G-Fafif

While I'm glad Catalanotto got a hit, why wouldn't Manuel just pinch-hit Pagan there? He pinch-ran anyway, and Catalanotto is neither the better hitter in general nor more likely to tie the game with a homer. Catalanotto (Gary Cohen noted immediately) entered the game 7-for-14 lifetime vs. Franklin. He left it 8-for-15. If you're not gonna use Mr. Smithtown against a pitcher off whom he's batting .500, then send him back to Suffolk County at once.

I hate the Cardinals. I sometimes forget how much I hate the Cardinals. Right now is not one of those times. I hate the Cardinals.

Does that generous offer include a 2011 Albert Pujols in a Mets uniform?

David Freese 3B - Has a five-game Busch Stadium hitting streak. Led the team with 22 hits this spring. Mr. Freese, still a villain.

Perez 4.0 Francoeur 1.5 Wright 1.5 Catalanotto 1.0 Matthews 0.5 Mejia 0.5 Jacobs 0.5

I feel we are in Jeopardy of not knowing our enemy. But if we need something to Wolf down until we Sea our way to knowing that enemy, at least 17 items of interest have been compiled by Adam Rubin here. METS (3-6, fifth place/NL East) at CARDINALS (6-3, first place/NL Central) Friday: RHP Oliver Perez (0-1, 6.35) vs. RHP Chris Carpenter (1-0, 5.73), 8:15 p.m. ET Saturday: LHP Johan Santana (1-1, 4.91) vs. LHP Jaime Garcia (1-0, 1.50), 4:10 p.m. ET Sunday: RHP John Maine (0-1, 13.50) vs. RHP Adam Wainwright (2-0, 1.20), 8:05 p.m., ET Cardinals short hops: Reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols� homer off Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez on Monday gave the slugger 371 career longballs. That�s the major league record for the most in the first 10 years of a career, surpassing Eddie Mathews -- and it took Pujols only seven games into his 10th season. Ralph Kiner is third on the list at 369. The re-signing of left fielder/cleanup hitter Matt Holliday for seven years, $120 million appears to be paying dividends in terms of Pujols getting more pitches to hit with the protection. In his first 18 plate appearances with runners on base, Pujols was 9-for-15 with four homers, 14 RBI and three walks. The Cardinals were 52-46 and 1� games ahead of the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs when Holliday was acquired last season. From July 24 through the end of the season, St. Louis went a National League-best 39-25 with Holliday. Only the Yankees had a better record during that stretch at 45-22. Still, Pujols� average didn�t jump last year after Holliday�s arrival. It was .324 with a homer every 9.4 at-bats pre-Holliday, and .328 with a homer every 18.1 at-bats afterward. Holliday�s contract is the third richest given to an outfielder. The two larger: Manny Ramirez (eight years, $160 million with the Boston Red Sox in 2000-01) and Alfonso Soriano (eight years, $136 million with the Chicago Cubs in 2006-07). Chris Carpenter, who finished second in the National League Cy Young balloting last season to San Francisco�s Tim Lincecum, has allowed five homers in 11 innings while struggling with his cut fastball control. Carpenter surrendered seven homers in 192 2/3 innings last season. Rookie Jaime Garcia topped the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, allowing one run in six innings in his first major league start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2008. Garcia became the first left-handed starter to win a game for the Cardinals since Mark Mulder on June 15, 2006. The drought of no southpaw starter recording a victory was three times the next-longest active streak, by the Atlanta Braves. Adam Wainwright, who has not faced the Mets since snapping off that infamous curveball to Carlos Beltran to complete Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, tossed eight scoreless innings Monday against the Houston Astros in St. Louis� home opener. He finished strongly, retiring the final nine batters, as his fastball velocity sat at 93-94 mph. Wainwright and Carpenter�s combined 2.45 ERA and 36 wins led the majors for a pair of teammates last season. The second-best combined ERA belonged to San Francisco Giants teammates Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum at 2.68, followed by the Braves� Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez at 2.74. The Wainwright-Joel Pineiro combo actually finished second to Wainwright-Carpenter in combined wins with 34. The Yankees� CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte and the Detroit Tigers� Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello combined for 33 apiece. Catcher Bryan Anderson was promoted to replace Jason LaRue, who landed on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring, which he suffered Sunday in Milwaukee. Anderson, 23, hit .245 with four homers and 11 RBIs in 53 games last season with Triple-A Memphis. No. 1 catcher Yadier Molina, who dealt with a right oblique strain that cost him the final two weeks of spring training, has shown no ill effects from the injury during the regular season. Molina is hitting .185 with two homers, however, after going 0-for-9 in three games against the Astros. Molina picked off eight runners last season, comfortably tops in the majors, ahead of runner-ups Raul Chavez and Rob Johnson (three apiece). Hitting coach Mark McGwire was received warmly Monday at Busch Stadium, in his first game in uniform since 2001. McGwire had attended the closing of the former Busch Stadium, but otherwise had remained away from Cardinals games until joining manager Tony La Russa�s staff. Brendan Ryan has started slowly at the plate (2-for-24), which prompted La Russa to give Felipe Lopez his first start at shortstop in two years. Right fielder Ryan Ludwick succeeded Ryan as the No. 2 hitter. Rookie David Freese, who is hitting .308, mans third base. He also made last year�s Opening Day roster, but was demoted April 22, 2009 when Brian Barden and Joe Thurston established themselves. Freese then needed midseason surgery on his left ankle -- an injury that lingered from an auto accident. Center fielder Colby Rasmus has a team-high nine walks, four shy of David Wright�s MLB-leading total. Rasmus, who had only 36 walks last season, had a particularly strong spring, hitting .362 with five homers. Before slipping in Thursday�s series finale against the Astros, St. Louis� lone two losses had come via walk-off homers -- Cincinnati�s Jonny Gomes off Jason Motte and Milwaukee�s Casey McGehee off Kyle McClellan. Closer Ryan Franklin had a mediocre spring and isn�t overpowering, but earned his first All-Star Game invite last year.

