Monthly Archives: March 2007
The Mets finished the spring with a 12-21 record, the worst in the NL.
Only the Devil Rays, at 10-19 finished with a worse record in the Grapefruit League.
The team batting average was .247. The team ERA was 4.72.
Individual Performances of Note:
Jose Reyes had the
strongest spring of any Met, batting at a .329 clip with 45 total
bases, 18 runs scored and a team-leading 4 HR. Amazingly, Reyes stole
13 bases.- Jose Valentin and David Newhan tied for the team lead in RBI’s, with 12.
- Lastings Milledge had 22 hits in 60 at-bats this spring (.367). For those keeping score at home, that’s more hits than Shawn Green and Moises Alou had combined in more than double the at-bats (21-for-136).
- Oliver Perez logged the most innings of any Met this spring, with 25.2 IP. He finished with a 2-3 record and a 3.51 ERA.
- Tom Glavine was workman-like, with a 2.25 ERA in 20 IP.
- The most outstanding pitching came from the bullpen trio of Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis. Smith had a 1.26 ERA over 14.1 IP to go along with 17 strikeouts. Feliciano dominated, allowing a single run over 13.1 IP this spring. Another southpaw, Schoenweis, had a 1.69 ERA over 10 appearances.
Head to MLB.com for a full stat-line.
Tagged Stats |The Devil Rays defeated the Mets this afternoon at Tropicana Field, by the score of 8 to 3.
Go to MLB.com for a full boxscore.
- Mike Pelfrey got knocked around today, allowing 8 ER on 10 hits over 4 IP. This included four runs yielded in the first, the big blow courtesy of former Met IF Ty Wigginton, who hit a three-run HR. Pelfrey threw 95 pitches over the four innings and did not strike out a batter.
- In one of the few highlights for the day for the orange ‘n’ blue, Carlos Delgado slugged a two-run HR in the fourth — his first HR of the spring.
- Jose Valentin continued his hot hitting, with a solo shot to the right field bleachers in the fifth. Valentin finished Spring Training with a .321 batting average to go along with six doubles, three HR and 12 RBI.
- Damion Easley was 2-for-2 after coming into the game for Jose Reyes.
…i don’t know about you, but i’m ready to turn the page to something that actually matters…i can’t get carried away about pelfrey, i just can’t…not with opening day 24 hours away…
John Delcos of the Journal News reports that the Mets have signed OF Ricky Ledee to a minor-league deal. He was released by Oakland on March 25th.
In 27 games for the Mets last season, Ledee batted .097 with one home run, and — you guessed it — one RBI.
…if we see ledee on the mets roster at any point this season, it means something went awry…
The Game…
The Lineup…
C Paul Lo Duca
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
3B David Wright
LF Moises Alou
DH Shawn Green
2B Jose Valentin
RF Lastings Milledge
The Pitchers…
RHP James Shields takes the hill for the Devil Rays.
How To Catch It…
The Bleachers…
To chat during the game, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers. If you are IRC savvy, log on to irc.echo34.com and enter channel #metsblog.
…horrible scheduling here…i think we can all agree on that…in any case, enjoy…
On Hot Foot, Dan Lerner relays a Sporting News article where they tried to get inside players heads asking them asking them an assortment of interesting questions. John Maine was asked if he could take something from each of five teammates, what would he take from whom?
Marty Noble shares an interview on MLB.com with Willie Randolph about the upcoming season discussing the pride he felt beating the Dodgers in the NLDS, and revealing that he doesn’t plan on bouncing around David Wright in the lineup on days when Moises Alou is not playing.
Joe Smith had one of the best days of his young professional career yesterday when Mets equipment manager Charlie Manuel tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to come with him. Samuels took Smith to an office where Willie Randolph, Omar Minaya,
Rick Peterson, Sandy Johnson and John Ricco were waiting, Ben Shpigel explains on his blog for the New York Times.
here we go,” Smith recalled thinking.
Billy Wagner had a bit of fun with Smith, along with Aaron Sele, grabbing SNY reporter, Kevin Burkhardt’s microphone and began mock interviewing him asking “What can we expect from Mighty Joe Smith?” as Sele offered to give Smith his jersey number for a watch and a fishing rod he spotted in Smith’s truck.
Smith, a third round draft pick in the 2006 draft, compiled a 1.26 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 14.1 innings in his impressive spring using his deceptive side arm delivery that hitters have had a hard time picking up.
According to Paul Sullivan in today’s The Chicago Tribune, the Cubs could sign Carlos Zambrano, who is due to be a free agent at season’s end, before Zambrano’s self imposed Opening Day deadline.
[Jim] Hendry’s close relationship with Zambrano may be the key to
getting the deal getting done. Zambrano apparently is willing to play
for less money for the Cubs than he would receive on the open market,
and his compromise during last month’s arbitration proceedings proved
the two sides aren’t far apart.
Earlier this week, Matthew Cerrone relayed a Chicago Tribune story on Mets Blog where Zambrano said he preferred to play for the Mets rather than the Yankees.
…tick tock…
…hat tip to Bleed Cubbie Blue for the news…
Darryl Strawberry believes the Mets are ready to join him and his 1986 teammates as World Series Champions. Brian Costello of The New York Post quotes Strawberry, who was in midtown yesterday promoting Opening Day…
short last year. I believe this is their year. A lot of guys got some
experience in the playoffs for the first time. Now they have a chance
to show that off. You’ve got to get that experience. New York’s in for
a good treat this baseball season.”
Strawberry praised Omar Minaya for returning the organization to greatness and was optimistic about the Yankees chances as well, referring to them as “baseball’s most hated franchise because of their accomplishments.” Strawberry also recalled his first Opening Day, 23 years ago, where he hit a home run off Mario Soto.
On Sunday night, the Mets’ regular season finally begins.
Their schedule
this year is not a cakewalk, especially their inter-league schedule which
includes the Yankees, Tigers, Twins, and A’s.
Keith Hernandez will be honored on Sunday for his days with the Cards
eight days before he throws out the first pitch at the Mets’ home opener.
However, what I look least forward to is Tuesday night’s ring ceremony for the World
Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals which the Mets will be in attendance for.
The painful reminder of what almost was will be paraded in front of them.
As hard as it will be to watch, even as a fan, this team likes being
the underdog, and a scorn team is usually a hungry team. I feel that there is a drop off in intensity from last
year’s squad. Although intangible, I base that on my increased anxiety, an anonymous player’s comment, and just the overall vibe coming out of camp. Watching
the team that beat them in the NLCS last year, an NLCS that came down to the
last out, should definitely fuel the Mets’ fire. If that doesn’t, nothing
will.
If their lackadaisical off-season has erased the pain they felt in their
post-loss clubhouse that late October night, this ring ceremony is sure to
remind them. Time to wake up boys, and play ball!
