Daily Archives: March 12, 2009
The Marlins beat the Mets, 16–8, tonight in Tradition Field.
- Johan Santana threw 47 pitches to 12 batters, let up four hits, a home run to Dan Uggla, struck out two, hit a batter and was charged with three runs. He was pulled mid-way through the third inning. Most important, Santana used his slider and change-up, and pitched inside, and though he clearly ran out of gas, losing velocity and command in the end, he is healthy and strong.
- Tim Redding let up nine runs, yes, NINE, in just two innings of work. Get this, he has a 40.50 ERA in two appearances.
- Pedro Martinez is still a free agent.
- In the first inning, Luis Castillo led off the game with an opposite-field double, then moved to third on a ground ball to the right side, then scored on a sac fly from Daniel Murphy.
- Nick Evans hit his second home run of the spring.
- Kevin Burkhardt likes Skittles.
- I prefer Sour Patch Kids.
The Mets play the Tigers in Lakeland tomorrow at 1 pm.
The Game:
The Mets (5-6-1) continue their Grapefruit League Schedule against the Marlins (4-6-1) tonight at Tradition Field, starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT.
The Lineup:
- 2B Luis Castillo
- CF Cory Sullivan
- LF Daniel Murphy
- 1B Nick Evans
- RF Ryan Church
- 3B Jose Valentin
- C Brian Schneider
- SS Ramon Martinez
- P Johan Santana
The Pitchers:
Johan Santana makes his first spring training start for the Mets. Tim Redding, Sean Green, Brian Stokes, Carlos Muniz, Jon Switzer and Matt DeSalvo are also schedule to pitch.
Ricky Nolasco is scheduled to pitch for the Marlins.
How To Catch It:
Tagged Mike Nichols |Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on
.
You can also follow the live GameDay boxscore, by clicking here.
After the Dominican Republic’s surprising loss to the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, Jose Reyes and Fernando Tatis have rejoined the Mets in Port St. Lucie.
Adam Rubin of the Daily News speaks with Reyes, who was very impressed by the performance of Pedro Martinez, and is glad to be back in camp.
Also, check out David Lennon’s blog at Newsday, where he relays why Fernando Tatis did not like what he saw at the WBC.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |John Sickels of Minor League Ball believes 21-year-old Mets RHP Elvin Ramirez could be one of five Breakout Prospects in the NL East.
“He’s had durability problems and command remains an issue,” Sickels says of Ramirez, “but he should be watched for signs of further development.”
In 18 starts for Single-A Savannah last season, Ramirez was 6–7 with a 3.67 ERA through 81 innings, during which he struck out 62 batters and walked 36.
By the way, 60 percent of people voted on Minor League Ball believes the Mets have a better farm system than the Yankees.
Joe D, of Dugout Central, explains why Jerry Manuel is the right leader for the Mets.
The subway stop at Citi Field will be named ‘Mets/Willets Point,’ according to the New York Times.
Peter Abraham of the Journal News explains the trouble with leaning on spring training statistics.
In a post to his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin conducts a Q&A with 22–year-old Mets prospect Reese Havens, who doesn’t care where he plays so long as he’s in the lineup.
Havens hit .247 with a .340 OBP, 11 extra base hits and 27 strike outs in 23 games with Brooklyn last year.
Havens, on choosing to go to college, instead of accepting $1.35 million to sign with the Red Sox following high school:
“That was the toughest decision of my life. It was definitely a life-changing decision. Me and my family talked it over and felt like the best thing for me was to go to college. And I’d never take that back. That was a good decision. I wanted to get three years of school under my belt. And I had time to grow and time to get better and work on my game. I think I made the right decision. I know I made the right decision. I was on both sides of the line and then wanting to sign and having to think about it a little bit.”
In an earlier post, Rubin projects what the Mets Opening Day roster will look like, complete with no fifth starter, Robert Parnell in the bullpen, and Nick Evans and Jeremy Reed on the bench.
Tagged Reese Havens |In December, I did a Q&A with the Phillies blog We Should Be GMs, which you can read by clicking here.
During the Q&A, they ask me why I am a Mets fan; my views on the Phillies; the heartbreaking gut-wrenching back-to-back collapses; the Mets player I dislike most; my favorite player of all time; who I am jealous of in Philadelphia; Billy Wagner; and my feelings on the Phillies using Ya Gotta Believe.
