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The Game:
The Mets (17-15) begin their three-game series with game one of a doubleheader versus the Reds (14-21) today at Shea Stadium, starting at 1:10 pm.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- RF Ryan Church
- LF Moises Alou
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- C Brian Schneider
- P Johan Santana
The Pitchers:
LHP Johan Santana (3-2, 2.91 ERA) starts for the Mets. Santana earned a no-decision in his last start on May 4 versus the Diamondbacks allowing one run on six hits and five walks while striking out eight over 6.0 IP. He is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA in two starts at Shea Stadium this season. In two career games, one start versus the Reds, Santana is 0-0 with a 6.14 ERA.
RHP Matt Belisle (1-2, 6.91 ERA) takes the hill for the Reds. In his last start on May 3 versus the Braves, a loss, Belisle allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out two over 5.1 IP. Left-handed batters are hitting .433 against Belisle this season. Belisle is 0-0 with a 3.86 in three career games, two starts versus the Mets.
The Notes:
Carlos Delgado was 6-for-20 (.300) with 1 HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI during the Mets recent roadtrip. He is batting .571 in seven career at-bats versus Belisle.
The Mets are 9-12 versus right-handed starting pitchers this season.
Jeff Keppinger is batting .444 (12-for-27) with RISP, which leads the National League.
Adam Dunn is batting .243 with 4 HR and 10 RBI in 74 career at-bats at Shea Stadium.
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.
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santana got a ND in his last start
ridiculous piece by Marty Noble at mets.com (Marty should be up for dope of the year, alongside Francesa)
suggests that to make room for Matt Wise, the Mets will send down Joe Smith
what a dopey idea, and why didn’t Marty make clear that it’s dopey
what’s also dopey is NOT recognizing that Heilman’s utility as a reliever has long passed
send Aaron down and stretch him out – would much rather have him as a starter than Ollie at this point
send Smith down? Smith has been a great help this year especially at coming into jam situations and getting outs
can Matt Wise do that? we don’t know – so we risk weakening the team?
makes no sense
Strange I never thought of that. Wise taking over Heilman’s 8th inning role would be perfect.
Ugh. I hate when my comments get eaten. No idea why either…
anyway, it probably comes down to options, and Smith has them, and the team doesn’t want to lose anyone off the staff to a waiver claim (although I imagine there are some guys many of us would love to see get traded!)
Heilman to AAA for a onth to rework himself as a starter? I am all for it. Could help this year, and if it goes well, a major help for 2009.
Pretty harsh words for long-time Met follower Marty Noble.
Joe Smith is stuck in a numbers game. Noble was only stating the facts. Joe Smith will be optioned to AAA and Matt Wise will be activated.
The Mets can option Smith after the first game and activate Matt Wise to get a fresh arm in the pen. That just the facts.
Smith has options. Sosa should be the odd man out but he doesn’t have options and he is the only reliever that can go 4 innings if needed.
Noble wasn’t “suggesting” that the Mets were going to send Smith down he was stating the FACTS.
Way too harsh on Noble for reporting on what everyone knew would happen a week ago.
Smith deserves to stay but I doubt the Mets would cut Sosa.
Not sure what is dopey about Noble’s reporting. The move itself is very dopey.
Actually Joe Smith going down is the only real option. Wise has been a good reliever till he hit that batter and wasn’t doing that bad in ST. They barely saw him at the beginning of the season so I could see sending down Joe to see what Wise can do. You dont want to let anybody go (DFA) and then find out Wise isnt cutting it. The Heilman thing is just not going to happen. The jacket says he’s a reliever and thats where he’s going to stay until the jacket is replaced or he goes to another team. You have to feel bad for Joe but Wise is someone who can pitch to lefties and righties. Those guys getting on Willie for using relievers for only one batter have to give Wise a chance. I’m sure it will be only for a month to evaluate his effectiveness.
Wise is a fringe pitcher at best.
Smith is pitching good.
There really is no room for wise.
The Wise move would be to make Matt a Zepher.
anyone have directtv? are you getting the early game?
yeah,im watching mets pregame now on sny
No, the game is blacked out.
Fox blacks out the early game. Extra Innings will have the late game.
Interesting. I figured Extra Innings had the same blackout rules as MLB.tv, but it doesn’t look that way. We’ve been getting the 1 p.m. Saturday starts all year, although they cut off once the Fox broadcast starts.
I’m surprised Ramon isn’t catching santana so that schneider can paired with pelfrey in the second game
willie’s planing on using schneider tomorrow
haha nice.
Seriously though, noble has to be the worst official online beat writer for any of the mlb teams. He’s constantly drinking the kool-aid, and always comes up with a new stupid thing to say. Anthony Dicomo is much better
i still dont understand why metsblog.com has losses behind instead of the traditional games behind. at 20-16, the phillies are 1 behind the mets at 17-15.
I agree. LB is a valid and useful way of looking at things down the stretch. It is useless this time of year.
I miss Keppinger. I can remember posting and talking about him back in the day. I really thought he should have been given the job based on what he did in the minors. Not at all surprised that he is hitting well now.
Typical Met. Finally about to get his chance to nail down the everyday job, and he gets hurt in the minors just before a call up. Same thing last year with Lastings.
Anyway, root for Kepp, after this series only though!
