Daily Archives: September 25, 2007
The Mets lost to the Nationals, again, by the score of 10 to 9 tonight in Shea Stadium.
For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…oh, what could have been…down seven runs starting the ninth, the Mets rallied to score six, including a three-run home run by Jose Reyes, and a huge, huge, bases-clearing double by Moises Alou…but, in the end, the Nationals got Carlos Delgado to strike out, and Paul Lo Duca to pop out, to secure the win, which had never felt in doubt for them during the previous eight innings…
…look, i do not question this team’s heart…never have…never will…however, as i have said before, no amount of heart will make up for mental errors and poor pitching like they had on several occasions during the first eight innings tonight…you know, like willie says, ‘ya gotta play nine hard outs.’…i love the fight in the offense, and i hope this motivates the entire team, but, at this point, they just need wins…not moral wins…real life wins…w’s…that’s all…
…i am very disappointed in Tom Glavine…there is just no other way to put it…he is counted on to be this team’s mild-mannered, back-to-basics, big-game pitcher, so to speak, and, instead, he was not sharp tonight, allowing nine hits, one walk and three home runs through just five innings of work…in a start with just six games left when he took the mound, wedged in between rookies Mike Pelfrey last night and Philip Humber tomorrow night, and with the Phillies on their heels, this was just not good enough…and i expect more from tommy…
…speaking of pitchers, it was nice to finally see Carlos Muniz, who many fans had looked upon to be some sort of savior out of the bullpen, despite never having pitched in the major leagues…he looked good, not great, allowing two runs, one hit and two walks to seven Nationals hitters, but on balls that were hit, they were hit hard…very hard, in fact…
…in the seventh, Willie Randolph left muniz in to face Austin Kearns with two runners on and his team down by just three…i must admit, i would not have left the rookie in, but he came through and got kearns to line out…in came Jorge Sosa, who got one out on a ground ball, and would have been out of the inning with a second ground ball, but Carlos Delgado got confused after the scoop, mostly because Jose Reyes was not on on second, and so he hesitated, and took sosa out of step, and so the runner was safe…and the inning continued…and, naturally, the next batter, who should never have had the chance to hit, ripped a single up the middle to score two runs and essentially put the game out of reach…given the ninth, these two runs are feeling very, very significant right now…
…down four, in the fifth, Ruben Gotay stepped in for a pinch-hit RBI double to close the gap to three, but later made a base running mistake that kept him from scoring on a single by Luis Castillo…a run, when given the ninth, which feels very, very significant right now….so, with gotay stuck at third, and castillo at first, one out, and willie on the top step clapping, David Wright hit in to a inning-ending double play, which concluded with him chucking his helmet in total frustration…in a similar situation later in the game, he ended the inning with a double play again, and again tossed his helmet in frustration…
…actually, the Mets hit in to four double plays during the game…
…lastly, in what may be the most disappointing part of the night, the early crowd at Shea Stadium was dead tonight…i mean, the few thousand people who stuck around did come alive in the ninth, but who wouldn’t…even the SNY guys commented on how ‘sedate’ every one was during the first eight innings…
…i’d like to think i have my finger on the pulse of this fanbase, and so i feel confident in saying that we are not sedate…instead, we are totally scared to death, and silent because of it…on one hand, because the Phillies lost, we know the Mets are two games up with just five left to play…on the other hand, it just doesn’t feel like this team wants to win, or, at least they don’t want to win as much as we all want them to win, which is probably not the case, though it certainly ‘feels’ that way at times, such as the first eight innings tonight…at the same time, we’re tired of cheering, and tired of the post-game cliches, but we know this crazy ride must continue, and so we have to keep watching, and believing, because a ninth inning like tonight is possible, but we’re tired, and confused, but full of faith, and full of anger, and we’re dizzy, yet hopeful, and basically just silent, exhausted, waiting for this insanity to resolve itself so we can either move on mentally and emotionally to the post-season, or to the off-season…because this, this is driving us crazy…
…jeez, i just said the following out loud…
“Come on, Andruw Jones, get a hit.”
