Daily Archives: August 31, 2007
The Mets (74–60) beat the Braves (69–66) by the score of 7 to 1 in Turner Field last night.
…it’s so nice to write those words…
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…welcome back, John Maine…wow…the only run he allowed came in the sixth, during which he loaded the bases, but maine ‘managed the inning,’ as they say, and though he surrendered the one run he also limited the damage…otherwise, he looked amazing, striking out eight and walking three through seven inning…seven innings, by the way…to me, that’s the second-most important stat…because, the less we see of the team’s bullpen right now, the better…
…what i am most happy to see is maine’s poise and confidence return…he had a rough stretch there, but he didn’t get down, he stayed strong, focused, he got deliberate in commanding the inning, and worked through it and now looks to be on track…
…at the same time, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes, both of whom had also been struggling of late, each hit home runs…delgado’s home run was huge, man…huge…it allowed us to exhale for a minute, and that was very much needed…
…actually, reyes made an outstanding catch later in the game, and, to me, looked to be full of energy, something he lacked while in Philadelphia…
…basically, the game was over after Marlon Anderson, ‘the best-pinch hitter on the planet,’ knocked in three runs with a bases-loaded, pinch-hit double in the ninth…
…big win…i can breath now…keep it going, guys…
The Game:
The
first-place Mets (73-60) kick off a crucial three-game set with the
third-place Braves (69-65) this evening at Turner Field, starting at 7:35 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
SS Jose
Reyes leads off, followed in order by 2B Luis Castillo, 3B David
Wright, CF Carlos Beltran, LF Moises Alou, 1B Carlos Delgado, C Paul Lo
Duca, RF Endy Chavez and starting pitcher John Maine.
The Pitchers:
RHP
John Maine (13-8, 3.68 ERA) starts for the Mets. Maine wasn’t able to
make it out of the sixth inning in his last start — the sixth
consecutive start that he has failed to do so. He has a 5.94 ERA in
nine starts since the All-Star break. Maine faced the Braves for the
first time in his career back on August 9th allowing six runs on seven
hits (including two homers) over 5.1 IP.
RHP Tim Hudson (15-6, 3.23 ERA) counters for the Braves. Hudson allowed
five runs on nine hits over five innings in his last start in a 5-4
loss to the Cardinals. It was his first loss since June 19th. Hudson
has allowed only five home runs in 183.2 IP this season. He is 2-0 with
a 1.93 ERA in two starts vs. the Mets this season.
The Notes:
The Mets have lost five consecutive games. The Mets have not lost six in a row since September of 2005.
The Mets are 4-8 vs. the Braves this season.
The Mets are 28-15 in the first game of a series this season — the best mark in the majors.
1B
Carlos Delgado is 15-for-48 (.313) with five homers and nine RBI vs.
Hudson. CF Carlos Beltran is 15-for-45 (.333) with three homers and 10
RBI vs. the right-hander.
SS Jose Reyes was just 1-for-11 in the Phillies series.
1B
Mark Teixeira is batting .327 with 10 homers and 32 RBI in 27 games
since joining the Braves at the trade deadline. He is leading the NL in
homers and tied for the lead in RBI in August.
For more insight on the Braves, check out today’s Blogger Beat with Martin Gandy of Talking Chop.
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…
John Delcos of the Journal News has the low-down on a busy afternoon of activity with the orange and blue.
Pedro Martinez‘s bullpen session convinced the Mets that he may be able to make his season debut on Monday vs. the Reds.
…ironically, Cincinnati is where Martinez‘s first start as a Met took place…keep in mind that there is still a possibility that he could start for Single-A Brooklyn on Monday…stay tuned on that…
Martinez would essentially be replacing RHP Orlando Hernandez in the rotation, who was examined in New York and given a cortisone injection due to soreness to his right foot.
The Mets also announced that RHP Mike Pelfrey will start tomorrow afternoon’s game. RHP Philip Humber is also expected to be recalled from Triple-A New Orleans.
Listen to Joe Benigno’s opening monologue as he and Evan Roberts filled in for Mike and The Mad Dog this afternoon on WFAN.
…be patient, it gets good…this is must-listen radio…
Over at his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos, notes Mets RHP Pedro Martinez has arrived in Atlanta for his scheduled bullpen session.
…as cerrone mentioned earlier this week the buzz from the team suggests pedro will make his final minor-league rehab start on Monday…
Tagged Mike Nichols |According to El Nuevo Dia, the Mets will call up LHP Willie Collazo when the rosters expand on September 1.
The 27-year old lefty is 6-5 with a 2.46 ERA, 4 saves, 69 strikeouts and 1.15 WHIP
in 98.2 innings pitched for the Mets Triple-A New Orleans affiliate
this season.
