Daily Archives: August 2, 2007
Charlie Nobles of the New York Times does a fantastic job painting the picture of RHP Pedro Martinez‘s simulated game earlier this afternoon.
With Omar Minaya in attendance, Martinez threw 67 pitches over five and a third innings of work. 50 of the 67 pitches were strikes, including 24 of his last 28 pitches.
Minaya, as quoted by Nobles:
ovement, which is Pedro. It was a very positive outing.”
His maximum velocity ranged from 86 to 88 miles an hour during the start.
Martinez, as quoted by Nobles:
His next start will likely be next Tuesday or Wednesday for St. Lucie.
The Mets (61-47) defeated the Brewers (58-51) by the score of 12 to 4 this afternoon.
For a full recap and box score, check out Yahoo! Sports.
…it’s nice to breathe easy in the ninth inning, isn’t it…a few things…
…the Mets got healthy today with 18 hits…in fact, every starter except Luis Castillo had a hit…big day from David Wright, who was 4-for-5 with a homer…and get this, the Mets had seven RBI hits with two outs…what…where did this come from…
…Brian Lawrence looked okay…he doesn’t throw very hard at all, relying mostly on off-speed stuff and his control in order to be effective…as advertised, he didn’t walk a batter this afternoon, but he did allow eight hits and three runs over five innings…he mostly throws strikes and let his defense do the work…i’d like to get another look at him…
…Jorge Sosa did a pretty good job once again coming out of the bullpen, pitching two and a third scoreless innings…he toes the tight rope more often than i’d like to see, but i’m very interested to see how he progresses out of the pen…i’m encouraged…
…Luis Castillo has more pop from the right side of the plate…he got a little too flyball happy today, though…would like to see that ball on the ground…
…Moises Alou rakes lefty pitching…period…alou and Lastings Milledge had more communication issues in the outfield today, with a slight collision in the fifth inning…it looks like milledge wants to take charge on these balls, but alou doesn’t want him to…funny, just moments before that, alou slammed into the wall trying to catch a Corey Hart home run…take it easy, man…you’re making me far too nervous…
…there was a bit of an altercation in the Brewers dugout after the top of the seventh inning…Johnny Estrada and even manager Ned Yost were involved…surprising to say the least…the team is out of first place for the first time in months, so the frustration must be starting to build…
…Damion Easley hit a two-run inside the park home run in the sixth inning…the ball didn’t bounce off the wall as Bill Hall expected…as a result, it was smooth sailing for easley, who scored with plenty of time to spare…very impressive, hit man…
…anyway, it was a nice win to head in to chi-town…the mets will try their luck against Carlos Zambrano tomorrow…
The Game:
The first-place Mets (60-47) look for the victory in the rubber game vs. the Brewers (58-50) this afternoon at Miller Park, starting at 2:05 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
Jose Reyes leads off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, Damion Easley, Ramon Castro, Lastings Milledge and starting pitcher Brian Lawrence.
The Pitchers:
RHP Brian Lawrence makes his debut for the Mets. He was 8-2 with a 3.87 ERA for Triple-A New Orleans this season. Lawrence walked only nine batters in 79 innings this season. He was signed to a minor-league contract by the Mets on May 9th. Lawrence hasn’t pitched in the majors since the 2005 season with the Padres. He missed the entire 2006 season with the Nationals after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
LHP Chris Capuano (5-7, 4.70 ERA) takes the hill for the Brewers. He took the loss in his last start vs. the Cardinals, allowing four runs on six hits over 6.1 IP, while walking six. He has allowed 10 home runs this season — all from righties. Capuano is 0-7 with a 6.16 ERA over his last 12 starts dating back to May 7th vs. the Nationals. Capuano was undefeated (5-0) before the Mets knocked him around on May 13th for four runs in four innings, including three in the first inning.
The Notes:
IF/OF Damion Easley is 6-for-9 with a triple, two homers and six RBI vs. Capuano.
LF Moises Alou is 6-for-14 with a double, two homers and five RBI vs. Capuano lifetime.
SS Jose Reyes has eight multi-hit hit games in his last 13 games.
The Mets are 19-14 vs. left-handed starters this season.
