The Rockies have sent 13 men to the mound to start a game this season, here's a look at each of them.

The most starting pitchers the Rockies have ever used in a season was 15 in 1993. We're a week into July in 2014 and the Rockies have already used 13 starters. Some of them are familiar names, some are or were hot prospects and some just read like a joke. So here's a look at the ragtag bunch of misfits that have toed the rubber for Colorado this season.

LHP Jorge De La Rosa

Season Debut: March 31 at Miami
Season Stats: 18 GS, 96 2/3 IP, 42 BB, 70 K, 4.75 ERA, 4.73 FIP

De La Rosa has been solid throughout his career in Colorado, with a 4.30 ERA, third-best in franchise history, in 136 starts for the Rockies in his career. He is currently tied with Jeff Francis for second on the franchise's wins list with 64. He hasn't been at his best in 2014, but still has nine wins and he must be keeping Jobu's rum topped off because he is the only starter to have stuck in the rotation all season. *knocks on every piece of wood in the vicinity*

LHP Brett Anderson

Season Debut: April 1 at Miami
Season Stats: 3 GS, 15 IP, 5 BB, 5 K, 3.60 ERA, 4.31 FIP

Having come to the Rockies this past winter in a trade for Drew Pomeranz, Anderson was actually solid in his three starts before breaking his finger swinging a bat on April 12 against San Francisco. I repeat, he broke his finger swinging a bat. In hindsight, we should have seen this as a sign of things to come in 2014. The good news is that he looks to be returning to the majors after another rehab start or two.

RHP Jordan Lyles

Season Debut: April 2 at Miami
Season Stats: 12 GS, 69 IP, 26 BB, 49 K, 3.52 ERA, 3.89 FIP

Another offseason addition, Lyles arrived with Brandon Barnes from Houston in the Dexter Fowler trade. Until breaking his non-throwing hand against the Diamondbacks on June 4, Lyles was the Rockies most consistent starter, allowing more than three earned runs just twice in his 12 starts.

LHP Franklin Morales

Season Debut: April 3 at Miami
Season Stats: 21 G, 12 GS, 81 2/3 IP, 33 BB, 56 K, 5.51 ERA, 5.84 FIP

Franklin Morales' 2014 season is best described by Michael Corleone in The Godfather III, just when we thought he was out (of the rotation), they pull him back in. Morales is in his third stint in the Rockies' rotation now and has made 12 starts and nine relief appearances this season. His ERA as a starter this year has been 5.81 compared to his 4.20 mark as a reliever.

RHP Juan Nicasio

Season Debut: April 4 vs Arizona
Season Stats: 14 GS, 73 IP, 26 BB, 46 K, 5.92 ERA, 5.63 FIP

Nicasio was actually very good early in the season, posting a 3.61 in 57 1/3 innings in his first 10 starts of 2014...and then baseball's version of the Monstars from Space Jam stole his talent. In his last four starts at the MLB level, he allowed 25 runs in 15 2/3 innings, a 14.36 ERA, in his last four starts before being demoted to AAA. He has posted a 6.45 ERA in four starts with the Sky Sox since being sent down.

RHP Tyler Chatwood

Season Debut: April 13 at San Francisco
Season Stats: 4 GS, 24 IP, 8 BB, 20 K, 4.50 ERA, 4.86 FIP

Chatwood has been hurt twice this season, pulling his hamstring running the bases in spring training and leaving the game on April 29 with elbow issues. In the four starts he did make, he was only okay and not the pitcher he was in 2013. He is currently on the 60-day DL with no timetable for return.

RHP Jhoulys Chacin

Season Debut: May 4 vs NY Mets
Season Stats: 11 GS, 63 1/3 IP, 28 BB, 42 K, 5.40 ERA, 4.80 FIP

Like Chatwood, Chacin has been injured twice this season, with back issues in the spring and shoulder issues recently. Who knows how long Chacin was dealing with the shoulder problem that currently has him on the DL, because he was having the worst season of his career to date. He is currently with Chatwood on the 60-day DL with a strained, frayed rotator cuff.

RHP Eddie Butler

Season Debut: June 6 vs LA Dodgers
Season Stats: 1 GS, 5 1/3 IP, 3 BB, 2 K, 10.13 ERA, 4.05 FIP

The Rockies' No. 2 prospect made just one start at the major league level before going on the DL with shoulder inflammation. The start wasn't very good, but that could have been for a variety of reasons, from the injury, to just a bad day against a good team. Butler is on the way back, amping up his rehab after throwing live batting practice last week.

RHP Christian Bergman

Season Debut: June 9 vs Atlanta
Season Stats: 3 GS, 15 IP, 2 BB, 10 K, 7.20 ERA, 6.51 FIP

A solid season at Colorado Springs earned Bergman a call up in June and he was solid in his first two starts before giving up seven runs in three innings and breaking his non-throwing hand (yep, just like Lyles) in a start against Milwaukee on June 20. He is currently on the 60-day DL.

LHP Tyler Matzek

Season Debut: June 11 vs Atlanta
Season Stats: 5 GS, 29 2/3 IP, 7 BB, 18 K, 4.25 ERA, 3.48 FIP

After looking like the real life Nuke LaLoosh in the minors at times, the Rockies' first-round pick in 2009 made his major league debut in June and has actually kept his control in check pretty well in five big league starts. He might actually be the best pitcher in the Rockies' current rotation.

LHP Christian Friedrich

Season Debut: June 21 vs Milwaukee
Season Stats: 3 GS, 13 1/3 IP, 8 BB, 14 K, 9.45 ERA, 5.96 FIP

Welcome to the realm of the absurd, Friedrich posted a 7.89 ERA in 11 starts at AAA and still got a major league call up. He then proceeded to get just as shelled in the big leagues as he was in the minors, giving up 19 runs, 14 earned in 13 1/3 innings over three starts before being sent back down. Hey, at least he didn't get hurt.

LHP Yohan Flande

Season Debut: June 25 vs St. Louis
Season Stats: 3 GS, 14 2/3 IP, 4 BB, 7 K, 7.36 ERA, 3.86 FIP

I saw Flande pitch in Colorado Springs on April 25, and if you had told me then that he'd make his MLB debut two months later I would have thought there was a We Are Marshall type place crash or something and the Rockies just had to call up the entire Sky Sox team. Flande has been as bad as expected, allowing 12 runs in 14 2/3 innings in his three starts, all Rockies losses.

RHP Jair Jurrjens

Season Debut: July 4 vs LA Dodgers
Season Stats: 1 GS, 4 2/3 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 15.43 ERA, 8.68 FIP

From the category of "can't be any worse than Friedrich," the Rockies found Jair Jurrjens, who promptly got clubbed in his first start against the Dodgers. Here's hoping he significantly improves in future starts, or we'll see starter number 14 (Chris Capuano or Brett Tomko) sooner rather than later.

Brian Burgamy, Kyle Johnson, Cody Satterwhite, and Jon Velasquez will attempt to live up to Eric Campbell's heroic Eastern League All-Star Game performance from two years ago.

