Daily Archives: April 2, 2009
The Mets (17-14-1) defeated the Orioles (12-20) by the score of 9-to-8 in their Grapefruit League finale today at Tradition Field.
For a complete recap, boxscore and stats, check out SNY.tv.
- Mike Pelfrey allowed all eight Oriole runs on 10 hits and a walk in four innings pitched. Although Pelfrey’s outing may seem alarming, this was Pelfrey’s last Spring Training start and probably just getting his work in. I’m sure we’ll see a much different Big Pelf next Wednesday in Cincinnati.
- The Mets scored nine unanswered runs, scoring the final two in their last at-bat with a game-tying single by Alex Cora and Ramon Castro, who was 2-for-2 with a homerun and three runs batted in, driving in Jeremy Reed with a walk-off single.
- Ryan Church was 2-for-2 and finished Spring Training batting .338.
- David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Carlos Delgado each collected a hit in their three at-bats.
The Mets come home for their first of two exhibition games against the Red Sox to open Citi Field, with Livan Hernandez facing Jon lester. Tomorrow night’s game can be seen live on SNY, with KFC Pre-Game Live starting at 5:30 p.m. EDT.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
SNY announced it will air tomorrow night’s game in Citi Field against the Red Sox and Mets.
SNY will also run this season’s first pre-game show with Chris Carlin and Bob Ojeda tomorrow night at 5:30 pm, followed by the game, which starts at 6 pm.
It’s a relatively quiet day as teams finish out the Spring Training schedule and begin preparations for opening day.
The Marlins president of baseball operations, Larry Beinfest, announced that recently acquired Hayden Penn will pitch out of the bullpen for Florida.
Beinfest also believes that closer Matt Lindstrom will be ready for opening day.
Meanwhile, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez named Anibal Sanchez and Andrew Miller his 4th and 5th starters.
…Sounds better than the Phillies choice to start Chan Ho Park!
The rumor that Philadelphia is considering signing the recently released Gary Sheffield is true.
“We have interest in him,” Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. Sheffield cleared waivers today.
For more news, notes, analysis and statistics from around Major League Baseball, be sure to visit Baseball Daily Digest.
Tagged MetsBlog |In my last video from Tradition Field, I did a video-tour of the main field and complex, walking around each back field, exploring the bullpens, the Citi Field inspired wall on Field 2, and, of course, the Island Girl Tiki Bar.
To watch the video, click play below, and to embed this video on your blog, click the radio button in the corner:
Tagged Mets Spring Training |
The Rangers released Frank Catalanotto yesterday, according to MLB.com.
The 34–year-old Catalanotto, who was born in Long Island, hit .274 with a 26 extra base hits and a .342 OBP in 88 games with Texas last season.
He hit .260 in 2007, .300 in 2006 and .301 in 2005, while getting at least 330 at bats in each season.
He has regularly played first base, left field and right field during the last few seasons. He has not played second base since 2002.
…i realize Marlon Anderson is only making $1.15 million in his last year or a two-year contract, and i know he’s a nice guy and his teammates love and appreciate him, as does Jerry Manuel, but i would much, much rather have catalanotto on the bench than marlon…
…i’ve always been a big fans of his, and i recall reading a story about Carlos Delgado praising frank’s ability to read pitchers and educate the bench, giving him credit for what he brought to the Blue Jays in 2003 and 2004… additionally, the players on the Rangers were quite vocal in the press about missing catalanotto when he left texas in 2003, while celebrating his return in 2007… this, to me, is a great sign…
…from what i can gather, marlon is on a short-leash anyway… it would not surprise me to see him cut before June, and replaced by either Nick Evans or Jonathan Malo… but, that’s a long way away…
The Game:
The Mets (16-14-1) play the finale of their Grapefruit League schedule against the Orioles (12-19) today at Tradition Field, starting at 1:10 p.m.
The Lineup:
- SS Jose Reyes
- LF Daniel Murphy
- 3B David Wright
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- CF Carlos Beltran
- RF Ryan Church
- C Brian Schneider
- 2B Luis Castillo
- P Mike Pelfrey
The Pitchers:
RHP Mike Pelfrey (1-2, 5.50 ERA) makes his final Grapefruit League start for the Mets. Ken Takahashi, Nelson Figueroa and Tim McNab are also scheduled to pitch.
RHP Adam Eaton (1-2, 6.75 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Orioles.
How To Catch It:
Today’s game will not be broadcast locally. However, you can also follow the live GameDay boxscore, by clicking here.
