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The Game:
The first-place Mets (10-6) look to sweep their three-game series against the Phillies (8-10) tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, starting at 8:05 pm EST.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- RF Ryan Church
- C Raul Casanova
- LF Endy Chavez
- P Mike Pelfrey
…as mentioned earlier on MetsBlog, Brian Schneider is out of tonight’s lineup with a bruised forearm…
The Pitchers:
RHP Mike Pelfrey (2-0, 1.50 ERA) starts for the Mets. In his last start, Pelfrey tossed seven scoreless innings in a win versus the Nationals. He has only allowed two earned runs through his first 12 innings pitched this season. Pelfrey is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two career starts versus the Phillies.
RHP Adam Eaton (0-0, 4.12 ERA) takes the hill for the Phillies. Eaton earned a no-decision, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out three in his last start versus the Astros. In eight career starts versus the Mets, Eaton is 5-0 with a 2.90 ERA.
The Notes:
Jose Reyes is batting .435 (10-for-23) with 2 2B, 1 3B and 2 HR in his last five games.
The Mets are second in the National League with 57 runs allowed.
David Wright is 11-for-25 (.458) with 2 HR and 10 RBI in his last six games.
For more insight on the Phillies, check out Blogger Beat.
How To Catch It:
Tonight’s game can be seen nationally on ESPN and heard locally on WFAN.
The Bleachers:
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets…
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oh boy… Here they come. If we lose tonight, Willie haters will have a field day, and I hate to say it, but they probably will have good reason to.
Beacause Pagan’s getting the night off? I think he’s been in every game, and his bat’s slowed down recently — give the kid a night off to come back fresh tomorrow.
Let’s just hope Endy can get the ball out of the infield.
castillo in the 2-hole. church gets rewarded for his and reyes’ torrid hitting by getting bumped back down to 6th.
No, its about Castillo being in the 2 hole. I gotta say, I don’t really turn against our own except for extreme circumstances (Mota, Benitez) and I’ve supporeted alot of very unpopular guys (Beltran in 05) but Castillo is going to drive me crazy for the next 4 years.
willie has said that Castillo is his 2 hole hitter and this is the first pitcher we are facing that is right handed. Castillo is a much better slap hitter from the left side so it makes sense to have him bat 2nd and put church behind Delgado for some RBI chances. We’ve faced 5 straight left handed starting pitchers, I expect castillo to be hitting 8th against lefties and 2nd against righties whether pagan is playing or not.
ESPN…ugh…I cant wait for Morgan’s words of wisdom and the other guy referring to Beltran as Bel TRAN… They $uck.
odalis perez
Yes, Odalis Perez indeed…
That’s how you pronounce his name in spanish, accent on the second syllabus.
Yeah, but Jon Miller really comes off as a self-serving a#$hole when he does it.
Actually, it’s Bell-TRON. Even Wright doesn’t get that one correct.
castillo batting secondddddddd????!?!?!?!
I dont understand it either…
i guess willie din’t want too many automatic outs in the bottom of the lineup. i mean seriously it will look like a joke with castillo there.
I think it makes sense here to bat Castillo second, since Angel Pagan is not in the lineup. Willie is probably thinking that without Pagan in the lineup, if Church bats second, who protects Delgado in the 6 hole? We need to get Delgado back on track, and having Church in the 6 hole rather than Chavez or anyone else tonight is probably a wise idea.
And if anyone starts to flip out on Willie or in general if we lose this game… Seriously, people. Get a grip.
why would he take chruch out of the two hole… oh wait, he must of had, “listened to his gut.” this is pathedic, and how is church hitting below delgado? He has become the ultimate sac fly 5th hitter… you know, the guy who hits a sac fly then the whole team gives him a standing ovation. nice .311 slugging delgado.
My excuse? Protection for Delgado. With Pagan slowing down, Schneider out, neither Casonova, Castillo, or Chavez provide any protection for the 1st basemen. Now the bottom half of the lineup doesn’t look as bad as having Casonova, Castillo, and Chavez. At least there is a legit type of bat down there.
But yes I still want Church hitting second. I wanted Church hitting second after the 1st week of the season.
no, im pretty sure church is there to protect delgado..endy chavez..raul casonova and luis castillo arent protecting delgado…so church is the only solution…so quick to act stupid..
the only reason church was batting 2nd was because we were facing left handed starting pitchers. Having Church behind Delgado would put 2 lefties back to back so having him bat second seperates them. Castillo is a much better slap hitter from the left side and more of a liability from the right side, so against lefties church will bat second and castillo will bat 8th, against righties castillo will bat 2nd and church will bat 6th or 7th.
oh no Schneider is out…i hope is doesnt screw up pelfrey i am afraid very afraid
Good point.
let us hope that you guys are all right about church protecting delgado. but let us remember ladies and gents, this isn’t earl weaver writing this lineup… it’s willow. mccarver (for what it’s worth) said on the fox broadcast that willie told him that luis was, “still his second baseman.” can you believe that? Church was in a grove, the offense was in a groove, and, correct me if i’m wrong…wasn’t the team undefeated with church in the 2 hole?
“not second baseball”… I meant “second hitter”
I’d rather just keep telling myself this is a one game thing.
Heck, why not Endy Chavez in the 2 hole. I don’t get it.
hey, why not church in the two hole, and marlon anderson in left field?
I knew it was only a matter of time before Willie’s stubborness would do something stupid. Castillo back at 2nd and Church at 6th to be protected by Crapanova? Unbelievable. Hey Willie, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Well the good news is this time next year we will have a manager who actually EARNS the right to the position, instead of the guy we got.
Too many managers, not enough authority!
hopefully castillo doesn’t miss any signs this time in the two hole
i hope all you arm chair managers will show up to eat crow when castillo does fine in the 2 hole and church knocks in a couple out of the 6.
I’ll be the first one to say I was wrong about Castillo if he proves me wrong. I hope he does too, but I have my doubts.
Will you be here to do the same if Castillo goes 2 for his next 22?
if castillo continues to slump ill be sure to admit i was wrong, i have always admitted when i was wrong. but i aint about to write off a career 300 hitter because of a rough start, like the what have you done for me lately crowd does.
i was thinking the same thing about church, at first i wasnt happy since the offense has been much more balanced and potent with church up there and castillo down, but with pagan getting a spell and schnieder resting too (doing a nice job with the bat this year too by the way) it does make sense for church to protect delgado…..we are very light at the bottom of the order tonight
I think we’re overrating the perceived protection that Pagan gives Delgado. I doubt teams go into games fearing him at this point.
Thats what I was thinking. He’s hitting .215 and slugging .333. What are we protecting him from? If there are still teams pitching away from him we shouldn’t try to discourage it.
Church is protecting Delgado with Pagan out. Jeez the game hasn’t even started yet. Calm the f*** down people.
One team…one million managers, too.
This lineup does make sense. If we lose, it still made sense.
Now stop wishing for a Mets loss just so you can feel good criticizing Willie, Omar and Wilpon. You know who you are.
LGM
They should have a warning label to HD users when Jon Miller is on camera
The Mets will still win tonight.
I’ll just get that out of the way right now.
Come on Pelfrey, make me forget about Brian Bannister
hey everybody! have i told you how much i hate philly?
Off on a tangent, but why was Ron Darling doing to the Braves-Dodgers game on TBS this afternoon? It really bothered me to hear him broadcasting for the Braves faithful.
He made a deal to do games on TBS every third sunday of the month. TBS is no longer a Braves only station, it just happened to be a Braves game today.
i also hate vw bugs now
When are they going to take that Life Water Thriller commercial off the air. It’s one of the only commercials I feel embarassed watching.
I think its a good move. With a righty on the mound Reyes may finally get some chances to stretch his legs and steal some bases.
Castillo will allow Reyes that opportunity moreso than Church. Church isn’t at patient at the plate as Castillo, even if he is hitting a lot better.
Plus, Church gives Delgado protection.
church does give a legit bat in the bottom of the order…especially since casanova is in there
Yeah, the more I think of it it’s not a horrible move. As long as it’s just for this one game.
i dont think church is there so much to prodect delgado, but because they need a bat in the middle of the order that is capable of driving home a run or 2, and chavez/casanova isnt really well known for that.
The Mets are due to hit this clown hard
wow…that was sick
castillo is a joke
ya, why cant he just k like reyes and get it over with
Huge game for Beltran today – remember I said it first
i hope you’re right
Eaton is working fast. I like that.
damn
I will go out on a limb here and say it will be a huge start for Pelf.
I wish I had some kind of formula or something to back it up, but I don’t. I just think he’s starting to get comfortable. This could be a big night for him.
Done for the night with predictions!
i predict that my spelling will be terrible by the end of the night…stupid coors light
Anyone else have a bad feeling about this game?
Nope.
not me
Good, I hope you guys are right
But I trust my gut
nice strike out Pelfrey!!!even the umpire fliched at the fastball
father church!!!!
Nice leaping catch by Church
i hate utley…that should be back to back right there
damn this utley is good. i hate him so much
hopefully the Yankees sign him soon
They’re teeing off on him.
enough has been said about castillo. i would just like to add that pelf’s retainer is horrifying to look at. and he is getting hit a little hard in the first so far.
thank god for mo vaugn howard
i take that back…i hate him too
best second baseman
slightly more power than ours
My niece has more power than Castillo
sign her to 4 more years!
