Daily Archives: July 14, 2008
Chipper Jones is looking forward to sharing the All-Star game with his parents:
“It’s an experience in and of itself, and to be able to share it with those guys is something I’m really looking forward to,” Chipper said, referring to his parents. “Every All-Star experience is tremendous, but I can’t wait to see the look on my dad’s face when we interact together with some of the greats in the game.
“You interact with all those guys at some point during the course of a season. But my dad doesn’t get that opportunity very often, and I’d love to be able to take him down to the clubhouse, and take him out to Monument Grove, watch the look on his face.”
I’m hoping the good people at STATS, Inc. who do research for Fox can tell us if the 48 combined home runs by Chase Utley and Hanley Ramirez are the most for a starting keystone combination in the history of the All-Star Game.
Ryan Zimmerman begins his rehabilitation assignment today in Columbus as he works his way back from a shoulder injury.
For more real-time information, news, links and stats from around MLB, check out Baseball Musings.
According to the Associated Press, Barry Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, announced there is little chance he will play this year.
Borris also said reports about the Mets showing interest in Bonds were not true.
Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog continues his road trip through the Mets Minor League system with a stop in Port St. Lucie, and a look at pitching prospect Nick Carr.
Hyde on Carr:
“Carr has one superlative quality: he throws hard. Saturday night when I saw him, he touched 95 mph and sat at 92, 93 mph. However, a live arm alone is not enough to make a big league pitcher. And in fact, the movement on his fastball is inconsistent; Saturday, it showed fine armside run, but Carr is aware that in that regard, he must learn to command the pitch to where “if it’s moving, it’s moving all the time.”
Toby, who will be in Binghamton this week, is doing a terrific job providing in-depth information about the teams and players on his minor league road trip, which you can follow, by checking out MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com.
Tagged Mike Nichols, Minors |According to a press release on Mets.com, Mike Pelfrey was named the National League Player of the Week following his dominant starts over San Francisco and Colorado. 
In two starts, Pelfrey fired 15 shutout innings while striking out ten and walking none.
Since May 31st, the third-year pitcher has pitched to a 2.26 ERA in nine starts, including wins in his last six starts.
…congrats Mike…
…well deserved…
With relief pitching at a premium, one of the most sought after relievers at the trading deadline will be Colorado’s Brian Fuentes. 
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies have entered the chase for the lefty closer, which takes the total number of interested teams to roughly nine.
The Rockies have asked for the Phillies top two prospects in either pitcher Carlos Carrasco or catcher Lou Marson, while at MLBTradeRumors.com, pitcher Ian Kennedy has been discussed in talks with the Yankees.
As far as the Mets are concerned, Aaron Heilman‘s name was mentioned earlier in a deal for Fuentes, but with his resurgence in the last month and the club’s glaring need for outfield help, a trade is unlikely for time being.
So far this season Fuentes has 14 saves, a 3.41 ERA and 37 K’s in 37 IP.
…with the phillies’ track record of holding onto their prospects, i see fuentes heading to the AL, most likely Tampa Bay in my opinion…
To watch ESPN.com’s Jim Caple tribute to Shea Stadium, click play below:
…i’m going to miss shea stadium, as most of us will, and i will be sad to see it go…it was a second home to me…it was the place i took my future wife on our first date…my wife and i gave our son, Carter, the middle name of Shea because we have so many great memories there…and just as the kid said in the clip, it may be ugly, but it’s our home…
…i haven’t been to shea in about a year, i’m sad to say, but i do plan on getting there in the very near future…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Shea Stadium |During yesterday’s Futures Game at Yankee Stadium, in which the World defeated the U.S.A by a score of 3 to 0, Mets OF prospect Fernando Martinez was 1-for-2, while playing five innings in center field.
Keith Law of ESPN.com said Martinez was one of ten who impressed at the event, writing:
“No one from either squad looked better in BP than Martinez, who put one in the third deck in right, another off the facing of the second deck and a third to dead center. He lets the ball travel and commits late to swinging, which he can do because of his plus bat speed. He only had two at-bats, because just one of the five World Team outfielders, the overmatched Gorkys Hernandez, played the full nine innings.”
Martinez is hitting .294 with 12 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR and 21 RBI in 52 games with Double-A Binghamton this season.
…i’m excited about the Teenage Hitting Machine and wouldn’t be disappointed to see him up with the Mets filling one of corner outfield voids, especially if the Omar Minaya and company cannot upgrade before the july 31 trading deadline…
Tagged Mike Nichols |As noted during last night’s game, Jose Reyes is the first player in Major League history to have 10 HR, 20 2B, 10 3B and 30 stolen bases before the All Star break.
Reyes continued his slump that marred the second half of 2007 in April, hitting just .240 with 6 stolen bases, while walking only 9 times in 100 at-bats.
However, since May 1, Reyes is hitting .320 with a .396 OBP, 8 HR, 32 RBI and 26 SB.
…it’s a shame reyes was not named to the all star team, as he has put historic first half numbers and without question has better than both Miguel Tejada and Christian Guzman, who will represent the national league, along with Hanley Ramirez, at shortstop…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Stats |
The Mets are 19-9 in their last 28 games, a half game out of first place, and have won nine games in a row, their longest such streak since 2000.
Jerry Manuel, on being in second place:
“At some point we have to get back in the position of being chased, but right now we’re the chasers and doing a good job of that. I like the situation where we are right now, where I’m certain we’re going to play well.”
Carlos Beltran, on his team’s recent performance:
“The way we’re playing is what everyone thought we’d be able to do early in the season. We didn’t do it, but I believe that things happen for a reason, and right now things are coming our way in every aspect of the game.”
“When you put together some wins, you begin to develop confidence. When you win nine straight, then you start to trust every player and everybody that they’re going to make the right play or get the big hit or make the big pitch.”
…not the best time for a break, but if you asked me 3 weeks ago if i’d be happy with a nine game winning streak heading into the all-star game, i would have gladly, but skeptically taken it…
…but as ricky bobby once said, ‘if you ain’t first, you’re last’…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |In an article for the Journal News, Mike Lopresti comments on how the final season of Shea Stadium is being unfairly overshadowed by the final season of Yankee Stadium.
Lopresti writes:
“Plain truth: Shea is an outdated, scruffy place. Then again, so is Yankee Stadium. But Shea’s history is rich enough that it should not be left to the wrecking ball without recognition.”
“Yankee Stadium had its mighty champions. But it never witnessed a Cinderella double feature like 1969, when the Joe Namath Super Bowl Jets were followed by the Mets winning the World Series in their eighth season, after losing 737 games in the first seven.”
“Yankee Stadium has more famous moments than pretzels. But how many have been replayed more than the ground ball squirting beneath Bill Buckner’s glove in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series?”
…i didn’t hear it, but someone told me that joe morgan and jon miller kept talking about the all-star game and yankee stadium during last night’s Mets game on espn…of course they probably had to market their network, but this exemplifies lopresti’s point…
…being overshadowed by the yankees is nothing new, but there was a yankee fan at the game last night who was chanting ’26′ over and over in regards to the team’s many championships …maybe i’m being unfair, but to me this type of arrogance is what separates us from them, especially on a night when the yanks got shut down by the blue jays…
…besides, if the mets were around since 1913 also, who knows how many championships they’d have by now…i’m just saying…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche, Shea Stadium | ← Older posts