…and i feel very, very dirty right now…but all is 
fair in love and baseball, i guess…so, Lets go Braves, who are currently playing the Phillies, who trail the Mets by two games in the National League East.
…by the way, jones hit a an rbi-single to put the Braves back on top during the sixth inning…
Prior to today’s game, Mets GM Omar Minaya explained to reporters that Fred Wilpon called a meeting at Shea Stadium this afternoon with members 
of his front-office staff, including Minaya and his assistants, as well as the team’s manager, Willie Randolph, to make sure every one is focused and working together during the final week or the season.
…eh hem, and hopefully beyond…
…great job, fred…way to grab the wheel…from what i can gather, the idea was to get his top guys together, including willie, to air out a few issues, and to make sure every one is on the same page, publicly and privately, and so all parties know that ownership is behind them 100 percent, in what is a pretty pressure-packed time of year for this team…
…last week it was a players-only meeting downstairs…this week it was a management-only meeting upstairs…
…ok, great, so, are we all cool now…can we please ditch the drama and just get back to playing good, crisp baseball again…
The Game
The first-place Mets (87–69) continue their series vs. the Nationals (70-87) this evening at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10pm EDT.
The Lineup
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- LF Moises Alou
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- C Paul Lo Duca
- RF Shawn Green
- SP Tom Glavine
The Pitchers
Tom Glavine (13-6, 3.97 ERA) takes the hill for the Mets. In his last start against the Marlins, Glavine yielded four runs on 11 hits, including a three-run home run to Miguel Cabrera in five innings as part of a no-decision. He is 7-1 with a 3.33 ERA at home this season and is 6-0 since the All-Star break. In two starts vs. the Nationals this season, Glavine is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA (2 ER allowed in 13 IP).
Jason Bergmann (5-5, 4.30 ERA) starts for the Nats. He was handed a no-decision in his last start vs. the Phillies after allowing two runs on four hits over six innings. Bergmann hasn’t lost a start since June 30th. In Bergmann’s only start against the Mets this season back on April 29th, he allowed just one run over seven innings as part of a 1-0 loss to John Maine.
The Notes
The Mets have lost three of their last four games to the Nationals, being outscored 38-24 in the process.
The 13 runs scored by the Nationals last night was the most the franchise has ever scored in 328 games played at Shea Stadium, dating back to the 1969 season.
Moises Alou carries his club-record 28-game hitting streak into tonight’s game. David Wright has a 11-game hitting streak while 2B Luis Castillo has a 10-game hitting streak of his own.
1B Carlos Delgado is 5-for-19 with a double, two homers and five RBIs since returning to the lineup.
The Bleachers
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy…and remember, “ya gotta believe”…
Mets RHP Orlando Hernandez threw from a mound in the bullpen prior to tonight’s game at Shea Stadium.
…from what i can gather, there will be no set plan for el duque until the team sees how he is feeling tomorrow, following today’s bullpen session…my guess, as i wrote this morning, is that he’ll aim to throw a few innings, either for the Mets or in Port St. Lucie later in the week, or over the weekend…
Tagged Orlando Hernandez |OF Lastings Milledge has completed his three-game suspension and is available for tonight’s game vs. the Nationals.
Mets C Paul Lo Duca, regarding Rickey Henderson as a coach, when asked during his interview with WFAN today…
“Rickey has done a good job…He’s very misperceived. A lot of people read about Rickey, and that he does this and that, but he’s very intelligent, he knows exactly what he’s doing and, you know, Rickey just likes to have a good time like all of us…He’s a good coach, he does a good job, and I don’t think there is anybody in our clubhouse who would pick any bones with him. I don’t know how something like that gets written, it’s amazing to me…
“This is blown out of proportion. No, no, no, no, no, here’s what happens with the New York media: we should be winning by eight or nine games…we’ve played terrible, bottom line…so, when the ship is sinking they bring up some bullcrap story about this and that and how Rickey Henderson is playing cards, and that’s why we’re losing…bullcrap…
“You go on the field, you throw the ball, you catch the ball, you run ground balls out, you hit the ball the other way when there’s a guy on second, you bunt guys over when you have to, and you win ball games. That’s it. I can’t believe that you guys are taking this crap seriously. It doesn’t matter. Rickey Henderson is our first-base coach. Is he swinging the bat? Is he catching the ball? Is he throwing the ball? No. It doesn’t matter. Go out there and get it done as a team. The other 25 guys are responsible, not Rickey playing cards.”