No worries. We just need Guiseppe Franco in here to remind us that the Phillies can only hit a HR off of Big Pelf ONCE EVERY 90 DAYS. Forget about the daily regiments. Who has time for that nonsense?
my favorite part is when that dude says that guiseppe franco ran his fingers through his hair…
Hey, he’s Guiseppe Franco, he’s not just going to put his name on any baseball theory
Look, he doesn’t own ESPN. He doesn’t own anything about it… But it’s time for Jon Miller to stop hiding behind Joe Morgan and just admit his hair looks bad, AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
This is outstanding…we can’t get through any Mets games without a perfunctory G-Franco reference.
There is something really wrong with us.
I’m here my friend, no worries!
Good recovery Pelf
damn pelfrey…tough inning
Home run hurt but two strikeouts isn’t bad.
I refuse to believe the Mets will lose to this AAA pitcher again
Should we start pitching around Utley? Even with a righty, I’m willing to take my chances with the Ryan “the K-maker” Howard.
To be fair Eaton has always owned the Mets for whatever reason.
law of averages….
Carlos Delgado should start getting sponsors for his pop-outs
guideppe franco signs his name to most pop outs
Phillies fans are so angry.
They BOO DWright… possible the nicest guy in baseball
to be fair i will boo the crap out of chase utley when they come to shea…he’s a phillie killer and they know it
it’s because they just figured out that rocky doesn’t actually exist
Chuck Wepner thinks otherwise.
Who saw that Philly fan starting stuff with the Met fan that got Church’s foul ball?
That looked messed up. I wanted to see the end of it though. There were a ton of boos a few seconds after it, so a fight or ejection may have happened.
by september i hope neither delgado or castillo are starting for the mets. 2 guys whose had their best days behind them and they constantly are easy outs and rally killers
You mean by September 2011?
i just threw up a little in my mouth
i can understand bein down on delgado after last year and a poor start now, but castillo is a career 300 hitter who did well last year. so if you are jumpin off the bandwagon after 1/2 month of sub 300, did you also want dwright gone after his horrid start last year?
Clearly those are two entirely different circumstances.
ya, ones young and a homegrown fan favorite. the other one only has done what hes supposed to do, with the exception of 3 weeks this year.
One is young and in a slump, the other is in the downside of his career and has the knees of an 80 year old man.
not tryin to be a downer on castillo…the fact is that he’s been injured for about a third of the time that he’s been a met (i know he wasn’t on the dl last year…but he was gimpy)…he’s showing the signs of aging and we’ve got him until he’s 37 years old…not saying i hate him…just saying he’s gonna look pretty old in a couple of years
Yes, “37 years old”
i only have 20 fingers and toes…you gotta forgive me
hes not 37 now, but ya, i did question a 4year deal as well. im not gonna judge him now though for what he’ll be like in 4 years.
. . . but it was a weak .300. And now he looks like he may be damaged goods (a little).
weak 300 ya, but the guy dont k much, takes plenty of pitches, and has a good obp. he has done what a 2 hitter should for most of his career. but a bad few weeks and that is all forgotten by the what have you done for me lately crowd.
I thought Bruntlett still had a chance.
Bruntlett and DW are neck and neck for Mets MVP so far.
bruntlett comes through with a big GIDP in the clutch!
Did anyone see that interview with Rollins? He needs some of my Procede. His hairline is farther back than the Philthies will be in the standings come July.
Inning over. So I’m going to ask you a question. First of all, I’m a big fan, Mr. Franco.
Now my question is this. I’m supposed to use Procede once every 90 days, because who has time for the daily regiments… Well here’s the thing. I DO have time. So I’ve decided to use Procede twice a day instead of once every 90 days. This is obviously a good plan, right?
it is dude…then you can be copilot on the milenium falcon!
don’t ask him. HE DOESN’T OWN ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
How do you think I got my lovely spikes? I don’t even use hair gel!
What’s with that music? Did Schneider get an arm bruise or was he shot?
surprised with all the fly balls with pelfrey pitching. gotta love the 94 mph he is hitting on the radar gun though
dental plan
pelfrey needs braces
the most awesome simpsons reference of the night…kudos my friend…this bud’s for you
Wow, good call even recognizing that was a Simpsons reference. I didn’t even catch it.
Whats up with the Hillary Clinton sign fan? Somebody please hit her with a foul ball. We don’t need any form of advertising other than Mets/phils related signs. Giosseppe Franco might get the idea and have semi bold people hold up his signs during the game.
Is Giuseppe Franco this year’s running joke like last year’s “I’m into nuggets y’all?”
Dude, that commercial was awesome! :)
mcnuggetsmcnuggetswhat
personally i miss jose valentin throat cancer guy
yes…the 50 commercials a game makes him kinda hard to ignore
Uugh, that Hillary person is annoying the hell outta me too. Get her out of there please!
pssst… Obama 08!
joe morgan talking about basketball makes me wish i was listening to joe morgan talk about baseball
Hojo has to get his team to practice hitting the ball to shortstop against the Phillies.
Damn Reyes, I’d have taken that pitch
Nah, that was a solid 3-1 fastball close to the middle.
Why is Castillo sacrificing with nobody on base?
A perfect drinking game would be to drink shots/ full beers every time Castillo cannot hit the ball out of the infield.
Metsblog readership would decrease to zero because we would have died from liver failure.
True, hiccup…excuse me.
I don’t have enough beer.
Wait.
New York doesn’t have enough beer.
can we all just wear ridiculous retainers in leiu of or in addition to go big pelf shirts?
He could have a dildo in his mouth for all I care as long as he gets people out
i gotta be honest, i wouldn’t be down with that
but it would make the phrase “big pelf ” much more versatile
*lieu
peter gammons has convinced me…if jimmy rollins wants me…he can have me
I want someone to light the Phanatic on fire.
seriously dude…the worst mascot in sports
you’re just pissed he had time for those daily regimens
so true…so true…
fantastic Pelfrey, can’t hit the guy and can’t get him out
Just walk the guy
I hate the way he kills us, but man is he damn good. I’d sign him in a heartbeat. He plays like an old-school ballplayer.
can’t sign him…second base is locked up for the next four years
Oh, totally. I’m just saying.
i do hear what you’re saying though…the guy really knows how to play the game…he reminds me of dwright
Willie wouldn’t let him play anyway. He’s seen guys like this before. Eventually they come back down to earth. Like in 20 years.
true
and utley isn’t quite as good a bunter anyway
people always forget the importance of the bunt
Utley may have the hitting, power, and defensive skills, but he doesn’t have the “it” factor that WIllie sees in Castillo.
ughhh, that looked like a strike to me
Lol!
Joe Morgan loves exploding fastballs.
Almost as much as Keith Hernandez likes Beltran’s gait
or as much as kevin burkhardt likes david wrights body
Aw balls.
Here comes the blast
How come these guys don’t mention Howard’s 199 K’s?
And for a slugger he’s not as young as you’d want.
I’d take him
in a heartbeat. Even with nearly 200 k’s his obp was nearly .400 last year.
odds Howard strikes out?
i was close..
Pelf is getting no inside strikes called. Should have had 2 K’s in this inning.
At a boy
I hope Sosa’s arm is well rested
Mets bullpen is gonna get worked tonight because of Pelfrey’s pitch count
I guess that’s to be expected with your 4th and 5th starters. As long as 1, 2 and 3 are getting 6 to 7 innings, I’m cool with a little pen work.
so how many pitches has pelfrey thrown through 3?
seems like 70.
57 to eatons 47
He really is being squeezed tonight.
The Mets lineup has to pull a George Costanza and just do everything the opposite against Eaton.
I think hes close to 60
We need to start a new drinking game, chug a beer when Johnny Miller says “young slugger”.
That along with the Castillo drinking game will have us done by the end of the inning.
Add Bel-tron and you’re sleeping under the table.
And when Joe Morgan mentions The Big Red Machine you have to do a shot.
I don’t think I have enough hands to hold that many beverages.
Pelf is getting squeezed and Eaton is getting calls. You’re killing me smalls.
hometown on national tv
Didn’t Pelf throw that same inside (might’ve been outside for Utley) pitch and get it called a ball?
It’s alright, we got Delgado coming up
beltran hates those pesky down the middle pitches
He refuses to hit the ball the other way.
I like that high camera angle from behind home plate – I wish they would show it more.
“the same qualities that make a good hitter are the ones that make good defense (other than range)”
well damn joe you should have told rey
i can’t stand morgan. he is a moron. a great hitter can be a great fielder??? what is he smoking?
wtf was beltran looking at there?
What in GOd’s name are you staring at? The bat doesn’t have batteries meat.
Good situational hitting by Beltran, avoiding the DP and all
Ive never seen a player take so many pitches over the plate
i think we should beltran an invitation to hit pitches that go over the plate…
strike out or easy fly ball for delgado?
Cough cough…Mike Carp…cough cough. Excuse me.
ground out to 2nd
i was close
There ya go Delgado, hit the crap out of it
i don’t know who is worse castillo or delgado?
I think Carlos needs hats for bats
delgado is due for a little DL stint
Can someone please send a message to the Mets that they’re facing Adam Eaton?
