May 25, 2006 at 5:52 pm
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by Anthony De Rosa
Eddie Coleman interviewed Omar Minaya on WFAN during the Dave Howard and Jeff Wilpon show.
Omar cited that Dave Williams adds some depth to their starting pitching. Omar remarked that Williams was playing for a team that was under .500 and would have better protection with the Mets offense supporting him. He was also happy to share that he got the Reds to pick up a large part of the salary.
Omar said El Duque is a proven winner and not only gives them a better chance to win but can mentor and help a player like Alay Soler. He mentioned that El Duque’s charisma injects even more energy into the fanbase. Omar also pointed out that his stats were much better outside of Arizona, with an ERA of 2.65
May 25, 2006 at 5:10 pm
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by Anthony De Rosa
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and Dave Howard, Executive Vice President of Mets Baseball Operations took over for Mike and The Mad Dog on WFAN after the Mets game and provided their critique of the game broadcast stylings of Mike and The Mad Dog.
Among the laundry list was that Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was reading what was on the scoreboard instead of his scorecard, reacting with a “whoa” instead of actually explaining what happened on the field in some occassions, and Mike Francesa and Chris going into a discussion about the prior evening’s Yankees game. Chris performed most of the play by play while Mike provided color commentary. Despite their threats, Scott Kazmir was not a major topic of discussion during the game.
The Mets long time WFAN broadcaster and one of the best in the business, Howie Rose, called in and said
he had several dogs arrive at his door while listening to Mad Dog’s
high pitched home run call in the second inning. He also jokingly
mentioned that it was the first scoop that Mike and The Mad Dog have
had in a long time, citing the delay as he watched the television
broadcast and listened to the radio one.
…personally I actually felt they did a decent job considering they are inexperienced at this aspect of broadcasting. At the very least it was entertaining. Mad Dog is notorious at mispronouncing words and tries to get too many words out at once which he wound up doing quite a few times. I could have done without the extended Yankee game coverage, which bordered on them performing their own Mike and The Mad Dog show during a Mets baseball game. Overall, it was a fun day but i’m definitely ready to hear the sweet sounds of Eddie Coleman and Howie Rose as soon as humanly possible…
The Mets also announced that the Mets raised $40,000 that will be shared with 4 local Queens charities: The Queenbridge Houses Baseball League, New York Families for Autustic Children, The Boys and Girls School of Queens, and a local painting school for kids in Queens.
Among the special guests who called into the Jeff, Dave and Eddie Coleman show were, Patrick McEnroe, Bill Parcells, Jay Horowitz and Omar Minaya.
May 25, 2006 at 5:05 pm
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by D.J. Short
The Mets have acquired LHP Dave Williams and cash from the Reds for minor league RHP Robert Manuel. According to WFAN, Williams is headed to Norfolk…
Williams was designated for assignment by the Reds on Saturday, after going 2-3 with a 7.20 ERA for the Reds this season…
Also, following the 5-3 loss to the Phils this afternoon, RHP Jeremi Gonzalez was designated for assignment…
May 25, 2006 at 12:02 pm
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by Anthony De Rosa
The Phillies defeated the Mets by a score of 5 to 3 at Shea Stadium this afternoon…
For a full recap, check out the always well dressed Associated Press
…a few thoughts…
Jeremi Gonzalez settled down nicely after a rough first inning, doing his best Alay Soler impression. He worked out of trouble in the 3rd and 5th innings and retired the side in the 6th, knocking down six in a row. He allowed only one baserunner in the 4th and 5th.
Jose Reyes continues to think he is Barry Bonds, hitting his second homer in three days, a three run shot that tied the game and likely allowed Gonzalez to breath a bit easier. Reyes finished the day 3-5 with a triple short of the cycle.
Xavier Nady returned to the lineup after nursing a sore back and went 2-for-3 with a walk. Cliff Floyd continues to show signs of life with a double, going 2 for 3 on the day.
Pedro Feliciano allowed the go ahead run to score off a hard line drive for a double by Chase Utley to score Victorino or as Gary Cohen likes to call him “The Flyin Hawaiian”. Ryan Howard then slapped a base hit to right field to score Utley.
The Mets win the series against the second place Phillies and will have Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine and their newest aquisition, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez going against the Marlins as the fireworks are set to explode on this Memorial Day weekend.
