It was linked to in this FanPost, but it deserves another plug. At Beyond the Boxscore, Sky Kalkman breaks down the National League MVP race using clutch performance, playing time and defense, among other things. Sky clarifies the "clutch" point thusly:

Let's start with that last claim, that performance in clutch situations matters. No, I don't think clutchiness is a real skill -- that is, you can't predict who's going to be clutch in the future. But looking back over the season, the players who performed better in the clutch did help create more runs for their teams, leading to more wins.

John Maine could be back on the field by Monday. He is scheduled to throw to live batters on Saturday, and if things go well he could conceivably pitch in a real game when the Mets return for Shea's final homestand next week.

Jerry Manuel's sense of humor keeps the Mets loose. I'll admit that after two years of "we battled" from Art Howe and three-plus years of "I'm going with my guys" from Willie Randolph, to watch a press conference where the Mets' manager is actually candid and doesn't use baseball platitudes as a crutch is refreshing.

At MetsGeek, Alex Nelson looks at the pitchers the Mets will face this weekend at Turner Field.

Rawr! Cat fight between Pedro Martinez and Jorge Posada! Jorge says Pedro has no class. Pedro says Jorge spoke shabbily of his (Pedro's) mom. Caliente!

The only thing interesting about this nothing piece about John Maine becoming a closer is that he's already picked out his entrance theme: "Posse On Broadway" by Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Bobby Parnell could be a factor in the final two weeks of the season, which is really just a nice way of saying he hasn't screwed the pooch yet.

Aaron Heilman, who has screwed said pooch countless times this season, just wants to help. I still count myself among Heilman's supporters, though this season isn't one he wants on his resume.

At Beyond the Boxscore, R.J. Anderson breaks down the NL Cy Young race using a just-for-fun Bill James formula for predicting that award's recipient. Santana comes in tied for fourth, though it should really be third because Anderson included C.C. Sabathia's AL stats in his calculations (their consideration is irrelevant with respect to an NL award).

John Maine hit the disabled list last night, replaced immediately on the roster by Luis Castillo. The Mets will have to find someone to start when Maine's rotation spot comes up this week, and it might be Jon Niese, who is currently headlining at Triple-A Norfolk. Niese is 5-1 with a 3.65 ERA in six starts with Norfolk, compiling a 31-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 37 innings.

At MetsGeek, Alex Nelson looks at the pitchers the Mets will face in their mini series with the Phillies.

At the Hardball Times, PITCHf/x wizard Josh Kalk analyzes Pedro Martinez to determine how much he has left in the tank this season.

If you're a giant nerd like me, you might be interested in reading about the IP technology and other widgets that are being built into Citi Field.

At MetsGeek, Alex Nelson looks at some of the Mets' recent draftees who are playing in the low minors right now.

After delaying his own return by a couple of days, Luis Castillo is expected to be activated from the disabled list in time for tonight's game against the Astros.

John Maine is in pain and may be shut down for the season. Brian Stokes, much?

The inimitable John Sickels takes a look at Daniel Murphy in a column he calls "Where Did This Guy Come From?". Here's John's conclusion:

So is Murphy a fluke? Yes and no. He won't hit .350 in a full season, and I don't think he will be a big-time classic power-hitting corner outfielder. However, he does a lot of things genuinely well, gets on base, has some pop in his bat, looks really good defensively in the outfield, and could play in the infield if needed. I like the way he controls the strike zone; his BB/K/AB ratio is excellent and projects very well for his future. This is an example of a guy who was a polished college player who has been able to take his game ot the next level. He's fun to root for, and the Mets should get good use out of him over the coming seasons.

Sounds about right to me. Murphy could wind up being a late-career Brian Giles-type: very good on-base skills with so-so power, the combination of which has plenty of value, especially at or around the league minimum salary.