1B Prince Fielder homered for the first time in 67 at-bats last night.
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.
RHP Pedro Martinez pitched to mixture of Gulf Coast League Mets and St. Lucie Mets this afternoon in a 
simulated game.
He threw 67 pitches over five and a third innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out three.
He did hit a batter, but 50 of his 67 pitches were thrown for strikes. He did not issue a walk.
The location of his next start is undetermined. Assuming there are no setbacks, it will be for either St. Lucie or Binghamton next week.
…more as we get it…
C Mike DiFelice was designated for assignment in order to make room for this afternoon’s starter RHP Brian Lawrence.
Lawrence will wear #54 today.
By the way, C Paul Lo Duca will likely only be used in an emergency situation. His status for the Cubs series is still up in the air.
..in other words, it’s all yours, ramon…
Michael Salfino on SNY.tv pits Mets and Yankee players head to head on very specific characteristics such as who has the best curveball in New York, who has the best slider, who is best at hitting fastballs, who hits the curve the best, and more.
…this is actually pretty interesting stuff…i’d love to see who the best in baseball is for these different characteristics as well, and how the mets players rank among them…
…added by DJ Short…
…interestingly, Carlos Beltran
ranks best among the locals in BPS (batting average plus slugging
percentage) against curveballs…granted, its a less than impressive
.659, but it’s enough to sit atop the list…who would have thought…
Howard Megdal, in The New York Observer, takes a closer look at the influence Rickey Henderson has had on players like Lastings Milledge. Megdal quotes Milledge
general.”
Milledge has hit .286 through July 26, with three home runs and a .492 slugging
percentage. Megdal points out how Milledge has played the field with a sense of urgency, and has put forth maximum effort on the base paths.
Megdal describes Rickey’s checkered past with the Mets, such as the time it was revealed he was playing cards in the clubhouse with Bobby Bonilla while the Mets were taking on the Braves in game six of the 1999 NLCS.
Megdal also shares a call Rickey made to Kevin Towers, GM of the San Diego Padres where Henderson called saying “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey.” Rickey talks about how he wants to help players reach their goals, and Jose Reyes discusses how he’s taught him how to read pitchers, which he wouldn’t describe in detail in the interest of keeping that edge.
In case you may have missed it, Jeff Pearlman, author of “The Bad Guys Won” that chronicles the 1986 World Champion Mets, wrote a hilarious mock press conference on ESPN‘s Page2, earlier this month.
…great stuff…i’m happy that rickey is an official part of the team now, he brings a smile to my face every time i look over to the first base coaching box and see him there with his stopwatch…its also great to hear how the players have benefited from his knowledge, and especially the kinship he shares with milledge…
…i think milledge identifies with the swagger rickey played with and gives lastings someone he can have guide him through the ups and downs of a blossoming career in major league baseball…
…hat tip to brian for the page2 link…
A reader requests:
..it’s complicated…
However, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com penned an informative piece entitled Waivers 101 that is sure to help you out.
By the way, be sure to check out Stark’s new book, The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History, on sale now.
In the Star-Telegram, Gil Lebreton quotes a scout from an American League team saying that the Eric Gagne, and particularly the Mark Teixiera deal, favored the Rangers.
Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers, describes how they offered an eight-year, $140-million contract to the first baseman before dealing him to Atlanta. Teixeira’s agent, Scott Boras, told the Rangers that his client
was not interested.
…i think its a good deal for the braves this year, but long term, it could hurt them significantly…only time will tell if it was worth the price…
…consider this scenario…atlanta misses the playoffs this year and the mets sign teixiera as a free agent when delgado’s contract runs out…a totally reasonable scenario and an utter disaster for atlanta…
According to The
Hollywood Reporter, ESPN will premiere a two-hour documentary in the spring
about former Mets manager Bobby Valentine’s transformation into a “hero”
of Japanese baseball appropriately titled “Bobby V. in
Japan“.
MetsBlog recently posted an update on Valentine, which you
can view here.
In it, I mention a video of Bobby V. dancing which I could not find until now thanks to a Metsblog reader. To view the video click here.
…hat tip to lee
for the info…