Miller just had WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much fun saying Javier Vazquez’s name.
i hate joe morgan…
nice inning boys….i love stranding dwright every time
Put on a Mets jersey and you cannot get out Chipper Jones or Pat Burrell and Adam Eaton will dominate you.
Dude, this is starting to feel like a conspiracy. Eaton is not this good.
OH MAN!
An Evening at The Improv with Steven Wright is coming on!
Oh wait, they’re visiting Willie in the dugout.
Miller said Eaton could have single handedly won the division for the Phillies and then continued to say they won in spite of him. I understand his logic, but all you need to say is that if they had another player, aside from Eaton, the division race might have been different.
I feel like after every scoreless inning Pelfrey throws I should sacrifice a live animal
this has the feeling of another 8 inning eaton jem.i think its mike scott in disguise.
It helps when the umpires expand the strikezone in your favor.
When Alou comes back if Delgado doesn’t get dropped in the order he should be fired. Having Beltran and Delgado back-to-back is just killing us right now.
Maybe Randolph should move Church to fifth on nights when Pagan, or Alou when he’s back, is out or when Castillo is in the 2 spot against righties.
i liked that question about wagner…”if you are in a save situation, are you going to use your closer?”
legit question since it would be 4 days in a row. lets not try so hard to complain about everything.
BIG GUN
I LOVE the Mets outfield arms
my favorite part of the team…even the 5th and 6th guys have arms!
MEAT
LOL
I’m surprised the ump didn’t call him safe just to see if Willie would come out and argue.
wow
that’s why he’s not pat the feet
—
pelfrey almost got killed there
that was close
nice relexes…it’s called a glove
he does have a nice sinker
Can we get this Coste guy out for once?
eight ball says…not a chance in hell
Does anyone know why Pelfrey wears that mouth gaurd while he pitches?
I think Miller/Morgan metnioned it, but I missed it..
tmj syndrome
TMJ
Too Much Jon
Too Much Joe
Can’t wait to hear Gary, Keith, and Ron again.
here here
Whenever he used to a pitch one of his pitches he used to stick his tongue out. Most teams said they picked up on it pretty quickly.
I’m not exactly sure why, but the name Bruntlet reminds me of the words grundle or buntwich
Can we ever get a close play called our way? Just once?
Well, in all fairness, we did in that extra innings game with the Phillies at Shea last week. Or I might still be there.
Yes, please walk the pitcher again, excellent
I ain’t much on Casanova,
so the pitcher’s mound hates the mets
Did Joe Morgan just say Paul Casanova?
he ended up saying it twice.
Supernova needs an oxygen mask after than jaunt to first on the groundout
Can someone please remind Adam Eaton he really isn’t this good…
I’m close to putting the TV on mute and doing the WFAN thing.
morgan makes NO SENSE
I don’t want to get “deep” on you Joe, but you might have an extra chromosome.
This Eaton domination of the Mets is starting to seriously piss me off.
Usual deal if Reyes isn’t on the Mets don’t score. Beltran and Delgado aren’t doing anything – everything lies in the hands of Jose Reyes.
beltran iss looking extra bad today
Please, Big Pelf…how about a 15 pitch, one, two, three inning?
There goes that.
Mets are 9-0 when Jose Reyes scores a run this season – 1-6 when he doesn’t – case closed
yeah, so we face Zambrano tomorrow night in Chicago and the cubbies have scored 26 in their last 2 games. We might have a little 2 game skid on our hands here.
the game aint over yet,wright could still do some damage.
This inning could be the other shoe dropping
I’m not too confident about Pelfrey getting thru this order a third time.
double play, double play, double play…wishing on a star.
Well Pelfrey has done a nice job keeping it within reach. Too bad these guys continue to struggle with Nolan Eaton.
anybody throwing yet?
sigh
lefty please now
don’t see pelfrey escaping this
ohhh boy, this could be bad
Well, at least we won the series.
i think the phanatic would be calling a less biased game behind the dish
this isn’t on the ump, Pelfrey is all over the place
well that sucks
wow
who didn’t see that one coming?
that’s just ridiculous
ballgame
i would be KILLING willie for not going to the pen but really who is out there after the past three games
Well, as long as Castillo isn’t batting 2nd tomorrow I’ll be happy
Sad that this offense can’t do anything against Adam Eaton…I’m not gonna be hard on Pelfrey here
I was going to post the same thing.
4 unanswered runs against Adam Eaton…
Should have seen it coming.
Anyone watching the first four innings, esp the 4th when Pelfrey could barely get the bottom of the order out should know to have somebody up in the pen at the start of the 5th. But nope, not Willie, waits until the 1st two get on to get Sosa up.
Whatever, just chock this up as a loss. You don’t want to burn out your bullpen, especially with no off-day in sight
the pen is just burned. i can see why he decided to take his chances sticking with his starter.
Pelfrey will have some bad games from time to time, it doesn’t help that the offense isn’t taking the pressure off of him. It’s only 4-0 though and in this ballpark things can change easily. But the bats need to wake up.
Not to mention the guy Pelf has faith in isn’t catching him today, so chalk this one up.
I think we should keep Pelf out there, we’ve got no off days coming up and our pen has been used a lot.
I agree..plus I’m goin to the game Monday and Tuesday would love nothing more than to see us run the Cubs out of wrigley
It’s 1-0 and now 4-0 – you need to see how he battles through this you don’t just pull the guy that’s idiotic.
so when do you pull him? 16-0?
You don’t burn your bullpen at 1-0, 4-0 you can come back from. Let him get through the 5th and then bring your bullpen in. Have some patience.
Agree, you have to keep him in there. And I’m the first person to get on Willie about something.
If you don’t believe your baseball team can score more than four runs in Citizens Bank, you should probably start watching a new team.
my point is do you want to win the game or give away a game as a learning experience b/c anyone who watches enough baseball knows Pelfrey was going to get hit this inning. 7 hard hits out of 11 batters. Yea leave ‘em out there. Right on.
You have to be smart and think past this one game. No one KNEW Pelfrey was going to give up 3 runs this inning until it happened. The bullpen is already taxed and it was only the 5th inning.
If that’s the case don’t have him start the game. If you take him out he’ll never have confidence. He needs to learn, makes him better in the long run.
alright, alright, i have been put in my place…just pissy when the mets look like this
the combination of the overworked pen, and Pelfrey needed the learning experience is good reason to leave him in.
If they burn through the pen again tonight, they will get mashed into a pulp in Chicago.
and now they PH for Pelfrey making all of us who said it was smart to leave him in look like fools.
way to change your mind too late there Willie…
absolutely confounding!
Have a good night gentlemen. I guess I’ll stop ignoring my wife now that the game is all but over. We’ll hit Zambrano tomorrow.
Can we please get a hit off of “Adam ‘Cy Young’ Eaton”?
Pelfrey is doing a decent job of sucking it up and getting some outs. He needs to save the pen, if he cant keep the team in the game.
The Cubbies offense is mashing right now, I fear what could happen in Chicago if they dont get quality starts plus from Maine and Figs. With 5 more games in a row after that, the pen could get roughed up without time to recover.
Um, where is Matt Wise anyway?
C’mon, man. Pelfrey is getting rocked and it’s been all game long. He has no second pitch.
I wasnt complimenting his outing…
My comment was in reference to what he didnt after the homer. He didnt give up, he just reset and got out of the inning. Salvaged it at the point.
just don’t understand how we let eckstein go in favor of castilo
It’s four runs. The Mets should be able to answer that.
They need to stop treating Adam Eaton like he’s %(#&(%#&# Bob Gibson.
Tomorrows the Maine Event
or he’ll go 4 1/3 IP, 6 runs, and abuse the bullpen yet again.
Its a 50/50 deal with him right now…
This loss will be on the lineup (which is horribly constructed today). Adam Eaton is a VERY mediocre pitcher.
Figueroa has a great chance to stick on this team as the 5th starter if he keeps pitching effectively and eating innings. Pelfrey, even when effective, doesn’t exactly eat innings. Last game, I watch Pelfrey and think he could be a good starter. Tonight you watch him and think how could this guy be anything other than a relief pitcher with that arsenal of 2 pitches.
To be fair you could’ve said the same thing about Ron Darling when he came up.
That’s a horrible comparison actually. Darling never had an ERA over 4.00 in the big leagues until ‘87 and had a winning record his 1st full season. Do you really think Pelfrey will be 12-9 at the end of this season w/ a 3.81?
It’s a GOOD thing Reyes made 3rd
If we can’t hit Eaton here 3rd time through with the top of our order we should be ashamed
REYES!
And Joe Morgan is deadpan.
Jose-Jose-Jose-Jose…JOSE-JOSE
Joseeeeee — Josseeeeee!!!
There we go!
there we go boys
Here we go, good job Luis!
OK Castillo did a nice job there.
Castillo being clutch
only Reyes can get away with that…
He dogs it to first watching a ‘homer’ then legs out a triple in that small yard. Who else can do that…
He wasn’t really dogging at all.
yes he was, he’s just faster when dogging than the typical home run hitter.
If you saw the replay you saw him bust it from first to third, but lope to first while watching the flight of the ball.
nice poke luis
Oh my God! 4-0! Game over! Chalk it up!
