Daily Archives: April 29, 2009
Tonight, at 10:00 pm EST, SNY’s online, post-game, call-in show took to the air.
During tonight’s show, we took fan rant calls, recapped the day’s game, interviewed Matt Cerrone, and recapped the night’s minor league action
To listen on demand, CLICK HERE.
Tagged News |
Here is this week’s edition of the MetsBlog.com Video Mailbag, presented by Verizon, during which I answer questions about pitchers who may be available at the trade deadline; why Mets fans panic so easily; and how the Mets can spend $150 million and have the issues they do.
Forgive the stream of consciousness, but…
The last two days have been difficult, especially since on Monday I was starting to believe in this team. Then, slip, there goes the carpet from beneath my feet again. I’ll get back up, and keep believing, but, man, they are making it so tough to be inspired.
What’s worse, both Tuesday and today were reminiscent of the darkest days from the Willie Randolph Era.
Tell me if this doesn’t sound familiar…
The Mets left 25 men on base, they wasted two quality starts from their starting rotation, there were a series of questionable decisions, and the bullpen walked four batters, blew two leads and lost both games – and after it all, following today’s game, the manager told reporters he saw some positives from the team during the last few days.
Really? You did? I’ll tell you what I saw, the same old song and dance that I’ve been watching since June 2007.
I know, I know, these things can easily happen, especially within any two-game span. The thing is, it’s the same story, the same result, which we were forced to digest all of last season, and which I convinced myself would not be the case in 2009. But it is, so far, and it’s starting to make me crazy. I mean, Manuel even mentioned ‘anxiety,’ when explaining the team’s late-game struggle to score runs, so clearly I am not alone. The players must be feeling it as well.
In the ninth inning, the Mets down one run, the bases loaded and two outs, and Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom on the mound, Jerry Manuel chose to pinch hit Omir Santos, who had a six-game hitting streak, in place of Ramon Castro, who had two hits and an RBI in the game.
Santos popped out to end the game.
Following the loss, Manuel told reporters he chose to pinch hit Santos for Castro, because Santos has a ‘shorter swing,’ and he believed he would be a better match up against Lindstrom’s 98–mph fastball.
Manuel also said he is not worried about ‘losing Castro,’ by pinch hitting for him in a such a big spot in the game.
According to WFAN’s Howie Rose, Castro left the dugout and walked in to the clubhouse before Santos popped out to end the game.
By the Manuel, Manuel said Carlos Delgado would not be considered today as a pinch hitter under any circumstance.
The Mets (9–12) lost to the Marlins (13–8) by the score of 4 to 3 in Citi Field this afternoon.
The least you should know…
Johan Santana pitched seven innings, allowed five hits and two earned runs, while walking three and striking out seven.
J.J. Putz walked the first two batters in the eighth, both of whom eventually scored to give the Marlins a one-run lead they would never surrender.
Other Observations…
I think what is most upsetting, is that, on Tuesday morning, I actually believed the Mets might sweep the Marlins. Instead, they end up dropping two of three.
These next 10 games in 13 days against the Phillies and Braves will be quite telling, and should let us in on who this team is, and what they’re capable of.
If you only watched the Marlins and Mets, you’d think Jorge Cantu is the greatest player in the history of baseball.
The Mets were aggressive on the base paths today, going first to third on most every chance they had. The team talked a lot during spring training about being a team known for aggressive base running, but only now are they acting it out. I believe they needed to actually experience Citi Field, to know how it played, before carrying out what they hoped to do all along.
Of course, what good is a runner on third, if the batter is going to pop out to end the inning. Again, the Mets left 14 men on base, had a runner on in every inning but the sixth, and scored just three runs.
The Game Ball…
Today’s game ball goes to Johan Santana, who now has to speak with reporters and defend the other 24 men on his roster, all while knowing he’s the best pitcher in baseball, and worthy of better support.
The Mets are off tomorrow, after which they will begin a three-game series against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Friday night.
Today, I will be live blogging random thoughts about the game, using my Twitter feed, which you can follow below:
To subscribe to my Twitter feed, go here.
Today’s Game:
The Mets (9-11, 6-5 Home) continue their three-game series versus the Marlins (12-8, 7-4 Road) today at Citi Field, starting at 1:10 p.m. EDT.
On the Mound:
- LHP Johan Santana (3-1, 0.70 ERA) will start for the Mets.
- RHP Josh Johnson (2-0, 2.20 ERA) will pitch for the Marlins.
At the Plate:
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Alex Cora, 2B
- Daniel Murphy, LF
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- David Wright, 3B
- Ryan Church, RF
- Fernando Tatis, 1B
- Ramon Castro, C
- Johan Santana, P
Today’s Broadcast:
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY and WFAN.
Enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets!
Alex Cora will again start at second base today, in place of Luis Castillo, who will get another day off due to back spasms.
Also, Fernando Tatis will start for Carlos Delgado at first base.
According to the Daily News, “Delgado received an injection of anti-inflammatory medication and had an MRI exam yesterday.”
Jerry Manuel told reporters on Tuesday that Delgado would most likely return to the lineup on Friday, following tomorrow’s off day.
Daniel Murphy will return to the lineup in left field today, with Ryan Church in right field and Carlos Beltran in center.
Ramon Castro will start behind the plate, while Omir Santos gets the day off after starting in yesterday’s night game.
Today’s game will start at 1:10 pm.
Tagged News |Last night, David Wright had an RBI single, plus two more strike outs, yet is hitting .282 on the season with a .371 OBP.
Wright also made a ‘fielding error’ in the sixth, on a ball hit hard, that bounced off of his chest and in to the outfield, on which a run scored.
For what it’s worth, Wright struck out in his first two at bats, and was then booed walking to the plate in the fifth inning, after which he delivered the RBI single.
Wright just hasn’t looked right all season, much like the team in general. In some ways, he is a symbol of a lot of what fans find so frustrating about the Mets, i.e., a Gold Glove, but a costly error; .297 with nobody on base, but .250 with runners in scoring position; an RBI single in the fifth when the team is ahead, but a ground out to leadoff the ninth when the team is down and in need of a rally.
Here’s the thing, I don’t boo, because it’s just not my style, but I understand why people are booing Wright right now. I’m not saying it’s the classy thing to do – but, I get it.
Wright is the face of the franchise, and when most every fan is frustrated with the franchise, guess what, it’s face is going to get booed – it’s as simple as that. Again, it’s not right, but it is what it is.
Personally, in the end, I find I am having a hard time trusting the Mets right now. It’s difficult to let go and in trust a team that has let me down back-to-back seasons the way they have. I mean, every time they get going, like Monday, they then stop dead in their tracks, implode and go to sleep, like last night.
So, while I want to believe, I don’t know what to believe in.
Individually, I like the 25 players on the roster; I like the manager; I feel as a team they are capable of winning the NL East. It’s just, I have a hard time totally buying in, and so, while I feel good yesterday morning, and seem at peace, I then wig out today, because I feel jerked around again, while fearing any success will just be silenced anyway, whether tomorrow or the last day of the season.
In other words, I need this team to inspire me and earn back my trust, so I can get me back to believing; and until that happens I’m going to feel frustrated; and while I do not boo, others probably will, because it’s the only way we, as a fan base, can truly express our frustration.
I hope the players and manager can understand this, be patient, and work us back in to trusting them.
Long-time MetsBlog reader Richard G sent in the following e-mail, about last night’s loss to the Marlins:
“Last night is all on Jerry Manuel. He has
done a terrible job managing this team… I was at the game last night and we were going nuts when he took Livan Hernandez out… What is the ONE thing Livan Hernandez is good for at this point in his career? INNINGS EATER! The guy has a rubber arm if nothing else so he’ll save your bullpen. So, last night, you have a rare chance to have a pitcher go seven innings… He has two outs in the sixth, one man on, and he’s at 91 pitches. So Manuel takes him out?!?!… Parnell lets in a run… Sean Green comes in to pitch the seventh and the rest is history.”
I believe Manuel is doing what Willie Randolph did, and what lots of other managers do, in that he makes what seem to be odd choices early in the season in an effort to assess talent, learn about a player, and get them work in certain situations, so, later in the year, when the ‘chips are down,’ the team knows who can be counted on. In April, sometimes these moves back fire, but it’s all for the good of the overall season.
This is fine, normally, but, given the way the last two seasons ended, I believe every game matters – and there is no time to experiment.
I’m growing very tired of saying, ‘It’s early,’ and, ‘There is plenty of baseball left to play.’ I’m the pragmatic one, and I get criticized for it, yet even I am having a hard to buying in to that rhetoric.
I agree with Manuel when he says he would rather not leave Livan 
Hernandez in to face the lineup for a third time through the order. I get that. Plus, though he did give up a run, Robert Parnell has been outstanding this season.
However, I do not understand why Manuel left in Sean Green to face the left-handed hitting John Baker, after he already gave up a single, a walk and the lead, only to then intentionally walk Baker, which was followed by a three-run home run by Jorge Cantu – meanwhile, Pedro Feliciano, who is on the roster to pitch to lefties, is warming up in the bullpen.
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