Chat removed, as usual.
4/30/10
Lineup in Philly
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Jon Niese – LHP
Tonight’s game is on PIX.
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel
4/29/10
Guess The Met! [Solved!]
The rules are easy: I post a Mets player photo, but only reveal a tiny part of the image. From there, your goal is to try and guess which player the photo is of.
No prizes, but pride and honor is on the line.
Here is today’s Guess the Met… Good luck!
Answer: The Met is… Fernando Tatis!
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel
4/28/10
Game Recap: Mets 7 – Dodgers 3
Three wins in 24 hours, seven straight and an 9-1 home stand.
The Good
Johnny Maine! The USS Maine bounced back to form, striking out nine batters, walking three and allowing two earned runs in 6+ innings of work. Yipee.
Nieve to Feliciano. Are they going to pitch every day?
David Wright and Ike Davis combined to go 4-8 with an RBI and a run scored.
Everyone in the lineup picked up a hit besides Rod Barajas and Maine. But hey, Barajas was hit by a pitch and walked once!
Jose Reyes had two RBIs, as did Jeff Francoeur.
Five extra-base hits.
5-11 with RISP.
The Bad & Ugly
What’s a K-Rod inning without a walk and/or a hit?
Game Ball
Have to give it to Maine.
On Deck
Tomorrow is a day off, but the Mets head down to Philly for the first of a three-game series, starting at 7 p.m.
Hey, you on the high horse! Get off it!
In an article titled “Are the Yankees Truly the Most-Despised Ballclub?” this quote appears…
“Even Yankee fans don't hate the Mets these days,” says Benjamin Kabak, a writer for the River Avenue Blues Yankees blog. “We just feel bad for them.”
That’s the thing: I don’t hate the Yankees. I hate their fans. Wonder why?
Lineup as Mets go for seven in a row
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Alex Cora – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- John Maine – RHP
Game Chat will be up at 1 p.m.
Surprise: F-Mart banged up
Fernando Martinez did not play; he has a strained muscle in his back. There is nothing more to say.
Yeah, that’s about right.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel
4/27/10
Game Recaps: Mets 4 – Dodgers 0; Mets 10 – Dodgers 5
A doubleheader sweep!
(For the sake of my sanity, we’re combining these games into one recap)
The Good
Jason Bay hit his first home run as a Met in the first game. He also tripled, his third of the year, in the second game.
Welcome back, David Wright. He picked up his 1,000th hit. He went 4-6 at the plate with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.
Ike Davis with 3 RBI in the nightcap.
Johan is Johan. Again, he wasn’t great. He allowed four hits and walked three, but no runs scored against him. He struck out six, needing 115 pitches.
The bullpen. Nieve, Feliciano, Takahashi, Mejia and Valdes. Super-duper.
The Bad & Ugly
Ollie. Bad Ollie showed up tonight. 3.2 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K . He let up three earned runs and threw only 37 of his 75 pitches for strikes.
Bay did K three times in game two.
Mejia is pitching mop-up duty. Mop-up. Really?
Game Balls
Wright, Takahashi and Johan.
On Deck
The Mets try to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon, a 1:10 p.m. game.
Game Chat: LAD @ NYM [Game 20 & 21]
Here is the Game Chat for both of today’s games.
Join in and chat with your fellow fans!
Chat removed, as usual.
Chat removed, as usual.
Lineup for Game 1
The tarp is still on the field, but here is the lineup for Game 1 of the single-admission doubleheader:
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Gary Matthews Jr. – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Johan Santana – LHP
Game Chat for both games will be up at 4 p.m.
The ‘new’ Mets [Stats]
Let’s take a look at how some of the Mets that were not on the team last year are doing so far this season…
Rod Barajas: .196 AVG / .203 OBP / .375 SLG, 3 HR, 8 RBI
Henry Blanco: .133 / .250 / .133, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Ike Davis: .318 / .400 / .500, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Jason Bay: .269 / .388 / .373, 0 HR, 5 RBI
Gary Matthews Jr.: .179 / .281 / .250, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Frank Catalanotto: .125 / .176 / .125, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Raul Valdes: 8.2 IP, 3BB, 9 K, 7 H, 1.04 ERA, 1.154 WHIP
Hisanori Takahashi: 11 IP, 9 BB, 16 K, 9 H, 4.09 ERA, 1.636 WHIP
Jenrry Mejia: 9 IP, 4 BB, 7 K, 8 H, 2.00 ERA, 1.333 WHIP
Manny Acosta: 3IP, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 H, 9.00 ERA, 1.667 WHIP
Ryota Igarashi (DL): 6.2 IP, 4 BB, 3 K, 3 H, 1.35 ERA, 1.050 WHIP
Stats via Baseball-Reference.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on baseball
4/26/10
Tonight’s game is rained out
The Mets and Dodgers will play a straight doubleheader tomorrow starting at 4:10 p.m.
It will be a single admission doubleheader tomorrow.
Johan Santana will pitch Game 1, with Oliver Perez starting the second game.
Too bad I have class all day.
Here’s ticket info from the Mets…
The New York Mets have announced that tonight's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers has been postponed due to rain and has been rescheduled as part of a single-admission doubleheader tomorrow, April 27 starting at 4:10 p.m. Only tickets marked "April 27 - Game 15" for tomorrow's night game will be honored for the 4:10 p.m. game and the second game to follow.
Tickets from tonight's rainout will not be valid for admission tomorrow. Fans can exchange tickets in person tomorrow at Citi Field for tomorrow's games, or at a later date for any future game, subject to availability and according to standard rain-check ticket exchange policy on Mets.com.
Lineup, weather permitting
Highly doubtful this game gets played – look for a doubleheader tomorrow or later in the season – but here’s the lineup…
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Gary Matthews Jr. – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Oliver Perez – LHP
If they play, the Game Chat will be posted at 7 p.m.
Mets runs by inning [Graph]
Lately, it seems the Mets have a hard time scoring runs early in the game. Only around the sixth or seventh do the bats come out and start hitting and the runs start scoring.
I thought it was just one of those weird quirks that I made up in my head to keep me hopeful (“Don’t worry, they’ll score next inning!”), but I took a look at the data, and this is what I found…
That’s for someone else to figure out.
But for now, if the Mets are down early, we know that at least through the first 19 games, there’s hope in the later innings.
Stats via Baseball-Reference.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on Mike Pelfrey
4/25/10
Game Recap: Mets 1 – Braves 0
Get out the brooms! Ugliest shut out I’ve ever seen.
The Good
Rain. Thanks, Mother Nature. Saved the bullpen tonight and gave the Mets a rain-shortened sweep over the Atlanta Braves. We owe you one.
