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Braves LHP Mike Hampton was scratched from his scheduled start against the Pirates tonight, which would have been his first major-league start in two years.
Meanwhile, at his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos asks his readers, “As a fan, do you fear the Braves? Do you think the Mets are beyond the Braves mentally?”
…yes…in fact, i am more worried about the Braves in 2008 than i am worried about the Phillies…a) because of pitching…b) because of Bobby Cox…i like atlanta’s pitching far, far more than philidelphia’s, and as long as cox is in the NL East he will concern me…there is just something about this Braves team that alarms me…maybe it’s Mark Teixiera in a walk year, with Scott Boras as his client…maybe it’s Chipper Jones, lingering in the comments section of a blog taunting David Wright…maybe it’s young hitters like Yunel Escobar and Brian McCann, plus a veteran pitching staff…whatever it is, like i said, they worry more than the Phillies…
…of course, i essentially said that last year as well…so, you know…
I respect the Braves, but I fear them no more. And I think the Mets don’t either. Last I checked, the Mets over the last two seasons, pretty much passed all the tests to enable them to put this “Turner Curse” past them, including winning the season series from them in 2006 and sweeping/destroying them at Turner field late in that season. In fact last year, in September, the Mets needing to take a series from Atlanta to keep one step ahead of the Phillies, did just that, highlighted by Pelfrey’s improbable dominating performance at Turner field.
And I feel the Mets players themselves feel confident going into Atlanta with no monkey on their backs.
Respect the Braves, yes,…probably more than the Philies. The history doesn’t go away. But fear them? I am over it.
Especially with Ollie” East the Braves for Breakfast” Perez on our side.
Orlando Hernandez made his first rehab start tonight, and top prospect Jon Niese took the ball in Binghamton’s season opener.
I followed each game until Niese and Hernandez were taken out. http://www.metsprospectus.blogspot.com
FINAL LINE:
Orlando Hernandez: 5 IP, 3 Hits, 2 ER, 6 k’s
Jon Niese (stands to get the win): 5 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 5 k’s
St. Lucie:
8:45: El Duque is done for the night after 5 innings pitched.
8:38: Another solid inning by El Duque. He didn’t give up a hit, and allowed just one base runner on a HBP. Not sure if he’s done, but I’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile the St. Lucie Mets have tied up the game at 2, thanks to doubles by Lucas Duda and Wabick.
8:15: Nice bounce back inning for Orlando Hernandez, who retired Vero Beach 1-2-3. His line so far: 4 IP 3 hits 2 ER 5 k’s.
7:55: Ruff third inning for El Duque.. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, including a solo homerun to Matt field. He also walked a batter and had a wild pitch in the inning.
7:30: Hernandez’s second inning, much like his first, no hits, no runs, and a strike out. 2 IP 0 hits 3 k’s so far.
7:20: Orlando Hernandez threw a 1-2-3 first inning, while striking out two batters.
Binghamton:
7:50: After another scoreless inning, Jon Niese may be done. If he is, he’ll end with a final line of 5 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, 5 k’s.
7:30: RBI ground out from SS prospect Emmanuel Garcia to give the Binghamton Mets a 2-0 lead. Niese continues to roll, as he just finished pitching a scoreless 4th.
7:20: Jon Niese has thrown 3 scoreless innings, and has struck out three batters. Meanwhile, 1B prospect Mike Carp has hit a homerun in his first at bat off of lefty Chase Wright.
paging fairweather mets who will now have mike carp back on their favourite player list!
great user name
Down in the SAL Savannah starter Mike Antonini went 6 no hit innings allowing just a walk before coming out of the game.
Francisco Pena’s repeat of low A ball is off to a good start, he is 2 of 4 with a double and an RBI.
The B-Mets finished off the 2-0 win for Niese, Kunz got the save with a scoreless 9th.
FM had just a single in 4 AB’s batting leadoff.
Nick Evans and Dan Murphy were each 0 of 3.
Well said. This talk about being worried about or afraid of the Braves is ridiculous. Do they have a good team? Yes, but so do we. Too often, the atmosphere at Shea is one of worry and fear. Our players shouldn’t play scared and we as fans shouldn’t act scared or worried every time adversity faces the team.
Plus, being worried about the Braves isn’t going to help the Mets beat them. If things go bad, we have no choice but to pick ourselves up off the canvas and dust ourselves off. That’s what being a fan is all about; celebrating our team’s triumphs and bouncing back from our team’s losses.