The Double-A Binghamton Mets will have four representatives at the 2014 Eastern League All-Star Game on July 16. Brian Burgamy, a 33-year-old switch-hitting infielder, has recorded 14 home runs and 51 RBI on the season. Kyle Johnson, the primary leadoff hitter and center fielder for the B-Mets, is hitting .288 with 34 RBI. Cody Satterwhite, a former second round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2008, is having an outstanding season out of the bullpen, posting a 1.60 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. The final selection, Jon Velasquez, has posted a 3.05 ERA in 38.1 innings out of the bullpen.

While none of these players are in our Top 25 Mets Prospects here at Amazin' Avenue, or even the consensus top 62 Mets prospects, it is still nice to see the B-Mets get some recognition. This year's crop of All-Stars have some big shoes to fill, as current Met Eric Campbell was the hero of the 2012 Eastern League All-Star Stop, hitting a walk-off single to end secure a 5-4 win for the Eastern Division. The game will be played at 7 p.m. on July 16 at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

The Mets kept their slim hopes at a meaningful 2014 season alive with a wild win over the Braves.

The Mets opened a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves with a walk-off win on a Ruben Tejada single in the bottom of the eleventh inning. After Daisuke Matsuzaka shut the braves out for seven innings, the Mets had a 2-0 lead thanks to a Travis d'Arnaud double and a David Wright home run, but the bullpen—which has been great—coughed up three runs.

Curtis Granderson tied the game on a solo home run in the eighth, and although the Mets did not win the game after a controversial replay call in the ninth inning, Carlos Torres was excellent in the tenth and eleventh innings, giving the Mets the opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the eleventh.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

Stras was good, Rendon was pretty solid, the bullpen was good... for a while... and, uh, hm. The Mets won tonight.

Via Fangraphs (click to embiggen)

• Enjoy your no-decision:Stephen Strasburg (+8.8%) gives up 2 ER over 7 IP with 9 Ks and no walks, plus a single to LF.
• Big play (#voteRendon):Anthony Rendon (+21.4%) hits a game-tying, two-run shot to right center in the 6th (+27.7%).
• Shutdowns:Tyler Clippard (+12.8%), Rafael Soriano (+12.8%), and Drew Storen (+10.1%) keep it tied for three innings after Stras exits, each adding their own bit of drama.
• Failures:Jayson Werth (-17.1%) is 0-5 with 2 LOB. Ian Desmond (-15.2%) is 0-5 with 3 LOB, including a K with one out and two on in the 9th (-9.4%). Wilson Ramos (-9.4%) is 2-4, but Ks to end the 9th (-10.6%).
• Collapse:Craig Stammen (-48.7%) melts down spectacularly, giving up 4 runs in the 11th on five hits, including two HRs.

The Mets took the first game of a four-game series with the Braves at Citi Field.

If the Mets are to attain relevance this season, they basically have to go on a run this week against the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. On Monday night, they got off to a good start with an eleven-inning win against the Braves in the first game of a four-game series. With the win, they’re still nine games out of first place, but that clearly beats the alternative.

For a while, it seemed like the Mets’ victory would go fairly easily. While Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed a bunch of baserunners in his start, he kept the Braves off the board in seven innings of work. And the Mets had a two-run lead by the time he left the game, to boot.

With two outs in the second inning, first baseman Eric Campbell was on first base and ran on a pitch to Travis d’Arnaud, who doubled to easily bring Campbell home. It’s been very encouraging to see d’Arnaud hit the way he has since coming back from his stint with the Las Vegas 51s, which is not to say that he is the hitter that he has been since then, but that he’s clearly been better than he was before his demotion and recall. And with two outs in the third inning, David Wright took Mike Minor deep for a solo home run, which gave the Mets a 2-0 lead that held until the eighth.

In that inning, however, the Mets’ bullpen—which has really been quite good lately—turned the two-run lead into a one-run deficit. Vic Black came on to pitch the inning, but after recording an out, he gave up a double, which really could have been a single if not for Chris Young’s misplay in the left-center field gap, to Freddie Freeman. After a ground out that allowed Freeman to move to third, Terry Collins turned to Josh Edgin.

The 27-year-old lefty got off to a bad start, as he threw a pitch over the head of Jason Heyward and Freeman scored from third without a play at the plate. Once Heyward singled, Collins went back to the bullpen and summoned Jenrry Mejia, who gave up a game-tying double to Chris Johnson to begin his outing. Collins opted to intentionally walk Tommy La Stella, but the move did not work. Christian Bethancourt followed up the free pass with a go-ahead single, on which Eric Campbell cut off a throw from Curtis Granderson—very likely the right move—to throw out the runner at third. That allowed the run to score, but there was little chance that Granderson’s throw would have gotten to home plate in time to get the out there instead.

A couple of quick outs into the bottom of the eighth, Curtis Granderson hit a game-tying solo home run against Braves relief pitcher Luis Avilan. That was it for the scoring in the inning, but the Mets were still in the game and sent Mejia back out for a scoreless ninth.

In the bottom of the inning, things got a bit wacky. Campbell led off with a single, and Juan Lagares bunted too hard as he tried to move Campbell over. The Braves seemingly retired Campbell at second base on the botched bunt, but a replay review of the play deemed Campbell safe since Andrelton Simmons fielded the ball more like a first baseman—and came off the bag before catching it—than like a middle infielder trying to turn a double play. Although the review took a few minutes and got Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez ejected from the game, Major League Baseball stood by the ruling in its postgame comment.

From there, Lucas Duda and d’Arnaud each fielded into a fielder’s choice, both of which resulted in an out at third base. But after Ruben Tejada drew a walk, Eric Young Jr. came up and grounded out to end the inning.

Carlos Torres took over for the tenth and went on to retire six of the seven Braves hitters he faced in two innings of scoreless work. The Mets didn’t take advantage of his great work in the tenth, but they finally scored again in the eleventh.

After a Campbell ground out, Juan Lagares doubled, and the Braves intentionally walked Duda. Lagares tagged up and got to third on a long fly out by d’Arnaud, but he scored with ease on Ruben Tejada’s game-winning single.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* ##otherblogname## GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: Curtis Granderson, +38.8% WPA, Ruben Tejada, +36.3% WPA, Daisuke Matsuzaka, +36.1% WPA, Carlos Torres, +23.3% WPA, Juan Lagares, +16.9% WPA
Big losers: Jenrry Mejia, -45.2% WPA, Eric Young Jr., -18.8% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Ruben Tejada’s game-winning single, +37.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Chris Johnson’s game-tying double in the eighth, -31.1% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +8.3% WPA
Total batter WPA: +41.7% WPA
GWRBI!: Ruben Tejada

Catch up on all of yesterday’s minor league action from around the Mets farm system!