On the Joe Smith situation, since the Mets don’t have an off day until the 19th, they could DL Pagan and keep 8 relievers. Pagan is hurt and rest would be good for his shoulder. Give Wise, Sosa and Smith an audition and keep the two best pitchers.
the phriggin’ phillies are scaring me. anyone else?
yea,, they will be a thorn in our A$$ all season
Not at all. If they trade for Rich Harden or a legit starter then yes. If not, then when the dog days come around and they’re trotting out Kendrick, Durbin and Moyer, they’re going to pay the price for standing pat in the off-season.
Then again, we have Willie…
Nope. Their pitching sucks
For some reason I feel like they will choke this year…Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino in the OF is not going to cut it…neither is Chris Coste or whoever their catcher is along with Pedro Feliz…and you really think that their starting rotation and especially their bullpen (total fluke so far) is going to keep it up? Cole Hamels and JC Romero are the only pitchers on that team that I would feel comfortable with if I was a phillies fan
anyone just see that??? gary and keith fumbling around with the mics?
Stupid black uniforms.
at least we’re not the FOX game
True enough.
Apparently K&G is pirating the SNYHD feed
Nobody there for a Johan start?!
The “A” team is on the field. Lets see what they can do.
If Willie plans on using subs in the night cap, the Mets are doomed. All starters going in game 1 with johan, mostly bench players backing up pelf? Ugh…
I was thinking the same thing. why not use some subs with the “ace” pitcher and start more regulars with Pelf? unless he plans on starting the regulars in the second game as well.
No, he does this. He’ll have no problem sacraficing a game. Last year vs. Chicago, which was the luckiest win ever.
i was away last week. when did Keith return?
Last night. He didn’t take the road trip, and Ronnie is off tonight.
Thank you gip. Was missing the mustache.
Did anyone catch David Wright’s comments in the papers talking about Willie Randolph “throwing chairs, flipping tables and kicking players in the butt.”
The comments were in response to Met fans perception that Willie shows no emotion.
Did Wright punctuate his remarks with “I keed, I keed”?
lol….unfortunately he didn’t
Johans pickoff looms large there
what a waste of two walks
No hits with RISP, its shocking. Plus 3 hits and a lot of pitches by Johan, not a good combo early.
heres a thought for everyone. everyone here is clammering that the mets need that “big bat,” and i agree.
now is it possible that we might have found that BB in ryan church? now before everyone gets on my back, think about it. he hit a decent amount of HRs last year, and 40+ doubles (how many of those would have gone out at shea compared to RFK?)
he also strikes out a lot. power + a decently high strike out rate, isnt that what the stereotypical power bat is?
just a thought….
Good thought, Church’s stats extrapolate to those of Aaron Rowland, so I’m not sure he’s a Big Bat, but maybe a medium bat. Time will tell.
Hmmmm…Mets pitcher has long inning with many pitches. Offense fails to get anything w/ RISP. It’s deja vu all over again.
Well, we’ve been clamoring for consistency…
Anybody feel its Petersons influence that is the reason why so many of our pitchers throw too many pitches and balls? Is it a bad approach to pitching?
I think too many of out pitchers use sliders to get hitters to chase. Santana, Heilman, Sosa, Smith, Perez, Pedro, Pelfry, Sanchez all use sliders. So teams play the Mets with the idea of sitting on the fastballs and protect against the sliders.
Sorry, but that is a weak crowd for a Johan start on a nice Saturday in May. A cheap ticket too, with the Reds in town.
Absolutely correct. Hope that it’s the traffic slowing people down. Also, wasn’t Johan was supposed to start yesterday? Change in start date might be a contributory factor.
Nope. Pelf last night, and he got moved to tonight to keep Johan in his originally scheduled slot in the 1pm game today.
I stand corrected. Then the light crowd is really bad.
Alou is just amazing.
What is this? A Big Red Machine Reference and no Joe Morgan. WTF
What does everybody make of the reported agreement between Hanley Ramirez and the Marlins: $70 million for 6 years?
overpaid
Once the Marlins decide they can’t pay him and build a new stadium, he will be traded in the off-season to a contending AL team for a young player projected to be Hanley Ramirez.
Come on Johan, help yourself!
bunting here is unbelievably stupid. swing away johan!
TOLD Y’ALL SO lol
Take what we can get, 1-0
agreed. considering that it was the bottom of the order, I’ll take one run.
Johan does it all. Stikes out and STILL gets a run home. Incredible.
Reyes, goddamnit!
why was johan out?
Because 1st base was already occupied. Had the runner been on second, Santana wouldv’e been given 1st base.
Big Ralph in the house!!!!
If you think Willie is stubborn, imagine having Dusty Baker playing Corey Patterson everygame in the leadoff spot batting .200
pass the bourbon!
Santana was out because there was a runner on first, so he cannot advance to first, I think.
yeah it’s like the infield fly rule for dropped Ks
And there were less than two out. With two out you can run.
Santana: 50 pitches, 2.1 innings in 1st game of double-header. I am worried.
He looks VERY hittable today. We better start getting the offense cranked up.
have no fear…johan is here…
something mets fans are lacking this year that we had in 06…
OPTIMISM
Optimism died in The Collapse and was buried when, inexplicably, nobody was held accountable.
Have the mets given a reason to be ‘06 type optimistic? In 06 they played like the best team in the NL. This year they haven’t and they are supposed to be the best team in the NL, so forgive me if I am not optimistic about every scenario that comes up.
With that said, Let’s Go Mets! Sweep these clowns.
Man, I can’t wait for ‘BEER MONEY” on SNY. Whose with me?
Why did Willie have Johan bunt on the first two strikes? It makes zero sense. Even if everything goes according to plan — Johan gets the bunt down, then Reyes gets a base hit — Delgado might not score from second anyway, given how slow he is.