If you didn't already know, Bergen Record columnist Bob Klapisch has been playing amateur baseball for years, pitching for a number of local teams as well as the occasional press day game at Yankee Stadium. If you didn't know that, then you probably also didn't know that he was hit in the right eye by a batted ball back on July 10, suffering a sliced cornea, detached retina, and a ruptured eye socket, in addition to breaking most of his right facial bones. Doctors told him he would probably never see out of his right eye again, but after several surgeries he is beginning to see blurry images and is expected to regain "good" vision in the eye by New Year's. Klap has done his share of ripping the Mets over the years, but he's one of the best sportswriters around and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

Just a brutal game all-around. John Maine had arguably the worst start of any Met this season, allowing eight runs on ten hits in 5.2 innings for a woeful game score of 19. Duaner Sanchez "relieved" him in the sixth and allowed singles to the first two runners he faced before retiring the final out of the inning. Maine and Sanchez are probably the Mets' two biggest problems right now, and nothing we saw on Saturday would lead us to believe that things have gotten better. I guess Maine's velocity was up, so that's a little encouraging.

Brian Schneider needs a random PED test pronto.

Big winners: Ryan Church, +2.7% WPA, Brian Stokes, +0.3% WPA
Big losers: John Maine, -29.1% WPA, Carlos Delgado, -4.9% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Church RBI double, +4.6% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Berkman homerun, -13.5% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -31.8%
Total batter WPA: -18.2%
GWRBI: Lance Berkman

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by Simons; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

In case you missed it, Billy Wagner had an MRI yesterday that revealed more inflammation in his right elbow than was seen originally, and his two-week stint on the disabled list has been prolonged indefinitely, perhaps through the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. Wagner has been, by far, the Mets' best reliever this season (and basically every season since he signed in New York), and the Mets don't have anyone in a position to replace him adequately. They'll go with the old "closer by committee" for the time being, slotting in whomever matches up the best against the forthcoming hitters, even working in multiple guys in a single ninth frame if need be.

The Mets will apparently not move John Maine to the bullpen as they had initially discussed, but not simply because it would be a terribly short-sighted and absurd decision. Maine needs more rest, Jerry Manuel says, and warming up/pitching every other day won't afford him that.

Joel Sherman thinks Mike Pelfrey would be a good fit in the bullpen in the Joba Chamberlain mold. His arguments are reasonable, but tabbing a starter to become a reliever is still robbing Harry to pay Lloyd and I don't see how it makes the Mets better as a whole.

USS Mariner looks at the problems with the current free agent compensation rules.

At The Hardball Times, Chris Jaffe takes a look at ballpark ticket gouging, specifically as it pertains to convenience and order processing fees. Find out which ballparks are the most gouge-tastic.

You can't win them all, and four-game sweeps are especially tough, but when you take the first three against an awful team like the Pirates, it's a little disappointing not to come away with the last one. The Mets failed in the two areas they fail most often: hitting with runners in scoring position and relief pitching. The Mets had thirteen baserunners and only plated two of them. Comparatively, the Pirates had 15 baserunners and plated five.

Pitching-wise, John Maine was iffy. The two hits allowed look great, but his velocity was piss-poor and he walked four batters to just three strikeouts in five innings. He gets some bonus points for figuring out a way to get through those five innings with slop, but the Pirates are a crappy, crappy offensive team so it's hard to come away particularly impressed with his outing.

Brian Stokes turned back into a pumpkin, giving up a brutal two-run homer to Adam LaRoche that tied the game in the sixth. Pedro Feliciano and especially Duaner Sanchez were bad, combining to cough up three runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Damion Easley was just brutal at the plate, going 0-for-3 with a walk and accounting for five total outs if you consider his two GIDPs. The walk came in the ninth when the Mets actually managed to bring the tying run to the plate. Unfortunately, Argenis Reyes was that tying run, and he quickly became the third out.

No rest for the weary, as the Mets scoot home to take on the Braves on Tuesday.