*All results from games played on Monday, July 7^th, 2014

Triple-A - Las Vegas 51's (53-39)_______________________________________

LAS VEGAS 8, RENO 14 (Box)

• PH Matt den Dekker: 1-1, 2 RBI
• 2B Matt Reynolds: 1-4, R, BB, K
• 3B Danny Muno: 1-5, R, 2B, BB; Not sure I've seen him play 3B before.
• SS Wilmer Flores: 1-5, R, 2 RBI, K
• RF Andrew Brown: 1-2, BB
• C Kevin Plawecki: 0-4, R, BB, K
• LF Cesar Puello: 0-4, R, BB, 2 K
• RHP Giancarlo Alvarado: 2.2 IP, 12 H, 12 R, 12 ER, BB, 2 K; woof

Double-A - Binghamton Mets (52-37)_____________________________________

PORTLAND 4, BINGHAMTON 11 (Box)

• LF Kyle Johnson: 0-4, 2 BB, K
• 2B Dilson Herrera: 1-3, R, 3 BB; .329/.410/.479 (!)
• DH Brian Burgamy: 0-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 K
• 3B Dustin Lawley: 1-5, 2B, 3 K
• SS T.J. Rivera: 3-5, 2 R, 3 2B, RBI
• CF Brandon Nimmo: 1-5, 2 R, HR 3 RBI; .197/.347/.377
• RF Travis Taijeron: 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, K
• C Xorge Carrillo: 3-4
• 1B Jayce Boyd: 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
• RHP Cory Mazzoni: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, K

Advanced-A - St. Lucie Mets (12-3 / 52-32)_____________________________________

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

Low-A -Savannah Sand Gnats(15-4 / 59-26)__________________________________

AUGUSTA 1, SAVANNAH 6 (Box)

• CF Patrick Biondi: 2-5, K
• SS Yeixon Ruiz: 0-3, R, 2 BB, K
• 1B Dom Smith: 2-4, 2 R; .296/.355/.359
• DH Matt Oberste: 3-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI
• RF Victor Cruzado: 0-3, RBI, BB, 2 K
• 2B Jorge Rivero: 2-4, 2B, RBI
• LF Stefan Sabol: 0-4, RBI, K
• RHP John Gant: 8 IP, 5 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 10 K

Short-A -Brooklyn Cyclones(13-10)__________________________________

HUDSON VALLEY 8, BROOKLYN 4 (Box) GAME ONE

• C Tomas Nido: 3-4, R, 2 RBI
• 3B Jhoan Urena: 1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K
• PR-SS Amed Rosario: 0-1, R, K

HUDSON VALLEY 2, BROOKLYN 3 (Box) GAME TWO

• CF Tucker Tharp: 1-3, R
• SS Amed Rosario: 0-1, R, BB; .278/.346/.361
• 3B Jhoan Urena: 1-3, K; .333/.398/.524
• LF-1B Michael Katz: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, K; .291/.348/.392
• 1B Jeff Diehl: 0-3, K
• 2B Tyler Moore: 0-3, K
• LF Joe Tuschak: 0-1, K
• RHP Corey Oswalt: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Rookie -Kingsport Mets(8-10)__________________________________

PULASKI 11, KINGSPORT 16 (Box)

The K-Mets committed eight errors and walked seven batters but still somehow managed to win this epic affair. Props to anyone who actually watched this game start to finish and wasn't paid to do so.

• SS Luis Guillorme: 3-4, 2 R, RBI; .333/.403/.383; Apparently left this game after being struck in the head with a pitch. Hopefully nothing serious.
• LF Oswald Caraballo: 3-5, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI; .288/.279/.424
• 3B Eudor Garcia: 2-3, R, 2B, 2 RBI; .269/.377/.346
• CF Ivan Wilson: 0-3, R, RBI, 2 K; .220/.277/.458; The 50% strikeout rate is an issue.
• OF Wuilmer Becerra: dnp; .233/.320/.349
• LF Vicente Lupo: 1-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K; .200/.300/.314
• C Jose Garcia: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K; .229/.289/.257
• RHP Andrew Massie: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, K

Rookie -GCL Mets(8-5)__________________________________

GCL METS 6, GCL CARDINALS 2 (Box)

• CF John Mora: 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB; .415/.538/.463
• RF Emmanuel Zabala: 3-4, R; .364/.383/.455
• Rehab Alert LF Jared King: 2-4, 2 R, HR, RBI
• DH Dash Winningham: 0-3, R, K
• C Darryl Knight: 0-2, RBI, BB; .250/.304/.450
• 3B Gregory Valencia: 1-4, 2 K; .348/.423/.478
• LHP Blake Taylor: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K

Star of the Night

Travis Taijeron

Goat of the Night

Giancarlo Alvarado

Your Tuesday morning, post walk-off dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

Meet the Mets

Well that was certainly a wild game last night! The Mets put two runs on the board early after a Travis d'Arnaud RBI double  and a David Wright home run, but the bullpen blew the lead by giving up three runs in the eighth. Curtis Granderson tied it up in the bottom of that frame, and we went to extras where a Ruben Tejada walkoff single propelled the Mets to victory. If you want to relive the contest, choose your recap here: Amazin' Avenue long, short, Newsday, NY Post, Daily News, ESPN New York, Star-Ledger, New York Times

Jared Diamond writes that in the Mets' case, you can never have enough pitching.

Adam Rubin reports that Eric Campbell won't be getting many starts in the near future.

David Lennon says that the Mets have a tough choice in dealing Daniel Murphy.

David Wrightsuggested that he didn't deserve an All-Star bid.

When Dillon Gee returns on Wednesday, he won't be asked to throw more than 95 pitches.

A pair of Mets prospects from Kingsport were busted for drag racing at over 100 MPH.

Terry Collins was seemingly displeased that Mike Matheny didn't give the Mets a call about who to select for the All-Star team.

George Willis writes that the Mets should think twice before trading Zack Wheeler.

Wilmer Floreswas named Pacific Coast League player of the week. Congrats to Wilmer!

Sandy Alderson suggests that he's not concerned about Jon Niese's shoulder.

Zach Brazillier runs down the Mets and Yankees top prospects in advance of the Futures Game.

Around the NL East

The Nationals dropped an extra-inning affair to their Beltway rivals 8-2 on the back of a huge night from Manny Machado.

The Phillies jumped on the board early and never looked back, as they took down the Brewers 3-2.

Arizona put a five-spot up early on the Marlins, as the D-Backs went on to grab this one by a score of 9-1.

Around the Majors

Bronson Arroyo - once considered a viable option for the Mets - tore his UCL and will require surgery.

Justin Perline takes a look at who the top sluggers in the game are.

Craig Calcaterra says that we shouldn't get upset over the All-Star snubs.

The All-Star Final Vote list was released and features some big names.

Dave Cameron gives an interesting take on the A's recent moves, and how they relate to another team.

Yesterday at AA

Chris McShane broke out the Player Performance Meters. Pitchers can be found here, and position players here.

Aaron Yorke previewed the Braves series.

Joe Sokolowski gave us all of the fun things the Mets said this week.

Jeffrey Paternostro took a look at Dilson Herrera for his Behind the Backstop series.

IF you see a link that you think would be a great addition to Mets Morning News, please send an email to our tips address, tips@grission.com, and we'll try to add it in.

More from Amazin' Avenue

Follow @AmazinAvenueFollow @SBNationMLB

• Dario Alvarez named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week
• Four Binghamton Mets named to Eastern League All-Star Game
• Mets prospect Wilmer Flores named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week
• Series Preview: Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets
• This Week in Mets Quotes: Collins adjusts the goal posts, Anna Benson on life and Target or something

Five different members of the New York Mets have lived in the same Manhattan apartment. It's not that weird, really.

The best way to understand New York City -- an enormous and contradictory and disconcertingly expensive large town located near New Jersey -- is of course to think of it as a giant apple. Just a great big red (or green) apple, with a stem -- that's the Bronx -- packed full of vitamins and nutrients. It is not for nothing that New York is known as The Big Apple, for that truly is what it's most like.

