OK, so I'm watching Law & Order as I write a paper, and one of the doctors just said "She has an ego big enough to fill Shea Stadium." And it hit me.
Shea Stadium is going away. Gone. Forever.
Obviously, I've known about Citi Field and seen it in person, but it really just sank in for me. That place, our "home" is going away. I'm going to miss that ugly place, but I'll never forget the things I've seen happen there and seen there in person.
[If you want to tell your Shea story, check out this website.]
I'll miss you Shea, for all your wins and losses and special plays that have occurred inside your walls. I have a feeling Citi Field will be just a tad more prosperous for the Metropolitans. Just a hunch.
5/8/08
Repost: LMillz was overhyped
On this well placed off-day (I'm writing a final paper on Catch-22 and "national community.") I dug up an old post of mine and will repost it below. Here's my reaction after the Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider trade, originally posted December 1, 2007...
I am most likely the only Mets blogger in the universe who is "OK" with this trade. Lastings Milledge, to me, was entirely overhyped, and now we're seeing the sobering conclusion to the saga that was LMillz in Queens. And this Mets fan is happy.
Everyone seems to be calling for Omar's head as if he had a better deal elsewhere, but decided not to take it. Obviously if Omar thought, or even caught a scent of a better trade elsewhere, he would have held onto Lastings and pursued this better option. Milledge's status dropped considerably when teams saw what he could do with an everyday starting position.
The kid can't hit a breaking ball for the life of him, and takes the most roundabout angles on the easiest fly balls ever. To me, Lastings' climax as a player was two years ago, as a much hyped up minor leaguer, when it was discussed that he could be traded for Manny Ramirez. Since then, it's been pretty downhill. After those botched pop flies at Fenway Park and the high-fiving (which I commended when it happened) down the right field line at Shea, it seemed the kid was doomed as a Met. The fans went back and forth on whether or not his attitude was mature enough to handle the New York stage.
When he finally had a chance to break out and shine, he looked nonchalant running to balls that got past him, and just unmotivated. The lack of hustle on his part was extremely frustrating to me, as someone who supported him through all his early problems. With his ego at full blast, it seemed he could take on the world, but when his skills were put to the test on the field, he did not impress me in the least bit. Fans were once weary of this brash young player, and now seem entirely up in arms that he won't be patrolling Shea, and eventually Citi Field, for years to come.
With Brian Schneider being announced as our starting catcher, and Ryan Church as our starting right fielder next year, we seemingly picked up 2/9 of our starting team, for a player that may or may not pan out. Schneider has great defensive skills, which is what some wild things like Oliver Perez need behind the plate. Church, 29 years old, seems to be a newer, younger Shawn Green. There are no overpowering numbers at the plate, just a decent hitting, decent fielding outfielder who is capable of doing what he is paid to do.
Goodbye Lastings, I'm sure you will be haunting Omar and Mets fans for years to come, but right now, good riddance.
I am most likely the only Mets blogger in the universe who is "OK" with this trade. Lastings Milledge, to me, was entirely overhyped, and now we're seeing the sobering conclusion to the saga that was LMillz in Queens. And this Mets fan is happy.
Everyone seems to be calling for Omar's head as if he had a better deal elsewhere, but decided not to take it. Obviously if Omar thought, or even caught a scent of a better trade elsewhere, he would have held onto Lastings and pursued this better option. Milledge's status dropped considerably when teams saw what he could do with an everyday starting position.
The kid can't hit a breaking ball for the life of him, and takes the most roundabout angles on the easiest fly balls ever. To me, Lastings' climax as a player was two years ago, as a much hyped up minor leaguer, when it was discussed that he could be traded for Manny Ramirez. Since then, it's been pretty downhill. After those botched pop flies at Fenway Park and the high-fiving (which I commended when it happened) down the right field line at Shea, it seemed the kid was doomed as a Met. The fans went back and forth on whether or not his attitude was mature enough to handle the New York stage.
