Daily Archives: August 10, 2007
The Mets (64-51) lost to the Marlins (54-62) tonight by the score of 4 to 3.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…despite the loss, it was nice to see the a team on the field tonight, and i don’t mean murdock, face and b.a….
…the mets are 1-3 this year against teams when the pitcher is making their major league debut…
…starter Brian Lawrence struggled at first but got increasingly better throughout the game and retired six in a row at one point…conversely, Daniel Barone was great through four until the mets came back to take the lead…
…the final line on lawrence is six innings, eight hits, two runs, three walks and six strikeouts…good job, and all i could realistically hope for from him…
…the marlins struck early as Hanley Ramirez stole two bases then scored on a flare to right…then in the second Mike Jacobs scored after lawrence gave up his fifth hit…it could have been much uglier in the second but the mets got a few breaks…
…welcome back Carlos Beltran…in the fifth, Jose Reyes reached on an error, Luis Castillo then laid down a perfect bunt single…beltran then hit a three run homer over the center field fence to give the mets a three to two lead…he also made a few strong throws so it appears that for now that oblique is just fine…however, the mets’ offense couldn’t tack on any insurance runs and left ten men on base…
…nice “supervisor” fleece kevin burkhardt…i don’t blame him as it looked like april weather out there…
…Jorge Sosa pitched superbly in two full innings of relief allowing no base runners to get on…
…Billy Wagner made it exciting once again but this time blew the save when hanley ramirez drove a ball over beltran’s head to bring two runs home…gary cohen jinxed him by saying that he hadn’t allowed a run in eight weeks…obviously i’m kidding, but it was bound to happen eventually…
…the marlins’ bullpen was great tonight and shut the mets down after barone came out…very frustrating and tough way to open the series but there you have it…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that the Braves’ newly acquired reliever Octavio Dotel has been placed on the 15 day disabled list with a strained right shoulder.
…hat tip to erik w….
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
The Game:
The
first-place Mets (64-50) kick off a three-game weekend series with the Marlins (53-62) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
SS
Jose Reyes leads off, followed in order by 2B Luis Castillo, CF Carlos Beltran, 3B David Wright, 1B Carlos Delgado, LF Moises Alou, RF Shawn Green, C Paul Lo Duca and starting pitcher Brian Lawrence.
The Pitchers:
RHP Brian Lawrence (1-0, 5.40 ERA) gets the call for the Mets. Lawrence defeated the Brewers in his season debut last week. The soft-tossing righty allowed three runs over five innings while walking none as part of a 12-4 Mets win. It was Lawrence’s first win since August 15th of the 2005 season as a member of the Padres. Lawrence is 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA in six career starts vs. the Marlins.
RHP Daniel Barone makes his major league debut for the Marlins. Barone, 24, was 7-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 10 starts for Triple-A Albuquerque this season after a promotion from Double-A Carolina. The Marlins selected him in the 11th round of the 2004 MLB Draft out of Sonoma State in California.
The Notes:
The Mets are 24-13 in the first game of a series this season — the best record in the majors.
The Mets have won six of eight meetings vs. the Marlins so far this season. The Mets lost two of out three vs. the Marlins at Shea Stadium, April 30th-May 2nd.
The Mets have a team batting average of .336 against the Marlins this season.
With his ninth inning home run yesterday, David Wright notched his second consecutive 20-20 season.
SS Jose Reyes is batting .391 (18-for-46) over his last 10 games. He has at least two hits in seven of the ten games.
3B Miguel Cabrera is batting .438 in Marlins’ wins and .249 in the team’s losses.
For more insight on the Marlins, check out today’s Blogger Beat.
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…
Mets OF Carlos Beltran has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and is back in center fielder, batting third in tonight’s game against the Marlins.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
Mr. Met is up for entry into the Mascot Hall of Fame. At ESPN.com’s Page 2, Howard Medgal looks at Mr. Met’s candidacy using a modified Bill James theory.
“8. Is there any evidence to suggest that the mascot was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?
While
Mr. Met’s T-shirts often fail to make it into Shea Stadium’s Upper
Reserved section, it is fair to note that Shea has always been a
pitchers’ park. Power totals are deflated at Shea.”
…i’m having trouble figuring out if there really is a mascot hall of fame…parts of the web site work, others don’t…in theory, you could vote on it…either way, both medgal’s article and the idea are gold…
…this is anthony’s find, by the way…
Just a reminder that you can still vote for the center and right fielder you want for MetsBlog’s All-Time Mets 25-Man Roster. The center fielder
vote is here and right fielder vote is here.
The polls will remain open until 11:59pm on Sunday, August 12.
All of us at MetsBlog thank you in advance for participating.