On Tuesday, Citi Field introduced chefs Danny Meyer, Drew Nieporent and Dave Pasternackin at a tasting to feature food and drinks that will be served in the new ballpark.
The NYC Food Guy does a wonderful job recapping the event, while giving a mouth-watering explanation of the type of food we can expect to eat in Citi Field, from tacos to pulled pork, to porchetta to mac and cheese with panchetta, from skirt steak to burgers to sausage and peppers.
…for what it’s worth, i have yet to find a fan who has been to Citi Field who has not raved about the food… the thing is, i wonder how skirt steak will turn a double play and hit in the clutch…
Speaking of Citi Field…
According to the New York Times, “The Major League Baseball Players Association on Friday will open its first retail outlet devoted to selling player-only merchandise,” in Citi Field.
Lastly, in a post to their baseball blog, Richard Sandomir answered reader questions about Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium in the comments section of this post to the New York Times.
Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record lists the top 10 players to watch in 2009, including J.J. Putz, of whom he writes:
“He might be the best closer in Flushing, but if the right-hander can live as K-Rod’s set-up man, the Mets will crush those last six outs the way the Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera. Putz has an elite-caliber fastball and even better splitter; he used it to strike out both Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran in the Team USA’s stunning comeback victory over Puerto Rico. The key question is whether Putz really enjoys pitching in the eighth inning. Stay tuned on that.”
The way I see it, Putz, John Maine and Carlos Delgado are the linchpins to this team’s success.
Johan Santana will be the team’s ace. Mike Pelfrey will likely have a hiccup at some point, but, for the most part, 
he’s matured at a steady enough rate, and grown intellectually as a pitcher, that I trust he will be consistent, efficient and strong. Meanwhile, despite a new contract, Oliver Perez gives me no reason to believe he’ll be anything than Oliver Perez, i.e., a start-by-start coin flip. Lastly, I believe Livan Hernandez will be better than some fans think, but he’s still just a fifth starter, who, at best, will simply ‘keep his team in the game.’
This leaves Maine, who, to me, is sort of like a swing man. Maine is the pivot, or the linchpin, the guy who, if he has a strong season, will turn this in to a very good rotation, but who, if he struggles, could tip the rotation in to rocky ride.
The same can be said for Putz, who, like Maine, is the linchpin to the bullpen, delivering the ball from the situational relievers to Francisco Rodriguez. If Putz is dominant, the bullpen falls in to place; if he struggles, he’ll have a ripple effect through the rest of the staff.
Lastly, the same can be said for Delgado, who will bat clean-up for the Mets this season. He is essentially propping up the middle the batting order. Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, for all their strength, can be very inconsistent. Delgado will be needed to provide power to the middle of the order. If he struggles, like the start of last season, regardless of how well Reyes, Wright and Beltran are hitting, the team will struggle to score; if Delgado is clicking, the lineup will rotate like a merry-go-round, as we saw during the second half of the season in 2008.
For more on the team’s bullpen, read Jim Baumbach in Newsday.
MetsBlog.com will be hosting an Opening Day Get-Together at Public House in Manhattan, located at 140 E. 41st St, for the first game of the regular season against the Mets and Reds at 1 pm on April 6.
…we will have a few designated areas to hang out, sit, grab lunch, etc., plus they’ll have a drink special or two… there are plenty of flat-screen televisions, and the game-audio will be on as well…
Yesterday, Johan Santana tossed just three innings and 36 pitches, and allowed two hits, each a solo home run.
The next time Santana takes the mound it will be Opening Day against the Reds in Cincinnati.
Santana, had the following to say, when speaking to reporters:
“Everybody is excited about getting the season started… It was a long spring training, but I
think it was a pretty good one…
“You know, two years in a row of not making the playoffs because of the last day of the season… There are defintely a lot of guys here committed to changing that around…
“I see every one relaxed and having fun, but also very serious. We can’t wait for the season to start and change everything around from last year. Because, if you’re on this team, you’re committed to winning… I’m committed to winning, and I’m pretty sure every one else feels the same way… We’re going to try and win one game at a time, and not just think about October when you haven’t even gotten out of April. I mean, you’ve got to go one game at a time and give your best… Every game is important, especially when you see what happened last year. You cannot feel sorry for yourself in September if you didn’t win a game in April, or didn’t give the best you had in April… you have to want to win every game. I know you’re not going to go 162–0, but you have to give your best and not feel sorry for anything.”
To read more about Santana, go to the Bergen Record and MLB.com.
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