Daily Archives: April 9, 2009
It’s quiet around the rest of the National League East today with the Marlins, Phillies, Nationals, and Braves all off.
As most of you know by now, the Phillies scored 8 runs in the 7th inning yesterday to come back and stun the Braves, 12-11. The Marlins, meanwhile, completed a 3-game sweep of the Nationals by beating Washington, 6-4.
Tomorrow, Florida hosts the Mets, the Phillies travel to Colorado, and the Braves open up their home schedule against the Nationals.
Atlanta’s third baseman Chipper Jones and left fielder Garret Anderson were scratched from yesterday’s game against the Phillies due to a bruised thumb and strained calf respectively.
Jones believes he’ll be able to play on Friday. Anderson’s status is up in the air.
The Nationals might be struggling, but Austin Kearns appears more comfortable at the plate so far this season.
At the advice of hitting coach Rick Eckstein, Kearns has opened his stance so he would no longer be vulnerable to inside pitches. He hit his first home run of the season on Tuesday off Florida relief pitcher Leo Nunez.
Finally, it may not be NL East news, but the story around baseball today is the sudden death of Angels rookie pitcher and top prospect, Nick Adenhart.
The 22-year-old Adenhart was killed in a hit-and-run car accident early 
Thursday morning when a drunk driver drove a minivan through a red light and hit the Mitsubishi that Adenhart was in. Two others were killed as well.
Tonight’s game between the Angels and A’s has been postponed. Our thoughts go out to the family of Nick Adenhart and all those involved in this horrible tragedy.
For more news, notes, analysis and statistics from around Major League Baseball, be sure to visit Baseball Daily Digest.
Tagged MetsBlog |
Tonight, at 10 pm, following the replay of today’s 
game on SNY, MetsBlog’s Jordan Zakarin and MMiLB’s Chris Guy will host SNY.tv’s The Happy Recast; a live, online, call-in show on BlogTalkRadio, featuring guests, a recap of the night’s minor-league action, and, of course, your phone calls about the game.
To listen live, at 10 pm go here; and to call in, dial (718) 664-6176.
Here is SNY.tv’s Post Game Extra, featuring clips and quotes, as well as analysis from Ron, Keith and Gary, from today’s loss to the Reds:
Tonight’s Results:
The Mets (2–1) lost to the Reds (1–2) by the score of 8–6 in the final game of a three-game series in Cincinnati today.
On the Mound:
- Oliver Perez allowed eight earned runs, he walked five batters, gave up five hits, including a home run, while striking out seven in just 4.1 innings. In total, he threw 100 pitches, 45 percent of which were balls. He was one strike away from getting out of the third inning, but, instead, the wheels fell off, and it was all down hill from there.
- Darren O’Day, Brian Stokes, Robert Parnell and Pedro Feliciano followed Perez to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings in relief.
At the Plate:
- Gary Sheffield struck out looking as a pinch hitter in the ninth.
- The Mets scored five runs off of Bronson Arroyo.
- Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church and Carlos Beltran knocked in five runs, with Beltran and Church doing so with opposite-field hits.
Random Thoughts:
- I am happy to see the Mets scratch out two extra runs, after falling behind 8–4; but they just couldn’t keep on the march, especially against Francisco Cordero, who was throwing darts.
- I find, though, I have faith in this team’s offense, and their ability to press on, which is a good thing.
- In the end, obviously, this loss is on Perez, who, like Ron Darling said at the end of the game, needs to go back to the drawing board with pitching coach Dan Warthen. Yes, a guy who just signed a three-year deal, must go back to the drawing board. Unreal.
- Nevertheless, winning two of three in the first series of the season, on the road, is good to have.
- Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy had a great series, all while Sheffield tied his laces on the bench.
- Joey Votto has the early lead for Enemy of the Year.
Game Ball:
- Today’s Game Ball goes to me and you for having the necessary patience required to watch Perez pitch.
The Happy Recast:
- Tonight at 10 pm, MetsBlog’s Jordan Zakarin and MMiLB’s Chris Guy will host SNY.tv’s The Happy Recast; a live, online, call-in show on BlogTalkRadio, featuring guests, a recap of the night’s minor-league action, and, of course, your phone calls about today’s game.
- To listen live, go here; and to call in, dial (718) 664-6176.
Tomorrow:
- The Mets travel to Miami to take on the Marlins tomorrow night at 7 pm, with John Maine taking on Anibel Sanchez.
The following poll was open for only 10 minutes at the start of the seventh inning…
[poll id="241"]
I will be live blogging random thoughts about 
today’s 12:30 pm game using my Twitter feed, which you can follow below:
To subscribe to my Twitter feed, go here.