When he finally had a chance to break out and shine, he looked nonchalant running to balls that got past him, and just unmotivated. The lack of hustle on his part was extremely frustrating to me, as someone who supported him through all his early problems. With his ego at full blast, it seemed he could take on the world, but when his skills were put to the test on the field, he did not impress me in the least bit. Fans were once weary of this brash young player, and now seem entirely up in arms that he won't be patrolling Shea, and eventually Citi Field, for years to come.
With Brian Schneider being announced as our starting catcher, and Ryan Church as our starting right fielder next year, we seemingly picked up 2/9 of our starting team, for a player that may or may not pan out. Schneider has great defensive skills, which is what some wild things like Oliver Perez need behind the plate. Church, 29 years old, seems to be a newer, younger Shawn Green. There are no overpowering numbers at the plate, just a decent hitting, decent fielding outfielder who is capable of doing what he is paid to do.
Goodbye Lastings, I'm sure you will be haunting Omar and Mets fans for years to come, but right now, good riddance.
Momentum
Is it me or does it absolutely stink when you beat up on a team like Wednesday's pounding of Brad Penny and the Dodgers and then have an off day the next day???
Momentum is something this team needs and it's really too bad that coming off of a dominating win over the streaking hot Dodgers, the team has a travel day and doesn't play until Friday night.
The teams needs to start steamrolling over some opponents, and it's going to be tough without some "momentum." The Mets have 10 games in 10 days starting on Friday, so a nice little run through the next three series (including the New York Yankees) would be pretty awesome.
Momentum is something this team needs and it's really too bad that coming off of a dominating win over the streaking hot Dodgers, the team has a travel day and doesn't play until Friday night.
The teams needs to start steamrolling over some opponents, and it's going to be tough without some "momentum." The Mets have 10 games in 10 days starting on Friday, so a nice little run through the next three series (including the New York Yankees) would be pretty awesome.
El Duque is bootless
I'm not sure if this even still counts as news, but Orlando Hernandez is now sans boot.
Um...yay? I've come to grips that I will either never see him in a Mets uniform (or any uniform for that matter) or at the very least, never see him pitch effectively again.
Aim low, I guess.
Um...yay? I've come to grips that I will either never see him in a Mets uniform (or any uniform for that matter) or at the very least, never see him pitch effectively again.
Aim low, I guess.
Photo of the Day: Maine and Randolph
**Smooches**"Now maybe the fans will stop booing."
(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
5/7/08
Pagan will get an MRI
According to Adam Rubin, Angel Pagan will receive an MRI on his right shoulder. 
Pagan started in left field on Wednesday and in the bottom of the first inning made a beautiful grab in foul territory. The catch carried him into the stands, where he flipped onto his head. Pagan put his arm out to brace his fall, and seemed to tweak it.
Pagan stayed down in the stands for a while as trainers, coaches and players gathered around him. He eventually got up and remained in the game. He was later removed with "shoulder tightness," as Endy Chavez replaced him in the game.
Rubin theorizes that "the Mets could put Pagan on the DL as a vehicle to activate both Matt Wise and Ramon Castro this weekend. Willie Randolph told the Daily News on Tuesday that he’d speak with GM Omar Minaya about carrying 13 pitchers in the short term to avoid having to part with Joe Smith, Jorge Sosa or even Nelson Figueroa."
Excellent theory. Sounds viable to me.
Pagan started in left field on Wednesday and in the bottom of the first inning made a beautiful grab in foul territory. The catch carried him into the stands, where he flipped onto his head. Pagan put his arm out to brace his fall, and seemed to tweak it.
Pagan stayed down in the stands for a while as trainers, coaches and players gathered around him. He eventually got up and remained in the game. He was later removed with "shoulder tightness," as Endy Chavez replaced him in the game.
Rubin theorizes that "the Mets could put Pagan on the DL as a vehicle to activate both Matt Wise and Ramon Castro this weekend. Willie Randolph told the Daily News on Tuesday that he’d speak with GM Omar Minaya about carrying 13 pitchers in the short term to avoid having to part with Joe Smith, Jorge Sosa or even Nelson Figueroa."
Excellent theory. Sounds viable to me.
