Daily Archives: April 24, 2007
The Mets (13–6) defeated the Rockies (8–13) by the score of 2 to 1 in 12 innings at Shea Stadium tonight.
For a full recap, sing along with the Associated Press.
…wow, what a great game to watch…
…in the bottom of the 12th, Shawn Green, who should have been on second, but advanced to third on a balk, was able to score the game’s winning run on a bunt by Endy Chavez…amazing…just amazing…
…by the way, hello Damion Easley, who, with two strikes, and two outs, and the Mets trailing by one in the tenth, hit a desperation, pinch-hit home run to tie the game and continue it through extra innings…outstanding…just outstanding…
…has there ever been a more revered full-time bench player than endy…seriously…i can’t recall anything like him before…it’s so great…
…so, wow, game ball to endy and easley, the ‘bench’ players, though they’re anything but…i love that this team is such a team…
…as for the rest of the game…
…how badly did you want to see David Wright hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning…and the 11th…i know, me too…
…Billy Wagner could not find the strike zone early on in the ninth, but thankfully got it together to retire to Todd Helton on a double play…wagner came back in the tenth, and looked like vintage billy, striking out the first two hitters, but allowed a double to Yorvit Torrealba, then a pass ball through Paul Lo Duca’s legs, followed by a run-scoring triple by rookie Troy Tulowitzi, who had looked foolish early on in the at-bat…tulo’s triple was hit deep, off the wall in the gap, and i think Carlos Beltran could have caught it had he not backed off a bit knowing Shawn Green was barreling in on him…flashes of Mike Cameron, i don’t know…either way, it was a tough play, with or without green coming at him…
…speaking of green, nice job, down 0–2, to battle back and draw a walk to lead off to start the 12th, which he eventually scored from to win the game…
…in a zero-zero game heading in to the ninth inning, i could not help but remember Jose Valentin standing on third, after a leadoff triple, in the bottom of the third inning, which is exactly where he remained through the end of the inning…
…valentin, by the way, is Mr. Fundamentals…he does all the little things well…he’ll make a great little league coach one day…
…big spot for the rookie Joe Smith, who entered the tie game in the top of the 11th, with one out, and retired Matt Holliday and Clint Barmes with ease…congrats to smith, by the way, who got his first major-league win…
…by the way, it should be noted, since we tend to get all over an umpire when he’s making bad calls against the Mets, that tonight’s home plate umpire, John Hirschbeck, called more or less every outside pitch a strike tonight for the Mets…
…hats off to green, who hit a dribbler up the middle for a single, uhh, i mean, a double, which he created by running hard, non-stop, and essentially stealing second off Steve Finley’s weak throw to the infield…he was stranded anyways, but it’s still nice to see him bust it like that…also, he made an outstanding catch on a deep, deep fly-ball to the warning track, hit off Aaron Heilman in the eighth…so, hats off to green…literally, in some cases…
…lastly, is Orlando Hernandez throwing a baseball, or a wiffle ball…man, he’s like Bugs Bunny out there at times…tonight, he allowed no runs and four hits while striking out five and walking just two through seven innings…
…ok, gentlemen, let’s get the sweep tomorrow afternoon…
…nice work, tonight…
…by the way, Lee Mazzilli is simply off, as he is only scheduled to work with SNY during roughly half of the season, not every single night, for every single game…
The Game…
The Mets (12-6) take on the Rockies (8-12) in the middle game of a three-game set this evening at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup…
The Pitchers…
RHP
Orlando Hernandez (2-1, 3.24 ERA) starts for the Mets. In his last start vs. the Marlins on April 19th, Hernandez allowed two runs on three hits over 7 IP for the victory. Hernandez has 20 strikeouts in 25 IP on the season. In his only home start this season vs. the Nationals on April 14th, El Duque was ejected from the game in the top of the 6th, and was responsible for six runs on eight hits. In nine starts at Shea last season, Hernandez has a 3.00 ERA (20 ER in 60 IP).
RHP Aaron Cook (0-1, 4.00 ERA) makes the start for the Rockies. Cook took his first loss of the season last week vs. the Dodgers, allowing five runs, three of them earned, over 6 IP. The Rockies have lost all four of the games that Cook has started this season. In 27 IP this season, Cook has allowed 12 ER on 28 hits, including one home run. Cook has not faced the Mets since October 2nd of the 2005 season — Cook hurled a complete game 11-3 victory in Mike Piazza‘s last game as a Met.
The Notes…
Left-handed hitters have a .352 clip vs. Cook this season.
LF
Moises Alou is 6-for-14 (.429) with one home run vs. Cook in his career.
SS Jose Reyes has more hits (477) and more runs (277) than any other player in team history over a player’s first 400 games in a Mets uniform.
1B Todd Helton is 6-for-9 with one home run with four RBI vs. Hernandez lifetime; meanwhile, C Yorvit Torrealba is 5-for-6 with with a double and two home runs.
For more insight on the Rockies, check out
Blogger Beat.
The Mets are 5-4 at home this season; the Rockies are 3-7 on the road.
The Mets have won 10 out their last 12 contests against the Rockies and are 14-1 at home since the 2003 season (the sole loss coming in Piazza’s farewell).
How To Catch It…
Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY and can be heard on WFAN. The game is available on MLB.tv and MLB Gameday Audio for subscribers and those out-of-market.
The Bleachers…
To chat during the game, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
If you are IRC savvy, log on to irc.echo34.com and enter channel #metsblog.
…enjoy…and as always, let’s go mets…
Julio Franco reached yet another milestone in his long career yesterday, marking the 25th anniversary of his Major League debut.