Here are three quick samples, if you’re short on time:
WSBGMs: What is your view on the Phillies?
Matthew Cerrone: Honestly, I never really thought about the Phillies up until the last few seasons. Prior to that, the two teams never really competed for first place at the same time. When one was up, the other was down. Now, it’s actually pretty fun. It’s a good rivalry. I enjoyed fighting the Braves in the late-90s, but, let’s be honest, they are not the most passionate fans, and the city is so far away. The fact that Mets and Phillies fans often share the same space, same highway, infiltrate one another’s stadiums, and are now competing for 162 games right down to 
the wire every season, is pretty fun, despite the results.
WSBGMs: Tug McGraw first used “You gotta believe” with the Mets, but then brought the phrase with him to the Phils. How do you feel about that?
Matthew Cerrone: It’s sort of annoying. It’s our rally-cry, and speaks volumes about what it means to be a Mets fan. That said, it’s Tug’s expression, he could do with it what he wanted. I mean, if you guys are comfortable copying Mets fans, go for it I guess. I prefer to be original.
WSBGMs: If J-Roll predicts repeat, what will Carlos Beltran retort?
Matthew Cerrone: I hope he keeps his mouth shut. Fact is, this group of Mets need to zip it, and get the job done on the field. You guys have earned the right to talk, shoot your mouths off, etc. The Mets have not. As I wrote on MetsBlog.com at the end of the season, the Mets need to realize they are not the favorites, unless not until they win.
According to Joel Sherman, on his blog for the New York Post, Scott Boras sees Manny Ramirez’s new contract with the Dodgers as just a one-year deal, with the 2010 option acting only as a safety net against injury or an off-year in 2009.
Sherman adds, “It also is possible that the New York teams could look at Ramirez in a different light a year from now. The Mets have the salaries of Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner vanishing; and if Fernando Martinez is not ready to be an impact hitter immediately than the Mets will need to replace Delgado’s stick next year.”
…lovely… so, even if ramirez ends up exercising his option for 2010 to remain in Los Angeles, we’ll still need to deal with another round of Manny Mania in November, in the days before he accepts… or, he’ll opt out, and really bring it back to a boil…
Sherman also writes about the Yankees bullpen, as well as John Maine, who looks ‘rusty,’ according to a scout, who is not concerned with Maine’s stats.
In a post to his blog for 1050 ESPN Radio, Andrew Marchand talks with a scout about what he feels are the biggest issues currently facing the Mets.
The scout explains to Marchand why the Mets should be concerned 
with jealousy in the bullpen, between J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez; and Livan Hernandez as their fifth starter; but why Carlos Delgado may have a good season.
… i am not losing sleep over the fifth starter… that spot in the rotation will change a dozen times anyway, just like with every team, whether successful or not… seriously, when was the last time a team had five set starters who stuck from start to finish…
…also, i hope putz is jealous and pushes himself to have a great season… isn’t that a good thing… i’m sorry, but i just can’t see him sabotaging his season to spite rodriguez…
…as for delgado, he still worries me… the Mets and delgado will say he was not injured last season, and that delgado’s early-season trouble was because of his mechanics… to me, that’s a red flag… i mean, if he were injured, at least i would know now that he’s healthy… if his problem was mechanical, then what’s to say it cannot happen again… and, if delgado stumbles, the middle of the order will be a mess…
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admits he is curious about Pedro Martinez, according to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.
Plaschke adds, “The two biggest fears about Martinez are the lack of interest by the pitching-needy Mets, and his interest in a guaranteed $5-million deal.”
…i have always felt pedro would end up with the Dodgers… it’s symmetrical, and they are probably in need of his presence, having lost veterans Greg Maddux and Derek Lowe, with such a young staff…
…also, let me reiterate, i hope the Mets avoid him if he continues to request a guaranteed job… however, if Omar Minaya can sit down with martinez and reach a compromise, with less commitment and money, i’d be all for bringing him back to compete for a roster spot…
…frankly, he should probably pull a Roger Clemens, sit out, train, and pitch himself after the trade deadline… but i don’t see that happening…
Tagged Pedro Martinez |MetsBlog.com user Jedab was kind enough to create a Mets schedule with each game’s corresponding Ticket Type, so you can easily scan and see which is a Value game and which is not:
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