Daily Archives: May 1, 2009
The Mets (10-12) defeated the Phillies (11-10) by the score of 7-to-4 tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
For a full recap and boxscore, go to SNY.tv.
The least you should know…
- Mike Pelfrey earned the victory, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks. Pelfrey is now 3-0 with a 6.00 ERA. He also helped himself at the plate, driving in two runs.
- David Wright looked a bit more relaxed at the plate, going 2-for-4, including a double and a run batted in.
- Pedro Feliciano picked up Pelfrey to bridge the gap to J.J. and K-Rod, pitching 1.2 innings, allowing a solo homerun to Chase Utley.
- J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game.
Other Thoughts…
- Wright looked better, but Carlos Beltran, who was 1-for-2 with three walks, and Fernando Tatis, who was 2-for-4, continue to be the only two hitters I have any confidence in.
- The Mets were only 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but took advantage of the struggling Chan Ho Park, scoring three of their seven runs on sacrificed flies. They’re not hits, but they get the run across.
- I’d still like to see the team be a bit more aggressive on the base paths. I felt there were a few missed opportunities early in the game.
- Raul Ibanez would like nice with a New York across his chest. Yeah, yeah, he’s left-handed, who cares, the guy can hit. period.
The Mets and Phillies resume their series tomorrow afternoon, with Oliver Perez facing Jamie Moyer, starting at 3:40 p.m.
Tonight’s Game:
Weather permitting, the Mets (9-12, 3-6 Road) begin a three-game series versus the Phillies (11-9, 5-7 Home) tonight at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA, starting at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
On the Mound:
- RHP Mike Pelfrey (2-0, 6.32 ERA) will start for the Mets. Pelfrey earned the win is his last start on April 25 versus the Nationals, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out one in 5.2 IP. Pelfrey has a 2-to-1 GB/FB ratio this season. He is 1-2 with 4.09 ERA in four career starts versus the Phillies.
- RHP Chan Ho Park (0-0, 7.16 ERA) will pitch for the Phillies. In his last start on April 25 versus the Marlins, a no-decision, Park allowed four runs on five hits (2 HR) and a walk, while striking out five over 7.0 IP. Park is 5-3 with a 2.44 ERA in 15 career games versus the Mets. He has held the Mets to a .198 BAA during those 15 games.
At the Plate:
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Alex Cora, 2B
- Daniel Murphy, LF
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- David Wright, 3B
- Ryan Church, RF
- Fernando Tatis, 1B
- Omir Santos, C
- Mike Pelfrey, P
Stats:
- The Mets are 1-9 when trailing after six innings.
- Fernando Tatis batting .500 (8-for-16) during his current five-game hitting streak. He is 5-for-10 (.500) with 2 HR and 8 RBI in his career versus Park.
- Chase Utley is batting .273 with 2 HR and 6 RBI in 11 career at-bats versus Pelfrey.
- The Phillies are 0-7 when they score three runs or less.
Tonight’s Broadcast:
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY and WFAN.
Enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets!
Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado will not be in tonight’s lineup.
According to David Lennon’s Twitter feed, who covers the Mets for Newsday, Delgado was originally in the lineup, but after a meeting with Jerry Manuel he is no longer starting.
Tagged News |Tom from NY sent in an e-mail saying…
“You know, I hate to admit when Mike Francesa is right, because he thinks he invented every sport, but the Mets should have broken up this core last year after the second-straight collapse… They will never win with this core unit. What a waste having the best pitcher in the game on the team.”
I do not buy in to the Break Up the Core argument.
Like at I wrote at the end of last season, I still believe the Mets should keep the core, i.e., Jose Reyes, David Wright, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana, and build around them, finding younger, ‘grittier,’ tough players to support them and follow their lead.
Believe me, there are few players in baseball who have the work ethic of Wright, Reyes and Santana. Reyes is out on the field every game, four hours before first pitch, working on some element from his game – the same can essentially be said for Wright. Santana is the best pitcher in baseball, and the definition of a leader. The three of them take losing very hard. In fact, I know Wright struggled with last season’s collapse as much as you and I did. These are not qualities that should be kicked to the curb, they should be admired, rallied around, and used as a model.
In my mind, I’d like to see a tough, quick, aggressive, defensive-minded, hungry group of role players be put around Wright and Reyes, to play to Citi Field’s strength, all while the rest of the team’s resources be put towards pitching, pitching and more pitching.
I have been saying this for over a year now, though.
This is not to say the current 25–man roster is incapable of winning. It’s just, most things being equal, I bet I would have more fun watching the above scenario… and I trust I am not the only fan who feels this way.
Jorge Cantu homered for the 7th time in April and drove in 4 runs to lead the Florida Marlins over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, 8-2, in 10 innings.