Luckily we get bailed out by the wild pitch. But these dumbass in-game decisions are why Willie richly deserves the ax.
i agree. i think the fear was that johan would ground into a double play, ending the inning.
As Gary Cohen would say, “that is a moot point.”
bunting with 1 our first and third is absolutely retarded. the chance of the double play is outweighed by the opportunity to score on an out.
any bunt NEEDS to be a squeeze.
1 out i mean
Absolutely. Not to mention, Johan is perfectly capable of hitting a sac fly if you give him three hacks. In fact, I might even trust him to get Alou home with one out more than I’d trust some of the other guys in this lineup…
johan has not been efficient today. im expecting 6 innings, 7 at the absolute most. in any case, the mets need to tack on a few runs and let johan relax on the mound.
7 innings would be incredible at this pace. I hope Johan finds his groove.
Well at least the pen had two days off. . .
Too bad they’ll get used a lot in tonights game – unless Pelf brings it.
Off topic, Mike D’antoni is the new Knick head coach as reported by ESPN.
where did you read this?
just read it on the ESPN ticker
ESPNews is reporting it
I like D’Antoni, but for some reason I’d have rather had Mark Jackson – someone that knows that it means to be a Knick.
But at least D’Antoni will bring a style that is fun to watch – can he bring Steve Nash with him. :D
The Knicks have an offensive roster. At least D’Antoni can enhance that and teams will not stop the motion offense. With Jackson we have no idea what he will bring.
It’s not an offensive roster that D’Antoni is use to. He had a top PG and bigs that ran up the floor consistently.
Guys like Randolph and Curry aren’t close to the athlete that Amare Stoudamire and/or Shawn Marion were. They were able to run past most bigs and get easy dunks and layups in the open court.
And let’s not forget Nash set up the offense. Who does it for the Knicks? Maybe Marbury has a revival under an offense better suited for him, but who knows and I probably don’t want to count on that.
It’s not a bad hire at all, just slightly prefer a guy who knows what being Knick and playing in NY means.
need at least a fly ball here to get the run in
or that
Nice level swing!
Lets make this inning last. Let Johan rest a bit. I would like to see a double steal now
BEAUTIFUL!!!
everyone take a breath now
no matter what any one else says, dusty baker is worst manager in MLB
LOL
Yay. Willie is better than the worst manager in baseball. That makes me feel soooo much better.
Here we go again.
Cholly Manuel is no picnic either
dusty baker is one guy i would hate more than willie as a manager
he is so fricking terrible
Moises…changing Boos to Alouuuus
Mets are 2 for 3 with RISP this inning. Good thing to see.
Here’s a question, if the Mets blow out the Reds and Santana goes 8, will they activate Wise between games or will they keep Joe Smith?
unless santana has a series of 10 pitch 1-2-3 innings i assure you he wont go 7, let alone 8
Noble has a piece on this today on mets.com. Supposedly, if they use Smith, they would demote him between games to make room for Wise. If not, wait to see if Smith gets used in game 2.
Did Votto just bunt? Why?
every start i say he gives up too mnay bombs and every start im told its no big deal…
It’s a slight bit deal, but that is who he has become. Last year he gave up as many HRs as starts. He is usually so close to the plate that he’ll give up a big hit.
The thing with him is that he doesn’t give up many HRs with guys on base.
santana hitting 95…Sexy time
why has santana been channeling his inner-heilman?
Encarnarcion got into one
Johan gives up homers like he’s paid to do so.
That matters a lot less when opponents are hitting .200 against you.
No doubt. I jst hope Citi is as pitcher-friendly in its diminsions as they say it will be.
as long as they are solo shots…who cares…sub 3 era, i’ll take a homerun given up every so often.
Johan does a lot things right to make up for the solo shots he has given up, such as he’s a decent hitter and doesn’t let the 8th batter get on with two outs.
Has he had any starts where he has not given up a home run?
yes
3 starts, including his most recent one
is reyes stance more open or is that just me?
Hmm, odds on yet another no-decision for Johan today?
Even money.
never good to give up a leadoff hit to the pitcher
come on, johan. are you angry at the bullpen? let them relax!
whats santana pitch count?
77
Wow that Ump is gonna be in the minors before the next game lol
Safe by a mile. But so was Reyes on a couple of those caught stealing he has this year.
wonder what Dusty said to that ump.
At least when Dusty argues, it looks like an argument, not a discussion of the weather or the history of Jacobinism. I’m looking at you, Willie.
Gip, you got plenty to dislike about Willie, but his not arguing with the umps is a poor reason.
May I remind you about the only play I’ve ever seen changed by an ump was in Atl earlier this year on Kotsay’s trap of the ball and after Willie “argued” with the umps.
Good call Kiner
Kiner, it has nothing to do with changing the call…it has to do with having your players’ backs. The most emblemmatic instance of this was earlier this season when Church was called out on a bad call at first and he stared back at the dugout expecting Willie to come running out. And…..nothing. The look on Church’s face said all you need to know.
very nice piece of hitting
nothin better than a dirty baseball uniform
good baserunning
Good AB Beltran. Great baserunning by Wright
This Reds’ pitcher’s grin makes me think of Jack Nicholson’s joker.
church…………..no words
With a 5 run lead Santana better go 7 regardless of how much his pitch count is.
it is imperative that we get 7 out of johan and hopefully we can stretch out joe smith for 2 innings. 6-1 is a nice lead- hopefully willie can save wagner
The guys are making willie look good for switching to this lineup. I have to admit, it looks much deeper this way
by the way, that run doesnt score on that hit if it isnt for wrights heads up baserunning
cmon johan we need 7
save the bullpen for pelf
god damn johan step up your game
Hopefully a little sarcasm.
