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Mets Walk-offs looks back at the last time the Mets scored at least eight runs and had as few as five hits…way back in the championship season of 1969.
In a post to the new-and-improved SNY.tv, Ted Berg writes:
“I’ll resist the urge to say Mike Pelfrey proved
his merit or cemented his spot on the roster…It’s one start in April. But with one start in April, Pelfrey reminded Mets fans that his miserable Spring Training was only Spring Training, and that a top prospect still dwells somewhere within the former top prospect.”
In a video for the Queens Currier, Noah Rosenberg takes a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Opening Day at Shea.
Speaking of stadiums, go to StadiumPage.com for some new photos from the construction of Citi Field.
…by the way, that third photo from the upper deck is amazing…and actually made me a bit dizzy…
I’ve decided always to refer to the upper deck as “the upper tank,” a la Keith Hernendez. ;)
I’m thinking Brian Schneider is having a positive influence on Mets pitchers.
Absolutely…. gonna make us forget about Loduca
Man if people are going this crazy over Mike Pelfrey’s 5 inning start imagine how’d we act if we had Johnny Cueto on the team?
Every single Mets fan would probably explode.
That’s not funny.
hey matt, they’ve been talking about you over at beerleaguer, calling you “a corporate cheerleader”
Put every philly blog together and they’re not
half as good as Matt’s.
The StadiumPage link is all caflooey…
StadiumPage link not working
The site seems to be getting a ton of traffic off of Matt’s link. If its not working for you right now, wait an hour or so and try again.
I’m not back on the Pelfrey bandwagon yet. I didn’t like how the Phils were able to foul off so many pitches. To me that’s the sign of a pitcher who is getting a little less movement/deception than he needs to miss bats more reliably.
It’s more a sign of a guy that throws a lot of fastballs. John Maine is a rarity with how many swing-and-misses he gets on his fastball. Most times, if a guy swings and misses, it’s because he was fooled, or beaten by good location. Pelfrey did neither very often last night. But he got ground balls and threw strikes (most of the time), which is what he needs to do as the fourth or fifth starter.
True, although I like that he was able to get a lot of hitters to beat it into the ground.
It looks to me as though Pelfrey’s fastball/sinker is never going to be a true swing-and-miss pitch. If his slider and changeup keep improving, they look like they could be swing–and-miss pitches.
The key for him is going to to be locating the fastball and throwing his offspeed stuff for strikes. If he locates the fastball and can move it around the strike zone, he should be able to get outs.
I agree, though, that you’d like a starter to be able to have a put-away ptich.
Gotta admit…Pelfrey looked like a major league pitcher for the first time on the mound at shea last night. He had good control over his pitches, which is the key. NO WALKS!!!! That 3rd strike swinging on Utley was probably the nastiest pitch I have seen a while (from someone not named Santana). The overall performance was very encouraging to see. Now he’s got to get out there and do it again. Then we can start to hitch up up the bandwagon.
Another observation from last night…..Pelf’s resemblence to Forrest Gump is nearly astonishing.
He looks a bit like British actor Vinnie Jones as well (Bullet-tooth Tony from “Snatch”).
I say we go with “Gump”.
Ollie’s slide-piece against the Fish last week (all game) was pretty nasty, too.
Not only did he look like a Major Leaguer, he looked CONFIDENT, which in reference to Pelfrey, is huge. He worked into jams and worked his way out without crumbling. He usually looks like a deer in the headlights when he gets into jams.
Give the kid some killer instinct and I think he’ll be all set.
No one can give him killer instinct. He’s got to give it to himself. Then it is up to his teammates and manager to reinforce it and help him build it.
But it looks like he figured something out last night.
And let’s not downplay the importance of last night’s game. I refuse to take on Willies “it’s just another game” mentality on this. Pelf should be recognized in that clubhouse for stepping up big. I am very curious if that recognition has occured. Because, If it is not, than it’s a roadblock to building team momentum. So if Pelf is not getting postiive feedback from his teamates, and especially from his manager, than perhaps that mentality is a cause to this team’s 12 month-long issue of lacking winning character, confidence, and identity.