A shut out. It was ugly, but it will go in the books as a shut out for the Mets. (Raul Valdes’ one pitch ruined the complete game shut out for Mike Pelfrey.) Pelfrey was far from sharp, allowing five hits and walking five. But, he was able to work himself out of trouble inducing two inning-ending double plays to work himself out of jams.
Pelfrey is now 4-0 this year and has a 24-inning scoreless streak.
A Reyes Run. Angel Pagan and Luis Castillo failed to get on in the first, so Jose Reyes came to the plate like a leadoff man, but with two outs. Reyes singled and stole second. Jason Bay followed with a single of his own, as Chipper Jones made a diving stab and his throw was late and bounced away from Troy Glaus. Reyes, who was running, scampered home for the games only run.
Luis Castillo went 2-3 with two singles.
The Bad & Ugly
Pelfrey’s pitchcount. It took 106 pitches for Pelfrey to get through five innings of work. Only 59 of those landed for strikes. Yikes.
David Wright looks lost at the plate. Absolutely lost.
Pagan has one hit in his last five games with two walks.
Ike Davis’ two strikeouts. Tommy Hanson’s curveball completely fooled Davis in both his at bats.
Game Ball
Jose Reyes
On Deck
The Mets welcome the Dodgers to Citi Field tomorrow for a 7:10 p.m. start.
Lineup for Sunday night baseball
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Henry Blanco – C
- Mike Pelfrey – RHP
The weather may have a hand on whether this game is player / delayed. Stay tuned.
Game Chat will be up at 8 p.m. regardless.
Some stats for your Sunday
These were sent to me by reader Jack W. Thought they were pretty interesting…
Only 3 teams (NL) have allowed fewer runs and all 3 have played 1 less game.
- Giants: 51
- Padres: 57
- Cards: 59
- Mets: 64
Only 5 teams (NL) have better run differentials
- Phillies: +33
- Giants: +28
- Padres: +22
- Cards: +17
- Mets: +10
- Brewers: +10 (skewed because of the 20-0 Pirates game)
The Mets are one of the hottest teams in the NL going by the last 10 games
- Padres: 8-2
- Mets: 7-3
- Astros: 7-3
- Marlins: 6-4
- Nats: 6-4
The Mets lead the league in putouts
- Mets: 513
- Nats: 489
- Rockies: 488
Thanks, Jack!
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel
4/24/10
Game Recap: Mets 3 – Braves 1
That’s three in a row, if you’re counting at home. (Also 5-1 this homestand.)
The Good
Bark at the Park Day. I love dogs.
Jason Bay: 3-4, 2B, RBI. That double to dead center was a rocket. Is someone heating up?
Jon Niese was a bit wild, but… 5 1/3 innings, five hits, five walks and only one run. He struck out six. Still winless, but continues to pitch well.
Manny Acosta vs. his old team. Acosta earned the win with 1 2/3 hitless innings, walking one and striking out three. Not bad, not bad at all.
K-Rod makes it easy. A 1-2-3 9th inning was way, way easier than yesterday. More of these, Frankie.
Henry Blanco stole a base. Yeah, I know!
The Bad & Ugly
Only five hits, three of them by Bay. Blanco and Francoeur picked up the other Mets hits. But only four strikeouts. Yay?
Frequent Fernando and Perpetual Pedro. They turned in a combined scoreless 8th inning, but it’s only a matter of time before their arms both fall off.
Game Ball
Jason Bay
On Deck
Sunday night baseball on ESPN tomorrow, an 8 p.m. start.
Lineup for Saturday matinee
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Alex Cora – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Henry Blanco – C
- Jon Niese – LHP
Last night I tweeted that Castillo looked like he came up limping after sliding into home – more so than usual – and today he’s out of the lineup. Could be the usual day off for Castillo, or it’s something to keep your eye on.
Game Chat will be up at 1 p.m.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on winning
4/23/10
Game Recap: Mets 5 – Braves 2
It’s never easy.
The Good
Ike Davis’ first career home run. It was an absolute bomb, 450 ft. to the Shea Bridge. The legend grows.
Hisanori Takahashi out of the ‘pen. Taka, who came in for an injured John Maine, tossed three innings, striking out seven batters(!). He did allow one run, but hey, out of the pen in relief of an injury, and seven Ks? Nice.
The new lineup. Hooray for small sample sizes.
Chip Hale, Mets third base coach. Infield fly, runners advance and Hale send Angel Pagan from third as no one is covering the plate. It was a strange set of circumstances, but Hale and Pagan both kept their heads in it and it paid off. Who says Pagan is bad on the basepaths?
Jose Reyes and Jason Bay’s back-to-back triples. That’s always fun to watch.
The Bad & Ugly
Maine’s non-throwing arm. Muscle spasms and pain in his left elbow forced Maine out of the game in the fourth inning. While on the bump, Maine allowed one run on four hits and two walks. He struck out three. He’s listed as day-to-day.
Francisco Rodriguez loves to make it interesting. A hit and a walk brought the tying run to the plate before K-Rod closed out the game, passing Mike Pelfrey for the team lead in saves.
My nerves. Seriously, K-Rod, you’ve got to stop doing this.
Fernando Nieve’s arm. Though he never got into the game, Nieve was seen warming up at least twice. His arm is going to fall off by June.
Game Ball
Hisanori TaKKKKKKKahashi
On Deck
Mets and Braves do it again tomorrow afternoon, a 1:10 p.m. start.
John Maine leaves game in 4th [Updated]
Update via Gary Cohen on SNY: Muscle spasms and pain in his left elbow. He is, of course, listed as day-to-day. (Note: That is his non-throwing arm.)
John Maine was forced to leave the game in the fourth inning due to what seems to be an undisclosed injury.
Hisanori Takahashi took over for Maine.
Maine didn’t even look at his arm and was still in the dugout after coming out of the game, at least until Takahashi finished off the inning.
Will update when more info is released on Maine’s injury.
Lineup with Reyes batting third
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Jason Bay – LF
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- John Maine – RHP
So there you have it: Reyes is batting third. What do you think?
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on touch and feel and fundamentals and mechanics
4/22/10
Game Recap: Mets 5 – Cubs 2
Francisco Rodriguez is now tied with Mike Pelfrey to the team lead in saves.
The Good
Johan Santana. He worked himself into trouble a few times, but was able to pitch himself out of them each and every time. The only run scored after Santana had left the game. Six and 1/3 innings, eight hits and one earned run. He struck out five. I love it.
A five-out save. Francisco Rodriguez came on in the 8th with the bases loaded and one out. He allowed a sac-fly, but nothing more. He set the Cubs down 1-2-3 in the 9th. He struck out three en route to his first save of the season and his first five-out save since 2005.