Okay, maybe not. :(
well so much for 7 innings
Santana seems to have been infected by the rest of the staff. He has gotten the job done, but hasn’t really looked all that good doing it. Just hope he really is a 2nd half guy, since he seems to be battling for everything now.
Johan “Al Leiter” Santana
What’s the matter with this guy???? There’s a doubleheader today and Pelfrey is taking the mound in game 2. The bullpen is going to get taxed tonight. Santana HAS TO step and go 8 strong to save the bullpen for tonight. Instead, what do we get?? 100+ pitches through 6 inning.
THIS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT THE METS WERE GETTING WHEN THEY SIGNED SANTANA!
Amen.
you need to take it easy friendo, johan is doing just fine
Mets are 5-2 in his starts, maybe 6-2 after this game, thats what we got him for. He will throw 200+ innings.
UGH….gonna get into the pen early in game 1 of a day-night DH with our ace on the mound against the lowly Reds and our worst pitcher scheduled for the 2nd game. Bad ace, bad ace!
EXACTLY!
Santana isnt fooling anyone with his changeup today.
i really have to start questioning rick peterson. perez, maine, and santana all have good stuff. why then do we struggle so much with putting hitters away with 2 strikes.
Because batters are getting wise to this change-up s**t. Every pitcher on the Mets is a Fastball/Changeup guy with OK sliders (Yes even Santana). Were is the guuy with the knee buckling curve???
6-3 now, they are going to lose this game. WATCH!
man, in 06 i thought we would every game. now after our historic collapse, we expect to blow 5 run leads at home to the reds! man, what have we come to
We have become what this team has made us.
surprised they let Belize hit there. The Reds BP must really stink. You know Willie is pulling the SP there. Or maybe he is just playing to the DH, but the pitcher isn’t likely to go more than 1 more inning.
Santana has to be done now. hatterburg = .128 BA
Get him outta there. He’s done.
Horrible job by Johan today.
leave him in. the pitcher is due up 3rd in the bottom of the inning. please, johan youre our ace. get the job done. no more nonsense
Okay, give him one more – the guy is not hiting lefties.
is everyone happy that willie stuck w his ace?!?!?!?
yes… you cant tell me that the first guy off the bullpen is any better than johan, even without his good stuff. not to mention, we have to save the bullpen for the 2nd leg of the double header and the pitcher is due 3rd in the bottom of the inning
happy after he struck out Patterson
I missed something. I thought the top 6th was over at 6-2. Dumb game cast.
Can’t believe they are well on their way to losing an almost guaranteed win, and will now burn the pen to boot.
They are on their way to losing?? Wow news to me.
yeah. i don’t trust gamecast. Stupid MLB and their f’ing blackouts.
“Lets get more fans and viewers by not letting them watch the games”.
Johan is a warrior
Once I heard the stat on Patterson’s avg vs LHPs, it’s fine to leave Johan in. Still, bad start from Johan considering the opposition and the double-header situation.
Okay, big K!!!!!…..but have to improve on that start if you’re an ace.
yall need to hush up, santana did his job, 6 innings, then you turn it over to the pen for 3 innings, if joe smith is being sent down to activate wise its fine you dont burn the pen
Santana did his job???? Since when is 6 Ip and 3 ER “doing your job” as an ace making $22,000,000 a year???
Look at Brandon Webb to see how an Ace conducts himself, 8-0 with a 2.41 ERA,
Yes because unless he’s won every single one of his starts, he’s a complete failure.
Santana has ALWAYS done better in the 2nd half of his career. Just wait and see.
His job is more than stumbling through and barely getting to 6 innings in game one of a DH….and certainly less than 10 hits. That’s a line I expect to hope from Ollie. There are guys getting paid a fraction of Johan who can go seven against the fricking Reds!
The Smith being sent down thing is absurd with their upcoming schedule anyway – as gary said, they should carry 13 for awhile.
Agreed Gipper
i dont blame Willie…you are paying Santana 20 million/yr to step up and be an ace. He hasnt shown ace-type stuff this year yet
Thats an ACE! In a jam but doesn’t let the flood gates loose.
del got it
he going to come around
dont forget that the reds also have to play 2 games tonight. in addition to trying to protect our lead, some runs here might force dusty to burn some of his relievers
OK, now 3 innings from the pen. Better hope that the offense hasn’t gone into siesta mode, or they could be in trouble.
Expect to see 2 out of Smith if possible, before he goes away on his little vacation.
And dang, Pelf better step up big time tonight, and hopefully give the 7 that Santana couldn’t.
Maybe it is bizarro day, and Pelf will pitch well, and Santana will throw way too many pitches and get toss up a 1.6 whip on the day?
although if they win both, who cares!
I guess everybody expects 8 innings, 0 runs everytime Santana starts. Might be too high an expectation, even for an ace.
Nah…but in this spot, against a second division team, and first game of a DH with the most craptastic guy in our rotation going in Game 2, you certainly hope for and have a right to expect more out of your ace than struggling to get through 6 and surrendering 3R on 10H. That said, he battled without his good stuff and got out of lots of jams.
Metsblog ads during the game. Who woulda thought…
Been going on all year. Once the SNY partnership was announced, I would expect nothing less. Gotta get Gary to say it right though.