I agree whole heartedly. I went into last nite’s game thinking that even though it’s game 7 of a long season, it was as close to a must-win as it gets. And Big Pelf came through. Obviously, we’d prefer him to go more than 5 innings, but he did pitch well, and took a big step as far as I am concerned.
When he came out of the game, Johan went over to him and gave him what Gary Cohen called “man-love” and other guys seemed to be offering him handshakes and other congratulations on a job well done. His performance should do wonders for his confidence.
Again, big step forward.
I’m sick of hearing this crap about Matt cerrone’s writing being different from when he signed with SNY. Anybody who says that needs to improve there reading
I can’t tell whether you’re being ironic or not. Allow me to help you:
I’m sick of hearing this crap about Matt Cerrone’s writing being different after he signed with SNY. Anybody who says that needs to improve their reading.
In fact…I would say Matthew has been a bit more objective over the past year. His recent writing shows less of a ‘homer’ fan and much more of an analyst.
Don’t get me wrong….I admire his natural optimism, b/c most people don’t have that (I know I don’t). But I found that his evaluation of the Mets in the past was always too positive and unrealistic, and was way too predictable.
His spot a few months ago on the Mets obsession with slogans and the Org’s self image top-to-bottom was with high merit…..and his call out of Willie (which has finally arrived!!!) the other day was spot on.
Very good to see….and should actually result in even more appreciation for this site.
If Pelfrey could give me that pitching line over 6 innings instead of 5, I would have no problems penciling him in for thr 4th-5th starters spot. I don’t think he was as “awesome” as some made him out to be last night, but the guy did get a run credited to him that was unwarranted because of our bad defense and the only ball that was truly smoked off him was Utley’s hit in the 5th. His slider was better than usual and he proved, with more refining of course, that he does have what it takes to pitch on this level and that you don’t have to strike out a guy an inning to get the job done.
I took a lap around the whole thing yesterday. Its amazing how much work they got done since last year. Its gonna be beautiful. After it took me 30 mins to take a leak and get a beer on Opening Day all I kept thinking was how great 09 will be.
BTW, to all of you ‘regular fans’ that keep complaining about the 45,000 seats at Citi Field, I ask you this. Where the HELL were you last night? Its funny, on Opening Day I saw plenty of ‘normal’ folk going to their 2-3 games a year, but last night when the team was 2-4 and really needed a win against a division rival there may have been 47,000 seats sold, but there were mahhhye 35,000 in the house.
You wanna know why they Mets got rid og those 10,000 seats? I give you the answer. For the next 10 years there wont be an empty seat against the Phils in the building….if you guys would go to games other than OD and the Yanks maybe they would have made the place bigger…
YES! This is true.
In fact look at any team around the entire major leagues, the seats are just empty. Even the Tigers who had en explosion of Season Ticket Sales over the off-season have had tons of available seats in the stadium.
People just want things to complain about.
Nicely put, Saltzy.
I was there last night and am going tonight. So, i guess i can’t be mad at those that aren’t buying tickets.
Ill repeat my point(for the millionth time). You cannot show up to a restaurant on Opening Night, and only on Saturdays at 8pm and expect to get a seat when the place refurburbishes and becomes the hot spot in town. Its the people that go on Tuesday at 4PM that get in. Regulars. You dont get in for coming to see the Yanks, but thanks for your business. Those of us that have paid in advance for EVERY GAME, and contunue to go to those ‘boring games’ like games against the Phils on a Wednesday where the team actually needed a win will have a table waiting for us going forward. You can use ours when we cant make it going forward(at a premium). Take care of my seat for me when I cant make it next year, thanks for the $50….
The reason there’s 10,000 fewer seats is
because those seats are the most expensive
to build but bring in the fewest dollars. I like
the fact that Citi will have fewer seats, we will
be closer to the field and having a near full house
all the time will give the place a great atmosphere.
i just hope that the building literally rocks, as Shea does now…to me, thats one of the best experiences in the ball park……fearing for your life, lol
I think the lower attendence last night may have been influenced by that Zephyr of pesistant mist throughout the game.
Please…
It wasnt a Saturday, Sunday, Yanks or OD….thats why…
Its WHY the Mets are doing the right thing. Its gonna be a real pain for people to get in for 3-5 years, but after the thrill wears off last night is EXACTLY why they made the place small. Good. I’m sick of watching a NY team play in a half empty stadium because it wanst a perfect situation of dates, opponents, and weather…
i didn’t realize you have to go to every mets home game in order to be a true mets fan. i’ll make sure to show up tonight to prove how much i like the team.
