Daily Archives: May 15, 2009
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com discusses why the Mets may be asking more from Gary Sheffield with Carlos Delgado‘s “intimidating presence” out of the lineup.
Jerry Manuel, as quoted by DiComo said, “I do feel that we have to have a presence somewhere in that lineup. So Sheffield is a guy that we’re going to really take a good look at on this trip, just to see where he is and what he can do. This will be like an audition for him.”
Last night, Sheffield went 2-for-4, with an RBI, and two runs scored. He also stole a base.
…so does this mean less of daniel murphy, or less of ryan church who got one hit in five at bats last night…i would think it might be a little of both, but sheffield will have to continue to be productive since just looking intimidating is different from actually being intimidating…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |In last night’s win, with Jose Reyes out of the lineup due to tightness in his 
calf, the Mets stole a franchise record seven bases.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, courtesy of ESPN.com, “That’s the most stolen bases by a team in one game against any of the catching Molinas… and Wright tied the most stolen bases by a player against a Molina.”
David Wright tied a club record with four steals, which hadn’t been done since Roger Cedeno in 1999.
“I got a few opportunities early,” Wright said.
“Jerry has preached being aggresive on the base paths all year… We’ve been aggressive late in the game all year. I like putting pressure on the defense, I like to keep the pitcher on his toes and make him focus on the base runners.”
…i love seeing the team be aggressive like this, and it was certainly a huge contributor to this win…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
Here is SNY.tv’s Post Game Extra, from last night’s win against the Giants, featuring clips of the game; quotes from Jerry Manuel, David Wright and John Maine; and analysis from Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen:
The Mets (19–15) defeated the Giants (18–16) in San Francisco tonight by the score of 7 to 4.
For a full recap and boxscore, go here.
The Least You Should Know:
- John Maine struggled early, allowed two runs in the first, but rebounded to pitch six scoreless innings, including two outs in the seventh.
- The Mets scored in the first on an RBI single from Gary Sheffield, who also doubled in a run in the third, after which he scored on a wild pitch.
- The Giants tied the game in the eighth inning against Robert Parnell, who allowed a single, a walk, and two sacrifices.
- The Mets left nine men on base during the first six innings, but broke the game open in the top of the ninth by scoring three runs on three hits, including three stolen bases, an RBI double from David Wright, and a two-run single from Ramon Castro.
- Francisco Rodriguez is 10 for 10 in save opportunities.
The Other Observations:
- AT&T Park never seemed bigger than it did tonight.
- Castro is not a very good defensive catcher.
- The Mets stole seven bases tonight, with four coming from Wright, which tied Vince Coleman and Roger Cedeno for the team record.
- I like that this team is making an obvious effort to constantly keep pressure on the opposing team’s defense, creating opportunities to score runs.
- I think Wright’s RBI double in the ninth is a clutch hit, right?
- Wright is hitting .331 with just three home runs, and that’s good, because it looks like he’s lost a bit of the loop in his swing and is now acting like the batting champion he can be, staying level and going the other way.
- Wright is hitting .400 with 14 RBI and two home runs in his last 16 games, during which the Mets are 11–5.
- Again, like before, Carlos Beltran hit an opposite-field double in the ninth, with the game tied, then stole third and eventually scored the go-ahead run.
- Maine threw 108 pitches through the first six innings, returned to get two batters in the seventh before being pulled in favor of Brian Stokes, who got out of the jam.
- The defense looked sloppy behind him, and Maine was wild in the first inning, facing eight batters and allowing two runs. However, like his last start against the Pirates, he settled down, retired eight of nine batters, including seven in a row, and allowed just five base runners and no runs the rest of the way, letting the ball rip, hitting his spots and looking confident.
- Maine pitching the seventh inning is important, considering J.J. Putz is unavailable through the first few games of this series.
- Too many pitchers are throwing up and in to Wright.
- Pablo Sandoval and Benjie Molina have got be the heaviest middle-of-the-order in baseball.
The Game Ball:
- Tonight’s Game Ball gets split in half, with one side going to Maine, for pulling it together and pitching in to the seventh inning; and the other half going to Wright, for having three hits, including the game-winning RBI, plus four stolen bases.
The Mets play the Giants tomorrow night in San Francisco with Livan Hernandez taking on Tim Lincecum at 10:15 pm EST.
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