his arm injury still affecting him? Who knows. All I can say is that he's so important to that rotation." -MFF

5. What do you think the Mets have to do to be successful against the Nats in the coming series?

"Hit with runners in scoring position, get to the Nationals bullpen early, and make sure our starters all throw strikes." -MMO

"Starting pitching.  Tonight's game will showcase Johan Santana who has been ridiculous so far this year.  We'll have to wait and see what Maine and Perez can do."-NYMGB

"Well I hope this is the series the Mets break out. Their is little chance the Nats win the series opener with Santana pitching. Also I don't want to be mean, but the Nats just aren't good. This  is the team the Mets should beat up on. In their last game the Mets scored 8 runs. Hopefully this trend of scoring continues. Also the second game I think is an important one, with Pelfrey pitching. Every Met fan in the world is wondering how he'll pitch after being skipped in the roation. If he does poor, then I will be worried. I'm really hoping for a sweep, which I think they could do, if Pelfrey shows up, as does the offense."-MFF

6. How do you see the Mets finishing this season?

"It’s too early to hit the panic button, so I have to believe they will win the division. But, I’m making an assumption that the Mets will come to their senses and make a deal for Jake Peavy, Roy Halladay or some other top of the rotation pitcher."-MMO

"Once again, it's all about starting pitching.  If they Mets' starters can get their act together they should easily make the playoffs.  That being said, if they have another collapse this season or flat out don't make the playoffs, expect major changes come next season."-NYMGB

"They better make the playoffs or changes are gonna happen, like a new GM. This year their final series is against the Astros, and not the Marlins. Which is real real nice. That being said if the Mets continue to play like they've been playing there is not a shot they make the playoffs. I could definately see the Mets trading for another ace at the deadline, or even before that. In my opinion it comes down to their starting pitching, and how they perform."-MFF

7. What moves do they still need to make?

"I answered that question above, but if I was to pick another area I would say they need a masher like Carlos Lee or Jermaine Dye in leftfield. There’s a lot to like about Daniel Murphy, but he has no power and the Mets are having trouble driving in runs. Plenty of guys getting on base, but nobody is driving them in."-MMO

"I'm actually pretty happy with the team's roster right now.  They bullpen has lived up to its billing, the offense is their, and I think we have the starters to win.  There was a lot said about second base and the corner OF spots during the off-season, but so far Castillo, Church, and Murphy have all been hitting, and with the exception of Murphy defense hasn't been an issue.  The added depth of Sheffield, Tatis, and Reed also are above the league average."-NYMGB

"It's too soon to tell, but probably another starting pitcher. They just don't have the depth. Jon Niese their number 1 pitching prospect is horrible so far in AAA, so you can't count on him. This is the reason why they should've gotten Lowe. Even if they had to overpay him. If indeed Roy Halladay and Jake Peavy are available, I think the Mets will make a major play for one of them. And at least one of them should be on the trading block come the deadline. If Ryan Church and/or Dan Murphy hit a major slump, I could see Omar Minaya adding another power bat in the OF."-MFF

8. If the Mets are in the same position they have been in the last two years, on top of the NL East at the beginning of September, do you think they will have the make up to keep it together this time?

"If the Mets go into September with a lead of 7 or more games, they will win the division. The only significant move Omar Minaya made this off season was to ensure that a bullpen collapse will not happen again. He ignored a few other important things, but he did get that one thing right by acquiring K-Rod and Putz."- MMO

"If the Mets can be up 5-10 games with 20 to go, I think this year the Mets would be a lock.  Two years ago it was the offense and the lack of an ace pitcher to rally around.  Last year it was the bullpen.  I think Johan, K-Rod, and Putz all address those issues, and on a stretch run the Mets will be able to win 2 out of 5 even without an offense, which is all they would need."-NYMGB

"Tough question, nobody knows. Even if they have a 7 game lead with 8 games to go, every Met fan will STILL be worried. Last year we all thought they could do it, that of course didn't happen. But come September they should have a stable bullpen which obviously will be very important. Hopefully come September the Mets will have SP, and a conistnat offense. But like I said before you just don't know."-MFF