No…but the Mets are a business. You can still be JUST as big a fan at home, while the Mets dont keep a seat waiting for you for when you decide to roll on over and use it for the big games….
They arent saying they dont want you as a fan. They are saying they arent spening MILLIONS of extra dollars on seats that DONT GET USED….Remember when Wilpon said “Those seats only get used 10-12 times a year” and everyone got so pissed. HEY….maybe a Phils game with 35,000 in the house is what he meant…We are both fans. I’m a better customer…..I get a seat next year…you dont….
last night is the nail in the coffin for all the people complaining about citifield’s size. It’s a game against our biggest rival in only the second game of the year and the tickets are 10k shy of a sell out. forget the rain b/c some stayed home but only 47k were sold. buy a season ticket, take a lottery number and get in line or shut up.
I completely understand your point, and truthfully, I’m out at Shea all the time…during the week…for the good teams and the bad teams, and i’m not worried about losing 10,000 seats. I just think you’re obnoxious. You can keep your seat, and I’ll keep mine, knowing it’s nowhere near yours.
saltzy – i’m pretty sure you just got called out by one of the New Kids on the Block.
and by the brother of Marky Mark no less….
I’m not a man…
dude…I was kidding.
Clearly just trying to use the Zephyr reference discussed in an earlier thread. A poor attempt at humor.
Hey man, i like in Chicago (may have heard of it…they play minor league baseball here). So when I have to sit on my couch and listen to Joe Morgan call the game, while seeing only 65% of the stadium packed on the 2nd game of the year….I get more pissed than you possibly could.
sorry…didnt read previous threads….my bad…
Anyone who is putting stock in Pelfrey’s performance is not looking at the whole picture. One hundred pitches in five innings? That is all that really needs to be said. Someone mentioned Pelf working in and out of jams. Him working into those jams is why he tossed 100 pitches in five innings. He needs to be efficient and provide more than just a quality start most of the time. A quality start is really a bad phrase. Three runs in six innings is more than a 4.00 ERA. That is not quality if you lose 3-2.
Saltzy, get off your high horse it’s pretty pathetic. Before I go any further save the “newcomer” stuff on me because I’ve been reading this blog for two years minimum I just don’t post much. While your point is well taken and true in terms of last nights game let’s also take a look at the FACTS.
The fact is last years average attendance was 47,000 (2nd in the majors) and last nights was 47,127 (paid). Now next year 2,000 of those “good customers” will not be allowed in due to the new spacious world-class facility. It’s pretty obvious that you’re one of those “if you don’t have season tickets you’re not a real fan type” or at least you speak their language very well. The best part about all of this is that I don’t think anybody is entitled to a seat next year. The language the Mets use is “have priority” (current season ticket holders, AKA better fans) but who is to say they won’t screw all of you “better customers” over for better customers? You don’t think every corporation/hotel in town isn’t going to try to snatch up tickets? Well not to worry..you’ll be able to get them..at a premium!
Some of you guys crack me up, seriously. You run around and make fun of less fortunate fans who just want to be able to go to a few games a year (sorry I can’t drive up from North Carolina 81 times a year) and yet we’re all supposed to be on the same boat together as Mets fans. But instead you all try to one up each other because you’re a season ticket holder..oooahhhh ahhhhhh. Gimme a break. Get a grip on yourself and realize that there is other people in the world besides you.
For the record..I CAN afford to go to Citi Field regardless of what they charge. This is not the point, it’s the principle behind it. I like the atmosphere at Shea and it’s inevitable that much of it will be lost next year. So have fun sitting there and rooting on the Mets with a bunch of empty suits.
