Daily Archives: September 11, 2007
The Mets (82–62) lost to the Braves (74–71) by the score of 13–5 in Shea Stadium tonight.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…Orlando Hernandez just didn’t have it tonight…and, despite what he said after the game, he looked to be favoring his foot, which forced him to miss a start last week…he was throwing all arm, as Ron Darling pointed out, leaving tons of weak fastballs out of over the plate…he was wild…very wild…so when he did throw a strike, batters were just sitting dead red…
…at 3–0 Braves, and the bases loaded, el duque let up back-to-back hits through the hole between second and first, and that was more or less the game…
…at the time, the crowd, and even i, was thinking that el duque should have been pulled in favor of Aaron Sele, mostly because it was quite clear that he was not himself…however, i can understand sticking with him, as well…the two hits were just shy of Luis Castillo’s glove…so, i mean, it’s not like he let up some huge meatball home run…nevertheless, as i keep saying, he just didn’t look right, so willie was pressing his luck at that point, making the decision a bit curious at best…
…speaking of castillo, he looks like he is in so much pain, when he isn’t actually running…i watched him while he stood out on second base, and he appeared to be in tons of pain, limping, pulling up, wincing, etc, then he bolts for third on a ground ball like everything is fine…it’s strange to watch…
…nice throw from Carlos Beltran to peg Brian McCann tagging and sliding in home…
…speaking of nice throws, wow, Jeff Francoeur has a cannon…
…on the replay, Mark Teixeira‘s home run didn’t look that impressive, but at the game i was stunned with how fast it left the park…it was literally a line-drive bullet, as he turned on high fastball out over the plate…it was laser…
…speaking of turning on the ball, Paul Lo Duca looks great at the plate…he is pulling the inside fastball with such authority since coming off the disabled list…
…lastly, again, Jose Reyes jogged out of the box on what he assumed would be a home run, but what turned out to be a double off the base of the wall…i don’t know that he would have been able to reach third has he been running hard from the box, but that’s not the point…again, i understand he must pace himself, as we all have learned, but i just don’t like to see this sort of play…lollygag on a ground ball to second…not on a rope to the wall in right…he was being cocky…plain and simple…
…nevertheless, at this point, the name of the game is magic number…the Phillies lost, so, despite the Mets losing, the division is one game closer…
The Game:
The first-place Mets (82-61) continue their series with the Braves (73-71) this evening at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- LF Moises Alou
- 1B Jeff Conine
- C Paul Lo Duca
- RF Lastings Milledge
- SP Orlando Hernandez
The Pitchers:
RHP Orlando Hernandez (9-4, 3.32 ERA) returns to the mound for the Mets. El Duque was skipped in the rotation last week due to a sore right foot. His last start was against the Phillies on August 30th, allowing five runs on six hits (including three home runs) over just three innings. In two starts vs. the Braves this season, El Duque is 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA.
RHP Buddy Carlyle (8-6, 5.21 ERA) starts for the Braves. He was knocked around in his last start vs. the Phillies, yielding three runs on four hits over just 1.2 IP. Carlyle has allowed at least three earned runs in six consecutive starts. He has allowed 18 HR in 96.2 IP this season. Lefties are hitting .341 vs. him this season. Carlyle won his only career start vs. the Mets on August 7th, allowing three runs over five innings.
The Notes:
The Mets are 9-1 since being swept by the Phillies.
LF Moises Alou carries a 15-game hiting streak into tonight’s game. It is the second longest hitting streak of his career.
3B David Wright is leading the NL with a .356 batting average since the All-Star break. He established a new career-high with his 28th homer of the season last night.
The Braves are 16-23 in one-run games this season. They have lost five games in the NL East standings since August 30th.
For more insight on the Braves, check out 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…
Over at Bugs & Cranks, Brad Bortone proclaims this week as the time for the Mets to make a statement against the Braves and Phillies.
Bortone also pens an excellent post on his trip to Shea Stadium for the Mets first post-September 11 home game against the Braves in 2001.
Tagged Mike Nichols |In the Star-Ledger, Dan Graziano recalls one of my least favorite memories of all time: Cardinals 3B Terry Pendelton’s home run off of Mets RHP Roger McDowell 
against the Mets on September 11, 1987.