9. Favorite all time Mets Memory?

"Robin Ventura’s grand slam single in game five of the 1999 LCS will always be my favorite memory. It sent shockwaves down my spine that still resonate whenever I think about it. I own the DVD of that game and whenever I’m having a bad day, I’ll just pop that in and everything’s alright." -MMO

"That's a tough one, being a younger Met fan its hard for me to remember the 69' or 86' teams so i will have to got with Robin Ventura's grand slam single against the braves in the '99 CS."-NYMGB

"That's a hard one, I would go with Endy Chavez's catch, but they lost that game. I would have to go  with the first game played in New York after 09-11-01. I was at this game, and this is a game I will never forget. The atmosphere I can't describe. And when Mike Piazza hit that HR, I truly thought Shea was going to collapse right then and there because of the stomping of the feet, and the noise. It was so loud I couldn't hear my friend next to me. It was a great moment not just for the Mets, but for the city. Little fact Chipper Jones said that was the only game that he didn't care who won. The game was just so emotional."-MFF

Thanks to Mets Merized, New York Global Mets Blog, and Mets Fans Forever for contributing. 

The New York Global Mets Blog also cross interviewed The Nats Blog about the upcoming series, check it out. 

The Washington Nationals top the list of 10 teams who declined in value from 2008-2009 according to Forbes Magazine, who annually releases a list of the value of professional sports franchises.

According to Forbes, the Nats have dropped in value by a major league leading 12 percent from 2008 to 2009. The Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Seattle Mariners followed closely behind with Atlanta dropping 10 percent and the other two dropping nine.

Now listed to be valued at $406 Million the Nats sit in the middle of the MLB in terms of overall value as they are ranked 14^th our of 30 teams. The New York Yankees top the list, valued at $1.5 billion, three times the value of the Nationals. At the bottom? The Florida Marlins, valued at $277 million.

For a team to lose its value during a recession, especially after the club lost a Major League leading 102 losses last year is not surprising. However it should come as a shock to the Nationals. A large part of the value of a club is laid in their stadium, Nationals Park was built just last year. The top two franchises in baseball this season, the Yankees and the Mets, both grew by over 10 percent from 2008, and both have new stadiums.

It can't be the recession either. Recent reports have the Washington D.C area doing better than nearly every other metropolitan area in the nation, in fact the Washington economy has grown in 2009. Thank you government jobs.

It may also surprise Nats fans to know that our own Ted Lerner, the owner of the Nationals, stands far and away the richest owner in Major League Baseball. His wealth was recently listed (by Forbes again) at $3.2 billion. To put that in comparison George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees is only worth $1.3 billion. John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, is only worth $1.1 billion. And Peter Angelos, owner of the Orioles, is worth $1.2 billion.

So if the Nats have more recourses than anyone else, and they are in a city which should not effect their fan base, and they have the infrastructure with the games most wealthy owner...what's the problem?

Is it D.C sports fans? Evidently not as the Wizards grew by two percent this year despite their record-awfulness, and currently sit 15th out of 30 teams. The Redskins have grown five percent and sit at a whopping $1.5 billion, which is second in the NFL to the Cowboys. Oddly the Washington Capitals sit close to the bottom at 26/30 NHL teams, but even they have grown by 10 percent in the last year.

The only conclusion I can come to is incompetence. Trickle-down incompetence at that, from Teddy Lerner, to Stan Kasten, to Clint . The team appears to me to have every opportunity to succeed, yet not only does it stay stagnant, it spirals downward to the point where I feel the "Natinals," mistake may be a sign that like the teams name on the jersey, the Nats may just be disappearing into nothingness. 

Despite playing good eight inning baseball for the sixth straight game, the Nationals drop another after falling on the wrong side of a pitchers duel Wednesday night.

John Lannan and Jair Jurrjens went head-to-head in a game for the ages, both tossing shutouts into the 7^th inning. The Braves bullpen was able to pitch two scoreless more, but Mike Hinckley of the Nats gave up the sole run in the top of the 9^th by walking Kelly Johnson with the bases loaded, giving the Nats yet another loss. 

