Daily Archives: April 1, 2008
The Marlins beat the Mets with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning tonight in Miami, winning 5 to 4.
For a complete boxscore, read the reliable Associated Press.
…well, it only took four innings for Pedro Martinez to hurt himself…honestly, i thought all of the talk about him being injury-prone was all a bit overblown…guess not…in the bottom of the fourth inning, he tossed a pitch, then hopped up and immediately grabbed the back of his left leg, indicating a hamstring injury…he limped in to the dugout…ugh…
…up until that point, he looked okay…he hit Hanley Ramirez to lead off the game, which was followed by a home run by Dan Uggla…and then another home run by Luis Gonzalez…just as he was getting in to a groove, he hurt his leg…ugh, again…
…fortunately, Jorge Sosa looked solid in relief, allowing no runs through 2.2 innings…
…hey, did Hanley Ramirez mock Jose Reyes, while getting up following a slide in to third on a triple…he he did the exact same, exaggerated hand slap that jose does when he gets a bit hit…hmmm…
…Angel Pagan is very patient at the plate…again, he drove in the team’s first run with an RBI single during the third inning…the Mets tacked on two more runs in the same inning, including an RBI single by Brian Schneider while facing a left-handed pitcher…
…pagan then tied the game in the fifth, with a sacrifice fly…he continues to impress…he wants it…you can tell…go angel…
…the bullpen really stepped in after pedro’s injury, to throw seven scoreless innings before the walk-off home run…again, Willie Randolph used Scott Schoenweiss for one batter, and he looked great…Aaron Heilman looked even better…his change-up was wicked…Billy Wagner may be right, maybe heilman can be a closer one day…
…nice hustle by Carlos Beltran, who charged hard on a bloop single by Dan Uggla, who he threw out trying to extend in to a double…credit Luis Castillo for the nice catch and tag, too…
…David Wright hit a bomb to deep, deep center field in the ninth inning, which should have put the Mets ahead…but, because the Marlins play in Yellowstone Park, the ball was caught on the warning track…ugh…
…the thing is, Robert Andino’s walk-off home run could not be contained…that thing was clobbered…
…tough night…the Mets lose the game, and they lose pedro…this is like the total opposite from yesterday’s experience…oh, the ups and downs of the baseball season…get used to it, folks…
During the fourth inning, Pedro Martinez limped off 
the field, gripping what appeared to be the top part of his left hamstring, as well as his inner thigh, which he injured on a pitch to Matt Treanor.
…good luck, Jorge Sosa…
For what it’s worth, Orlando Hernandez will likely make his first rehab start Thursday. He can not be activated until April 13.
…Update…9 pm…
According to 
, Martinez has a strained left hamstring.
The team has not announced if he will go on the disabled list.
…however, in my opinion, he will…i mean, how could he not…
…Update…10 pm…
Martinez told Kevin Burkhardt that he felt a pop in his hamstring, and that he will leave to have an MRI in the next day or so.
Tagged Pedro Martinez |
The Game :
The Mets (1-0) continue their opening series with the Marlins (0-1) at Dolphin Stadium this evening, starting at 7:10 pm
The Lineup :
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- RF Ryan Church
- LF Angel Pagan
- C Brian Schneider
- SP Pedro Martinez
The Pitchers :
RHP Pedro Martinez makes his 2008 debut for the Mets. In five starts last season, Martinez was 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA. In 10 career appearances at Dolphin Stadium, Martinez is 5-2 with a 1.89 ERA. Martinez had a 2.00 ERA in two spring starts.
RHP Rick VandenHurk starts for the Marlins. In 18 appearances last season, VandenHurk was 4-6 with a 6.83 ERA. VandenHurk was hit hard in two appearances vs. the Mets last season, allowing 12 runs on 10 hits, including 4 HR, over 9 IP. He had a 4.35 ERA in six appearances this spring.
The Notes :
Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes each homered off VandenHurk last season.
Luis Gonzalez is 16-for-44 (.364) with four doubles, a homer and five RBI vs. Martinez lifetime.
The Mets six-run fourth inning yesterday set a new franchise record for offensive output during an Opening Day inning — the club’s previous record was a five-run seventh inning vs. the Cubs in 1979.
