Daily Archives: May 13, 2009
Jon Niese has been optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo and will be replaced on 
the roster with Nelson Figueroa, reports Adam Rubin on his blog for the Daily News.
Niese allowed five runs and seven hits in 4.2 innings today against the Braves.
According to Rubin, “It may not be a leap to suggest that Tim Redding will be activated and start Monday in Los Angeles.”
In an earlier post, Rubin does an outstanding job, as usual, giving an update on the farm system, reporting on Nick Evans, Wily Mo Pena and Angel Pagan, and prospects Jonathan Malo, Tobi Stoner and Sean Ratliff, among others.
Tagged Nelson Figueroa |
The Braves beat the Mets today, 8-7, in a 12-inning game at Citi Field. The Mets fell to 18-15 on the season with the loss.
For a full recap and boxscore, go here.The least you should know:
- Jonathon Niese did not look good, getting touched up for seven hits and five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two in the game.
- Fernando Tatis hit a grand slam to straightaway center in the bottom of the fourth to give the Mets a 6-4 lead.
- The Braves got a run back off Niese in the top of the fifth, then tied it in the seventh thanks to a groundball through David Wright‘s five-hole. They took a 7-6 lead in the eighth on a pair of doubles off J.J. Putz.
- Gary Sheffield tied it in the bottom of the eighth with a blast to left.
- Martin Prado homered off Ken Takahashi in the 12th to give the Braves the lead for good. Jose Reyes doubled to lead off the bottom of the frame but the Mets could not get him in.
Random Thoughts:
- According to Kevin Burkhardt, Putz says he’s having trouble getting extra life on his fastball in the eighth-inning role. I have no reason to doubt Putz, but I wonder if all his appearances so far have affected him, too.
- For what it’s worth, both of Sheffield’s home runs this season have been of the late-game, game-tying variety.
- Jerry Manuel turned to K-Rod in a non-save situation for the second straight game. As long as Rodriguez is not being overworked, this seems like a good idea; no reason to reserve your best relievers for when you’ve already got the lead.
- Ryan Church made a beautiful throw in the ninth to nail Yunel Escobar trying to tag up and take third base.
- Jose Reyes had three doubles in the game but made a baserunning gaffe in the seventh, getting thrown on trying to advance from second to third on a grounder to short.
- After disappearing for a while, Brian Stokes has now pitched in three of the Mets’ last five games. He did a good job getting out of Niese’s jam in the fifth today and now has a Santana-like 0.61 ERA.
The Game Ball:
- Goes to Tatis, who had three hits in the game, including the grand slam. He’s now batting .358 with a .417 on-base percentage and .566 slugging. Tagged News |
The first place Mets (18-14, 12-7 Home) look to take the rubber-game of their three-game series versus the Braves (16-17, 11-8 Road) today at Citi Field, starting at 1:10 p.m. EDT.- LHP Jon Niese (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will start for the Mets. In his season debut on May 8 versus the Pirates, Niese allowed two runs on seven hits, while striking out five over 6.0 IP. In his only career start versus the Braves on September 13, Niese pitched eight scoreless innings for his first career major league win.
- LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2, 5.48 ERA) will pitch for the Braves. Reyes took the loss in his last start on Ma8 8 versus the Phillies, allowing eight runs, four earned, on five hits and two walks, while striking out six over 5.0 IP. Reyes is 0-9 with a 7.11 ERA in his last 16 starts. In three career starts versus the Mets, Reyes is 0-1 with a 8.74 ERA.
- Jose Reyes, SS
- Luis Castillo, 2B
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- Gary Sheffield, LF
- David Wright, 3B
- Fernando Tatis, 1B
- Ramon Castro, C
- Ryan Church, RF
- Jon Niese, P
- The Mets are 5-7 in day games this season.
- Jose Reyes is 10-for-30 with 7 RBI and 6 runs scored during the Mets current homestand. He is 3-for-5 with 2 HR in his career versus Reyes.
