After making me look smart this week by beating the Giants exactly when I said they would, the Mets (30-28) now find themselves two games over .500 and facing four games with the San Diego Padres (23-37). The Pads are probably one of the bigger disappointments in baseball this season, and while the offense has been terrible, it’s possible that their pitching has been more disappointing, disguised only by their home park. Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Mark Prior have all spent time on the disabled list, and the Pads have had trouble filling in the gaps.

This weekend, the Mets will face some of those gapfillers. Thursday, Mike Pelfrey (2-6, 4.98) will take on Josh Banks (2-0, 0.00), while southpaws Johan Santana (7-3, 3.20) and Randy Wolf (3-4, 4.33) duel Friday night. Oliver Perez (4-4, 5.70) faces Cha Seung Baek (1-2, 5.60) Saturday, and Sunday’s finale features Pedro Martinez (1-0, 6.75) and Wilfredo Ledezma (0-2, 4.43).

Game 1: Josh Banks, RHP

What’s the Story? Banks, the Blue Jays’ second round pick in 2003, is off to a nearly perfect start to his Padres’ career, throwing 17 innings without an earned run. The Jays’ placed Banks on waivers during April, and the Pads, desperate for pitching, quickly grabbed him. In truth, he’s not this good: he’s never posted an ERA below 4.63 at Triple-A, where he also had a propensity for not striking batters out and giving up lots of homeruns. Fields is a rare bird; he’s got decent velocity on his fastball (90-93), but also four other pitches. He’s got a plus splitter, a slightly above average slider, and an average curveball and changeup.

Last Year: He’s never faced the Mets.

What to Expect: Banks is a junkballer with moderate stuff. He’s demonstrated outstanding control in the minors, but he’s unable to consistently miss bats. His wide assortment of pitches really doesn’t fool anyone. The real problem might be that his secondary stuff just isn’t good enough, or that he throws too many strikes. Mets hitters should be aggressive with Fields, because he’s going to give them pitches to hit.

Game 2: Randy Wolf, LHP

What’s the Story? Failing to get a big payday after declaring free agency, Wolf signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers last offseason to prove he was finally healthy. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t. He only threw 102 innings of slightly below average baseball. He signed with the Pads during the offseason, and he’s been healthy, but not very good. Wolf’s got an 87-90 mile-per-hour fastball, a big overhand curve, a decent slider, and a changeup.

Last Year: Wolf pitched against the Mets last June and allowed three runs on nine hits over six innings of work. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.

What to Expect: In order to be effective, Wolf has to be able to locate his breaking stuff. If he can’t throw either the big curve or the tighter slider for strikes, Mets hitters are going to be able to sit on his fastball. And he doesn’t have the velocity to throw it by hitters anymore. Wolf won’t walk too many, and he is capable of getting swings-and-misses when the breaking stuff works.

Game 3: Cha Seung Baek, RHP

What’s the Story? For a change, I’m not going to drone on about Baek. Instead, I’ll just refer you to Padres special assistant Paul DePodesta, as he explains why the Padres acquired him. Baek has a low-90s fastball, a slider, a curve, and a changeup.

Last Year: Baek has never faced the Mets.

What to Expect: Baek won’t throw very many fastballs at all–in fact he’ll only throw them slightly more than a third of the time, which is extremely uncommon for a pitcher. He’ll throw almost as many sliders, while also mixing in the curve and the change, the latter mostly to lefties. He’s confident he can throw any of his pitches for strikes, so hitters should be careful about guessing.

Game 4: Wilfredo Ledezma, LHP

What’s the Story? Ledezma spent 2007 with three teams, having first been traded from the Tigers to the Braves in June. The Braves tired of Ledezma after a month, and then designated him for assignment, only to have the Padres snatch him off waivers. The Padres have pressed Ledezma into starting duty despite the fact that he hasn’t started regularly since 2005. Ledezma pitches off a low-90s fastball, and ulso has a nice slider and an average change of pace.

Last Year: Ledezma didn’t start against the Mets, just threw two-thirds of an inning of relief.

What to Expect: Ledesma has a pretty simple game plan: use the fastball to set up the slider. If he’s facing a righty, he’ll use the changeup more. Despite being a fastball-slider pitcher, Ledezma doesn’t show a strong platoon split over the course of his career. What he does show, however, is a propensity to walk hitters. His command is poor, so hitters need to work the count.

Overall: I’m picking the Mets to take three out of four. They’re playing better of late, and the Pads just aren’t very good these days. I think the Mets will do enough to beat Banks, and Santana will out-pitch Wolf. However, I have a feeling they’ll struggle against Baek before rebounding against Ledezma. I hope I’m as correct about this series as I was about the last.