Yeah i dont understand this strategy. Santana should have just thrown 10 pitches per inning so he could pitch a complete game and only throw a total of 90. Also, he shouldnt have given up any runs. I also dont understand why wright didnt hit a homerun in his last at bat because it would have scored 2 runs
you know if santana only threw 5 pitches per inning, he could have also pitched tonite. DFA santana and fire willie
hey, thats clever sarcasm! the bottom line is that johan santana is making 140 million dollars over 7 years. he is our ace. all these expectations are warranted, especially given the fact that our bullpen has been overused this year. and to top all of that off, were playing a double header . our ace hasnt gotten past the 7th once this year. thats just inexcusable
I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think that the apologists have forgotten that we are supposed to be the BEST in the NL. That is what these guys are getting paid to do. To be the best in the NL. Can anyone here say that the mets are the best in the NL?
exactly, plus with having the highest payroll in the NL comes high expectations. Whats the Marlins payroll?? exactly
I never heard any Mets fan, ever, rag on Tom Seaver when he turned in a game like Santana did today.
It’s hard to believe how “what have you done for me lately” fans have become.
Seaver wasn’t a highly paid mercenary. And, in Seaver’s era, going only six innings would DEFINITELY be commented upon. Plus, the bullpen and its usage was a completely different animal.
Other than that, your analogy is accurate.
Sheesh.
No, you’re wrong. Trust me, when Seaver or any of his contemporaries was on his way to go 4-2, while being among the top 5 in the league in WHIP and K:BB ratio, people didn’t have a big problem with his going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs.
In fact, people would be *much* more likely to comment on the fact that the pitcher found a way to shut the door even without his best stuff.
I doubt that Seaver would be any less a mercenary than Santana had free agency been well established at the start of his career.
The point is, for whatever reason, for better or worse, we have today a ritalin generation of fans — at least if the blogs are representative. It’s probably a better informed generation of fans about all sorts of ways of measuring player performance, but it’s also a really impatient generation of fans.
Please…people didn’t even know what WHIP was in the 60s and 70s!
You really wanted only 6 inings, 10 hits, 3 runs against teh frickin Reds out of Johan Santana today in game one of a doubleheader with that headcase going tonight? That is just not good for the pen, and it is valid to expect better from a guy as good as Johan.
I’m not saying he hasn’t been good (he has been robbed of Ws when potching great earlier in the year). Just saying he’s good enough to perform better than that in this spot.
As for generational differences among fans..I am closer in age to the Seaver genertion than the Ritalin/Internet generation of fans. What is different is The Collapse. After The Collapse, this group of players and this franchise will not get one ounce of a benefit of the doubt from the fanbase.
I believe he has in ATL
he has basically been a 7 inning guy his whole career to this point and the fact that the mets are playing a double header today isnt gonna change that
Well, it did seem to change him to a six inning guy, no?
i think these things tend to average out
No doubt, and nobody is saying Johan isn’t great. What we are saying is you expect your great ace to go longer in a game against the lowly Reds in a spot where everybody knows it is important for him to eat innings before Pelf the Headcase goes tonight and further decimates the pen.
Delgado continues his solid AB’s
he is looking so much better lately. Thank god. I also like him batting in front of Schneider.
Church is just great, pretty sure the idea that he can not hit lefties is not true
That’s for sure. What a great pickup!
PS: vote early and often for Church for the ASG!!
heres the question of the day: can castillo hit the ball deep enough for a sac fly?
oops dont know why i posted that there
at least the offense is fighting
lets be happy we dont have d bake running our squad, the over done wrist bands are enough to drive you wild
It took Dusty that long to switch pitchers?
Excellent point made above by IsiahRandolph that Dusty has to manaage 2 games today as well.
Hey amongst all the Santana bickering, this may just be the last day-night double header in Shea Stadium history.
lets go slappy
great……………..
cmon wright lets get some runs here
DW is due
3-0
love the cheap ribbies
insurance for the BP
thers your $100 million CF in action, i think hes 100% today
Looks like 115.252%
I really don’t like Castillo on this team. Really, reaaly don’t.
DW is OK though. And Beltran could really make some noise.
was that enough noise?
Well, if game cast would ever catch up, I would let you know!
At least they seem to be padding the 2 out RISP RBI stats today.
Now keep this up in the nightcap!
amen
There ya go Beltran
now let the last man in the pen finish the game
GREAT SWING!!!! WE’VE MISSED THIS BELTRAN!!!
I think this lineup is about as good as it can be constructed (not saying it helped beltran there as the pitcher was just trying to get one over after losing the plate). It really stretches the order and gives Beltran some protection. If Beltran gets going, that will finally give DWright some protection.
Agreed. 10 runs and Reyes and Castillo haven’t been involved. We can see that this group has a ton of ability.
CB is looking a lot better lately as well.
CARLOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsss… who should willie bring in?
Joe Smith, and see how long he can go.
save joe for pelfrey’s game, he may be needed more
I just wanted to pop-in and say WOW Santana actually getting run support!!!!
good point
up 7, i would almost let sosa come in and pitch a couple of innings…..but only if we were guarenteed to get a couple more runs
the lead is almost large enough to let Heilman pitch
good job to the offense for coming away with some runs that inning. thats been our problem early on…glad to see it coming around
Baseball is amazing.
Johan had at least three, maybe four excellent starts this season that were wasted either by no run-suport and/or the pen imploding. Netting him no-decisions and even a loss…..and today, he pitches so-so at best and will get the W.
these are the mets. can we assume the game is over? haha- i think i can quote howie rose right here: “put it in the books”
HOORAY, I can be happy….at least for the next 4 hours.
