Daily Archives: May 10, 2006
The Mets defeated the Phillies by a score of 13 to 4 tonight…
For a recap of the game, check out the Associated Press…
…a few thoughts…
…nice…way to return the favor from last night…these guys came out swinging, and bam, ball game over before it felt like it even began…now that’s how you put the brakes on an opposing team’s winning streak…
…Tom Glavine, who allowed three runs over seven innings while striking out four and walking two, is a hit machine…tonight he was 2–for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI…he is 6–for–12 on the year…talk about crazy…
…it looked, to me, like Paul Lo Duca was running a bit gingerly, yet he played the entire game, so he must be fine…but it looked like he was shrugging a bit while pulling up to stop his sprint…i suppose getting pelted with foul balls over and over again will do that…if that happened in my job i’d be dead already…
…the thing with Heath Bell is that his fastball is so straight…with a fastball like this, he has to adjust speeds more and have perfect location, otherwise, no matter how well he throws a curve-ball or change-up, big league hitters are going to continue to hit the ball hard against him…
…Kaz Matsui: defensive wizard…what is this all about…he bare-hands a toss from Jose Reyes, stays in as the runner comes barreling in and then hums the ball to first to complete a double play…are you kidding…did he bang his head and wake up thinking he is Ozzie Smith…hey, whatever, right…whatever you’re doing, kaz, keep doing it…you look great, buddy…i’m excited for you…
…where are all the fans who boo’d Carlos Beltran, and e-mailed me saying he sucks, and should be traded, and is overpaid, and should be batting second because he can’t handle batting third…just curious, because whatever he is doing he looks great…by the way, he is a tremendous base runner, which is something you don’t see in a boxscore…he is so fluid, and times his approach around the bag so well…he is also very alert and should get more credit for this…
…why was Jose Valentin swinging a plunger in the dugout…i have no theories for this…
…anyway…
…nice game…great game, actually…way to be back on track…
The Game…
The Mets (21–11) take on the Phillies (18–14) in Philadelphia tonight starting at 7:10 pm EDT…
The Pitchers…
LHP Tom Glavine (4–2, 1.94 ERA) starts for the Mets … In 36 at-bats, Glavine has allowed just four hits to left-handed hitters … He is second in the National League with a 1.94 ERA … He has pitched 14 scoreless innings over his last two starts … He has allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his seven starts this season … the Mets are 5–2 this season when Glavine pitches … He has four hits in 10 at-bats this season … Jimmy Rollins is batting .370 in 46 at-bats against Glavine, while Bobby Abreu is just 13–for-63 with no home runs…
RHP Cory Lidle (3–3, 4.17 ERA) starts for the Phillies … Lidle has not walked a batter in 16.1 innings … He has allowed just five home runs in his last 80 innings pitched … In 26 at-bats, Carlos Beltran is batting .154 against Lidle, while Cliff Floyd is 8–for-19…
The Notes…
The Mets have hit at least one home run in each of their last 13 games…
The Phillies are on a nine game winning streak, their longest since 1991…
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…
Appearing on WFAN, Mets manager Willie Randolph said that RHP Brian Bannister is expected to throw a simulated game in St. Lucie on Friday…
Bannister has been on the disabled list since April 28 due to a strained right hamstring…
Mets manager Willie Randolph recently concluded his weekly interview on WFAN 660 AM in New York…
Randolph had the following to say regarding…
…Aaron Heilman, who recently offered to pitch in the starting rotation, but was denied by Randolph…
“I think he wants to get back in the rotation at some point in time, but we just had a brief conversation…and, listen, he’s done too good of a job for us in the bullpen. I just want him to understand that we are where we are primarily because our bullpen has been so solid. And he’s a big part of that…
“We talked briefly about it. I felt like right now we have some options and we need to play those out first. There’s no real need to panic and overreact to the back-end of our rotation. I mean, we have some question marks there, and some guys with injuries, of course, but, I just feel like we cannot settle for taking a guy like Aaron out of our bullpen. Listen, our rotation is decent, but if we don’t have a strong bullpen it’s gonna make it even weaker.”…
…Jeremi Gonzalez, and the state of the rotation…
“Jeremi Gonzalez, again, is a roll the dice situation. But, you just never know, guys, you know, these guys might pull up a couple gems for you…
“Trades are gonna be tough right now because there’s not much going on until the trading deadline, so we’re gonna have to just piece it together and make sure that our bullpen stays solid and get back to scoring a lot of runs.”…
…Mike Pelfrey, and whether he can help the Mets this season…
“Well, I hope he can. He’s a kid whose got great stuff, we all know that…but, he’s a young kid who you have to really careful with because you feel like he’s mature beyond his age, but still you need to make sure that he’s ready. But, I’m hoping that he’s ready this year because he has great stuff and I think that he’s a guy that can probably step in because he comes from a good program and he showed some real signs of being a top notch pitcher in spring training…
“I don’t have a real good feeling of where he is right now. I just feel like the organization as a whole wants to be cautious with him because when he comes we want him to hopefully stay.”…
…Xavier Nady, whose offense has been better than expected, but whose defense has not…
“He’s done a nice job defensively overall for us, but he has a tendency sometimes to drift a little but on fly-balls, I think that was the case last night…I watch him a little bit and he seems very intense in the field, but there’s been a couple of times where he’s taken some bad routes, but that happens sometimes. We’re just gonna have to continue to work with him and…they key to him, more than anything, is that he’s every day playing for the first time in a long time, so I need to just watch him and see how he progresses.”…
