Daily Archives: September 10, 2007
Prior to tonight’s game, both Willie Randolph and Carlos Delgado told reporters that is very likely that Delgado will miss at least the rest of this current homestand, which ends this coming Sunday against the Phillies.
…from what i can gather, delgado still cannot swing a bat or even jog, which, last time i checked, were pretty important parts of playing baseball…
Delgado has missed five games with a strained hip flexor.
The first-place Mets (82–61) defeated the third-place Braves (73–71) by the score of 3–2 tonight.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…welcome back, Oliver Perez, who looked to be pitching from the Rick Peterson play-book again, as opposed to his last few starts…he mixed up his slider and fastball well, worked around in the zone, didn’t walk many batters, got some good defense behind him, and got big strike outs and ground balls when needed…he ran in to trouble during the sixth, after allowing a lead-off hit to the opposing pitcher, Tim Hudson, which is always a no no…but, a nice, smoking catch by David Wright, and an outstanding, well-timed pick-off move from oliver to Luis Castillo to nab hudson off second, and as fast as the rally started it ended…to me, this was a great sight to see, because typically if an inning starts this way it means the wheels are set to fall off perez…this time, though, he got some solid defense behind him, kept his poise, made a great play himself and got a big strikeout, looking, to end the inning…well played…
…perez allowed a two-run home run to Brian McCann, but the pitch was a high-and-tight fastball, so, i mean, what else can a pitcher do…i bet that pitch is hit for a home run less than 1 percent of the time it is thrown…so, it is what it is…hat’s off to mccann…
…Jose Reyes had some life tonight…for the first time in a long while, his presence was known…he had a ground-ball, slap hit for a single in the first, off which he eventually scored on a fielder’s choice…later, he led off an inning with a walk, stole second – despite Tim Hudson throwing over to first 100 times – and then scored on a home run by David Wright…
…actually, wright’s home run was a lesson in hitting…as he worked to a full count, then fought off hudson, fought off hudson and fought off hudson, got his pitch, and ripped a low-ball, line-drive shot in to the bleachers, which was greeted by a nice M-V-P chant from the fans…
…by the way, wright is now two home runs shy of joining the 30–30 club…Howard Johnson is going to be proud…
…i mean, if he hits 30–30, and the Mets win the division, wright has got to win this award…it has to happen…
…also, i don’t know who said it first, but Luis Castillo really should be known as Slappy McSingleton…it’s the funniest, most accurate nickname…i love it…i laugh every time i say it out loud…
…outstanding catch by Carlos Beltran to end the game, sliding feet first, in front of Endy Chavez, to scoop the ball by his side…slick…
…hey, do you hold your breath when Moises Alou chugs around the bases…i know i do…actually, judging by the look on his face, i think alou holds his breath when he runs the bases, as well…
…again, the bullpen, i.e., Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, looked strong…you know, when the bullpen is pitching well, life is so peaceful…
…philadelphia seems like a million years ago…
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The Game:
The first-place Mets (81-61) kick off a three-game set with the Braves (73-70) this evening at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 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 Shawn Green, C Paul Lo Duca, RF Lastings Milledge and starting pitcher Oliver Perez.
The Pitchers:
LHP Oliver Perez (13-9, 3.46 ERA) starts for the Mets. He got the win in his last start vs. the Reds despite allowing five runs, three of them earned, over five innings while walking five. Perez has walked five batters in each of his last three starts. He is 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA in four starts vs. the Braves this season.
RHP Tim Hudson (15-7, 3.47 ERA) takes the hill for the Braves. Hudson was hit hard in his last start vs. the Phillies, allowing five runs on a season-high 11 hits over five innings. He was handed a no-decision. Hudson hasn’t lasted longer than six innings in five out of hits last six starts. In three starts vs. the Mets this season, Hudson is 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA.
The Notes:
The Braves hold the season series edge with an 8-7 record vs. the Mets.
The Mets are 8-1 over their last nine games and sit at 20 games over .500 for the first time since last season.
CF Carlos Beltran is batting .405 (17-for-42) with three homers and nine RBI over his last 11 games.
The Mets are 31-15 in the first game of a series this season — the best record in the majors.
LF Matt Diaz is batting .360 vs. lefties this season.
For more insight on the Braves, check out today’s Blogger Beat featuring William Schaffer from Chop-n-Change.
The Bleachers:
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy…and as always, let’s go mets…
During the three-game sweep of the Astros, the Mets bullpen put up a 1.95 ERA, with just Guillermo Mota and Jorge Sosa each giving up one run.
Paul Lo Duca, on the bullpen, talking to reporters after yesterday’s win over the Astros…
“Our whole bullpen is starting to throw the ball a lot better. Everything is starting to come together at the right time.”
…it’s starting to come together, starting to come together…
…it’s like surfing…at this point, it’s like the Mets are just waiting in the water, hoping to keep their balance and ride in the winning wave…it’s been said before, but, seriously, it’s all about who gets hot…
…so, stay hot…
Tagged Paul Lo Duca |…i am aware that for people viewing this site on Internet Explorer, v.6.0 or less, that the right-hand side bar is missing…actually, it’s way, way down on the page below the left one…though i have no idea why this is happening, i am working on it…
…thank you informing me of the problem…
…Update…3:10 pm…
…ding ding, and the winning advice comes from Joe at MetsMerized…thanks, buddy…
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Mets’ shortstops and second basemen haven’t had an error in their last 39 games.
