Daily Archives: April 15, 2009
Tonight on SNY.tv’s The Happy Recast, Jordan and Chris talked with Kevin Burkhardt about tonight’s game, while taking calls from listeners, looking at the night’s minor league action and previewing tomorrow’s match up between the Mets and Padres.
To listen to the show, click play below:
Tagged SNY |
The Mets (4–3) defeated the Padres, 7–2, tonight in the team’s first-ever win in Citi Field.
For a full recap and boxscore, go to SNY.tv.
The least you should know:
- Oliver Perez looked outstanding tonight, using 90 pitches through six innings, allowing one run while striking out four.
- The Mets only had seven hits, but took advantage of some timely hitting, sloppy defense by the Padres, and a home run from Carlos Delgado.
Game Ball:
- Tonight’s game ball gets split in two, one half goes to the Good Ollie for showing up, the other half goes to the Bad Ollie for staying home.
Random Thoughts:
- Oliver Perez utilized his change-up tonight, and it had a bit of sink to it, and it was stellar. In fact, he threw four straight changes-ups to strike out Kevin Kouzmanoff. Safe to say, tonight was ‘the Good Ollie.’ He was really outstanding, economizing his pitches, going after the hitters, using his off-speed pitches, and finally bringing the performance we’ve all been waiting for. Welcome back, OP.
- I LOVE the uniforms with no last names on it. It’s so classic, and very team-first. I wish it was always this way.
- The fan who caught the Padres home run in the ninth inning was wise enough to throw the ball back on the field. Nice, buddy.
- In the bottom of the fourth, and Daniel Murphy on first base, David Wright fought off an inside fastball, which he hit the other way down the line to right field for a single, moving Murphy to third. Wright has not been doing this enough of late. Nice work, David.
- Murphy is looking quite shaky in left field, not just in his routes or catches, but in his throws in to the infield.
- That said, the Padres intentionally walked Jose Reyes, and loaded the bases, to face Murphy, who pulled a deep pop-out to right field for an RBI.
- The Mets scored two runs during a crazy play in the seventh, on which a pass ball by home plate allowed Luis Castillo to score from third. However, the catcher chased down the skipping ball, but when he threw to get Castillo, it went by home plate again, so Reyes scurried around third, coming from second, to also score sliding head first, arms wide across home plate.
The Mets play the Padres tomorrow night at 7:10 pm, with John Maine (0–0, 3.60 ERA) taking on Jake Peavy (1–1, 3.52 ERA).
Tonight’s Game:
The Mets (3-4, 0-1 Home) continue their inaugural three-game series at Citi Field versus the Padres (6-2, 1-0 Road) tonight, starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT.
On the Mound:
- LHP Oliver Perez (0-1, 16.62 ERA) will start for the Mets. In five career games versus his former team, Perez is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA. His last start versus the Padres came on June 7, a no decision, in which he allowed one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out 5 over 5.1 IP.
- RHP Kevin Correia (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will pitch for the Padres. Corriea is 0-2 with a 1.62 ERA in seven career games, one start, versus the Mets. He is 7-13 with a 4.58 ERA in 91 career games on the road.
At the Plate:
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Daniel Murphy, LF
- David Wright, 3B
- Carlos Delgado, 1B
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- Gary Sheffield, RF
- Brian Schneider, C
- Luis Castillo, 2B
- Oliver Perez, P
Stats:
- David Wright is 5-for-6 (.833) with 2 HR in his career versus Correia.
- Gary Sheffield‘s next homerun will be the 500th of his career. He has 26 career homeruns versus the Padres.
- The Padres bullpen has allowed one earned run in their first 23.0 IP.
- Brian Giles is batting .364 in 11 career at-bats versus Perez.
Random Thoughts:
- Hmmm, which Ollie will we see tonight? Stats indicate it’s not a good matchup, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him give the Mets a quality start.
- Curious to see Sheff in right tonight. If anything, with the wind blowing out to right field, it should be entertaining.
Tonight’s Broadcast:
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY, nationally on ESPN2 and heard on 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!
Update, 6:07 pm:
Prior to today’s game, Jerry Manuel told reporters it was clear Mike Pelfrey did not his best stuff during his last two starts.
Pelfrey had an MRI yesterday, which revealed forearm tendonitis.
According to SNY, the Mets have not yet decided if Pelfrey will pitch this weekend, as they plan to proceed with caution.
Manuel said there is medication Pelfrey can take, noting he has an extra day or rest that the team can work with.
According to Manuel, if Pelfrey is unable to start, the team will likely call up a pitcher from the minor leagues.
Original Post:
This morning, ESPN.com’s Peter Gammons said on air that Mike Pelfrey has been pitching with forearm tendonitis, which was revealed yesterday in an MRI.
