I, just like the Mets, am settling into my new place.
I must say, this is a strange room. Hopefully the Mets feel a little more comfortable in first place.
Pedro Martinez faces off against old friend, and one of the best things to ever happen to the Mets, Mike Hampton. When Hampton left the Mets, he provided his greatest service to the club than he ever could in their uniform.
Using the compensated pick after Hampton dashed for more money elsewhere, the Mets drafted and signed one Mr. David Wright.
Thanks, Mikey!
If the Mets can sweep the lowly Braves tonight, and maybe the Nationals could finally win a game, the Mets will be sitting pretty 2.5 games up in first.
Just a thought: Do the Mets have the best starting rotation is baseball?
I know the Angels have a stacked starting-five, but the way this team has been pitching, including the 10 scoreless innings from John Maine, has been superb lately. As a fan, you can't ask for much more than what they've done.
Maybe more innings out of Maine, and less solo home runs from Pedro, but I'm really searching for things to fault them on.
8/21/08
Connecticut bound
It's that time of year again.
Time for me to pack up my life and move it two and a half hours north to my home by the hill, Quinnipiac University.
I'll be entering my junior year of college (crap, that went fast) at QU, and continuing on in my journalism major and sports studies minor.
I'll be out most of the day, but I can never quell my itch to blog, so you'll probably be hit with a couple of posts once I'm all settled and done.
Pedro goes for the sweep of the Braves tonight. Spectacular. Couldn't have planned this series much better.
Time for me to pack up my life and move it two and a half hours north to my home by the hill, Quinnipiac University.
I'll be entering my junior year of college (crap, that went fast) at QU, and continuing on in my journalism major and sports studies minor.
I'll be out most of the day, but I can never quell my itch to blog, so you'll probably be hit with a couple of posts once I'm all settled and done.
Pedro goes for the sweep of the Braves tonight. Spectacular. Couldn't have planned this series much better.
The date is set: Ryan Church to return on Friday
Church's bells are no longer ringing, and that's a good thing.
The Daily News is reporting that, according to sources, Ryan Church will return to the New York Mets on Friday against the Astros at Shea Stadium.
As I reported yesterday, Church probably won't come back and be the everyday starting right fielder, but will work his way back, as Fernando Tatis is too hot to bench.
Nick Evans is the guy I see getting demoted for just over a week, as he'll be right back up when the rosters expand at the beginning of September.
It's been a long, crazy trip back for Church, but he's checked out OK this time around. Hallelujah! Amen! Church is almost here!
Oh, and get this guy some protective gear.
The Daily News is reporting that, according to sources, Ryan Church will return to the New York Mets on Friday against the Astros at Shea Stadium.
As I reported yesterday, Church probably won't come back and be the everyday starting right fielder, but will work his way back, as Fernando Tatis is too hot to bench.
Nick Evans is the guy I see getting demoted for just over a week, as he'll be right back up when the rosters expand at the beginning of September.
It's been a long, crazy trip back for Church, but he's checked out OK this time around. Hallelujah! Amen! Church is almost here!
Oh, and get this guy some protective gear.
8/20/08
Game Recap: Mets 6 -- Braves 3
Tonight was Mike Pelfrey's night, from beginning to end.
Pitching Performance
Nine very strong innings for Pelfrey in his first complete game of his career.
Simply beautiful.
Pelfrey allowed one run in the third inning on a single. The other two runs were added in the sixth, one on a double play and the other on a wild pitch. Pelfrey only allowed three hits, walked three, and you guessed it, struck out three.
Threes were wild tonight. Pelfrey's line: 9 innings, 3 hits, 3 run, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.86 for the year.
What more is there to say? He threw only 108 pitches in the nine innings, but only 62 went for strikes. He looked great. I called that tonight was going to be special on Mets Lounge when I said "I have a good feeling about tonight."
We're finally seeing Pelfrey blossom into everything we expected from him, and more. I thought the Mets wanted to limit his innings down the stretch as he's reaching unknown territory with his innings count, but he kept coming out and proved why he should be out there.
