postGame: Mets 1, Dodgers 0
By Jordan Zakarin - Mar 1, 2008 4:26 pm

The Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0, in a Grapefruit League game this afternoon in Port St. Lucie. The boxscore is available at MLB.com.

  • RF Ryan Church and 1B Marlon Anderson collided tracking down a pop fly in the fourth inning.  Both were taken out of the game.
  • Top LHP prospect Jon Niese started and threw two hitless innings, walking one and striking out three.
  • Niese was followed by scoreless innings by Jorge Sosa, Pedro Feliciano, two from prospect Bobby Parnell, and one a piece by Willie Collazo, Brian Stokes and Matt Wise, who picked up the win.
  • Brady Clark drove in Michel Abreu to win the game in the bottom of the ninth.
  • CF Angel Pagan went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.

Church was diagnosed with a concussion and is out two weeks, according to Marty Noble and MLB.com.

…so the Mets get their first win of the spring, but at a cost… Church will be undergoing a CAT scan, in addition to Carlos Delgado getting an MRI in New York… thankfully it’s early in the spring, so the Mets’ growing infirmary, already with Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, and Damion Easley recovering from injuries…

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59 Comments »

Comment by sincekindergarten
2008-03-01 16:27:51

Xavier Nady could fill both of those slots . . . what would he cost?

Comment by m29w_12789
2008-03-01 18:24:28

We need to get him back, Pittsburgh is going no where fast and will take a few minor league players. Mike Carp for example

Comment by Two-By-Four
2008-03-01 21:30:57

I’m not sure anybody would want Carp. His stock has plummeted.

After trading away 5 of our best young prospects and players (I’m not criticizing the trades; the Mets would have been insane to pass on Santana; I’m just stating fact) I’m not sure the Mets are in any position to trade away anymore of the few good remaining young prospects they have left.

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Comment by icedrake523
2008-03-01 16:30:06

Jeez, even when we win we lose.

Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-01 20:01:23

At least noone was hurt in the losses.

And at least this isn’t the NFL so they’ll let Church sit out rather than keep running him on out until he shows symptoms of Parkinsons or Alzeiheimers from having his brain repeatedly knocked about like the Phillies’ pitching

 
Comment by rM teM
2008-03-01 20:07:34

How many times do we see these collisions? Even little
leaguers know how to call out “GOT IT!”.

 
 
Comment by icedrake523
2008-03-01 16:30:50

And what is Marlon Anderson doing in the OF? He has the worst arm on the team. Willie is an idiot.

Comment by metsin080910
2008-03-01 16:34:37

You obviously didn’t watch the game, Anderson played 1b, I beleive YOU are the idiot.

 
 
Comment by VCarver
2008-03-01 16:31:59

Why are so many hot on Nady? He has a very average bat and his defense in the OF is average at best.

Anything it cost to get him won’t be worth it. I think Pagan and Abreu can fill in as backups in the OF and at first if need be.

Comment by m29w_12789
2008-03-01 18:27:52

He is a proven major league player who can with stand the pressures of NY. I would trade , if Pittsburgh accepts Mike Carp and two single A players. Pittsburgh is going no where fast and will unload him anyway. They need to get young players

Comment by KinersKornerman
2008-03-01 19:27:07

What if Pittsburgh wants two AAA pitching prospects since they know you’re desperate. What then?

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Comment by BatteriesForRocker
2008-03-01 20:40:42

He’s not worth that much. I can see Carp and the single A players, but we can’t deal out even more pitching for a guy like Nady.

 
Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-01 21:45:56

I’d jump on that deal for Nady.

Which is exactly why it won’t be offered.

Even if the Pirates see Nady as trade bait, they’ll get more for him at the deadline, and in the meantime they’ve had half a season of his production.

 
 
 
Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-01 20:09:50

People are probably hot on him because he did a pretty good job in his stint as a Met.

Only problem is, the Pirates are not gonna give him away. He’d be good to have on the cheap, but I don’t think he’ll be worth the price we’ll be charged.

Especially since Abreu’s been having a promising spring, Pagan had a good day today, and Clark’s shown he was worth inviting to camp.

Could we be better? Yeah. Is it likely we will be? No. Why? Because the free agent closet is pretty bare, especially in our weak positions, and after the Santana trade, we don’t have any valuable-but-expendable prospects to deal for power bats.

Besides, Church and Anderson are going to be slightly set back in their preparation but not critically so, and certainly not out for a long time, and I notice that the Rotoworld feed on the left is showing that Delgado’s gonna be fine.

 
 
Comment by jamie
2008-03-01 16:32:23

can someone tell those of us who missed it how niese looked?

Comment by VCarver
2008-03-01 16:53:41

He looked great. He breezed through his two innings with good command and a sharp curve and never got into any trouble. He said in the interview after the game he was nervous, but on the mound he looked very composed.

Hopefully he continues to develop quickly this year and can serve as a backup for the rotation behind Pelfrey.

Comment by jamie
2008-03-01 17:01:18

cool, thanks vc

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Comment by Meddler
2008-03-01 17:14:47

Agreed, I was very impressed. He was already in the low 90s, his fastball had movement, and he was using all three pitches effectively. He looked as sharp as I can ever remember Philip Humber looking in a big league uni. If this effort today was indicative, the Mets may have gotten away with something holding onto him as well.

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Comment by OrangeNBlueSince82
2008-03-01 16:33:19

Marlon Anderson was playing first base, not the outfield. So is Willie still an idiot?

Comment by CitizenSnips
2008-03-01 17:13:38

People need something to bitch at at all times. I have no idea why he was out there in the first place since Church was playing middle of the outfield and it was clearly his ball. Didn’t need to happen.

