Daily Archives: September 19, 2008
The first-place Mets (86–67) defeated the Braves (67–87) by the score of 9 to 5 in Atlanta, tonight.
For a recap, boxscore and stats from tonight’s game, click here.
Thank you, Daniel Murphy.
With one out and two on in the eighth inning, the ‘super rookie’ stroked a pinch-hit doubled to left field that broke a 5-5 tie. I don’t care who the opposing starting pitcher is, Murphy needs to the everyday left fielder from here on out. As Cerrone likes to say, ‘Daniel Murphy means business.’
For the second time in three games, Jose Reyes led off the game with a homerun. Reyes is now batting .400 during the Mets current road trip.
Nick Evans, batting in an unfamiliar eighth hole, hit a key homerun in the fourth to break a 3-3 tie.
A porous Mets defense didn’t help Oliver Perez‘s cause tonight, but the left-hander pitched effectively through six innings, allowing four runs, three earned, while walking three and striking out six. Earlier this season, i.e. San Francisco, where Ollie would have had a meltdown if his defense played as poorly as they did tonight. However, Ollie stayed composed and pitched effective, looking especially impressive in the sixth.
After Ollie left, Jerry Manuel played another round of Let’s Make A Deal with his relievers, bringing in five pitchers to secure the final nine outs, with Aaron Heilman, yes that Aaron Heilman, getting the biggest out of them all in the seventh.
The Phillies lost tonight, meaning the Mets now lead the National League East by one game in the loss column.
The Mets continue their three-game series with the Braves in Atlanta tomorrow night, starting at 7:10 pm, with Pedro Martinez (5-5, 5.47 ERA) taking on Jorge Campillo (7-7, 3.79 ERA).
Tagged Mike Nichols |The Game:
The Mets (85-67) begin a three-game series against the Braves (67-86) tonight at Turner Field in Atlanta, starting at 7:35 pm.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- C Ramon Castro
- RF Ryan Church
- LF Nick Evans
- P Oliver Perez
The Pitchers:
LHP Oliver Perez (10-7, 4.09 ERA) starts for the Mets. Perez’s last start on September 14 came against the Braves, in which he earned a no-decision, allowing two runs on four hits, while striking out eight over 7.0 IP.In his last seven starts versus the Braves, Perez is 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA.
LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (3-11, 5.50 ERA) starts for the Braves. Reyes earned a loss in his last start versus the Mets on September 13, allowing four runs on five hits over 2.0 IP. Reyes has allowed four or more runs in three of his last four starts. He is 2-5 with a 6.41 in 10 home starts this season.
The Notes:
The Mets are 6-9 versus the Braves this season, include 0-6 at Turner Field.
Jose Reyes is batting .313 (5-for-16) with 3 runs, 1 HR and 4 RBI during the Mets current road trip.
Kelly Johnson is 27-for-61 (.443) during his current 16 game hit streak.
The Braves are 9-29 in one-run games this season.
How To Catch It:
Tonight’s game can be seen 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…YA GOTTA BELIEVE!
The Mets won a coin toss against the Brewers today to determine home-field advantage for a potential one-game wild card playoff between the two teams.
On September 12th, the Mets lost a coin flip against the Phillies to determine home-field advantage if a one-game playoff is needed to determine the NL East champion.
You win some, you lose some.
To clarify, if the Mets and Phillies tie for first place and have better records than the Brewers, the Mets will be the East champions based on their 11-7 record against the Phillies.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
I wrote a column today on SNY.tv about Jerry Manuel’s use of the bullpen. Some notes:
- When Joe Smith entered yesterday’s game with a six-run lead, it was his fourth appearance in five nights and 77th appearance of the year, good for fourth in the Majors.
- When Pedro Feliciano relieved Scott Schoeneweis to face lefty-hitting Ryan Langerhans in the ninth, it was his Major League-leading 80th appearance of the season.
- Nelson Figueroa, Bobby Parnell, Carlos Muniz and the now-jettisoned Al Reyes have combined for one inning in the team’s past nine games.
