Game Recap: Mets 3 – Braves 2

Big Pelf.

The Good

Mike Pelfrey tossed 7 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits.  He allowed two earned runs while walking two and striking out three.  He wasn’t great, as he let a lot of leadoff batters reach, but he worked through them.  He induced three double plays to avoid trouble.  Very, very happy with his effort tonight.

Baja Fresh!  Rod Barajas put the Mets ahead early with a two-run RBI in the second inning.

Chris Carter went 1-2, scoring once and driving in one with a groundout.  Animal.

Pedro Feliciano did his job, after a little scare in the 8th.  Same goes for Francisco Rodriguez.

The Bad & Ugly

The Mets only had five hits.

What’s a bullpen without a few walks?  One each for Feliciano and K-Rod.

David Wright has now struck out in 14 straight games.

Game Ball

Mike Pelfrey.

On Deck

Mets and Braves finish out this silly two-game series tomorrow at 7 p.m.

What’d I miss? [Part II]

Another busy day of moving out of my house in Connecticut and back home with my parents.  This blog – and my life – will return to normalcy eventually.

Let’s take a stab at some of the news I’ve missed…

Jerry Manuel is still the manager.  As I expected.  He’s going to get a warning or two from Omar and the Wilpons before anything major goes down.  I’d expect Howard Johnson and/or Dan Warthen get the boot before Manuel is shown the door.

R.A. Dickey will start Wednesday.  Sounds good to me.  Hope he can have similar success as he had with the Bisons.

Hisanori Takahashi will start Friday.  Sounds good to me.  Hope he can have similar success as he had out of the bullpen.

Chris Carter is batting clean up tonight.  Go, Animal, Go.

No chat again tonight.  But will be on Twitter while I watch the game.

Graduation day

I did it.  Today, I graduate from college.  Quinnipiac University, Class of 2010.  Boom.  Done.

I started this blog in July of 2006, during that wonderful summer between high school and college.  Four years of blogging later, a lot has changed about me and about this site.  The Mets were so very, very close in 2006.  And now, in 2010, well…yeah.

But through it all, I’ve had this blog and the Mets.

I don’t have a lot of Mets fans friends.  Through this site, I’ve gained many.  I’ve even met a few of you in the real world and hope to meet more of you in the future.  This blog has opened my eyes to a lot of things about the team, their fans and the Internet.

I am beyond glad that I’ve stuck with this site through all four years of school and cannot believe I’m already done with school (for now, Mom and Dad).

A big thank you to all that have sent their well wishes over the last week or so.  It means a lot to me.  Thank you – all of you – for reading this blog for my thoughts about the team we love so much.

But seriously, who invented these caps and gowns?  They’re such awful outfits.

No, but really, does anyone have any job openings?

Again, many thanks!  Oh, and let’s go Mets!

What’d I miss?

OK, it was a long day.  Tomorrow will be longer.  I missed a lot.  Let’s take a run at it.

Oliver Perez to the bullpen.  Good.

Hisanori Takahashi will likely make the start for Perez.  Also good.

Jose Reyes moved back to the leadoff spot.  Also also good.

Angel Pagan hit third.  No.  This is not the spot for Pagan.  Put Pagan second, Wright third, Bay fourth and Davis fifth.  From there, you could slot Barajas sixth, Frenchy seventh and Castillo eighth.  Good?  Not really.  Better?  Yes.

The Mets lost again.  Oy vey.  The team is under .500 at 18-19 and there’s no signs of improvement coming their way.  John Maine was beyond bad, with 12 straight balls to start the game.  He could have been a lot worse, but that’s not something to take solace in.  If the Mets are fed up with Perez and sending him to the ‘pen, Maine shouldn’t be far behind.

Meanwhile, in Buffalo…

Oliver Perez: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Season WHIP: 1.92, ERA: 5.94

Meanwhile, in Buffalo…

R.A. Dickey: 8 IP, 8 H, 3 R (all unearned), 2 BB, 3 K
Season WHIP: 1.038, ERA: 2.23

How’s that song go?  “I’ve got a feeling…”

Jeff Francoeur?

AVG: .230

OBP: .295

SLG: .393

OPS: .688

A .688 OPS!  On base plus slugging is .688!

Are we still defending Jeff Francoeur or has that passed?

Manuel’s Musing

“Tell him we're hitting .220 at home. "So we need to stop stealing signs if that's what we're doing.”

-Jerry Manuel on Charlie Manuel and stealing signs

Game Recap: Marlins 2 – Mets 1

A walk-off wild pitch.

