Luis Castillo will not return tonight

Luis Castillo has asked out of tonight's game and will not be activated from the DL.

This can be taken one of two ways: On one hand, this could be taken as a sad move, where he just wants to keep sitting and collect his money. I don't think that's the case, as I think (hope) it's more likely that he's just doesn't feel ready and feels bad that he'd be taking the spot of another player, and for the good of the team, he'll continue to work his way back.

At least Argenis Reyes gets to stick around.

Update, 5:51 pm: Here's an update from Rod Boone over at Newsday:

According to Manuel, because the team is playing so well Castillo did not want to affect the team chemistry. So he won't be activated today and there's no telling when. Manuel said it wasn't a health-related issue and Castillo will travel with the team to Philly. He will be activated before the rosters expand Sept. 1.

Valiant move, Castillo. I like this. A lot.

Listen to Live from Mickey Mantle's

I must say, this was awesome. I pop in around the five minute mark.



Enjoy.

Game Recap: Mets 3 -- Astros 0

A pitching duel on paper actually translated to one on the field.

Pitching Performance

Johan Santana has now thrown 16 shutout innings in his last two starts. Earning his money yet? Santana scattered eight hits through his seven stanzas of work tonight, walking only one and striking out five. He threw 121 pitches, otherwise I think he would have stayed in the game for all nine.

Santana faced a little trouble in the second, when he had runners on second and third and one out. He got a ground ball and then struck out Roy Oswalt to end the threat. He only worked one 1-2-3 inning, and that came in the fourth inning. Other than that, he had runners on in every inning.

Perfect Santana tonight. Absolutely outstanding. I can't sing his accolades anymore than I already am just by showing you his numbers. He's something special. Anyone miss Carlos Gomez and the other Twins?

Aaron Heilman threw a perfect eighth inning, striking out one. Luis Ayala earned the save, also working a perfect inning, as he struck out two 'Stros before getting old friend David Newhan to ground out to end the game.

Is it too soon to say the bullpen looks good lately? Because it has. Again, whatever the Mets did to adjust Ayala's arm angle seems to be working. I don't like the way it looks, as he looks like he's throwing a shot put or heaving the ball across the plate, but it's working and that's all that matters.

Offensive Output

A big hand must go to Oswalt, who threw a complete game but still was tagged with the loss. Eight innings for the man with the tractor, only allowing four hits and walking none. He struck out six Mets.

The Mets scored another first inning run, as Jose Reyes singled to lead off the game, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Argenis Reyes sacrificed him over to third, and David Wright eventually drove him in with a single of his own.

I love Reyes as the table setter. He's the perfect player for that role as he has the ability to get on base a lot and can even crack a few homers to start the game if he's in a groove. The Mets lead the majors with first inning runs, and I couldn't be happier.

The other Mets runs came in the second inning, before Oswalt settled in. Ryan Church singled in his first at bat after a looooooooong time off due to his concussions and migraines. He wasn't on base very long, as Brian Schneider cracked a two-run home run to left field a few pitches later.

Schneider seems to be getting a little toasty. He's found his home run swing.

The Rest of the Story

After the second inning, the Mets were set down in order in the: third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth.

Oswalt needed only 102 pitches to get through his eight innings.

Daniel Murphy is now batting a putrid .380 on the year.

Game Ball: Johan Santana and Roy Oswalt

Luis Castillo to return tomorrow

Groan!

Luis Castillo is scheduled to return tomorrow, as the Mets will be back at "full strength" for the first time in a while.

I know the Mets are paying this guy $25 million, but I honestly think the team would be a lot better off cutting this guy loose. Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes have done more in his absence than Castillo ever could. Reyes even reminds me of Castillo, with his slap swing. He's like the younger, more capable version of him from years well past.

I have to guess that A-Rey is the guy getting the short end of the stick, and heading back down to the minors for eight days. Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy are working too well in left field lately.

The Mets will welcome back Ryan Church tonight with open arms, but welcome Castillo back with a shifty smile and a polite shake of the hand tomorrow.

Wiffle ball: The greatest sport ever

Here's a snippet of one of my posts from Union:

I’d like to start off by making sure everyone understands that it is spelled “W-i-f-f-l-e,” not “whiffle.” Wiffle is the official name, the yellow bat and white ball, the greatest sport ever invented.

I can honestly say, outside of soccer, I think I’ve played Wiffle ball more than any other sport, ever. I’d like to believe I’m a decent pitcher since I can strike out most of my friends on a fairly consistent basis, but there are some people that are miles ahead of me.

Take a look at some of these pitches. The movement on these are absolutely insane.

I was just clocked by some crappy boardwalk radar gun as throwing a real baseball 55 mph (yeah, I know, that sucks). I imagine my wiffle ball moves somewhere in the 30-40 mph range due to it’s weight, but the key is not the speed, but the movement.

My favorite pitch is my “changeup+”. It’s a changeup because...

Read the rest of my post over at Union...

