Daily Archives: September 5, 2008
The Mets (79-62) lost to the Phillies (77-64) by the score of 3 to 0 tonight in Shea Stadium.
For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc, from today’s loss, go to SNY.tv.
Disappointing loss, but Brett Myers was outstanding tonight. No one, except Daniel Murphy could touch Myers tonight. I know it’s hard to swallow because it was a dominant performance by Myers, but you have to tip your hat to him. He executed beautifully and was in complete control from the start.
For much of the game Mike Pelfrey matched Myers pitch for pitch, except for one mistake to Greg Dobbs in the seventh.
The Mets offense attempted a comeback in the ninth against Phillies closer Brad Lidge, but it wasn’t to be. With two on and one out, Carlos Beltran looked as if he swung at ball four and looped a ball to left, but Eric Brunlett made a nice shoestring catch to rob Beltran of a hit. Lidge finished out the save as Ryan Church‘s bullet to dead center was hauled in by Shane Victorino.
I know some will overreact and think ‘uh oh, here we go again,’ but you shouldn’t. This is a very different Mets team and I fully expect them to put this loss behind them and come out an play tough tomorrow, or whenever mother nature let’s them play again.
Weather permitting, the Mets continue their three-game series tomorrow against the Phillies as Pedro Martinez takes on Jamie Moyer, starting at 3:55 pm.
Tagged Mike Nichols |The Game:
The first place Mets (79-61) begin a three-game series versus the second place Phillies (76-64) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- LF Daniel Murphy
- 3B David Wright
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- CF Carlos Beltran
- RF Ryan Church
- 2B Luis Castillo
- C Brian Schneider
- P Mike Pelfrey
The Pitchers:
RHP Mike Pelfrey (13-8, 3.66 ERA) starts for the Mets. Pelfrey is 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA in three career starts versus the Phillies. Left-handed batters are hitting .315 versus Pelfrey this season. Pelfrey leads the team with 270 ground outs. He is 6-1 with a 2.17 ERA in his last nine home starts.
RHP Brett Myers (8-10, 4.40 ERA) starts for the Phillies. In seven starts since July 20, Myers is 5-1 with a 1.78 ERA. Myers has held opponent to eight walks over his last 50.2 IP. He is 2-7 with a 6.01 ERA in 14 road starts this season. The Phillies are 10-3 in Myers 13 career starts at Shea Stadium.
The Notes:
The Mets are 10-5 versus the Phillies this season, including 4-2 at Shea Stadium.
Carlos Beltran batted .387 with 3 HR and 10 RBI during the Mets recent road trip. He is 9-for-29 (.310) with 3 2B, 1 HR and 6 RBI in his carrer versus Myers.
The Mets have hit a homerun in 14 consecutive games.
Jose Reyes is batting .345 (20-for-58) with 3 2B, 4 3B and 9 runs over his last 13 games. He is batting .308 with 2 2B, 1 HR and 5 RBI in 39 career at-bats versus Myers.
The Phillies are 10-48 when trailing after seven innings this season.
J.C. Romero has allowed three runs over his last 21 appearances. He has allowed four runs in 10.0 IP against the Mets this season.
Jimmy Rollins is batting .463 (19-for-41) with 2 HR and 10 RBI in his last 10 games. Rollins has one hit, a homerunm in three career at-bats versus Pelfrey.
How To Catch It:
Today’s game can be seen locally on CW11 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 |
Following his bullpen session in Shea Stadium today, Billy Wagner told reporters that he feels good, and that he hopes to return from the disabled list on Tuesday – though the team may choose to take advantage of the two off days next week, and bring him back on Friday.
Wagner said he will throw a simulated game against live hitters on Sunday.
He said the muscles in his arm still feel stiff from time to time, but he is not sore.
According to Jerry Manuel, prior to the game, if Wagner does not end up pitching in a minor-league rehab game before his return, he’ll first be used by the Mets in a non-save situation.
Prior to today’s game, Jerry Manuel told reporters that Oliver Perez will start on Tuesday against the Nationals in Shea Stadium.
In other words, Jon Niese will have to wait for a second start.
FishStripes notes that Luis Gonzalez can add another stadium to his home run list if he goes yard in St. Louis this weekend. The blog, however, leaves out a couple of stadiums. Gonzalez played in 44 different parks and homered in 38 of them.
Shawn Hill undergoes surgery this afternoon, the result of which ranges from pitching next spring to finding a need for ligament replacement. It would be the second Tommy John surgery for Hill.
