Daily Archives: September 9, 2008
The Mets defeated the Nationals by the score of 10 to 8 in Shea Stadium tonight.
For a recap, boxscore, stats, etc., go to SNY.
Here’s the short of it, the Mets had the lead, the Nationals tied it, the Mets took back the lead, the Nationals tied it, then the Nationals took a lead, and added on, but Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado hit back-to-back home runs in th sixth, after which the bullpen did it’s job and that was that.
The thing I am left thinking about is Delgado. It’s not like he’s just hitting home runs. This guy is teeing off on the ball like it’s slow-pitch softball. His first home run tonight hit the far-left corner of the scoreboard, just off of center field, which is a bomb. His second home run hit the AZEK board in back of the team’s bullpen. It’s crazy. Honestly, I am afraid to let myself be excited about it, for fear that it may soon end. Because, I do not recall ever watching this sort of hot streak before, most all of which occur in such big spots, for such a long time, with such towering power. It’s bordering on hard-to-believe, at this point – and I hope it continues for at least another month…or so.
Also worth noting, I think it’s important that Luis Ayala was able to lock down an easy save on the first game back after the reality of Billy Wagner’s exit; also David Wright had a ‘clutch’ RBI single; and, lastly, for better or worse, Luis Aguayo may be the most aggressive, in-the-moment third base coach I have seen in a long while – seriously, try decaf, Luis.
In the end, unlike so many games from one year ago, the Mets fought back on four occasions tonight to get the lead and win on a night when the Phillies lost.
The Mets conclude their two-game series with the Nationals tomorrow at 7 pm in Shea Stadium, with Odalis Perez (6-10, 4.19 ERA) taking on Mike Pelfrey (13-9, 3.62 ERA).
Jerry Manuel, prior to today’s game, when asked on-air by SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt if Luis Ayala is ‘the guy,’ i.e., the team’s closer, said:
“Yeah, right now he is the guy, unless he has some tremendous setbacks and we have to make an adjustment. The thing you have to realize, in this short of period of time, you can ill-afford to give a guy three shots. Where, during the season, I’m gonna give you three shots at it and if you don’t do it I’ve got some one else. Here, I can’t afford three shots. In saying ‘he’s the guy,’ that doesn’t mean two days from now he is still the guy – if you understand what I’m saying. So, that’s kind of where we are in that evaluation process. That’s why it’s so difficult to name a game this late, because if something goes wrong you can’t afford to stay with him for any period of time.”
Manuel also told Burkhardt that he will begin playing Fernando Tatis over Nick Evans, because, at this point in the season, he needs to go with experience and because he is a bit better defensively.
By the way, speaking of the pen, Manuel told reporters that he would be willing to use John Maine as a relief pitcher if he returns this season, according to the Daily News.
The Game:
The first place Mets (80-63) begin a quick two-game series versus the Nationals (56-88) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- RF Ryan Church
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- LF Fernando Tatis
- 2B Damion Easley
- C Brian Schneider
- P Oliver Perez
The Pitchers:
LHP Oliver Perez (10-7, 3.86 ERA) starts for the Mets. In his last start versus the Nationals on August 14, Perez earned a win, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out eight over 6.2 IP. Overall, he is 3-3 with a 5.45 ERA in seven career starts versus the Nationals. Opponents are batting .200 against Perez at home this season.
LHP John Lannan (8-13, 3.88 ERA) starts for the Nationals. Lannan is 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA in three career starts for the Mets. The Nationals have averaged 3.43 runs per game in Lannan’s starts this season, which is third lowest in the league. Lannan is 5-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 15 road starts this season.
The Notes:
The Mets are 8-4 versus the Nationals this season, including 4-3 at Shea Stadium.
Jose Reyes is hitless in 13 at-bats during the Mets current homestand. He has four hits in 10 career at-bats versus Lannan.
The Mets bullpen has not allowed an earned run in their last 24.0 IP.
Lastings Milledge is batting .288 with 5 2B, 2 HR and 22 RBI in his last 41 games. He is hitless in three career at-bats versus Perez.The Nationals are 5-15 in games played on Tuesday this season.
How To Catch It:
Tonight’s game can be seen nationally 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 |
Renyel Pinto and Kevin Gregg came off the disabled list for the Marlins. Neither will return to late inning pressure situations, however. The two will get mop up duty until the Marlins are sure they are okay.
The Washington Nationals revived the game of pepper to try to improve the fielding skills of their pitchers.
Jayson Werth replaced Pat Burrell in leftfield for the Phillies Monday night. Burrell started slumping on August 23rd. His batting average over that time stands at .122 with a .157 OBA. Werth is hitting .354 with a .475 OBA over those games. Matt Stairs took over in right and walked and scored.