as one of those season ticket holders, let me say you made a couple good points. and yes the rhetoric of people who have season tix can be a little obnoxious. but a couple of things you got wrong… first, no one is saying season tickets holders are better fans, simply they demonstrate their commitment with their wallet in addition to everything else and that helps pay for everything all mets fans get to enjoy. a season ticket in upper reserves is not expensive and if you can’t afford it on your own or can’t go to every game (like i can’t) then get a couple people together and split it (like i did with a field box). second, if you are a season ticket holder this year you are guaranteed a seat next year and from my extensive conversations with them it will almost certainly be in the equivalent area of the new stadium. lastly, the atmosphere at citi will be as good if not better than at shea, smaller, closer to the field, etc. the idea that it will be suits all of a sudden isn’t fair. everyone who is there this year (some 20k+ season ticket subscribers) so the difference will be negligible. Its good tosee the mets fan base all over the US but i can’t help the fact you live in NC. Neither I nor the Mets owe you an opportunity to have a guaranteed seat ready for you when you come home to visit your family on Long Island for Memorial Day. Some people who have complained about the decrease in seats (not you) come across as if they have that entitlement, when they clearly do not.
Cant say it better than that…
Allow me to add, that the 2,000 people getting screwed next year are NON EXISTANT. I was there last night. The seats have been sold(whether they are being used is another story) to people buying in bulk. There was NO walk up last night. I saw people GIVING tickets away. Those seats are only in demand for OD, Yanks, playoffs, and last season weekend games.
No more. EVERY game now will be a tough ticket. Sorry the Mets in their greed are creating demand…BASTARDS!!!….
Bottom line. Big fand wanna make sure there are seats for the big games and dont care about ‘normal games’…
The Mets DONT CARE about big games. Those will ALWAYS sell out. They wanna make sure the place is packed for every game, including game 2 against the Phis…45,000 is PERFECT!…last night was a golden example of this…
man as a college kid i love to be able to get the cheap ticket to shea, and im gonna miss that a lot when citi comes but damn that looks nice i cant wait to see the mets win some games over there! gotta get a big series win vs the phils tonight btw, go mets!
Batsinthepelfrey, you make very good points and I respect your opinion but I have to say I disagree on a few things. A few things and then hopefully we’ll be able to move on from this since it’s never going to change.
More than anything else it’s the attitude about this whole thing that bothers me. The whole “I’ll sell you my ticket at a premium when I can’t make it attitude”, that’s the kinda crap that I don’t need nor will I tolerate from someone who is suppossed to be on the same page as me considering at the end of the day we have a common mission: to see the Mets win. Now if you want to give me the reasoing behind the Wilpons decision to reduce seating that is fine and it makes business sense. But if we’re being fair and realistic he could have made the stadium 50,000 and it would have sold out for at the minimum a decade (new stadium+biggest city in America+winning team= sellouts) even the Indians sell out and they’re not in a market 1/2 the size as NY. So you’re just content with this because you still have a seat..they could’ve cut this puppy down to 38,000 and still made the same profit and I’d bet you wouldn’t be singing the same tune (”you” doesn’t refer to anyone in particular just a group of like minded people).
As far as those 2,000 fans being non existent I just don’t see your point. If a ticket is purchased a seat is taken. If 45,000 tix are purchased next year but not a single person goes to the game the game is still sold out. It’s not like the Mets will be walking on Roosevelt Ave. next year and allowing fans into Citi Field to fill the empty seats of no-shows. Personally I believe there is more to life then money, especially when you have as much as the Wilpons do (don’t forget the extra 20,000,000 a year for naming rights) and it’s sad that a family on a whim can’t go to a game on a saturday afternoon. That is how I became a Mets fan. Not that there is anything wrong with being wealthy, or 30 and single or whatever it is that allows anyone to purchase season tickets but the fact of the matter is that not all of us are. And it’s sad (notice the word is sad..not unfair) that this won’t be an option anymore.
This is just the times we live in and it wont change. I’ll still see my Mets. I was in Atlanta this weekend (ugh) and I’ll be back down there and in DC a bunch of times this year so it’s not a big deal but it’s just upsetting to me that I’ll have a hard time getting tix to see my team at home. I just don’t see why some of you are so OK with the concept of greed. When you take more cookies then your brother your momma calls you greedy when you’re younger. But when you’re older and you blatantly rip people off (4.75 for a drink) and kick people out (minimum of 2,000 a game maximum of about 15,000) then why is it so easy to excuse it as “business sense”. Oh well..hey the weather and girls are better down in Atlanta anyway, plus Ted Turner would kick Wilpons ass
on a serious note Lets Go Mets!