Daily Archives: May 2, 2006
The Mets lost to the Nationals by a score of 6 to 2 tonight…
…a few thoughts…
…jeesh, this game was a mess, and just didn’t feel right from the get-go…
…at any rate…
…Kaz Matsui has looked great in the field, lately…doing what appears to be an outstanding Wally Backman impersonation…good for you, kaz…
…the young John Maine looked decent, but very, very nervous…to his credit, he does have a very easy low-90s fastball, which is nice to see, very smooth…he is strong when he keeps that fastball zipping across the lower corners of the plate…he kept the ball moving around all points of the strike zone, thought i’m not sure it was always on purpose…also, he did not get many first pitch strikes, but i have a feeling he is better than he appeared…all in all, he did well enough…
…is it me, or are more home runs being hit on pitches hanging up in the zone this season, much like Paul Lo Duca’s and Alfonso Soriano’s tonight…maybe i am just noticing it more, but i feel like pitchers are making more mistakes than usual, and hitters are taking advantage of it…
…our buddy, mark, at mets walkoffs, was cited by Gary Cohen during the broadcast, but his site was botched in the plug, referred to as MetsWalkoffs.com, which is incorrect…oh, snap…i hate when that happens…
…give a game ball to the old woman who SNY showed in the fifth inning wearing an all-sequins mets cap…crazy, lady…if Michael Jackson were a mets fan, he’d certainly sport one these bad boys…
…a black cat…are you kidding me…
…yeah, i know the last time this happened to the mets it all worked out well, but this just felt awkward, and i’m not even superstitious…
…but, man, this just feels like the start of a losing streak…thankfully, Pedro Martinez is on the hill tomorrow to shake out the eriness…
The Game…
The Mets (17–8) take on the Nationals (8–18) at Shea Stadium tonight in the final game of a two-game series starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT…
The Pitchers…
RHP John Maine starts for the Mets … According to SNY, Maine is the only player in baseball history to start a major league game as pitcher with the last name of a state not named Washington … Maine was 1-3 with a 2.63 ERA in four starts for Triple-A Norfolk … In 10 starts for the O’s last season, Maine allowed left-handed batters to hit .227 against him, while right-handed batters hit .275 … Nats 2B Alfonso Soriano is the only Washington player who has faced Maine, and he struck out and went hitless in three at-bats …
LHP Mike O’Connor (1–0, 1.00) starts for the Nationals … In his major-league debut last week against the Cardinals, O’Conner, 25, allowed three runs on three hits spanning five innings while walking four and striking out two … He is the seventh starting pitcher used by Washington this season … O’Conner was Washington’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2005 …
The Notes…
C Paul Lo Duca has a five game hitting streak … OF Xavier Nady has a six game hitting streak…
2B Kaz Matsui has hit in nine of his 10 starts since taking over for 2B Anderson Hernandez…
The Mets bullpen has allowed just six earned runs since April 16 … the team’s bullpen leads the league in strikeouts, and has walked the fewest number of batters…
SS Jose Reyes is batting .318 over his last five games, sporting six runs scored, a triple, seven walks and five stolen bases…
Right-handed hitters are 2–for-14 against LHP Pedro Feliciano…
RHP Jorge Julio has 22 strike outs in 11.2 innings pitched…
The Mets are 13–0 when they outhit their opponent…they are 12–2 when they score first…
The Bleachers…
To chat during the game, go to MetsBlog’s Bleachers … or, to access the chat room through IRC, go to server name irc.echo34.com and channel #metsblog…
…enjoy…
In his most recent start for Single-A St. Lucie, RHP Alay Soler allowed no runs on just one hit while walking none and striking out seven in seven innings…
In five starts for St. Lucie, Soler is 2–0 with a 0.64 ERA…
…yes, you read that correctly…zero…point…six…four…
In 28 innings, he’s allowed two earned runs on 12 hits, while walking eight and striking out 32…
…the thing is, he’s a pro pitching against kids…he should dominate…nevertheless, it’s a good intro for him into american baseball, and it will allow him to get comfy…as the weather breaks in the north, he’ll likely bump up to either binghamton or norfolk, as the team has said all along that it would prefer to keep him pitching in a warmer climate, which he is more used to…
In Baseball America’s most recent Daily Dish column, Aaron Fitt writes, “Soler seems to have the makeup to handle the pressure of New York, and his stuff (91-94 mph fastball and low-80s slider with exceptional depth) could put him on the fast track to pitch in the majors later this summer.”…
…between soler, Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Heilman, John Maine and Brian Bannister, the mets have got to have at least one, solid, consistent starter…it’s a long season, and through it they’ll determine who the true winner is…by season’s end, i believe the rotation will be clicking very, very well…and we will all quickly forget about Kris Benson, and his notorious troubles of pitching past july…
…also, hat tip to mike, at mike’s mets, for the baseball america link, who adds a comment or two about soler, as well…check him out…
In his blog at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Braves beat writer David O’Brien points out the following…
“After Tim Hudson’s one-hit gem Monday against a hot-hitting Colorado team, Braves starters have a 2.27 ERA and four complete games in the last 14 games. They’ve whittled their starters ERA to 4.32 (from 8.17), which is now sixth in the NL, and the team ERA to 4.37 (eighth in NL).”…
