The month from hell continues as the Mets (38-32) welcome the Oakland Athletics (39-32) into Shea Stadium, marking their fifth straight series against a team who participated in the 2006 playoffs. Considering their next series is against the St. Louis Cardinals, it makes you wonder how the schedulers failed to work the San Diego Padres into this stretch.

The Athletics currently own the fifth best record in the American League despite sitting six games behind the Anaheim Angels who have exceeded all expectations in 2007. The most interesting thing is that the A’s have only scored 315 runs this season, second worst in the AL. Meanwhile, their bullpen ERA is rather ordinary, which should hint at how fantastic the Oakland starting rotation has been. Their starters have a 3.11 ERA, which paces the AL by 0.74 runs.

The first game features a matchup of southpaws, Lenny DiNardo (2-3, 2.21) and Tom Glavine (5-5 4.67). The Athletics follow up with a second southpaw in Joe Kennedy (2-4, 3.62), who pitches in Game Two against a recently floundering Orlando Hernandez (3-3, 3.08). Joe Blanton (7-4, 3.43) starts against John Maine (7-4, 2.90) in the series finale.

Game 1: Lenny DiNardo

What’s the Story? The 27-year old DiNardo was originally drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2001 draft. However, they failed to place him on the 40-man roster and lost him in the Rule 5 draft to the Boston Red Sox. After a couple years in Boston, the A’s claimed DiNardo off waivers before this season. He started off in the bullpen and pitched effectively enough to be summoned to the rotation when injuries and ineffectiveness beset the A’s staff. DiNardo is a soft-tosser, rarely topping 87, but nothing he throws is straight. He features a variety of cutters and sliders with the occasional curve or changeup.

Last Year: DiNardo has never pitched against the Mets in any capacity.

What to Expect: DiNardo’s one of the rare lefties who’s more effective against right-handed batters than left. He’ll throw a lot of cutters that will bore in on righties and away from lefties while going to the slider when he wants to slow things down a little. When he really wants to slow things down he can throw the curve which is lucky to break 65. Because his pitches move so much, he can give up his fair share of walks (3.54 BB/9), which could lead to difficulty considering he doesn’t strike out many either. However, he induces a large number of groundballs (63% of his balls in play) and keeps the ball in the park.

Game 2: Joe Kennedy

What’s the Story? A seven-year veteran, Kennedy is in his third season in Oakland, which must feel like a Hawaiian vacation after his three seasons toiling in Denver. Kennedy throws a ton of different pitches including a low-90’s four-seam fastball, a sinking high-80’s two-seamer, a slow curve, a sharp slider, and a very good changeup. However, his control is somewhat erratic, he doesn’t strike out enough batters, and he has been known to leave the occasional fastball up in the zone. What results is a rather ordinary pitcher.

Last Year: Like DiNardo, Kennedy has never pitched against the Mets.

What to Expect: For the first time in his career, Kennedy is showing a severe lefty-righty split, with lefties getting completely owned this season. This makes sense for Kennedy, who throws from a three-quarters arm slot, and, frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t shown one earlier. The most important factor for Kennedy, who has pretty decent stuff, is control: he’s been very erratic this season and you can tell by his command which version is on the mound. Hitters should look to take pitches early and wait for a pitch to drive if he falls behind. If he’s throwing strikes, hitters should alter their approach toward a more aggressive one.

Game 3: Joe Blanton

What’s the Story? What do you know, another guy who pitches to contact. A key part of the Moneyball draft of 2002, Blanton’s become a prototypical LAIM (league-average innings muncher). He throws a low-90’s fastball, a great 12-to-6 curveball, and an average slider and change. Blanton’s actually pitching a little better this season, thanks to some refinement to his control and a few more strikeouts.

Last Year: Blanton obviously didn’t pitch against the Mets last year, but did make a start against them in 2005, pitching brilliantly. He allowed just three hits over seven innings while striking out four. He didn’t allow a run.

What to Expect: Blanton’s more of a finesse guy, a guy who feels confident to throw any pitch—including his slider and curve—for strikes on just about any count. It makes him a tad unpredictable, but hitters can still expect him to be around the strike zone all day; he’s only walking 1.9 batters per game this year. As I mentioned before, Blanton’s getting a few more strikeouts this season, likely thanks to a little sharper command of his curve. Hitters need to be aggressive, but not so aggressive they’re jumping at breaking pitches that haven’t reached the plate yet.

Overall: The Mets sure lucked out here. They miss Danny Haren, who may just be the American League’s best pitcher this season, although the Athletics’ ragtag bottom half of the rotation can be dangerous in their own right. The Mets are playing so badly of late, that I find it difficult to give them any benefit of the doubt. During the last series, I was excited when they bested Carlos Silva, self-assured they’d take the rubber game against Scott Baker. While the Mets are certainly capable of beating any of these three guys, I just can’t pick them to take the series. Instead, I’ll predict the Mets’ sole victory comes on Saturday against Kennedy, who hasn’t been pitching terribly well lately. But, really, I could have just picked his name out of a hat; I think the Mets will take one game but have no idea against whom.