Let’s go D Wright, bring us within 1 here.
Come on, let’s get at least one more here
we need 3 here..eaton is a bumb
JESUS David, swing the bat!
Why are they watching that 91 mph fastball cross the plate over and over?
your name kills me every time…
The team finally gets into a ‘nice little rhythm’, -and with a chance to sweep the phils which can prove to be very critical from a psychological standpoint later this season- and genious boy Willie has to alter the lineup….. very smart.
nice catch fan…and he gave it to the kid…i would buy that phillie fan a beer
yea, that was amazing.
In yesterday’s Yankee game an Orioles fan got the ball and gave it to a kid wearing a Jeter shirt. That wouldnt happen at Shea…
those fans down there are embarassing
YES! Come on Bel-TRAN!
That is how we do it baby! D Wright is the man!
David Wright has to be the best 2-strike hitter I’ve ever seen.
wow. this would be a DEVASTATING win if we can come back here.
carlos bel-TRON represents the tying run…joe mor-GAN is on his game tonight
what is this? The Mets arent allowed to hit Eaton…
near the phillie fan who just caught the ball,wasnt there a met fan there before who caught church’s foul ball.
yea and that phils fan proceeded to give him crap after that
i’m watching the game on mute right now
yee ha!
The Russian is cut!
Hilarious!
DRAGO!!!! DRAGO!!!! DRAGOOOOOOOO!!!
finally Mets hit Eaton!!!
If we are the team to beat Carlos needs to come through here…oh never mind, give us your cookies Philadelphia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carlos, teach me to do the Mambo!!!!
4-3! Chalk it up! Game over!
Alright, alright…I get your point, man.
i don’t yet…you should do it after every pitch…
4-3 2 balls 1 strike…chalk it up! game over!
4-3 2 balls 2 strikes…chalk it up! game over!
I told you Reyes is the key.
still no outs
worse announcer??
joe morgan or joe buck?
Morgan. Don’t like either one. But Morgan.
Beltran!!!!!!!
How about: Buck, McCarver and Morgan as a broadcast team?
Ugh. My brain would melt.
that’s actually a sign of the apocalypse
I almost want Delgado to bunt just to avoid the double play
I was thinking I’d be happy if he struck out, just to avoid the double play.
Most will never get it.
Come on Delgado, don’t suck here
okay Delgado. nobody likes a rally killer.
Fn burrell how did he make the play…that was a nice catch
Does Delgado even have power anymore? Seriously, how many warning track shots does this guy hit?
I can’t believe Burrell was close enough to make that play
How about Miller with the “Bel-TRAN”? I hate that.
to be fair, that’s how you’re supposed to say beltran in spanish, but still, i cannot listen too those guys.
and he just scored the tying run!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mets gotta tie this here or they will be shut down
Coste with a nice LoDuca impression
Might as well walk Church with Crapanova up next
Hit it to Bruntlett, he’s good.
Take ‘em to CHURCH!
isn’t that special!
well done
nice running by bel-TRON!!!
nice baserunning Beltran
Is Pelfrey going to continue pitching the next inning?
what a fantastic job by the offense this inning. even delgado’s out was well hit.
Now which team is getting the complex?
thanks belTRON!
ha, hey you’re giuseppe franco- you wouldn’t lie to me
supernova is very fat
Time to switch Delgado and Church in the line-up.
Delgado hit the ball better then Church. It just went in different places. Part of hitting is luck.
Then he did. But right now Delgado’s .333 slugging probably isn’t scaring anyone. If Church isn’t going to be in the 2 hole he should bat 5th to protect Beltran.
agreed!
Well I guess guys like David Ortiz should be pulled from the 4th spot for JD Drew or Prince Fielder for Jason Kendall or Ryan Howard for Chris Coste or Alfonso Soriano (when healthy) for Mark Derosa. ..
I could go on, but you get the point. It is still early. People struggle and people over achieve.
Willie was willing to move Delgado to #5 last year after a while, and if the struggles continue he might move him to #6. But he isn’t one to react at a whim.
Tied Up.
Character.
Now you HAVE to bring Sosa in
is schneider playing in tomorrow’s game?
hope so…it’s times like now that i miss castro…also i miss the darth vader theme for his at bats
Willie said, he should play tomorrow. Never know though. Wagner said after the injury Schneider had a hard time getting the ball back to the mound yesterday.
the magic Willie ball says: its certain!
but in reality he will sit out 5 days then go on the DL…
Lastings Who?
Its too bad the Nats arent better. I would love a sunday night Mets-Nats game with Oliver Perez and Odalis Perez getting the starts. Joe Morgan’s head would explode!! :)
he’d just talk about the reds all day
LOL!
“You know Jon, these two pitchers are both named Perez, and they were actually traded for each other this winter along with catcher Paul Snyder. BIG RED MACHINE!”
holy crap…probably the funniest thing i have ever read!
Pelfrey can win this game. Unbelievable.
oh my god you’re right
I better see Marlon Anderson back there
nice call
nice call
More like easy…?
Come on Marlon, you’re my boy
Anderson gets an AB every game.
you know you’re right…he doesn’t have time for the daily regimen
We will be looking at Sosa time.
Alright Jorge, keep the good bullpen play going tonight.
Yo Atrain, keep spending time with your wife:
Comment by atrain311
2008-04-20 21:47:00
Have a good night gentlemen. I guess I’ll stop ignoring my wife now that the game is all but over. We’ll hit Zambrano tomorrow.
we found the jinx everybody…
I’m still here wisea$$es and have been.
By the way whos been to a game at wrigley and how bad is the abuse compared to a phils game at CBP
depends on where you sit…if you’re in the bleachers you will take a lot of abuse, yankee stadium level of abuse, elsewhere around the park you’ll only take turner park level of abuse.
well i’ll be in the bleachers for tuesday’s game…i still think it can’t possibly be as bad as philly though
Depends on where in Wrigley. All in all, it is better than CBP. Wrigley bleachers are probably the worst. Had popcorn thrown at me once but nothing else big. You’ll hear some comments early on. Then it depends on how the game goes. If Mets roll, they won’t say a word. If Cubs are rolling, you’ll hear a lot.
Overall, I’d rather be at Wrigley.
This inning is big, get through this
This clown has home run written all over him
two mistakes by Willie, imo
if you arent going to pull Pelfrey in the bottom of the 4th, why pinch hit for him in the top of the 5th? Should have pulled him earlier if thats the case…
why waste Marlon Anderson in the 5th inning? He’s the best (only) PH you have.
its the 6th inning
not to mention youd burn a pitcher there anyway because you pinch hit for whatever pitcher was in there.
lol, ok add one to every inning there.
The points still stand.
The points don’t stand. .
1. The bullpen is taxed. You want more then 4 innings out of any starter. He had only given up 1 run at that point. regardless.
2. You have a rally going. Man on second – go ahead run. Go for the lead. Anderson might never get another shot like that in a game again.
You’re kidding right?
I wish we had Kyle Farnsworth ONLY so he could throw at Utley
but he wouldn’t hit him! he’d be like shawn estes, throwing behind all the batters
you mean Roiger Clemens?
the one and only!
TIED UP!! I really hate some of these pansy give up Mets fans on this site , its sickening and they are an embarrasment to us life long Met fans who never give up believing in our team. They are so happy when we win , and so sad and angry when we lose , there is passion , but the way some act on here I question their fanhood….LETS GO METS!!!
your name is johanmartinez and this is your first comment today…i’m sure you’ve been rooting for the mets forever
just because he doesnt post as often as the whiners, doesnt mean he hasnt been a fan. and just because he has the name of current players, doesnt mean he wasnt a fan of the golden oldies. and at least hes a fan of actual players, not just their facial hair.
Thanks stumped1 , hope all is well my brother….and Im 30 this year ..been a true DIE HARD METS fan all my life…I go to only about 15 games a season , but thats cuz I work nights… in factbeing a Met fan is handed down from all the older men in my family…my Grandfather suffers from altzheimers and I talk to him often about the Mets bcuz I know how much he loves them..and I want him to stay somewhat aware of whats goin on…I know so much about the Mets , even b4 my time thanks 2 him…..so anyone can question my fanhood , does’nt bother me ..you will never see me on this site whining about a 4-0 game in the 6th inning….LETS GO METS!!
sorry my bad fellas…you two are the only true mets fans around…have a sense of humor
Not my 1st post of the day….speak when you actually know what you are talkin about, since you took offense you are obviously one of thee for mentioned……anyway , enough of the BS , LETS GO METS!!!
I don’t really care what other people do. I’ve been a fan of this team long enough to know how to live with disappointment. Let’s face it, this is a team that does take three steps forward and then one step back a lot of the time. I can understand that not everyone expects them to go in for the kill, because a lot of the time they just don’t.
Having said that, I ain’t goin’ nowhere.
Top of the line up coming up. let’s hope they can repeat
carlos gomez is hitting 244 with 262 obp. he is amazing defensively but he might never hit in the big leagues.
rey ordonez anybody? gotta admit i did hate seeing this kid go though. he was fun to watch
that is after a HUGE start so he must be slumping bad
Wow, that underground fight club looks intense
nah, they were wearing helmets
what kind of swing was that by luis?
do you think joe morgan automatically roots for any team in red?
