Daily Archives: May 7, 2008
The Mets (17–15) beat the Dodgers (19–15) tonight in Los Angeles by the score of 12 to 1.
For a boxscore and recap, go to SNY.
…finally…
…John Maine looked his best…he lasted 8 1/3 innings, gave up one run, and hasn’t allowed over two runs in his last six starts…no mets pitcher has gone over seven innings this season until this point…
…offensively, Marlon Anderson, Raul Casanova, and John Maine combined for five rbi’s, and five runs scored tonight…what more do i really need to say…
…on the down side, after making a spectacular catch in the third inning, Angel Pagan left the game with tightness in his left shoulder…pagan will have an mri on thursday to determine the severity of the injury…
…on their west coast trip, they were 3-3, won a series against the hot d-backs, and beat the dodgers who had won 10 of their last 11…let’s hope they can treat the lowly reds the same way…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
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According to Adam Rubin, at his blog for the Daily News, Orlando Hernandez has taken off the protective boot and has been cleared to do light throwing and jogging, “though his bunion remains.”
…yipee…the thing is, this just makes me wonder how much closer we are to his next bizarre injury, and what will it be…
Tagged Orlando Hernandez |John Franco recently appeared on FOX’s Best Damn Sports Show Period, during which he talked about his 
days with the Mets, the 2000 Subway Series and the weird things guys do to pass time in the bullpen.
To watch his appearance, click here.
Franco, on the best and worst part about playing in New York, said:
“Well, the best thing is that I was born and raised there. I grew up as a Mets fan, so I was always rooting for the Mets growing up, and got to play for the team I rooted for – and my friends and family got to come out and see me at the ballpark quite often…The worst thing is when I blew a save, because I would hear it from every one in the neighborhood.”
…first of all, i had no idea that show was still on…second, i know some fans take issue with franco, but i still like him and i’m glad to see him making the rounds of late…
To watch my MetsBlog Minute from today’s Pre-Game Show on SNY, click the play button below:
…thank you for every one who sent in comments and e-mail, in response to my question earlier in the day…
Tagged SNY |
The Game:
The Mets (16-15) play the finale of their three-games series versus the Dodgers (19-14) tonight at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, game at 3:10 pm EST.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- RF Ryan Church
- LF Angel Pagan
- 1B Marlon Anderson
- C Raul Casanova
- P John Maine
…i’m shocked to see Damion Easley not in the lineup today playing second because, a) i would think willie would give castillo the day off and, b) easley is batting .375 against penny in his career…
The Pitchers:
RHP John Maine (3-2, 3.48 ERA) starts for the Mets. Maine earned a win in his last start on May 2 versus the Diamondbacks allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six over 6.0 IP. He has allowed two earned runs or less in last five starts. In three career starts versus the Dodgers, Maine is 0-3 with a 5.06 ERA.
RHP Brad Penny (5-2, 3.19 ERA) takes the hill for the Dodgers. In his las starts on May 2 versus the Rockies, Penny earned a win surrendering three runs on three hits and four walks while striking out one over 5.0 IP. Penny is 5-11 with a 5.66 ERA in 19 career starts versus the Mets.
The Notes:
David Wright is batting .643 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in 14 career at-bats versus Penny.
The Dodgers bullpen is 9-2 with a 2.77 ERA this season, striking out 105 batters through 117.0 IP.
Rafael Furcal is 5-for-9 (.556) with a homerun in his career versus Maine.
For more insight on the Dodgers, check out Blogger Beat.
How To Catch It:
Today’s game can be seen locally on
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…
Tagged Mike Nichols |Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey‘s true identities have remained a mystery to me, and I am hoping that the dominant pitchers they can be show up more often. I hope I am wrong, but I feel that they will continue to be up and down all season long.
I ask myself if it is too early to rush to judgment on them, and should I be so critical of their early season performances?
Besides the Atlanta Braves who sport three pitchers with ERA’s of 3.00 or below, the rest of the National League East seems to be faced with similar question marks in their rotations.