The sixth. Jose Reyes led off the inning with a walk, David Wright broke out of his funk with an RBI double over the head of Alfonso Soriano. Jeff Francoeur, who was 0-for-his-last-24, sliced a single to right, scoring Wright. Ike Davis singled, Rod Barajas walked, brining Angel Pagan to the plate with the bases loaded. Pagan chopped one to second, which Barajas got in the way of before it made its way to Mike Fontenot, causing him to misplay the ball. Francouer scored easily and Davis hustled all the way from second to score. All awesome things.
Insurance. Davis doubled with two outs in the 8th and Barajas followed with a single, chasing Davis home to extend the Mets lead to 5-2.
The Bad
Jerry Manuel’s bullpen usage. He pulled Santana after 103 pitches in the sixth and brought on Fernando Nieve, for his 11th appearance in 16 games. Nieve allowed a hit to his only batter before Manuel brought in Pedro Feliciano. Perpetual Pedro worked out of the 7th, and came out to start the 8th. After Feliciano allowed two batters to reach, Manuel called in Jenrry Mejia from the bullpen for his first “set-up” job. Mejia walked his only batter before getting pulled, at which point Manuel brought on K-Rod for a five-out save. Huh?
Jason Bay: 0-4, K
Wright’s 3 Ks.
Game Ball
Ike Davis and Johan Santana split it. K-Rod gets an honorable mention.
On Deck
The Atlanta Braves come to Citi Field for a 7:10 p.m. game tomorrow.
Lineup [Game 16]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Rod Barajas – C
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Johan Santana – LHP
I wonder if the Game Chat could get more people than Citi Field.
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
Jeff Francoeur is falling back to Earth [Graphs]
Tip of the cap to Baseball-Reference for the stats.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on Gil Hodges
4/21/10
Game Recap: Cubs 9 – Mets 3
Pretty ugly all around.
The Good
Ike Davis’ catch. If you didn’t see it, watch it here. A Web Gem, I think.
Rod Barajas went yard in the second inning. The Mets only hit until the sixth, Barajas drove one deep to left field, his third of the year. He has more home runs than he has walks: three to none.
The Bad & Ugly
The pitching. Nine runs, eight earned against Oliver Perez, Manny Acosta, Raul Valdes and Hisanori Takahashi. Perez wasn’t awful, but the bullpen was. Just yuck. No one was on point and the Cubs, who have only scored more runs than Houston, made them pay.
Mets pitchers walked nine Cubs.
The Mets managed only two hits off of Carlos Silva.
Jeff Francoeur is 0-for-his-last-22 and only saw eight pitches in four at-bats.
Game Ball
Ike for his catch.
On Deck
The Mets and Cubs finish it out tomorrow night, as Johan Santana takes the mound for a 7:10 p.m. start.
Lineup [Game 15]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – RF
- Jeff Francoeur – LF
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Rod Barajas – C
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Oliver Perez – LHP
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
Igarashi to DL, Acosta called up
Ryota Igarashi, who strained his hamstring in the 8th inning of last night’s game has been placed on the DL. Manny Acosta, who was pitching for Triple-A Buffalo, has been tabbed to replace him.
Acosta pitched in 36 games for the Braves last season, all in relief. Over 37 1/3 innings he allowed 47 hits, struck out 32 and walked 19. He surrendered four home runs. ERA: 4.34, WHIP: 1.714.
For Buffalo this season, he’s appeared in five games, 8 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs and seven hits for a 2.16 ERA and 0.960 WHIP.
Good thing I didn’t buy that “Igarashi” jersey just yet.
All-Star voting already?
Yesterday, this popped up in my inbox…
All-Star Balloting for the 81st Midsummer Classic begins today
A press release followed explaining that voting for the All-Star Game, being held at Angel Stadium, was now live.
Uh, why?
We are 14 games into the season, and you expect me to make a call on who should play in the All-Star Game already? Isn’t that a bit quick on the trigger finger? Voting should happen as close to the game as humanly possibly. If fans only had a week, or even a month, to vote, meaning the voting started in June, wouldn’t that give everyone a lot more time to make a selection based on performance?
What we’re forced to do, if you choose to vote this early, is make selections based on past performance. In that way, this isn’t really a 2010 All-Star Game, but rather a Who-Did-Well-Last-Year-And-You-Know-His-Name-Game. It’s been boiled down into a popularity contest more so than ever before. The stars, the performers, should be voted in, not the popular players.
I, like hopefully most of you, will not cast my votes until the deadline is approaching. There is no possible way a player should be voted in based on two weeks of games.
What are you thoughts on this? I’d like to hear some feedback in the comments.
“Every now and then, 4/20/10
Game Recap: Mets 4 – Cubs 0
Two in a row!
The Good
Mike Pelfrey. Seven shutout innings, bringing his streak to 19 scoreless frames. Pelfrey surrendered as many walks as he did hits: three. He struck out six and definitely could have started the 8th inning, but Jerry Manuel didn’t give him the chance. Great to see this from Pelfrey so far this year, improving to a perfect 3-0 (with a save!).
Jose Reyes went 4-5. Reyes, who sat on the bench last night, went 4-5 with a two-RBI triple in the second inning. He also swiped a base in the 8th inning. Great to see. Hope this is the start of something big for him.
Fernando Tatis off the bench. Tatis came off the bench in the 8th inning and knocked a two-run home run to left field. Pinch hitting should be his only role.
The Bad & Ugly
The 3-4-5 hitters went a combined 0-10 with five strikeouts. Add Ike Davis to the mix and they had seven strikeouts.
Fernando Nieve pitched again. He did fine, but this is his 10th game out of 14 where he’s pitched. Not good, Jerry.
Francisco Rodriguez finished out the game with a scoreless inning, but he had to make it interesting. K-Rod walked two before ending the game.
Ryota Igarashi, my newest favorite Met, left the game after straining his hamstring in the 8th. He’ll have an MRI tomorrow.
Game Ball
Mike Pelfrey
On Deck
Same time, same place. 7:10 p.m. start.
Igarashi strained hamstring, MRI tomorrow
Ryota Igarashi strained his hamstring in the 8th inning tonight and was forced to leave the game.
He will have an MRI tomorrow at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Get him on the “Frequent Flyer” plan.
Lineup [Game 14]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Henry Blanco – C
- Mike Pelfrey – RHP
Is this the best lineup the Mets have had all year?
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on Ike Davis
Game Recap: Mets 6 – Cubs 1
I like Ike.
The Good
Ike Davis, duh. Making his major-league debut, Davis went 2-4 with one RBI. He picked up his first hit in the majors in his first professional at bat. And he looked just fine in the field. Welcome, Ike. We like you.
