7/6/08
Migraines keeping Ryan Church out of play
Church has suffered from migraines since an early age, but they have recently increased in frequency due to his two concussions in only a handful of months.
Are the Mets corner outfield spots cursed or something?? This is getting crazy.
Ryan Church is dizzy
Ryan Church left last night's game against the Phillies in the top of the 8th inning with "dizziness." Apparently, it was only a migraine and not repercussions from his second concussion of the season.
I really, really hope he's all right. His bat needs to stay in the lineup.
7/5/08
TSTDIA: Mets 9 -- Philles 4
Are these the Mets?
John Maine leaves game with injury to non-pitching arm
John Maine was forced to leave the game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning due to an injury to his non-pitching arm.
Maine was pitching to Ryan Howard when he grabbed his left arm, near the elbow. He's in the dugout now, and seems more frustrated than in pain.
He only allowed one hit, a three run home run in 5 2-3 innings. He was up to 103 pitches, so he was going to be done soon, but hopefully his arm is all right.
I usually get a pain near that area, and I have to simply pop the elbow, just like you would crack your knuckles. It feels tight and hurts like heck, but when you pop it, it feels much better.
Aaron Heilman came on, with a 2-2 count against Howard and needed only one pitch, a change up, to strike him out.
Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez's dream lineup
Rumor has it that Jerry Manuel is strongly considering moving Carlos Beltran to the two hole, allowing him to "see more fastballs." Here's how Gary and Keith had the top six of the lineup shaking out:
Jose Reyes
Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church
Moises Alou
David Wright
Carlos Delgado
I'd finish that lineup with Brian Schneider and Luis Castillo, either of which could be placed in the seventh or eighth spots.
I like that lineup, a lot. It is assuming Alou stays healthy, and Delgado can keep up what he's put together in the last few games.
It puts a lot of pop and speed at the top of the order, with a much better #4 hitter. Delgado rightfully shifts lower in the lineup, and will get Wright on base a whole lot more with less pitches to hit.
I like it.
A tale of two seasons
J.A. Happ has made two major league starts in his career, both against the New York Mets.
In 2007, the Mets pounded Happ for five runs in four innings. He surrendered three home runs to Carlos Beltran, Paul LoDuca and David Wright. Happ allowed seven hits, while striking out five and walking two. Jorge Sosa earned the win for the Mets, who upped their record to 46-33.
Beltran ended up going 4-5, hitting two home runs and picking up 10 total bases.
This time around, it was an entirely different story. Happ went 4 2-3 of an inning, allowing only three hits, striking out three and walking four. He surrendered only two runs, the only ones the Mets managed to put across.
On the flip side, Johan Santana pitched 8 innings, allowing only six hits and two runs. He took the loss as the Mets fell to 42-44. Beltran went 0-4 and struck out twice.
Two different teams, two different seasons, and two vastly different outcomes.
The Mets bats stink
Santana gave up only two runs, and the Mets lost again. This reminds me of when Roger Clemens pitched with the Astros. He would dominate the other team, but the 'Stros simply did not score for him.
I sort of feel bad for Santana, because he's doing pretty much all that he can do, and his team still can't manage to win. He may not be the best pitcher in the league anymore, but he's pitching very, very well and the Mets are now 0-6 in his last six starts.
This team always seems to fail horribly with timely hitting. The Mets had the bases loaded and nobody out, and managed to score only two runs. Luckily, at that. Thanks to the speed of Jose Reyes, who beat out a double play ball, and a good eye by David Wright to walk a run in, otherwise the inning could have ended without the Mets pushing any runs across.
I'm not sure if the Mets need to add a bat from elsewhere, but this team needs a jolt. In big games like last night's, the team should be fired up and aggressive, but they still looked flat. Is the team dynamic that different without Ryan Church? Without Moises Alou? Maybe a lineup shakeup will do the trick, but who knows.
Maybe this team really is just a mediocre, .500 team.
7/4/08
TSTDIA: Phillies 4 -- Mets 3
This stinks.
Jose Reyes and Keith Hernandez nearly come to blows on team plane
From the Post:

Reyes said yesterday he was angry at Hernandez after numerous friends and relatives told him Hernandez accused the Mets of "babying" Reyes during the broadcast of Sunday's 3-1 win over the New Yor Yankees at Shea Stadium."He got his point [across] and I got mine," Reyes, when asked to describe the confrontation, told The Post before he drove in three runs in the Mets' 11-1 victory over the Cardinals last night. "I'm not too happy with the way he's been talking."
The article also goes on to say:
Reyes and Hernandez emphatically denied they nearly came to blows, with Hernandez insisting testily that it be described as "a conversation" instead.
"I wouldn't say 'confronted,' " Hernandez said brusquely when approached in the team's broadcast booth at Busch Stadium last night. "We had a conversation. 'Confront' is not the word."
As strange as this whole story is, I can't get over how funny this must have been. In my wildest dreams I cannot picture this happening.
Hopefully everything works out, because Hernandez is a historic part of this organization and Reyes, hopefully, will be a cornerstone of this franchise for years to come.
Here comes the flood of comments about how "immature" Reyes is. A few days ago, I called his tantrum on the field immature, now, I'm not so sure. I think Reyes wants to step away from that image, and I can't think of anything more "manly" than a fight. Sure, that sounds super macho and testosterone driven, but it rings true.
Reyes is a fighter. And that's a good thing. Too bad he was fighting the immortal Keith Hernandez.
Still, color me skeptical. I'd like to see this one reported elsewhere before I fully believe it.
The Mets always make it interesting.
[Thanks Ian, from Sox & Dawgs]
