3/4/08

Mets renew Maine's contract

Adam Rubin is the first to report that the Mets have renewed their contact with John Maine, during Maine's outing against the Marlins.

From Rubin:
The organization has renewed Maine’s contract. Typically players too young for salary arbitration just sign their contracts since they have no control over the salary, but Maine did not sign his contract, as Aaron Heilman and David Wright have also declined to do so in recent years. Maine indicated there isn’t any hostility toward the organization. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter. The Mets have a scale for players with fewer than three years’ experience, with no one ever making more than $450,000-$460,000.
Good stuff. Maine went 3 innings, allowing 4 hits and one run on a solo home run. Maine walked none while striking out 3.

Lineup vs. the Marlins

The Mets head to Jupiter, FL, to take on the Florida Marlins at 1:05 p.m.

Lineup:
Jose Reyes SS
Anderson Hernandez 2B
David Wright 3B
Angel Pagan CF
Ramon Castro C
Fernando Martinez RF
Brady Clark LF
Dan Murphy 1B
Richard Lucas 3B
John Maine P

Either Wright or Lucas is going to be the DH today, just not sure which yet. Murphy, whoever he is, is getting a shot at first today, let's hope he doesn't get hurt.

Another one bites the dust (Not really)

Michel Abreu, who had a very slim chance of making the team, but a great opportunity to show the Mets what he could do at first base, is the latest Mets to hit the injured list.

David Lennon
reports from Jupiter, FL, that Abreu did not make the trip because of a strained right hip flexor.

After a bit of Googling, I found it depends on the severity of the injury to see how long it might keep you sidelined (duh). This Yahoo! Answers thread gives a timetable of 3-4 weeks, with proper care, before the symptoms fully subside.

It should be interesting to see who plays first base today. Every possibility that comes to mind to play first is injured.

Pelfrey catches some praise

Joel Sherman, in his 3 UP for the day, quotes a major league scout on Mike Pelfrey's start yesterday:
His slider is nearing major league average and his changeup is becoming passable. I know that doesn’t sound great, but two years ago his slider was total garbage and his changeup was non-existent. I see growth on both pitches, so to me that means the ability to grow and adapt. Plus, that sinking fastball is such a bat-breaking pitch that if he can spot it to both sides of the plate then the other stuff just has to be good, not great.
I'm glad to see Pelfrey finally getting some recognition, albeit, the scout is not saying he's a bona fide pitcher yet. With Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez manning the front end of the Mets rotation, and two players in John Maine and Oliver Perez who are coming off 15-win seasons in your 3 and 4 spots, I think a guy like Pelfrey can sit nicely in the 5th hole, gain some invaluable experience, and work his way to being a better pitcher.

Gotay might be broken; Church coming along

Just when Ruben Gotay was getting his chance to shine, with all the other second base options for the Mets out with injuries, Gotay's injury from sliding into home might cost him a spot on the opening day roster.

Adam Rubin is reporting that Gotay received a CT scan sometime this morning, and will wait for results to see if it is a spring, or if it is broken.

From Rubin:
Team doctor Struan Coleman suspects the infielder may have suffered a fracture sliding into the plate on Sunday against the Dodgers. That diagnosis would force Gotay to the disabled list to start the season.
If Gotay goes down, this opens up a hole for a guy like Anderson Hernandez (ugh) or Jose Valentin to catch on, again.

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Ryan Church, who is recovering from a Grade 2 concussion after colliding with Marlon Anderson, is a few days away from returning.

According John Delcos, he's working out in the pool along with many other injured Mets today. Delcos said that Church hopes to return to the field tomorrow.

3/3/08

Photo of the Day: Haircut

Greg Sepulveda of Brooklyn sports the greatest hair cut ever.
Anyone else want to get this? I'm up for it.

(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Game Recap: Mets 3 -- Braves 2

So far this season, this Mets season seems to have a knack for the dramatic.

The Mets topped the Braves, 3-2 in 10 innings Monday at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, FL.

Mike Pelfrey got the start, in place of Pedro Martinez, who is on the slow path back to the rotation, and shined in his second start in spring training. Pelfrey pitched three shutout innings, only allowing two hits without striking out or walking any.

Pelfrey was destroying bats left and right and getting ground ball after ground ball turning into outs behind him. He's looked very good so far, and with El Duque's injuries, it's his spot to lose.

Billy Wagner come on for the 4th inning, allowing one earned run on one hit, while striking out two.
Nelson Figueroa pitched 2 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing two hits and striking out one on a simply beautiful breaking ball to end the 5th inning.

Wags seemed to be testing pitches instead of pitching for outs, so no worries here. Figueroa has been impressive so far and if he can keep this up, he might see himself in Shea in April.

Jason Vargas and Ricardo Rincon each pitched hitless innings, with Rincon striking out two batter in his inning of work.
Carlos Muniz, sandwiched between Vargas and Rincon, allowed one run on one hit and struck out one.