Its looks like Phillies lineup will fall in the Mets favor.
Feliciano or Schoeneweis can get the middle of the lineup in the 7th.
Dauner can pitch the 8th against the bottom of the lineup since Heilman and Smith have pitched so much lately.
and Wagner gets the tough lefties in the 9th if they get the lineup back to them.
something might actually go in the Mets favor against the Philles? we can only hope
im not so sure youd see wagner for a 4th day in a row
I really respect ESPN for these promos regarding Miguel Tejada! Nice to see that they went out and got the goods on him, and they really grilled him… Just like they do to A-Rod, Bonds, Clemens…. Oh wait.
haha! it’s funny that they treat it like watergate!
classless what they did, just classless
2 run shot for Beltran here
orrr noootttt
What are you swinging at Beltran?
a throw piazza would be proud of
coste is loduca in disguise
Here comes the called third strike
Booyah!
you know i love beltran (it’s the only authentic jersey i own) but g–d— his third strike watching really gets to me. how many other cleanup guys watch that 3rd strike as much? even willy mo pena swings! man that chaps my hyde
Benito Santiago move? Very little Benito Santiago in that move, Jon.
beltran looking at a breaking ball for strike 3?
never seen that before
how many times is beltran going to look at strike 3 straight down the middle?
beltran goes down looking…brings back horrible memories
Man it would suck to lose this game after coming back. Just had to say that
i guess.
but he came through last AB. Please stop with the ridiculous short term memory.
It would just be nice to see him go down swinging more often, literally
He is an absolute, total guess hitter. He just seems to guess wrong quite a bit.
Jesus, guys. I’ve ben here the whole time and read all the posts about how I’m a jinx cause I said I was leaving. I’m also getting ripped for being a fairweather fan. I’m thurty something and have been a MEts fan my whole life. My daugter turned two yesterday and has been saying lets go Mets for months now. If my joking about leaving to go hang with my wife is so offensive, I apologize. You people are friggen redicluous.
thirty*
I think it was just one guy who said it, and that was his first post all night. You ain’t no jinx, man.
OH $*&$* PEDRO FELIZ #*(%*#*#%##* (*#%*#%*#% * *#%* #*%* *#%%*#.
dude, no disrespect meant…just trying to make people laugh…
the only thing i was gonna complain about was your spelling
—
i think you need to go back to your wife now
I think you need to kiss my ass.
Did I spell that right?
it’s like we all lose our senses of humor just because our bullpen sucks.
sucks to be treated like castillo and delgado dont it
Give me 25 million over the next four years and you can say whatever you want about me.
You know, everyone should probably read that.
okay why is pedro pitching to burrell
I’d rather look at it as you being a good luck charm. When you stopped watching, you brought us good luck. : )))
If you read what I said, dude, I never stopped watching.
i came here just to see if you guys were going to say something completely off about beltran striking out there. that was a wicked pitch.
crap! the beltran sunshine police are on to us like a life alert commercial!
if sunshine police are the people who actually get baseball, count me in!
>I arlos Beltran
haha very clever..still love him though
in the Braves game today they showed the dates of birth of Rafeal Furcal as shown in four different team handbooks.
They make a joke about Furcal, but treat Tejada like he’s an international spy… bizarre.
That was tbs. They treated it right. ESPN was wrong
ESPN was wrong because if they really wanted to do an expose on MLB players lying about their age, they could actually put something together. I think HBO Real Sports once did something similar about some prospects, but I don’t remember who they were.
But ESPN didn’t do that. Instead, they decided to play dirty and kick one player who is already pretty much down. And all while they contine to smoooooooooooch the rear ends of so many other athletes.
It’s wrong to single one guy out and hang him by his jock while you’re sniffing so many others. And it ain’t Dragnet either. They can take it easy with the dramatic music.
Nice bullsh$t CBP homer right there. Fantastic…
Why didn’t Sosa start the inning? Wouldn’t we just bring Feliciano in for the lefties- Utley & Howard?
Then they would’ve left in Dobbs
Maybe they brought Feliz in after we brought in Feliciano
ok, right. Dobbs was in there at 3B. Feliz PH.
There was a lefty up but they pinch hit for him once Feliciano was announced.
no clue dude… because Willie is the manager.
No clue? People just stated why.
…yeah, note the times
i dont know if you do this, but everytime willie takes out feliciano when he is ineffective, metsblog goes nuts: LEAVE HIM IN. this guy just isnt pitching well right now.
up 1-2 to howard, he needs to throw this way off the plate. lets see if he does it.
not all situations are the same. burrell kills feliciano. i’m okay with walking him there though.
…ugh, Feliciano
just like Sept, the pen is still taking turns sucking
god i hate utley
I guess I was getting greedy thinking the pen would hold this together
dream on
After Aaron’s hudini act yesterday the pen is due for at least four runs tonight
We’ll see Flash Gordon in the 8th and Lildge in the 9th.
Ok, now I’d get Pedro out of there
Everyone else is overworked. Time to make Feliciano get some outs. He’s handcuffed the rest of the pen with his zero out performances lately, let him suck it up and make up for it.
At least until Jenkins is cleared…
what’s wrong with howard?
maybe he went vegan too ?
your name rules…i thought i was the only one who hated cowbell man…
My whole section hates him . He has to go in the tunnel and avoid us because we harras him so much
we should take a poll. i’ll bet a lot more people hate him
Man this ump has a tight zone
Felciano is struggling a bit early on this season. It happens even to the best relievers. I’m not worried about him. He’ll figure it out.
Lets try and keep this to one run.
Man, words can not describe how much I hate this ballpark. The Phillies are going to have a lot of future MVP winners playing in that sardine can.
sucks don’t it? a guy can strike out 500 times a year, hit 50 homeruns, make 15 errors and still win the mvp.
If I have to hear about Chris Coste’s book one more damn time…
I’m with ya
Did you know Coste wrote a book ? …………. and by the way Stephen Curry’s dad played in the NBA
Hey guys, did you know Chris Coste is a living Cinderella story? If you didn’t, let the announcers pound it into your head for 1000 more times.
joe smith has been completely filthy all april
Yeah, I hope they find a way to keep him in the mix when Matt Wise decides to grace us again with his presence.
Smith and Feliciano both have identical 2.08 ERA’s…
funny how that can happen when one has been excellent and the other basically awful…
After two days, I cant wait for Gary Keith and Ron to be back.
Keith should call Raul , Paul Cassanova just to mess with Morgan on Monday night . I know he’ll be Paul Cassanova to me from now on.
he just said tagutchi-san…my head hurts
Come on Mets, don’t lose because of a cheap CBP homer
Mets better clear some hitters here
That was ball 4
My thoughts exactly.
The bullpen thus far should have gotten like this:
Smith: 1.1 IP
Feliciano: 0.2 IP
then
Duaner/Aaron and then hopefully Wagner. It also didnt make sense to waste Sosa so badly because he can go a lot of innings and if this thing goes to extras (which at 4-4 in the 7th it had a good chance) he’d be valuable
what was wrong with using Sosa for that inning? He’s the most rested guy lately.
and to be fair I would have preferred Feliciano against Feliz than Sosa or Smith against Dobbs. Just didnt work out.
i don’t see how u can spoil Sosa in a tie game late. if this thing goes to extras and we need a guy who can give us a couple of solid innings, we’re gonna wish Willie hadn’t wasted him
The Mets have been great against lefty starters this year, but lefty relievers have been brutal on them. Its a weakness they cant seem to get away from.
holy crap he is slow…nice poke though
Willie, PLEASE pinch run here
he can’t. no other catchers on the bench
and who will catch
with who? can schneider catch today?
Brady Clark is our emergency catcher.
Just let Paul Cassanova run for himself. :)
delgado can catch!
COME ON ANGEL!!!!!
Better hit a double with the way Nova runs.
They’re going to need two singles to score here
middle of the plate belt high…ball to me
Wow, I’m glad I don’t have a girlfriend right now.
This Baby Mama movie looks absolutely BRUTAL.
tina fey…ugh
this is a *tough* crowd
excellent job by Romero.
If only he was a free agent when we signed Schoeneweis. Oh? whoops…
Ouch. :)
yeah but at least scho doesn’t do steroids!…oh wait…crap
do u remember how bad he was prior to being a fa?
he had a good month with the Phillies, just like Schoeneweis had a good month with the Reds.
Omar chose the wrong good month.
nice choice sticking with Smith here.
if they need to go to Schoeneweis they will need Dauner later, so sticking with Smith makes sense.
You gotta love Miller and Morgan. Really know how to let the game breath
DAMN YOU JON MILLER DON’T GET MORGAN TALKING ABOUT THE REDS!
i love the movement on smiths pitches right now…that kid is in the zone
Knowing they had a right handed closer, Willie should have went with Easley there and if he made out, Pagan could have still gone out to rightfield batting 9th and Smith would be in batting 8th. Pagan then bats lefty, his better side, against Lidge.
My bad, bring Duaner in. Forgot Smith was already in.
please, thats way too technical for Willie Randolph
So the Mets essentially have Reyes surrounded by two 8th hitters next inning.
i thought beltran played too deep
bel-TRON bel-TRON!!!