Is a 7 run lead too small for Heilman?
guess willie wants to find out
This is a nice spot for Heilman. No pressure 7 run lead go out there and just throw.
nice throw by beltran
Its a little odd not seeing Joe Smith in for this inning, considering everyone expects Smith to be sent down for Wise after this game.
Maybe thats not the case. Maybe Pagan does on the DL.
Heilman gives up a jamshot bloop single with a 7 run lead in the 7th inning and he gets booed. Lol. It is seriously hard to fathom the level of stupidity among our fanbase.
What I find funny is that Willie bashers say Willie doesn’t inspire his players. How about the fans? Getting support from 30,000 people is much more inspiring (or demoralizing if booed) then anything one person can say.
It really is embarrasing. Its to a point where I wouldnt even want to win here as a player because I just wouldnt want the fans to get any happiness out of what I do because they show no respect and are just ignorant and I wouldnt enjoy winning as much knowing I am doing it for a bunch of morons who have no respect of the game or their own players.
I agree. Some of the comments on this board are just a microcosm of why some (not all) Mets fans boo.
There doesn’t need to be unconditional cheering, but support a player. There is no reason to boo a player as he walks in from the bullpen or gives up a single run in a 7 run game.
Heilman actually had a good road trip. Maybe it has something to do with the Shea crowd?
Please. Did you read the interview Matt did with Darryl about booing at Shea and how Darryl laughed the “boogate” thing off as ridiculous and how it’s always been that way at Shea? How he missed that passionate fanbase when he was in LA?
If the booing is so bad, why are they better at home? They were putrid at home last year and there was no “boogate.” At most, the fans last year tittered amongst themselves in shocked conversation.
This team will not get any benefit f teh doubt from the fanbase after The Collapse. There may have been some honeymoon if somebody had been, perish the thought, held accountable for The Collapse.
In the meantime, suck it up and play.
i actually like willies decision to bring in heilman here. let him build up some confidence in a useless spot.
OK, its a little much booing Heilman with a 7 run lead.
I’m thinking that 7 runs might not be enough to bring in Heilmann. Not sure if there is a number big enough at this point.
Surprised to not see Smith, unless maybe they are (nah, couldn’t happen!) “auditioning” Heilman to go down and relearn to start?
could we send heilman to AAA?
Yes, and then Wagner and David Wright can go to AAA also. This guy has been our best reliever for 3 years now. Its a joke how a bad 30 games means more then 3 years of solid play. But its okay, all the free agents want to play here because its NY, they dont mind getting abused all year.
Will someone get Keith a cup of Coffee!!!
what are the rules on sending a veteran down to the minors?
What did Beltran do in the 6th? ESPN (Gamecast and the box score) refuse to tell me!
3 run triple, nothing major
bases clearing triple
3 run triple
he tripled to right clearing the bases…3 ribbys…try yahoo box score that’s what i’ve been watching…it’s pretty up-to-date
Heilman Sucks DFA!
moron number 1
Never enough runs to bring Heilman in to a game.
and moron number 2
Belran: bases loaded triple down the right field line.
just send heils down to get his head straight. He still has an option. That way, we keep Smith.
I doubt that Heilman still has an option. However, it’s not a bad idea because he is clearly trying way too hard right now.
We are going to need him in september.
Interesting, it’s been discussed here often and said that he has one more option, but Ihaven’t researched it. He certainly seems to have lost something….a breather may be what he needs. He’s too good to give up on.
If they send down smith, what kind of message are they sending. results dont matter, its how much you make
its not how much they make, its about the options on the contracts.
but what would u expect from moron number 1 (mets08wschamps), other then to be uniformed and get his information all wrong.
It has nothing to with how much someone makes. It has to do with what roster moves can be paid without sacrificing a player from being in the organization.
It’s simple. Smith has options and sending him to AAA doesn’t cost the Mets a pitcher – because if they DFA anyone they would be more then likely gone – ironically because the guys they would DFA don’t make enough money to score off another team from claiming them.
Jeez, if he can’t pitch well with a 7-run lead, he doesn’t deserve to be here.
and what do you know, moron number 3! shall we go for number 4?
Nah, you’re right. Heilman is a stud. He is our future closer. He pitches great in tight games. Never gives up the big homers. He’s a gamer.
Sorry…can’t go on….laughing too hard…to type…
No, Heilman is not good now. This is getting ridiculous with him. The Trachsel treatment sounds about right.
a 32 pitch inning. wow and i thought santana was inefficient today
1 run…pitched out of a jam..improvement i think
Well, at least he got out of the mess he created.
Odd thing I just noticed. For as bad as he has seemed this year, he still has struck out 22 in only 20 innings, so he hasn’t completely lost his “stuff”
Probably just mental, and not being able to hit his spots. Although it might be time to get a 3rd out pitch into the mix (Slider, cutter, something with a different look and movement).
SOmething to work on in th eminors!
One run on Heilman. No big deal there. Let him eat up some “mop-up” innings today. There’s plenty of cushion, still.
gee 7 spot is working…….HOME RUN DELGADO!!!
heyyyy gado
there’s our run back
Nice to see Delgado get back on track
HERE WE COME PHILLY!
BACK TO BACK!!!!!!
when was the last time we had 7+8 hitters had back to back hrs?
not while Slapp Mc. was hitting 8th.
Is it getting to “save some for the 2nd game” time yet?