For my interpretation of those numbers, check out my column.
For more on the Mets’ bullpen, check out Howard Megdal’s column at The New York Observer.
Tagged Ted Berg |
To watch today’s edition of 
‘s New York Baseball Today, during which Ted Berg, Alex Belth and Pete McCarthy talk about whether Aaron Heilman should be on any potential post-season roster, and the future of Bobby Abreu, click play below:
According to The Buffalo News, the Mets’ triple-A affiliate in New Orleans will be moving to Buffalo in 2009.
The team has called a press conference for Monday to apparently name the Mets as the new parent team to the Buffalo Bisons.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |With the Mets 7 to 2 victory over the Nationals last night and the Brewers 7 to 6 loss to the Cubs, the Mets now lead the Wild Card by two losses and remain tied in the loss column with the Phillies for the National League East.
Ryan Church, on the possibility of making the playoffs as the wild card, speaking to reporters after the game:
“The idea is to get to October. We’ll take it any way we can get it. There’s nothing wrong with the Wild Card. Look how far the Rockies went last year, and they were a Wild Card team.”
True, however, this team should not settle for making the playoffs as National League’s Wild Card representative.
Yes, the Brewers are fading and the Wild Card is slowly becoming a safety net for both the Mets and Phillies. However, neither team, especially the Mets, can put themselves in the mindset that all will be ok if they lose the division. Doing so may take the sense of urgency they would need entering an October run.
And, as much as just getting into the playoffs to give the team a chance to compete for a championship is an objective. The regular season goal should be winning the division. By doing so, the Mets would gain homefield advantage in the Division round, as well as avoiding the Cubs until at least the NLCS.
This team should push the pedal to the metal and do everything it can to win the division. If for nothing else, than to redeem themselves for last season’s colossal failure.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
According to Adam Rubin at the Daily News, John Maine is set to throw to batters in a simulated game in Atlanta on Saturday.
After throwing 10 pitches yesterday afternoon, Maine felt a knot and tightness in the back of the right shoulder, but it is not the same pain that has caused him to be shut down since August 23rd.
In regards to Maine coming out of the bullpen, pitching coach Dan Warthen, as quoted by Rubin, said:
“If he’s going to throw one inning and 20 pitches, I have no problem with that.”
…although it would be great to see maine contribute down the stretch or possibly in the post-season, i am very worried about him jeopardizing next season or more importantly his career…
In an article for Newsday, David Lennon discusses how Jerry Manuel has remained loose despite the inevitable media buzz of the Mets repeating last year’s “collapse”.
Lennon writes:
“Manuel never has seemed happier. Maybe it’s because he could not have imagined himself in this situation when the season began. Even when Willie Randolph was fired, there’s no way Manuel expected such a drastic turnaround in guiding the Mets to a 51-32 record since he took over on June 17.”
“These days, for anyone involved with the Mets, it helps to have a sense of humor. But Manuel’s ease in the big chair has been consistent since he first settled behind the desk on that fateful trip to Anaheim.”
Lennon also points out that the Mets lead the majors in wins since July 1st, with 45.
…looking back, i feel so much better with manuel steering the ship than i did with willie at the helm…even after a victory, willie’s post-game interviews seemed stressful and defensive, while jerry’s are entertaining and honest, even in defeat…
…his optimistic perspective and humor is what i think will make the difference between last season and this one…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |Thanks to Geovany Soto‘s three-run shot into the Wrigley Field Bleachers, the Mets’ path back to the playoffs got a little bit smoother according to Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post. 
Prior to the Mets 7-2 win over the Nationals, the clubhouse erupted into cheers and high-fives after Soto’s home run tied the game and the Cubs went on to win in the 12th.
Jerry Manuel on September scoreboard watching, as quoted by Hubbuch, said:
“It’s important that we’re scoreboard-watching and trying to do all we can to win to get into the postseason … That’s exciting. I applaud them for that.”
…i became a huge soto fan after that home run…i also felt a little better about the mets bullpen after watching the brewers’ pen blew a four-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning…
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