Daily Archives: May 3, 2006
The Mets defeated the Pirates by a score of 4 to 3 in a rain soaked, extra inning game at Shea Stadium tonight…
…a few thoughts…
…first off, all praise Carlos Delgado, because i honestly thought this game would never end…talk about grueling…with Pedro Martinez cruising, followed by Billy Wagner with a lead in the ninth, this is a game you hate to lose…thankfully they didn’t, or this would’ve been a tough one to digest…
…speaking of martinez, looked sensational, again…at one point, during the third, fourth and fifth innings, he appeared to be throwing nothing but curve balls, change-ups and the occasional cutter…against Jason Bay, he threw a curve ball at 78–mph, another at 71–mph and another at 70–mph, all of which were strikes…bay walked away just shaking his head…as was i…it is a joy to watch him pitch…
….give a game ball to Ramon Castro for dropping down a sacrifice bunt, with Cliff Floyd on first and the game knotted at one, in a situation during the sixth inning when it could’ve been called due to rain at any time…Endy Chavez subsequently doubled, scoring floyd, putting the mets up by a run…had the game been called, the mets still would’ve won…
…speaking of chavez, where does he hide his cape…wow…what a catch…he is developing quite a nice little cheering section, as well…good for you, buddy…
…when Jose Reyes slid head first into third, on his triple during the sixth, the infield was so wet, i would not have been surprised had he slipped past the bag, over the grass, into the dugout and through the locker room…the field conditions were dangerously messy, but you’ve gotta give a tip to the groundscrew for keeping it playable, and for the amount of work they have ahead of them, tonight, to get the field ready for tomorrow…i do not envy the work at hand…
…by the way, it was nice to see Roberto Hernandez, who looks great, and is popping that fastball as well as ever…
…lastly, i just don’t know what this team would do without delgado…he’s been a game-saver in so many ways…outstanding, to say the least…
…sloppy, but nice win, gentlemen, especially coming off the loss last night…way to get back on track…
Appearing in his weekly interview spot on WFAN’s Mike and the Maddog, Mets manager Willie Randolph has the following to say…
…on RHP John Maine, who lost his Mets debut last night to the Nationals…
“I thought John did well. You know, he got behind and I thought he used his fastball effectively in the zone. He got some swings and misses, too, guys, which was impressive…
“I think he showed himself well. He didn’t use his breaking stuff as much as I thought he would. I thought he settled in and pitched well enough to keep us in the game.”…
…on whether Maine will get another start…
“I think so. We haven’t made a total decision on that, but I think he pitched well enough to get another shot.”…
…on the recent struggles of 2B Jose Reyes…
“Early in the season I was really happy with Jose and what his was doing offensively. He was letting the ball get deep on him, he was using his hands and hitting the ball the other way. And what happens sometimes, you hit a home run or hit a ball over a guys head and you get happy, and I think Jose has gotten back to being a little bit too aggressive and just not trusting his hands. You know, when you start to slide a bit and you’re young, you start to panic a bit and I think Jose’s going through a bit of that.”…
…on 2B Kaz Matsui…
“I’ve felt all year long that if he could stay on the field he’d get better defensively, which he has…I think Matsui is the kind of player that as long as he continues to gain that kind of feel for the position, I think, he’s gonna hit. I mean, every now and then he goes out of his zone and he’ll drive you a little bit nuts in his pitch selection. But he’s a guy who if you put him in the eighth spot, if you leave him there, his numbers will be just as good as any one in baseball come September…
…on keeping his team motivated while playing the Pirates, knowing the Braves are around the corner…
“We talk a lot about staying up and playing hard every day…I’m not worried about it. I know we’re gonna come out and play hard tonight…my guys, they know what’s in front of them and they’ll be ready to play.”
…on how well RHP Pedro Martinez has pitched since joining the Mets…
“I’m not really surprised at all…he just knows how to pitch, period. The bottom line with him is if you don’t make him pitch and if you don’t be patient with him then he’s gonna have his way with you, because he has a way of knowing how to execute his pitches.”…
…on RHP Duaner Sanchez…
“He’s been awesome. Going into the year I didn’t really know what to expect, but he’s been unbelievable for us.”…
…on whether or not OF Carlos Beltran is completely healthy…
“Yes, I believe he is. I think he is still a little tentative at times, but he’s starting to loosen up and run the bases a bit better for us.”
To listen to the full interview, go to WFAN.com…
The Mets welcome the Pirates at Shea Stadium tonight. The Pirates are 8–20, and 11.5 games behind the Reds in the National League Central…
In his game preview for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Paul Meyer writes the following about the Pirates…
“The Pirates’ key to success: Rain?”