According to David Lennon of Newsday, “The Mets have discussed skipping him in the rotation, but Pelfrey said he intends to make his scheduled start on Sunday,” noting that ‘he tends to get this once or twice a year and the tendonitis usually lasts around two weeks.’
Tagged News |In case you missed it…
I will be making regular posts to MetsBlog.com today, as I always do.
However, the comments section will be closed, as I am doing a bit of administrative work on the blog.
The comments section will be re-opened, like usual, tomorrow morning.
Thank you for understanding,
Update, 6:15 pm:
Jerry Manuel told reporters that Sheffield is most likely going to return to the bench tomorrow, after which the team will asses where he is at physically.
Original Post:
Gary Sheffield will be in tonight’s starting lineup.
He is playing right field and batting sixth.
…oh, boy, i hope it’s not windy out there…
…good luck, sheff… we’re all counting on you…
…by the way, in an interesting twist, sheffield’s uncle, Doc Gooden, will be watching the game from the Mo’s Zone, which is on the warning track, below the Pepsi Porch, in right field… meaning the uncle and cousin will be about 20 feet from one another… i wonder if doc will heckle him…
On today’s edition of New York Baseball Today, presented by Harrah’s, Ted Berg and Tom Boorstein of SNY.tv talk about Oliver Perez’s fly-ball ratio, and whether it’s smart to start Gary Sheffield with Perez on the mound.
To watch NYBT, click play below:
Tagged Ted Berg |
Jon Heyman of SI.com reports ‘Mets people’ are already concerned with the team’s ‘slow start,’ while quoting a top team decision maker as saying:
“We have a good team… on paper, anyway.”
According to Heyman, Jerry Manuel has scheduled a lecture for his team.
Heyman lists four items Manuel would be smart to discuss with his players, including the always-popular, “There isn’t enough fire,” of which Heyman writes:
“Another Mets person said the players seem to “lack a killer instinct” so far, which might reflect leftover feelings from their two straight September fades.”
…here’s a question, how many off-seasons are we going to beat this idea to death and then see the team do nothing about it, only to complain about it themselves a few months later… ugh… for more, go back, here, and read what i wrote in October, when last season ended…
In a post to his blog for Newsday, David Lennon explains why he is surprised by the level of criticism being directed from fans toward Citi Field.
MetsBlog reader Bill M sent in an e-mail about some of the popular criticism of Citi Field saying…
“Some things I would love to see you comment on: Obstructed view seats; lack of a pre-game lineup on the scoreboard; wait lines for everything; lack of Mets specific icons, banners and statues.”
Bill, I did comment on a few of these things yesterday, here; but, honestly, I did not notice much of these other complaints. This is not to say they do not exist, I know Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts from WFAN mentioned many of the same complaints, if not more, so I don’t doubt the legitimacy of these concerns.
I was pretty focused on the game, actually, and since I am pretty much an optimist by nature, it would probably take a whole lot to dissuade me so early. I tend to look for the best in things, only after that do I start picking everything apart. Also, I assume Citi Field is a work-in-progress, so I’d rather wait and see how it all shakes later in the year.
Frankly, I am far more concerned with the 3–4 record.
That said, Mets Exec. Vice Pres. of Business Operations David Howard was a guest of Mike Francesa’s on WFAN yesterday afternoon, and addressed many of the popular complaints on air.
Regarding the much-talked about obstructed view seats, specifically those that lose sight of the ball in the outfield, Howard said:
“The way we characterize ‘obstructed’ is if you have an obstruction, something in front of you – a beam, a pillar, something that’s blocking your view. That’s not the case here. It’s a function of the geometry of the building; and it is a conscious decision that we made along with the designers and the architects, that we wanted people to be lower and closer to the field, and have great views, and great views of the action.
“By doing that in fair territory, you are going to have situations where you are going to lose certain blind spots in the deep outfield of those sections. That is something we understood to be a factor. It is true in every new ballpark that has seating in the outfield.”
To listen to Howard’s interview, go to WFAN.com; and to read a transcript, go to Mets Today, where Joe Janish does a great job dissecting and responding to much of his remarks.
Tagged WFAN |
Dwight Gooden will be appearing today from 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm Wednesday at Modell’s in Times Square, located on West 42nd Street and 7th Avenue.
He will be taking questions from fans, and promoting the Mo’s Zone and Modell’s Clubhouse at Citi Field, where he will later watch the game.
…i am glad to see doc back in the mix, even if it is initially in a promotional way…
…i would love to see him and Darryl Strawberry during work for SNY, at the games on occasion, etc., and especially working with the team’s younger players on what not to do when adjusting to life in New York City…