Game Recap: Mets 12 -- Dodgers 1
The offense might garner most of the press after this dominant performance over Brad Penny, but I feel the true hero today was Mets starter John Maine, who fell just two outs short of a complete game shut out. The Mets bats were out in plenty, and from some unlikely sources, as the Mets trounced to salvage the final game of the series by a score of 12-1.
Maine pitched 8 1-3 innings, and only allowed four hits. He walked two and struck out four. Maine allowed two doubles and two singles and fell just short of a complete game shut out.
Maine was helped out by some nice defensive plays, two of which come to mind. David Wright made a nice running swipe on a ball hit by Jeff Kent and then made a nice throw to first for an out. The best play came from Angel Pagan, who started the game in left. In the bottom of the first, Pagan made a catch in foul territory up against the wall, flipped head over heels into the stands and held onto the ball. He stayed down for a few minutes, but stayed in the game. He was later removed with "shoulder tightness."
Sick play by Pagan. He really went all out to get that ball.
Maine was incredibly dominant. There's really nothing I can say to put his performance into perspective. He shut down the hot bats of LA, keeping his pitch count low, throwing 117 pitching into the ninth inning, 76 for strikes.
John Maine, I love thee.
How do I even recap a 12 run outing by the Mets bats, ten of which were charged to Penny? After singles from Church and Pagan in the second, Marlon Anderson hit a ball deep to center field, which hopped over the wall for a ground rule double as Church scored. Raul Casanova then singled to the right side, driving in both Pagan and Anderson. After a sacrifice from Maine and a walk to Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo grounded a ball up the middle, driving in Casanova.
The Mets strung together five hits this inning to drive in four runs, but this wasn't even the team's biggest inning of the day. Good stuff.
The Mets added one in the third as Pagan grounded into a fielders choice, allowing Carlos Beltran to score from third base.
The fifth inning was huge for the Mets and all their runs came with two outs. Church was hit by a pitch with one out, Anderson singled, and Casanova walked to set up Maine with the bases loaded. On an 0-2 pitch, Maine went down and got a slider low and away, blooping the ball to shallow center field, driving home Church and Anderson. A walk to Reyes ended Penny's day, and ex-Yankee Scott Proctor entered the game with the bases loaded and two away.
Proctor promptly walked the first batter he faced, Castillo, driving in a run. Wright, who had been struggling to this point, ripped a ball deep to left field, which hopped over the wall for a ground rule double, allowing two runs to score. With Beltran batting, Proctor threw a ground ball in the dirt, allowing Castillo to trot home with the sixth run of the inning.
Wow. The Mets bats woke up today, and had a lot of production from some reserve players, which is always good to see. Spectacular offensive performance.
Church added to the Mets runs in the top of the sixth, crushing the first pitch of the inning deep to right for his sixth home run of the season.
It's official. I must go buy a Church jersey or shirt. This guy is amazing.
Maine allowed one run in the ninth inning as Andruw Jones dunked a double in between Church and Castillo. Matt Kemp singled to center, breaking up the shut out and ending the day for Maine. Duaner Sanchez threw 2-3 of an inning, striking out James Loney to end the game.
Amazing game. This is how you quiet down the boo-birds and shut up griping fans. Where's the praise for Willie Randolph today? If you're going to blame him for the one run losses like Tuesday's performance, where are the people singing his praises for today's lashing?
Hmm...makes you think, doesn't it?? Please, Mets fans, we're better than this. Don't blame the manager for a two game losing streak. Have some sense. It happens to every team. Forget about 2007, it's a new year, but don't think it's going to be as easy as '06.
Game Ball: John Maine.
Maine pitched 8 1-3 innings, and only allowed four hits. He walked two and struck out four. Maine allowed two doubles and two singles and fell just short of a complete game shut out.
Maine was helped out by some nice defensive plays, two of which come to mind. David Wright made a nice running swipe on a ball hit by Jeff Kent and then made a nice throw to first for an out. The best play came from Angel Pagan, who started the game in left. In the bottom of the first, Pagan made a catch in foul territory up against the wall, flipped head over heels into the stands and held onto the ball. He stayed down for a few minutes, but stayed in the game. He was later removed with "shoulder tightness."