That is just the way things have fallen for the team in the last week. Crazy instances and aboslute meltdowns in the 9th it seems have become standard for the Nats.

Posted in response to 'Little League Gate - The Truth Comes out'

James:

"As for Great Falls LL, they plan on having a collection box where they are encouraging all families to donate each....no more. Obviously this will not hurt their pockets and is a very reasonable solution. The LL is also doing this not to give money to Dukes, but to show his appreciation of taking time to come out and related to the youngsters. We all know Dukes and most MLB players can afford this, but it is something the community of Great Falls is doing to try to show their good faith. I know they already paid him money to be there but with all of the national attention this story is getting, i believe they feel pressured to make themselves look good."

Thanks James.

Much outrage and well outright mockery have faced the Washington Nationals since they reportedly fined centerfielder Elijah Dukes $500 for being late for pregame warm-ups. An understandable fine usually for a team that is trying to promote professionalism and establish a set of rules, however the reason Dukes was a mere five minutes late was that he was at an opening ceremony for the Great Falls Little League. The Nationals fined Dukes for signing too many autographs.

The media has had a field day with this story. How could the Nats fine Dukes for being nice to kids? He was engaging in charity!

That's the word that keeps bothering me however, charity. Every story I have read has referred to Dukes' actions as charitable work, or community service. But then I read the Washington Nationals website reporting on how the Great Falls Little League wants to pay his late fee, and in that same article I read for the first time that Dukes was paid $500 from the little league for just appearing in the first place.

"It was the league's Opening Day event, for which Dukes was paid $500 to attend, that caused him to be late prompting the fine from Nationals manager Manny Acta, along with a warning that another tardy arrival would earn him a ticket to the Minors."-Nationals.com

I'm not going to get started on how poor the reporting on this issue has been, or how low it is for a Major League baseball player to take money for talking to kids at a little league event. What I am outraged at is that the Media has portrayed Dukes as a victim when the truth is that in the end he will have ended up taking $1001 from children who just want to play baseball.

How many new bats could that buy? How many brand new uniforms or non-shotty team catchers gear could they purchase with that money.  Maybe they could even take a good portion of the league to a Nationals game with that much cash. No, instead $1001 dollars will go to dealing with a situation that Elijah Dukes and the Washington Nationals really should have handled better.

The Facts:

-Elijah Dukes took $500 dollars to talk to children. He then took $501 more from them to cover his ass.

-The Nationals fined Dukes without taking into consideration where he was, or what he was doing.

-Dukes attended the Little League service without informing the Washington Nationals that he was doing unapproved ‘charity' work.

-The Nationals prefer their players to engage in actual charity work in which players do not get paid

-Dukes should have called when he knew he would be late. 

Dave Jagler called it a "Houdini." A good portion of the fans, booing, called it ugly. Whatever it was, Joel Hanrahan recorded his second save in as many days, helping the Nationals along to their 3rd win.

The Nationals placed setup man Joe Biemel on the 15-day disabled list today after he hurt his hip flexor last night. As a result the Nationals will recall reliever Saul Rivera only a day after sending him down to the minors.

The temporary loss of Biemel will be felt immediately for the Nats who have come to rely on him as the only reliable arm in the pen so far in 2009. In eight appearances this year Biemel boasts a 1.23 ERA with four holds.

Rivera had been sent down in a move on Sunday night that was designed to completely reformat the Nationals bullpen. Back in Washington he will have a short timeframe to prove that he deserves to stay there.

It was the game many Washington Nationals fans circled on their calendar before the season began, the day prized prospect Jordan Zimmerman would make his Major League debut as the teams 5^th starter.

Maybe now the team can finally get their season started with.

The 22 year old pitched six strong innings scattering six hits and only allowed two earned runs, both coming off a mistake pitch in the rain to Matt Diaz which resulted in a two run homer.

Lets be honest here, Saul Rivera has been bad in 2009. In 6 games (7 IP) he has allowed 10 ER, and has only had 2 scoreless outings. His ERA is at 12.27, and his WHIP is a whopping 2.58.

