Twitter Poll: Who will hit HR No. 500 first?

Last night, in lieu of a Mets win, I asked a fairly silly question just to see where everyone stood on the “Race To 500.”  Gary Sheffield, who made his first start for the Mets last night, needs only one to reach the plateau.  Carlos Delgado, who added to his total last night with a solo home run, now needs 29.

So I asked my Twitter followers: Who will hit No. 500 first?  Sheffield or Delgado…

• mets_geekette said: God, it had better be Sheffield and right quick, too.
• PaulsRandomStuf said: Carlos Delgado, no doubt. I'm beginning to think Gary Sheffield will finish his career at 499.
• letsgoduke said: delgado will not hit 30 before Gary hits one. Shef it is.
• fscker said: Gary Sheffield, after the past week, i think he'll be getting a lot more playing time in left. ala Moises Alou.
• jessicarubin said: as funny as the thought is, i think it's more realistic for sheffield to hit 1 than delgado to hit close to 30... although..
• djeffreys said: As funny/sad it would be for Gado to do it first, I think Sheff will hit at least five homers as a Met, so I'm going Sheff
• fullnelson said: Answer is Top Sheff, Gary Sheffield = 1 HR away.
• theskyzthelimit said: Delgado is definitely hitting 500 first.
• thebrowncoat said: I hope it's Sheffield because otherwise we're going to keep playing him and playing him and playing him until he does. Ugh.
• MetsNY81 said: Gary Sheffield. His 500th HR is coming by the end of the week!
• RyeOnHam said: Sheffield will but I hope that Delgado does it first. GO METS!!!
• JTKrycek said: if carlos hits 29 more HRs before shef hits even 1 then shef should give back the $400,000 the Mets paid him.
• Thommy7893 said: Even though Sheff is only a Bench Player I think he will hit his 500th first.
• cutiepie0319k said: Delgado.. he has better at bats. at least i hope its him :D

Only three people picked Delgado to hit 29 before Sheffield hits one.  It seems logic won out on this one.  But…they play the game for a reason, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about who will smack No. 500 first.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Game Recap: Mets 7 – Padres 2

And with that, the Mets set the franchise record for quickest win in their new ballpark.

The Mini Recap

A very good performance from Oliver Perez, allowing only one run over six innings.  A solid bullpen outing sealed up the performance.

The Mets might not have hit in the right spots, they did take advantage of miscues by the Padres.  They only tallied three RBIs on the night, but scored seven runs.  The highlight of the night came when Jose Reyes scored all the way from first base after a wild pitch and an error.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Update on Mike Pelfrey

David Lennon is reporting that Mike Pelfrey went for an MRI on his right forearm today, which is how they found the forearm tendinitis.  Lennon says that Pelfrey gets this pain a couple of times a year, but this lasted longer than any previous time.

"This is not a big deal," Pelfrey said. "I don't want anybody to think that it is."

Pelfrey’s next scheduled start in Sunday, and Mets officials have discussed skipping him in the order, says Lennon.  Pelfrey said he plans not to miss the start.

Not the best news, but it’s better than what Xavier Nady is going through.  It seems there is not much to worry about, but as Mets fans, I think we’ll all use the “wait and see” approach.

42 for all

Today, around major league baseball, Jackie Robinson will be honored.  Every uniformed player will be donning a No. 42 jersey number in honor of Jackie Robinson Day.

I was at last year’s Jackie Robinson Day at Shea Stadium, and let me tell you, it’s not easy to pick out your favorite player when everyone is wearing 42. 

The Mets will be front and center on Jackie Robinson Day, as much of the pre-game activity will focus on the dedication of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda in the new Citi Field, which happened earlier today.

From a Mets press release:

Rachel Robinson, the New York Mets, Citi, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, Major League Baseball, and government leaders today dedicated the iconic Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field on the 62nd anniversary of Jackie becoming the first African-American player in the sport's modern era to break Major League Baseball's color barrier.
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Engraved into the Rotunda's 160-foot diameter floor and etched into its 70-foot archways are words and larger-than-life images that defined Jackie's "nine values" as articulated by Sharon Robinson, Jackie's and Rachel's daughter and Foundation Vice Chair: Courage, Excellence, Persistence, Justice, Teamwork, Commitment, Citizenship, Determination, and Integrity. The Rotunda features an eight-foot sculpture of Jackie's number 42, which in 1997, was retired in perpetuity throughout Major League Baseball.

David Wright will pay special tribute to Robinson with a specially designed cleat, according to Amazin’ Stories.

As part of Major League Baseball’s annual “Jackie Robinson Day” tribute, several Nike baseball athletes will take to the diamond in a uniquely designed cleat that features an engraving of Robinson’s iconic image sliding into home plate as well as his number ‘42’ stitched on each heel.

It’s a great tribute to a great man who single handedly changed the game of baseball.

Pelfrey’s pitching with tendinitis in forearm

Somewhere, Tom Verducci is checking Mike Pelfrey’s name off his list and patting himself on the back.

According to an on-air report by Peter Gammons, via MetsBlog, Pelfrey has been pitching with arm tendinitis and has it to blame for his season ERA hovering above 8.

Here’s a little background info on tendinitis from WebMD:

How Is Tendinitis Treated?

Initial treatment includes:

• Avoiding activities that aggravate the problem
• Resting the injured area
• Icing the area the day of the injury
• Taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicines

If the condition does not improve in a week, see your doctor. You may need more advanced treatments, including:

• Corticosteroid injections. Corticosteroids (often called " steroids") are often used because they work quickly to decrease the inflammation and pain.
• Physical therapy. This can be very beneficial, especially for a "frozen shoulder." Physical therapy includes range of motion exercises and splinting (thumb, forearm, bands).
• Surgery. This is only rarely needed for severe problems not responding to other treatments.