May 25, 2006 at 12:00 pm
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by Anthony De Rosa
The Game…
The Mets
(28–17) look to complete a three game sweep of the Phillies (23–22) at
Shea Stadium this afternoon, starting at 1:10 pm EDT…
The Mets last 5 games have been decided by 1 run, 4 of which they won. The have a major-league-best 14 one-run wins and 12th comeback wins.
The Pitchers…
RHP Jeremi Gonzalez
(0–0, 10.13 ERA) starts for the Mets … Gonzalez threw three-plus
innings allowing six runs and nine hits in the Mets’ 7-6 win over the
Yankees last Friday … Gonzalez has a 2-1 record lifetime against the
Phillies, with a 5.17 ERA … Bobby Abreu is 5 for 8 (.625) against Gonzalez, including a home run …
RHP Brett Myers
(2-2, 2.75 ERA) starts for the Phillies … Myers is 0-2 in his last
five starts despite sporting a 2.55 ERA over that stretch. … Myers
allowed 2 runs off 5 hits over 8 innings facing the Mets on May 9 but
did not receive a decision … Myers is 4-1 with a 4.98 ERA in eight
starts at Shea Stadium. … Myers is 6-5 lifetime against the Mets, with
a 5.28 ERA … Carlos Delgado is 6 for 12 (.500) against Myers …
The Notes…
Carlos Beltran is 5-for-11 in this series with three runs scored…
Billy Wagner has retired all six Philadelphia hitters he’s faced in this series…
Mets pitchers lead the majors with 372 strikeouts, 30 more than the second best team, the Cubs…
David Wright has a hit a home run in 3 straight games…
Pat Burrell has 16 home runs at Shea, only Chipper Jones has more, with 17…
David Wright has driven in at least one run in his last five games…
The Mets are riding a record seven straight multi-homer game streak…
Mike and The Mad Dog of WFAN New York will be calling the game today from the WFAN broadcast booth.
The Bleachers…
To chat during the game, go to MetsBlog’s Bleachers sponsored by HotFootBlog.com… or, to access the chat room through IRC, go to server name irc.echo34.com and channel #metsblog…
…enjoy…
May 25, 2006 at 12:00 pm
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by Matthew Cerrone
Anthony Z sent in the following e-mail…
“Just quick, when will Phil Humber and John Maine get back on a mound?”
Prior to last night’s game, Omar Minaya told reporters that Maine, who is on the DL with a swollen right middle finger, pitched five innings in a minor-league rehabilitation game at the team’s complex in St. Lucie earlier this week. If the finger continues to improve, he will most likely start for Single-A St. Lucie this weekend…
There does not appear to be a set timeframe for Maine’s official return, as the team looks at his status from start-to-start…
…for what it’s worth, Brian Bannister is said to still have tightness in his hamstring, and remains weeks away from getting back on the hill…
Humber is tentatively scheduled to return to either St. Lucie or Binghamton at some point during mid– to late-June…
…the buzz from florida is that humber has come back quite well from his tommy john surgery, and has a good attitude about where he is in his recovery…
…you know, with the acquisition of Orlando Hernandez, and the strong performance of Alay Soler last night, suddenly the status of maine, humber and bannister no longer seems that pressing does it?…
May 25, 2006 at 11:00 am
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by Matthew Cerrone
The Miami Herald quotes a team’s general manager anonymously saying that LHP Dontrelle Willis is still not available by trade, despite the GM’s attempts to check in with the Marlins every week since the start of the season…
…the buzz from miami is that the marlins hope to milk as many home-starts out willis as possible, as they are the only games anyone comes out to watch…at that point, they’ll most likely trade him, knowing how few pitchers will be on the trade market, and since the team’s who will hope to acquire him actually have solid, young pitching to trade, which is what they are rumored to want as opposed to a positional player…
May 25, 2006 at 10:00 am
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by Matthew Cerrone
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 OF Lastings Milledge, who was 3–for-6 with a home run in a win for Norfolk; 1B Michel Abreu, who was 3–for-5 in a Bingo loss; and 1B Nick Evans, who had an RBI double in loss for Hagerstown…
…toby provides a mets minor league report after each night’s action…thanks, toby…
In 160 at-bats, Milledge, 21, has pulled his batting average up to .294, down from a high of .365 in April, but up from a low of .260 last week…
Evans, 20, is hitting just .239 with six HR and 27 RBI, along with 45 strike outs and 10 walks in 176 at-bats at Single-A…
Since joining Double-A Binghamton, Abreu, 26, is batting .376 with five HR in 93 at-bats…
May 25, 2006 at 9:23 am
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by Matthew Cerrone