The Nationals have one pitcher with a winning record. The young Marlins staff has been decent, but to be honest, I’m not concerned about them in the long run. As for the Phillies, except for Cole Hamels, their pitchers all have ERA’s over 4.00.
The Mets’ payroll is the largest so it is easier to complain, but all that aside, the Mets could be in worse shape. Call me the eternal optimist, but although the sense of urgency is building, 81% of the season is still to be played so I am not allowing myself to panic…yet.
Tagged Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Regis Courtemanche |
What’s amazing to me is that if the Mets win this afternoon, they will have gone 3–3 on a West Coast road trip against the two hottest teams in the National League, all while being three games over .500 and an inch from first place all with roughly 80 percent of the season left to be played.
Meanwhile, if you peak in on my e-mail’s inbox, talk with fans on the street, listen to talk radio or read the 
newspaper, you’d think – without looking at the standings – you’d think this team was 10–30.
There appears to be a a huge disconnect between what is happening on the field, in the stands and in the division.
In spite of reality, I feel restless – even though I know I shouldn’t. Even though I know there is plenty of baseball left to be played, I can’t help but feel frustrated, and disheartened, and edgy. I just can’t shake it. I wish this was not the case, but it is.
From what I can tell, the problem is that I’m just not having a whole lot of fun watching this team – and, for me, that’s what matters most.
To much criticism, I have written many times in the past that my goal is to have fun watching baseball. Wins are preferred, obviously, but ‘fun’ is a requirement.
In 2006, if the Mets were down by a run or two, I kept watching because – even if they lost – I knew it would be an entertaining finish. This is not the case right now.
I’m curious, at the very least, what do you want from this team?
It’s a simple question with a a complicated answer.
Do you want this team to win a ring, is that the only acceptable result? Do you want them to at least make the playoffs? Do you want them to at least play fun, exciting baseball, even if they lose. Do you want them to show more emotion? Do you want them to care as much you and I do? Do you want a new manager, a new GM, maybe some younger players – even if it could mean not making the playoffs?
What is it that you want, besides a better-than-.500 team, who is one game out of first place with roughly 80 percent of the season yet to be played.
“Again, speaking as a fan, at the very least, what do you want from this team?”
…put your response in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an e-mail…
Scott Boras was at Dodger Stadium yesterday, 
watching several of his clients, including Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez, who can be a free agent following this season..
According to John Delcos in the Journal News, citing ‘speculation,’ Perez could seek a five-year, $60 million contract this off-season.
…my initial reaction is to laugh in boras’s face…however, who knows…i mean, i can see perez going the way of Gil Meche, but also see him holding out and settling for a short-term deal like Kyle Lohse…i just have no idea any more how the pitching market will break…that said, the Mets were not happy about giving Johan Santana more than five years…and perez wants five years too…wow…good luck, oliver…
For more on Perez, who Boras is comparing to Erik Bedard, also check out the Star-Ledger, Bergen Record and Newsday.
Tagged Oliver Perez |Prior to yesterday’s game, Willie Randolph told reporters that he is confident Luis Castillo will get back 
on track, adding, “Just like the rest of the guys, Luis is a guy who’s proven in the past that he can hit Major League pitching. He’ll get going again, and I’m not concerned.”
…i mean, what is willie supposed to say when asked a question like this…
…if he says, ‘Luis sucks,’ which is what most fans are feeling, then he embarrasses his player and gets called out in the press and by fans for being too hard…if he says what he said above, which makes so little sense it makes my head hurt, then he looks like a passive, delusional bump on the log…and if he says nothing, he’ll be characterized as scared, or avoiding the media and will get ripped by reporters for being unavailable…
…fact is, Luis Castillo is past his prime, he’s aging, and has nowhere near the speed or mobility he once did – especially on defense…castillo will get hot, but then he’ll be cold…he’ll hit well, then not hit well…and such is the case with so many players on this team right now…it’s hard to have a winning streak, when you have no streak at all…
For more on Castillo, check out Anthony DiComo’s recent report for MLB.com.
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