…man, oh, man, lo duca is plus-20 d.b. hot…and i respect it…
Lo Duca, when asked if other players on his team lack the same fire and urgency that he does…
“I’m not saying guys lack a sense of urgency…To me, I just think, I don’t think they’re taking it for granted, I just think, we can’t just show up and think we can win. That’s not gonna happen. I mean, my whole point of view is, listen, if we play like this we ain’t gonna win a playoff game anyways. So, we need to get this right, now, and I hope guys understand that.”
To listen to Lo Duca’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.
Tagged Paul Lo Duca |…if you recall, last year, i made several posts asking fans to come out and speak with a documentary about us, the fans…well, the documentary is done, and will debut this weekend.
Mathematically Alive – A Story of Fandom will premiere at The Coney Island Film Festival on Saturday, September 29, at 7:00 PM.
To watch a preview of the film, go here.
The film’s description is as follows.
“Mathematically Alive is an exploration of fandom with an intimate look into the lives of New York Mets fans. We set out to understand why Sports are such an integral part of American culture? What the affects of following a team are and more importantly why fans continue to invest so much emotion, time and money into their team?”
…i’m eager to see this…i did a lot of work with Joseph Coburn and Katherine Foronjy during the production of this film, and i wish them the best of luck…
Tagged MetsBlog |In Sunday’s Daily News, Bill Madden wrote that Willie Randolph is catching ‘too much heat’ for his team’s slump.
According to Madden, “Rumor has it there is growing disenchantment 
from above with Randolph,” adding, “Those familiar with the mind-set of the team’s hierarchy contend the Met bosses believe any manager could have achieved what Randolph did last year, given the talent he had.”
…here’s the thing though, from what i can gather out of Shea Stadium, ‘the rift’ is not necessarily between willie and Mets GM Omar Minaya, such as madden or most talk radio would have you believe…
…the way i hear it, the rift essentially breaks down as follows…
…any one who played professional baseball, such as omar, appreciate and believe in willie, while those who have never played the game, i.e., ‘the suits,’ are disappointed in willie’s in-game strategy and blame him for the team’s lack of focus and fire since last year’s NLCS…
…this is not to say omar has blind faith in willie, it’s just that i sense he believes in willie’s overall approach and he believes he has a winner’s mentality…on the flip side, the team’s other executives only see the results on the field, and they’re essentially freaking out, understandably to some extent, as they’re looking down the barrel of a new stadium, a television network, and a ton of pressure to not blow this…
…as for willie, it sounds like a) he is disappointed in many of his players and coaches, young and old, and if that is an extension of omar’s handy work, or lack-thereof, well, then b) willie is disappointed in omar, as well…
…i sense that willie would like his players to hustle more, and play with more guts and swagger…remember that word…and, instead, all season they have lacked urgency and aggression, as they have been coasting through the season, while laughing a lot, essentially taking their success for granted, despite willie’s constant one-on-one efforts to sell each player on his work-hard-for-what-you-want, team-first philosophy…for what it’s worth, there are players who believe in this style, who are some what disappointed in their teammates, as well…
…as one locker-room insider put it to me over the weekend, ‘You could see this all shaping up a month ago, when they had a seven-game lead yet most of the players looked like Mike Tyson before his fight with Buster Douglas.’…frankly, i’m not totally sure what that even means, except that i know tyson lost…
…in other words, i don’t get the sense that willie will be fired if the team does not make the playoffs, a) because omar believes in him, and b) the ‘suits’ do not want to pay both him and Art Howe while searching for a new manager, but it doesn’t mean they’re not freaking out about it in the process…
The Nationals have informed Bob Carpenter, who does play-by-play of Nationals games for MASN, that his contract will not be renewed for the 2008 season.
…his sidekick Don Sutton brings a lot to the table, but i think i speak for many, especially out-of-town Mets fans, when i say that Carpenter will not be missed in the booth…
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