Sick play by Pagan. He really went all out to get that ball.
Maine was incredibly dominant. There's really nothing I can say to put his performance into perspective. He shut down the hot bats of LA, keeping his pitch count low, throwing 117 pitching into the ninth inning, 76 for strikes.
John Maine, I love thee.
How do I even recap a 12 run outing by the Mets bats, ten of which were charged to Penny? After singles from Church and Pagan in the second, Marlon Anderson hit a ball deep to center field, which hopped over the wall for a ground rule double as Church scored. Raul Casanova then singled to the right side, driving in both Pagan and Anderson. After a sacrifice from Maine and a walk to Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo grounded a ball up the middle, driving in Casanova.
The Mets strung together five hits this inning to drive in four runs, but this wasn't even the team's biggest inning of the day. Good stuff.
The Mets added one in the third as Pagan grounded into a fielders choice, allowing Carlos Beltran to score from third base.
The fifth inning was huge for the Mets and all their runs came with two outs. Church was hit by a pitch with one out, Anderson singled, and Casanova walked to set up Maine with the bases loaded. On an 0-2 pitch, Maine went down and got a slider low and away, blooping the ball to shallow center field, driving home Church and Anderson. A walk to Reyes ended Penny's day, and ex-Yankee Scott Proctor entered the game with the bases loaded and two away.
Proctor promptly walked the first batter he faced, Castillo, driving in a run. Wright, who had been struggling to this point, ripped a ball deep to left field, which hopped over the wall for a ground rule double, allowing two runs to score. With Beltran batting, Proctor threw a ground ball in the dirt, allowing Castillo to trot home with the sixth run of the inning.
Wow. The Mets bats woke up today, and had a lot of production from some reserve players, which is always good to see. Spectacular offensive performance.
Church added to the Mets runs in the top of the sixth, crushing the first pitch of the inning deep to right for his sixth home run of the season.
It's official. I must go buy a Church jersey or shirt. This guy is amazing.
Maine allowed one run in the ninth inning as Andruw Jones dunked a double in between Church and Castillo. Matt Kemp singled to center, breaking up the shut out and ending the day for Maine. Duaner Sanchez threw 2-3 of an inning, striking out James Loney to end the game.
Amazing game. This is how you quiet down the boo-birds and shut up griping fans. Where's the praise for Willie Randolph today? If you're going to blame him for the one run losses like Tuesday's performance, where are the people singing his praises for today's lashing?
Hmm...makes you think, doesn't it?? Please, Mets fans, we're better than this. Don't blame the manager for a two game losing streak. Have some sense. It happens to every team. Forget about 2007, it's a new year, but don't think it's going to be as easy as '06.
Game Ball: John Maine.
Live Game Blog: Mets @ Dodgers -- 5/5
Sorry!!! Picking up in the top of the second...
Second inning:
Second inning:
- Carlos Beltran lines out to James Loney for the first out.
- Ryan Church drives a 2-2 pitch into center field for a one out single.
- Angel Pagan, fresh off a beautiful diving grab into the stand in the bottom of the first, singles to left. Church moves to second.
- Marlon Anderson, starting for Carlos Delgado, works the count full against Brad Penny. Anderson drives one deep to center field, well over the head of Matt Kemp. The ball bounces on the warning track and skips over the top of the wall for a ground rule double. Church scores, Pagan held at third. 1-0 Mets.
- Raul Casanova pulls one through the hole on the right side. Pagan trots home and Anderson is waved around. Throw home isn't even close and the Mets score two more. 3-0 Mets. They're stringing together hits!!!
- John Maine bunts it back to the pitcher, moving Casanova to second.
- Ball four to Jose Reyes. Two on for Luis Castillo. 47 pitches for Penny. Does this mean Hong-Chih Kuo is coming out?! PLEASE NO!!!!!
- Castillo delivers with a ground ball up the middle. Casanova "rumbles" around third to score. Reyes moves to second. 4-0 Mets.
