Daily Archives: September 20, 2007
Willie Randolph, regarding Billy Wagner, when talking to reporters after the game…
“He had some back spasm before the game, some tightness in his shoulder blade. So, he went out to get loose, move around a little bit, get some treatment. I called down to see how he was feeling and they
said he was too stiff to pitch. [I called down to the bullpen] towards the end of the game, sixth or seventh inning, somewhere around there.”
…people are e-mailing me all upset that willie didn’t hold back heilman to pitch in the ninth…i guess because, during the eighth, when heilman stepped to the mound, willie knew he would use his magic wand to get Marlon Anderson that three-run triple…
…in the real world, i assume willie’s thinking the ninth inning is irrelevant, since his team was losing at that point in the eighth, wagner or no wagner…which is fair…i mean, he couldn’t leave in Guillermo Mota, obviously, and he needed a pitcher to get him through…i guess, at that point in the game, the eighth inning is as important as the ninth, so in came heilman – and willie would cross that ninth-inning bridge if he would be lucky enough to get there…turns out he did get to that bridge, thanks to anderson…and don’t you know, in the ninth, he was able to use the great Jorge Sosa, who so many of us crowned King of the Bullpen just 24–hours ago, but, tonight, sosa looked awful…
…do you get the trend yet…the manager of this team is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t, because a) his relief pitchers just aren’t executing, and b) he does not have a crystal ball…at some point, if this team intends to win on a consistent basis again, these pitchers are going to have to protect a lead…which, i don’t think is a whole lot to ask of a bullpen…
The Mets lost to the Marlins by the score of 8 to 7 in Dolphin Stadium tonight.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…i seriously don’t know if i can take this any more…
…i mean, look, if the Mets are going to be forced to navigate their way through the rest of this season with Billy Wagner missing in action, given how sad the rest of the bullpen has been, well, i’m gonna have to have my inevitable heart attack…i mean, it’s been coming for a long time, and i just assumed i would have one some day anyway, so, i guess this as good of a time as any…because, this is just nuts…it’s crazy…
…we’ve all been saying for weeks that willie cannot use Guillermo Mota and Scott Schoeneweis for more than one inning…and he didn’t…they each pitched a perfect one inning…great…Aaron Heilman did the same…Joe Smith got burned earlier, as he was used to face two righties…ordinarily, Billy Wagner would be pitching the ninth, but for some mysterious reason he was not in the bullpen…and i don’t mean not warming up…i mean not even in the pen…so, with that, Pedro Feliciano came on with a three-run lead to face one batter, who he allowed a hit to…he was followed by Jorge Sosa, who allowed three runs, two of which came after a David Wright throwing error, which, by the way, has been happening far too often lately…
…so, here we go again…willie will get ripped for how he managed the bullpen, especially in the ninth, as if feliciano has given any reason of late to make one think he’s back to being the pitcher he was at the start of the season…as such, i keep getting e-mails tonight asking, ‘why didn’t willie do this,’ and ‘why didn’t willie do that,’ and, ‘why didn’t he leave in feliciano,’ who had one job, which was to get out Jeremy Hermida, and he couldn’t even do that…why didn’t willie do this or that, well, because he isn’t Nostradamus, folks…he doesn’t have the luxury of hindsight…i guess he just trusted sosa, who came up huge for him just 20 hours earlier…the thing is, it’s not like willie makes decisions assuming every option will fail – even though, at this point, he probably should…seriously, he’s throwing darts out there, or are some of you not watching the same people pitch that i am…these guys had a three-run lead…three runs…these pitchers should be able to protect that…willie may as well just pick names out of hat at this point, especially if wagner cannot pitch…
…the story tonight is not willie, folks…i’m sorry, it isn’t…it’s wagner, and where in the world is he…
…nevertheless, i’d like to thank the Los Angeles Dodgers for releasing Marlon Anderson over the summer…he’s been nothing short of fantastic, and tonight was simply more of the same…he entered the game in place of Lastings Milledge, who got ejected earlier for acting like a maniac, and thank god he did, because in the ninth, with the bases loaded, and the Mets down by a run, marlon ripped a long, long, bases-clearing triple off the wall in deep right-center to give the Mets a temporary two-run lead…
…too bad the bullpen couldn’t hold it…again…
…seriously, where do i buy one of those home defibulator things…because i’m gonna need it…
…from what i can gather out of shea, the Mets will wear the following commemorative patch on their sleeve next season honoring Shea Stadium…
….that’s cool…if you click on it, and check out the larger image, you’ll notice that the stadium is split in half, with a the old school shea on one side featuring those bizarre panels hanging from the building’s side, while the other side is our current version…nice work…
…and with that, bring on Citi Field…
Tagged Shea Stadium |Luis Castillo was a late scratch due to some soreness in his knee. Instead, Ruben Gotay will start at second.
Tagged Ruben Gotay |
The Game
The first-place Mets (84–67) kick off a four-game set vs. the Marlins (65-87) this evening at Dolphin Stadium, starting at 7:05 pm EDT.
The Lineup
- SS Jose Reyes
- RF Lastings Milledge
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- LF Moises Alou
- 1B Jeff Conine
- C Paul Lo Duca
- 2B Ruben Gotay
- SP Tom Glavine
The Pitchers
Tom Glavine (13-6, 3.88 ERA) starts for the Mets. He was strong in his last start vs. the Phillies, allowing two runs over 7.2 IP. He has a 1.74 ERA in three starts this month and is 6-0 with a 3.15 ERA since the All-Star break. Glavine was handed a no-decision in his only start vs. the Marlins this season back on August 11th, yielding two runs over 6.1 IP.