I, and a few million other people, live together inside of this giant apple. Think of all of us, in this metaphor, as little bits of apple-meat. All these little component apple bits, paying outlandishly high rents and wondering over $8 beers whether it might not be perfectly fine, all told, to live inside a nice Bosc pear or something.

Another way to understand New York City, though, is as a series of real estate transactions. This is kind of a bummer way to think of anything, admittedly, but it is probably closer to the truth than The City Which Is Also A Large Fruit bit is. New York is a city of owners and renters; many people that own their homes in New York are, for all intents and purposes, still members of the renter class.

There is simply too much uncertainty in the equation for it to be otherwise, and the extent of their ownership pales relative to the super-scale ownership of the developers that terraformed these neighborhoods and built these big buildings, extracting the maximum possible patronage and subsidy from the city along the way. It is not just New York City that works this way, of course, but New York City really works this way.

New York City's East Side (Getty)

A consideration of New York real estate is complicated and dull and un-fun, and undoubtedly even more tedious to those not stuck inside this delicious apple of ours than it is to those of us who are. But the split between owners and renters helps explain how and why five different New York Mets have lived in the same Manhattan apartment, never more than two at a time, since the beginning of this season.

Ike Davis and Josh Satin, who began the season living there as roommates, are now playing and living in Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, respectively; Kirk Niewenhuis lived there for a stretch and Jacob DeGrom and Eric Campbell are currently roommates in the apartment. (The place is in my neighborhood, as it happens, although I've yet to see any of the five out at this neighborhood's only really good bar.)

This situation struck our friends at Curbed New York as curious. The Mets, Jeremiah Budin notes, "basically live like recent college graduates, sharing rental apartments, subletting from their friends, and taking the train to work." For all the jokes to be made about how this story reflects the (um) affordability and fungibility of the Mets roster, it's more notable for highlighting the extremes of the owner/renter dichotomy in the city. Manhattan is the borough that makes big league baseball players live like grad students.

All of the players mentioned above, with the exception of the departed Davis, were earning the MLB minimum salary of $500,000. That is an extremely good salary to earn, by any standard, although it goes less far in New York City than it does most anywhere else. It's not that people earning that sort of money couldn't own an apartment in New York City -- although it would be difficult for them to buy in most parts of Manhattan -- so much as it is that the uncertainty of their status and screwed-up, top-heavy perversity of New York City's real estate marketplace make renting (with roommates, and with a MetroCard) a more workable and mostly better idea. These Major League Baseball players, earning a half-million dollars a year, are still fundamentally as "renter" as it gets. Only some of this is a New York thing.

Young Mets players can afford only micro-accommodations like these for themselves and their pets. (Getty Images)

And the Mets owners, to neaten this binary up, are quite literally owners. Despite managing their baseball team with the sort of steely business competence and entrepreneurial foresight more generally associated with a failing Jamba Juice franchise, the Wilpon family's Sterling Equities owns and manages over 1,900 residential units, including a great number in New York. (Sandy Alderson, before he took over as GM of the Mets, owned a unit in the Wilpon-developed and owned Sterling Plaza, on East 49th Street.) The city recently handed the Wilpons the right to develop the semi-wasteland around CitiField, which they appear poised to do every bit as poorly as you might expect.

Watch the Mets closely enough, over a long enough period of time, and it's natural to seek a retreat into metaphor; the alternative is standing there in the unflinching light of day, watching Chris Young pop up with runners on second and third. But while the apartment-hopping details of The Apartment Of The Five Mets are interesting enough, the overarching metaphor is jarringly plain. The Mets are New York: diverse strivers of varying promise working at and for the pleasure of unaccountable and only faintly worthy owners, and living a lot more peripherally and parlously than we might expect.

That's New York. So is the understanding that, despite all that, it's more appealing to deal with all that than it is to confront the alternatives.

America's birthday was last week, and that made for some interesting uniforms for the Amazins and their friends.

Remember when Independence Day was just about beer, barbecue, and baseball? Man, those were the days. I mean, July 4 is still about all of those things, but lately we've had to add ugly hats to the list. Also, there's those fireworks that terrify my dog. I guess in the end the holiday is still a great deal, and is there anything more American than making players where a strange hat for merchandising purposes?

Rangers vs. Mets

Photo credit: Rich Schultz

In the recent past, MLB has trended towards military-themed apparel for Independence Day, but in 2014, they've decided to go back to hats that are colored like the American flag. I wasn't a fan of those a few years ago, and I'm still not a fan now. National League teams wore navy blue hats with a red brim and American League teams wore red hats with a navy brim. This looked great on teams like the Red Sox and Twins, but on the Mets, the caps looked out of place.

Would it be that terrible for the holiday hats to actually be in matching team colors? You could still have stars and stripes to celebrate America, but maybe the Mets could have a royal blue hat to at least match their uniforms? We'll have to wait until next year.

Photo credit: Rich Schultz

The Rangers' uniforms matched the American theme much better than the Mets' did. The team could have done a lot better, though. Texas knew it was going to be wearing red hats in New York for at least a month or so. Why not pack the matching red alternates to wear with the red hats? The Rangers normally only wear red at home, but I think they could have made a special exception for America.

Brewers vs. Blue Jays

Photo credit: Tom Szczerbowski

Not only was Independence Day last week, but Canada Day as well, and that meant patriotic jerseys for the Blue Jays. Normally the only red part of Toronto's uniforms is the maple leaf on the logo, but the team goes all out for Canada Day with red jerseys and maple leaf caps.

Well, they almost go all out. I can understand not red chest protectors and red helmets on a team that normally wears blue all the time, but I don't think it would be too crazy for the Blue Jays to wear red undershirts for one game.

Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Just in case you were wondering (like I was) what the Blue Jays wore on July 4, they sported their red Canada Day hats with their blue alternate jersey. This brought to my mind some questions. Should Toronto have bothered wearing the holiday hat on an American holiday? Should the Blue Jays be issued an independence Day hat like the other 29 clubs since they have a roster stocked with Americans and are always on the road on July 4?

Obviously such a hat wouldn't have much appeal with Blue Jays fans, so I guess that answers that. Just for the record, though, if the Mets found themselves playing in Toronto on Canada Day, I wouldn't mind seeing a special Canada Day Mets hat (especially if Jason Bay was still on the team).

Marlins vs. Cardinals

Photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

First of all, great socks, Kolten Wong. Second, I'm not sure why the Cardinals keep wearing these alternate hats on Sundays. The birds on the bat look great on the St. Louis jersey, but on a hat? It doesn't have the same effect. And I'm not a stickler for having letters on hats, either. I think the Blue Jays and Orioles have great looking caps, so maybe just the head of the Cardinal would be more appealing to me? I'm not sure. I just know that the Cardinals look better wearing one of their classic "StL" hats.

Jacob deGrom struck out 11 in seven shutout innings and the Mets roughed up Braves pitching to the tune of eight runs on 18 hits.

Jacob deGrom pitched the best game of his young career as the Mets won their third game in a row and fourth out of their last five. deGrom struck out 11, walked none, and scattered seven hits in seven shutout innings. He was throwing in the mid-to-high 90s and even helped his own cause with a base hit and a run scored. It was a pleasure to watch.

The Mets' lineup provided deGrom ample support, scoring eight runs on 18 hits against Julio Teheran and two Braves relievers. Everyone contributed; seven Mets starters had at least two hits and all players in the starting lineup notched at least one hit by the third inning.