…thanks to sam for the link…
Tagged Mike Nichols |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 play a crucial series with the division rival Braves, we chat with Martin Gandy of Talking Chop.
Is there still a confidence within the Braves fanbase when the Mets come to town? Could the Mets have gift-wrapped a better opportunity for the Braves to get back in it?
Actually, we’re probably glad you’re coming to town. We can’t seem to beat teams that are below .500, but our team really gets up for the games against over-.500 teams, especially teams in the NL East. This is certainly a make or break series for the Braves, so they are going to be playing every game like it’s game 7, as are the Mets I’m sure. It’s going to be a LOT of fun.
How has Mark Teixeira changed this lineup? Could you have asked for much more from him?
Well I’d like to say he’s led to more wins, but for some reason despite his awesomeness we’ve found ways to lose ballgames lately (I’m sure Mets fans can sympathize). He is, though, more of a clutch hitter than Andruw Jones, so we seem to be getting much better production out of our cleanup spot. Heck, he’s leading the league in RBIs in August, so he’s certainly doing his part. It’s also helped Andruw settle down, and he’s raised his average about 10 points the last month while batting seventh.
Do you feel more or less comfortable with this bullpen as compared to how it looked before July 31st? Were you surprised to see Bob Wickman kicked to the curb?
I feel equally uncomfortable! Dotel pulled a Baez and went right on the DL. But Mahay’s been awesome, and we’ve had some young guys, Acosta and Ascanio, who have been amazing with upper 90′s stuff. Wickman was an ulcer all season, and we likely won’t miss him, which unfortunately does not speak well for a guy who was great for us last year. I was surprised he was let go, but we’ve been making some radical moves this season, so I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.
Do you own a Chris Woodward jersey yet?
What! And give up my Pete Orr jersey!
Are you happy with Yunel Escobar‘s play at shortstop while Edgar Renteria is on the mend?
Edgar who? Yes, I along with many Braves fans have unfortunately not missed Edgar, though we still adore him. In our opinion, he’s gone this off-season – traded for pitching. Yuney’s the real deal with the bat and the glove. Let me put in a way the Mets fans can understand; he’s Rey Ordonez meets Dave Magadan with the opposite field stroke of Julio Franco.
What kind of changes might the off-season see if the Braves fail to make the post-season again?
Like I said above, I think Edgar’s gone for some pitching hopefully. Everyone else in baseball will be trying to find starting pitching, but I believe the Braves have some good pieces to end up with more than most teams. We have two great young talents (which we didn’t trade away, believe it or not), outfielder Brandon Jones (yes, another Jones) and shortstop Brent Lillibridge, both of which we’ll be drooling over all winter to be in our lineup next season. Much of our off-season will be spent wondering if Hampton and Gonzalez can get better. Oh, and Andruw’s gone for sure, especially with Tex in the ATL. Of course, all of this will likely happen whether or not the Braves make the playoffs (though, I hope they do).
…thanks martin…by the way, i answered some questions for him, which you can check out here…
The Associated Press is reporting that former Mets pitcher Steve Trachsel
was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Chicago Cubs today.
Pitcher Rocky Cherry and infielder Scott Moore were sent to the Orioles in the trade.
Trachsel was 6-8 with a 4.48 ERA in 25 starts this
season, and played for the Cubs from 1993-99.
…yes, his name is really rocky cherry…
…hat tip to adam for the link…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |On Wednesday night, the Mets hosted Mets at the Movies in the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City.
…it was actually a ton of fun…i don’t know why, but i always have low expectations for these type of events, and this was beyond impressive in every way…
…basically, imagine the biggest movie theater you’ve ever been in packed with Mets fans; the game on the big screen; 
Cow-Bell Man; vendors selling hot dogs, pretzels, beer, souvenirs and popcorn; the Shea announcer, Alex Anthony, live and in person making announcements; a live organist; Lee Mazzilli, Buddy Harrleson, Chris Cotter and his hair all on stage; the Pepsi Party Patrol; a Meet the Mets sing-a-long; and Mr. Met in a tuxedo…yes, a tuxedo…i mean, what else do you want…besides a victory…
…i hope they do this again very soon…like in October…if they do, you should certainly check it out…it was the next best thing to being at the game…
For more on Mets at the Movies, check out Pick Me Up Some Mets by Zoë Rice, who was also in attendance.
…i’m off to New York City, to take of some business and get ready for MetsBlog Night at McFadden’s, which you can learn more about by clicking here…i hope to see you there…
…in the meantime, i leave you with the following…
…don’t give up, guys…never give up…