Offensive Output
The Mets jumped out early in the first, as they almost always do, for five runs aided by some terrible play by the Braves defense.
Daniel Murphy drove in the first runs of the game, singling in Carlos Delgado and Argenis Reyes, who continues to impress me with his glove and his bat. Fernando Tatis bounced a ball to third, which Chipper Jones fielded and threw wide. Tatis was granted a single, driving in Carlos Beltran, and moved to second on the throwing error that allowed Murphy to score.
Pelfrey then helped his own cause, serving a single to right field, driving in Tatis.
I absolutely love when the Mets score early and often. No better way to shake the opposition then to put a beating on them in the first.
Jair Jurrjens did settle down nicely after the disaster first, only allowing one more run the rest of the way. That run came on a David Wright solo shot to deep left field, well into the bleacher section.
Good stuff, but I wish the team could continue scoring runs when it's not the first inning. It's bitten them before and it will bite them again. Whatever Jerry Manuel says in the locker room before the game, he should reissue that statement before the third, sixth, and ninth innings.
The Rest of the Story
Almost a sub-two hour game. Clocked in at 2:08.
Murphy was the only Met to strike out.
Chipper Jones accounted for two of the three Braves K's.
Game Ball: Mike Pelfrey.
Pitching Performance
Nine very strong innings for Pelfrey in his first complete game of his career.
Simply beautiful.
Pelfrey allowed one run in the third inning on a single. The other two runs were added in the sixth, one on a double play and the other on a wild pitch. Pelfrey only allowed three hits, walked three, and you guessed it, struck out three.
Threes were wild tonight. Pelfrey's line: 9 innings, 3 hits, 3 run, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.86 for the year.
What more is there to say? He threw only 108 pitches in the nine innings, but only 62 went for strikes. He looked great. I called that tonight was going to be special on Mets Lounge when I said "I have a good feeling about tonight."
We're finally seeing Pelfrey blossom into everything we expected from him, and more. I thought the Mets wanted to limit his innings down the stretch as he's reaching unknown territory with his innings count, but he kept coming out and proved why he should be out there.
Offensive Output
The Mets jumped out early in the first, as they almost always do, for five runs aided by some terrible play by the Braves defense.
Daniel Murphy drove in the first runs of the game, singling in Carlos Delgado and Argenis Reyes, who continues to impress me with his glove and his bat. Fernando Tatis bounced a ball to third, which Chipper Jones fielded and threw wide. Tatis was granted a single, driving in Carlos Beltran, and moved to second on the throwing error that allowed Murphy to score.
Pelfrey then helped his own cause, serving a single to right field, driving in Tatis.
I absolutely love when the Mets score early and often. No better way to shake the opposition then to put a beating on them in the first.
Jair Jurrjens did settle down nicely after the disaster first, only allowing one more run the rest of the way. That run came on a David Wright solo shot to deep left field, well into the bleacher section.
Good stuff, but I wish the team could continue scoring runs when it's not the first inning. It's bitten them before and it will bite them again. Whatever Jerry Manuel says in the locker room before the game, he should reissue that statement before the third, sixth, and ninth innings.
The Rest of the Story
Almost a sub-two hour game. Clocked in at 2:08.
Murphy was the only Met to strike out.
Chipper Jones accounted for two of the three Braves K's.
Game Ball: Mike Pelfrey.
Omar Minaya is a very funny fellow
"Oh God, let's get that." -Omar Minaya, in the SNY booth, 8/20/08.
Bouncing ball hit to Carlos Delgado, who knocks it down. Minaya is in the booth talking to the trio of Gary, Keith, and Ron.
He utters those words, and the trio erupts in laughter. Delgado recovers and makes the play. Minaya thanks him.
Too funny.
Bouncing ball hit to Carlos Delgado, who knocks it down. Minaya is in the booth talking to the trio of Gary, Keith, and Ron.