The Mets will turn to Tides RHP John Maine to start at Shea Stadium tonight, in place of the injured Brian Bannister…
Maine was brought aboard with RHP Jorge Julio from Baltimore in exchange for RHP Kris Benson towards the end of the off-season…
…at the time, much of the focus was on the acquisition of julio…however, the resulting buzz from the trade was that the mets were far more excited to be getting maine…hopefully tonight we will see why…
Maine was 1-3 with a 2.63 ERA in four starts for Triple-A Norfolk…
In the New York Post, the team’s manager, Willie Randolph, is quoted as saying that Maine is by no means guaranteed a second start if he falters tonight. According to the Post, GM Omar Minaya is a tad more flexible with regards to Maine’s next start…
Meanwhile, at MetsGeek, Mike takes a look at Maine’s entire career, from college to Baltimore to Norfolk to Shea…
Randolph, on Maine, as quoted by the Star-Ledger…
“He throws between 90 and 93 (mph), and he can locate his fastball like most pitchers, and he’s got a pretty good curveball. He’s got all four pitches, but nothing above average, and he needs to locate. He’s not going to overpower you. He needs to hit his spots. Just control the game.”…
At Newsday, Anthony Rieber gives a few more quotes from Minaya and Randolph on why the team prefers Maine to other options…
At the New York Sun, Tim Marchman explains why, despite hitting just .250 with a .330 OBP, April was the start of Jose Reyes’s rise to stardom…
As Marchman points out, not only did Reyes walk 12 times, the 21–year-old shortstop was in a 1-0 count 44 times in April, compared to the 49 times he was in a similar situation all of last season combined…
…thank you, tim…i was just thinking about this last night, and you’ve now saved me from having to look it up…and i’m thrilled at the result…the key, however, will be to see how reyes reacts when pitchers begin to adjust and start teasing him on the first pitch with a ball just on the corner…will he continue to be patient, or will he bite…i look forward to watching this battle…
According to Marchman, the Mets deserve credit for how they’ve handled Reyes, allowing him to blossom as he has…
…thanks to crockett for the link…
Mets manager Willie Randolph, as quoted by the Daily News…
“Bottom line, with guys like Steve Trachsel or Victor Zambrano or Brian Bannister, those guys will bring up the back end of the (rotation) and they have to produce. Those guys, you can always bring somebody else up if they’re not doing the job.”…
…jeesh…in five-plus years pitching for the mets, after 135 starts, trachsel is 53–53 with a 3.94 ERA, and many of those starts came playing for some very ugly teams…
…why does this guy get so little respect from willie and company…
…i have to imagine it is because the skipper has only seen trachsel pitch 11 times, during which he is 3–6 with a 4.38 ERA, while often complaining of playing time…if that were my only experience, i guess i’d seat trachsel away from the cool kid’s table, as well…however, a little respect for what he’s done for this club in the past would be nice…
Anthony Rieber’s mailbag at Newsday.com marks the first time this season I have seen a reference to a potential Subway Series this October…
Asked if it was too early to think this way, Rieber writes, “Not if you’re a Mets fan…Since the Yankees haven’t missed the playoffs since 1993, a Subway Series is at least a possibility.”…
…ugh…heads down, mets fans…let’s take this one win at a time…
Appearing on WFAN in his weekly interview spot, Mets C Paul Lo Duca had the following to say…
On Victor Zambrano…
“He threw strikes, and I think that’s the key to him. As I’ve said all along, the kid’s got great stuff and I think he’s gonna be just fine.”…
…isn’t that exactly what willie said after the game, as well…hmm, I smell a talking point memo…
On whether his team felt additional motivation to win this past weekend because they were playing the Braves in Atlanta…
“Definitely. We wanted to win the series. We played well in the first game against them and they came back and kicked our butts the next two games at home…
“We wanted to go in there and win at least two out of three – I mean, we had a chance to sweep – but definitely we went into that series knowing that this is a series we need to win and show them we’re gonna be around for the long haul.”…
On John Maine, who will make his first start as a Met tonight…
“I like him. I think he’s got very good stuff. He’s not gonna over-power you. He’s a strike thrower, he does not walk a lot of guys, he’s got a sneaky fastball, above average slider, a good change-up, he spots the ball…the kid’s polished and I think he’s gonna do just fine.”…
On Kaz Matsui…
“He’s been great…he’s played tremendous defensively. I watched this guy play in Japan when we were over there and he’s a super player. It’s just a matter of him relaxing, getting comfortable here…you have to understand, you come over here and you don’t know anyone, you don’t know the language, it’s tough…I think he’s starting to get used to everything…
“He’s a good guy, man. He likes to have fun, and he’s been playing great for us – and we need him to keep going. I think, as long as there’s no pressure on him, I think, he’s gonna be just fine.”…
…ok, well, here’s to feeling fine, feeling fine and feeling fine…
The Mets check in as the best team in the National League, according to Baseball Prospectus’s Hit List, a rolling power list of all 30 MLB teams…
As BP points out, “the Mets’ six-game lead is the biggest end-of-April lead in NL East history, and larger than the other five division leads combined.”…
The Tigers, Yankees and White Sox check in ahead of the Mets in BP’s overall rankings…