Leadoff batter Curtis Granderson started the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning on the second pitch he saw. Daniel Murphy's two-run double in the second inning extended the lead to 3-0. David Wright then singled Murphy home to make it 4-0. Eric Young Jr., Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and Juan Lagares added RBI base hits in later innings. Duda went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two walks.

Buddy Carlyle, Dana Eveland, and Jeurys Familia combined to allow three garbage-time runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

Literally, trash.

The New York Mets earned their 4,000th win in team history Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves, which is exciting for them. The baseball gods saw this event unfolding and decided it was too purely positive for the Mets, so they unleashed the TRASHWINDS:

Mets celebrate their 4000th win in franchise history on a field covered in garbage, which is just about right. pic.twitter.com/xRXrOlKqrV

— Tom Orr (@TomOrr4) July 9, 2014

There appear to be some plastic bags and other odds and ends mixed in there, but I think we found the main culprit:

Looks like a napkin dispenser at Citi Field is broken lol #Metspic.twitter.com/QJPZ0oTUTK

— #ImWithTowels (@MetsKevin11) July 9, 2014

This has happened before, by the way: Citi Field has a chronic TRASHWIND problem. This is April 23:

(Photo: Elsa, US Presswire)

And this is May 25:

(Photo: Mike Stobe, US Presswire)

When the Mets win their 8000th game in the year 2973 or whatever, they'll look back at highlights from Tuesday night and be like "wow, weather used to be really weird." Yeah, yeah it did. Queens used to have napkin storms.

The 26-year-old relief pitcher started the season strong but struggled in his recent appearances.

Following their second straight win over the Atlanta Braves, the Mets optioned right-handed relief pitcher Gonzalez Germen to Triple-A Las Vegas in preparation for Dillon Gee's return from the disabled list on Wednesday. The 26-year-old made his major league debut last year.

Germen started the 2014 season strong, posting a 0.87 ERA with 10 strikeouts and 2 walks in 10.1 innings in his first seven appearances, but he's been up and down ever since. Most recently, Germen allowed at least one run in four of his last seven appearances.

As a result of Germen's demotion to Vegas, fellow right-handed relief pitcher Buddy Carlyle will remain with the Mets after joining the team earlier this week as an extra bullpen arm following the Mets' placement of Jon Niese on the disabled list. Before this year, Carlyle last appeared in the big leagues in 2011, but the 36-year-old made a couple of appearances earlier this year for the Mets.

Jacob deGrom was terrific and the Mets offense pounded Braves pitching as the Mets won their third game in a row.

If not for some late shenanigans by the bullpen, tonight's Mets 8-3 win would probably have been the most all-around satisfying of the season. Jacob deGrom tossed a gem and the Mets offense pounded the Braves' best starting pitcher and two relief pitchers. Even considering the three meaningless runs the bullpen coughed up, this game was pretty darn fun to watch.

deGrom threw seven shutout innings, striking out 11 while walking none. He allowed seven hits, all singles, but only once gave up multiple hits in an inning. The Braves struggled against deGrom's varied offerings, swinging-and-missing at 20 of his 108 pitches. That's good for a 19% swinging-strike rate, far better than the league-average 9% rate. deGrom topped out at 97-98 mph and seemed to have something extra on his fastball. Put it all together and it was the best start of his young career, both according to Game Score and my untrained scouting eye. Not bad for a guy who started last season at Single-A St. Lucie.

On any other night, the Mets' offense, and not deGrom, would have been the big story. Mets batters scored eight runs, mashing 18 hits against Braves pitching. Braves starter Julio Teheran, he of the 2.29 ERA this season, was knocked out after 3.1 innings. The first seven batters in the Mets lineup all had at least two hits and even deGrom, batting eighth, hit a single and scored a run. Nine batter Eric Young Jr. also had a hit, and everyone in the Mets starting lineup tallied at least one hit by the third inning.

The big blows were a Curtis Granderson leadoff home run in the first inning and a Daniel Murphy two-run double in the second inning. That's Granderson's second home run in as many games and his fourth in his last eight games. Murphy celebrated his All-Star selection by hitting two doubles, raising his OPS to a fine .759. Extend him, please.

David Wright added an RBI single in the second inning, increasing the Mets' lead to 4-0, and Young singled home Travis d'Arnaud to make it 5-0 in the third inning. Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and Juan Lagares contributed RBI base hits in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, respectively, to close the Mets' account.

Duda continued to rake against right-handed pitching, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and two walks. His season numbers keep creeping upward and he is now among the best five or six hitting first basemen in the National League. Get him out of the outfield and watch his value soar.

Buddy Carlyle, Dana Eveland, and Jeurys Familia farted around in the eighth and ninth innings, and were unable to preserve the shutout. They combined to give up three runs on six hits. Familia struck out Justin Upton with runners on second and third to end the game.

The Mets are now 41-49 but their run differential is +3. Maybe better times are ahead. Game three of the Mets-Braves series is Wednesday at 7:10 pm ET. The pitching matchup is Dillon Gee vs Ervin Santana. Welcome back, Dillon!

Three Stars of the Game

First Star: Jacob deGrom
Second Star: Lucas Duda
Third Star: Curtis Granderson

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Talking Chop GameThread

Win Probability Added

(What's this?)

Big winners: Jacob deGrom +17.5% (as pitcher), Daniel Murphy 16.3%
Big losers: Travis d'Arnaud -3.1%, Ruben Tejada -0.5%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Daniel Murphy two-run double in the second inning, +17.7%
Teh sux0rest play:B.J. Upton stolen base and advance on error in first inning, -5.0%
Total pitcher WPA: +17.6%
Total batter WPA: +32.4%
GWRBI!: David Wright RBI single in the second inning

The Rangers star is "fine" after taking a liner off the bat of Leonys Martin to the forehead. Elsewhere, a Mets rookie joined some pretty elite company.

Rangers ace Yu Darvish is OK despite being hit in the head by a line drive during batting practice on Tuesday, according to Fox Sports Southwest's Anthony Andro.

Rangers Yu Darvish took a liner off his forehead in outfield during BP. He resumed playing catch. He will get checked by doctor.

— Anthony Andro (@aandro) July 8, 2014

The ball, which was hit by outfielder Leonys Martin, glanced off the forehead of Darvish, who briefly kneeled down before refusing medical assistance, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Derek Holland attempted to catch the line drive but missed, though the ball made contact with his glove prior to hitting Darvish, who reportedly wasn't too fazed by the accident.

Darvish is tough. I would have been crying. He continues to throw.