So tickets and concessions at Citi Field will be offered at a discount until Murphy and Beltran return? The silver lining of the head of baseball operations declaring he is offering a subpar product, I suppose.

Omar Minaya loves our chances this weekend ... to maybe win once, according to Jon Heyman: Mets people know that they are going to have to face both Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in St. Louis over the weekend, but if the team can carry over the good play from Thursday's winning performance against Colorado into St Louis and avoid a fourth straight series defeat to start the year, that might quell the negative talk. "It was good to get the win. It just changes the momentum,'' Minaya said after the Mets had shut out the Rockies behind Mike Pelfrey's strong start. "St. Louis is always tough. If we can win two out of three, that will be outstanding. If we win one, I'll take it. We've got Jose [Reyes] back, and once we get [Daniel] Murphy and [Carlos] Beltran back, we can compete with everyone else.'' So much for quelling the negative talk, unless the general manager admitting his team is maybe capable of playing .333 ball (as opposed to .000) against a good team is construed as positive.

Move CBP to another town -- like Baghdad, perhaps -- and it would be pretty nice.

metirish wrote: If we had 25 Gregs we'd win 120 games . Sounds like I've been pegged to start 6 winning IGTs this year.

This is not a word I use very often, but Kay is a wanker.

Cripes, I better change my socks before tonight. I was wearing blue yesterday, I'm wearing gray now. Blue socks won it for us, I'm sure of it. If we lose tonight, of course I'll step aside -- and take Ollie with me.

Speaking of helpful tips, I heard a radio ad for something that would make a man "last longer" and "perform better". After yesterday, they should get Mike Pelfrey to endorse it. I assume it was a pitching aid of some sort.

Clarification request: While desperate times call for all the positive Metiquette we can get (we were 2-2 entering last Saturday, unaware of just how desperate the times would get), is it standard to defer IGT-starting to the previous game's IGT starter if that IGT recorded a win? Makes all the superstitious sense in the world, but I don't recall it being explicit policy in seasons past. Or maybe I just didn't notice.

Loge 13 has a neato Rusty sighting and reflection here. If this was a perfect world, this morning there would have been a cortege of handlers, carrying Rusty's bags, paying Rusty's cab driver, clearing a path through the throngs of Rusty admirers so Rusty could get to his next meeting, the topic of which would be telling Rusty how great he is.

Here's hoping Chris Carpenter shows his ass.

Calling all Ollies, let's stay hot!

Pelfrey 4.5 Castillo 1.5 Bay 1.0 Francoeur 1.0 Blanco 0.5

What's that? Losing streak over? First successful IGT in nearly a week?

A Jeff Francoeur Matzoh Ball That's Served Over The Wall! Mazel Tov on Frenchy -- He's a Real Menschy!

A bucking BRONCO from Henry BLANCO!

Love Gary's understated Jerry Manuel criticism: "A rather odd decision," regarding Tatis as pinch-runner last night. Figure it out, viewers.

Gee I Am Bi reportedly enjoying those Rocky Mountain oysters.

And Keith once used his celebrity to get his towed car out of a Manhattan impound lot.