Daily Archives: August 25, 2007
The Mets (73–55) defeated the Dodgers (66–63) by the score of 4 to 3 in Shea Stadium this afternoon.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…give half a game ball to Orlando Hernandez, who has just been a dream come true over the last two months…yet, the FOX pre-game and post-game team continued to speak of him like any success is amazing…
…give the other half to Carlos Delgado, who got a bloop single to drive in two runs after having Jeff Conine walked ahead of him, on purpose, to force delgado to hit with the bases loaded…excellent…this is by no means a sign that he’s out of a slump…however, it may allow him to take a deep breath, get a good night’s sleep, and, more importantly, buy back some credit with the team’s fans, who clearly want him to succeed given the tremendous standing ovation and cheer he got after conine was intentionally walked…great moment…
…however, note to Shea Stadium, playing Mr. Roboto after he gets a hit, as you’ve been doing all season, because you’d like to think it rhymes with delgado, is actually kind of goofy…
…heads up base running by Jose Reyes, who took third from second on a throw from the third baseman to first on an infield ground ball, since reyes then scored with ease on an up-the-middle single by David Wright…
…by the way, Lastings Milledge, you do not have to dive for every single ball hit in front of you…
…Sandy Alomar Jr. can still play defense, that much is true…he threw out two runners trying to steal second, made a terrific catch against the back wall behind home, not too mention his block of home plate t he other night…
…nice to see Aaron Heilman come in to the ninth and do his best Billy Wagner impersonation…
…lastly, it was great to hear Ralph Kiner with Tim McCarver in the booth again…good stuff…what’s interesting is, mccarver returned to being tolerable when doing play-by-play to kiner’s colorman…FOX should take note of this dynamic switch…suddenly, instead of mccarver coming off as a know-it-all, he’s humble and kind and insightful…interesting…and kiner is just the best…what a life he has had…
…nice win…tomorrow, guys, you know the phrase:
…step on their necks…
The Game:
The first-place Mets (72-55) take on the Dodgers (66-62) this afternoon, starting at 7:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
For this afternoon’s lineup, and other on-field, pre-game notes, check out John Delcos and his blog for the
Journal News.
The Pitchers:
Orlando Hernandez (8-4, 3.09 ERA) will start for New York. The Mets have won each of El Duque’s last eight starts, during which he is 4-0 with a 2.91 ERA. In 21 starts this season, he has allowed four runs or more only five times. Hernandez is 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers this season.
Eric Stults (1-1, 3.91 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. He is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in two career starts against the Mets.
The Notes:
The Mets and Dodgers have split their eight games this season.
Delgado is 0-for-16 in his last four games.
Juan Pierre has a 12–game hitting streak, during which he is batting .396.
David Wright is 12-for-30 against the Dodgers this season, and batting .414 with five HR, six doubles, six stolen bases and 21 RBI in his last 25 games.
For more insight on the Dodgers, read DJ. Short’s
Blogger Beat with Jon Weisman of
Dodger Thoughts.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…
Next Friday, August 31, MetsBlog.com will host MetsBlog Night at McFadden’s, which is located on 
42nd St. and Second Avenue in New York City.
The bar will feature the Mets game against the Braves in Atlanta, with available audio from SNY’s broadcast, as well as an optional, but recommended $20 drink special, i.e., unlimited domestic drought beer through the game.
…we did this a few times last post-season, and it was a ton of fun…i’ve been promised that beer will never be served in a Yankees cup, amen, and that the game audio will be played for as long as possible, though it will always be on in the back room, which is where i preferred to watch the game anyways…
…i hope we have as much fun as last season, and i hope you can make it…
Paul Lo Duca caught five innings for the Brooklyn Cyclones yesterday, going 0-for-2 with a walk in the first game of a double-header.
He served the designated hitter in the second game and went 2-for-3 with a two-run HR.
At SNY.tv, Scott Mandal recaps Lo Duca’s night in Brooklyn, and relays the following story…
“A funny moment took place in the first inning of the first game that made Lo Duca realize he wasn’t in the big leagues anymore. J.R. Voyles, the Cyclones’ third baseman and the batter preceding Lo Duca, fouled a couple pitches off in the catcher’s general direction. In the majors, a ball boy will immediately pop out of the dugout to retrieve those errant ball. But Lo Duca looked in the dugout and didn’t see anyone attempting to make a move to run onto the field to pick up the loose balls. So he walked the several steps to retrieve the foul balls and tossed them into the Cyclones dugout.”
…the buzz from shea had been that lo duca will travel an hour or so to Trenton today to play with Double-A Binghamton, then meet the Mets in Philadelphia to take on the Phillies monday…
Luis Castillo missed last night’s game after tweaking his knee during Thursday’s game against the Padres.
He told reporters last night that he will likely miss each game this weekend, returning to the lineup on Monday.
…he has bad knees and a bad hip…this is just something we’re going to have to accept, i guess…
Starting in place of Castillo last night, Ruben Gotay was 2–for-3 with a double and one RBI.
He had been hitless in his previous seven at-bats, all coming off the bench.
Mets OF Endy Chavez arrived in the Mets clubhouse last night, after having been away from the club for more than 10 weeks with a with a strained left hamstring.
Prior to the game, Mets GM Omar Minaya told reporters that Chavez could be activated this weekend.
…from what i can gather, before making any decisions, endy will test out the hamstring in front of the team’s trainers…at that point, they’ll figure out how best to play this…my guess is that he is not activated until philly for the sake of roster spots…
Chavez hit .550 in five minor league rehab games with Single-A St. Lucie.
…if endy comes back before Saturday, September 1, someone will have to be demoted…i just can’t see demoting Lastings Milledge, and with Luis Castillo’s knee acting up, how do you demote Ruben Gotay, especially with Damion Easley out of action…i guess Marlon Anderson could play second, if need be…
…the Mets could cut Brian Lawrence after his start on monday, and wait to activate endy on tuesday…lawrence’s slot in the rotation will not come up again until saturday against the Braves in atlanta, which is September 1, when a player like Mike Pelfrey could be promoted…it stands to reason that Pedro Martinez will be back by the rotation’s next turn in houston…
…all i know is that this is exactly when bad things happened during the Steve Phillips administration…
This week on The MetsBlog Podcast, Anthony and I 
talked with Dana Brand, author of Mets Fan, and answered phone calls from listeners about the return of Endy Chavez, available pitchers on the waiver wire, and why Carlos Delgado and Guillermo Mota may be struggling.
To listen to archived shows from the Podcast, use the audio player in the site’s sidebar.
To subscribe to The MetsBlog Podcast, and receive new and old editions directly to your iPod, use this url, or simply search MetsBlog on iTunes and click subscribe.
By scoring five runs last night, the Mets have extended their team record of scoring five or more runs to 12 consecutive games.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the streak is the longest of its kind in the majors this season, and the longest since the Texas Rangers scored five or more runs in 12 straight games in 2005.
The Mets are 8-4 over that stretch.
Tagged
Regis Courtemanche |
