New York Mets

Oh, how things can change so quickly. The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez to be their new closer, replacing Billy Wagner, at the start of the 2009 season to a 3-year, $37 million contract.

Fans and members of the media thought the Mets were finally landing a star reliever, after years of frustration at the closer position.

After John Franco, the Mets never really had a legitimate closer. It started with Armando Benitez in 1999, who went on to blow Game 1 of the 2000 Subway Series.

The Washington Nationals have agreed to a deal with Bryce Harper. It has been reported by Kendall Rogers of Yahoo! Sports that the deal is worth $9.9 million. This has been confirmed by Jim Bowden.

It appears as if the Nationals will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. With Stephen Strasburg already dominating in the majors and Bryce Harper on his way to the Nationals organization, the team appears to be on the rise.

Some scouts have said the Mets have the best farm system in the National League East, but that may soon change.

HOUSTON-- For the first eight innings of the Mets opener in Houston, it was more of the same--no offense and great starting pitching.

For a third straight start, Jon Niese allowed one run in seven innings and received a no-decision for his effort. He has been dominating lately, but unfortunately, the offense and bullpen has combined to let him down lately.

He didn't get off to a roaring start tonight, allowing four hits in the first three innings, but he settled down after that.

I'm not going to lie.  I mercilessly mocked the New York Mets for signing R.A. Dickey in the offseason.  To be honest, I was frustrated.  Other teams were out signing pitchers like John Lackey (Red Sox), or trading for others such as Cliff Lee (Mariners), and I was stuck having to deal with the Mets settling for a 35-year-old knuckleballer who had never seen any extended success in the major leagues. 

It has been announced that Francisco Rodriguez will need to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb.

It can be concluded that the injury came from the altercation that Rodriguez had with his father-in-law earlier in the week.

This is just another story in the sad state of affairs of the New York Mets.

Rodriguez had no business being on the Mets roster at any point this year after the altercation anyway. Now, he will most likely be placed on the DL and another reliever will be brought up.

Jon Niese hasn't gotten much run support lately, and the Mets will try to turn that around tonight.

Each of Niese's last two starts have been identical: pitch great ball, and get a no-decision for the effort. In both starts against the Phillies and Rockies, he went seven innings and allowed one run.

Both times the Mets bullpen blew a one-run lead in the eighth. It hasn't only been Niese not getting run support lately, but he's been the biggest culprit. He's only 7-5 this season and he should have at least 10 wins if not more.

NEW YORK-- Going for the rubber-match win against the Phillies, the Mets offense slumped yet again. The game began under wet conditions because of the Mets late flight to Houston.

Mike Pelfrey was on the mound, trying to duplicate his prior performance against the Rockies, and he pitched solid ball.

His problem was holding the Phillies running game. The Phillies stole three bases against Pelfrey and they all led to runs. He retired the first four batters he faced, before allowing a single in the second.

I don’t want to defend Omar Minaya. I don’t want to defend anything about the Mets front office. I think they are all terrible, and the Mets won’t win anything until the entire organization is overthrown, which starts with the Wilpons selling the team.

However, I am going to make one daring statement: Is it possible that Omar Minaya has actually been doing a good job this season?

The 2010 season has seen limited success in the minor leagues for the New York Mets. Many pitching prospects have underachieved. And narrow focus has been placed on top prospects like Ruben Tejada, Jenrry Mejia, and Fernando Martinez.

What about the significantly lesser-known names? Of the less-regarded prospects in the Mets organization, there have been several who have stood out. Second baseman Joshua Satin is one of them.

NEW YORK-- After exchanging shutouts with the Phillies over the first two games, the Mets will go for the series win tonight with Mike Pelfrey on the mound.

In his last start, Pelfrey pitched a gem, and earned his first win since June 25. He pitched seven scoreless innings against the Rockies for the second time this season on Tuesday and will try to give the Mets a winning home stand, one they really need.