He utters those words, and the trio erupts in laughter. Delgado recovers and makes the play. Minaya thanks him.
Too funny.
Ryan Church to be fourth outfielder?
With the platoon of Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy in left and Fernando Tatis in right, Church is without a starting spot. If Church can return before September 1, one of Evans or Murphy will be sent packing for a few days before they're called up when the rosters expand.
This would leave him as a spot starter and a pinch hitter. Church is 1-6 this season in PH chances, striking out twice.
I think Church, if he can come back healthy, will be the key to the postseason for the Mets.
Post: Mets sign Al Reyes
According to Joel Sherman of the Post, the Mets have signed recent free agent, Al Reyes.
Reyes was cut free by the Tampa Bay Rays just the other day.
More on this when I get home.
5:56 pm: OK, now I'm home and I've had time to digest this signing.
I think it's time for me to make a mental switch. A few days ago, I was confused why the Mets would add a guy with a over-5 ERA in the bullpen. Now, at least in the last few days, I see what they're trying to do.
They want to catch lightning in a bottle, and the best way to do that is have as many possible lightning emitters as possible. The idea is that they will have so many pitchers in the bullpen, one of them has to get hot and perform for them.
Reyes is expected to join the Mets after the September first 40-man roster expansion.
Sign away, Omar. Anyone and everyone. Bring them on, especially if they're named Reyes.
Reyes was cut free by the Tampa Bay Rays just the other day.
More on this when I get home.
5:56 pm: OK, now I'm home and I've had time to digest this signing.
I think it's time for me to make a mental switch. A few days ago, I was confused why the Mets would add a guy with a over-5 ERA in the bullpen. Now, at least in the last few days, I see what they're trying to do.
They want to catch lightning in a bottle, and the best way to do that is have as many possible lightning emitters as possible. The idea is that they will have so many pitchers in the bullpen, one of them has to get hot and perform for them.
Reyes is expected to join the Mets after the September first 40-man roster expansion.
Sign away, Omar. Anyone and everyone. Bring them on, especially if they're named Reyes.
SportsBlogNet.com Beta goes live; The world is a better place
Special announcement time.
See that little box over on the right hand sidebar. Click it. It's for SportsBlogNet.com, a site which I've been a part of for a while now, but just went live today.
From the "press release:"
Also, check out Union. Union is something special. Every day, a new writer from SBN.com (as I like to abbreviate) is chosen and will write about all different sports news of the day. Currently, I'm scheduled for the next two Fridays. Right now, Andrew Kneeland from Twins Fix is at the helm.
Join us in the SportsBlogNet revolution!
See that little box over on the right hand sidebar. Click it. It's for SportsBlogNet.com, a site which I've been a part of for a while now, but just went live today.
From the "press release:"
SportsBlogNet.com is a site that feeds in over 50 great sports blogs and links back out to all of them. They drive traffic to our site and also sell ads for all the blogs in the network.Click it. You know you want to.At SportsBlogNet.com you can:
- Read all the quality blogs in the network
- Write for a blog in the network
- Discover new blogs
- Build a new free sports blog
- Join the network as an additional revenue and traffic source for your sports blog
Currently SportsBlogNet.com has approximately 56 blogs in the network with a reach of approximately 200,000 unique visitors per month which is growing daily. Check it out. They are interested in hearing your feedback.
Also, check out Union. Union is something special. Every day, a new writer from SBN.com (as I like to abbreviate) is chosen and will write about all different sports news of the day. Currently, I'm scheduled for the next two Fridays. Right now, Andrew Kneeland from Twins Fix is at the helm.
Join us in the SportsBlogNet revolution!
As if you haven't read enough about the Mets bullpen already
I give you two more articles from the mainstream media.
The first is from Senor Bill Madden of the Daily News. In it, he ponders who the Mets will use at closer with Billy Wagner on the shelf indefinitely. While he comes to absolutely no conclusion whatsoever, he does point out that both Huston Street and Brian Fuentes would be way too expensive to attempt to pick up.
