Daily Archives: March 10, 2008
The Mets and Red Sox tied 1–1 in 10 innings today.
- Johan Santana allowed no runs and two hits through four innings while striking out four of 15 batters.
- Carlos Delgado was 0–for-2 with two strike outs in his return to the lineup.
- Carlos Beltran was hitless in three at-bats in his return.
- Angel Pagan collected another hit, and is now batting .421 this spring.
…santana looked great, of course Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were not in the lineup…additionally, while it would have been nice to see beltran and delgado get a hit, for now, it’s just nice to see them back on the field…
The Mets will face the Red Sox today in Port St. Lucie at 1 pm.
SS Jose Reyes will hit leadoff, followed in order by OF Brady Clark, 3B David Wright, DH Carlos Beltran, 1B Carlos Delgado, OF Ryan Church, 2B Damion Easley, OF Angel Pagan and C Brian Schneider.
Johan Santana will start for the Mets, followed by Nelson Figueroa and Scott Schoeneweis, among others.
The game will air live on 
.
According to Marty Noble of MLB.com, Mike Pelfrey’s struggles last season - and in his last spring outing against the Marlins - may be attributed to tipping his pitches.
Noble writes:
“Like many young pitchers who seldom relied on changeups in their formative years, Pelfrey, 24, would open his glove wide when he reached in to grasp the ball deep in his right hand for the offspeed pitch — and not do the same on other pitches.
Dugout spies caught on to that in a New York minute.
But worse, when Pelfrey initiated his delivery of a fastball, his tongue became visible.”
…it always amazes me when stories like this come out and it seems like the team the pitcher plays for is the last to find out…hopefully he’s able to resolve it without completely ruining his concentration on the mound…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey |In a post to MetsGeek, Aaron Dorman talks with Bryan Hoch, who covers the Yankees for MLB.com.
…despite being a Yankees beat writer today, hoch is the Christopher Columbus of online Mets fans, as he started Mets Online last decade, long before MLB Advanced Media and Mets.com was ever born…in fact, i started MetsBlog.com as a project in college, because i enjoyed hoch’s work so much on the blog for NJ.com…
…this Q&A with hoch is a must read…his stories about maintaining Mets Online are classic and priceless…
At Gotham Baseball Magazine, Mets Today’s Joe Janish explains why we should give Willie Randolph a pass for how he has managed the team’s bullpen over the last few years.
In the Daily News, Tamar El-Ghobashy talks with a few Mets fans about saying goodbye to Shea Stadium.
Lastly, Jack S is back with a three photo albums from Mets camp, which you can check out by clicking here, here and here.
For more photos from yesterday’s game, go to NYFS.
Johan Santana will start for the Mets, as they take on the World Champion Boston Red Sox today at 1 pm in Tradition Field.
The game will air live on .
The Mets recently contacted the Pirates about OF Xavier Nady, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, ‘but there is no indication anything substantive is afoot or even likely.’
According to the report, citing a ‘team source,’ the Pirates would likely seek pitching prospects in any deal for Nady.
…as i have said before, nady would require a pitcher like Phil Humber, who the Mets no longer have…you know, a guy not as far along as Mike Pelfrey, but better than Jon Niese or Eddie Kunz…so, as much as i would love to see nady back on the Mets, i just don’t see how it happens…
…if the Mets are going to make a trade, as noted last week, it’ll likely be 
towards the end of March, using an extra arm from the bullpen, and for a guy better than Angel Pagan, who is not going to get in the way of Moises Alou…which is why i just feel like pagan may be this team’s opening day left fielder, or Endy Chavez, as we all wait for alou’s return…
In fact, last week in the Daily News, Adam Rubin wrote that the Mets have been shopping Jorge Sosa and Scott Schoeneweis, who will not be happy if he’s traded, according to Jeremy Cothran in the Star-Ledger.
Speaking of Pagan, during yesterday’s game, he ran hard on what should have been a bloop single turning it in to a double.
Randolph, on Pagan, after yesterday’s game…
“That’s why I love this kid. He hustles. He plays hard. He’s one of the better athletes on the team. We can all learn from that…Hey, that’s how you make the ball club. Little things like that, I notice, they jump out at me every time…batting average isn’t going to make this team. It’s those kind of plays that are going to make this club for guys like him.”
For more on Pagan, who has hit .255 in 318 at-bats over the last two years, check out Petter Botte’s report for the Daily News.
Tagged Xavier Nady |Prior to yesterday’s game, Willie Randolph told reporters 
that Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado are expected to play during today’s game against the Red Sox in St. Lucie.
…i expect one of the two to start at Designated Hitter, but we’ll see…it just seems crazy to gave them in the field right now…go slow…no rush…
Randolph also said that Duaner Sanchez and Orlando Hernandez will each throw a long-toss session today after pitching on Saturday.
…from what i can gather, duaner is basically being handled with kid gloves, which is understandable…also, el duque is coming along better than expected, and should pitch a simulated game at some point this week…
Tagged Orlando Hernandez |In yesterday’s win over the Astros, John Maine tossed four innings of no-hit ball while striking out three and walking just one.
Maine has allowed one run in his last seven innings this spring.
In the New York Post, Joel Sherman explains why Maine has what it takes to be the team’s number-two starting pitcher.
According to Sherman, Rick Peterson began pressing the idea of Maine’s status on the young pitcher as early as last season.
Peterson, on Maine, as quoted by Sherman…
“He’s right on the cusp, but John Maine has to repeat himself. To be a
top-of-the-rotation guy, you have to have 30-plus starts every year. And a top-of-the-rotation guy has to see himself as one of those guys. Initially, John Maine did not see himself going into the phone booth, putting on a cape and flying.”
…well, rick, he is Super Maine…so, you know….
…actually, it’s hard to say what maine is, was or will be, since he is still young…this will be his tipping point season, i suspect…that said, i do know this: i trust John Maine…is he a number two, an ace, a back end guy, who knows…those are just labels…either way, i trust him when he is on the mound…end of story…
For more on Maine, read John Delcos in the Journal News.
Also, be sure to keep an eye on Sherman’s blog for the New York Post, in which he gives us three topics to think about each morning and night.
