Daily Archives: May 7, 2009
The Mets (14–13) defeated the Phillies (14–12) by the score of 7 to 5 in a rowdy Citi Field tonight.
For a full recap and boxscore, go here.
The least you should know…
- Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright each hit home runs, totaling five runs – Ramon Castro drove in the other two runs with an RBI double to deep center field.
- Mike Pelfrey allowed three runs, eight hits and one walk, while striking out nobody, in seven innings.
- Francisco Rodriguez locked in his ninth save of the year, and his fourth in four days, pitching to four batters.
Other Observations…
- Pelfrey struggled in the first inning, allowing one run, but then settled down like a veteran, found his command, started dropping that two-seamer in for strikes and got ground ball after ground ball to cruise in to the fourth inning. He looks much stronger and confident, he’s getting lots of zip, and a nice tail on his fastball. Hitters are topping his pitches, which is a good sign.
- Beltran’s home run was a blast to left field, with a one-handed swing batting from the right side. Wright followed with ball he absolutely crushed to dead center field, just to left of the Apple. The ball to Wright was a meatball down the middle of the play.
- Luis Castillo stole second base. I hold my breath when he slides. I feel like he’s going to snap like a twig.
- Mets fans booed Jamie Moyer for taking too long to put his jacket on, after drawing a walk. I love it.
- Shouldn’t Matt Stairs be playing in a softball league by now?
- Fernando Tatis hit a ball directly at the third base bag, that bounced up in the air and landed closer to left field. Ramon Castro followed with a two-run double over the head of Shane Victorino, who plays more shallow than Beltran. Oh well.
- The ump blew a call at first base on what should have been a double play. Jerry Manuel argued a bit, but stormed off looking quite irritated. Naturally, Pelfrey immediately got a double play to end the inning.
- Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Castillo did a nice job of chasing down Shave Victorino in a pickle between first and second. However, on the pass from Reyes to Delgado, before the tag, Victorino intentionally elbowed Reyes, but it was Reyes who got called for interference and Victorino was ruled safe at second. Manuel went wild, argued yet another call, and was tossed from the game. I would LOVE to hear his voice when he’s in one of those tirades. I can only imagine.
- Clay Condrey nearly took David Wright’s head off with a weak fastball behind his batting helmet.
- Keith Hernandez, were you really drinking a glass of red wine while waiting to go on camera, sitting on the balcony of the Acela Club? Outstanding.
- Ryan Howard smoked a ball, basically a line drive, clobbered over the 415 mark in the deepest part of the ballpark. Crazy.
- So far, K-Rod is everything I hoped he would be.
- The Mets are now one game over .500, and one loss behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.
The Mets remain home tomorrow night to begin a three-day series against the Pirates, with Jon Niese making his first start of the year.
Keona Gardner of TCPalm.com reports Mets OF Angel Pagan has been arrested for various traffic violations.
According to Gardner, Pagan, who was driving with a suspended license, was originally stopped for speeding, but after a license check, troopers learned Pagan has several warrants out for his arrest for failure to pay traffic fines.
Pagan has been rehabbing his surgically repaired elbow at the Mets spring training facility in Port St. Lucie.
Tagged Mike Nichols |Tonight’s Game:
The Mets (13-13, 7-6 Home) look to sweep their brief two-game series versus the Phillies (14-11, 8-3 Road) tonight at Citi Field, starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT.
On the Mound:
- RHP Mike Pelfrey (3-0, 6.00 ERA) will start for the Mets.
- LHP Jamie Moyer (3-1, 5.65 ERA) will pitch for the Phillies.
At the Plate:
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Luis Castillo, 2B
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- Carlos Delgado, 1B
- David Wright, 3B
- Gary Sheffield, RF
- Fernando Tatis, LF
- Ramon Castro, C
- Mike Pelfrey, P
Tonight’s Broadcast:
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY, nationally on MLB Network and heard on WFAN.
Enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets!
Again, today, starting at 3 pm, I will be out at Citi Field.
I will be making live posts using Twitter, including pictures and random observations, which you can follow below
The great poet Lastings Milledge once said, in the song Bend Your Knees, “I’m the 
king of all bling, came to lay down the evidence; not George Bush, but L. Millz be the President.”
…well, he may not be the President… but, he may end up being a starting outfielder in the All-Star Game…
Milledge is currently in Triple-A, since being demoted by the Nationals earlier this season. Yet, he is still listed on the ballot from MLB for the National League All-Star Team.
So, the popular Red Sox site, Sons of Sam Horn, is encouraging Red Sox fans to vote Milledge in as a starting outfielder, writing:
“Milledge is on the NL All-Star ballot. He needs to make the team. Nothing would be more NatsTown than having the Natinals’ (lone?) All-Star game representative be a AAA player for whom the organization has no plan.”
In a post to Big League Stew, ‘Duk writes, “Throw in Nats fans like Chris Needham who wish to see their franchise shamed and scheming baseball bloggers like yours truly and maybe there’s a chance to generate some headlines with inflated vote totals.”