- Kelly Johnson is hitting .303 with 2 HR in 33 at-bats versus left-handed pitching this season.
- The Braves bullpen has 2.08 ERA and a .218 BAA in their last 22 games.
- Today’s game will be broadcast locally on SNY and heard on WFAN.
Here is my latest Video Mailbag, presented by Verizon, during which I answer questions about first base, why I use Losses Back for the standings, and whether my view of the game has changed since becoming a professional blogger:
Today’s Game:
On the Mound:
At the Plate:
Stats:
Today’s Broadcast:
Enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets!
Jerry Manuel recently spoke with reporters regarding Carlos Delgado.
In responding to a question about if he is confident that the Delgado injury won’t be a long term thing, Manuel said, “I’m not confident at all. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but because of the reoccurance of…it’s not comforting.”
“I’m not confident in the fact that he’ll be ok. If it’s something we can manage, then I’m ok with that.”
…nagging injuries like this are so troubling…i don’t know if delgado will be right all year, so does jerry rest him, or have him battle through it…i think they have to at least rest him long enough to see if it can get any better…
Today at 11 am, I will be in Citi Field filming a Pre Game segment for today’s show, which begins on SNY at 12:30 pm.
Per usual, while out at the ballpark, I will be making live posts using Twitter, including pictures and random observations, which you can follow below:
To subscribe to my Twitter feed, go here.
To learn more of other feeds to follow, go here.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched two scoreless innings last night, throwing 26 pitches to nine batters.
Jerry Manuel said after the game, despite not using Rodriguez since last Thursday, he would not be inclined to use him again today, during a day game, following two innings last night.
However, according to MLB.com, Rodriguez told reporters, “I’ll be ready tomorrow and the next day and the next. Oh yeah… No problem.”
In case you missed it…
Jerry Manuel said yesterday the team will 
evaluate Carlos Delgado again when they get to San Francisco, and will determine on Friday if he needs to be put on the disabled list.
Either way, Delgado will not play today or tomorrow.
On WFAN, Manuel said if Delgado goes on the disabled list, he will likely use Daniel Murphy at first base, with Ryan Church and Gary Sheffield in left and right field.
In the ninth inning, with the Mets down one run, Carlos Beltran started the inning with a double down the left-field line.
Beltran then stole third, and eventually scored the tying run on a sac-fly from pinch-hitter Luis Castillo.
Replays seemed to show that Brian McCann’s throw beat Beltran to the bag, and that Beltran slid in to Chipper Jones’s glove, yet Beltran was called safe.
Jones, speaking about the play, talking from his locker, said:
“Let’s just say the baseball gods owe us one… The game came down to one play, and the umpire got it wrong. Why he got it wrong, I don’t know… I never had a guy slide into my glove and be safe… That’s the whole game… We played a perfect game and got it taken away from us… It was a well-played game on both sides… That was top-notch baseball, and it was decided by a blown call.”
…i’d be angry too today, if the Mets were on the wrong side of this call… and i have been, when the Mets are on the wrong side of the call… the point is, it happens… that said, atlanta’s pitching didn’t have to allow beltran to score, and Jeff Bennett didn’t need to load the bases and walk in the winning run…
…also, if beltran is thrown out, who knows, maybe instead of hitting Fernando Tatis with a pitch, tatis gets a ball down the middle of the plate and hits a home run… or, maybe Jeremy Reed stays in the game and hits a triple himself… we’ll never know… that’s baseball…
Prior to yesterday’s game, the Mets 
were 0–13 when trailing after the eighth inning, plus 0–1 in extra inning games.
The Mets trailed 3–2 at the end of the eighth inning, but eventually won on a walk-off walk from Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded in the 10th inning.
“I think we played the best game we’ve played the whole year,” Francisco Rodriguez told reporters following the game. “It was very exciting.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, courtesy of ESPN.com, the last time the Mets won a game in which they trailed by at least three runs in the eighth inning or later was May 17, 2007.
The Mets had lost their last 97 such games.
Tagged Stats | ← Older posts