 
 
Comment by c.1970
2008-03-01 16:35:03

Niese looked very good, composed, and after some early jitters, commanding. Think he retired 6 of 7.

 
Comment by metsin080910
2008-03-01 16:36:54

Niese was impressive, looked very sharp, his curve is his best pitch. He topped out at about 91-92. His curve has a 12-6 break. The only blemish in his outing was a four pitch walk. Other than that he was very impressive.

Comment by Meddler
2008-03-01 17:40:07

He was definitely impressive. His three strikeouts all came on different pitches. His fastball and changeup both had nice movement, and he hit his spots with them. He came out of the gate overthrowing a bit, but seemed to settle down quickly.

 
Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-01 20:56:34

How was Parnell? I missed his two innings

Comment by BASEBALLMERCENARIES
2008-03-01 22:52:51

he was decent, he walk one looked a little nervous at first but pitched well it was a good outting for him

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Comment by Steal Home Jose!
2008-03-01 16:44:23

We won, we won! We won a game!

Comment by jimyager
2008-03-01 17:27:31

This what worries me about the team. Alou and Duke will be on the DL, the question is when and how long, now Delgado has a sore hip and when will we see Beltran at 100%? What’s next, or, rather who is next?

Comment by Number41
2008-03-01 20:51:53

Beltran reports he is 72.6 percent…

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Comment by KinersKornerman
2008-03-01 21:11:24

Approximately 72.6% of course

 
 
 
 
Comment by atrain311
2008-03-01 16:59:36

Ok, I pray I’m not the only one who saw this, but by far the two funiest/unprofessional moments of the game occured in the 4th and 6th innings. In the 4th, Jose Valentine was caught on camera doing the universal sign for Bl#w J@b and in the sixth, two kids were doing their best impersonation of the UFC! I couldn’t help but cringe…and laugh.

Comment by metzelaar
2008-03-01 17:13:06

Hahah, why was Valentine doing that? I love how a second after he started they immediately switched cameras. As for the kids…they did not look like they were playing around. That was intense.

I’m all for Nady, if it comes at the cost of some guys we don’t have room for (Pagan and A. Hern / Gotay?)

 
Comment by CitizenSnips
2008-03-01 17:14:25

Heh yeah I was waiting for one of the kids to stop moving completely and a hand pump from the other one.

 
Comment by red high tops and a mets cap worn backwards
2008-03-01 18:22:30

for some reason i was also incredibly amused by kevin burkhardt being cut off during his citi field replica description.

 
 
Comment by C Dubb
2008-03-01 17:24:51

I’ll bet anything the headline in tomorrow’s Post will be:

“Church Gets Bell Rung”

Comment by KinersKornerman
2008-03-01 19:32:03

nicely done, CDubb.

Best wishes go out to Ryan, tho.

 
 
Comment by TugTheMan
2008-03-01 17:54:43

Today’s date is March 1st, 2008.

Opening Day is March 31st, 2008.

30 days to brush off the dust, rid the soreness, and fine tune.
Pleanty of time.

Relax.

 
Comment by domosnacks5
2008-03-01 18:03:45

I don’t know who said Nady had an average bat at best. The guy hit 278, 20 homers and 72 RBI in only 125 games last year. He has improved statistically in every category since he started getting routine playing-time in 2005. He’s a very very very good player and I would loooooooooooooooove to see him in a Mets’ uniform again. Had it not been for Duaner’s cab-ride, we would probably still have Nady out in right for us today, and we would be happy about it. Of course, on the other hand, we probably would not have Oliver Perez, which would be a shame.

Regardless, I think we should really consider Nady, he fills everything we need as a solid legitimate backup 1st baseman, a fine platoon candidate when a lefty is on the mound out in right, a replacement for Alou in left, and if he’s not starting, the solid right-handed bat off the bench that we’re missing. He’d be exactly what we need.

Comment by ntlrock1
2008-03-01 18:09:58

agree with all points. Joe Smith + low level prospect with good numbers for Nady should get it done (Dan Murphy?)

Comment by Phantaroth
2008-03-01 19:40:19

I think that would be a bad trade for us unless the mets were planning on start nady at 1B when delgado leaves or something…

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Comment by wolverine193
2008-03-01 18:15:08

I’m counting the days before the Mets rid themselves of Delgado. Just a walking waste. His cavalier attitude last season was a major factor in the Mets choke job. Can’t wait for him to get back from his hip injury so he can work on his timing for the next 5 months. Oh well, at least we’ll have his stellar D at 1st in the meantime. Ok, I’ve said my piece, now the Mets gestapo can rip me a new one.

Comment by Meddler
2008-03-01 18:32:22

LOL, you may be right, in fact its looking more and more like you are, but really the question is, what’s out there that’s better? The only semi-intriguing option is perhaps Nick Johnson. The Nationals would probably be foolish not to just keep him, but they seem to like the idea of Dmitri Young mentoring guys like Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes.

After that though, its just lots of league average or worse types. Xavier Nady, Scott Hatteberg, Chris Shelton, Dan Johnson. Not enamored with anything out there.

And the fact remains, what pieces do the Mets even have left to trade? There’s no one worth even mentioning Fernando Martinez in the same breath as and you can’t move Pelfrey unless Kyle Lohse would accept a minor league assignment. So basically, the Mets most interesting trade pieces are John Niese and Joe Smith.

Now that Shawn Green has retired, there isn’t even anyone left on the FA market that resembles a serviceable 1B.

So unless Omar can fleece Jim Bowden for Nick Johnson somehow, or Michel Abreu does what he did a couple years back in AA, there just really isn’t anything else.

Comment by jamie
2008-03-01 18:52:38

well, it is Jim Bowden we’re talking about…

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