— Anthony Andro (@aandro) July 8, 2014

Darvish confirmed via Twitter after the incident that he was "fine."

deGrom joins impressive company

Mets rookie hurler Jacob deGrom struck out 11 Braves hitters in an 8-3 win on Tuesday. deGrom improved his ERA to 3.38 after tossing seven shutout innings. More impressive than that, though, is the company he joined by whiffing so many batters:

Jacob deGrom is the 3rd Mets pitcher to have a pair of 11-K games in his first 11 MLB games. The others are Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 9, 2014

Tuesday scores

Reds 4, Cubs 2 (Game 1)
Reds 6, Cubs 5 (Game 2)
Indians 5, Yankees 3
Tigers 14, Dodgers 5
Mets 8, Braves 3
White Sox 8, Red Sox 3
Rays 4, Royals 3
Astros 8, Rangers 3
Phillies 9, Brewers 7
Cardinals 5, Pirates 4
Rockies 2, Padres 1
Marlins 2, Diamondbacks 1
Athletics 6, Giants 1
Blue Jays 4, Angels 0
Twins 2, Mariners 0

Your Wednesday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

Meet the Mets

Choose Your Recap: Amazin' Avenue Short, Long, MLB.com, ESPN NY, Daily News, Star-Ledger, NY Post, Newsday

Dillon Geereturns to the mound tonight at Citi Field and in order to make room for him, the team demotedGonzalez Germen back to Las Vegas.

Is Daniel Murphy a trade chip or a part of the team's future? Ken Davidoff writes that there would be a market for Murphy's services.

Jeurys Familia's transition into the Mets setup man has been swift.

The Mets' patience with Ruben Tejada is paying off, as the shortstop has been playing very well over the past two months.

Citi Field has never been a haven for Mets power hitters but the team has finally discovered a bit of a power stroke in their home park.

The stock of pitching in the organization still isn't enough for the Mets. Further down the organizational pecking order, Brooklyn pitching phenom Marcos Molina dominated in his start yesterday. Meanwhile at FanGraphs, Nathaniel Stoltz wrote about a pair of dominant Savannah relievers in Akeel Morris and Dario Alvarez.

Five Mets players rent an apartment in New York and essentially live like college students, writes David Roth.

Yesterday At AA

Aaron Yorke looked back at the Mets' uniforms over the past week.

Episode 76 of the Amazin Avenue Audio podcast focuses on Jon Niese's shoulder.

Around the NL East

The Nationals and Orioles were postponed yesterday, while the Philliesbeat the Brewers 9-7, and the Marlinsdefeated the Diamondbacks 2-1.

Around the Majors

Billy Beane found the time in between winning games and making trades to write a piece in the Wall Street Journal about the analytics revolution going on in baseball.

Troy Tulowitzki might request a trade from the Rockies this offseason, reports Ken Rosenthal.

At Minor League Ball, Nick Melotte looked at some ridiculous minor league stats from this season.

Ruben Amaro spoke with Mike Missanelli and kind of made a fool of himself.

Bruce Markusen of The Hardball Times writes about the short-lived history of the Inter-American League, a Triple-A level sanctioned by MLB back in the 70's.

If you read an article or find a link that you think would be a great addition to a future edition of Mets Morning News, please forward it to our tips email address tips@grission.com and we'll try to add it in.

The Mets seem set at all but two positions.

With the trade deadline approaching, the chatter about how the New York Mets will improve their sometimes-anemic offense is destined to pick up. These questions are more than fair as the Mets’ offense has been poor this season, ranking in the lower half of Major League Baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, strikeout rate, and wRC+.

Clearly, the offense needs improvement, and for the first time in a long time the Mets have the prospects and pitching depth to facilitate a potential trade. But the team doesn’t have many positions they can or should upgrade. Of the Mets’ eight starting position players, just two positions seem ripe for an upgrade. Let’s take a look at all of the positions, though, to see where the Mets can improve.

Catcher: While Travis d’Arnaud has struggled this season, even earning a demotion to Triple-A, his potential and performance since his return make a change at the position incredibly unlikely.

First base: With his recent surge, Lucas Duda’s ISO, OPS, wRC+, and wOBA are all in the top half of first baseman across MLB, earning him some equity.

Second base: The Mets may trade Daniel Murphy, but if they do, it won’t be to upgrade the position. Only five second baseman have a higher fWAR than he does his season.

Third base: David Wright. Enough said.

Shortstop: While Ruben Tejada has been getting on base at a decent clip, shortstop is clearly a position that can be upgraded.

Left field: None of the left field options—Chris Young in particular—are anything better than replacement level.

Center field: Juan Lagares is already an elite defender, and if he can hit even .275/.330/.400, he is a very good player.

Right field: One of the Mets’ best hitters over the last couple of months, Granderson is in the first year of his four-year deal and doesn’t figure to go anywhere.

Sure, the Mets could try to improve the right side of the infield, but doing so would cost a lot of assets and likely result in only minimal upgrades over Duda or Murphy. This really only leaves shortstop and one outfield spot as the Mets’ flexibility to improve their offense is limited.

Trading for a shortstop has seemed to be at the top of the Mets’ wish list for a while now, but the names which have been thrown around in recent months—Didi Gregorius, Nick Franklin, and Brad Miller—would probably require a strong return in a trade and wouldn’t give the team the impact bat they need. Aside from Troy Tulowitzki and maybe Starlin Castro, what shortstop would warrant the return necessary?

While shortstop is a clear opening, the Mets’ best bet to add a quality hitter is by way of the third outfield spot. Since getting the first chance at filling the left field hole and struggling, Chris Young has been teamed with an assortment of pieces to fill the spot, none of which have been overly effective or are adequate long-term options. This position is in need of a consistent and high-level contributor, but the question becomes who can adequately plug this hole and is also available.

It will be interesting to see if any big name outfielders hit the trade market this summer or winter, as this season’s free agent class is relatively weak, and it’s unlike general manager Sandy Alderson to sign major free agent deals. It seems likely that Alderson is going to have to be creative in the trade market.

Additionally, since the Mets don’t have the luxury of improving at multiple positions, any singular move they make will have to be for a significant player. For obvious reasons, however, teams are hesitant and picky about trading high-quality players, merely complicating the quandary Alderson and the front office find themselves in.

If the Mets are to improve on offense, they are going to have to confront the obstacles they face in acquiring the talent they sorely need. If or how the team upgrades the offense in the face of limitations is something to watch this summer and into the offseason.

If the Rockies shortstop requests a trade this offseason, as Ken Rosenthal speculated on Tuesday, the Mets should be first in line, no "ifs," "ands," or "buts" about it.

After what seemed like an entire holiday weekend of Troy Tulowitzki trade talk in the Denver papers, spurred by comments the shortstop made last week, Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that it would not be shocking to see the Rockies' franchise player request a trade this winter. At age 29, Tulowitzki may be getting tired of a Rockies franchise that is spinning its wheels. As he said, he wants to be some place where he has a chance to win every year and the Rockies are currently mired in a downward spiral that has once again sent them hurtling towards the NL West basement. While the Mets are only a few games better than Colorado, adding a player like Tulowitzki would go a long way towards helping turn things around in New York. Combined with David Wright, Tulowitzki would bring star power to the Mets' offense and balance their up and coming pitching staff. If it comes to pass that he requests a trade and the Rockies make their cornerstone available, the Mets have to make a serious attempt at pursuing him and I will not accept any excuses from them.

Let's start with the huge elephant in the room here – the Mets financial situation. As many have speculated and as most of the facts have pointed to in the recent past, the Mets' ownership group appears to be short on money. Payroll has drastically fallen since 2011 and even with Sandy Alderson saying that the onus for this falls on his shoulders, it's almost impossible to believe him. The GM is not going to go against the men who employ him, especially when they continue to go on record saying that they have money and would be willing to spend more of it on "the right player". Tulowitzki is signed through 2020 at a price of $20 million per year for the next 5 years before dipping to $14 million in the final season. No doubt it's a large sum of money but for a player of this caliber, it's a fair price and Tulowitzki would likely get more than this if he were on the free agent market this winter.

