Daily Archives: August 15, 2007
In his last two appearances for Triple-A New Orleans, Joe Smith is 2–for-2 in save opportunities allowing one hit and one walk, while striking out two, in 1.2 innings.
Tony C sent in an e-mail asking…
“With Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro unavailable, and Mike DiFelice starting, who is the
back-up catcher?”
…from what i understand, if David Newhan is on the team, then newhan is the back-up…if he isn’t, like now, Willie Randolph told reporters last night, the back-up catcher will be Damion Easley followed by Carlos Delgado in an absolute emergency…after that, i guess it’s Old Backstop when he’s in the stands…however, right now, it’s castro, who i expect to see in the starting lineup either tonight or tomorrow…
…last night i attended SNY’s Viewing Party at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone in Times Square…
…i spent most of my time with Anthony and Regis from MetsBlog, as well as Trey from Do Me Wright, Zoe from Pick Me Up Some Mets, Coop from My Summer Family and Stefi from You Can’t Script Baseball, Eddie, the infamous Cow-Bell Man, as well as Sandra, a.k.a. Springfan in this site’s comment’s section…
…i also got a chance to meet some cool people from SNY, as well as say hello to Ron Darling, who, get this, is a fan of this site, which was pretty cool to hear…my mom, who had a major crush on ron during his playing days, will be so proud…he’s also a lot bigger than i expected…
…i’ve said this before, but, i’m sort of glad to know these professional athletes are so damn big, because i am not, and so even if i could throw 100 mph, despite what i thought in my teens, from birth i never really had a chance to be a big-league pitcher, which is sort of a relief at this point in my life…
…by the way, the photo to the 
right is of me, anthony and regis…
…so, the Viewing Party was actually a lot of fun…it’s tough to watch the game, of course, while catching up with some old and new friends, but if you’re looking to just catch a game surrounded by a lot of local fans it is certainly worth checking…the next time SNY holds one i will of course let you know…
…for pictures, and additional commentary, check out Zoe’s post at Pick Me Up Some Mets…
…and for more of her pictures, go here…
…oh, and zoe, yes, you’ve made me blush again…thanks…
Yesterday in Port St. Lucie, Pedro Martinez tossed 60 pitches, along with 20 in the bullpen. He allowed three runs, while walking one and striking out three, over four innings during his rehab start for the Gulf Coast League Mets.
…the recent, pre-mature buzz from shea suggests that if pedro recovers well over the next few days, his next minor-league start could be his last in port st. lucie, which will follow with a fourth start in either double-a or triple-a, depending on the schedule, and after that he could finally re-join the Mets, get this, against the 
Braves in the final days of august…of course, pedro is pushing to throw one more game, not in st. lucie, and then re-join the Mets while at home against the Dodgers…
The Mets have told reporters that Martinez’s pitches reached as high as 88–mph yesterday, sitting mostly in the mid-80s range, though Martinez told reporters he is certain he hit 90.
Martinez, talking to reporters after yesterday’s start…
“I worked a lot this week on my sinker, and getting ahead in the count with those pitches, especially low and away to lefties – and I did that for the first three innings pretty good. Then I decided to just let it go a bit, and use the other pitches…
“I feel like my pitches are improving, but I can’t really tell you how good I am until I get a big-league hitter out…
“This is rookie ball, and A-Ball, and they’re scoring three, and four, and five runs on me, but I’m not really looking for a strike out or anything. I’m actually working on the pitches, where do they fall, the specific zone I want, and forgot about what happens with the kids…
“I like this outing a lot more than the other one. I had more command, I actually felt like I pitched a little bit – making pitches where I wanted to. Overall it was a jump ahead, it was a great improvement…
“I want to get there and be able to be a help to the team. As much as I want to get there, I don’t want to be there and probably have to take one of those guys who have been pitching well out of their rotation…to then get Pedro in, and Pedro’s just gonna hurt their chances. Instead, I want to get there when I’m able to do something positive for the team.”