Why Verducci, you ask?  Well if you’re a longtime reader, you probably know I love Verducci’s writing.  Also, he’s focused on the effect of increased innings on young pitchers.  Pelfrey fits into this category, and Verducci recently ranked him seventh for the greatest jump in innings for young pitchers.

From a post on April 8:

Verducci met with Pelfrey down at spring training, and much of his latest article focuses on Pelfrey and a handful of other young pitchers he has "red flagged" for injuries in 2009. Of the 10 pitchers Verducci picked, Pelfrey had the seventh largest jump in innings with 48.

How much should those guys be worried? Over the previous three years I red-flagged a total of 24 young pitchers at the start of those seasons. Of those 24 at-risk pitchers, 16 were hurt in that same season. Only one of the 24 pitchers managed to stay healthy and lower his ERA.Not the greatest news in the world for Mets fans or Pelfrey.

The Mets need to handle Pelfrey with kid gloves. He's a good pitcher, but it's too early in the season to have him injure himself or a long period of time.

Mr. Burgos goes to prison

Ex-Mets relief pitcher, Ambiorix Burgos, has been sentenced to nine months in jail.

Burgos was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend in a hotel room last Sept. 8.

From the AP:

Prosecutors say Burgos punched, slapped and stepped on then-girlfriend Maria Lopez when she tried to leave the hotel where he was staying.

She testified that he told her, "The police won't do anything to me. I am a baseball player."

Burgos is still awaiting charges in a case where the prosecution claims he ran over and killed two women in the Dominican Republic.

Twitter Poll: Which Oliver Perez will show up tonight?

Today’s poll was a little different.  Usually, I ask a very general or broad question, but this time I asked my Twitter followers to pick a side: Good Oliver Perez or Bad Oliver Perez, who will show up for tonight’s game?

The optimists…

• theskyzthelimit said: GOOD OLLIE all the way man!!!
• maverick4880 said: I think Good Ollie...just as a tease!!!
• pattigibbons said: I so want the GOOD Ollie to be there! :fingers crossed:
• Section518 said: Good Ollie, all the way! (Fingers crossed)
• metgirl4ever said: GOOD OLLIE...God willin' and the creek don't rise
• metstweets said: I'm going with the nominally above average Ollie which we think, wrongly, is the lights out one. Mets 6, Brewers 4.
• ProctorsArm said: Great Ollie! #Mets
• Jbones72 said: ...Good Ollie, he's due!
• fullnelson said: Hopefully The GOOD OLLIE for the #Mets tomorrow. Just give 5 or 6 innings with less than 3 earn runs.
• Citi_Field said: The Padres have been playing good so far. Could be good Ollie. He does well against good teams. So far, that's the Padres.
• JTKrycek said: well, last year he tended to alternate, so since last time was BAD ollie, i'm saying this time we'll see GOOD ollie
• mhack said: I have a feeling about the Good Ollie. He'll build up hope early in the season so he can break hearts down the stretch.
• ByronBrewer said: Good Ollie. I'm feeling optimistic. :)
• MetsNY81 said: The Good Ollie! I predict he'll pitch 7 innings w/ 8+ K's and only 2 walks allowed. (I know, 2 walks.. wishful thinking!)

And the pessimists…

• thebrowncoat said: I've got to go with the BAD OLLIE. I think Mexico stole the GOOD OLLIE and they're holding him hostage.
• darknova306 said: It's gonna be the bad Ollie. He'll get distracted by Mr Met. I'm losing the little faith I had in him quick.
• NYMetsGrrl94 said: Poo Poo Perez!
• TCMChristmas said: BAD Ollie
• metsfan said: good ollie for 4 innings, then...

So it seems that Mets fans are anticipating a good game out of Perez tonight.  Is it just blind faith?  Maybe.  It’s up to Perez to prove either side right.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about Perez’s start tonight.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Thoughts on SNY’s new graphics package

SNY debuted a new graphics package when the season began, and though it looks nice it’s a big too big for my liking.  The thing that bothers me the most is the gap between the line score and the top of the screen, as seen above.

I’m viewing games in standard definition while I’m at school.  My friend, Jeremy Schilling recently went home for the weekend and took this photo of the Mets game on SNY HD.  The line score is even lower in higher definition! In my latest poll, I asked if the SNY graphics were too bloated.  Here are the results:

• Yes - 38%
• Who cares? - 35%
• No - 26%

It’s obviously not the biggest deal in the world, but I think SNY can do something about it to fix this issue.  It’s obviously bothering some people besides me.

Ex-Mets: Lastings Milledge optioned to Triple-A

Lastings Milledge, the embattled Washington Nationals outfielder, was just optioned to their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, NY.

Via We’ve Got Heart:

MILLEDGE OPTIONED TO TRIPLE-A SYRACUSE

The Washington Nationals today optioned outfielder Lastings Milledge to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Even though a Ryan Church error may have led the Mets to a loss yesterday, does anyone still want to tell me this was a bad trade for the Mets?

Putz and the Pope

Via Eli from Brooklyn:

Mike Francesa: Enjoy your time here and we're looking forward to tonight.
J.J. Putz: Always a pleasure to get a chance to talk to a pope. I'll tell you that.

If you don’t get that joke, Bob Raissman of the Daily News has called Francesa “The Pope” for years because he thinks he is “all knowing.”  Someone must have tipped Putz off to the nickname.

It’s so true.