That is the longest such stretch by any middle infield in Mets history. The previous mark was held by the 1995 Mets middle infield tandem who went 34 games without an error.
Luis Castillo joined the team 32 games ago and has no errors in that time.
…i am so confident with castillo out there…although he seems to hobble around a lot, when something’s hit his way it’s almost an automatic out…i don’t think i need to comment on Jose Reyes…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |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 welcome the Braves to town, we chat with William Schaffer of Chop-n-Change.
Were you surprised to see Chipper Jones rail against the umpires the other day?
No, not a bit. Especially in these past few years, Chipper has not been one to shy away from criticizing an umpire or even rarely an opposing player for their actions or comments. Some may see it as pointless complaining, but when he does it, there really was something ridiculous in the game. Chipper says it after games where blatant calls were missed quite a few times.
How uplifting was last Thursday’s win over the Phillies?
Coming off the sweep by the Mets and after a long stretch of mediocrity, that win was huge. The season looked to basically be over at that point based on the team’s play but coming back from a six-run deficit and winning in the last two innings really put a hop in their step. They turned the momentum from a mind-blowing win like that into a three-game win streak and after looking like they had no chance at a playoff berth, have climbed to within striking distance in the wild card race.
Will you be happy to see Andruw Jones go at season’s end?
No, I won’t be happy to see him go, but I won’t be losing sleep over it either. Throughout his career and especially over recent years, Andruw has been a huge offensive contributor to the team’s success along with being one of the two greatest defensive players to ever roam center field. This year has been miserable for Andruw but he isn’t this bad. An elbow injury contributed a lot to the miserable numbers early in the season but lately his performance at the plate has been right around what we have been getting from him the past two years. The Braves have both Brandon Jones and Brent Lillibridge, who could soften the blow of loosing him next year and Jordan Schafer, who draws comparisons to Grady Sizemore down the road, or they could just turn to a free agent to bridge the gap.
What’s the state of mind with the Braves fanbase? John Schuerholz seemingly did everything in his power to make the team better, but it hasn’t quite clicked.
The Braves fan base was pretty much split after the Teixeira deal. Many, like myself, thought we were mortgaging the future for a year and a half from Teixeira. The payout from that deal has been huge so far but right when we started getting production from first base, other problems started popping up like slumps from Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur. The morale of the fans was at an all-time low right after the last Mets series because the team wasted an opportunity to get right back into the division race, but since the dramatic win of the Phillies, everyone seems to be excited again.
Did the Braves miss Edgar Renteria in his absence?
The team definitely missed Renteria while he was sitting out with the ankle injury, but a lot less than most teams would if they lost an All-Star caliber shortstop for an extended period of time. Yunel Escobar, the Braves’ rookie shortstop, stepped in quite nicely and provided good offense and perhaps slightly improved defense over Renteria. He wasn’t quite as good at the plate as Renteria has been this season, but there wasn’t a gaping hole left by the Renteria injury.
How tough a task will it be to hop over the other teams in Wild Card contention?
It is an uphill climb to say the least. The Braves are only 4.5 out so the possibility is there with three games left against the Phillies, who are in front of Atlanta, and a schedule from now until the end of the regular season that the Braves could quite conceivably win a large majority of. Right now everything seems to be clicking. Smoltz was beyond dominant in his last start, the Braves have scored 25 runs in the past three games with dominant pitching from the bullpen over the last couple weeks, and the team has gotten much better performance out of the back of the rotation. I’d say we have about a 20% shot right now of getting the wild card because of the way this team has been playing.
…thanks william…by the way, i did a quick q & a with him over at chop-n-change, which you can read later this afternoon…
As previously mentioned on MetsBlog, there is increased buzz from Syracuse that suggests the Mets will move their Triple-A affiliate from New Orleans to Syracuse at the end of the next season.
According to Syracuse’s ABC Affiliate, WSYR, Syracuse Chiefs management, in an increased effort to lure a new team, have begun the transition from Astro Turf to natural grass.
The Chiefs, who’s contract with the Blue Jays is up at the end of next season, will also alter the dimensions of Alliance Bank Stadium, which reportedly will be very similar to the Mets new ballpark, Citi Field.
…frankly i’d love the Mets to move from nola to syracuse…their triple-a affiliate would be back in the International League where they belong…also for selfish reasons as i would get to see them play the new phillies triple-a affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Minors |
…we’ve been saying it all year, that the Mets need to do a better job at putting the hammer down…they’ve begun to do that more the last couple of weeks, but this week is a big test to see if they can completely put their two biggest rivals in the division away completely…
…sweeping the Braves in Atlanta was huge, not only in the standings but on a mental level since it has been a house of horrors for so many years…we can’t change all those years of dominance overnight, but another series win against the Braves will be a major statement…
…as for the Phillies, there is unfinished business there as well, and the Mets have been vocal about their desire to enact ‘pay back’ for the sweep they endured in Philadelphia…
…the team seems to be hitting their stride as of late, and they need to continue to do so…the cliches about momentum, and it only being as good as ‘your next day’s starter,’ all seem trite…but its true more often than not…
…John Maine and Oliver Perez look more beatable than they did earlier in the season and at any point last year, so it’s important for them to get their traction back in these next few weeks – as one of them could be auditioning for a spot in a post season rotation…
…so, these are two big series, if not for the sake of the standings, but for the psyche of the team…to show that the Mets can put the hammer down…
…it’s time to take no prisoners, and to take care of business…
Tagged Oliver Perez | ← Older posts
