Monthly Archives: June 2007
The Mets (44–33) defeated the Phillies (41–38) by the score of 6 to 5 in Philadelphia this afternoon.
For a recap, and boxscore, check out the Associated Press.
The two teams will meet again tonight, starting at 7:35 pm.
…Charlie Manuel began the game by stopping traffic to question the substance on the back of Orlando Hernandez’s hat, which, of course, is nothing but rosin, which is legal, and used to pat the pitcher’s hand dry…it’s just that el duque happens to store it on his hat, which is different…nice try charlie…the thing is, el duque is already a huge competitor, so, do you think it’s wise to give him even more of a reason to want to beat you…silly rabbit…nevertheless, el duque looked great, again, fighting off a rally in the sixth, while ranging between 92 mph and 66 mph on the gun, throwing six innings while giving up two runs…if that wasn’t enough, el duque also ripped a seeing-eye single through the infield to score Ramon Castro from second, who, a catcher himself, foolishly slide head first in to home…you crazy, ramon…
…powerful golf-swing home run by Carlos Delgado, which scored David Wright, who reached base on a strong double in the gap…great to see these two clicking…
…the cheers coming from Citizen Bank Park for Jose Reyes, after his home run, made me laugh…it’s embarrassing, seriously…and i love it…
…speaking of reyes, wow, he was safe by a mile when stealing second base in the seventh inning, yet he was called out…actually, a mile is putting it lightly…reyes clearly hit the tunnel to check out the video, which only proved his case, because when he returned to the field for defense he was still hot, waving his hat towards the ump, with wright trying to calm him down…i’ve never seen reyes so unhappy…frankly, i didn’t know it was even possible…
…i like putting Carlos Gomez in for defense, in place of Shawn Green…
…Jose Valentin was waving around an orange t-shirt that read Mustache, with a gigantic mustache design beneath it, which a group of fans, wearing the same shirt, threw in to the dugout, which is great…hilarious…
…rough day for the bullpen, which shrunk a four-run lead from el duque to a one-run lead…but, this afternoon is not a day to be critical…
…by the way, in the third inning, Keith Hernandez left the SNY booth for the philly’s booth, swapping seats with Gary Matthews…while in the philly booth, the Phillie Phanatic, who is pure evil, harassed keith, by putting keith’s head under the mascot’s shirt, spitting popcorn in keith’s hair, and essentially mocking the former Met great…i hate the phanatic…had he dumped cotton candy on keith, i believe keith would have punched him…seriously, the guy is pure evil…evil, i said…
…of course, the best part of the game was Billy Wagner, who was booed as expected, striking out the Phillies in order during the ninth for the save…sit down, sit down, sit down, son…
Though he is in this afternoon’s lineup, Jose Valentin would not have been in the lineup last night for the second straight game, giving his partially torn ACL a few days rest.
…by the way, there is a bit of quiet grumblings from the team suggesting that valentin is getting a bit worried, and irritated, that he will fall short of the 400 at-bats he needs to guarantee the $4.3 million option on his contract for next season…if his rate of at-bats from june continues through july, august and septemeber, he will fall short by roughly 50 at-bats…
…update…
…initially i had a rant here that suggested these contracts should be based on plate appearances, not at-bats…well, they are…so, i’ll shut up now…
…there is a slight mist in the Philadelphia air, so the tarp is back on the field at Citizens Bank Park…there is no indication that today’s first game will be delayed…
Mets 1B Julio Franco, regarding the media and Paul Lo Duca, while talking to reporters before today’s game…
“I don’t think Paul meant anything by it. We know Paul…he treats everyone here the same. His a professional and to my knowledge he never treated any of us with any racism. I don’t even know where that comes from. It’s just one [reporter] trying
to stire things up. You’d know ignorance…
“To my knowledge, we’re all the same, this is team, one goal to win the World Series. And when some body like that is trying to stir things up, and try to divide us that’s not going to happen, it’s not. Race don’t matter…We know who our teammates are, we know they’re good family guys, they are educated, and that’s not gonna happen…One guy wrote something that was kind of talks with that remark, and I respect him for what he says, and on the same token I think he’s ignorant, that’s all.”
…so franco is saying that it’s the writer who is ignorant and essentially racist, not lo duca…this is great…go ahead, galvaninze the team even more, guys…
The Game:
The first-place Mets (43–33) take on the second-place Phillies (41–37) in the first game of a double-header today in Philadelphia.