Angel Pagan. Batting leadoff in the game, Pagan started the big 7th inning with a two-run home run after Jose Reyes, who did not start, was hit by a pitch.
Jason Bay collected two hits and an RBI and Luis Castillo drove in one on one hit.
Jon Niese’s 5 2/3 innings. Catching John Maine’s disease and needing 112 pitches to get through 5 2/3 on the mound, Niese allowed only one run, unearned. He allowed eight hits and walked three, but helped himself with seven strikeouts to work out of the jams.
Fernando Nieve and Jenrry Mejia finished out the game for the Mets with 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad & Ugly
Jeff Francoeur went 0-4 and is 0-for-his-last-14 with one walk.
Rod Barajas is now batting .200 with a .191 OBP.
Game Ball
Got to give it to the kid: Ike Davis
On Deck
Tomorrow at 7:10 p.m., these two teams will square off again.
4/19/10
Lineup, with No. 29 Ike Davis
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Rod Barajas – C
- Alex Cora – SS
- Jon Niese – LHP
Davis will wear No. 29, which was Tobi Stoner’s before he was sent down to make room for Davis.
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
Does this mean Mike Jacobs is sticking around?
With the news that first-base prospect Ike Davis is en route to New York and will join the big league club, does that mean Mike Jacobs will stay in the Mets organization?
Jacobs said he wouldn’t report to Triple-A if he was going to play off the bench. With Davis, Buffalo’s starting first baseman, vacating the position, that opens the position for Jacobs to play every day. And I doubt they’re going to let Chris Carter play every day.
Unless… The Mets could promote Nick Evans, who is tearing up Double-A pitching for Binghamton and release Jacobs outright. But that all hinges on whether or not they think the Davis promotion is a long-term or short–term solution.
SNY: Ike Davis will be called up today
Update – 12:26 p.m.: Davis has been removed from the Bisons lineup.
As noted earlier, Ike Davis is in the lineup for the Bisons, but he’ll probably play an inning or two before hitting the road for New York, if he’s not scratched entirely.
No word on if he’ll be starting or not, but I doubt that. Kevin Burkhardt thinks he’ll start.
Expectations are too high for Ike Davis
I hate to be the sourpuss at the party, but all this chatter for Ike Davis is driving me up a wall.
Yes, it will be nice to see Davis, the likely future of the organization, in his blue and orange Mets uniform at Citi Field. But no, he’s not going to do much to change the Mets right now.
Promoting Davis from Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s played for only a handful of games, to the big leagues will not greatly affect the team or their chances for the playoffs. He might hit a little, but he likely will struggle against major league pitching. He might show a nice glove at first, but he’s not going to win a Gold Glove.
Bringing up Davis now does two things: Throws him to the wolves to see if he can hold his own to hopefully catch lightning in a bottle and attempts to sell more tickets to Citi Field. These are both last-ditch efforts by what seems to be a lame-duck front office, from Omar Minaya on down. Minaya knows he’s on the hot seat and Jerry Manuel’s bottom is already burned. They know they need something – anything – to help take the heat off, and promoting Davis is they see as their best option.
For an organization that rushes prospects through their organization, this should come as no surprise. Hopefully these crazy moves from a failing front office don’t hurt Davis’ maturation and progress into the team’s next big thing. But only time will tell.
Davis and Carter in Buffalo’s lineup
Nick Evans, playing for Double-A Binghamton, has a game at 6 p.m., too.
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on extra-base hits
That’s because the Mets only have 15 doubles, 3 triples and 9 home runs.
4/18/10
Davis likely coming up this week
The New York Mets plan for their first baseman of the future to be the man of the present, too.
Mets officials have resolved to promote heralded prospect Ike Davis to Citi Field this week, team sources told ESPNNewYork.com.
Though I don’t think he should be called up for short-term benefits (selling tickets), I can’t be upset with seeing the future first baseman in uniform, possibly as soon as tomorrow.
I still think the Mets should call up Chris Carter, even if his glove is suspect. Davis should be getting more seasoning in the minors and Carter is pretty expendable. Everyone is just a placeholder for Davis at this point, what’s another stopgap going to hurt? Might as well give Carter a shot before Davis, unless the team will be OK if Davis struggles – which I doubt.
In short: I think the Mets should call up Carter first, because there is less riding on his succeeding. But if it is Davis’ time, I guess it’s their call.
Game Recap: Cardinals 5 – Mets 3
Well, at least Omar is happy.
The Good
Angel Pagan. With the bases loaded in the second inning, Pagan sliced a two-RBI single to right field. The throw home squirted away from Yadier Molina. Adam Wainwright, backing up, tried to throw behind Pagan at first. He airmailed it into right field, allowing Gary Matthews Jr. to score. Pagan’s questionable baserunning created that third run. Also, he was the only Met to pick up two hits.
Tobi Stoner. Stoner wasn’t great, but he pitched 2 1-3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run, which scored on a home run given up by Ryota Igarashi. Couldn’t been worse, I guess.
Jeff Francoeur has a cannon for an arm.
The Bad
The Mets had only four hits as Wainwright tossed a complete game. Pagan picked up two, as noted above. The other two hitters: Frank Catalanotto (who was batting cleanup!) and Gary Matthews Jr. The Mets haven’t hit an extra-base hit in their last 29 innings.
Wainwright didn’t surrender a hit after the fifth inning. He retired the last 11 Mets to face him.
John Maine’s pitchcount. Five innings and he needed 115 pitches. He allowed the three runs in the fifth on a three-run home run. If there wasn’t a 20-inning game last night, he probably wouldn’t have been out for the fifth inning. He probably did just enough to stick in the rotation for another turn.
Ryota Igarashi, my boy, surrendered the go-ahead home run on his first pitch of the night. Bah!
Game Ball
Pagan.
On Deck
The Mets return to Citi Field, possibly with Ike Davis in uniform, to face to Cubs tomorrow night, a 7:10 start.
Game Chat: NYM @ STL [Game 12]
Join in and chat with your fellow fans! (Hopefully not for 20 innings!)
Chat removed, as usual.
Chat removed, as usual.
Lineup for Sunday night baseball
A strange lineup tonight, to say the least…
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Alex Cora – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Frank Catalanotto – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Gary Matthews Jr. – CF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Angel Pagan – LF
- John Maine – RHP
Uh, why is Catalanotto batting cleanup?
Game Chat will be up around 8 p.m.
Jacobs DFA’d to make room for Stoner
Mike Jacobs has been designated for assignment, clearing space for Tobi Stoner to join the Mets.