- David Wright goes down swinging to end the inning.
- 4 runs, 5 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 4-0 Mets.
- Wright continues to make beautiful plays on tough balls, swiping the ball off a bounce from Jeff Kent and making a nice throw to Anderson for the first out.
- James Loney grounds one to Castillo, who flips it to Anderson.
- Called strike three to Russel Martin. Nice, quick, crisp inning.
- 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 1 K. 4-0 Mets.
- Beltran rips one to the third base side of short, and Chin-lung Hu can't make the grab. Single to left for Beltran.
- With Beltran running, Church gets busted in on the hands. Church gets some wood on it as his bat explodes at the handle. The ball dinks in behind Jeff Kent as Beltran goes to third on Church's single to short right.
- Pagan grounds one to Kent at second. With Pagan's speed, they have no chance at a double play. Beltran scores. 5-0 Mets.
- Anderson just missed a home run, driving one to the warning track on the fly. Two away.
- With Casanova batting, the Dodgers pitch out with Pagan running. Perfect throw, but Pagan still beats it. Good stuff. Casanova grounds one up the middle, but Kent tracks it down and makes a falling away throw. With Casanova lumbering up the line, Kent had more than enough time to put him away.
- 1 run, 2 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 5-0 Mets.
- Endy Chavez is taking over for Pagan in left. His shoulder has to be bothering him from his dive into the stands. Hope he's all right. According to David Lennon, Pagan was not happy, throwing equipment around the dugout.
- Last night's hero, Blake DeWitt grounds out to Delgado, who makes the flip to Maine covering first.
- Hu doubles down the first base line for the first hit of the game off of Maine. And there goes the no hitter.
- Penny swings at the first pitch, popping a ball foul to Wright at third.
- Juan Pierre grounds out to Reyes at short to end the inning.
- 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 5-0 Mets.
- Maine grounds out to DeWitt for the first out of the inning.
- Penny is up to 69 pitches while facing Reyes here with one out in the fourth inning. 3-1 pitch and Reyes grounds out to Kent. Don't let Penny get into a rhythm.
- Castillo rips one down the third base line and pulls into second with his third double of the year.
- Wright is swinging at almost everything, fouling off the first two pitches, both of which looked like they would have been balls. He grounds out to DeWitt, who makes the long throw across the diamond to end the top half of the inning.
- 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. 5-0 Mets.
- First pitch to Eithier grounded to second. Maine's 31st pitch of the day.
- Kemp batting, works the count to 2-2, before striking out swinging on a high fastball.
- 1-1 pitch to Maine goes high and inside and Kent has to hit the decks to get out of the way of that ball. Full count to Kent now. Gary just said "recombobulated." That's a new one. Check swing, and he went around, strike three to end the inning.
- 0 run, 0 hits, 0 BB, 2 K. 5-0 Mets.
- Full count to Beltran. Really making Penny work today. Beltran smokes one to first, but Loney makes a beautiful diving stab on the ball. He flips to Penny covering. One away.
- Church barely gets nicked by a ball inside. Looked like it might have touched his jersey and both benches have now been warned. Church is on base for the third straight time.
- Chavez is taking his first swings of the game. Chavez goes down swinging for only Penny's second strike out.
- Anderson checks his swings, but grounds one slowly to Hu at short. Hu is slow to field it and Anderson beats the throw to first for an infield single.
- Casanova walks out a walk, loading the bases for Maine.
- Maine gets fooled as his knees buckle on strike one and flails at a slider away for strike two. Maine then bloops a pitch into shallow center field, driving home Church and Anderson. 7-0 Mets.
- Penny walks Reyes, loading the bases for Castillo.
- Penny's day is done, and Scott Proctor will take over for LA.
- Proctor promptly walks Castillo with the bases loaded, driving in another run. 8-0 Mets.
- Wright makes up for his 0-fer day, crushes a ball to deep left field, over the head of Pierre. Two runs score as the ball skips into stands for a ground rule double. 10-0 Mets.