The Braves will be feared this year because of there great young talent along with the veterans .
I agree with you Matt. The Braves make me nervous as well
I don’t get it.
Two guys over 40, a guy who hasn’t pitched in 2 years, and a rookie don’t exactly strike fear into my heart. I’ll give them Hudson, and Smoltz is a good pitcher as well (but as his age, for how long?) but everything after that is pretty mediocre.
They lost Jones and added Kotsay in his place, which is a laugher.
I’d be much more worried about the Phils, who have a great offense that never quits and keeps fighting back. You can’t every count them out of a ballgame, and that’s much more scary than anything the Braves have.
Top to bottom they have a better lineup than the Mets. Smoltz and Hudson are always very good. As much as I hate Glavine he’ll still be fairly solid. Their bullpen is shaky, but then again, ours wasn’t great last year either. Relative to the Phillies, I would fear them more.
I’ll give them the lineup, but not by much. And with staple players like Smoltz and Chipper riddled with injuries, I don’t think it’s a long shot to imagine one or both of them going down for an extended period this season.
As for Glavine, he’s not getting any younger, and the amount of innings he can pitch is steadily declining. I’d be shocked if he went 7 more than a couple of times this year. He’s becoming a 5 inning pitcher, which is great if you have a lights out bullpen, but the Braves don’t have that luxury.
They’re just one Chipper injury (…And that isn’t exactly something that would be unexpected…) from that not being the case.
It’d be decent, but the Mets and Phillies lineups are far superior to that.
next day, but you’re wrong. Braves lineup is totally solid, and chipper missing time won’t cripple it. Top to bottom, Braves lineup definitely rivals ours and the Phils.
I AGREE!! Glavine is done and Smoltz is OLD, Hampton is hurt and the rookie…IM RUNNING AWAY IN FEAR>>NOT!!! Lets compare;
Santana > Smoltz
Maine > Glavine
Ollie> Hudson
Pelfry> ?
?>?
Well short of #5 I think we come out on top. I am not affraid of “Larry” and without Andy anymore they just dont scare me. I think the 2008 team has more fear of the Phillies. They proved in 2006 that the Braves where has-beens and all they have to do now is kick Phillies butt. I am more worried about the first place Nats than any other team.
i would take jurrjens over pelfrey
Hudson is more consistant than ollie and i would also take jurjens over Smoltz
Maine lost tonight he looke awful .
I agree the Braves are scary .
People keep mentioning injuries with regards to Smoltz but the guy is a machine and had near cy young numbers last year. Despite constant injury talk he has had over 30 starts for three years in a row now. Sure he has been out here and there, but he has been consistently awesome despite that. Is there any reason to expect this to change?
Hudson is damn good too.
Hampton could be solid.
Glavine is pretty cool as a 4th or 5th starter.
Pecota has their pitching as 5th over all in the NL and they are offensively stronger then the mets.
The Phillies just arent a threat this year either. They have zero pitching and a slightly degraded offense.
I agree completely! why is everyone so scared of their pitching? it’s OUR pitching everyone should be scared of, we still have a great rotation, even without pedro. I’d say Maine is better than Ollie, so I’d say we are set. And the Braves have a bunch of old men, prone to injury in their rotation. screw them, they don’t scare me one bit. and the Phillies…their pitching is so bad, who cares about how good their offense is? I’d say we are the team to beat, just as carlos said, lets go mets!
Damn straight! Our #3 and #4 (OP and Maine).. before the injury to Pedro… are half the leagues #1 and #2s!
my post below was supposed to be here, my bad!
yeah, the Braves pitching scares you why?
SMoltz is 50, and is showing signs of chronic injuries, so expecting him to be a horse all year is a stretch.
Glavine? which one do you get, and can he last a season? I vote a poor one, and no.
Hampton may never pitch again.
So, they are then rolling with young unproven guys, or retreads, like most other teams!
Oh, and I think their pen still stinks too, doesn’t it?
and yes, I did forget about Hudson, but even he is erratic these days.
The Phils with Myers and Hamels (vs. Smoltz and Hudson), with the poo poo platter 3-5 for each, are probably just as good.
Oh, and with Seanez, 25% of the Phils pitching staff is 39+.
DO the Braves have any ancient relievers? They already have 2 40 YO starters!
Hudson was solid tonight when it counted but i’m not sure if he had a real test against a good team yet .
*scott boras as his agent
maybe it’s Chipper Jones, lingering in the comments section of a blog taunting David Wright
anyone know what that’s about? must’ve miss