Trailing 2-0, the Marlins plated one run in the 7th on Cantu’s home run and tied the game in the 8th when Ross Gload scored on an error by pitcher Carlos Marmol.
Our old friend Aaron Heilman entered the game in the 10th inning and promptly allowed 3 hits and 2 walks. Emilio Bonifacio reached base on Ryan Theriot‘s second error, and before all was said and done, the Marlins had stunned the Cubs by scoring 6 runs.
Florida starter Chris Volstad allowed just 2 runs on 3 hits over 7 strong innings.
In Washington, Daniel Cabrera was wild most of the evening, but he kept the Nationals in the game long enough for his club to grab a 4-3 lead heading into the 7th inning. Unfortunately, the bullpen didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Mike Hinkley gave up the tying run in the 7th, and Julian Tavarez imploded in the 9th inning, allowing 5 more Cardinals to cross the plate to give St. Louis a 9-4 win over the Nationals.
This weekend, Washington continues its series against St. Louis, the Marlins are in Chicago, and the Braves host the Astros.
In player news…Washington’s Joe Beimel is set to begin a rehab assignment on Friday and resume pitching with the Nationals on Wednesday…as their closer.
…And not a moment too soon I might add!
Florida’s Hanley Ramirez was out of the lineup again on Thursday due to soreness in his right hand after being hit by a pitch by John Maine on Monday.
Ramirez missed his third consecutive game and his status for Friday is unknown.
For more news, notes, analysis and statistics from around Major League Baseball, be sure to visit Baseball Daily Digest.
Tagged MetsBlog, News |
At his blog, Aaron Torres offers his “Idiot’s Guide to Citi Field”, which includes, “Don’t: Miss out on Big Apple Brews.”
…i’ve tried most of the food, and my winner thus far is the taco combo platter at taqueria…
Can you sing? If so, on Monday you can try out to sing the National Anthem at Citi Field this season. For more information, go to Mets.com.
…needless to say, for everyone’s benefit, i will not be there…
According to WFTV.com, 25 of the 30 MLB teams will soon be offering free tickets with the purchase of a replica jersey from their site. The remaining teams, including the Mets, will be giving away Game Time watches
Finally, Metsblog.com reader Mike D. – not the Beastie Boy – sent in a video from AdWeek.com showing Keith Hernandez in an SNY commercial.
…wear the moustache…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
In a report for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal quotes Omar Minaya as saying, while the team does not lack leadership, the team’s stars do lack a certain ‘edge.’
“We have good guys, solid professionals,” Minaya told Rosenthal.
“There is a smile on David Wright‘s face, a smile on Jose Reyes‘s face. But there is not an edge to them… Some people see edge as 
leadership. Sometimes, you need a little meanness to your game. Some people perceive leadership as meanness.”
…ugh, well, here’s the thing, omar, when you try to build a team full of choir boys, guess what happens… you get choir boys… so, should it be a real shock that the team lacks edge… unreal…
…Jerry Manuel needs to tap back in to his inner ‘gagsta,’ i think, and work to put a chip on this team’s shoulder… there is one for the taking too, which is that every team in baseball might very well hate the Mets, especially the Phillies… they all seem to love mocking us, the team, the city, and so on… the Mets play in New York, it’s time they start acting like new yorkers…
According to Rosenthal, Minaya believes Alex Cora and Gary Sheffield will provide that edge, adding, “We needed that. I think it will pay off in the end.”
…thanks to Bobby K for the Rosenthal link…
Rosenthal also breaks down the Mets-Phillies rivalry, and previews tonight’s match up between the two teams in Philadelphia.
Tagged Omar Minaya |
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In April 2007, David Wright was hitting .244, with no home runs, six RBI and a .681 OPS. He struck out 23 times and walked 16.
As I wrote about here, at the time, he was booed heartily at Shea by the fans for it.
Wright finished that year with a .325 average, 30 home runs, 107 RBI and an OPS of .963.
Wright fared better last April, with four home runs, 23 RBI and an OPS of .948.
However, this year looks very similar to his 2007 numbers early on.
In other words, like most people have been saying, ‘David Wright will come out of it.’
Slumps happen, just ask Mark Teixeira.
I will be the first to admit I was wrong if he doesn’t, but let’s be real, that just won’t happen and I look forward to seeing him come back to form.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche, Stats |
This Saturday, at 12 and 5 pm, on SNY’s Mets Weekly, Julie Alexandria previews the Mets-Phillies series, and talks with Omir Santos, as well as Greg Prince about his new book, Faith and Fear in Flushing, his blog and his all-time Mets lineup.
Speaking of SNY, though Saturday’s game is on FOX at 3:40 pm, SNY will air Post Game Live immediately after the game ends.
Tagged SNY |
