Daily Archives: May 29, 2008
The Mets (26–26) defeated the Dodgers (26–27) by the score of 8 to 4 in Shea Stadium tonight.
For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.
…like an idiot, i pulled the plug on my laptop, which did not 
have a battery in it, and thus lost all of my in-game notes…so, i will work on a more detailed post for tomorrow morning…
…in the meantime, know that David Wright hit two two-run home runs; Claudio Vargas was good, not great; Endy Chavez is out of the cage; SNY is clearly making a concerted effort to show more shots of a pumped-up Willie Randolph in the dugout, and there’s nothing wrong with that; Luis Castillo is alive; Carlos Delgado played surprisingly good defense; the Mets look inspired, are smiling and i like it; Brad Penny will not be naming his kid Shea any time soon; Hollywood Todd Zeile was in the house, complete with t-shirt and sunglasses; Carlos Muniz has a nice fastball; Scott Schoeneweis has been great this season, and it continues; and the Keyspan sign is now the NationalGrid sign, which is weird to me…
The Mets continue their four-game series with the Dodgers tomorrow night at Shea Stadium, starting at 7 pm, with John Maine facing Clayton Kershaw.
The Game:
The Mets (25-26) begin a four-game series versus Dodgers (26-26) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm EST.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- LF Fernando Tatis
- RF Endy Chavez
- C Brian Schneider
- P Claudio Vargas
The Pitchers:
RHP Claudio Vargas (1-2, 3.93 ERA) toes the rubber for the Mets. Vargas was stellar in his last start on May 24 versus the Rockies, earning his first victory as a Met, allowing two runs on four hit and a walk while striking out three over 7.0 IP. In eight career games, six starts, versus the Dodgers, Vargas is 2-2 with a 4.29 ERA.
RHP Brad Penny (5-5, 5.32 ERA) makes his 12 start of the season for the Dodgers. Penny took the loss in last start on May 24 versus the Cardinals surrendering four runs on four hits while striking out five and walking two over 7.0 IP. Left-handed batters are hitting .361 versus Penny this season. He is 5-12 with a 6.21 ERA in 20 career starts versus the Mets.
The Notes:
David Wright is 25-for-83 (.304) with 4 2B, 3 HR and 10 RBI over his last 20 games. He is batting .529 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in 17 career versus Penny.
The Mets bullpen has allowed two runs over its last 17.0 IP and retired 24 of the last 25 batters they’ve faced.
Juan Pierre is batting .529 (9-for-17) with 4 2B, 1 3B in his career versus Vargas.Andre Ethier is batting .412 in his last 34 at-bats. He is 2-for-8 with a homerun in his career versus Vargas.
How To Catch It:
Tonight’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 |
In a post to Fan Graphs, Eric Seidman explains why Aaron 
Heilman is not likely to finish the season the way he has started.
According to David Lennon, at his blog for Newsday, Fernando Tatis reminds him of a famous cartoon superhero.
In a report for FOXSports.com, Dayn Perry lists Carlos Delgado among 10 players who are not earning their paycheck.
According to the Star Tribune, the Twins picked up LHP Craig Breslow, who went to my high school in Trumbull, CT, where my brother-in-law is now the varsity manager and in the third round of the State Tournament.
Lastly, congratulations to Shannon Forde, the Mets director of media relations, who gave birth this morning to her son Nicholas.
At ESPN.com, fantasy baseball guru Tristan H. Cockcroft takes a glimpse into the future and presents his All-2012 fantasy team. 
The New York Metropolitans who he named to the team are David Wright, Jose Reyes and Johan Santana.
…it is a pretty scary that in four years both d-wright and reyes will only be 29-years-old…
…MLB has some bright future ahead with the names on this list…
…i was just having a conversation with some friends about how erratic Oliver Perez can be…you know, he’s cruising along, looks great, then, boom, wheels fall off, he’s letting up hits, walks, the pinball machine is flashing and the game is out of hand…and so, knowing how badly we all want to see a no-hitter in Shea Stadium, the following silly question came to mind:
[Poll=107]
Tagged Oliver Perez |According to the Associated Press, Ryan Church, sidelined with his second concussion of the season, has remained home during the Mets home stand.
Mets GM Omar Minaya defended his decision of not putting Church on the disabled list by telling reporters, “I don’t second-guess myself … Those things happen. We have to make those decisions on a daily basis throughout the season. A lot of guys are day to day and you ask yourself, Do you do it?”