…i just feel like they need his presence, fight and determination so much right now…
Go to ArmChairGM to vote on the Best Recent Mets Moment: Endy’s catch, or the Grand-Slam Single.
Also, a view votes later, choose between the Worse Stadium: Shea or Tropicana.
According to Adam Rubin in the Daily News, Willie Randolph met privately with Shawn Green prior to last night’s game.
Lastings Milledge started in place of Green last night, against the right-handed Ian Snell.
Green, as quoted by Rubin…
“Lastings is playing well, and I haven’t exactly been killing it lately. We’re trying to win games, and whatever they want me to do, I’ll do. They just basically said they’re going to play it by ear. It’s more day-to-day.”
Also, at his blog for the Daily News, Rubin has posted some great photos from PNC Park, taken from the press box and from his hotel room.
Brad from NYC sent in an e-mail asking…
“Was Pedro Feliciano unavailable last night? Why did Willie Randolph bring Scott Shoenweiss in in the 8th – a spot that he has used Felciano all year? I am certain if Schoenweiss gave up a hit there, everyone would be questioning the move.”
Following the game, Randolph told reporters that Felicano was available, adding…
“I just felt like he could get the guy out. I go with what I feel at the moment. We’re trying to win games. I’m not trying to build confidence, or things like that. You know, we try to get match-ups and get guys who come in and get us outs. So, that’s how I view it.”
…i know some people continue to get all hot and bothered by willie’s use of gut and not stats…the thing is, a) it is what it is, this is how he manages, so it’s best to just get used to it, and b) it works, or, i sense it works as often as it fails, which, in a game that defines success as 70 percent failure, his gut is probably about as accurate as the stats would end up being…my point, just focus on the overall results at this point…
…results aside, this is just another example of how there are no defined roles out in that bullpen…i would be curious to know what some of these pitchers have to say, off the record, about whether this is causing any problems for them while on the hill…
Last night, in a win against the Pirates, Orlando Hernandez threw 130 pitches, and allowed three runs on five hits, while five and striking out eight, through six innings.
Willie Randolph, on allowing El Duque to throw 130 pitches, while talking to reporters after the game…
“Yeah, he felt good. He’s one of those guys I always communicate with, he lets me know when he’s done and when he feels good and he said he wanted to go back out and get the bottom of the order and he was able to do that. So that pushed it up a bit, but he’s always the kind of guy who’s very honest with me, I’ve known him for a long time and he felt great.”
…i was at the SNY Viewing Party, so i did not realize he had thrown so many pitches…he survived, so i don’t think it matters much, but, man, had i known this was happening at the time i would have been worried he’s arm would literally fall off…
Since Moises Alou returned from the disabled list, Carlos Delgado is batting .274 with a .387 OBP, including a .421 average with rinners in scoring position, along with two HR, 11 walks and 13 RBI in the 17 games.
During last night’s win over the Pirates, Moises Alou broke a 3–3 tie in the top of the eighth inning driving in two runs on a single to center field.
Alou, on teamwork, when talking 
to reporters…
“I had the opportunity to drive some guys in with my last at-bat and I took advantage of the opportunity. But, I have to give a lot of credit to the other guys. They made my at-bat easier. All we needed there was a sac-fly, so it made me relax a little bit. I got a good pitch to hit and I hit a line drive to center field.”
Willie Randolph, on whether his team is more confident with Alou in the lineup, while talking to reporters after last night’s win over the Pirates…
“No, I don’t think that because he’s here, the team has more confidence. I mean, obviously, he lends a lot to our offensive approach and he’s an awesome hitter, but, no, no, I mean, we’ve been without him for two months so an we did well at times without him…
“It’s just nice to have everyone back in the fold again. I mean, it’s been a long time since we’ve had our full lineup with everyone healthy at the same time…But, we’ve done a good job over the years that I’ve been here to not over-react to who’s not here or who’s not going to contribute, we just try to pick up the slack when we can.”
This season, the Mets have won 60 percent of their games when Alou is on the team. They’ve won 52 percent when he is not.
