Daily Archives: March 20, 2009
The Mets (9-10-1) defeated the Orioles (9-12) by the score of 4-to-0 today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
For a complete recap, boxscore and stats, check out SNY.tv.
- Oliver Perez pitched three scoreless innings allowing just one hit and two walks. Perez threw 24 of his 47 pitches for strikes. Both walks Perez allowed came on four straight pitches out of the strikezone.
- Daniel Murphy hit his second triple of the spring going 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Murphy is hitting .385 with 8 RBI this spring.
- Mets prospect Ike Davis was 2-for-4 with a run batted in.
- Bobby Parnell allowed five hits in 2.2 IP.
- Darren O’Day and Brian Stokes each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.
The Mets continue their Grapefruit League schedule against the Braves tomorrow with John Maine getting the start. Tomorrow’s game will not be televised locally.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
Atlanta Braves pitcher, and former Japanese star, Kenshin Kawakami complained of a problem in his right shoulder after his bullpen session on Wednesday. As a precaution, the Braves scratched his start.
On Thursday Kawakami passed a strength test and said his arm felt normal.
…this is probably a non-story, but Kawakami is 33 years-old, and the Braves just gave him $23 million for 3 years. So it’s worth monitoring any arm discomfort he may encounter.
With Florida relievers Scott Proctor and Matt Lindstrom working through injuries, it appears that newly acquired Leo Nunez may get a shot to setup and/or close more games that originally anticipated.
The 25-year-old Nunez was traded to the Marlins in the offseason deal that sent first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Royals.
…I had a chance to watch Nunez extensively in 2008, and he has a quality arm. However, whether he can hold up for a prolonged period of time under pressure remains to be seen.
And after a month of deliberations by Miami commissioners, city officials have agreed to help build the Marlins their new stadium.
Miami-Dade County will now be asked to fund the majority of the $634 million needed for the 37,000-seat retractable-roof stadium.
…A new stadium for the Marlins is still a long way from happening. I can’t see the county approving such a large project in the midst of one of the worst recessions in history.
For more news, notes, analysis and statistics from around Major League Baseball, be sure to visit Baseball Daily Digest.
Tagged MetsBlog |Tom Kaminski’s Chopper 880 took pictures of the final remains of Shea Stadium which you can see at WCBS880.com.
For more construction photos and discussion on Citi Field, I highly recommend checking out the forum at Baseball-Fever.com.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
In St. Lucie, I spent time talking with Brian Schneider about the level of strategy that goes on in jut one, random moment, between pitches, in a baseball game, which you can watch by clicking play:
Here is a quick sample, from the end of the discussion:
Brian Schneider: You know, people don’t realize that, in just that one situation you said, it’s not a make or break for the game, but it could be, and there are a lot of things that go in to.
Matthew Cerrone: Right, you hear that from other guys who are huge football fans or basketball or whatever, and they say, ‘baseball is so boring, nothing ever happens.’ And I don’t think people realize all that goes on, like you’re saying.
Brian Schneider: That’s one of the reasons why I couldn’t be an outfielder. For an outfielder, you have to know your runners, and there are a lot of things to being an outfielder too, but I like being right in the middle of everything and a lot is going on. At catcher, you’re just exhausted, if not physically then definitely mentally because so many situations can just change in a heartbeat and a lot of preparation and knowledge goes in to that.
The Game:
The Mets (8-10-1) continue their Grapefruit League schedule against the Orioles (9-11) today at Fort Lauderdale Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting at 1:05 p.m. EDT.
The Lineup:
- 2B Luis Castillo
- SS Alex Cora
- LF Daniel Murphy
- RF Nick Evans
- 1B Ike Davis
- DH Marlon Anderson
- 3B Jose Valentin
- CF Jeremy Reed
- C Ramon Castro
The Pitchers:
Oliver Perez starts for the Mets. Bobby Parnell, Darren O’Day, Elmer Dessens and Brian Stokes are also scheduled to pitch.
Danys Baez is scheduled to start for the Orioles.
How To Catch It:
Today’s game will not be broadcast locally. However, you can follow the live GameDay boxscore, by clicking here.
Jerry Fraley of the Sporting News takes a look at Jose Reyes‘ resistance to moving down in the order.