Sickening game to lose
If indeed this does turn into a loss (gotta watch your back around here :)) I personally hate losses where we blow a lead. This would still suck, though.
Whatever happens, it been a good game, good series. Now lets get some runs!
aint over yet.
Lidge is due
easley’s coming thru
he really is
Take this pitch!
Ball 4, you idiot!
nice start
LEAD OFF WALKS!!!!
start thinking about it lidge, you crazy crazy b–t–d
DON’T BUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lidge doing his best Heilman impersonation…
Good job damien. Now what do we do. Does reyes bunt for castillo? Gotta let him hit here imo.
This bastard is due, I can feel it
NOW bunt
lets hope he does his benetiz impression
Now we bunt!
I’ll take it.
LET’S GO METS!
LET’S GO METS!
LET’S GO METS!
LET’S GO METS!
now Castillo can bunt.
yay for having him hit second afteral
+ L
Castillo better get down the bunt. im sick of seeing them foul off and pop up bunt attempts
WHOEVER WAS IN CHARGE OF TEACHNG BUNTING SHOULD BE FIRED
huge break on the reyes grounder
PUJOOLLLS PUJOOLLS
slap hit slap hit slap hit
god i’m stupid
Come on Castillo, the ONE thing you’re good. Don’t blow this
he has to get this bunt down
and its quickly 0-2…
come on castillo
Castillo is an abortion
god… the one thing he’s supposed to be good at…
the opposite of what we needed
Thanks, Big Slappi.
wow
castillo is fricking worthless
Mets are winning this game
Yikes. Nasty pitch and nastier swing.
wheres jose valentin????
“castillo is my #2 hitter”
willie are you thinking?
at least we only have to see him for 4 years
lets go d wright
Mets are winning this game, book it
ohhhh s@@@
Beltran is 1-12 in Phily dropping his average down to .226 for the year…
game over?
make that .241
either way, he wasnt coming through in Phily right now
that hurt
game ball goes to the goddamn wind today
called strike 3 anyone?
god i hope not
beltron just do me a favor and don’t look at strike 3. anything but strike 3 looking
Just walk him and get to Delgado
beltrN STRIKES OUT LOOKING t slider
shut up, he ripped that ball. Crappy luck.
Stop hatin’ on Beltran, people.
that was a strike?/??
damn damn damn
how does beltran not beat that out.
frustrating loss, but you can’t win them all.
castillo is dead to me.
What can you do.
The wind killed us tonight.
uh no, Castillo not bunting did it.
And pelfrey and his two pitch arsenal did it.
and willie taking church out of the 2 hole where he had been excelling the past week…
Oh. I see. If Castillo had bunted Utley’s homer wouldn’t have stayed fair. And Wright’s foul would have gone into the stands. And Bruntlett wouldn’t have made a great play to end the game.
Silly me.
Wow Pelfrey had one bad outing and your all over him wow what is wrong wit you
This is why Pelfrey aint going to do anything in his career with the mets because you people go nuts with one bad outing
Game lost on Castillo’s inability to do what he supposedly does best, but Willie should never have had him batting 2nd to begin with when Church had been great in the 2 hole the past week.
Crap. Great play by Bruntlett. Game-saving play. Jose would have scored.
Oh well. Get the Cubies tomorrow night.
this loss shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. They lost the game the second Willie penciled in Castillo as the number 2 hitter.
Mets are 4-2 against the Phillies so far, thats something to build on.
Hopefully the pen can survive Chicago. Lets to Maine!
Bunting is a fundamental. It is by far the simplest thing to do in the game and its something they teach you in high school. I cannot believe our two hitter and best bunter lost us this game because he couldnt lay down a bunt (and yes he lost it, that foul out by david could have scored Easley on a sac fly). thats absolutely pathetic and he should be slapped with a fine by willie.
THERE ARE NO EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO BUNT!!!!!
Its an unfortunate loss because the Mets were better than the Philthies (not better than Utley but better than the Philthies as a whole), but its still early in the year and we can take a lesson from this.
LAY DOWN BUNTS
even if the bunt got down, wright makes the 2nd out w/ the pop out. (which if Beltran did that people would be murdering him on here) then the bruntlett play- game over. i wish they’d won but it was a tough loss and for once i can’t blame willie’s managing for the loss.
With second and third, would you have pitched to Wright the way he was swinging this weekend, or would you ave pitched to Beltran who hasn’t been swinging that well in the clutch this season? Would have been bases loaded and the groundout would have scored the tying run. The inability to put that bunt down changed the whole dynamics of that inning.
although i agree with you that he should have put down that bunt, you cant say that easley would have definitely scored on that pop up.
good game. mets played hard and didnt get good bounces.
i really dislike small parks like that. it makes a fan nervous that everything is going out. thats not baseball.
wait, wait one second. reyes could have scored on a pop-fly a few feet to the right of first base? are you kidding? look, nobody loves reyes as much as i do but are you serious? it was in the infield!
i know, i know. but ive sat right there (at CBP). Howard almost has to throw it over the stands. and he wasnt that close. Easley has decent speed. im not sure he would have made it. but its still just a bunt. thats all hes gotta do. and u never know, maybe with 2nd and 3rd with one out, David relaxes a little and doesnt feel like he has to get a base hit.
if castillo cannot sacrifice bunt successfully 100% of the time he needs to be dropped in the lineup permanently, he loses whatever tiny value he had as a 2 hitter.
Castillo will lead off tomorrow. He just needs to get into a groove.
this season is going to be fun. that was a base hit.
why do the phillies love beating the mets so much? they act like it was the world series!
Arg, nice try beltran, give him props, he put a good swing on it. Just a better defensive play from a guy who has been awful defensively this season.
Taking 2 out of 3 though in Philly, can’t really complain.
Castillo seriously shouldn’t be batting 2nd though. And at some point there has to be a discussion of moving Delgado down in the order, at the very least when Alou comes back.
but castillo did keep the rally going in the sixth
Odds are Church could have kept it going as well, he did drive in the tying run later on. Fact remains that Castillo has no place hitting 2nd. he did nothing the past week to earn being placed back up there.
and he didn’t earn being taken from it either. he had 2 hits last sunday and then willie takes him outta the 2 spot. you can make that argument either way. i’m more bothered that delgado 1-25 & still hitting 5th.
Castillo needs to get help this team by getting on the DL fast.
eh still a good series I would have taken 2 out of 3 if you offered me that at the beginning..
now wish me luck as i go into wrigley the next 2 days hopefully the Maine Event can go deep into tomorrow’s game
I’m worried about tomorrow night b/c Maine was absolutely horrible last year at Wrigley.
It sucks not to get the sweep, but overall you can’t complain…I’m sure we all would have been happy with a 2-3 from the outset. The Mets played well today…bats hung in there till the end, and it took a great play by Bruntlett to finish us off. You can nitpick at small parts of this game, but regardless, the team had a very good weekend down in Philly. Reyes seems to be in a grove, Wright was on fire, and the pen was very good for the most part.
Lets keep it up in Chicago.
I would say the pen wasnt very good….friday heilman gave up the three run homer….feliciano was scary yesterday and he gave up a pinch hit homer….joe smith looks good so far though..
Well until today they never relinquished the lead, and considering the heavy workload with the 14 inning game, and less than 6 innings from Perez and Pelfrey, I beg to differ
Castillo is a very poor hitter at this point in his career. Really hope Willie realizes that this at bat cost us a chance to win the game.. He is not a second place hitter anymore..
All Castillo can do is bunt. And when he needs to bunt, he can’t. WHAT IS HE GOOD FOR???
It’s funny how games turn out so differently depending on the stadium – balls become home runs and foul balls are caught where at Shea they wouldn’t be home runs and Wright’s foul would have been in the 15th row.
Great lineup Willie. If church bat 2nd, we probably wouldve rallied in the 9th.
And wtf is with sending out the C-squad every time we take the first two games out of a series.
Save that garbage for when we play the Pirates, not our rivals.
W/e we won the series, but we could have swept
i am sorry, but this is just strange thinking. if church isnt batting in the six hole, we wouldnt have tied the game.
castillo didnt do his job. he needed to put that bunt down. that was pathetic. but yes, its willies fault for living.
What “C-Squad?” Schneider was hurt, so he was out. Endy has got to start sometime, as he was on the bench..he needed to be in the lineup.
As for the order, if you had Church batting 2nd, then you’d have a pretty terrible back lineup after Delgado (or after Beltran, if you desire). Putting Church in the 6 spot put another RBI guy in the meat of the order. I think once Alou gets back full time, you’ll see Church #2 more often.
No worries, Willie will see that we’re facing much less of a challenge tomorrow in one Victor Zambrano. Based on that knowledge, here is his probable batting order:
Cassanova C
Delgado 1B
Maine P
Castillo 2B
Easley CF
Anderson LF
Reyes SS
Wright 3B
Clark RF
i know most of us have plenty of time to waste, but props to you for having absolutely nothing else to do than post an utterly humorless willie slam.
bravo.
Mets record with castillo batting second is 2-7 and without him batting second it is 7-0. Is that not enough right there to convince anyone of how bad he is? When is Willie going to wake up and stop making such awful managerial decisions like he did today?
how did it hurt him this game? Castillo came thru in the 6th and so did Church. And they both struggled the rest of the evening. This game wasn’t lost by willie and we still took 2 out of 3 from them, I’m happy with the overall series.
