Daily Archives: July 11, 2008
The Mets (49–44) defeated the Rockies (39–55) by the score or 2 to 1 in Shea Stadium.
The Mets have won seven games in a row, their longest winning streak since 2006.
For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.tv.
The game had been knotted up at one since the fifth inning, until Damion Easley hit a decisive, two-out, solo home run to deep, deep center to give the Mets the lead in the eighth inning.- Oliver Perez was absolutely slinging his fastball tonight, reaching 94 mph on a number of pitches. He just looks so comfortable. He had a no hitter through two batters in to the fifth inning. SNY zoomed in to show 0 Hits on the scoreboard, and, naturally, on the next pitch, Perez not only let up a hit, but it was a home run. I blame the truck. Nevertheless, Perez kept it together. He got out of self-created bases loaded jam in the sixth, but was removed in the following inning after letting the first two batters reach base.
- It’s really sad how Shea Stadium totally killed the ‘Jose, Jose, Jose’ chant, by blasting it almost every single time he steps to the plate.
- The Mets are running the bases very well of late. In fact, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider all wisely took second base on hits that would otherwise have been singles.
- Speaking of Reyes, down 1–0, he tied up the game with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
- I love seeing shots of Omar Minaya talking on his cell phone, from his suite, when the trade deadline is just a few weeks away. He may simply be getting a honey-do list from his wife for all I know, but I like to assume he’s talking trades instead.
- Three of the team’s five starting pitchers are now growing beards, in John Maine, Perez and Mike Pelfrey.
- In the seventh, with the scored tied at one, and runners on second and third with one out, Aaron Heilman struck out back to back hitters to end the inning.
- In the eighth, Jose Reyes bobbled the turn on a potential inning-ending double play, which allowed the inning to continue with runners on third and first and two out. Pedro Feliciano entered in relief of Duaner Sanchez, and walked the first batter he faced, then got an inning-ending, weak ground ball to first base.
- The Rockies left the bases loaded in the sixth, seventh and eighth inning, thanks mostly to nine walks from the Mets pitching staff.
- Following Easley’s home run, Billy Wagner shut the Rockies down in the ninth with a 1–2–3 inning.
- I can’t believe I am scoreboard watching in July.
- In the end, as Gary Cohen put it during tonight’s broadcast, the Mets played this game perfectly.
The Mets continue their three-game series with the Rockies tomorrow at 3:55 pm, with Pedro Martinez (3-2, 6.86 ERA) taking on Ubaldo Jimenez (4-8, 4.21 ERA).
The Mets have designated OF Chris Aguila for assignment, while recalling C Robinson Cancel from Triple-A New Orleans.
…so, i guess they’re believing in the three-catcher system, again…and, again, i still don’t understand, unless, finally, they intend to use Ramon Castro as a pinch hitter on days that Brian Schneider is starting…
The Game:
The Mets (48-44) begin a three-game series against the Rockies (39-54) today at Shea, starting at 7:10 pm.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- RF Endy Chavez
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 2B Damion Easley
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- LF Fernando Tatis
- C Brian Schneider
- P Oliver Perez
The Pitchers:
LHP Oliver Perez (6-5, 4.62 ERA) starts for the Mets.
RHP Aaron Cook (11-6, 3.66 ERA) starts for the Rockies.
How To Catch It:
Today’s game can be seen locally on CW11 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 |
According to STATS, Inc., today’s Phillies start Kyle Kendrick is the best supported pitcher in the National League, 7.60 runs per 9 innings pitched.
Tim Redding gets the nod for Washington against Houston. Redding has nine no-decisions in his last nine starts, despite a 5.05 ERA. The Nationals are 7-2 in those games.
Chipper Jones‘s batting average dropped to .375, but he’s a .396 career hitter at PETCO Park. Jones is one player who can generate power at PETCO with six home runs in 48 at bats, good for an .812 slugging percentage.
Chris Volstad makes his first Major League start tonight as the Marlins play the Dodgers. In 91 innings at AA this season, Chris did not allow a home run.
For more real-time information, news, links and stats from around MLB, check out Baseball Musings.
According to Jon Heyman at SI.com, while the Mets and Rays are interested, ‘the D-Backs and Cardinals are among the most ardent pursuers of Pirates star outfielder Jason Bay.’
In the report, Heyman quotes Pirates GM Neal Huntington as saying, “If we get the right match, we’ll make a move.”
The Pirates are believed to be seeking ‘multiple upper-echelon prospects,’ such as D-Backs 2B prospect Emilio Bonifacio and Cardinals OF prospect Colby Rasmus.
In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dejan Kovacevic quotes Huntington as saying:
“Candidly, there is not the depth that we need. As we’ve talked about, if we’re going to be a championship organization, we’re going to need a lot of pieces. Especially pitching.”
As I wrote this morning on MetsBlog.com, the buzz from Atlanta has suggested the Pirates recently asked for at least one top position prospect, such as SS Brent Lillibridge, in exchange for OF-1B Xavier Nady.
In terms of the Mets, I believe Nady would likely cost a package including Fernando Martinez, or Mike Carp, Jon Neise and probably another pitching prospect, though, based on what Heyman is writing I am not even sure that would be enough.