Tagged Mike Nichols |Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Chipper Jones‘ words were skewed by the New York media:
York fans and mutant tabloid headline writers to other cities, they
would rarely lose a road game…
“For some reason, he has thrived in this toilet of a stadium and the
appropriately named surroundings of Flushing. As pitcher Tim Hudson
joked, ‘They hate him here for a reason. It’s like an ongoing joke for
us when we come to New York. You know their fans are going to be crazy,
and Chipper’s going to drive in six or eight in a series.’”
…schultz’s article is so holier-than-thou…it’s not only outwardly resentful of the new york media, but it delivers a not-so-subtle slap to the mets and their fans…
…i’m not denying the that the new york papers are sensationalist…but personally, i love them…
…and really, are they any worse than a homer paper that runs out and defends its players while needlessly and broadly attacking other organizations?…
…chipper’s a big boy, jeff, he doesn’t need you…
Update: 2:19 p.m.
Schultz wrote an article last April discrediting the Mets’ early NL East lead.
…not too good a track record here…seems to me a little embarassing…
…mets’ public enemy no. 1?…
…hat tip to joe simonovich…
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 prepare to take on the visiting Marlins, we revisit Craig Strain, the author of Fish Stripes.
What do you know about right-hander Daniel Barone, who will make his major league debut tonight?
Not that much. He started the season in Double-A and was promoted to Triple-A where he went undefeated going 6-0 with a 4.42 ERA. Which isn’t that bad for pitching the PCL and in a home stadium whose altitude is over a mile high. His fastball is 87-90 mph and breaking stuff can be very nasty, if he can control it.
Will Hanley Ramirez eventually be a middle of the order hitter on this team?
Not this season, but I think he will eventually. Right now he is more comfortable hitting leadoff and with him being just 23 and working on his fielding, I don’t think they will want to overload him anytime soon. But given his average and power numbers, he will one day be in the three-hole.
What (if anything) is wrong with Dontrelle Willis? Are you getting to the point where you’d like to see what the Marlins could get for him?
Nothing. Someone had the bright idea if they got Dontrelle to slow down his pitches they would have more movement. So instead of him throwing his normal 91-94 mph they messed with his delivery to get him to throw 85-87 mph. Well, they were right. He got plenty of movement, so much so that he couldn’t control it. Forget painting the corners, he was just hoping the catcher could somehow lunge and catch it. This “brilliant” idea has led to a lot of walks and therefore base runners forcing him to pitch out of the stretch most of the time.
No, there is nothing wrong with Willis. They just need to let Dontrelle be himself.
Am I ready to see what the Marlins can get for him? You’re kidding, right? Even the Marlins don’t grow left-handed 25 year-old former 20-game winners on trees.
(D.J.’s Note: And now that issue is put to bed. For now.)
What are the odds that Armando Benitez gets into a game while he’s here (wink, wink)?
Hopefully, zero. If everything goes perfectly for the Fish, and when has it ever, the starters will go eight and will hand it off the Gregg.
Really, the Mets don’t need the extra help. I know Atlanta is breathing down your backs but c’mon, don’t you want to earn the title and not just have it handed to you on a sliver plater. I cringe to think how Benitez will do against your lineup.
So let me get this straight — the Marlins trade former Met prospect Yusmeiro Petit to the D’Backs for Jorge Julio. Then, they trade Julio to the Rockies for Byung-Hyun Kim. Then the Diamondbacks claimed Byung-Hyun Kim. So, the Marlins essentially gave Petit to the D’Backs for free?
Preciously. We’re not tied in last place for nothing.
I hated the Petit for Julio trade at the time. Was in favor of the Julio for Kim trade, anything to get Julio out of here. Then one of our serviceable starters goes away for nothing, leaving just one possible future outcome — Petit will start and throw a no-hitter against the Marlins one day.
What will it take for mainstream sports media to recognize Miguel Cabrera as one of the best players in the game?
Sadly, you know the answer to that question as well as I do and I’m not about to give the answer. But I will say this, even if he wins the triple crown, which is highly unlikely this season, it won’t matter to the media, for a certain reason.
…thanks again craig…
According to the Mets’ rainout hotline, tonight’s game vs. the Marlins is still scheduled to be played.
We will update you on any news to the contrary.
To call the hotline, call (718) 507-7246
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |Mr. Met is a nominee for the Mascot Hall Of Fame.
Howard Medgal at ESPN discusses the chances of Mr. Met being chosen over the likes of Hugo The Hornet, and The Mariner Moose.
Medgal writes:
retire, the franchise will undoubtedly honor him as it has Tom Seaver, Gil
Hodges and Casey Stengel.”
To vote for Mr. Met, go to mascothalloffame.com.
…its a travesty that the phillie phanatic has already been elected to the hall…
…i think after running over coco crisp, the moose should be disqualified…mr. met is a first ballot hall of famer in my opinion, but make sure to help secure his place in the hall, which by the way i had no idea even existed…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
