Daily Archives: September 4, 2007
Tonight, Carlos Delgado was removed from the game after grabbing his hip and wincing during an at-bat.
Though he finished hitting, he was later removed from the game.
Following the game, Willie Randolph told reporters that Delgado felt a ‘twinge’ in his hip, was removed from the game, got some treatment and will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
…being a day game, i suspect we’ll see Shawn Green at first, with either Endy Chavez or Lastings Milledge in the outfield…
…as was my policy at MetsBlog last season, i will not post a Magic Number in the sidebar until either the lead is above seven games in September, or the Magic Number drops below 20…
…be patient…we’ll get there…but i refuse to be the jinx…
The Mets (78–60) beat up the Reds (62–77) by the score of 11 to 7 in Cincinnati tonight.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…there is always that one inning for Oliver Perez, when the wheels begin to come off of him game…usually, he gets through it…tonight, he didn’t…unfortunately, he had that inning twice tonight as he got rattled, allowed a soft hit or two, was victimized by his defense, such as a dropped third strike, he fell behind in counts, looked dejected, starting walking people, and runs scored…
…fortunately, after the Reds took a short-lived, two-run lead, the Mets rallied to tie the game with a two-run home run by Carlos Beltran, which was a pop-up that would have been 
caught in any other park on earth…but, oh well…the Mets then took the lead on back-to-back hits by Shawn Green and Paul Lo Duca, each knocking in one run…after that, they never looked back…
…lo duca hit a three-run, line-drive, first-pitch home run early in the game, which was caught by a Mets fan…perfect…oddly, he hit another home run later in the game…it’s the first time in his career he had driven in seven runs in a game…
…Guillermo Mota looked strong again…pitching one inning…yes, one inning…one…i think that’s the key…
…Pedro Feliciano, however, looked shaky…he allowed a few weak hits, mostly due to the team’s defense playing the shift, and, as such, runs scored…his control was off again…he just hasn’t been right for weeks now…
…hi, my name is Ruben Gotay, and i hit baseballs…
…good for Jeff Keppinger…i always wrote that he could be a new version of Craig Counsell, and i’m glad to see him still hanging around…
…the Reds starting pitcher was Matt Belisle, and every time they said his name i would chuckle, thinking of Bell Isle from Fletch Lives…i miss you Chevy Chase…what happened, man…
…David Wright has been playing some serious defense of late…like tonight, in the seventh, when he single handedly ended a potential rally…
…Jose Reyes, who was thrown out stealing second, again, is useless at the plate right now…it’s ugly…he has to tomorrow off…it will essentially give him two full days of rest, and my lord does he seem to need it…
…speaking of tired, i love when Keith Hernandez gets bored during this sort of blowouts, and literally sighs in to the mic…cracks me up every time, though one e-mailed noted to me how it can be a bit insulting to fans who are thankful to be watching baseball…
…so, the Mets have finally won five games in a row…it’s the first time they have won more than four in a row all season…i don’t know for certain, but, this, i believe, is known as a ‘nice little rhythm.’…and i like it…
The Game:
The
first-place Mets (77-60) continue their series against the Reds (62-76) this evening at Great American Ballpark, starting at 7:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
SS Jose Reyes leads off, followed in order by 2B Ruben Gotay, 3B David Wright, CF Carlos Beltran, 1B Carlos Delgado, LF Moises Alou, RF Shawn Green, C Paul Lo Duca and starting pitcher Oliver Perez.
The Pitchers:
LHP Oliver Perez (12-9, 3.39 ERA) starts for the Mets. Perez struck out 10 in his last start vs. the Phillies, but took the loss, allowing three runs (including two first inning home runs) over six innings while walking five. Perez has walked five in consecutive starts. He had a 5.19 ERA in six August starts. Perez earned a victory vs. the Reds on July 15th, yielding two runs on six hits over six innings while striking out six.
RHP Matt Belisle (7-8, 5.33 ERA) takes the hill for the Reds. He took a no-decision in his last start vs. the Pirates, allowing two runs over five innings. Opponents have a .308 batting average against Belisle this season. He is 2-7 with a 6.26 ERA at home this season. Belisle was very solid vs. the Mets on July 14th, allowing a single run on nine hits over seven innings as part of a no-decision.
The Notes:
The Mets have won four consecutive games. They have not won more than four consecutive games all season.
Adam Dunn has two doubles and three homers in 19 career at-bats vs. Perez. He also has nine strikeouts.
The Reds have lost four consecutive games.
Jose Reyes is batting .274 with six homers and just 14 RBI since the All-Star break. He has only one RBI since August 16th — it came on a solo home run on Friday vs. the Braves.
Jorge Sosa has a 2.57 ERA in 21 IP since moving to the bullpen.
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…
Tomorrow’s series finale vs. the Reds will start at 12:30 pm EDT.
…as such, look for Jose Reyes to get the day off…thursday is an off-day for the mets, so this would give reyes a full two-days rest before the Mets take on the Astros friday night at Shea Stadium…
ESPN has a new poll asking readers who they think should win the NL MVP award.
Players on the ballot include; Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, David Wright, and Jose Reyes.
…great to see two mets included in the conversation, but i definitely think that based on his overall performance this year, wright belongs there more than reyes does…not to take anything away from reyes, but when discussing mvp honors, he doesn’t quite fit in…
…thanks to gbaked for the link…
Tagged
Regis Courtemanche |
RHP Pedro Martinez has been a regular subject of Will Carroll’s Under The Knife column for Baseball Prospectus this season. Today, Carroll praises the Mets and an evolving Martinez for a job well done.
Carroll writes:
“This is a case of brilliant handling from day one by the Mets and their medical staff, on top of a brilliant pitching performance by Martinez.”
…say what…did i just hear some praise for the Mets and their handling of an injury…that’s gotta be a first…in any case, kudos all around…but the job isn’t done yet…
Willie Randolph, talking to
reporters after yesterday’s win, when told the Phillies lost, and that
his team picked up another game in the
standings…
“Huge.
We’re thinking that Atlanta might be a little irritated (chuckle), so
they came out today and helped us out a bit. That’s what’s
gonna happen…
“I knew this year would be like this,
us bumping each other around a little bit and bumping heads and tit for
tat. So, I’m not really surprised…
“All
these teams are real competitive. We just really need to
finish up this trip strong, and get those guys at
home so we can really, really finish up strong – and this is a perfect
opportunity for us to get hot…
“So, I’m hoping this
is the run we need – and the way the guys have been playing you can
tell their really hungry and they want to finish in good
fashion.”
…hungry…now
that’s a word we haven’t heard all season, and have been
missing…welcome back…
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com takes a look at the candidates for MVP in each league.
Among his candidates in the National League is Mets 3B David Wright. Stark writes…
“As much fun as
Jose Reyes can be on any given trip around the bases, it’s the guy playing next to him who is really the Mets’ MVP.”
Including yesterday’s game, Wright is batting .373 with a .480 OBP and .610
slugging pct. since the All-Star break.
…wright has been tremendous and although he does not have those sexy power numbers like most former mvps, his will and determination to carry his team to the playoffs is deserving of mvp consideration and it’s great to see national baseball writers like stark taking notice…
Tagged
Mike Nichols |
For a good time, read these comments, in a post made by 
Terrence Moore at the blog for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in which argues that the Braves still have a chance to make the playoffs.
…as i wrote on sunday, in a key spot, late in the final game of the series, with the Braves losing, Turner Field began playing the Tomahawk Chop and only a few people in the crowd joined in…which made me laugh…that song is so 1990’s…just like the Braves…
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