Big winners: John Maine, +29.9% WPA, Nick Evans, +13.6% WPA
Big losers: Duaner Sanchez, -37.3% WPA, Brian Stokes, -23.7% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Sanchez double-play in 5th, +21.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: LaRoche homerun, -25.4% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: -21.1%
Total batter WPA: -29.9%

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by IanB in MD; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

This'll be a quick hits version of Applesauce because we're leaving in a couple of hours for Pittsburgh and Geek Day 2. Posting may be iffy over the next couple of days, but I've made sure the game forms are up and the game threads will be ready to go as well.

At MetsGeek, Alex Nelson looks at the pitchers the Mets will face over the next four days at PNC Park.

John Maine says he feels fine, but there's still concern about his shoulder.

Once a total question mark, Oliver Perez as looked ace-ish, and is probably the Mets' second-best starter right now.

Billy Wagner made a rehab appearance with Binghamton last night, pitching a 1-2-3 seventh inning and throwing 16 pitches in the process. He is expected back in time for Monday's game against the Pirates.

Chris Russo is leaving WFAN. One down, one to go.

The White Sox hit four straight homeruns last night, the third time a team has done so in the last three years but just the sixth time in the history of the sport.

Joel Sherman breaks down the Mets' three options to remedy the bullpen situation, as suggested by Jerry Manuel in his post-game news conference yesterday. Those options are:

1. Have Eddie Kunz, who has all of three major league appearances, reprise his Double-A closing role. This is the most likely choice.

2. Keep Brian Stokes in the rotation and call upon either John Maine or Oliver Perez to serve as a multi-inning fireman. For now the Mets don't want to mess with Mike Pelfrey by requesting a rotation-to-pen change.

3. Summon top pitching prospect Jon Niese for the rotation and use Stokes plus either Maine or Perez to serve as the main late-inning relievers.

Sherman goes on to discuss why these are all potentially horrible ideas, particularly the ones that involve moving young starters to the bullpen. The Kunz move makes the most sense to me, at least in that he hasn't yet completely proven himself to be a failure like everyone else in the bullpen.

Billy Wagner expects to return on Monday, which is six whole games away. He is scheduled to make at least one rehab appearance with the Brooklyn Cyclones between now and then.

Jerry Manuel called Ramon Castro a pussy, in so many words.

At MetsGeek, Alex Nelson looks at the pitchers the Mets will face against the Nationals.

I don't want this to get political or anything, but this is funny as hell. And it's Olympic-themed!

Apparently, Eddie Kunz has not impressed the Mets. In 2.1 innings. A huge sample size. He has failed. Consider the Mets unimpressed. And now he will be ushered back to the minors once someone -- likely John Maine on Wednesday -- has to come off the disabled list. I won't argue that Kunz has been good, but what the hell is 2.1 innings to judge impressiveness? That he had the gaul to give up his first homerun in three years on *their* watch, I'm guessing.

At MetsGeek, Chris McCown has his own solution to the Mets' bullpen woes. He theorizes that the Mets have too many specialists -- Joe Smith from the right side, Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis from the left -- and that one should go, to be replaced by a reliever who can be counted on to retire both lefties and righties. It's a solid premise, so definitely give it a read.

Billy Wagner may rehab at Brooklyn this weekend.

Just a note that today's makeup game against the Pirates will be played -- weather permitting -- at 1pm. The Willets Point Industry and Realty Association (WPIRA) will be protesting the game. This despite the fact that members (or former members) of the WPIRA have already accepted relocation deals from the city's economic development corporation to move their businesses elsewhere.

The awesome baseball scouting site Driveline Mechanics is coming to SB Nation, and should be in the fold within the next week or so. If you don't already read DM definitely check it out, as they do a great job combining traditional scouting with advanced statistics and performance analysis, working to bridge the so-called dichotomy between the subjective and objective views of the game.

I also just received a note in my inbox that WPIX/WB/CW11 has renewed their television contract with the Mets, and will broadcast 25 Mets games per season through 2011. As most of you know, SNY produces the CW11 games exactly as they would air on SNY, though some logos and whatnot are swapped out. This is good news for those folks who can't/won't subscribe to cable or one of its subscription teevee alternatives.

Daily Onion: Entire Refrigerator Rearranged To Accommodate Leftover KFC Bucket.