ANyone else thinking it could be a 2-1 nail biter? OK< maybe not with Pelf pitching, but it often seems to work out that way!
you see… booing does work… just look at delgado
lol! i guess us fans need to keep up the good work!
Could it be it was Delgado’s hard work?
Nah.
nah… it was the booing
Yeah, I mean clearly. He was getting booed regularly in Toronto for 10 years while he consistently put up gaudy numbers and produced with the best in the world every single year.
That was a looong time ago.
Hey, this is a 2006 thing. Get a lead, and whenever the other team scores to chip into it, get the runs right back the next inning!
I am warming up to this line up. Let Delgado sit in the 7th hole and hack away.
man is this pitcher available for the second game
Man, this Lincoln guy makes me want to keep Sosa around.
ok… now do we see joe smith for 2 innings?
Whoever comes in, it would be great to have a quick 8th and let them close it out.
Nice! Should we be saving some of this for Pelf in Game 2?
lol yea i hope they have enough left in the tank lol
well, we’re average 12 runs per game in the last two. Should be enough for Pelfrey. :)
willie!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Feliciano???? This is a little odd…wheres joe smith, wheres jorge sosa.
Reds have a lot of lefties for game 2.
Joe Smith is our best reliever he should not be used in garbage time.
Now Joe Smith is our best reliever? When 2 weeks ago 90 percent of the population of Metsblog was cursing Omar for drafting him and trying to send him out the door? Man we have a fickle fanbase.
Pray tell, when in the world were 90 percent saying THAT? Smith has been very popular among teh fans, on Metsblog and elsewhere. He sure as heck shouldn’t be demoted to keep Sosa around or make room for a guy who cannot find the plate since he gave some poor batter a boo-boo.
Why isn’t Sosa or Schoeneweis pitching? Does Willie not know Feliciano is the best lefty besides Wagner and that they have an 8 run lead and a game at 7pm? Just more proof he has to go.
Feliciano has struggled this year but because everyone is focused on Shoenweis and Heilman, Feliciano has gotten a pass. Lefties are bashing him this year and so far Show has pitched better against lefties and has pitched better than Felicaino this entire season.
Scho is ahead of Feliciano at this point. Saving him for the closer game makes sense (knock on wood)
They probably wanted to use Heilman for two innings, but he threw 32 pitches in the one inning and that was it. Sosa should be saved for long relief of Pelfrey, so using your most rested short men makes sense.
He should be used if hes going to be sent down for Wise today or tomorrow anyway!!!
What a dope. The game has been on mlb.tv all this time, and I never thought to check!
Stick, would you like us to boo you. It might improve your performance.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
in the night game, adam dunn will be in the lineup. its too bad feliciano wont be available if we need to get him out in a big spot. im not going to criticize his decision not to go to smith bc its unclear what his fate will be. if he stays on the team, there is no need to pitch him with an 8 run lead. i think they should have gone to sosa for the last 2 innings to up his confidence.
even if this all works out, and pelfrey theoretically throws a complete game, the mets relievers dont know their roles. in one game, feliciano is in to get one lefty batter in a big spot. in another game, hes pitching the 8th. today, hes pitching with a an 8 run lead. these pitchers need to know their roles. its too bad our manager doesnt know those roles either.
their roles are to get guys out when they are brought in to pitch.
bunch of BS that they can’t pitch if it isn’t exactly the right set of circumstances.
The only time that has any merit is with the closer when you get a guy that pretty much works an inning off of adrenelin, and they don’t tend to do well in mop up duty.
this really is just the case of another of our ignorant fans looking for something wrong even after a solid game when our bats woke up and finally picked up Santana. I wish the idiots who complain all year werent allowed to be happy when the best of times arrive.
Let us know when those best of times arrive. The rest of us are still dealing with, oh, I dunno, the greatest collapse ever.
cripes…looks like Duaner’s next. he’s warming up.
sosa’s in. my bad.
I didn’t understand why he brought Feliciano in either, but then again, I am not Willies gut.
SHould have been Smith this inning, and let him finish out the 9th too.
sadly, Feliciano is doing his best to make sure it is still a game!
hey Freel just hit a single. and Jr. just hit a double.
according to all you dime-store psycho-analysts this must be because willie doesnt kick dirt on umpires. and he sure dont know as much as you do about pitchers. fire him.
rofl. Great post. When its a huge lead like that, and your relievers havent worked in 3 days, could it be possible he is trying to keep his guys sharp? No!!!! What an absolutely stupid idea, our big group of idiot arm chair managers dont approve!
Um, that would be fine if it wasnt game one of a doubleheader at the start of a long strecth of back-to-back games including another double header…..
Also, getting guys work in THIS bullpen should NEVER be an issue. Getting them less work so their arms aren’t completly rubberized by august IS an issue.
with the double header y is santana out after 6? i just got home to watch how many pitches did he throw?
116
116 pitches and he was gassed when he finally got the last out in the 6th. He struggled today but kept the Reds to 3 runs.
BBmetsfreak,
I know. Was a bit of a disappointing effort out of our ace in game one of a DH. Still, he limited the damage as far as runs go.
Not that it makes a huge difference since its only saturday, but we may not see Sosa, because he may be spot starting on Wednesday because of last nights rain out.
willie really doesnt understand the double switch. the pitcher is due up 5th this inning.
um, the relievers are going one inning at a time, and they want to keep the bench players for the second game. There is absolutely no need to double switch there.