Chad Durbin ranks as the Mets killer in the Phillies bullpen this season. In eight appearances against New York, he’s allowed six hits while striking out 14.
While Jair Jurrjens may represent the future of the Braves pitching staff, he hasn’t handled the light hitting Nationals well this season. Washington scored nine runs in 19 1/3 innings off the 22 year old.
For more real-time information, news, links and stats from around MLB, check out Baseball Musings.
In a recent chat for ESPN.com, Jerry Crasnick had the following to say when asked if Jerry Manuel could be a candidate to win National League Manager of the Year.
“Kevin, Interesting question. I was just thinking about that before the chat. At the risk of appearing inconsistent, yes, I think Manuel would be a strong Manager of the Year candidate if the Mets win the NL East. Tony La Russa looked like the early favorite. But with the Cardinals slipping, that doesn’t appear likely now.”
…thanks to long-time MetsBlog reader Kevin R, not only for the link, but for apparently asking the question of crasnick…nice work…
…if the mets put the Phillies away this weekend and then go on to win the division crown, i don’t see how anyone in the NL beats out manuel…he would have taken a team that was headed for disaster to a world series contender in three months time…he is one gangsta manager…
To watch today’s edition of 
New York Baseball Today, during which I talk by phone with Kevin Burkhardt about the Yankees plans for pitching, and how the Mets locker compares from this September to last, click play below:
To submit a question for tomorrow’s New York Baseball Today, send an e-mail to baseball@sny.tv.
Tagged SNY |
Billy Wagner just spent about 15 minutes in deep right field tossing around the old pigskin under the watchful eye of trainers.
Wagner started short, then worked long, looking pretty darn smooth throughout.
There seemed to be no hesitation on Wagner’s part – a great sign for Mets fans. Wagner has nursed a strained left forearm on the disabled list since Aug. 5, retroactive to Aug. 3. He further injured his throwing arm during a Aug. 14 rehab start in Binghamton.
Wagner, a former Virginia high school quarterback, has said that throwing around a football helps him get loose before games, the same way it aided Nolan Ryan’s ridiculously strong arm.
By the way, Wagner seems to prefer the three-step drop. So did former Jets signal caller Chad Pennington, who’s now in sunny Miami. Makes one wonder if the lefty fireballer could have excelled in another line of work.
According to multiple reports, Wagner is scheduled to throw a bullpen session prior to tonight’s game in Shea Stadium.
The weather report for Saturday does not look good.
I’m no meteorologist, but, if you go to any weather-related website, all you’ll see is lots and lots of rain every minute, all day, all night, coupled with 20 mph winds.
From what I can gather, if Saturday’s game is rained out, which seems highly probable, it will most likely be replayed on Sunday at 1 pm.
This means, the Mets could realistically be looking at a day-night double header with the Phillies on Sunday, during what could very well be the single-most important series of the season.
As of now, Pedro Martinez is scheduled to start on Saturday. If Saturday’s game is rained out, I wonder if the Mets will use this opportunity to skip him in the rotation, again, allowing him more time to work on his ‘flexibility.’
Tagged Shea Stadium |
Since August 14th, Aaron Heilman has pitched eight innings of relief and has allowed only one earned run on six hits. On August 26th, he threw three innings of shutout relief in a 13 inning loss to the Phillies.
Despite his recent success, I feel that some players have to do more than others to gain the respect of the fans. I look at how Scott Schoeneweis was booed on Opening Day without even throwing a pitch, and feel that the same negative stigma has befallen Aaron Heilman whether it is justified or not.
In the roulette game that is the bullpen, I hope Heilman can remain effective because this is after all a team sport, and I root for the name on the front of the jersey. However, if all things remain equal, the Mets should explore trading Heilman when the season is through for a couple of reasons.
First, I think that some players just need a fresh start to maximize their potential. If body language is any indication of happiness, then Heilman is unhappy in Queens. This is all speculation, and I never saw him throw at Notre Dame, but when I watch him pitch I feel his anxiety. One could say the same about when John Maine throws, but where Maine comes across as confident in his intensity, Heilman looks like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Second, the Mets may not be able to get as much value as they once could for the righty, but with pitching being in need nearly everywhere, the Mets still have a chance to bundle him with say Luis Castillo as noted earlier on Metsblog, and get something good in return. They could even market him as a potential starting pitcher.
Again, I wish Heilman the best and truly want him to succeed. If he remained a Met in 2009, I wouldn’t be disappointed. But sometimes players, a la Ryan Church, just need a fresh start.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche | ← Older posts