This is me:
Things that should make you angry
Francisco Rodriguez told reporters he threw an estimated 100 pitches between the 9th and 19th innings while waiting for his chance to close out Saturday's 20-inning war of attrition against the Cardinals.
This makes my head hurt.
Sure, he’s ballparking a figure, but how far off could he be? The cameras showed K-Rod warming up at least four times during the game, if not more. Even if he threw 50 in the bullpen (unlikely), he probably threw five warm-ups on the mound and another 24 during the game. That’s at least 80. At least.
Here’s hoping he doesn’t get in today.
Rubin: Stoner expected to be called up
After last night’s 20-inning affair, the Mets are likely looking to add a fresh arm to the bullpen. Adam Rubin is reporting that Tobi Stoner, who last pitched on Tuesday for the Bisons, is expected to be called up.
I have four words for what should be the corresponding move: Send Jenrry Mejia down.
Simple as that, Mets. We saw him, he’s good, but now is the time to get him back to the minors with the rest of the bullpen performing well. He’s not needed at the big league level.
About last night…
Because last night was so odd, here’s a bit of a refresher of the weird…
- The winning pitcher was a closer.
- A starting pitcher earned the save.
- The Cardinals sent a reliever to the plate to pinch hit – with the bases loaded – before catcher Bryan Anderson.
- Felipe Lopez, who hit a grand slam the night before, pitched last night. He pitched to Raul Valdes, the pitcher who surrendered the grand slam.
- Lopez played: shortstop, third base, pitcher and third base again.
- Valdes picked up his first career hit in the 18th inning, but was thrown out at second after a wide throw to first.
- For some reason I will never understand, Ryan Ludwick attempted to steal second base in the 19th inning…with Albert Pujols at the plate.
- Kyle Lohse, a pitcher, played left field while Lopez and Joe Mather, another position player, pitched.
- The Mets were able to score twice off of Mather – but only on sacrifice flies.
- Mike Pelfrey, who earned the save, leads the Mets in wins and saves.
- Only Oliver Perez did not appear in the game for the Mets.
- Last night was K-Rod’s first save opportunity of the season.
- Mets pitchers walked 11 batters and struck out 19.
- The Mets left 13 on base while the Cardinals left 22 ducks on the pond.
- Of the Mets nine hits, all were singles.
- Of the team’s 24 combined hits, only two were for extra bases.
- Six Mets played the entire game. Five Cardinals lasted all 20 innings.
…did you follow all that?
Manuel’s Musing [Epic Edition]
Jerry Manuel was in rare form before and after last night’s crazy game. There are just too many gems to pass up…
-Manuel on Jeff Francoeur
“That was pretty crazy. This is about the wildest one I’ve been involved in, the longest one I’ve been involved in, the most decisions I’ve had to make. We fought, we fought, we fought all day. We needed to win this one.”
-Manuel on last night’s game
“Pelfrey asked to pitch. He stepped up and said, ‘Hey I can do this.’”
-Manuel on Mike Pelfrey, the closer
“He's on hip-hop, we're playing jazz.”
-Manuel on Jose Reyes batting third
“Fighting all day to stay in the game. We just couldn't mount nothing offensively. We just couldn't get anything going offensively. But, to their credit, they went out and played on the other side of the ball, and played very well. That's a sign of things to come for us.”
-Manuel on last night’s game
4/17/10
Game Recap: Mets 2 – Cardinals 1 (TWENTY INNINGS)
Wasn’t that fun?
The Good
Pitching. Every pitcher outside of John Maine and Oliver Perez got into this game on the mound (Maine pinch-ran), and everyone tossed scoreless frames except for Francisco Rodriguez. Mike Pelfrey earned his first career save. Johan Santana struck out nine over seven innings of four-hit baseball. He walked only one. Pretty much every other pitcher outside of K-Rod was downright spectacular. Could not ask for much more. 13 IP by the bullpen and only K-Rod surrendered a run.
The Bad & Ugly
Hitting. Just awful. They were held hitless until the sixth and only had one hit through 11 innings. They scored their only runs on sacrifice flies – against Joe Mather, a position player, who had a hard time throwing strikes. They eventually picked up nine hits, all singles.
K-Rod. How much are you being paid to save games? Oh, yet you’re the only one to give up a run. Perfect.
Tony LaRussa’s managing. Very little of what he did tonight made any sense at all.
Jerry Manuel’s managing. Very little of what he did tonight made any sense at all.
Game Ball
Mike Pelfrey
On Deck
They’ll do it again tomorrow, hopefully in less time, at 8 p.m.
Lineup in St. Louis [Game 11]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Fernando Tatis – 1B
- Rod Barajas – C
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Johan Santana – LHP
And I present the best lineup of the season.
Game Chat will be up around 4 p.m.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on the Mets
4/16/10
Lineup in St. Louis (with Reyes at the top)
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay - LF
- Mike Jacobs – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Gary Matthews Jr. – CF
- Oliver Perez – LHP
Oh, look. Reyes isn’t batting third. More Jerry-speak, at least for now.
Game Chat will be up at 8:05 p.m.
Headline of the century
Police: Fan at Phillies game intentionally vomited on girl, cop
Read more here.
Also, here’s a news story on the incident.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on batting Jose Reyes third
4/15/10
Game Recap: Mets 5 – Rockies 0
(I didn’t see an inning of the game, but I followed via MLB Gameday / At Bat.)
The Good
Seven combined hits for the 1-5 of the Mets order. Two hits a piece from Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur.
David Wright’s 3 walks. It’s not every day you walk three times.
Mike Pelfrey. On the mound, Pelf turned in seven solid innings of shutout baseball, scattering five hits, walking none and striking out six. This saved him from running laps around Coors Field. Big Pelf also helped his own cause with an RBI single in the 4th.
Feliciano to K-Rod. Pedro Feliciano worked the 8th, bridging to Francisco Rodriguez in the 9th. Just like Jerry wrote it up.
The Bad & Ugly
6, 7, 8 of the order going hitless. Fernando Tatis, Henry Blanco and Angel Pagan all went hitless.
Baserunning. If you saw it, you know. If you didn’t see it, don’t bother looking it up; It was that bad.
Game Ball
Mike Pelfrey
On Deck
Meet me the Mets in St. Louis. 8:15 p.m. tomorrow.
Lineup [Game 9]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Fernando Tatis – 1B
- Henry Blanco – C
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Mike Pelfrey – RHP
Game Chat will be up around 3:00 p.m.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on the Mets
Game Recap: Rockies 6 – Mets 5
Welcome to the big leagues, Jenrry Mejia.
The Good
Jeff Francoeur’s hitting streak is still alive, this time due to a solo home run in the first inning. He was even intentionally walked.
