-Buffalo is still within striking distance, behind Pawtucket by four games and Lehigh Valley by 1/2 game while tied with the Traveling-Homeless Yankees entering action on Sunday. The Bisons went 4-3 this week with two against Toledo, four against Columbus and one thus far against former Mets’ Triple-A team Norfolk. This includes a 21-3 loss on Tuesday to finish the series with the Clippers.
-In the big loss, Dylan Owen allowed 13 earned runs in three innings of work as Wally Backman made him a sacrificial lamb but he will have a chance today to redeem himself today against Norfolk. Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum is Matt Harvey who is one of the leading vote-getters for the AAA All Star Game which takes place in Buffalo this season, he has an improved 3.88 ERA with his 5-2 record.
-At the plate Zach Lutz is now atop the leader board with a .307 batting average with Fred Lewis right behind him at .305. The power has come primarily from Val Pascucci who is also a leader amongst the AAA vote-getters he now has 12 dingers with 41 RBI on the year.
-Binghamton is just as far back in the race as Buffalo being four games back entering Sunday. As for this past week the B-Mets went 2-3 in a rain-shortened week, they will look for the three-game sweep in the AA version of the Subway Series against the Trenton Thunder today. The rest of the week sees Binghamton host both Reading and Altoona through next Sunday.
-On the field both Matt den Dekker and Zack Wheeler are making arguments to be bumped up to Buffalo as den Dekker is hitting .338 with eight home runs and 29 RBI. Meanwhile Wheeler has dropped his ERA down to 1.66 in just under 60 innings of work which includes his last seven inning start against Harrisburg in which he allowed only two hits and an unearned run.
St. Lucie Mets (1st Half Division Winners)
-Five more games before the All Star Game takes place on Saturday evening which takes place in Port Charlotte this season. Surprisingly the team only had a 3-3 week, ONLY, but losing three games in a week shouldn’t scare this team, losing players who will be bumped up to Binghamton in the coming weeks is what should scare fans of this team.
-Someone who I see getting the bump up is Wilmer Flores who will tell Reese Havens at Binghamton to take a seat, Flores on the year has 10 home runs with 36 RBI while hitting .307. Cory Vaughn really needs to start hitting for average as he has the power numbers and his name working for him, but .236 isn’t going to cut it going forward. And on the mound the pitching still continues to impress as the starters have 22 wins and all have ERA’s below 3.70 individually.
Savannah Sand Gnats (35-26, 6 1/2 GB)
-Savannah is slowly falling out of the race and are now 6 1/2 behind division leading Asheville. This week the team went 2-4 heading into their final game at Charleston as part of the South Atlantic League’s version of the Subway Series with the Yankees’ farm team, the Gnats get a return trip over the next three days as the two teams play each other for six straight games.
-TJ Rivera is leading the team in hitting with a .323 average, well in the team lead over Travis Taijeron who is at .289 on the year. The duo may get the bump up to St. Lucie once the 2012 draftees filter into the Mets farm system at Savannah and Brooklyn. Rafael Montero and Tyler Pill have been holding their own in the starting rotation while Jack Leathersich and Jeffrey Walters have come out of the bullpen and looked strong all year.
Brooklyn Cyclones
-The Cyclones are coming! The Cyclones are coming! 8 Days until opening day at home against Staten Island.
