Live Blog: SD @ NYM – 4/16

The Mets and the Padres are set to face off at 7:10 p.m. for the rubber game of the first series at Citi Field.  Join in the live chat to talk Mets, baseball and Citi Field with fellow fans!

Mets and Spongetech: A match made in heaven

I know you were wondering “Who is going to be the Mets official sponge?!” Lucky for you, I found the answer.

FLUSHING, N.Y., April 16, 2009 - The New York Mets and SpongeTech® Delivery Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: SPNG.OB) today announced a multiyear agreement for "America's Cleaning Company" to join the Mets at Citi Field.

The comprehensive set of rights and benefits features permanent SpongeTech® Delivery Systems, Inc. signage on the left field facade of the Excelsior Level, a sponsored promotional giveaway day in May, in-park branding, and inclusion in marketing and media assets, such as Mets publications and in-game scoreboard messages.

As part of the agreement, the Mets and SpongeTech® will also conduct a children's baseball clinic for 125 kids each year.

"We are excited to renew our commitment with the Mets and for having the opportunity to continue reaching out to their growing fan base," said Steven Moskowitz, COO of SpongeTech®. "Last year's marketing campaign with the New York Mets stimulated sales and overall produced an excellent return on investment."

Well thank goodness we got that straightened out.

Can someone please explain to me how this company has enough money to advertise in Citi Field and all over SNY?

Figueroa pulled; Pelfrey to miss start?

Adam Rubin is reporting that Nelson Figueroa was pulled from his start for the Buffalo Bisons after only two innings.  This brings Mike Pelfrey’s start on Sunday into question.

Pelfrey could hit the DL and rest his arm, with Figueroa taking over his starting duties.  The Mets may opt to pitch Pelfrey, but keep him on a short leash and would have Figueroa around to be the long man out of the bullpen.

Either way, it looks like Darren O’Day’s time with the Mets may be winding down, as Figueroa would have to be added to the 25-man roster.

This is probably the right move for the Mets either way.  With the starting pitchers struggling to get past five or six innings, the Mets are going to look to some bullpen pitchers to put out mulitple inning performances.  The only pitcher I’m currently comfortable seeing out there for more than one inning is Brian Stokes.

Figueroa would alleviate that if he was in the bullpen, as he has the ability to go two, or more, innings if need be.

Sweet Caroline rears it’s ugly head

According to Subway Squaker Lisa Swan, the Mets have brought back “Sweet Caroline” to be the sing-a-long song in the 8th inning.

Oh, wonderful.

The Mets seemed to realize that “Sweet Caroline” has already been claimed by another team, the Boston Red Sox.  They tried to find their own identity, and allowed fans to vote for a handful of songs (or write their own in) to be chosen for the new 8th inning song last year.  That led to the infamous “Rick Roll-ing.”

The Mets should stick to “Meet The Mets!” or some mix of their past anthems, both good and bad.  Where is “Let’s Go Mets Go!,” “Chocolate Strawberry” or “The Metropolitans”?

Still… “Sweet Caroline” is a good song…

All those 42’s threw someone for a loop

That “Unknown” player is Bobby Parnell.  I guess whoever was tracking this game at Yahoo! had a hard time identifying players because everyone was wearing No. 42 on their backs.

They also have him pitching out of order.  Bobby Unknown Parnell pitched before J.J. Putz, not after.  Parnell threw a hitless inning of baseball, taking over for Oliver Perez to start the 7th inning.

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.

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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.