…frankly, any time a hit is so powerful you know, definitively, that the season is over, it’s gonna be memorable and painful…
As Graziano points out, McDowell and Pendleton will be at Shea Stadium tonight, both of whom coach with the Braves.
As a follow-up, in a second post for the Star-Ledger, Graziano details the five worst losses for the Mets since the Pendelton home run, which include…
- Mike Scioscia’s home run off Doc Gooden
- Kenny Rogers walking Andruw Jones
- Armando Benitez in the 2000 World Series
- Benitez and John Franco vs. Braves in 2001
- Beltran’s K in the NLCS last season
…ok, and now i’m depressed…thanks, dan…
Tagged Shea Stadium |In his last 7.1 innings pitched, dating back to August 25, Aaron Heilman has not allowed a run to score and opponents are batting .179 against him.
Willie Randolph, on Heilman’s recent success, while talking to reporters after last night’s win over the Braves…
“When he’s locating his pitches, and keeping the ball down, it’s tough to pick up his change-up and he’s got enough fastball and enough velocity to jam you and get in to your kitchen…the key is location for him. It’s always been location for him. He’s done a great job for us, lately.”
…gotta love the “lately” part of willie’s quote…the thing is, it’s true, heilman has shown at times to be dominate, which is usually followed by a handful of appearances where he seems to lose confidence…i do trust heilman, but i’ll admit i am concerned about his propensity to allow homeruns in big spots…
Tagged Mike Nichols |
At Transplanted Mets Fan, Mike writes as a Mets fan, who no longer lives in New York, while also keeping his readers up to date on how a variety of ex-Mets are doing, who no longer play for the team.
…the thing is, mike is no longer a transplant, having recently moved back to the new york area…
However, he’d like to keep the blog going. So, if you are a ‘transplanted Mets fan,’ and would like to be a contributor to Mike’s blog, contact him at this address.
Tagged MetsBlog |The Mets are 9-1 since being swept by the Phillies.
David Wright, while talking to reporters after last night’s win over the Braves, who are now 10 games back of the Mets…
“You couldn’t have picked a better time to peak. I think this is the best baseball we’ve played all season. Coming into this month, we knew that after that Philadelphia series, we really had to bear down…We’re not concentrating on what the Phillies are doing. We’re concentrating on what the New York Mets are doing.”
Willie Randolph, while talking to reporters after last night’s win over the Braves…
Tagged Willie Randolph |“We’ve been talking a lot about playoffs lately…Let’s get there first.”
Last night, with the Mets leading 1-0 with one out and runners on first and second in the top of the sixth, Tim Hudson was picked off by Oliver Perez at second base.
Hudson, as quoted by David O’Brien, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution…
“Every time a pitcher gets on base now, I’m gonna pick,” said Hudson, upset that Perez would focus on picking off a fellow pitcher. “Obviously I’m not a very good baserunner. Looking back, I was probably a little too far off the bag. But I’m hardly ever on second base. I don’t know what’s close and what’s far. I guess I know what’s too far now.”
…awwww, poor baby…what, is there an ‘unwritten rule’ that says you can’t pickoff the pitcher…give me a break…if there is one thing that annoys me about sports, it’s these ‘unwritten rules’…
…it’s just like a slow runner, who thinks he has single to right field, getting thrown out at first base…oh well, thems the breaks…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Oliver Perez |
At his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos has audio of his interview with David Wright regarding the possibility of him becoming captain.
Head over to Delcos’ blog to comment on who you would choose as captain.
…it is great how wright has developed into a leader on and off the field…although i think he needs more time under his belt, it would be nice to eventually see wright join the list of Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and John Franco…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
At his blog for Newsday, Ken Davidoff relays his experience having recently taken his 3–year-old son to his first baseball game.
As such, Davidoff asks…
“How family-friendly are Shea and Yankee Stadiums? Have you had notably good or bad experiences in big-league pakrs throughout the land?”
…if you have an answer for ken, head to his blog and leave a comment…i’m interested to see the responses…
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