The Lineup:
Jose Reyes leads off, followed in order by Jose Valentin, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green, Ramon Castro, Ricky Ledee and the pitcher, Orlando Hernandez.
The Pitchers:
RHP Orlando Hernandez (3–3, 2.77 ERA) starts for the Mets. In his last start against the A’s, Hernandez threw a season-high 119 pitches for seven scoreless innings.
RHP J.D. Durbin (0–0, 94.50 ERA) starts for the Phillies. Durbin is making his first major-league start since 2004, when he pitched for the Twins. Durbin has also pitched for the D’Backs and Red Sox this season.
The Notes:
Spanning 772 games between the Mets and Phillies, during which the Mets have lost 411, Mr. Met has been better than the Phillie Phanatic.
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.
…enjoy…and as always, let’s go mets…
Earlier today, Mets 2B Jose Valentin talked with the media about Paul Lo Duca’s comments, and said…
“I didn’t hear no comments about he don’t like Latinos and stuff like that. I think he’s one of those guys who gets along with every body. He’s the one to make jokes, to have fun. I have no problem with Paulie, I mean I have not seen any problem with anyone here, every one gets a long with him. I didn’t take it that way. Even, I was making fun of him, actually, even Beltran was making fun of him. But, like I said, it was wrong what they wrote and I have no problem with him. I think what he said was, ‘I don’t wanna talk, I don’t wanna talk, there are 25 guys in here and why you have to come all the time to me,’ that’s what he said. He didn’t say he has to speak because Latino’s don’t speak English, or nothing like that, no he didn’t say that. It’s just that people come all the time to ask him…He said nothing racial.”
Earlier today, a variety of Mets addressed reporters regarding reports from this morning regarding Paul Lo Duca’s relationship with the media, and his comments that were incorrectly interpreted to mean Latino players should talk more to reporters…
Lo Duca, among a variety of questions, dialogue and comments, while talking to reporters a few moments ago…
“Am I bad to you guys? Then why do I get buried in the paper? I wanna know. Because there are a lot of writers in this clubhouse and you’re trying to get somebody. Here’s the best part, two weeks ago I was on the radio, because somebody said there was dissension in the clubhouse with Julio Franco, and I even went on the air and said we all get along and Julio is not a problem and we all have a great time…
“The whole thing is that the the wedge keeps getting driven, and you guys just keep apologizing for it…when does it stop. Seriously, man. I just didn’t wanna talk, is there times when I don’t have to talk? There are times when I don’t wanna talk, is that alright?…
“So, right now, I’m a gambler, I’m a racist and I like 18–year-old girls, that’s the perception of me in New York right now about me. Is any of it true? No, none of it, but no one knows that. Do you understand where I’m coming from? Tell me if I’m wrong. You go ask any of the guys in the clubhouse and see if I have a problem with them, if I’m a racist. You go to all three of my clubs and you find a problem. Name one. Nobody…
“All I said I was, ‘I don’t wanna talk right now, there are other people in here who speak English.’ What I meant was not racial at all, at all…What the guy wrote was an absolute joke…I just don’t get it…Now I’m getting pinned because they’re trying to separate the clubhouse, because we went through a stretch, I think it’s a joke. Is that why I’m getting buried? Hello. Because you know the way I am, I’m straight forward and I’ll tell you like it is and if I don’t like someone I’ll tell you. Now I’m getting penalized for that. What do you want me to do, beat around the bust from now on, and give you what you need, and say, ‘Okay, guys, we didn’t have it today, and, you know, my breakfast this morning wasn’t good so I didn’t play well.’ You want me to start saying that to you guys, I will…
“If I get buried in the papers again for something I didn’t say, I’m done. I said I was done with you guys last year, and now I’m really close again this year…I mean, the guy who scrutinized me never even asked me a question. Never even stood in from of me and asked me a question. Come to my face and say something. He wrote it from the friggin’ food room. Now how am I supposed to feel? I never even saw the guy, and know exactly who the guy is. That’s like me coming to you and writing some crap about you and I never even saw you. That’s an absolute joke…
“Go ask Jose Valentin, he knows, he was right there. Guys support me in there, but y ou guys don’t write it. I’m done, I’m done. This is ridiculous…It hurts me inside, because this is family here, this is a second family here and when you say something about your second family and the guys you go to war with every day that hurts, man, because I want guys in here to trust me. I feel like I’m a leader in here and big part of this team and if you lose that it hurts. That hurts me more than anything.”