All Willie did was replace Endy with Pagan. Schneider was hurt and couldn’t play.
What bothers me is that pelfrey, whose strength is a “power” sinker, keep throwing batting practice fastballs down the plate. And the high fastball that had movement had the phillies batting defensively, so why not rely on that? Oh, maybe because he has no third pitch?
Anyone else here called utley;s homer with two men on? Saw that coming a mile away.
If Pelfrey is not going to start throwing his supposed off-speed pitch that he had started to develop in spring, then he will be either a mediocre starter or a middel reliver.
i blame casanova, or the lack of schnider. pelf is 2-0 with schnider catching and looking great
Willie should really look into batting Castillo 9th
order of the lineup didnt decide this game, who is to say church has any more luck gettin a bunt down against lidge’s slider?
bruntlett hasnt made one play in either series so far and he makes a game saving stop, its a game of inches
only 2 in chi town? kinda feel cheated lol
church doesn’t have to bunt because he can actually hit the ball.
sure, but that isnt why they lost the game. the right thing to do there IS bunt, and if church was there, it would suck to have someone who cant bunt to get that runner to third. anything can happen when a runner is at third.
castilla didnt do his job. get off the batting order schtick. its more important to have the lineup balanced with pagan not playing than have church batting second.
then play pagan and save chavez for some day when schneider is in the lineup. better yet, play chavez one day when easley or anderson is in the lineup for castillo so the number of punchless bunters is minimized.
i dont know how to say this any other way, but this isnt fantasy baseball.
maine needs to go deep tomorrow the pen is shot
Quick Poll:
Where would you like to see Luis Castillo bat?
A) 2nd
B) 8th
C) New Orleans
D) Minnesota
honestly, 9th, like the brewers and cards do
lol.
i won’t win popularity points here but i’d vote 2nd.
2nd against righties and 8th against lefties.
willie this, willie that. nothing like listening to a bunch of 12 year olds argue over nonsense now that the team has shown heart the last week or so. taking two series from the phils and sweeping the nats.
castillo this, castillo that. make sure you find you scapegoat tonight. it’s not like it’s a team game or like castillo has been a top #2 hitter for a decade coming of surgery on both knees. 4 years, 4 years!
i, for one, am glad to see that mets baseball is back to where it should have been last summer.
So who’s keeping you here?
i like metsblog. lots of good posters with interesting ideas about the mets. matt’s actual blogs are certainly nothing like the loud minority.
common sense has no business bein in this thread
who’s complaining? check out the posts from last week. the suicide hotline was…..well…..hot. people are just lookin at the fact that castillo isnt a dependable #2 where as church has been hot between reyes and wright. bad move by willie (cause it is willie’s job) and were just hoping well get to see church back in that 2-hole tomorrow. and castillo batting 9th also sounds interesting. just to see how it works out. maybe willie’s gut will tell him that tomorrow.
again, you need church in the middle of the order without pagan and schneider.
um, then don’t give pagan the day off tonight. he’s a better left handed hitter than endy anyway.
How do you know pagan wasn’t tired after playing every game this year and asked for a day off, especially when we have 11 more straight games before a day off.
still not getting why his knee surgeries are a reason to bat him 2nd or indeed at all.
1) Justified criticism of a player whose only value left is being one of the best bunters, and his inability to execute that in a crucial situation, does not mean we are “12 year olds.” We have every right to criticize. Doesn’t mean we are not glad the Mets are playing good baseball again.
2) The ridiculous 4 year contract is going to be a bone of contention because it is what it is,…a stupid contract that did not need to be that long. No one can defend that contract, so Castillo will be scrutinized more closely due to it.
castillo was very good in his role last year. he continues to play solid defense. you’re judging him on 50 ab’s.
everyone knows 4 years was too long. bringing it up every 5 seconds is silly. at least wait until a couple of years from now when it’s relevant.
I’ll criticize him on something more than the 50 ab’s too.
I’ll criticize the fact the he DID sign the contract, and that it took him no time at all to ask for time off. Not time off now. Regular time off.
So Willie’s #2 needs to be treated like he’s made of glass. Not like that’s going to interrupt the rest of the lineup or anything.
Listen, the contract is what it is. Fine, but I think just because he is on the team doesn’t mean he should be utilized incorrectly. Just because he is the prototypical 2 hitter (if prototypical is circa 1986) doesn’t mean that is the right place for him on this years team. So far this short season, Pagan and Church have added a more dynamic presence in the 2 hole than Castillo has, so why not ride it out until it stops working?
the mets need church to drive in runs especially if delgado is not going to hit. castillo was third in obs on the team last year. that puts 2 guys at the top that can be driven in by wright and beltran. if delgado struggles that leaves church to knock in wright and beltran who get on base a lot too.
if castillo isn’t hitting after alou returns then bat him 8th and move church up. i’m not counting on pagan to continue hitting this well. i like the kid, but he’s already dropping off.
“i like the kid, but he’s already dropping off.”
I am going to guess that his dropping off may have to do with batting in front of the likes of Casanova and Schneider. A lot different than batting in front of Wright.
man, i wish i could just talk to you after a game. i disagree with you all the time, but i find you so refreshing on this site.
Honestly, I wouldn’t put Castillo in the starting lineup for my softball team
Guys, lets get used to 4 years of Slappy McSingleton. Omar made his bed and will be sleeping in it.
We do have to keep in mind that Castillo’s contract is really part of Johan’s. For as many sacriice bunts he can’t get down, which loses us the game…hopefully Johan wins more.
if he’s really that close with johan, then maybe johan would feel better with luis hitting behind him.
(this way johan gets pitches he can drive!)
Yeah, its not like the Mets can just eat half his monstrous 5 mil a year and dump him or anything.
I would say 2 out of three to the Phillies in Philly, I’ll take it, but……… men on first and second nobody out in the top ninth, number two three and four batters all go down without a wimper……. Castillo can’t lay down a bunt? These are the games championship caliber teams win….. They should have swept……
i can say with complete confidence that most of us dont know what kinds of games a championship caliber team wins. thats some hackneyed cliche that people who talk about clutch and chant mvp in april say.
I can say with complete confidence that you must not have watched enough baseball to see the games the teams that go deep into the playoffs win…….. This was one of them…… Try to recall the mets of 2006……
castillo is great defensively and works well with reyes turning double plays that will win more games than his bat. He hit 300 last year, he does what he needs to get on base, bunt, slap hit, walk, etc. sure he doesn’t have a smooth swing but I think his defense is why omar signed him to be the 2nd baseman. Randolph wants a strong up the middle defense.
agreed zen
at least he can bunt!
By the way, can everyone stop arguing on behalf of Castillo by trumpeting his achievements from 10 years ago?
He’s NOT the same player.
The things that made him such a good player in his prime are fading fast if they’re not already gone.
And if you think he’s 32… Well, have it your way.
but…knee surgeries!!!!!
LOL!
dude you aren’t in love with castillo…you must be a terrible fan.
13 games cancels out an entire career every time, huh
Um…
Yeah.
You know why?
He ain’t a career Met.
I don’t give a damn about what he did in Florida or Minnesota.
Sue me for expecting a guy who gets a contract like the one he got HERE to be able to actually, I don’t know, PLAY here.
like no other met ever slumps? castillo hit 300 for the mets last year, and now 13 games later, hes toast?
castillo was 3rd (after wright and alou) on the mets last year in obs. that’s the job of the #2 hitter along with taking pitches which he does very well especially with reyes on base.
but he has struggled for 50 ab’s and baseball isn’t a marathon so let’s cut him.
true he did a decent job last year, but then again they had no one that could have done a better job in the two hole, especially with loduca stinking. But this season Church ad Pagan have added a great presence behind Reyes so far,…so what’s wrong with keeping that going and batting Castillo 8th?
who is going to drive in wright and beltran? church is needed to drive in runs. i don’t trust delgado and pagan to do the job. when alou returns, if castillo is struggling drop him to 8th and move church up.
some fans just need something to complain about or at least a player or two to dislike. it’s their right. i just think it’s silly. the team is finally playing the way we wanted…it’s a team game…give them credit. this team would be a lot worse w/o castillo’s defense. give the guy a little time. he’s not mota or matsui.
his entire career equals an adjusted OPS+ of 92
and i would care more about his infield defense if we didn’t have a rotation full of flyball/strikeout pitchers
Church batting 2nd was working. Even Church himself said he saw more fastballs and Church is a much better fastball hitter than Slappy. I like having a hitter in the 2 hole who can hit past the infield on a fly from the left side of the plate.
which would be fine if you have your normal lineup available, which they didnt.
I disagree. So you mean because Schneider was not playing that Church had to be moved down? So bat pagan in the two hole (where he had played great earlier).
We will see if thats the case tomorrow with Church when Schneider comes back. if Church stays batting 6th (where Delgado should be batting by the way) then we know it is more to do with Willie not thinking “out of the box” with the lineup.
pagan got the nite off and has been fading, meaning the end of the lineup was chavez, castillo and casanova if church went 2nd. you need someone that can drive the ball and runs in in the 6 hole. its not as simple as saying church should bat 2nd when the regular 8 arent in there.
unless pagan has some undisclosed ailment he should not have been given the night off. “fading” pagan is still better than chavez.