While appearing on SportsNet New York prior to last night’s win over the Phillies, Mets GM Omar Minaya told SNY’s Chris Cotter that he was hoping to complete yet another deal to help bolster the team’s bullpen. According to Minaya, the trade could have taken place as early as game time, yet nothing was announced…
…i hope the deal he has hinting about was not simply the promotion of Heath Bell?…
…no deal was made, though i picked up some buzz about how something could get done before the weekend, so maybe there is still a little action in the works…
…such a bold statement by minaya is uncharacteristic to say the least…
May 25, 2006 at 8:55 am
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by Matthew Cerrone
Prior to last night’s game, the Mets acquired RHP Orlando Hernandez from the D’Backs for Jorge Julio…
Willie Randolph told reporters following last night’s game that Hernandez, aka El Duque, is scheduled to join the Mets in Miami tomorrow…
GM Omar Minaya, on Hernandez, as quoted by the New York Post…
“To be able to add a guy like that, a proven guy that is respected not only by the players, but respected by the fan base across the board, we’re happy to do that…
“The thing about El Duque that I like, first of all, he can pitch in New York. To me, El Duque’s a winner. He’s a gamer. He’s a warrior.”…
…whether he is 40–years-old, or 36–years-old, the guy knows what’s up…he wants the ball…he wants to win…he has a track record of success…and more than anything, he has shown the ability to pitch in new york, in october…this cannot be overlooked…how many times will a guy get traded or sign here and then get boo’d for being unable to handle the pressure…well, el duque is not that guy…
In six starts in Arizona this season, a notorious hitter’s park, Hernandez’s ERA is 8.16…
In three starts away from Arizona this season, in Colorado, San Diego and Los Angeles, Hernandez’s ERA is 2.65…
…i am very excited about this trade…i was able to watch two of his starts this season, one at home and one on the road, and from what i can see, he is still striking out guys on a variety of pitches…also, he is benefiting from the weak bottoms to the national league lineups…in a pitcher’s park like shea, with other veterans around him, in a complimentary role, in new york, on a winning team, i suspect and expect him to do quite well…
…subsequently, this acquisition allows Mike Pelfrey to relax, learn, adjust and get to the majors on his timetable…between Alay Soler and Brian Bannister, or another minor trade, pelfrey can and will stay in the minors…at least for a little while longer…
…lastly, the buzz around shea is that hernandez may get the start on sunday, pushing Steve Trachsel to monday, and Alay Soler to tuesday…
May 25, 2006 at 8:33 am
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by Matthew Cerrone
David Wright, following last night’s win over the Phillies, a game in which the Mets trailed, again, yet came from behind to win, as quoted by the Journal News…
“We never say die…
“We never roll over…
“That’s the type of team we have…
“That’s the kind of character we’re made of.”…
…the thing with wright is that he’s always been on winning teams…he knows no other gear than what he is talking about in this quote…it appears Jose Reyes has that gear, as well, as does Carlos Delgado, and Paul Lo Duca, and Carlos Beltran, who time and again puts the team first…in short, these guys want to win, and the expect to win…
Carlos Beltran, as quoted by the New York Post…
“We have the opportunity to win our division. That’s the way we feel. We have a better team than last year with Delgado in the lineup and Paul Lo Duca. David Wright is having a good year and I’m having a good year. We feel like this is the year that we can do it and we have no doubt in that.”…
…frankly, with the talent on this team, the dedication they are showing, willie’s leadership and their resources and young talent in the shoot, there is no reason why this team should not make the playoffs…sure, an injury to Pedro Martinez, or something crazy along those lines could derail the train, but if they put it all on the field i have total confidence they can achieve their goals…
May 25, 2006 at 8:25 am
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by Matthew Cerrone
In the Philadelphia Daily News, Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki leads with the following…
“Frustration filled an otherwise quiet Phillies clubhouse last night at Shea Stadium.”
…i bet…
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, as quoted by Zolecki…
“I’m concerned anytime we lose games, or lose a game. It seems like we have a hard time putting our hitting and pitching together. The name of the game is consistency. The team that’s going to win is the team that plays the best baseball for 162 games consistently.”…
…sounds like somebody is losing a little faith…
…maybe Billy Wagner wasn’t so wrong after all, hey Pat Burrell…
The Mets look to complete a sweep of the Phillies this afternoon at Shea Stadium, before flying to Miami for a weekend series against the Marlins…