Maybe he was trying to give Alou a rest? You guys are seriously unbelievably stupid and pessimistic. Why would you keep Alou in the game? Endy was coming in to pinch hit anyway, so wtf is the big deal? Stop complaining about everything your lives must suck.
I didnt see that he invoked the double switch, I actually thought Willie did a straight up swap with Chavez in the 5th hole (which would have been the correct move) and that the poster above was wrong, which wasnt the case. My bad, sort of. Willie’s bad, certainly.
err, so much for all that. But it really doesnt matter with the big lead, but yea no need to put the pitcher in the 5 hole.
that doesnt matter. they wanted endy to replace alou in the field. he wasnt worried about the pitchers spot in the order up 8 runs.
I hope Beltran gets into one of those RBI streaks that he often does.
why the heck would Sanchez come in?
You don’t pitch anyone good in a game like this unless you are prepared to bring him back in the nightcap. And with Pelf starting, you are going to need at least 3, most likely 4, minimum out of the pen.
Sosa I leave out in case Pelf gets knocked out early and you need a long man. Even if he starts Wednesday, he would still need some work now to be ready.
I do not understand WIllie. I’m sure some of it is guys haven’t pitched in 3-4 days, but does he even know there is a 2nd game today?
Sosa is considered to have a rubber arm, which is why he would pitch the 9th. Please relax.
I was referring to Sanchez coming in, as someone earlier indicated (that he was warming up). Sosa makes more sense, but still would seem more logical to bring in Smith.
OK, now that I got the TV feed working, I can actually know what is going on!
SOsa I don’t understand either, unless he is also auditioning for AAA?
I guess Sosa could come back for 2-3 in the nightcap, but why take the chance?
Smith is the one guy I expected to see. Wonder if they changed their minds? It would make no sense to send him down after this game if they didn’t even use him.
why do we have to replace alou in the field? or if it was necessary to take alou out, why not use someone like castro or marlon to pinch hit and then swap alou and endy. i know it doesnt matter, but lets say we were to have the pitcher due up with 2 guys on and 2 guys out. i believe in always being offensive
When you’re up by 6 runs (at 10-4 and 12-6) you shouldn’t have to score any more runs, which is why defense comes into play. Double switching Endy in is the correct move.
“i know it doesnt matter, but lets say we were to have the pitcher due up with 2 guys on and 2 guys out. i believe in always being offensive”
Then you pinch hit for the pitcher. Duh.
“like a rock em sock em robot?”…………..o gary, o gary
Of course alou should come out. Maybe he will actually play in the night game!!!
so you pinch hit for the pitcher with marlon anderson…whats the difference. Feliciano is coming out of the game anyway.
Exactly
Schoenweis is capable and has pitched well. Lefties are hitting .111 against him this season. So don’t go firing Willie because he used Feliciano
here comes sosa. couldnt we have used him for two instead of going to feliciano. god willie frustrates me so much.
Willie used 3 pitchers for 3 innings. None of them are that great so far this year. Heilman, Feliciano and Sosa have struggled this year.
We have Sosa, Smith, Show, Sanchez and Wagner available for tonight. What could you possibly be frustrated with?
Because they think its cool to complain a lot.
It seems like there are a lot of people who know little about baseball in here considering some of the questions/comments.
of course. that’s why we are here, in a blog, not on the field.
Yes, because having intelligence concerning baseball automatically means that you play professional baseball. What flawless logic. Just because people post in blogs doesnt mean they have to all act like ignorant spoiled morons.
You throw around the word moron a lot for a guy who wanted us to pass on Johan.
how about
-we clearly will win this game, this has been clear since the 2nd inning.
-heilman, feliciano, and sosa have all been struggling a bit, so use them as filler.
WOW, pretty radical stuff.!!!!
with willie as coach we’ve scored 24 runs in two games.
i’m sorry that willie cant help you out, maybe he’ll let you hate him next game. go get a few beers and come back at 7:10
is that easier to understand
A win against the Reds with Johan on the mound? I am convinced! Willie is a GENIUS!
What a difference a good offense makes….the bullpen has pretty much looked like dogsh!t today. But with 12 runs on the board, no one is going to care about the pen.
we can argue about who willie should have and shouldn’t have gone to. the onus lies on the shoulders of the starters. can someone please go beyond 6!?
6.0 IP 10H 3ER 1BB 5K ……is a great line, except for the 10 hits…..which I was impressed to learn matched a career high for Johan.
i believe Maine went 8 and 1/3 last game.
ok, but he didnt make it into the 7th in his other 6 starts. ollie has yet to get through the 7th this year. pelfrey has done it once. figueroa hasnt. santana has gotten to the 7th four times this year, but hasnt been into the 8th all year.
Take a look around baseball. Very few starters pitch the eighth inning. That just how it goes. Thats how the Yankees won, its how the Red Sox won last year and its how the Mets won in 2006. Starters go 6, then Heilman, Sanchez and Wagner.
Starters are not going to pitch the eighth unless they have a no or one hitter going. It’s been this way since the Yankees had Lloyd, Rivera, Wetteland in 1996.
It’s not anything new.
The collapse has affected the short term memory of Met fans
Great effort this afternoon. Looking good!
Thanks Dr. We did our best here in the thread. We scuffled a bit early on, but ended up in a nice little rhythm. We need to turn the page and get back out here later tonite. I trust the posters.
:)
Given the nature of Santana’s struggling outing today, the bickering today between the pro-Willie and the anti-Willie contingent was nearly as amusing. The Mets offense takes first star of the afternoon, abviously.
Keith and Cohen read the comments section! Awesome…