…whether Randolph will use Endy Chavez as a defensive replacement for Nady…
“Right now I’m not gonna go there…I need to really watch Nady a little closer and see what happens with him.”…
…whether he considered bringing in Billy Wagner to replace Aaron Heilman to face Bobby Abreu in the ninth inning on Tuesday against the Phillies…
“No, I really didn’t, because I felt like Aaron could get the lefty out, which he did, I mean, all he had to do is execute the play right there and we go to extra innings. [Lo Duca] was yelling and screaming at him, but he couldn’t hear him…But, no, I don’t really like to bring my closer in on the road in a tie game. I felt our bullpen was fresh…if I had to in a pinch I would do it later on, but I prefer to use my closer in a save situation on the road.”…
…whether he wanted to go out and argue the play at second base, involving Jose Reyes, during the third inning in the game on Tuesday against the Phillies…
“Well, I wanted to go out and argue because he was definitely safe. But, it wasn’t a good play on Jose’s part. I like to back my players when I feel like they’re doing the right thing. And on that play there, we had just alerted Jose…He obviously got a little too aggressive and ran in to an out. You want to go out and argue when it’s fit, but in that situation right there it was really a bone head play…
“He needs to learn a lesson there that isn’t a good play, even if you make it.”…
…the next two weeks, during which his team will play the Cardinals and the Yankees…
“This is a huge stretch for us…this is a tremendous test for our ballclub. But, you know, this is the way it should be really. Good teams always play better when the pressure is on them, when you have to go out there and focus on doing the job. We just feel good about ourselves right now and we don’t really care who we play.”…
To listen to Randolph’s entire interview go to WFAN.com…
…i’ve spent the last few days fishing around the minor leagues, and, from what i can gather, most all people who have set eyes on RHP Mike Pelfrey and RHP Alay Soler are impressed…
…the buzz around soler is that the team does not want to rush his transition from the cuban leagues to the major leagues…as such, expect him to get another start or two at double-a binghamton, followed by two or three starts at triple-a norfolk, and if all goes well his final stop could be to the mets around the all-star break, or sooner if things do not pan out as planned at the back of the major league team’s rotation…
…on pelfrey, it seems nobody questions his talent, though i sense a concern regarding his lack of confidence when throwing off-speed pitches…however, he’s throwing so hard, i’d like to believe he’s just over confident in his fastball…at any rate, it sounds like the team feels he must be moved along slowly so they can assess how he adjusts in late inning to batters who have seen him a second or third time in a ballgame…this makes sense, and is not an uncommon ‘final step’ for a young pitcher…it doesn’t sound like anyone doubts pelfrey’s ability to make the desired adjustments, they just rather see him prove himself at double-a and triple-a, as opposed to in new york city during a pennant race…which is fair…
At his most recent chat for ESPN.com, Jim Callis of Baseball America answers a question regarding the Mets and their rumored pursuit of LHP Barry Zito…
Callis types…
“From the Mets side, Victor Zambrano was pitching horribly. It’s not like you have to replace a stud. Try to get by with Band-Aids until Mike Pelfrey is ready (which may be very soon), and keep Milledge.”…
…the key to this statement is, “which may be very soon.”…i’m getting giddy about this kid, and i know better than to do that seeing as i’ve never actually seen him pitch in person…but, i just can’t help it…damn…
Asked which date would be closest to an ETA for Pelfrey at Shea, May 19 or August 1, Callis says May 19…
…this is not to say he will be up by may 19, obviously…just that pelfrey’s arrival will be closer to may 19 than august 1, in callis’s opinion…
FishStripes, a Marlins blog, points to a Q&A at Sports Illustrated with Marlins LHP Dontrelle Willis…
Among other topics, Willis discusses baseball video games; meeting Shaquille O’Neil; and what it’s like being a leader of a baseball team at age 24…
In Monday’s Newsday, Ken Davidoff wrote that Willis “is the answer,” to the Mets search for a starting pitcher to replace Victor Zambrano. Davidoff feels the team should acquire Willis, even if it costs OF Lastings Milledge…
According to Baseball America, the Mets have signed former Astros LHP Jeriome Robertson out of the independent league…
Robertson, 29, is scheduled to start tonight for the Triple-A Norfolk…
In 2003, he was 15–9 with a 5.10 ERA for Houston. He was traded the following off-season to Cleveland for OF Willy Tavarez and OF Luke Scott…
…thanks to david sokolow for the link…
According to MLB.com, the Phillies will promote their 2002 first-round draft pick, LHP Cole Hamels, from Triple-A to start against the Reds on Friday night…
In 23 innings pitched in Triple-A, Hamels posted a 0.39 ERA allowing just 10 hits while striking out 36 batters…
…phew…just in time…
In today’s Press & Sun Bulletin, Brian Moritz writes…
“B-Mets RHP Henry Owens, who hasn’t pitched since April 30, has a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm, but the injury is not believed to be serious…
“Owens, who has six saves this season and 33 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings, was examined by doctors in New York City on Tuesday afternoon. He said he feels no pain in his arm and that he is going to start playing catch today.”…
…there were a series of calls into wfan on monday and tuesday asking why the mets are not considering a promotion of owens, while putting Aaron Heilman in the rotation…i’m guessing this is part of the reason why…