To vote in players for MLB’s annual popularity contest, click here.
…speaking of Milledge, SNY’s Ted Berg uses this image for the wallpaper on his laptop, and i laugh every time i see it…
To vote in this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.
In an article for the New York Times, David Waldstein relays Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel’s thoughts on the Mets and being in first place.
Before yesterday’s game, Charlie said, “I think if we can put a few whippings on them, it would be good, I think that will bring out the best in everything.”
On being in first place, he is quoted by Weindstein saying, “If you notice, sometimes a team will get a five-game lead in our division, they’ll get caught real quick.”
…i really don’t understand why the Phillies are always ribbing the Mets…it’s like the league has sour grapes against a team who hasn’t even been to a world series in nine years…
Added to by Mike Nichols…
…i’ve noticed the Phillies fans, and even their players to a certain extent, are for more concerned about the Mets, than we are about the Phillies…which is funny, because they have gotten the best of us the last two years…Phillies fans love to talk trash, but are never confident in their ability to beat the Mets on a head-to-head basis…
…i heard from many of my friends that are Phillies fans this week, and none of thought they would win a game against the Mets this week and even thought the Mets would have taken two-of-three last weekend…which is odd, you would think it would be the other way around with the Phillies being the reigning champs…
Tagged Phillies, Regis Courtemanche |Carlos Beltran was 0 for 4 last night, reducing his average from .404 to .388 – it was the first game this season he did not reach base.
According to Steve Popper in the Bergen Record, Beltran is the first Met since 
Cleon Jones, 40 years ago, to hit .400 or better this deep into the season.
…i have always wanted to see a batter hit .400… i thought it would be Ichiro Suzuki a few years ago, who was hitting .379 in early September… i was a fan of Tony Gwynn, and thought there was always a chance he would do it, especially considering he hit .394 one year… i believe i bet my friend Bruno Maini back in 1990 that some one would hit .400 in our lifetime… i don’t think beltran will do it this season, but i can dream…
…for what it’s worth, i also hope to see Joe D’s 56–game hitting streak get snapped one day, as well as see someone on the Mets throw a no hitter… Johan Santana, i’m looking at you, buddy…
“I don’t keep up with my stats,” Beltran told reporters before yesterday’s game. “This is not about me personally. This is about the team… I care most about hitting for high average because I know if I hit for high average I’m going to be on base more and I’m going to score a lot of runs.”
To vote in this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.
Tagged News |Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended 50 games starting today, reports Bill Shaikin and Dylan Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times.
According to the report, “Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with matter but not authorized to speak publicly.”
…hmmm, i wonder if the comments section of this post is going to be dominated by Get Manny posts today…
Derek Lowe didn’t have his best stuff Wednesday night, but the Atlanta bats finally came to life, led by 3 RBI from Garret Anderson, as the Braves held on to beat the Marlins, 8-6.
Jorge Cantu was on fire again for Florida, smacking 2 doubles, a home run, and driving in 5 for the Fish.
The two clubs conclude their short series this afternoon in Miami. Jair Jurrjens will go for the Braves and Anibal Sanchez will take the mound for the Marlins.
Cristian Guzman collected 3 hits, and Ryan Zimmerman ran his hitting streak to 24 straight games, but other than that, it was a night to forget for the Nationals in LA.
Clayton Kershaw tossed 5 solid innings, and Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin provided the offense with 3 hits apiece as the Dodgers pummeled Washington, 10-3.
Los Angeles improved to 13-0 at Dodger Stadium, setting a modern-day record for most consecutive home wins to start a season.
Tonight, Washington rookie Jordan Zimmerman hopes to get the Nationals back in the win column while Randy Wolf looks to extend the Dodgers record setting ways in Chavez Ravine.
In other news…Not only are the Braves having a hard time picking up wins, they’re also struggling to draw fans. Through the first 14 home games, the team is only averaging a little over 24,000 tickets sold.
Marlins left-hander Andrew Miller took the mound for his first rehab start on Wednesday and allowed a run on 3 hits in 4 innings. He walked one and struck out 4. Miller is recovering from an oblique strain which landed him on the DL.
For more news, notes, analysis and statistics from around Major League Baseball, be sure to visit Baseball Daily Digest.
To vote in this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.
Tagged MetsBlog, News |
The Mets will face a left-handed starting pitcher for only the third time this season, according to Marty Noble of MLB.com, who adds:
“The lack of left-handed opponents is a contributing factor in David Wright‘s slow start.”
…that’s interesting, i had never thought about that…
Last season, Wright hit just .275 against right-handed pitchers, while batting .382 against left-handed pitchers.
…and so, if he’s been mostly facing righties this season, in fact, 91 percent of his at bats have been against righties, it makes sense that his batting average might be lower than it was last season… though, let’s not go nuts here, he is batting .293…
Prior to yesterday’s game, Jerry Manuel said Luis Castillo will return to the starting lineup tonight, but that Ryan Church will likely sit again, giving Gary Sheffield a start in right field.
To vote in this week’s Fan Confidence Rating, click here.
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