Madden:
I'm glad the Mets didn't trade for him, but Street would have been perfect right about now. He's young and talented, so you know Beane would have wanted a boatload for him, but he's the kind of GM that would be willing to take a crop of players from A-ball and let them prosper in his own system.
Either way, the Mets are going to have to patch together the bullpen from here on out. Luis Ayala looked good in his first two-thirds of an inning, but he's got a long way to go before I trust him. (Side note: Read Mets Today's game recap from last night. He's not impressed either.)
Star-Ledger payroll participant, Dan Graziano, penned an article entitled "New York Mets bullpen not built for October."
Believe me, Dan, we know.
Graziano does give the Mets one thumbs up, claiming the team is good enough to win the NL East, but at the same time jinxes the team with the earliest known usage of that terrible term: magic number.
Graziano:
But he goes on to put this whole whining ordeal into perspective:
The first is from Senor Bill Madden of the Daily News. In it, he ponders who the Mets will use at closer with Billy Wagner on the shelf indefinitely. While he comes to absolutely no conclusion whatsoever, he does point out that both Huston Street and Brian Fuentes would be way too expensive to attempt to pick up.
Madden:
For his part, Minaya has to hope Wagner's loss can be filled from within because, as he said, "there are few other options" on the outside. Although no closers were dealt at the trading deadline, only Oakland's Huston Street is believed to have cleared waivers. And even though Street is having a subpar season, A's GM Billy Beane is going to want premium prospects back for him. Same thing for Colorado's Brian Fuentes, a free agent after the season who may also have cleared, but is probably not going to be moved.The Rox wanted Aaron Heilman for Fuentes, something that made little to no sense to me. If they had asked for a guy like, say, Endy Chavez, that would have been something the Mets should have thought about. Swapping a relief pitcher for a relief pitcher is dicey territory, especially for a rental like Fuentes.
I'm glad the Mets didn't trade for him, but Street would have been perfect right about now. He's young and talented, so you know Beane would have wanted a boatload for him, but he's the kind of GM that would be willing to take a crop of players from A-ball and let them prosper in his own system.
Either way, the Mets are going to have to patch together the bullpen from here on out. Luis Ayala looked good in his first two-thirds of an inning, but he's got a long way to go before I trust him. (Side note: Read Mets Today's game recap from last night. He's not impressed either.)
Star-Ledger payroll participant, Dan Graziano, penned an article entitled "New York Mets bullpen not built for October."
Believe me, Dan, we know.
Graziano does give the Mets one thumbs up, claiming the team is good enough to win the NL East, but at the same time jinxes the team with the earliest known usage of that terrible term: magic number.
Graziano:
The Mets' bullpen may well be good enough, even without Billy Wagner, to win the NL East. Their starting pitching is excellent. Their lineup is very good. Their schedule is cream cheese. (Seriously - eight more against the Braves, six more against the Nationals. CAKE.) The Phillies don't seem to have that...whatever it is they had last year. The Mets' magic number is 36, and they're in a groove.It's true. The schedule sets up nicely for the Mets, but it could also set up for 2007 redux. We all figured that games against the Nationals and Marlins would be easy as pie (pie and cake references accounted for) in the last few weeks. And again, we all know what happened there.
But he goes on to put this whole whining ordeal into perspective:
If one or two of these guys get hot for the next three weeks, and then one or two other guys get hot for the three weeks after that, and Manuel does a good job of identifying who's hot at what time, then they're home. And if that does happen, they may well get to October with a couple of guys on a roll. Wagner's absence could have the effect of instilling some confidence in a couple of these relief pitchers, if they're able to have success between now and then.I've never heard fans of a team in first place bellyache so much, but the bullpen is an issue. All it takes is one or two pitchers to rattle off a nice scoreless streak and we'll all shut up. And the world will be a better place.
8/19/08
Game Recap: Mets 7 -- Braves 3
Wait...the Mets bullpen...didn't give it up??
