Dillon Gee News

Author's note: The original title was going to be "Holy @*%!, how does everything not only backfire, but implode so inexplicably?". The Mets are a somewhat bad 17-27 and into a rather difficult stretch, with their next seven games coming against the Braves and Yankees.

The Cubs went 3-3 for the week that ended Sunday. The team won two of three against the Rockies , but lost two of three against the Mets .

A good outing from Travis Wood Sunday can help the Chicago Cubs cement something they've failed to do since last July - win three consecutive series.

Terry Collins arrived at Wrigley Field Sunday morning with a familiar predicament.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo entered Sunday's series finale against the Mets having not struck out in his last 39 at-bats. "Shhh!" said manager Dale Sveum when this was mentioned following Saturday's win, and he may have been right to be concerned, as Rizzo was struck out by Dillon Gee in his very first at-bat. It's not quite jinxing a no-hitter or ... (more)

The New York Mets have been utterly miserable this season. At least two players came ready to play, David Wright and Matt Harvey .

The Cubs have gone 12-10 since April 25, and are going for their third consecutive series win Sunday afternoon.

As the Mets and Cubs navigate their way through the early part of the 2013 season, winning one series at a time is the most important step toward inching their records closer to the .500 mark.

Allow me to preface this with the following: regardless of how well both Jonathon Niese and Shaun Marcum perform for the remainder of the season, I don't expect the Mets to completely erase the damage they've done to their record and have a miraculous run.

In this city of Cardinals, Mets manager Terry Collins committed the cardinal sin.

Not all is dreadful in the Mets' universe. The organization had a rare cause to celebrate Wednesday - amid the team's recent putrid play - when tests revealed stud pitching prospect Zack Wheeler has no structural damage to his right shoulder or in that vicinity.

Robert Carson allowed four earned runs and two home runs in only two innings of work, although Greg Burke and Brandon Lyon combined for two innings of scoreless relief.

Jeff Innis: 10-20 11. Joe Smith: 9-5 12. Matt Harvey: 7-5 12. Dave Telgheder: 7-5 Now you get an idea of how rare it is for Harvey, a 2010 first-round pick, to show up in a Mets uniform looking like an actual ace.

St. Louis Cardinals' Carlos Beltran hits a three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in St.

MLB Team Report - New York Mets - INSIDE PITCH The New York Mets agreed to a contract with free agent outfielder Rick Ankiel on Monday, and he started in center and batted seventh in a 6-3 loss to the St.

The New York Mets lineup on Monday had five left-handed hitters in their eight true batters.

The Mets started the season 7-4. Since then, they've gone 7-16. After today's loss to Pittsburgh dropped their record to 14-20, they found themselves a season low six games under .500. As Terry Collins pointed out in his postgame press conference, the Mets' starting pitching and offense has been woeful lately.

Whether real or imagined, the problems which beset Zack Wheeler appear to be behind him now.

The Mets have recalled sidearming right-handed relief pitcher Greg Burke and placed fellow right-handed relief pitcher Jeurys Familia on the disabled list to make room for him.

Except for the games Matt Harvey pitches - and those are wonderful days and evenings indeed, even when he doesn't have his best stuff - the Mets have fallen out of relevance.