…whether reyes bats leadoff or not is not as important to me as it is how manuel will decide to deal with the issue of the lefthanded heavy bottom of the order…
Alex Nelson of Mets Geek profiles former Mets announcer Lindsey Nelson.
Over at New York Baseball Digest, Mike Silva explains why the Mets rank just outside his top five teams for 2009.
Mike Steffano of the appropriately named Mike’s Mets says, despite his optimisim for Mike Pelfrey, he still questions if Pelfrey will be able to fulfill his potential.
Tagged Mike Nichols |Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes Mets manager Jerry Manuel was a bit ‘miffed’ at David Wright for continuing to play with a toe injury on Wednesday night.
Wright cracked a toe nail while fouling a ball off his left foot in Wednesday night’s loss to Venezuela in the WBC.
Manuel, when asked about Wright’s injury, said, “He probably shouldn’t have played if he felt he had a broken toe. No question about that.”
…from what i understand, manuel was most annoyed because wright was forced to remain in the game, a game they were winning, because Team USA had no other back-up third baseman…
Omar Minaya told reporters yesterday that he has not considered pulling Wright for the tournament, adding, “Everything is fine.”
Carlos Beltran, speaking to reporters, upon returning to Tradition Field from the WBC, as quoted by Newsday:
“I’m sore all over the place… My legs are sore. But it’s a good sore. It’s a sore that, I mean, I was running around all over the place. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the moment. I’ll be ready when Jerry puts me in the lineup. I can’t wait to be out there with the guys.”
To read the rest of the Q&A, go to David Lennon’s blog for Newsday.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
According to SNY’s Chris Carlin, the Mets have sent Jon Niese down to minor league camp.
Niese told reporters he is disappointed, but not surprised, noting the team would like him to work on his command.
…if niese stayed in big league camp, he would not get as much work, since it is pretty clear at this point the fifth starter’s job will be going to Livan Hernandez, short of some crazy change in events… in the minor league camp, niese can get a more consistent workload, and be able to improve…
…my bet is we see niese in the rotation at some point around mid summer, and he never leaves after that…
According to Carlin, Omar Minaya said he would be comfortable with Niese pitching at the Major League level, but wouldn’t get as many innings as he should and it no longer made sense to keep him at Major League camp.
Carlin also reports, Robinson Cancel, Connor Robertson, Casey Fossum, Kyle Snyder, Matt DeSalvo, Heriberto Reulas, and Jon Switzer have been reassigned to minor league camp.
Brian Costa of The Star-Ledger profiles the young Bobby Parnell, who has apparently been impressing with his arm and his attitude.
“If he doesn’t make the Mets’ Opening Day roster, the plan is for him to be a starter at Triple-A Buffalo”, Costa writes. “But so far, he has made a good case for himself to be in the Mets bullpen.”
Talking about Parnell’s potential, GM Omar Minaya said, “We thought it could take him a little time, but with his fastball and the way he pitches, we thought he could definitely be a starter still, but possibly a reliever.”
Costa continues on to give Parnell’s reaction to playing in New York, and dealing with the boos, saying, “It won’t affect me. If you’re not getting booed, you’re not playing.”
…if you’re not getting booed, you’re not playing, love it…hopefully for him, he won’t be subjected to the hello kitty backpack this season…
For more on Parnell, read Steve Popper’s article from Tuesday in the Bergen Record, and check out Metsblog’s interview with him earlier this spring.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche, Robert Parnell |Yesterday, Mike Pelfrey allowed one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out three in six innings pitched, lowering his spring ERA to 2.77.
According to David Lennon of Newsday, “Mike Pelfrey has added the ‘Maddux sinker’ to his repertoire after watching Livan Hernandez throw it over the past few weeks.”
Joe Lapointe of the New York Times refers to it as, “a front-door sinker.”
“I’ll start at almost the same spot and have it come back,” Pelfrey explained to reporters. “Left-handed hitters start to give up on it. They kind of think it’s in and it comes back.”
…pelfrey is one of the reasons i’m not as concerned about the starting rotation as most are…i’m confident pelfrey can duplicate his second half of last season over a full season of starts…
…i also find it very exciting knowing the Mets finally have a successful home-grown pitching talent, who is establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in the league, which is something they haven’t had in a very long time…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Mike Pelfrey | ← Older posts