Live at Mickey Mantle's

I'll be appearing on "Live from Mickey Mantle's" tonight, joining host Joe Janish from Mets Today.

Listen by clicking this button...



The show runs from 6-8 pm, and I should be on between 6 and 6:30.

Blogging at Union today

I'm pulling double duty today, as I'm both here and over at Union.

Go check it out.

Tom Seaver won't be sad to see Shea go, and either will I

I like pretty things, as does anybody. I love architecture, and I will be taking AR316 this semester. That is why I won't be sad when the Mets move to Citi Field next season.

Tom Seaver holds the same thought process.

Newsday provides the quote:

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not a big fan of the stadium," Seaver said. "It's strictly an architectural observation ... Now the physical is just going to move across the street."

Shea is not pretty. It has great memories, but it's nothing to look at. Citi Field will be much more special, I promise.

Cue the jinx

"This is beginning to look like the Mets' year"

Thanks, Mark Herrmann. Thanks a lot.

No one is suggesting this is going to end in a championship, or there is something miraculous afoot. But there is no denying strange stuff is happening.

I can't deny that. Maybe it's just some bad teams playing poorly, but almost everything seems to be swinging the Mets way lately, especially their own bats.

Herrmann quotes Pedro Martinez as saying "Ever since I've been here, I've wondered when we were going to get things going our way. It seems like it was never our way."

I think we can all attest to that. Last night, between the misplays by the Braves and the missed calls by the umpires (though I must say, some of those strikes against Carlos Delgado were a tad ridiculous) it just seems like something special is happening to this team.

Finally, some of their hits are falling inbetween the defense, squeaking under gloves, or barely clearing the wall.

Herrman's article, though possibly a jinx, has truly got me excited for the next 34 games.

Game Recap: Mets 5 -- Braves 4

Jeez, and I thought the Pirates were bad.

Pitching Performance

Another leadoff solo home run against Pedro Martinez. Yunel Escobar hit another solo dinger off of Pedro's first pitch, his 39204772987 solo home run allowed in the last 10 games (Rough estimate). Pedro ended up throwing 7+ innings, allowing seven hits. He walked only one, and struck out six.

Martinez let in four earned runs, three of which came in the sixth inning. Brian McCann doubled in two runs to take the lead over the Mets, then Omar Infante singled in another in the sixth before Pedro worked out of it. He pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, and came out to start the eighth inning, but allowed a hit and was removed from the game.

Again, nothing spectacular, but he did his job, kept his team close and in the game. One of Pedro's poorer starts over the last few months, but I'll take this from him. He's inching toward the end of his career, but right now, looks like semi-vintage Pedro.

Question to Mets fans: Do you re-sign Pedro next year? For how long?

Pedro Feliciano replaced Martinez, allowing one hit and walking one, but benefitted from a very pretty 2-5-3 double play.

Luis Ayala pitched very admirably, throwing 1 1-3 innings, allowing only one hit. Ayala earned the win as the Mets pushed one across in the bottom half of the ninth inning.

So far, so good with Ayala. Maybe I was wrong about this trade...

Offensive Output

Carlos Delgado went 5-5 tonight, driving in three runs. Two of his hits probably should have been errors, but he'll take it and so will I.

Delgado got the Mets started in the bottom of the first, singling to center and driving in Jose Reyes. Delgado drove in the Mets second run in the third inning, singling again to center and driving in David Wright this time.

Those were his "real" hits. His "error hits" came later.

Wright added his own RBI, driving in, well, himself, with a solo home run deep to left field into the bleacher section.

Someone is getting hot, Mr. Wright. 3-4, 3 runs, RBI.

Here's where things get screwy. Bottom of the 8th, Nick Evans on second, Carlos Beltran on first, Delgado at the dish. Delgado bounces one to Infante at first, but Will Ohman failed to cover first. By the time Ohman got there, Infante had thrown the ball, which ended up going behind the sprinting pitcher. Evans came around to score, and tie up the game.

Move to the bottom of the ninth, same score. Wright doubles to right center with one out. The Braves decide to intentionally walk Beltran and pitch to Delgado, who at this point is 4-4. Makes little to no sense, I know. Delgado scorches one to left field, and Infante (yes, him again) streaks over and looks like he's going to make an easy catch and the line drive.

He must have lost it in the lights, as he ended up sliding, flailing and completely missing the ball. It actually bounced off of him, and skipped towards Mark Kotsay in centerfield. Wright was caught inbetween, but realized what happend and darted around third and took an unneccesary sliding headfirst dive into home to seal the win.

B-E-A-UTIFUL!

The Rest of the Story

This was the 27th consecutive one-run road loss for the Braves.

The Phillies lost to the Nationals, by a score of 4-3. Anderson Hernandez went 2-5, scored once and drove in one run. Funny that A-Hern aids the Nationals win over the Phillies, and Ayala works an inning and a third and earns the win for the Mets. This was all planned.

The Mets are 2.5 games up on the Phillies.

Game Ball: Carlos Delgado.