Pitching Performance
Oliver Perez was on the bump tonight, as he worked his way through six 1-3 innings. Perez scattered seven hits and five walks, and somehow managed to only give up three runs. Perez also struck out three. All three runs against Perez came in the top of the third inning, as the Braves strung together a walk, three singles and a couple of productive outs.
Perez was wildly effective. He let the runners reach, but almost always worked out without damage. It may have just been me trying to watch the game on the TV screen in the diner with my family, but it seemed like his rocking motion was more pronounced tonight, as opposed to recently. Maybe it was just me.
Luis Ayala made his Mets debut, coming in with men on first and third and only one out. Ayala induced two pop-ups to work out of the jam.
I was skeptical, but this was a good first appearance. Getting off on the right foot.
Aaron Heilman worked one inning, giving up one hit and walking one. The Mets offense finally woke up and made him a winner, bumping his record up to 3-7. Scott Schoeneweis came in with a four run lead, a non-save situation, allowed only one hit as the ended it for the Mets.
Solid. Very solid. The bullpen came out and did exactly what they're paid to do.
Offensive Output
The Mets got on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Another productive out from David Wright, as he drove in Jose Reyes with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis drove in Nick Evans with a ground rule double to right field.
Three hits and a walk, but only two runs. Thankfully, after seven innings of silence, the Mets bats picked up the slack in the 8th inning.
Carlos Delgado came through in the clutch, with the Mets down by a run. Delgado ripped a two-run double to deep left field, putting the Mets up by one. Damion Easley added a two-run single, followed by a Ramon Castro RBI double.
Delgado and Easley had been pretty ice cold lately, but both came through when the team needed them. Good stuff.
The Rest of the Story
Chipper Jones: 2-3, 2 walks, run, RBI. He's having a beast of a season, and of course it continues at Shea.
The Mets were outhit, 8-9.
Daniel Murphy's batting average has sunk to a paltry .419.
Game Ball: Carlos Delgado
Pitching Performance
Oliver Perez was on the bump tonight, as he worked his way through six 1-3 innings. Perez scattered seven hits and five walks, and somehow managed to only give up three runs. Perez also struck out three. All three runs against Perez came in the top of the third inning, as the Braves strung together a walk, three singles and a couple of productive outs.
Perez was wildly effective. He let the runners reach, but almost always worked out without damage. It may have just been me trying to watch the game on the TV screen in the diner with my family, but it seemed like his rocking motion was more pronounced tonight, as opposed to recently. Maybe it was just me.
Luis Ayala made his Mets debut, coming in with men on first and third and only one out. Ayala induced two pop-ups to work out of the jam.
I was skeptical, but this was a good first appearance. Getting off on the right foot.
Aaron Heilman worked one inning, giving up one hit and walking one. The Mets offense finally woke up and made him a winner, bumping his record up to 3-7. Scott Schoeneweis came in with a four run lead, a non-save situation, allowed only one hit as the ended it for the Mets.
Solid. Very solid. The bullpen came out and did exactly what they're paid to do.
Offensive Output
The Mets got on the board early, scoring two runs in the top of the first. Another productive out from David Wright, as he drove in Jose Reyes with a sacrifice fly. Fernando Tatis drove in Nick Evans with a ground rule double to right field.
Three hits and a walk, but only two runs. Thankfully, after seven innings of silence, the Mets bats picked up the slack in the 8th inning.
Carlos Delgado came through in the clutch, with the Mets down by a run. Delgado ripped a two-run double to deep left field, putting the Mets up by one. Damion Easley added a two-run single, followed by a Ramon Castro RBI double.
Delgado and Easley had been pretty ice cold lately, but both came through when the team needed them. Good stuff.
The Rest of the Story
Chipper Jones: 2-3, 2 walks, run, RBI. He's having a beast of a season, and of course it continues at Shea.
The Mets were outhit, 8-9.
Daniel Murphy's batting average has sunk to a paltry .419.
Game Ball: Carlos Delgado
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