Lastly, much like he said yesterday on SNY, Heyman writes that the Mets could end up going after Angels OF Juan Rivera, who is hitting .194 with 3 home runs in 34 games for the Angels.
In 2006, Rivera hit .310 with 24 HR and 85 RBI, but has struggled to return to that level of production ever since.
Rivera can be a free agent at the end of this season.
Tagged Xavier Nady |Over the last few weeks on MetsBlog.com, more than 5,000 readers took part in surveys that dished out Mid-Season Grades to specific players on the Mets.
Here are the final results:
| Pitchers | Grade | Position Players | Grade |
| Mike Pelfrey | B+ | Ryan Church | A- |
| Johan Santana | B+ | Brian Schneider | B+ |
| Bullpen | B | Jose Reyes | B+ |
| Billy Wagner | B | David Wright | B |
| John Maine | B | Carlos Beltran | B- |
| Oliver Perez | C | Luis Castillo | C- |
| Pedro Martinez | D | Carlos Delgado | D+ |
On Wednesday, I talked to SNY’s Matt Yalloff about the results during SNY’s Pre Game Show, which you can watch by clicking the play button below:
David Wright will replace Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano on the National League All-Star Team.
…thanks to superstar Jeff Goldman for the information…
MLB.com reported earlier this week that Soriano is expected to miss at least six weeks after suffering a broken bone in his left hand on Wednesday night.
…unreal, after all of that voting wright gets in anyway…
Yesterday, Omar Minaya announced that Moises Alou could realistically miss the remainder of the season should he chose to have surgery on his torn hamstring.
Meanwhile, as I mentioned on SNY’s The Wheel House yesterday, which you can watch by clicking here, it would be wise for the Mets to approach this year’s Trade Deadline assuming Ryan Church will miss additional time this season, even if he returns healthy from his current stint on the disabled list.
And so, during his talk with reporters, Minaya said:
“Right now, we’re going to give the guys we have an opportunity. But, you have to continue to look at things and see if there’s somebody out there that we feel is an upgrade…Are we going to be in the marketplace looking for guys to improve? Yes, but it has to be the right guy.”
That said, in the New York Post, Joel Sherman recently wrote that names such as OF-1B Xavier Nady, OF Raul Ibanez, OF Randy Winn and OF Adam Dunn are will be most associated with the Mets.
Sherman also mentions that Minaya might be willing to take on a bloated contract, if it helped to reduce the value of the prospect needed to acquire a corner outfielder.
The sense I get from people in Seattle and San Francisco is that neither the Mariners nor Giants are eager to trade Winn or Ibanez, who are both relatively affordable, under contract and are both still useful and productive players.
The buzz from Cincinnati indicates that the market for Dunn is surprisingly quiet. Additionally, Dunn will likely be a Type-A Free Agent, and could net the Reds two draft picks, assuming he is not re-signed to an extension - in short, the two draft picks could end up being far more valuable than the type of prospect a team will trade for Dunn today. What’s more, the word around baseball paints Dunn as an apathetic strike-out machine, who, while he occasionally walks, is more or less useless in the field, and so he will bring more in name recognition than actual results.
As for Nady, who is the player I would like the Mets to 
acquire, and the name that is mentioned most to me by other fans, at this point, from what I can gather, the Pirates are not feeling pressure to trade him.
In fact, the buzz from Atlanta suggests that the Pirates recently asked for at least one top position prospect, such as SS Brent Lillibridge. In terms of the Mets, I believe Nady would likely cost a package including Fernando Martinez, or Mike Carp, Jon Neise and probably another pitching prospect.
There is no indication that the Pirates will ever accept a package built around Aaron Heilman, as so many fans like suggest.
Regarding the free agent market, Omar Minaya essentially ruled out Barry Bonds while speaking to WFAN earlier this week. What’s more, according to a recent report by Ken Davidoff in Newsday, citing an e-mail from Minaya, the Mets are not interested in Kenny Lofton either.
Lastly, according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, 
speaking yesterday on SNY’s Pre-Game show, the Mets are most interested in 1B-OF Juan Rivera, who is hitting just .194 with three home runs in 34 games for the Angels.
In 2006, Rivera hit .310 with 24 HR and 85 RBI, but has struggled to return to that level of production ever since.
Rivera can be a free agent at the end of this season.
Tagged Randy Winn, Xavier Nady |At The ‘Ropolitans, Andrew Vazzano is Live Blogging his 
experience at MLB’s Fan Fest from Yankee Stadium, where he writes:
“So far, I’m completely overwhelmed with the massive undertaking MLB has done here. Best part so far: free Taco Bell tacos for everyone.”
…have fun, andrew…i am sure it’s a very cool time over there…
According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, the Angels, Dodgers, Rays, Braves, Diamondbacks, Mets and Cardinals are all interested in Rockies OF Matt Holliday.
However, as Ringolsby writes, though there in no pressure for them to deal him, “If a team is willing to give up two players ready to step in at the big-league level plus a legitimate prospect, the Rockies would listen.”
For more on Holliday’s availability, and what it might take to acquire him, assuming he can be had, click here and here.
← Older posts
