Daily Archives: August 26, 2008
The Game:
The Mets (73-59) begin a quick two-game series against the Phillies (72-59) tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, starting at 7:05 pm.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Damion Easley
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- LF Fernando Tatis
- RF Ryan Church
- C Ramon Castro
- P Pedro Martinez
The PItchers:
RHP Pedro Martinez (4-3, 4.97 ERA) starts for the Mets.
LHP Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.54 ERA) starts for the Phillies.
How To Catch It:
Tonight’s game can be seen locally on SNY and heard 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 |
Prior to today’s game, Jerry Manuel told reporters that he will begin using Ryan Church every day in right field, meaning Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis and Nick Evans will split time in left.
Tonight, Tatis will start in left field, instead of Evans, against LHP Jaime Moyer, because, according to Manuel, Tatis is better suited to face the ‘crafty,’ veteran.
…in other words, while murphy will most certainly play every day against right-handed pitchers, against whom he is batting .321, manuel will consider the night’s left-handed starting pitcher when debating evans, who is batting .340 against lefties, and tatis, who is batting .316 against lefties…
…jeez, jerry, that’s a lot to keep track of…
Also, Damion Easley will start at second base tonight, instead of Luis Castillo, suggesting they, too, are in a lefty-righty platoon.
For what it’s worth, Castillo is hitting .268 against right-handed pitching, compared to .227 against lefties, while Easley is batting .271 against left-handed pitching and .257 against righties.
…Update…
Later, during his nightly interview during WFAN’s pre-game show, Manuel said, of the 30 games that are left, Castillo will start ‘the bulk’ of them.
According to Manuel, Castillo is simply getting tonight ‘off.’
Tagged Nick Evans |Prior to today’s game, Jerry Manuel indicated that a player from the team’s minor league system will start on Tuesday, September 2, in place of John Maine.
According to a report this morning in Newsday, citing ‘a person familiar with the club’s thinking,’ Mets Triple-A LHP Jon Niese is most likely to be the pitcher called upon for the start.
In six starts for Triple-A this season, Niese is 5–1 with a 3.65 ERA.
In other words, this will not be happening…thankfully.
Today on 
‘s New York Baseball Today, SNY’s Chris Cotter and I talk about the significance of the Mets two-game series with the Phillies, as well as the Yankees three-game set with Red Sox, which you can watch by clicking play below:
To submit a question for tomorrow’s edition of New York Baseball Today, featuring me, Steve Lombardi from WasWatching.com and Pete McCarthy from MLB.com, e-mail baseball@sny.tv.
Tagged SNY |To kick off the Mets highly important two-game series against the Phillies tonight, I 
did a quick Q&A with Jason Weitzel, who does a tremendous job writing about the Phillies at his blog, Beerleaguer.
Mike Nichols:
With the Phillies near the bottom in the league in productive outs, do you believe they rely too heavily on the long ball than situational hitting?
Jason Weitzel:
Good point about productive outs; it would make good future blog fodder to take a look at those numbers. Their situational hitting has indeed been a major concern over the last few months, a byproduct of the way this roster revolves around the long ball, plus, down years from Jimmy Rollins and others. There aren’t many guys making consistent contact, and when the slumps are spread evenly through the lineup, it’s obviously tough to manufacture runs. Recently, manager Charlie Manuel shuffled the lineup to good results, splitting up Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, a move that should have been done much earlier. He also moved Shane Victorino, their best hitter since the All-Star break, to fifth, which has helped set the table for the bottom half of the lineup.
Nichols:
In seven starts since returning from his minor-league demotion, Brett Myers is 4-1 with a 1.67 ERA. What has been the difference for Myers since his return?
Weitzel:
He’s throwing strikes. In his previous start, he threw 82 of 119 pitches for strikes, and last night against the Dodgers, he threw 71 of 110 for strikes, allowing nine hits (too many hits), but fanning eight over seven shutout frames. His curveball has been nasty and he’s not making dumb mistakes out over the plate. In the seven starts since the All-Star break, he’s surrendered just two home runs, this after serving up 24 in his first 17. The minor league demotion was the right call, because he’s a changed pitcher.
Nichols:
The Mets bullpen has been the their achilles heel this season. What do you believe the Phillies biggest issue is going into the final month of the season?
Weitzel:
This is a tough call. It used to be automatic to say “pitching,” but pitching hasn’t been the issue. I’d like to think the offense is starting to turn the corner after sweeping the Dodgers, but I’m hesitant. The pitching staff has been solid all season, and the starters have absolutely carried them lately. I’m a little concerned with that eighth inning, where Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin are being rotated. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard need a strong finish. In Rollins, we’re talking about a guy who had a .731 OPS heading into yesterday’s game. That has to improve if the Phils hope for better offensive consistency.
Nichols:
Pat Burrell is hitting just .230 with 10 HR and 33 RBI at home this season, as compared to .303 with 20 HR and 42 RBI on the road. Surprising, considering Burrell has always seem to have more success at CBP than on the road in recent years. To what do you attribute to Burrell’s lack of success at home this season?
Weitzel:
Interesting. I hadn’t noticed, actually, because overall he’s been a consistent producer and he had a great game at home on Saturday. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Perhaps he’s pressing to do too much in the home bandbox.