Ok he’s been worse than bad.

But that’s not the point. The point is its been seven innings pitched. His performance Sunday afternoon when the team needed him most was disappointing to say the least, and it probably will cause many Nats fans to say that they don’t need a bigger sample size to see that he just plain sucked.

They’re right, he did suck. But over the last three seasons this is how un-sucky Saul Rivera has been for a bad ball club that needed a lot of work in the bullpen.

2005- 54 G, 9 HLD, 60 IP, 3.43 ERA
2006- 85 G, 19HLD, 93 IP, 3.68 ERA
2007- 76 G, 17HLD, 84 IP, 3.96 ERA

I’ll take those 237 IP and judge them over his last 7 IP any day. The truth is Rivera has been the most consistent reliever in Washington Nationals franchise history. His ability to eat up innings successfully for a bad club has a broader impact that can ever be measured with stats as he saved the arms of many who probably would have just made situations worse.

The worst part about the whole situation is that Rivera would have been a Major Leaguer still today had Manny Acta not put Rivera in a situation to fail. Some pitchers just do not have the mentality to be closers, and Rivera is one of them. This can be noted by the fact that he has converted 0/7 saves in the last two years, and only 4/11 in his career.

The real question should be, why didn’t Manny Acta know this?

Fixing the ‘Incompetence’ of the bullpen  

Three consecutive losses in the 9^th inning was the boiling point for acting general manager Mike Rizzo as he sent four major leaguers to Syracuse Sunday night. Following the sweep by the Marlins, Saul Rivera, Steven Shell, Will Ledezma, and catcher Josh Bard were all optioned for assignment.

To replace them the club called up today’s starting pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, and relief pitchers Kip Wells, Garret Mock, and Jason Bergmann.

Rizzo had seen enough from his bullpen. “The incompetence of the bullpen was drawn to a head today. It got to a point where it wasn’t fair to the fans and it wasn’t fair to the rest of the team, the starting pitchers, too, to go status quo.”

Harsh.

Lets take a look at our new pen:

Kip Wells- Wells turns 30 tomorrow, and has 10 years of major league experience under hisbelt. Drafted 18^th overall by Chicago (AL) back in 1998, it didn’t take long for Wells to break into the big leagues with 7 starts in 1999. Throughout his career he has had moderate success as a starter, with his best two seasons coming in 2002 and 2003 in Pittsburgh where he won 12 and 10 games with a 3.58 and 3.42 ERA respectively. The wheels soon fell off for wells after that and he has been struggling to find consistent major league time. In his last stay with Colorado he pitched 27.1 innings with a 5.71 ERA.

Jason Bergmann- You all remember Bergmann, he started the season last year as a member of the Nationals rotation and had early struggles. The Nats were hoping he’d improve upon his solid 2007 where at the age of 25 he had a 4.45 ERA with 86 K’s in 115 innings. Instead he only regressed, putting up a 5.09 ERA in 139.2. Bergmann has the ability to get MLB hitters out, its only a matter of harnessing it. In June and July of last year he we started 9 games and had an ERA of 3.85.

Garret Mock-Mock is probably the most logical choice for the bullpen at this time. At only the age of 26 he’s bounced around a good deal, only busting into the majors last season for Washington. When he was there however he posted good numbers pitching 41 innings with a 4.17 ERA and 10.1 K/9 ratio. Mock has good enough stuff that he has been listed as a fringe prospect since being drafted in 2004, and in 2006 was listed by Baseball America as their  # 7 overall.

And....Zimmerman Inks Extension

Nationals third basemen Ryan Zimmerman officially agreed to a five year contract extension with the club for $45 million.

Nine million dollars a year is  a lot for a guy that has had trouble being consistent and healthy the last few years. The Nationals however are placing their eggs in his basket hoping that he can be the guy who takes the club to the next level as he develops.

The basic idea is that each team needs a franchise  player, one who they groomed from the draft and will hit macho home runs and make the girls swoon. I guess that’s Zimms job now, but he’s getting paid enough to do it.

We’ve discussed on The Nats Blog if he’s worth it or not, here’s another opinion.