Vargas is a forgotten name around these parts. Looks like he's heading for another season of waiting in AAA and filling in for injured pitchers.

Angel Pagan kept up the hitting, going 1-4 and scoring the first run for the Mets on a Ramon Castro triple. Castro went 2-3 on the day, with an RBI and a walk.

You read that right. Castro bombed a ball off the upper half of the outfield wall, which bounced back into center field.

Jose Reyes went 1-3, driving in one run on a chopper up the middle, which scored Castro.
Fernando Martinez also picked up a hit, going 1-4 on the day.

F-Mart smacked two balls down the first base line which were snagged by Scott Thorman and converted into outs.

Ruben Tejada won the game in the bottom of the tenth, driving a ball into the right-centerfield gap that scored Michel Abreu from first base.

If these dramatics can continue, of course with the Mets on the winning end, throughout the season, it's going to be a fun one. It'll also take a lot of Advil for the headaches and a ton of blood pressure medication.

Live Commentary: Braves at Mets

First inning:
Michel Abreu has a chance to shine, and get a lot of looks at first base with Carlos Delgado and Marlon Anderson out. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have a glove at all, letting a pick off toss from Mike Pelfrey get away and allow the runner to advance. Abreu can hit a ton, but he needs to back it up with at least a decent glove.

Is it me or are the bats really loud? On that Anderson Hernandez ground out, the bat sound was much louder than I remember. What leads to this: smaller stadium or better mics?

Second inning:
Anyone else catch that? David Wright fielded a grounder and did not double clutch before throwing it to first base.
Nice 1-2-3 inning from Pelf. Three ground outs, that all he needs to do.

Angel Pagan is raking. 8-18 so far in Grapefruit league play.
Ramon Castro bombed that ball. It's not many days you see a Castro triple. Pagan had great base running awareness on the ball off the top of the wall, and scored easily. 1-0 Mets, end of two.

Third inning:
Pelfrey's pitches claim another bat, but it goes for a infield single. He's dealing today, looks great on the mound. Great 3 innings from Pelf, who is probably done for the day. Two hits, one an infield single, and no walks. He's looking really good so far.

I don't know how Robinson Cancel saw where he was going on that double. His visor was pretty much over his eyes.
Jose Reyes delivers on a grounder up the middle, scoring Cancel. 2-0 Mets.
And Reyes' bouncing around on the bases pays off again, while he heads to third on a wild throw on a pickoff attempt.
And Moises Alou grounds into an inning ending double play.

Fourth inning:
Billy Wagner is in, allowing a bloop single to his first batter. Simply dirty pitches from Wags, cutting quickly away from left handed hitters. As I type this, he K's Scott Thorman on a fastball, up and in.
Looks like Wagner is trying out pitches rather than trying to retire batters. Braves score, 2-1.

Fernando Martinez has nailed both balls down the first base line, the first one getting caught on the fly, and the next being turned into a 1-3 double play. He's hitting it pretty well, but both right to Thorman at first.

Fifth inning:
Crowd favorite Nelson Figueroa is in, and if he keeps putting up decent numbers, he's another one to add to the bullpen competition mix. One hit allowed, and Figueroa ends the inning with a beautiful breaking ball.

Mets go quietly and quickly, 1-2-3. Scott Thorman is showing a heckuva glove at first, diving for the throw to beat Reyes while keeping a foot on the bag.

I'll end here for today. I have to head to class soon, with another class right behind that, so a recap won't be up until a bit later than normal.

Enjoy the rest of the game.

Lineup vs the Braves

The Mets and the Braves will face off at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie at 1:10 p.m. The game will be televised on SNY.

Lineup and pitchers:

SS Jose Reyes
2B Anderson Hernandez
3B David Wright
LF Moises Alou
CF Angel Pagan
DH Ramon Castro
RF Fernando Martinez
1B Michel Abreu
C Robinson Cancel
RH Mike Pelfrey

Scheduled pitchers: When posted.

Good to see Wright and Alou back in the lineup. Also good to see Reyes playing, the knee must be fine then. Pagan is definitely getting his chance to impress, if he keeps this up he's got a great shot at making the team, if he isn't already penciled in.

Pedro throws BP; El Duque does something

Pedro Martinez, who is missing his spot in the rotation and allowing Mike Pelfrey to try and prove himself to make the team, pitched a bullpen session today.

According to Bart Hubbuch, Ben Johnson was the only player to make any sort of contact with one of the 45 pitches Pedro tossed.

Two aces. I still can't fathom it. The Mets actually have two amazing pitchers on the same staff. I never thought I'd see the day.

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Orlando Hernandez was supposed to have a session in the bullpen, but never made it to the mound. David Lennon reports that he never even picked up a baseball to try and pitch.

Instead, El Duque used a towel to go through his pitching motion and work the muscles back into season form.

I don't him coming back any time soon. This is Pelfreys spot to lose.