(though i did appreciate endy’s fantastic D tonight)
you know what? howard johnson had a sweet career! we should bat him second!
if he hit 300 last year, why not
No can do. he didn’t have knew surgery.
knee surgery..dammit I screwed up the punch line.
David X-factor 2-4 with a homer today.
Just to make the Castillo thing hurt more. :)
eckstein also sucks really, really bad. probably worse than castillo.
only good thing would be that willie probably would have mistaken eckstein for a 19yo rookie and locked him into the 8-hole all year.
Look, the truth is, Church batting second WORKED.
A lot of fans hated that trade, and what do you know, the guy actually fit right in, and he got comfortable in that spot. I know, you’re gonna say it was a small sample. Yeah, a small sample that worked. That’s how you win baseball games. By going with what works.
Does Castillo look comfortable?
Go tell Prince about 1999.
The best way to finally get everyone to forget about 2007 is for the manager to give a crap about 2008.
pagan and schneider >>>> endy and cassonova right now. lineup balance. look into it. catch the fever.
heres so more math for you guys new to baseball.
a bunt does not equal a win. castilla didnt lose the game on that play, but he contributed to making it harder to win it. get the difference?
i like how this team was showing some fight today. lets hope they bring that when rollins and victorino come back, because that would make the phillies very formidable once again.
“heres so more math for you guys new to baseball.
a bunt does not equal a win. castilla didnt lose the game on that play, but he contributed to making it harder to win it. get the difference?”
Always good to get the player’s name right if you’re going to talk down to people.
Castilla may be here soon, but he ain’t here now.
although castilla is not as witty as slappy mcsingleton, or my personal favorite, big slappi, please dont make me explain why i did that. ok you know what, for the wooden spoon set, its cause castillo hits like a girl.
and yes that is some more talking down to you.
i like castilla because i like to pretend he’s vinny castilla who i would rather see in this lineup.
luis castillo is a terrible hitter, irrelevant batting average stat notwithstanding.
i dont disagree with church fittin well in the 2 hole, but when 2 regulars are out, you adjust the lineup.
someone tell me why pagan was “out” because “willie felt like it” does not mean “out”
i think the starting pitching for this team as been better than expected. even today, it was not a phil hughes type of start by pelfrey. the bullpen will be ok. the main problem i see is the lineup. the fast start by church/schnieder/pagan has masked the real issue that this lineup will have long term. castillo and delgado will just be easy outs. castillo can’t hit that ball out of the infield and he has no speed anymore. delgado is a washed up power hitter who can’t catch up to the fast ball and is now just a singles hitter that clogs the bases when he gets on (however infrequent that will be). i don’t know that the solution to the delgado problem is. platoon him with easley? i just don’t know what they can do with him. you can win with castillo batting 250 as an 8th hitter but it will be hard to go far in the playoff without getting any real production from your 5 hitter.
I agree on your analysis of Delgado. I wonder if several outs to the OF this year that I have seen Delgado hit, would have been HRs or off the fence two years ago? Seems like his power was zapped.
To the people whom said castillo not getting the bunt down didn’t matter cause wright popped out, i don’t like that argument. Who’s to say wright would have still fouled out in that situation. Who’s to say he wouldn’t have totally changed his approach. Terrible job by castillo not getting that bunt down. He has to do his job there.
I don’t like castillo hitting 2nd at all. The plus size of having him there was he’s a good contact hitter. However he cannot drive the ball which minimized his effectiveness. Church has shown he can hit lefties, and he can hit the breaking ball. He makes good contact most of the time.
I’m pissed we lost this game. However 2/3 in philly, 5 out of 6 overall is good. I’ll be upset though if tommarow castillo’s batting 2nd. Church should be there bottom line. When alou comes back are we going to bat church 7th? thats just stupid. I hope it was only a one day thing.
Good test tommarow, Maine vs Zambrano.
I would be ready to be upset then. Castillo is “Willie’s guy”. And you know the Met motto…. if it aint broke, willie will break it.
i dont see people sayin it doesnt matter, just that it aint the only reason. wright may have changed his approach, but odds are hes walked to set up a dp. then who knows what happens. castillo bombed in that spot, no argument here. but its 1 at bat. and again, with 2 regulars out, you have to balance the lineup, meaning someone has to hit in the middle of the order who can drive in runs. i got no problem with church bein the regular #2, but when its called for you need to adjust. and until castillo regains his stroke, singles troke i know, he should hit down the order.
You are right. it is only 1 AB. But the irony is that his only true value offensively is his reputation as a prolific bunter (if a bunter can be “prolific”) and he did not get that down. yes he will succeed more times than not as far as bunting goes, but with nothing else in his favor offensively so far this season, that non-bunt loomed larger. Especially in that situation.
Oh well, on to the next game.
Well I may get slaughtered for this, but I’ll say it anway…
Pelfrey is going to be much better than Hughes.
(Ducks)
Which one? Howard Hughes or John Hughes?
Sorry, I just don’t buy Phil Hughes.
He’s going to be good enough to stay in the majors, but that’s all.
I am going to vent my displeasure at this loss, and then I will go be absolutely miserable on my own.Here we go.
I have not been this pissed off by a Mets loss since before Willie got here I dont think.
Willie seems like he is back to breaking things that are running smoothly. Nice. This was the worst ball/strike umpired game I have ever seen. The strike zone not only was bigger for Eaton, but it changed from batter to batter and inning to inning.
Good job Castillo, I mean, it was brilliant the way you took strike 2 in a bunt situation, I mean, the intelligence! Just let it go by, dont even try. If he cant bunt, what is that uselss piece of shyt even worth? The game was over right then, I was surprised Wright didnt hit into a 6-4-3 after that and even more surprised Beltran didnt go down looking.
We could have made a statement to the phillies this weekend. I think we ended up making a statement, but not the one we wanted to make. The statement the Mets made is, dont worry Phillies, no matter how far back you are, our stupid manager or our stupid team (Yes, the Mets are a stupid, stupid team), will let you back into the game, series, or divisional race for that matter whenever you think we are going to run away with it. Thats what stupid decisions and mental miscues will do.
Really, really disgusting loss.
nrmax, you’re better than that. I’ll be the final losses of the last two seasons upset you more. Phils got lucky today. Utley “homers” a foul ball anywhere else. Wright’s popup goes in the stands at Shea. Bruntlett gets luck on the final out. The only message here is the Mets can come back on this pitching staff and the Phillies were lucky to get away with a win. Take it easy, brother. It’s April 20.
Everyone loses sometimes, the fact that Castillo could not get a bunt down (the one thing he is good at) was very disappointing but the team did well this weekend. 4 out of 6 so far from the Phils is nice. However, not sure how Willie ruined this game. Yes, he changed the lineup but Endy does have to get some at bats eventually doesn’t he? Also, with Pagan and Schneider out the bottom of our lineup needs some kind of depth. Could you imagine Endy, Casanova, Castillo, Pitcher behind Delgado? That would have been horrible. It was the right move to bat Church behind Delgado today.
I think delgado will be ok. He’ll prob hit around 25 hr’s and drive in 80-90 runs. Thing is, even throughout this whole series, he’s been on the ball. He’s hit some balls hard, he’s just getting a bit unlucky. Also i have heard keith mention this on mets broadcasts several times, delgado is starting his swing to early. I noticed it a couple times today, its causing him to miss pitches he usually crushes.
As far as castillo, he’s fine as long as he’s batting 8th. He had a couple of good games already for us down in the 8 hole. I like his defense, and i think he’s a perfect 8 hitter.
I agree about Castillo. He glove is still solid, but his absolute lack of power from the left side is tolerable in the 8th hole.
As far as Delgado, once Alou comes back he may firnd his power stroke again due to more fastballs, but I am not sure he can keep up with fastballs enough times to hit 25 HRs. I am looking at 15-18. He just seems to have lost something in his swing. I hope he can prove me wrong, but I just see something different from him at the plate when he swings.
Well, starting the swing early is a classic symptom of a guy that islosing his bat speed, and needs to start earlier to catch up to the heat.
Of course, that makes you even more vulnerable to breaking balls, and other things you should be swinging at!
And, when a guy is doing so bad that hitting a ball 250 feet with some authority (aka a modest line out) is a positive, that is not a good sign.,
What will be interesting is to see what the lineup is tomorrow with Schneider back, and if the debates about Castillo batting 2nd or not will take a turn or not.
Stay tuned.
i dont think youll really see a sure lineup until alou comes back to stabalize the middle of the order.
Even with Alou back, I think Church or Pagan in the two hole until they prove the cannot handle it, should be the way to go.
But I am not willing to bet on that with Willie’s thinking.
And to add insult to injury, I turn WFAN back on, and it’s Lori Rubinson.
UGH!!!!!!!!!!
perfect ending to a weekend of bad announcing. Wonder who is doing the game Monday on ESPN?
The more I read the more the metsblog tagline is relevant. Get over yourselves.
Didn’t you know? 2 out of 3 just doesn’t cut it in this town anymore….
OK, so why even play the third game after you win the first two? Seriously, would a sweep against a division rival and a sustained winning streak be so terrible?