The Bleachers :
For a live chat, head over to the Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy, and as always, let’s go mets…
…not since Dwight Gooden do i recall the feeling of confidence i had yesterday when Johan Santana stood on the mound…yes, i’m confident when Pedro Martinez is on the mound, but i am also holding my breath the entire time because i fear he will soon fall 
apart…with johan, though, who is in tremendous shape, and who is in such command of what is happening in the game, i feel very relaxed and in control as a fan…and i like it…it borders on cocky, which i need to be mindful of…
…what’s more, with santana, pedro, John Maine and Oliver Perez, i am quite confident the Mets will be able to avoid the type of long, painful losing streaks that hit hard in June and September of last season…do you remember the slide in June, dear god it was awful…it felt like it would never end…also, go back and look at the match ups…it seemed like the Mets were forced to face the opposing team’s ace in every series, while throwing Orlando Hernandez and Jorge Sosa in response…it was relentless…this season, though, they can combat such a run with johan, pedro, perez and maine, who i feel is going to have a huge season for this team…
…the point is, if a losing streak gets started, it will most certainly be stopped sooner than later…with johan, pedro, maine and perez, the Mets have a pretty reliable firewall, which is something i am just not used to as a Mets fan…and i like it…
Tagged Oliver Perez, Pedro Martinez |…here we are, less than one day from Johan Santana’s first start for the 
Mets, whose fans are quite excited and peaceful for the first time in six months, yet WFAN’s Mike Francesa and Chris Russo have spent the last two hours talking about whether Joe DiMaggio was better than Willie Mays…typical…so, so typical…
…i just don’t understand how the top-rated, sports talk-radio show in New York City can be allowed to feature a Yankees fan and a Giants fan…i mean, that would be fine if it was 1940…but it isn’t…instead, there is zero Mets representation and it gives me a constant headache…
…more importantly, why do i keep listening to them…ugh…
…by the way, last week, for whatever reason, i was a bit angry with WFAN…i even suggested the Mets leave after this season, meaning they could end up at ESPN 1050…
…i need to apologize to WFAN…because, i realize now that my remarks were really just displaced anger towards francesa and russo, who are clearly driving me insane…
Tagged WFAN |The staff and baseball bloggers from 
, which includes me, have 
posted predictions for the 2008 season, which you can read by clicking here.
…i never do this sort of thing, but i figured it’s time i grew up and started acting like a professional…so when asked who will be the first to be fired in the National League, i said, “Phillie Phanatic,” and when asked to rank how the NL East will end up, i picked the Mets to finish first, with the Phillies in last…i just couldn’t help myself…oh, and yes, i’m that high on the Rays…go, Cliff Floyd…
According to Dan Graziano and Jeremy Cothran of the Star-Ledger, Billy Wagner thinks Aaron Heilman is the team’s closer of the future, “They just don’t know it yet.”
The Philadelphia Daily News reports on Johan Santana’s first start, adding, “If only the Mets had Santana last September, when they blew a seven-game lead in the NL East with 17 games left, allowing the Phillies to win the division.”
…they’re incapable of going five minutes without bringing it up…
By the way, Mets Walk-offs is now Mets Wall-offs.
In a column for Gotham Baseball, Mark Healey wonders how Luis Castillo could be ‘a bit banged up’ while not running hard in the first inning of yesterday’s game, yet not be ‘a bit banged up’ while stealing second a few innings later.
Speaking of Healey, also at Gotham Baseball, he is asking fans to vote on the cover for his next magazine.
Lastly, in a post to Big League Stew, ‘Duk asks his readers to help name Eric Gagne’s beard.
The Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs and Double-A Binghamton Mets have announced their rosters for 2008.
The Zephyrs will have a veteran team, led by 3B Fernando Tatis and RHPs Tony Armas and Nelson Figueroa.
SS Anderson Hernandez, 1B Michel Abreu and LHP Adam Bostick are the team’s top, if marginal, prospects.
To download the entire roster, as a .pdf file, click here.
…of course, both Mike Pelfrey and Joe Smith may be in New Orleans before long, depending on their performance…
Meanwhile, the B-Mets will be loaded with the organziation’s best prospects, including 19–year-old OF Fernando Martinez, the team’s top prospect according to Baseball America.
Martinez, who will be back in Binghamton after an injury shortened 2007, will be joined in the lineup by 3B Dan Murphy (No. 11 according to BA), 1B Mike Carp (No. 15) and 1B-OF Nick Evans, who had a big year for High-A St. Lucie last year.
SS Jose Coronado will also return to Binghamton, while 2B Emmanuel Garcia, who had a good showing in Hawaii Winter Baseball, will round out the infield.
On the mound, top draft pick Eddie Kunz (No. 2) will serve as the closer, while LHP Jon Niese (No. 4) and RHP Bobby Parnell (No. 6), who both pitched in the Grapefruit League for the Mets, will be the top two starters.
The rest of the roster is available at BMets.com.
The Mets’ Single-A affiliates should release their rosters later today or tomorrow.
Tagged Minors |
…so, a lot of people showed up to Butterfield 8 yesterday for the MetsBlog Opening Day Happy Hour…seriously, it was a zoo…i would guess there were at least 150 fans inside…it was body to body…but such a great enviornment…lots of Mets gear, lots of noise, lots of chanting…it was very exciting…
…writing this site can be an odd experience, in that i tend to forget people actually read it…i mean, i see the statistics…but, at the end of a normal day, i just sat here and banged away at a keybaord for several hours…it’s not like i see thousands of readers sitting outside of my office window…so, when i get to actually see 
a large group of fans in person, most all of whom read the site, get together, unite and cheer the team on, it’s special to me…
…i’d like to thank you for reading, and for coming down to the Happy Hour…i expect to do more of these events during the year, no doubt…
…also, thank you, Butterfield 8, for hosting…it was a bit crowded, but i bet that’s a good thing…
To watch a video clip of Jon Stewart during last night’s Daily Show predicting that the Mets will win 162 games this season, click here.
…jeeez, way to jinx it, jon…thanks to you saying this out loud, now there is no chance of them going 162–0…nice going…
…thanks to matt m for the link…
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