Daily Archives: April 22, 2009
Following tonight’s game, Jerry Manuel told reporters he will use a different lineup tomorrow, with Alex Cora starting at second, Gary Sheffield in for Daniel Murphy, and Omir Santos behind the plate.
Manuel said he may also bat Carlos Beltran third, with David Wright batting fifth, ‘because Beltran is swinging the bat well.’
The Mets (6–8) lost to the Cardinals (10-5), 5 to 2, in St. Louis.
For a full recap and boxscore, go to SNY.tv.
The least you should know…
- John Maine‘s location was off tonight, and he allowed five runs in 5.2 innings, although it could have been worse if not for a redemptive effort by Casey Fossum.
- Carlos Beltran had three very solid hits and an RBI in the ninth.
- Other than that, the Mets’ bats really never got going, and they didn’t have more than two hits in any inning.
- Joel Pineiro, who pitched eight plus innings for the Cards, was a ground ball machine, at one point retiring thirteen in a row.
- Daniel Murphy had no defensive miscues, made a great throw to home, and had an RBI to stave off the critics for tonight.
Other Thoughts…
- Boring game.
- Rick Ankiel‘s mustache makes him look like a Valentin brother.
- Many say St. Louis isn’t a good sports town, but on a Wednesday night, Busch Stadium seemed packed with fans wearing red. Ticket prices, fandom, who knows. Good to see.
- Starting last night, the team has replaced “New York” on the black, away jerseys with “Mets”.
- The Phillies, Nationals, and Marlins lost too.
Livan Hernandez is slated to start the last of the three-game series, as they try to avoid a sweep by the Cardinals tomorrow.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
Tonight’s Game:
The Mets (6-7, 3-4 Road) continue their three-game series versus the Cardinals (9-5, 6-2 Home) tonight at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, starting at 8:15 p.m. EDT.
On the Mound:
- RHP John Maine (0-1, 7.20 ERA) will start for the Mets. Maine took the loss in his last start on April 16 versus the Padres, allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out four over 5.0 IP. He is 1-1 with a 5.63 ERA in three career starts versus the Cardinals.
- RHP Joel Pineiro (2-0, 5.40 ERA) will pitch for the Cardinals. He earned his second win in as many starts on April 15 versus the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on nine hits over 5.0 IP. Pineiro is 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA in three career starts versus the Mets.
At the Plate:
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Daniel Murphy, LF
- David Wright, 3B
- Carlos Delgado, 1B
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- Ryan Church, RF
- Ramon Castro, C
- Luis Castillo, 2B
- John Maine, P
Random Thoughts:
- It’s a brand new day, those who failed yesterday can redeem themselves today. That’s the beauty of baseball.
Tonight’s Broadcast:
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY, nationally on ESPN 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!
Jerry Manuel once said, “Ladies on the bus, Gangstas on the 
field,” and got Mets fans all fired up about his team potentially playing a harder, grittier brand of baseball.
Hey, Jerry, you know what would have been Gangsta?
Assuming he didn’t want to slide, instead of tap dancing around him, Carlos Beltran could have taken out Yadier Molina on the play at the plate yesterday.
I spent so much time today trying to understand Beltran’s post-game comment from last night – about not realizing he was so close to the plate – I forgot that he also could have impersonated Pete Rose and run in to Molina.
In other words, where are the Gangstas, Jerry?
Today, people have been sending me new lineup suggestions, mostly moving Luis Castillo up to second, with Daniel Murphy either batting sixth, or not in the lineup at all.
Jerry Manuel apparently disagrees, as he is going with the following, same, lineup:
Jose Reyes
Daniel Murphy
David Wright
Carlos Delgado
Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church
Ramon Castro
Luis Castillo
John Maine
Good luck, guys.
It’s a new day, “Get after it,” as they say.
Tagged News |
Darren O’Day, who was designated for assignment by the Mets on Saturday, was claimed by the Texas Rangers according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
Although O’Day posted a 0.00 ERA over four games, Davidoff writes that Mets officials were frustrated with him allowing all three of his inherited runners score.
…geez, imagine if the Mets showed more urgency with the bullpen last season…
Meanwhile, Adam Rubin of the Daily News reports that Nelson Figueroa has cleared waivers and will return to Triple-A Buffalo
…i am glad to hear nelson cleared and hopefully he will have another shot as a long reliever or spot starter …
In Twitter, @dethnyte sent me a message which read:
“Since we only seem to get 2 or 3 good innings out of Olive Perez and John Maine, perhaps we should combine their starts.”
Obviously, the Mets would never do this.
However, it makes for an interesting theoretical-conversation; especially if the Mets could acquire a new fifth starter and have Oliver Maine, or John Perez, throw seven quality innings.
According to last night’s broadcast on SNY, hitters are batting .084 during the first time through the lineup against Perez, but .286 the second time through, and .485 the third time through.
The problem is, opponents are batting .300 on the first 30 pitches Maine throws, while just .184 on the next 30 pitches.
Tagged Oliver Perez |People attending this Saturday’s 1 pm game against the Nationals 
in Citi Field cam meet Ron Darling and receive an autograph with the purchase of his new book, The Complete Game.
Darling will be at the team store in Citi Field on the Plaza Level adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.
…as i wrote last week, i’ve read the book and it is impressive, inspiring and educational…
…basically, darling breaks the book up in to 10 chapters, one inning each, plus an extra inning, that each detail one specific game from his career…
To purchase the book, and to learn more about it, go here.
Tagged Ron Darling |
When Brian Schneider was placed on the DL, Omir Santos has filled in quite nicely, and Ben Shpigel of the New York Times notices. For more on Santos, from a few years ago, check out Scout.com.
…sweet triple on sunday afternoon…was probably the most exciting part of the game…
The LA Times is reporting that the Angels may have interest in Pedro. Right now, Darren Oliver is spot starting for them.
In a column for SNY.tv, Sam Borden warns of burning out the bullpen by using a donut shop analogy.
A bit off-topic, but the Chicago Tribune notes that the Mets aren’t the only ones who have cats on their field.
…why cats… i would expect rats more often… i mean, is someone releasing cats onto the field…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
Tonight, at 11:45 pm EST, log on to SNY.tv, or return to MetsBlog.com, and listen to SNY’s online, post-game, call-in show, The Happy Recast.
During tonight’s show, will take your calls, recap the night’s game, have an interview, and recap the night’s minor league action.
To listen to our last episode, CLICK HERE.
Tagged SNY | ← Older posts