David Wright also went yard, a two-run shot in the third inning.
The Mets scratched back with runs in the 8th and 9th innings to force extra innings.
Raul Valdes, Fernando Nieve, Pedro Feliciano and Ryota Igarashi turned in scoreless innings in relief.
Three stolen bases: Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, Gary Matthews Jr.
The Bad & Ugly
Mejia, in his first pressure situation, surrendered a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to end the game.
Jon Niese, the starter, surrendered 9 hits and 5 earned runs in five innings of work. He also hit two batsmen.
Mike Jacobs is a mess at first base. That is all.
Aaron Cook, the Rockies starter, hit two doubles and scored once.
The Rockies committed three errors (should have been four).
Game Ball
Francoeur: 1-3, HR, 2 BB (Two!)
On Deck
The Mets and Rockies finish out the series tomorrow afternoon, a 3:10 p.m. start time.
4/14/10
Lineup [Game 8]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Mike Jacobs – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Jon Niese – LHP
Game Chat will be up around 8:30 p.m.
Rubin: Bowman claimed by Jays
Yes, it’s early, but…
The Mets are only 7 games into the season. That’s very, very early in baseball terms. But, to me and to many, they’re giving fans very little to hope for so far.
- We haven’t even made two full turns of the rotation, and the team is already talking about dropping John Maine from the starting five.
- The team’s “starting first baseman” is being outplayed by Fernando Tatis.
- The team’s most expensive reliever, Francisco Rodriguez, is yet to have a save opportunity.
- Many fans are already calling for Jerry Manuel’s head.
- Many fans are already calling for Omar Minaya’s head.
- The stadium, for home games, is drawing smaller crowds than last year when the team was already out of playoff contention.
We’re seven games in. There are 155 more games to play. But at this pace, it’s a miracle fans aren’t revolting, jumping ship and burning merchandise in the parking lot.
It’s early, but many have seen enough. But change for change’s sake isn’t going to cut it. The team, from the front office on down, needs to present some sort of plan for fixing everything that seems to be wrong with the organization. The fans see it, the media sees it, it’s time for the Mets to be up-front about their situation and spell it out for the angry mob that seems to be growing.
At this point in time, it seems the Mets are just floating along aimlessly, without a way to steer or even a planned direction to head in. I’d love to see Fred Wilpon cop to it all, say that the team is going for an overhaul and start fixing things internally, externally and whatever-ternally helps the Mets out.
It might be a blow to the pride of the Mets, but in the long run, the transparency will help the sanity of the fans - the ones who put the money into everyone’s pockets – the ones that matter.
Manuel’s Musing
-Jerry Manuel on being down early
4/13/10
Game Recap: Rockies 11 – Mets 3
Hopefully you turned this game off and went to bed long ago.
The Good
David Wright hit a solo home run, his second of the season.
Jeff Francoeur’s hitting streak is still alive. He’s hit in all seven games this season.
Raul Valdes and Jenrry Mejia turned in scoreless stints, two innings and one inning respectively.
Jose Reyes singled twice. Still think he should be rehabbing in the minor leagues, though.
Jason Bay picked up his first RBI for the Mets in the 8th inning. It made the game 11-3. Yay.
The Bad & Ugly
Pretty much everything else…
John Maine: 3 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Yeah, he just looks awful out there.
Mets pitchers walked 10 Rockies. 10!
Rockies pitching struck out 10 Mets. 10!
Fernando Nieve only lasted 1/3 of an inning and was charged with 3 ER.
Greg Smith, who hadn’t won a game since 2008, threw seven innings against the Mets, allowing only two earned runs and striking out eight.
Game Ball
David Wright.
On Deck
Same Mets time, same Mets channel: 8:45 p.m. tomorrow. Jon Niese, baby!
Lineup in Colo.
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Fernando Tatis – 1B
- Rod Barajas – C
- Angel Pagan – CF
- John Maine – RHP
This tweet, explaining Pagan batting third, is really just a head scratcher.
Game Chat will be up around 8:30 p.m.
How the Yankees salvage New York City sports
The other day, in a discussion with Joe Fortunato from Blueshirt Banter, he brought up the point of how the Yankees save New York City sports from being a miserable sports town. And he’s right.
Though it’s impossible to think about New York City sports without thinking of the Yankees, the most powerful team in sports, let’s just take a run at it. Take a look at the NYC sports scene, boiling it down to the simplest of simple: Championships.
Pulling the Yankees out of “New York” leaves six major sports teams (we’re going to include the Giants and Jets, even though they play in NJ, because - well - yeah):
- Mets
- Giants
- Jets
- Knicks
- Rangers
- Islanders
In the last 20 years, these six teams have won only three championships – Giants in ‘90 and ‘07 and Rangers in ‘94.
That’s just sad. Over the last 20 years, the Yankees have won five championships on their own – almost double what the six other teams have done combined. Is it just a bad run for those six teams? It’s hard for me to believe that six teams in four different sports are all struggling this mightily, but I can’t just chalk it up to bad luck. We know the plights of the Wilpons, Dolans, etc., but they haven’t owned these teams forever.
In the last 50 years, the six teams listed above have won 12 combined championships – Mets in ‘69 and ‘86, Giants in ‘86, ‘90 and ‘07, Knicks in ‘70 and ‘73, Rangers in ‘94 and Islanders with their run of four straight from ‘80-‘83. In the last 50 years, the Yankees have won nine World Series on their own.
What stings the most is the recent struggles of most of these teams. We all know the plight of Mets fans lately, but the Knicks and Islanders rank right down there in the categories of ownership, GMs, managerial mishaps and the like. The Giants and Jets have enjoyed some recent success in getting to the playoffs, but only the Giants have tasted the sweetest victory in the last decade.
And soon, the Nets will join the ranks of NYC sports teams. They will improve over this past season because I just don’t think they could play this poorly again. Right?
It’s hard to imagine NYC sports without the Yankees, but if they weren’t around, this would be one very, very sad sports town.
Now I have to go take a scalding hot shower and scrub myself until I’m raw. That was a terrible article to have to write. It pained me.
4/12/10
Link: This article is beyond crazy
Read this: Santana is Flushing away his talent by Ian O’Connor …and then come back here.
Reading that article was akin to O’Connor reaching into my brain, ripping out all the journalism ethics and stomping on it with metal cleats. Writing about what you assume a player would do if his water was spiked with truth serum? This isn’t a Harry Potter novel (though I love those).
It’s one thing to suggest that Santana would have won on a different team or with a different rotation or players behind him, but to suggest that he thinks he is “flushing away his talent” by pitching in Queens is just wrong. Truth serum doesn’t exist. Both Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez said that they wouldn’t go back on their contracts or wished they signed elsewhere, but O’Connor simply doesn’t believe them.