- With Beltran batting, Proctor throws a wild pitch in the dirt, bringing home Castillo. Wright moves to third. 11-0 Mets. And Beltran becomes another notch in the trivia book, making both the first and the last out of the inning.
- 6 runs, 3 hits, 3 BB, 0 K. 11-0 Mets.
- Maine is only at 43 pitches. Loney smacks a double into the gap for the Dodgers second hit of the game. Beltran almost had it, but it was just a few feet out of his reach.
- Now Maine is struggling, and after a long at bat, Martin walks. Maine is now up to 61 pitches on the inning without recording an out.
- Maine bounces back and strikes out DeWitt for the first out of the inning.
- Hu grounds a ball to second. Castillo attempts a tag on Martin, but pulls away and throws to first for the first out. Delgado then throws to Reyes, who tags out Martin on the basepath. Perfectly executed double play.
- 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 1 K. 11-0 Mets.
- First pitch from Proctor in the sixth, Church crushes it over the wall in right for a solo home run. I love that man.
- Chavez flies out to center.
- Anderson strikes out swinging.
- Casanova drives a ball to deep center, and Casanova "glides" into second with a double.
- Maine goes down swinging on a ball low and away to end the inning.
- 1 run, 2 hits, 0 BB, 2 K. 12-0 Mets.
- Mark Sweeney pinch hitting for the Dodgers. Sweeney grounds the fourth pitch he sees to Castillo, who makes the sidearm throw to Delgado for the first out.
- Pierre lines one right into the glove of Reyes, two away.
- Ethier pops one up to shallow left, Chavez comes in and makes the play. Quick inning as Maine is only up to 76 pitches through six.
- 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 12-0 Mets.
- Is anyone still reading this? Haha. Hit the comments if you are, otherwise I'm suspending it soon and starting on my recap.
- Chan Ho Park is pitching.
- Reyes grounds out to second for the first out of the inning.
- Castillo grounds out to short for the second out of the inning. (Yes, I know those are the same sentences with different names and positions.)
- Wright grounds out to short for the third out of the inning. That was easy.
- 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 BB, 0 K. 12-0 Mets.
Game Preview: Mets @ Dodgers -- 5/7
The Mets looks to salvage their series against the Dodgers today, trying to take the final game and return home with a 3-3 record for the road trip.
Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
RF Ryan Church
LF Angel Pagan
1B Marlon Anderson
C Raul Casanova
SP John Maine
Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou and Brian Schneider take a seat today for the day game after the night game. Surprised Beltran is in there today, Castillo too.
Brad Penny vs. the Mets: 5-11, 111.1 IP, 132 hits, 79 runs, 34 BB, 86 K, 5.66 ERA
Mets vs. Penny:
Reyes: 7-26, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Castillo: No experience
Wright: 9-14, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K
Beltran: 3-15, 3B, RBI, 3 K
Church: 3-9, 2B, RBI, 2 K
Pagan: No experience
Anderson: 5-25, 2 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 3 K
Casanova: No experience
Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
RF Ryan Church
LF Angel Pagan
1B Marlon Anderson
C Raul Casanova
SP John Maine
Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou and Brian Schneider take a seat today for the day game after the night game. Surprised Beltran is in there today, Castillo too.
Brad Penny vs. the Mets: 5-11, 111.1 IP, 132 hits, 79 runs, 34 BB, 86 K, 5.66 ERA
Mets vs. Penny:
Reyes: 7-26, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Castillo: No experience
Wright: 9-14, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K
Beltran: 3-15, 3B, RBI, 3 K
Church: 3-9, 2B, RBI, 2 K
Pagan: No experience
Anderson: 5-25, 2 2B, 3B, 2 BB, 3 K
Casanova: No experience
Hong-Chih Kuo, newest Mets killer
We all saw Hong-Chih Kuo's dominance over the Mets bats last night.Here are his career numbers against them: 5 games, 3-0 record, 19.2 IP, 9 hits, 1 earned run, 5 BB, 24 K, 0.46 ERA.
Twenty four strike outs in only 19 2-3 innings. I sure hope they don't face him today.
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