So this is where I'm going to hold Alderson and Jeff Wilpon at their words. If the Mets are seriously free of financial encumbrances, as they say, and they are willing to expand payroll for the "right player", then there is no more "right player" potentially available on the market than Troy Tulowitzki. In an MLB environment where offensive totals continue to slip year after year, Tulowitzki is hitting .348/.440/.597 this season and is a career .299/.374/.516 hitter. This is the type of superstar talent that the Mets cannot let get away from them because this type of player just is not often available. The fact that he plays a position in which the Mets still have a need for improvement, despite the recent uptick in play from Ruben Tejada, is just delicious icing on the cake. If Tulowitzki becomes available and the Mets have the trade chips to entice the Rockies, the Mets must be willing to take on Tulowitzki's salary in order to facilitate a deal. If we're to believe what the braintrust has fed us, then there should be no excuses and the Mets should be willing to expand payroll.

Here's where, I'm guessing, you begin to point out some of Tulowitzki's faults. "He's been injury prone!", "he'll cost a lot in talent!", "he makes a lot of money and is signed through age 36!". There's no denying these points. They're all true but by focusing on the negatives here, we completely gloss over the positives, namely the fact that this is the best shortstop in Major League Baseball and when he's on, he's a legitimate superstar and MVP candidate. This is a player that contributes on both sides of the ball. He's a star hitter who can hit for average, power, and get on base at a high clip. On the defensive side he's a Gold Glover, and not in the Derek Jeter mold. He's a legitimate plus glove with a cannon for an arm. While the risks are apparent, the reward for a player of this caliber appears to be exponentially larger than the risk.

Since arriving to the Mets organization in late 2010, Sandy Alderson's front office has been incredibly cautious in most facets of player acquisition and development. In fairness to them, they've done a strong job of building up the farm system and developing their prospects thus far. While caution is certainly warranted, you also can't be afraid to take a calculated risk or make a bold move. You certainly do all of your homework but in the end, you have to bet on the talent. Betting on a talent like Tulowitzki, even with the past injury issues, is what helps you move from also-ran to legitimate contender in a hurry. Unless the Angels suddenly decide to put Mike Trout on the trade block or the Marlins dangle Giancarlo Stanton, you're unlikely to find a more perfect and talented player on the market in the near future. If Tulowitzki is on the market, this is likely going to be the Mets greatest chance to acquire a star and game-changing position player.

At the end of the day, acquiring a player of Tulowitzki's caliber cures many ills: he greatly improves the team's up the middle defense. He adds a powerful bat to the middle of the lineup that can hit behind David Wright and allow Curtis Granderson to continue to hit leadoff, where he has thrived. Last but certainly not least, the acquisition of a superstar the caliber of Tulowitzki would be a huge, glaring sign to the fanbase that the Mets are back and ready to win games. This could be the Mike Piazza or Gary Carter trade of the Sandy Alderson era, the piece that serves to counterbalance the team's improving pitching and help to vault them right into playoff contention in the NL East. Bring in a star and suddenly, the Mets have some credibility. Considering how disenfranchised the Mets fanbase has become over the last half dozen years, this is the type of move that would help to restore the broken trust between fans and ownership, and bring a new level of excitement to Citi Field (along with, most importantly, more talent).

What would it take to acquire Tulowitzki from the Rockies? Quite frankly, it's going to take a lot and I'm not afraid to admit that. The package of young players going to Colorado is likely to hurt for those of you who avidly follow the club's minor league affiliates. But that's how you go about acquiring a franchise cornerstone type player. The Mets have built a strong farm system in order to help the big league team and one way to do that is to trade prospects for established big leaguers in order to fill holes. David Wright and Curtis Granderson are not getting any younger and the young pitching is accruing big league experience, meaning that the Mets are officially on the clock. They have to make their move soon and they don't have a position player of this caliber in their farm system and ready to contribute in the near future. So while it may hurt to part with a Noah Syndergaard, a Jacob deGrom, a Brandon Nimmo or Rafael Montero or Kevin Plawecki, just to throw out some names, it's time for the Mets to try to compete and build up the big league offense. Personally, I'd be more than willing to give up whatever it takes to acquire a star in his prime who plays a position of need, like Tulowitzki does.

There are risks to be sure but in my view, I'd rather take this risk than put my money on an inferior player on next year's free agent market. JJ Hardy will be 32 by the end of the year and has all of 3 home runs this season. Jed Lowrie is hitting .231/.319/.339 and before last season in Oakland was supremely injury prone, not to mention that with the A's trading Addison Russell last week, they have a hole of their own at shortstop to fill. Asdrubal Cabrera isn't anything special offensively at .244/.306/.387 and his defense gets consistently negative marks by the advanced metrics. Finally, Hanley Ramirez is a star caliber player but is he going to leave the Dodgers? Even if he does, the Yankees have a glaring hole at shortstop next year and without a strong farm system, they can throw money at Ramirez on the market to reel him in. Outside of Ramirez, none of these players are game changers and the Mets could certainly use one.

Of course, this entire post is contingent on something that hasn't happened yet. Troy Tulowitzki has to request a trade and the Rockies have to oblige and shop him around. If this happens, though, there are no excuses for the Mets not to be heavily involved. They have the need for a shortstop and a middle of the order hitter, they have the prospects to trade from their deep farm system, they don't have much money committed on their payroll as a big market team should be able to spend more than $85 million, and they are on the clock with a need to vault themselves into contention based on the composition of their roster. Acquiring Troy Tulowitzki would go a long way towards helping them accomplish that goal and the Mets cannot pass up this opportunity. It's time for them to be bold.

Relax everyone, he should be just fine.

Over at FanGraphs I wrote a post  a few weeks back about when to worry about Mike Minorfrom a fantasy perspective. In short, the answer was "not now." Here is why.

Aside from the fact that Minor had an impressive performance despite the team losing on Monday evening against the Mets, there are numerous reasons to be confident in Minor going forward. For one, over the past two calendar years, Minor has a 3.24 ERA, the 17th best in all of baseball. For reference, "Ace" usually refers to the top 15 starters in baseball. So, judging by ERA, Minor has been just barely under "Ace" status since this point in 2012 -- which mind you includes his uninspiring start to this season.

While his overall career ERA of 3.99 is not world beating or anything close to it, one must consider the authentic adjustments and maturity that hit Minor in the summer of 2012. He began to focus on pounding the zone, which is why over the past two calendar years he has a 5.7% walk rate (21st best in baseball) while he totaled marks of 8.3% and 7.7% in all of 2011 and 2012 respectively (yes half of 2012 was included in the 5.7% walk rate over the past two calendar years).

Until I see some significant changes either in his velocity or his strikeout percentage minus his walk percentage, I am not going to think Minor has suddenly fallen off of a cliff. In looking at his SIERA, he has a 3.63 mark compared to last year's 3.56. He essentially has thrown the ball very similarly but has just seen more balls land for hits and more fly balls land over the fence.