…the buzz from Shea Stadium suggests that church could be back in the lineup sometime this weekend…
Speaking of the GM, John Delcos of the Journal News claims that ‘Minaya and the Mets basically threw Ryan Church under the bus.’
…let’s not rush back into anything ryan…take your time man…get the cobwebs out…we need you for the long haul…
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Mets won a game in which they trailed in the bottom of the ninth inning and again in extra innings, like last night, was in 2005 
against the Angels, during which Marlon Anderson hit a game-tying, inside-the-parker in the ninth and Cliff Floyd hit a walk-off home run in the 10th.
In fact, the Mets have only won seven such games ever.
What made last night so different, Elias points out, is that the Mets went from trailing to winning on one play – with the winning run starting at first base, on a hit that remained in play.
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I type an average of 3,000 words per day on MetsBlog.com.
My goal, and one of the driving forces in the site’s success, is to get content on to 
MetsBlog as soon as I can, so you have plenty to read as soon as possible.
Quite often I will type so fast that I’ll mispell a word, unknowingly goof up a stat, etc., because my goal is to convey an idea, link or moment and get content up as quickly as I can.
This fast-paced style is unique to blogging, and most people are not used to it – especially people who are mostly familiar with newspapers and magazine, which have large staffs, editors and, more importantly, time.
In fact, there are times when I write so quickly, and am so eager to move on to a new topic, I actually forget to use spellcheck.
I do not have an editor. I do not have a staff of people looking over my every word, proof reading what I write, as I post and move on to find new information.
Technically, you are my editor, whether you realize it or not. When I goof up, as I often do, readers of this site will point out the error, and I’ll make the correction.
On a blog, this is as close to the editor-writer dynamic as I will get and, instead of proofreading, I rely on my readership to point out mistakes – at which point I make the appropriate change, just like an editor and writer.
In other words, thank you for your help and for keeping a watchful eye on the work being done by MetsBlog’s writers.
It is greatly appreciated, and very much welcomed and, yes, I misspelled misspell on purpose.
Keep on smiling,
Earlier today, during an interview on WFAN, Bobby Valentine was asked if he would ever return to manage the Mets, to which he responded – following a long pause:
“I’ve known Willie Randolph since 1974, I have all the love and respect for Willie and don’t wish bad on him or anyone who has done me wrong. Willie will turn it around and have a great career. It will be someone’s offer to bring me back and my decision if that is right or not.”
Asked if he could manage any place other than New York City, Valentine said:
“I would only come back (to MLB) if I was really wanted – and what I bring are exactly what the organization, the team and the town need. I think that will happen someday, somewhere, and it wont be because of location on the map, but because of how the pieces fit in my life.”
Regarding Benny Abayani, who plays for Valentine in Japan, he says he doesn’t play everyday, “but he cheers me up.”
Valentine listed Todd Pratt’s home run against the D’Backs in the playoffs, Robin Ventura’s grand-slam single, and Mike Piazza’s home run in the first game after 9/11, among his favorite moments while managing the Mets.
According to Valentine, it would be great to see the Mets in the World Series during the final season of Shea Stadium.
Lastly, he says he cheers for the Mets every day, “and I hope it turns out well.”
To listen to Valentine’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.
…thanks to Adam from SNY for the info, quotes, etc…
According to David Lennon, in a post to his blog for Newsday, when Pedro Martinez returns next 
week, the Mets may keep Mike Pelfrey in the rotation and move Claudio Vargas to long relief.
…and, i guess, demote Carlos Muniz, who is creating his own version of the Heath Bell Shuttle…
Lennon also writes about Fernando Tatis, Carlos Delgado, and Willie Randolph’s new-found strategy of not protecting his veterans.
Speaking of Delgado, who will likely play tonight against the right-handed Brad Penny, at his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin wonders if Randolph will once again bench Delgado on Friday when the team faces the left-handed Clayton Kershaw.
…i hope so, since i’m going to the game tomorrow night, and am super excited to see John Maine vs. kershaw…
…the thing is, i want delgado to lock down the first base job, because it will mean he finally started hitting…however, if he’s going to remain inconsistent, and check in among the worst hitting first basemen in the league, what else is willie supposed to do but put him on the pine…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey | ← Older posts