On MLB.com Julio shares his memories of his debut back on April 23 of 1982. Since that day, Julio has compiled over 8,500 at-bats and 2,566 hits. He’s the oldest man in baseball to do a number of things, including steal a base, and hit a home run and shows no signs of slowing down.
Chris Di Mare provides a funny video of his meeting with Julio Franco in Spring Training on Hot Foot, where Julio leaves no question as to where his allegiances are since he’s left Atlanta.
…congratulations julio…
Following last night’s win, Willie Randolph had the following to say, when asked about leaving in Ambiorix Burgos, who let the bases become loaded in the ninth, following a quick visit 
to the mound…
“Well, I trust my people all the time. It’s not about being predictable or going with the so-called ‘percentages,’ or whatever. This is a long season, and I like, during the first third of the season, to see what I’ve got; see what my guys are made of. I’m always challenging them, not just on the mound, but in the clubhouse, during practice, during games. I’m always conversing with my players and getting a feel for who they are.”
…so called percentages…i love it…classic, willie…
…in other words, between now and, say, the middle of June, you can expect to roll your eyes, pound your first and essentially get bothered by randolph using all sorts of players in bizarre and unconventional roles, such as leaving Scott Schowenweis to pitch in the eighth, instead of using Aaron Heilman, or leaving burgos in the ninth with the bases loaded, instead of bringing in Billy Wagner, and so on…and, honestly, i have no problem with this
…the thing is, with their offense, and above-average starting pitching, the Mets are going to win most series from most teams in the National League…so, when they play against the Braves, or Phillies, or Cardinals, how else will willie learn who can do what and when against the best competition, unless he actually tests people out against the best competition…it all makes total sense to me, and it’s why i try not to get too wrapped up in analyzing his every move at this stage of the season…because, fact is, i have no idea why he is doing what he’s doing, and i suspect few do…
…in other words, just enjoy the wins and save your criticism for a) an impactful losing streak, or b) the second-half of the season, when willie’s testing period appears over…
…trust me, it’s easier on your heart this way…
By the way, speaking of testing out young players, in a column for SNY.tv, Michael Salfino points out that the Mets have the youngest player in Class-A, in C Francisco Pena; High-A, in RHP Deolis Guerra; in Double-A, in OF Fernando Martinez; and the second youngest in the Pacific Coast League, in OF Carlos Gomez.
John Maine has lasted at least seven innings in three of his four starts this season, during which he is 3–0 with 1.71 ERA, which is fifth among all MLB starters with four starts.
Maine has yet to give up more than two hits in an inning.
Opponents are batting just .169 against him.
Since joining the Mets last season, 
he has allowed three runs or less in 18 of his 22 starts, including the playoffs, during which he is 10–5 with a 2.73 ERA.
…in other words, as one reader pointed out to me via e-mail this morning, not only did Jim Duquette help to trade away Scott Kazmir from the Mets, he also helped trade away John Maine to the Mets, in deals that net his team Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano, both of whom eventually needed season-ending arm surgery…well done, buddy…
Over at his Mets Minor League Report, Toby Hyde recaps the night in Mets minor-league action…
Among other comments, Hyde writes of strong performances by Zephyrs 2B Ruben Gotay, who had two doubles and five RBI; B’Mets 1B Brett Harper, who hit a solo home run; and St. Lucie RHP Deolis Guerra, who pitched six scoreless innings.
OF Lastings Milledge was removed from the game in the fourth inning due to a foot injury.
…toby provides a mets minor league report after each night’s action…thanks, toby…
The 18–year-old Guerra is 1–2 in four starts with a 2.18 ERA through 20.2 innings for Single-A St. Lucie.
To subscribe to the email newsletter of Hyde’s Mets Minor League Report, sign up via Google Groups.
By the way, B’Mets OF Fernando Martinez was removed from Sunday’s game for not running out an infield single. He was back in Binghamton’s lineup last night and was hitless in three at-bats.
Mets Triple-A RHP Philip Humber was named the Pacific Coast League’s Pitcher of the Week after earning a win and posting a 1.38 ERA from April 16-21.
In four starts, Humber is 2–1 with a 3.00 ERA sporting 17 strike outs while allowing six walks and 16 hits through 21 innings pitched.
At his ‘blog,’ or, bi-weekly column, for WFAN.com, beat-reporter Ed Coleman writes that the “Braves are Back,” 
adding, “the old gang is not going to be around forever and the time is now. That makes them very dangerous.”
…that’s exactly what i am afraid of…
…you know, if one thing left me a bit unfulfilled last season it was that the Mets did not necessarily over-throw the Braves as much as the Braves over-threw themselves…i mean, they were awful, and posed no threat to the Mets…this year, still with Bobby Cox, John Smoltz, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, and John Schuerholz, the Braves will compete, and could certainly win this division, which means that if/when the Mets end up on top this season it will be by finally beating this group of guys, and i can’t wait…of course, they have to actually start beating them first…
By the way, Atlantas’s left-field platoon of Ryan Langerhans and Matt Diaz has a combined .143 average.
At his blog for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, beat-writer David O’Brien lobbies for Schuerholz to try and trade for Cubs OF Cliff Floyd to take over full-time in left field for the Braves.
…damn, that would hurt…it’s not like it’s Mike Piazza going to the Braves, which would actually make me sick, but it’s pretty close…
In the New York Post, Mark Hale provides a quick update on Mets RHP Pedro Martinez, who is still on target for a potential return in August.
…slow and steady, petey…slow and steady…
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