Minor will always be a pitcher who gives up home runs, because he regularly is at or near the top of the league in fly ball percentage. This year, he is giving up a ton because of both the aforementioned and the fact that he has gotten a bit unlucky. He has a career home run per fly ball rate of 10.6% and this year his mark is 16.5%. That simply will not continue to be that high. I am not saying he will end up at 10% at the end of the year, but it is reasonable to expect a regression to the mean to which he records a roughly 10% home run per fly ball ratio over the remainder of the year.

Location is obviously what has caused issues in Minor's season so far. There is pounding the zone, and then there is leaving meatballs out there to be hammered. He has done the latter, judging solely by my eye test, more this year than he has last year. It is not as if solely bad luck is to blame for his season being so underwhelming so far, but he would not be striking out batters at this high of a rate if he were only tossing meatballs up there with each pitch. Again, if his strikeout rate were significantly lower, that is a very reasonable conclusion to reach, but as it is right in line with his career norms I do not think he is hanging pitches at a rate that should continually cause his home run per fly ball rate to be this inflated.

Here is what I expect to happen. Minor will pitch very well in the second half and everyone will then label him a "second half pitcher" since he had such a great tail end of 2012. When in fact what I expect will actually happen is that he will focus slightly more on the command of his pitches and record results similar to what we have seen over the past two calendar years, and that is really the only thing I think keeping him from being the type of pitcher we have be come accustomed to since he monumentally improved two seasons ago.

I am, probably more than anyone, a historical believer in Mike Minor. With that said, if there were legitimate scars on his peripheral statistics that caused me to be concerned -- such as a lack of strikeouts, a big increase in walks, or decreased velocity, I would be concerned about him going forward. Thankfully, none of those points have rung true yet. Until then, you should have at or close to the same amount of confidence in Minor stepping on the mound over the course of the rest of the season as you did all of last year.

The system goes 1-4 on the day.

Nashville 4 - Memphis 2

Notables:

• Shane Robinson (CF): 2-4, R, 2B, K
• Thomas Pham (LF): 2-3, R, 3B
• Stephen Piscotty (RF): 2-4, 2 RBI
  
• Pete Kozma (2B): 0-4, K
• Randal Grichuk (PH): 0-1
• John Gast (SP): 5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• Seth Blair (RP): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
  

Notes:

• The Robinson-Pham-Piscotty trio at the top of the Memphis order carried the Redbird offense. The three outfielders all notched two hits and accounted for all the runs, RBI and extra bases hits last night. The rest of the order was only able to deliver a pair of singles.
  
• Speaking of Tommy Pham he is hitting .419/.457/.677 in his last 10 games with a double, two triples, and a homer.
  
• The gap power Stephen Piscotty is known for has been on full display this year in Memphis. He has 25 doubles in 327 at bats.
  
• Last night was a very encouraging outing for John Gast as he tries to fight his way back from a shoulder injury. It was the deepest he has worked into a game so far this season, he threw 66 pitches and 44 for strikes. It was also his 1st outing of the year without a walk.
  
• Things did not go as well for Seth Blair, who has not looked all that much better as a reliever.
  

Palm Beach v Fort Myers - PPD

Clinton 4 - Peoria 2

Notables:

• Vaughn Bryan (LF): 0-4, K
  
• CJ McElroy (CF): 2-4, R, CS
  
• Carson Kelly (C): 2-4, 2B, RBI, K
  
• Juan Herrera (SS): 1-4, RBI, K
  
• Steve Bean (DH): 0-3, BB, K
  
• Arturo Reyes (SP): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR
  
• Robert Stock (RP): 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Notes:

• There were not a lot of offensive highlights for Peoria, the Chiefs were only able to muster 1 extra base hit.
  
• The lone extra base hit, was a double from Carson Kelly who now has 4 multi-hit games in his last 10 starts. He hasn't been displaying much pop though, slugging only .342 over that same time span.
• It was another rough night for Robert Stock who now has 11 walks in 12.2 innings in the Midwest League, and 34 walks in 36 innings across 2 levels this year.
  

State College 10 - Auburn 2

Notables:

• Robelys Reyes (SS): 2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, CS
• Danny Diekroeger (2B): 0-4, R, BB, K
• Nick Thompson (LF): 1-5, 2B, RBI, K
• Alex De Leon (1B): 2-5, R
  
• Rowan Wick (RF): 2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K
  
• Adam Ehrlich (DH): 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB
• Brian O'Keefe (C): 2-3, 2 R, BB
• Ronnierd Garcia (3B): 0-3, R, K
• Jhohan Acevedo (CF): 2-4, R, 4 RBI, CS
• Fernando Baez (SP): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K, HR
• Kyle Grana (RP): 1 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Notes:

• Rowan Wick Dinger Watch: ONE
• Wick's line on the year now sits at .400/.515/.900
  
• Robelys Reyes wasn't able to do much in his very brief stint in Peoria, but has put together a .346/.358/.442 line at State College.
  
• Alex De Leon has show quite a bit of pop in his brief New York Penn League career, slugging .530 and hitting 7 doubles and 5 homers in 83 at bats.
• Fernando Baez has now struck out 24 batters in 21 innings at State College, walks have been an issue thus far though as he has issued 11 free passes.

Elizabethton 9 - Johnson City 3

Notables:

• Casey Turgeon (2B): 0-4, R, BB, K
• Oscar Mercado (SS): 2-4, R, BB 2 CS (5)
  
• Blake Drake (RF): 2-5, 2B, SB (5)
  
• Chris Rivera (3B): 1-4, 2 K
  
• Dailyn Martinez (SP): 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• Landon Beck (RP): 1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K

GCL Mets 7 - GCL Cardinals 0

Notables:

• Edmundo Sosa (SS): 0-3, K
• Magneuris Sierra (CF): 0-3, K
• Malik Collymore (DH): 1-2, BB, CS (2)
  
• Elier Rodriguez (1B) 1-3
  
• Julio Mateo(SP): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Tonight's Starters:

Memphis: Tim Cooney

Springfield: Jonathan Cornelius

Palm Beach: Silfredo Garcia

Palm Beach (Double Header): Jimmy Reed

Peoria: Alex Reyes

State College: Daniel Poncedeleon

Johnson City: Steven Farinaro

GCL: Jorge Rodriguez

The relief pitcher had a 3.38 ERA in 16 innings at Double-A Binghamton.

The Mets are short a possible future LOOGY, as news broke today that the team has grantedHamilton Bennett his release. Thee's no report on a reason for the move yet, but the two strongest possibilities are that Bennett feels like he can get more work with another team, or he just doesn't feel like playing professional baseball anymore.

Drafted out of Tennessee Wesleyan College in the 29th round of the 2010 draft, Bennett was never going to show up on any hot prospect lists, but he has pitched effectively out of the bullpen throughout his pro career. In 2013, Bennett was promoted to Binghamton after recording a 1.96 ERA with 48 strikeouts and 12 walks in 46 innings at Advanced-A St. Lucie.

After a nice start in Double-A at the end of last season, 2014 has seen Bennett strike out 12 batters and walk three in 16 innings for a 3.38 ERA. The 26-year-old lefty had thrown between 50 and 60 innings in each season from 2011 to 2013, so it's clear he wasn't getting as much work this season as he possibly could.

If he kept up his strong performance, Bennett may have developed into a lefty specialist for the Mets or perhaps been a trade chip for a team that needed one. For now, we'll just have to bemoan the fact that Binghamton has lost what seems like a charming gentleman. Good luck, Ham.