Daily Archives: September 16, 2007
During today’s game, David Wright hit his 30th home run of the season, a) making him the third Mets player to hit 30 home runs and have 30 stolen base in one season, and b) the fourth youngest player to ever do so in MLB history.
…congratulations, david…
The Mets (83–65) lost to the Phillies (80–69) by the score of 10 to 6 in Shea Stadium today.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…as much as it hurts to do so, i’ll say this, the Phillies play hard, they hustle, they’re sound, smart and resilient, among other things, at least when playing the Mets…as willie would say, ‘they make their own breaks’…ok…now, enough of that…
…it would take me all day to revisit how sloppy the Mets played in this game…i just don’t get it…the short of it is, they made six innings errors for the boxscore, all of which were costly, but also made a variety of mental errors, like walking pitchers to load bases, walking in runs, rushing throws, missing cut-off men, etc…
…for instance, down three, the Mets tie up the game on a huge, deep-breath, clutch home run by Carlos Beltran…repeat…clutch home run by beltran…however, in the next inning, without skipping a beat, Guillermo Mota walks the lead-off batter, Luis Castillo bobbles the next grounder, makes a bad throw to wreck a bases-clearing double play, mota walks another batter, Jorge Sosa entered and allowed a grand-slam…bam…Mets tie it, blink, game over…
…by the way, in standard fashion, i am already getting e-mails from people screaming about randolph using mota…usually, Scott Schoeneweis gets the grilling, but he did good today, so i guess willie was smart to use him today, but dumb when choosing the others, i guess…i don’t know…i see a few e-mails complaining that, instead, Willie Collazo or Jorge Sosa should have been on the mound…well, today, sosa allowed a game-changing grand slam, and collazo walked two of three batters he faced…i also see e-mails demanding Aaron Heilman pitch instead of mota…yet, a month ago i got e-mails ripping heilman…the only constant is the ripping of willie…it’s so crazy…so, as my point is always, this is not the Nasty Boys and the Reds you’re dealing with, you know what i mean…more or less every team is frustrated with their bullpen…jeez, the Red Sox had the best bullpen in baseball for a month, and now it’s nearly the worst…your options in the Mets bullpen are basically the same out there, just a different day…i don’t understand how some fans have yet to realize this…seriously, i truly believe that there is as good of a chance that heilman allowed today’s grand-slam, or mota, or sosa, or whomever…what’s the difference…the bullpen is not that good, in general…just like with most teams…so, in not good situations, you’re gonna get not good results…why is this such a shock to people when it happens…oh well…
…on a positive note, speaking of schoeneweis, he has allowed a run to score in just three of his last 16 appearances…
…also, Joe Smith returned to action, and hit his first batter…on a day like this, i would expect nothing else…
…hey, give a game ball to the few thousand fans who stuck around to chant “Lets Go Mets,” down four, in the bottom of the ninth…i’m with you, friends…
…at any rate, back to what keeps me muttering under my breath as i shuffle around my living room…what is up with the Mets vs. Phillies of late…brutal…i hope the Mets are embarrassed…it’s like nothing i have ever seen before…i’m starting to think Jimmy Rollins believes in voodoo…it’s the only illogical explanation…i mean, for pete’s sake, Greg Dobbs hit the grand slam…no offense, mr. dobbs, but you are greg dobbs…you’ve got to be kidding me…
…whatever, though…so, ok, great, the Phillies can smack the Mets around, and make them look silly…good…whatever…the Mets are still four losses up on them, with just 14 games left to play…the Mets must move on…laugh it off, i guess…or use it as motivation…because, it is what it is…yes, it sucks…but it isn’t the end of the world, unless of course the Phillies get to the post-season, which is my biggest fear right now…so, shake it off, guys, ‘turn the page,’ like you do so well and get back to winning against teams that do not eat Cheesesteaks and move on…me included…
Joe Smith, Brian Lawrence, David Newhan and Anderson Hernandez have joined the Mets, following Triple-A New Orleans’s exit from the Triple-A playoffs.
Prior to today’s game, the Mets announced that Brian Lawrence will start tomorrow, in place of Orlando Hernandez, who continues to feel pain in his foot.
…from what i can gather, el duque is not happy about this, as he feels he can pitch, and wants to pitch, but the Mets rather he rest up, which is probably the right move…
By the way, Mike Pelfrey will return to the starting rotation and pitch Wednesday.
Tagged Mike Pelfrey, Orlando Hernandez |
The Game
The first-place Mets (83–64) look to salvage one from the Phillies (79-69) this afternoon at Shea Stadium, starting at 1:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- LF Moises Alou
- 1B Shawn Green
- C Paul LoDuca
- RF Endy Chavez
- SP Oliver Perez
The Pitchers
Oliver Perez (14-9, 3.42 ERA) tries to be the stopper for the Mets. He was solid vs. the Braves in his last start, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings while striking out seven. Perez has already established a career-high for victories in a season (he won 12 games in 2004). He is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in two starts vs. the Phillies this season, but was effectively wild vs. them back on August 29th, allowing three runs over six innings while striking out 10 and walking five.
Adam Eaton (9-9, 6.31 ERA) pitches for the Phillies. He has allowed four runs or more in six out of his last seven starts. The only start where he didn’t was against — you guessed it — the Mets on August 28th. He hasn’t won a start since July 20th. In three starts vs. the Mets this season, Eaton is 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA. The equivalent of Mets’ kyrptonite, Eaton is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA at Shea Stadium in his career.
The Notes
The Phillies have held the Mets to three runs or less in six of their last seven meetings. The Phillies have won seven consecutive games vs. the Mets.
Moises Alou carries an 19-game hitting streak into this afternoon’s game. He is 11-for-26 (.423) with two homers vs. Eaton.
Pat Burrell has four homers in 14 career at-bats vs. Perez.
For more insight on the Phillies, check out Blogger Beat, featuring Tom Goyne of Balls, Sticks & Stuff.
The Bleachers
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy…and as always, let’s go mets…i mean really, this is getting pretty absurd…