…ouch…
At SportsNet New York’s website, SNY.TV, Ron Darling answers a variety of questions from 
his Ask the Booth mailbag…
Among other topics, Darlin discusses the impact of a catcher’s game calling skills on a pitcher’s results, whether pick-off throws to first count as pitches for a pitcher, and whether or not he, or any broadcaster for that matter, is allowed to give a player advice…
…this is an outstanding mailbag…read it, and i assure you that you’ll learn something about the game…
The Associated Press reports that MLB will allow the Nationals to be sold to a group headed by Theodore Lerner for roughly $450 million…
…following last night’s performance by RHP Mike O’Conner against the mets, i received several e-mails asking a similar question to the following…
Kevin from Liberty Mutual writes…
“Not for nothing but can the Mets ever beat a rookie pitcher that they are seeing for the first time? It seems like they always lose to a guy making his 1st or 2nd big league start. Do they have advanced scouts who know about these guys? Does the scouting department take any responsibility for not being able to hit these guys?”…
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, rookie starters were 6-5 with a 3.50 ERA vs. Mets last season, regardless of whether they faced them before. This ranked as the third lowest ERA by rookie starters against any team in the league…
In 2004, however, the Mets were 3-6 against rookie pitchers, who sported a 9.82 ERA against the Mets, the highest ERA against any MLB team…
…i guess this means there is no trend to what you,re speaking of, kevin…however, i’m with you, because it certainly feels like there is…
Meanwhile, to add to the ‘myth,’ at Yes Joe, It’s Toasted, Toasty Joe details a phenomenon that he calls “S.U.C.K.M.E.,” which stands for Shaky Unknown Chuckers Kill the Mets Every time…
…hat tip to the metropolotians for the link, and the introduction to joe’s pretty funny blog…
In the Baltimore Sun, Jeff Zrebiec describes O’s RHP Kris Benson as the team’s “slump-stopper.”…
In six starts for Baltimore this season, Benson is 4–2 with a 3.32 ERA…
…from what i could gather at the time of the trade, which sent benson to baltimore towards the end of this past off-season, it was not his ability to pitch that got him traded, it was his inability to succeed and stay strong in august and september, when his era spiked to 4.42…
According to a poll in this month’s Sports Illustrated, Mets OF Carlos Beltran was selected second by 470 of his peers as the second most overrated player in baseball…
Topping the list is Yankees SS Derek Jeter, followed in order by Beltran, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, OF JD Drew, Dodgers 1B Nomar Garciaparra, Jays RHP AJ Burnett, Cubs RHP Kerry Wood, Sox RHP Jose Beckett and Yankees OF Johnny Damon…
…i think it’s interesting that the league’s players feel the top three batters in the yankees’s lineup is overrated…
No players on the Mets check in on a similar SI poll regarding the league’s most underrated players, which is topped by Rangers SS Michael Young, followed in order by Phillies OF Bobby Abreu, Angels OF Garret Anderson, Sox 2B Mark Loretta, Cards SS David Eckstein, Dodgers 3B Bill Mueller, Angels OF Chone Figgins, Jays OF Vernon Wells, M’s OF Raul Ibanez and O’s 3B Melvin Mora…
…i would have voted for eckstein, figgins and wells, no doubt…they are both difference makers…
In a column at ESPN.com about the brilliance of Yankees RHP Mariano Rivera, Peter Gammons closes by listing 11 other solid closers in baseball. Among them, Gammons includes Mets RHP Billy Wagner, but writes of the list, and the Mets closer, “the only guarantee for that group of 11 is that at least two will break down during the season. Check Wagner’s finger.”…
…oh, petey, you’re so coy…
If you recall, BP’s Will Carroll put forth a similar fear back a few weeks ago…
…i don’t know…wagner looks pretty good to me…i know these two are alluding that he’ll eventually break down…i’ll believe it when i see it, though…fortunatly, RHP Duaner Sanchez has looked outstanding, and between him and RHP Aaron Heilman, i am confident that a temporary injury to wagner could be sustained…but let’s hope it never even gets to that…
Speaking of Sanchez, at MLB.com, Bryan Hoch writes a great profile of our favorite set-up man…
Mets C Paul Lo Duca, on Sanchez, as quoted by Hoch…
“You can’t say more. Sanchy, you can talk about a lot of guys on this team, but to me, he’s our MVP. He’s been unbelievable.”…
Over at the Mets Minor League Report, Toby recaps the night in Mets minor league action…
Among other comments, Toby writes of strong performances by C Andy Wilson, who was 2–for-4 for Binghamton; and RHP Michael Devaney, who tossed eight innings for St. Lucie earning his first win of the season…
…toby provides a mets minor league report after each night’s action…thanks, toby…
In 91 at-bats at Double-A, Wilson, 25, is batting .242 with two home runs and six RBI, sporting 20 strike outs and nine walks…
Devaney, 23, has started five games for Single-A St. Lucie, and is 1–2 with a 3.16 ERA. He has struck out 23 batters in 25.2 innings pitched…