Maybe O’Connor should spend more time perfecting his truth serum than making assumptions about what players might be thinking, because that article is a waste of time.
From commenter @TweetTheMets, who truly hits the nail on the head:
What's truly puzzling about this column is the timing. O'Connor writes this off a loss that almost entirely belonged to Santana. Sure, teams can be put in a 4-0 hole in the 1st inning and hope his teammates bail him out, but it's far from routine. (Well, unless you pay for the kind of lineup the Yankees routinely put forth.) As much as baseball is a team sport, the fact is the starting pitcher has the most influence over its outcome. Sure, fielding is important, and park factors, and BABIP. But it almost always comes back to the starting pitcher. Now, if the pitcher had 27 wins on an awful team (Steve Carlton, anyone?) he'd be "wasting his talent" on that team. If he couldn't get to 27 wins because he kept losing games 1-0 and 2-1, he, too, would have valid complaints. But how does it make sense for Ian O'Connor to be waxing poetic about Santana and his talent and how it's out of place on the Mets the day after a stinker? If it's July, the team is out of contention, and Santana is throwing gem after gem, go ahead, write about how frustrating it must be to be a great player having a great season for a terrible team. I'm sure that column has never been written before.
Guess the Met [Solved]
The rules are easy: I post a Mets player photo, but only reveal a tiny part of the image. From there, your goal is to try and guess which player the photo is of.
No prizes, but pride and honor is on the line.
Here is today’s Guess the Met… Good luck!
Answer: This Met is… Jon Niese!
Manuel’s Musing
take responsibility.”
-Jerry Manuel on the Mets facing Livan Hernandez
4/11/10
Game Recap: Nationals 5 – Mets 2
Oh, Livan!
The Good
Jeff Francoeur continued his torrid hitting pace, with a triple and a single. He’s now batting .476 on the season. Oh yeah, and he walked again. His OBP is .538.
Mike Jacobs homered. Practically the whole reason Jacobs is still relevant is that he can mash, if and when he connects. Well, he connected for the Mets only two runs of the game, a 2-run home run in the 8th inning.
The bullpen. Raul Valdes made his major league debut and Ryota Igarashi and Francisco Rodriguez all turned in scoreless innings.
Johan Santana after the first inning. From the second to fifth innings, Santana allowed only three hits and one earned run. Too bad about the first frame.
The Bad & Ugly
Santana’s first inning. A leadoff triple, two walks, a blast from Josh Willingham and some replay later, the Mets trailed 4-0 after a grand slam. The Mets never recovered.
Josh Willingham is the newest Met killer. The Mets should trade for him and stash him away in Triple-A forever. Get Willie Harris, too.
The Mets offense. Livan Hernandez tossed seven shutout innings, allowing only five hits and needing just 88 pitches. When they got runners on, they did nothing with them. “Punchless” is a good term to use.
This game was over in the first inning.
Game Ball
Raul Valdes, why not?
On Deck
Monday is an off day for the Mets as they travel out to Colorado for their first road trip starting Tuesday night at 8:15.
Game Chat: WAS @ NYM [Game 6]
Join in and chat with your fellow Mets fans!
Rubin: Green could be headed to DL, Valdes could get call [Updated]
Update – 11:50 a.m.: Clint Everts has been DFA’d to make room for Valdes on the 40-man roster.
Update – 10:45 a.m.: It’s official. Green to DL, Valdes called up.
Sean Green, who according to a team source, has been dealing with a torn muscle in his rib cage, could be heading to the disabled lists, writes Adam Rubin. He notes that left-hander Raul Valdes, who is on loan from the Mexican League, could get the call to replace Green.
If Green has been dealing with a tear in his rib cage, why did he come north with the Mets?
Either way, good for Valdes. Imagine that feeling? One month you’re pitching for Tabasco in the Mexican League and the next, after a short and decent spring training, you’re on the brink of pitching in the major leagues in the biggest market in the country. Crazy.
Lineup [Game 6]
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Alex Cora – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Mike Jacobs – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Gary Matthews Jr. – CF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Johan Santana – LHP
Question: Do you want to see the opposing team’s lineup, or is the Mets enough?
4/10/10
Game Recap: Nationals 4 – Mets 3
Willie F*****’ Harris.
The Good
Welcome back, Jose Reyes. Reyes looked a little rusty to start, but made a nice play in the 9th and followed that up with a single to start a failed rally in the bottom half of the inning. Just glad to have him back.
Jeff Francoeur is on a tear. He went 2-4 with another walk today, scoring once.
Jason Bay scored twice, but failed to pick up a hit. (See: Below)
Oliver Perez is batting .500 with an RBI after his single in the second inning.
The bullpen. The Mets ‘pen continues to impress, combining for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, including Ryota Igarashi getting Willie Taveras to strike out swinging with two runners in scoring position.
The In-Between
Oliver Perez’s 5 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs and four walks. He struck out six. He wasn’t great but he wasn’t awful. Ordinary Ollie.
The Bad & Ugly
Tyler Clippard. Clippard tossed three innings in relief and struck out seven Mets.
Willie Harris is a Met killer. Another spectacular play to end a game, like he did a few years ago with the Braves. Last time, I broke my plastic helmet in frustration. Guess what? I did it again.
Ducks on the pond. The Mets left 12 runners on base. Lost by 1. Do the math.
K-Bay. Jason Bay: 0-4, 2 K.
Game Ball
Got to give it to Frenchy, again.
On Deck
Rubber game tomorrow at 1:10 p.m.
Game Chat: WAS @ NYM [Game 5]
Join in (with Jose Reyes…sorta) and chat with your fellow fans!
Chat removed, as usual.
Chat removed, as usual.
Lineup (with Reyes!)
- Jose Reyes – SS
- Alex Cora – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Gary Matthews Jr – CF
- Fernando Tatis – 1B
- Henry Blanco – C
- Oliver Perez – LHP
Look who’s back!
Tejada to Buffalo to make room for Reyes
Ruben Tejada, who made two starts and picked up his first major league hit last night, has been sent to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for Jose Reyes to return to the Mets lineup.
I wonder how much time Tejada will see at second base with Buffalo. He could be the Castillo replacement in the future.
4/9/10
Game Recap: Mets 8 – Nationals 2
All-around beauty.
The Good
Dingers. Both Rod Barajas and Jeff Francoeur hit a pair of home runs, marking the first time the Mets ever hit four home runs in Citi Field. They combined for five RBI.