Also, to follow SNY’s Newswire on Twitter, go here.
Today’s Game:
- The Mets (2-0, 2-0 Road) play the finale of three-game series versus the Reds (0-2, 0-2 Home) today in Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio, starting at 12:35 p.m. EDT.
On the Mound:
- LHP Oliver Perez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will start for the Mets. In 30 career April starts, Perez is 9-13 with a 5.49 ERA. His last start versus the Reds came on July 19, in which he earned a loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks, while striking out six over 6.0 IP. He is 9-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 18 career games versus the Reds.
- RHP Bronson Arroyo (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will pitch for the Reds. In seven career starts versus the Mets, Arroyo is 4-2 with a 3.48 ERA. He has allowed three runs or less in each of his last six starts versus the Mets. Arroyo is 20-14 with a 3.61 ERA in 51 career starts at Great American Ballpark.
At the Plate:
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Daniel Murphy, LF
- David Wright, 3B
- Carlos Delgado, 1B
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- Ryan Church, RF
- Ramon Castro, C
- Alex Cora, 2B
- Oliver Perez, P
Random Thoughts:
- Not sure what to expect out of Ollie today, but he needs to focus and be consistent with his delivery.
- Do not let up. Go for the sweep and head to Florida for an early season showdown against the team I believe will give the Mets more problems than the Phillies.
Today’s Broadcast:
- Today’s game will will be broadcast locally on SNY and WFAN.
In-Game Chat:
- To chat live with fans during the game, go to the MetsBlog.com Bullpen, here; or voice your comments below.
Enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets!
Prior to yesterday’s game, Gary Sheffield fielded fly-balls in the outfield, after which he said he needs to lose 20 pounds before he is ready to play the field.
That said, Jerry Manuel told reporters before the game that Sheffield could start Sunday, though he is likely to return to the bench the following the game.
Sheffield said he does not believe he’ll ever be able to play 130 games in the field, while pointing out he did not even pick up a glove during camp when with the Tigers because he assumed he would be playing only DH.
“I understand my role,” Sheffield said, “I’ll probably go out there once, maybe twice a week, but more so pinch hitting… If they ask me to come off the bench, you won’t hear a peep out of me. That’s what I’m here to do.”
Meanwhile, Marlon Anderson is 0-for-2 with two strike outs as a pinch-hitter so far this season for the Mets.
According to Adam Rubin in the Daily News, “It’s him or Darren O’Day losing his roster spot when Livan Hernandez gets activated Saturday, and Anderson could have used a quicker start.”
According to NOW Magazine, while in New York to film a movie, Jennifer 
Aniston is hoping to date a professional athlete, and has her sights set on David Wright.
Aniston’s friend is quoted as saying, “David’s her exact physical type, right down to his boyish smile.”
…hat tip to Sports by Brooks for the link, i think…
…first of all, this is the second post in one year that i have been forced to mention aniston… not that that’s a problem… the more the merrier… it’s just weird, that’s all, seeing as it’s MetsBlog.com… last year, it was about how John Maine had a thing for aniston, which he revealed in a Q&A with Hollyscoop…
Last night, in a win against the Reds, Mike Pelfrey allowed four runs, faced eight batters, and used 51 pitches in the first inning; but rebounded, to then pitch four scoreless innings.
…he looked tight, was working slow, and seemed to be overthrowing… in the second, he started to back off a bit, which seemed to give him a truer break on his pitches… he’ll be fine…
Pelfrey, speaking to reporters following the game:
“I had a little extra adrenaline out there… Mechanically I felt I got a little bit out of sync… I wasn’t getting on top of the ball and it was flying and tailing, and it took me a little longer to make an adjustment than I would have liked… I think being the first start, I was a little overly excited to get out there and get the season started.”
In the fifth, with Jay Bruce on first, Joey Votto on third, the Mets up by one run and two outs, Bruce broke for second base the moment Pelfrey started his delivery. However, Pelfrey did the infamous, and much-mocked-by-me, fake-to-third, turn-and-throw to first, but, instead, he threw to Castillo mid-way towards second, who caught the ball and immediately threw home to peg Votto, who left third to try and score, and ended the inning.
“I give Mike a lot of credit,” the New York Post quotes Carlos Delgado as saying. “He could have given up but he did just the opposite.”
…this can actually be said of the Mets in general tonight, who trailed early, down 4–2 through the first four innings… but, they battled back, then staved off two Reds rallies… nice work…
…so far, in two days, we’ve seen the Mets come from behind to win a game, and we’ve seen the bullpen hold down back-to-back wins… man, what a difference a year makes… so far…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey | ← Older posts