Dontrelle Willis (9-15, 5.34 ERA) hopes to continue the role of Mets-killer tonight. He was knocked around for five runs on seven hits over six innings in his last start vs. the Rockies. He has allowed 12 runs in his last two starts. Righties are hitting .331 vs. him this season. He is 2-8 with a 6.30 ERA since the All-Star break. Willis is 11-3 with a 2.39 ERA vs. the Mets lifetime, but was beat up in his only start vs. the orange ‘n’ blue this season, yielding eight runs, six earned, on ten hits over five innings back on April 18th.
The Notes
The Mets are 5-0 at Dolphin Stadium this season.
Dontrelle Willis is a career .283 batter vs. Mets pitching, along with three homers and eight RBI.
Josh Willingham is 8-for-17 with three doubles and a homer vs. Glavine.
Moises Alou is 7-for-15 with three doubles vs. Willis lifetime. David Wright is 12-for-35 with a two doubles, a triple, a homer and 7 RBI vs. the southpaw.
Alou carries a 23-game hitting streak into tonight’s game. He is hitting .414 over the 23-game stretch. It is the longest hitting streak in the National League this season.
The Marlins have lost four straight and are 7-10 this month.
The Bleachers
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy…and remember, ‘ya gotta believe’…
According to ESPN.com, the Close and Late statistic tracks how a hitter performs in the seventh inning or later with his team either up by one run, tied or down by one run with the potential tying run at the plate or on deck.
…so, basically, in a tight spot late in the game…
The typical Mets starting lineup is batting as follows in Close and Late situations…
- Jose Reyes: .301 in 73 at-bats
- Luis Castillo: .304 in 23 at-bats
- David Wright: .329 in 79 at-bats
- Carlos Beltran: .189 in 53 at-bats
- Moises Alou: .225 in 40 at-bats
- Carlos Delgado: .222 in 63 at-bats
- Shawn Green: .333 in 60 at-bats
- Paul Lo Duca: .214 in 56 at-bats
…dear god, i just watched this video, which was e-mailed to me by chris p, and got immediate butterflies in my stomach…
…now i am officially excited, and completely nervous, all at the same time…
Carlos Beltran currently has 30 HR and 102 RBI, and has joined Mike Piazza and Darryl Strawberry as the only Mets players to hit 30 HR and 100 RBI in back-to-back seasons.
Since returning from an oblique injury, Beltran is batting .319 with 23 extra base hits and 40 RBI in 37 games.
He is on pace to finish the season batting over .280, with 33 HR, 110 RBI, a .360 OBP and 23 stolen bases.
…as i have said in the past, dating as far back as to when he signed with the team, i feel his relationship with the fans has been, is, and will always be contentious, because he is a five-tool player, who is better than average, but not great, at every tool…and i think, because he will earn $115 million, many fans expect him to be great at everything, on every pitch, all of the time, and that is just totally unrealistic…
…fact is, over the last few weeks, he and David Wright have essentially traded off, night by night, as to who will carry the team…he’s been invaluable, as has wright, who also has 30 HR and 100 RBI this year, and who will probably join carlos, mike and darryl in that club…
…in the end, there is still something odd about beltran, be it his aches and pains, most of which he plays through, by the way, or be it his long slumps, or tremendous hot streaks, or be it his big smile or his apathetic, casual nature…he’s a strange, but very good player, and i’m glad he’s on the team, even if he frustrates me at times…
At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin posts a quick photo of Carlos Delgado taking live batting practice during a simulated game today at Dolphin Stadium.
…all signs continue to point to delgado returning to the lineup while the team is in miami…
At the website for Sports Illustrated, Jon Heyman writes that it’s not only bloggers and fanatical 
e-mailers who are upset with Willie Randolph, ‘who assumes the posture of a man without a care.’
According to Heyman, people within the organization, as well, are wondering whether Randolph is getting ‘the most out of his players.’
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, as quoted by Heyman…
“I’m disappointed with the way the team is performing overall, and that’s everyone, top to bottom. I’m disappointed in Omar, Willie, the players…that’s everyone. We shouldn’t be in this position. But we are. We’ve got to fight our way out and pull this out.”
Heyman also writes of a recent occasion when Randolph ‘berated’ Jose Reyes for a lack of hustle, which, according to Heyman, Reyes ‘appreciated.’
…didn’t we get a whole bunch of stories like this in june, so to speak, when the team was losing a lot then, too…i don’t doubt management’s frustration…actually, i’m glad they’re frustrated…that’s good…i just think, while i enjoy heyman’s reporting, and appreciate it greatly, it’s just hard for me, as one fan, to worry about all of this when i am far more concerned with the team winning a ring, which, if it happens, will cure all…
…in other words, i’ll deal with this sort of stuff in the off-season, when the most important part of the puzzle, i.e., the end result, has been established…
…i will say this, though: why is wilpon saying anything at all…if it’s ‘all for one, one for all,’ as the column suggests, then keep quiet when the team is struggling, man…i mean, for pete’s sake, he gave on-the-record quotes…ugh…it just looks bad, it makes the whole team look bad, not just the people he is speaking about – and that bugs me as a fan who only wants the best for these people…i mean, i am sure jeff had the best of intentions, and thought he was helping to motivate the team, but, come on, he should know the press better than that, and i say that will all due respect to heyman, who i think does great work…but, these people do not want to write about peaches and cream, you know what i mean…i just don’t get it…jeff really didn’t say anything bad, or untrue, but why say anything at all…
For more doom and gloom, on what is is supposed to be the team’s happiest day in a week, a day we can all exhale a bit, read Bob Klapisch’s recent column for ESPN.com.
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