If Atlanta loses to the Rockies tonight, it will be the first time the team was 21 games under .500 since the end of the 1990 season.
For more real-time information, news, links and stats from around MLB, check out Baseball Musings.
Prior to today’s game, Billy Wagner told reporters that he is 100 percent determined to pitch in the major leagues again, adding that he still hopes to help a team win a championship.
Wagner said he will have Tommy John Surgery tomorrow, after which he will rehab for two weeks with the team before returning home to be with his family through the off-season.
In his final response, when asked of how his oldest son, Will, handled the news, Wagner began to cry, and said, “He’s not,” but could not finish his sentence.
He raised his head, and continued, “He’s not ready for it to be over,” after which Minaya then put his arm around Wagner, and the press conference ended.
…i’m no psychologist, but, it felt to me like, it’s not just wagner’s son who isn’t ready for it to end, it’s wagner who isn’t ready, but he has to be aware and may not be ready to face of the reality of what he faces – in what will be a very difficult return…
According to the Daily News, Johan Santana will start on Friday for the Mets, on normal rest, while Pedro Martinez will get an additional day of rest and start on Saturday.
In other words, expect the following rotation over the next week:
Tuesday: Oliver Perez vs. Nationals
Wednesday: Mike Pelfrey vs. Nationals
Friday: Johan Santana vs. Braves
Saturday: Pedro Martinez vs. Braves
Sunday: Oliver Perez vs. Braves
In other pre-game news, according to John Thomson of the Journal News, Ramon Castro did some running around the infield to test his injured quad muscle.
By the way, speaking of the Daily News, note that Adam Rubin will be hosting a live chat with readers at his blog on Thursday at noon.
Tagged Pedro Martinez, Ramon Castro |
I wrote a column about this subject earlier today on SNY.tv, which goes into much greater detail on the subject, but reports of 
Reyes’ second-second straight September swoon might be exaggerated.
While it’s true that Reyes hasn’t had many hits so far on the month in an extremely small sample, his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is only .136. The league average is usually around .300, and a below-average BABIP is generally considered a product of bad luck more than bad hitting.
Beyond that, Reyes is actually hitting line drives at a higher rate in September — 27.3% of his balls in play — than the already-impressive 23.7% rate he’s posted on the season.
In other words, Reyes is still hitting the ball hard, he’s just hitting them right at defenders.
That’s not to say he’ll start pouring on base hits starting tonight or that he won’t go into an actual September swoon. But if he keeps hitting the ball the way he has been this month, the numbers say he’ll be just fine.
For more on this, check out the column on SNY.tv.
Tagged Ted Berg |According to Andrew Marchand, at his blog for ESPN 1050, the agent for Francisco Rodriguez thinks that the Mets, Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers and Angels will seriously pursue his client.
Marchand reports that Rodriguez will seek a five-year deal worth roughly $75 million.
Speaking of Rodriguez, to watch today’s edition of New York Baseball Today, during which Chris Cotter and I talk about whether the Mets will have interest, click play below:
According to a report in the Daily News, Ambiorix Burgos was arrested this morning for beating up his girlfriend at a hotel near Shea Stadium.
According to the story, “he repeatedly punched her on the back, bit her and slapped her.”
Burgos will be arraigned today in Queens on assault and harassment charges.
…eek…not good…one wonders what he was doing near shea stadium in the first place…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
According to SNY’s Brendan Kuty, the Mets told reporters prior to today’s game that they are ‘very disturbed by the allegations charged against Ambiorix Burgos.
The team said he was not in New York for reasons related to the Mets, and they will continue to monitor the situation as it progresses.
Tagged Ted Berg |
The crystal ball is working overtime at Rotoworld.com where Matthew Pouliot predicts the destinations of this winter’s free-agent pitchers. 
Among the top three starting pitchers, Pouliot projects C.C. Sabathia signing with the Yankees for a cool $176 million over eight years, while the Red Sox sign Ben Sheets for four years, $60 million, and A.J. Burnett landing in St. Louis for five years at $70 million.
As far as Oliver Perez is concerned, Pouliot sees him as one of the more fascinating free agents due to his age and a left-hander with an excellent strikeout rate.
Unfortunately, he has Perez signing with the Angels to the sound of four years at $56 million.
And apparently the Angels have a bottomless pit of cash as Pouliot predicts that Francisco Rodriguez will resign with the Angels for five years at $75 million.
…over $130 million tied up in two pitchers while you still have to pay guys like Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and quite possibly resigning Mark Teixeira is just crazy…
The only pitcher predicted to sign with the Mets is the resigning of Pedro Martinez for a one-year, $10 million deal.
…i guess the Mets will have no money and/or luck in signing even the Jon Garland‘s of the world…
…have fun… this should open up some good debate…
Tagged Oliver Perez, Pedro Martinez | ← Older posts