Nichols:
In addition to Jimmy Rollins not producing at the level he was last season, he has been benched twice by Charlie Manuel for disciplinary reasons this season and recently criticized the fan base. Do you get the sense Rollins has lost creditability among his teammates and have the fans given him a pass due to his success in 2007?
Weitzel:
I can’t speak for all fans, and I definitely can’t speak for his teammates, but I know he’s earned some degree of immunity from this individual for putting the 2007 team on his back. Nevertheless, that sentiment is only shared by, at best, 50 percent of others. I’m not going to lie; he’s not the same Jimmy as he was in 2007, where you came to expect something dynamic in each of his at bats. I wonder if he’ll hit 10 home runs this year after finishing ’07 with 30. He also has just 59 runs following 139 a year ago. It’s a fair question to wonder if he’s lost the edge after achieving the ultimate individual honor a year ago. Now, it’s like he realizes it’s time to catch up, but he’s all screwed up at the plate. The benchings suggested that a superstar glide has indeed set in, and the comments about fans couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the team and Jimmy were mired in a horrible offensive slump. A lot of frustration came to a head last week, from both sides.
Nichols:
Lastly, you recently posted that with similar schedules, your readers sense the NL East hinges on the last five head-to-head games between the Mets and Phillies. Do you believe this as well?
Weitzel:
To a certain extent. The head-to-head games with the Mets last season proved to be the difference. But so does every win and every loss. With the two sides all even in the loss column, it’s certainly a massive series. I’m thinking a four-game sweep of the Dodgers changes several opinions as to the importance of this particular series. Before that, the Phillies were starting to back themselves into corner. Should be a great test for both teams.
Nichols:
Thanks, Jason. Keep up the good work.
Again, Jason does a terrific job covering the Phillies, using a very analytical and level-headed approach. I highly recommend you check out Beerleager on a regular basis.
Also, be sure to check out my five keys for the Mets this series that Jason will be posting later today.
Tagged Mike Nichols, Phillies |The Mets begin a two-game series with the Phillies tonight in Philadelphia, with Pedro Martinez taking on Jamie Moyer.
On Wednesday, Johan Santana will face Kyle Kendrick.
Carlos Beltran, as quoted by New York Post:
“It’s not going to be easy…We know that from last year. We’ve been saying all year that this is a new year. Now is our chance to prove it, in games like the ones we have coming up…Our goal is to win the division, just like it’s been all year, just like it was last year. We remember what happened, we’ve talked about it and now we can do something about it if we keep playing the way we can play. If we do that, we’ll be fine…We’ve already fought through other things this season. Last year, we didn’t really have to do that. This is a different team.”
…i feel very business-like about this series…i’m of the ‘heads-down, just win,’ mentality, at least for right now…it’s just two games…if it was four, i’d be a bit more pumped knowing more was on the line…but with just two games, and still 30 games left, i’m not feeling the expected level of anxiety that i normally have…
The Mets announced yesterday that they have sold over four million tickets in a season for the first time ever.
…that is awesome…it is…that said, i have been 
to several games this season, and, when they announce that night’s attendance on the scoreboard, according to my eyeballs, the number is rarely ever close to how many people had actually been in the building…
…not that this matters…i mean, four million tickets sold is four million tickets sold…but, i’d be curious to know how many people actually passed through the turn-styles – because as a fan who wants the crowd to be loud and passionate, actual bodies in the building is a far more important number to me than how many people paid, but maybe didn’t show…
Tagged Shea Stadium |Now that John Maine has been put on the 15–day disabled list, the Mets announced that Oliver Perez will start on Friday against the Marlins, while Mike Pelfrey will pitch on Saturday.
Meaning, the Mets will not need an additional starter, to replace Maine, until Tuesday, September 2 against the Brewers.
Prior to yesterday’s game, Omar Minaya told reporters that the team will consider using Triple-A LHP Jon Niese in place of Maine, while also mentioning that Brian Stokes, as well as Triple-A RHP Robert Parnell and RHP Nelson Figueroa, could be considered as well.
That said, according to a report in Newsday, citing ‘person familiar with the club’s thinking,’ Niese is most likely to be the pitcher called upon to start in place of Maine.
In six starts for Triple-A this season, Niese is 5–1 with a 3.65 ERA.
I’m hoping for Niese, because I feel his left-handedness and curve ball will work well, at least in the short term, against a team that has yet to face him.
If not Niese, I would go with Figueroa, since I would prefer the Mets leave Stokes in the bullpen, where they continue to need help in the absence of Billy Wagner.
Paul Greco of the local Gotham Baseball Magazine has been selected as a finalist in MLB’s Rookie Reporter Showdown 2008, the winner of which will cover the World Series for MLB.com.
To watch Greco’s video for the contest, or to vote for him as MLB’s Rookie Reporter, click here.
Tonight, August 26, SNY will host a Mets Viewing Party at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone on 7th Ave and 49th Street in New York City, for the first of two games between the Mets and Phillies.
In addition to televising the game, SNY will be giving away 1,000 Mets tickets during the event.
Tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 27, for Game 2, I’ll be hosting a MetsBlog Night at Butterfield 8 in Manhattan, located at 5 E. 38th Street, between Fifth and Madison.
Butterfield 8 will be offering a $30 drink special, which includes an open bar of beer, wine and house mix drinks from first pitch to last pitch.
Tagged Phillies |