…wow…you know what, i hope this connects this group even more than before…i have a feeling it might…we’ll see…
Clemenza sent in an e-mail asking…
“Hey I was just wondering if you knew how they decided what players will participate in the home run derby? I tried to search for an answer online but could not find anything. Thanks for your time.”
…from what i understand, it’s not a science…they typically ask a few young guys, a big name player, different cultures, etc, you know, a nice mix, from the list of the top home run hitters from this season, and when a person declines they just go to the next guy on the list…for what it’s worth, though, it’s looking like no Mets will be in it this season, thank god…
This season, at the beginning of each series, MetsBlog will attempt to
get the perspective of the opposition and their fans. From this, we
hope to be better educated on the opposition going into a series. It
also gives us a fine
opportunity to highlight some of our favorite team
blogs.
As the Mets and Phillies meet in arguably the most important series of the season up until this point, we chat with Tom Goyne, who blogs about the Phillies at Balls, Sticks & Stuff.
Are you just as unfamiliar with the starters the Phillies will throw this weekend (sans Hamels) as I am?
Ha! Pretty much. Nearly every Hamels start is a thing of beauty (and, by the way, I’ll be curious to see if he throws at LoDuca on Friday), Moyer is solid and Eaton is streaky, but the final two in the “rotation” right now, Kyle Kendrick and whoever pitches better between J.D. Durbin and J.A. Happ (at this point, full names are even having to go to the disabled list) is not what most of us envisioned in March.
Is Pat Burrell officially a part-time player now?
$13 million to play twice a week. Not bad work if you can get it. He is slumping horribly right now, and I’m not sure there is much hope in sight. As I wrote recently, the pitchers around the league have figured him out, its time for him to adjust.
Do you have any faith in the bullpen lately?
Absolutely none. I can’t believe I am saying this, but we are fortunate to have Antonio Alfonseca.
Looking at the scores this week, it seems that Citizens Bank Park is in full summer-launch mode. True?
Sort of. The ball is starting to jump a bit, but the fact of the matter is, the Phillies can just plain rake no matter what park they are in. True story. Ryan Howard is finally hitting like its 2006, Chase Utley is MVP-worthy, and there is a lot of speed in the lineup too with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and occasionally Michael Bourn.
Whose season has been more of a surprise to you: Shane Victorino or Aaron Rowand?
Rowand’s. Jason Weitzel of Beerleaguer.com and I dissected him over a few beers in March and thought he looked just awful. I do tend to think he will come back to earth, and I don’t mean to understate the importance of Shane Victorino (after crunching some numbers, I think when offense and defense is factored together, the Flyin’ Hawaiian is better to have than Bobby Abreu), but from the moment Rowand’s nose hit the fence last year until April, he looked horrible at the plate.
On a related note, where do you think this team would be if Aaron Rowand had been traded, as was rumored all winter/spring?
Still an above average offense, but not very balanced. At this point, Rowand is the team’s only effective right handed hitter. Back to Burrell, this is where his poor play really hurts the Phillies, more than on the field, because now Rowand can not be dangled as trade bait for pitching.
Do you think the much-maligned Charlie Manuel deserves some credit with his team thus far?
Without a doubt. There is no doubt he is a flawed manager, and I do question just how far he can take a team, but given the injuries to Brett Myers, Tom Gordon and Freddy Garcia, plus the slumps of Burrell and the entire bullpen, you have to tip your cap to Big Chestnuts. But let’s not get carried away, the Phils are only a couple of games above .500 and the Mets have done a great job of coming back to the pack.
Lastly, what’s a realistic expectation for a Phils’ fan with this series?
Given the starters they’ll be sending out to the mound, I think a series split is the best that can be expected.
…thanks, tom…i answered some questions for him, as well…check it out…
During their weekend series against the Phillies the Mets will face
three rookie starting pitchers they have never faced before; J.D. Durbin; J.A. Happ; & Kyle Kendrick.
The Mets have played eight games this season against teams, who have
started a rookie starting pitcher they have never faced before. In those
games the Mets are 4-4, averaging 5.5 runs per game,
while scoring only three or fewer runs in three of the eight games.