The Good

Johan Santana tossed seven scoreless innings.  He allowed only six hits and one unearned run (though the error was his).  He walked only one and struck out five.  Awesome.

Rod Barajas drove in the only one on a two-out RBI single.

Fernando Nieve’s 8th inning.

That’s about it.

The Bad & Ugly

Fernando Nieve’s 9th inning.  Why, exactly, was he out there again?  It’s bad enough he’s throwing practically every day, now he’s doing more than one inning every appearance?

The Mets had only four hits.

They struck out eight times.

They did not draw a walk.

Walk-off wild pitches.  I mean, come on!?

Game Ball

Johan.

On Deck

Seven p.m. tomorrow, you know what they’ll do.

You might want to sit down for this: Mets announce Citi Field tours

From the Mets… Interesting stuff in bold…

FLUSHING, N.Y., May 13, 2010 - The New York Mets today announced the launch of Citi Field Tours, offering fans a guided behind-the-scenes look at their home, including the Mets Clubhouse, Dugout and the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum. Group Tours begin Friday, May 28 and regular Tours start Saturday, May 29 to kick off Memorial Day Weekend.

Tickets can be purchased at mets.com/tours or by phone at (718) 507-TIXX. Citi Field Tours are free for Season Ticket Holders making advance reservations with the Mets Ticket Office at (718) 507-TIXX. In-person ticket sales start Thursday, May 27 at the Citi Field Advance Ticket Windows located outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.

Fans will tour the press box and productions areas, visit the Empire and Sterling Suites, step onto the field on the warning track (weather permitting), visit the Bullpen, take photos in the Mets Dugout, and see the Mets Clubhouse. The one-hour tour will conclude at the Mets Hall of Fame & Museum.

Individual tickets are $10 for adults, and $7 for children 12 and under and senior citizens 60 and over. Tickets for groups of 10 or more purchased in advance are $8 for adults, and $5 for children 12 and under and senior citizens 60 and over. (Internet and phone orders are subject to service fees.) Thursday and Friday tours are only available for groups. Saturday and Sunday tours are open to individuals, plus groups with advanced reservations. Additional ticket information including a schedule of Citi Field Tour dates is available online at mets.com/tours or by phone at (718) 507-TIXX.

"We are launching Citi Field Tours to provide our fans with a behind-the-scenes experience of Citi Field," said Dave Howard, Executive Vice President, Business Operations, Mets. "We've had great interest from our fans since opening the ballpark last year, and we are delighted to be able to provide them a closer look at their team's home."

Saturday and Sunday tours depart every 30 minutes, beginning at 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. from the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Complimentary parking for all tours is available in the Citi Field Official Lot (Lot G), with the entrance on 126th Street off of Roosevelt Avenue.

Good for the Mets.

They’re listening.

Stealing signs is part of the game, but…

The Phillies have been accused of stealing signs.  I have no problem with that.

The fact that they were using binoculars is what makes it wrong.

Sign stealing is part of the game.  If there’s a runner on second and he can read the catchers signs and somehow communicate that to the batter in time, then good for him.  But using outside technology – pretty much anything that isn’t your eyes, ears or body – is what makes it wrong and cheating.

Baseball is a game of physical ability and wits.  The pitcher is always trying to fool the batter with an unlikely pattern of pitches, the manager is trying to mix-up the lefty/righty order to force the other manager’s hand when using a bullpen, etc.  It’s beautiful in it’s simplicity.  A bat, a ball and a glove.  Four bases.  That’s it. 

But the use of binoculars from the bullpen and the bullpen phone to the dugout is cheating.  I don’t care if it’s the Phillies, the Royals or the Diamondbacks, my thoughts would be the same on this.  It’s part of the game until you start using “technology” in any form.

And another thing, for Charlie Manuel to turn around and start accusing the Mets of stealing signs is both crazy and sad.  Your team was just accused of stealing signs – for the second time in two years – and the best you can do is to accuse another team of doing it because of their home record?  Just a reminder, Charlie, you were accused of it while at Coors Field in Colorado – not your home park.

Manuel can toss accusations all he likes, but if the team was using binoculars to spy on signs, that’s cheating.

(Aside: Remember Spygate in the NFL?  See how strict the league was about that?  And now, Brian Cushing tests positive for steroids and he keeps his Rookie of the Year award.  Seems like baseball is lax if it involves spying, but strict on steroids – and football is just the opposite.)