Six innings. Mike Pelfrey turned in a good effort, allowing two earned in six innings. He struck out four and tossed 57 of 94 for strikes, including 16 first-pitch strikes.
Dozens. The Mets pounded out 12 hits, five for extra bases.
Hitless. Hisanori Takahashi rebounded from last night, Fernando Nieve pitched in his fourth straight game and Jenrry Mejia set them down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
The Bad
K-Bay. Jason Bay struck out three times in five trips to the plate. He did single and walk in his other two PAs.
Walk on. Tyler Walker surrendered five hits and three earned runs in only 1 1/3 innings.
Walked over. Pelfrey walked four batters in his six innings.
Game Ball
Split between Barajas and Francoeur.
On Deck
Jose Reyes returns tomorrow at 1:10 p.m.
Lineup for first against Nats
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Alex Cora – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Mike Jacobs – 1B
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Rod Barajas – C
- Ruben Tejada – SS
- Mike Pelfrey – RHP
At least Jacobs isn’t batting cleanup.
Guess the Met [Solved!]
The rules are easy: I post a Mets player photo, but only reveal a tiny part of the image. From there, your goal is to try and guess which player the photo is of.
No prizes, but pride and honor is on the line.
Here is today’s Guess the Met… Good luck!
Who is this Met? Post your answers in the comments!
Answer: This Met is… Gary Matthews Jr.! Congrats if you got it right!!
And so it begins
Luis Castillo has a sore right calf and will sit out Friday’s game against the Nationals. Alex Cora will start at second base and Ruben Tejada will start at shortstop.
Castillo, who played 142 games last season, was one of the lone players to stay relatively uninjured last season. But with a sore right calf, things are about to get interesting.
Maybe Ruben Tejada will be sticking around a little longer than originally thought.
Manuel’s Musing
You've got to have some power.”
-Jerry Manuel on the Mets
What happened to speed and defense?
Game Recap: Marlins 3 – Mets 1
Niese was nice. Everything else, not so much.
The Good
Jon Niese turned in a decent start, allowing three earned runs in six innings of work. He walked two and struck out three while surrendering eight hits.
The bullpen. Ryota Igarashi, Hisanori Takahashi, Fernando Nieve and Pedro Feliciano combined for three innings of one-hit baseball.
Angel Pagan at the plate. Pagan, in his first start, went 2-4 with a pair of singles.
Jeff Francoeur at the plate. Frenchy drove in the Mets only run with a double in the fourth inning.
Ruben Tejada in the field. He’s got a slick glove. But we already knew that.
The Bad & Ugly
Pagan and Francoeur in the field. Both players made gaffes in the field, as Pagan took some bad routes to balls and Francoeur gave up on a ball he expected to go foul.
No patience. The Mets did not walk once.
Ducks on the pond. The Mets left 7 men on base.
Game Ball
Niese
On Deck
The Mets and Washington Nationals face off for the first time tomorrow at 7 p.m.
4/8/10
Lineup for rubber game
- Angel Pagan – CF
- Luis Castillo – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Jason Bay – LF
- Jeff Francoeur – RF
- Fernando Tatis – 1B
- Rod Barajas – C
- Ruben Tejada – SS
- Jon Niese – LHP
Welcome to the starting nine, Pagan, Tatis and Tejada.
Game Chat will be up at 6:45 p.m.
The Situation and The Wright [Video]
Two things: Why was there no fist pump exercise? Where was Snooki?
Also: Carton!!
In pulling for Jon Niese
I was at Niese’s last start, August 5, 2009, and witnessed him go down in a heap as he tore his hamstring. This saddened me.
But tonight, he’ll return to the mound as the Mets “No. 3” starter (The rotation order is stupid, see: TedQuarters). More than any other player this season, I’ll be rooting the hardest for Niese. Why’s that, you may ask? Because he could be the future.
Yeah, I know. Eight games and a 1.613 WHIP shouldn’t get a guy excited like this. But he’s one of the young pitchers getting a chance in 2010. He’s getting a chance to prove himself, to work at the MLB level and hopefully paving the way for some of the other young arms (including Jenrry Mejia) to take over the rotation over the next few years.
Niese, smushed nose and all, is easy to root for because everyone loves a homegrown prospect. So join me in rooting just a little bit harder for Niese this season. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
Link: Nelson Figueroa Sr.’s FanWalk brick will break your heart
Folk hero and newest Phillie Neslon Figueroa’s father has a brick on the Citi Field FanWalk. If you weren’t upset about Figgy being cut, you will be now.
Head over to Metsie to check it out. (Warning: Kleenex may be needed.)
And yes, I know Figueroa was a Quadruple-A type player and the Mets already have two long-relief-type guys in their bullpen, but it was hard not to root for Figgy.
Reyes expected back on Saturday
Barring unexpected complications, Jose Reyes will be in the Mets’ lineup Saturday for their home game against the Nationals. The plan is for Reyes to play one more minor league game Thursday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., then travel to New York, where he will join the team Friday.
If Reyes does play Saturday, it will be his first game since May 20 of last year.
I really can’t wait to see Reyes take the field again. I’m sure he will be met with lots and lots of cheers from the Citi Field crowd.
It’s been too long, Jose. Too long.
“We have some questions.”4/7/10
Game Recap: Marlins 7 – Mets 6
Frankly, I only saw the last three innings. Apparently, that was a good thing. Too bad it didn’t end the way we wanted.
The Good
Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez. Feliciano did his thing, as did K-Rod. Good to see them both again.
Luis Castillo’s two RBI. One came via a sac-fly, the other via a walk. But a rib-eye steak is still a rib-eye steak.
Coming back from five runs down. It’s good to see, if they win or not. Fight, something a lot of people thought this team lacked (coughJerryManuelcough), showed here. They came up short, though.
Getting creative. The Mets scored on: 2 sac-flys, 2 walks, a fielders-choice and a balk.
The Bad & Ugly
John Maine’s 93 pitches in five innings and four earned runs. Story of the last few years for Maine.
Debuts. Jenrry Mejia’s one inning, three hits and one earned run. Paying attention, Jerry? Ruben Tejada popped up in foul territory in his first MLB AB.
The Marlins bullpen. Despite their best efforts, the Marlins were able to win this game. They were trying to hand the Mets the W on a silver platter. The Mets sent it back to the chef.
The Mets had six hits, none of them drove in a run. (See: Above)
Fernando Tatis’ head in the 7th inning. He tried and failed to score on a ball that squirted away. Would the game have ended different if he scored? We’ll never know. But it sure didn’t help.
Game Ball
Castillo for his 2 RBI, I guess. Tip of the cap goes to Pedro Feliciano, too.
On Deck
The Mets and Marlins play the rubber game tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
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