Daily Archives: May 16, 2009
The Mets (21–15) defeated the Giants (18–18) in San Francisco today by the score of 9 to 6.
For a full recap and boxscore, go here.
The Least You Should Know:
- On the day the Mets finally gave Johan Santana the run support he deserved, Santana had his worst outing of the season, allowing a season-high six runs, four earned, on 11 hits. He is now 5-2 with a 1.36 ERA this season.
- David Wright and Carlos Beltran were a combined 6-for-10 with 6 RBI.
- J.J. Putz locked down the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, giving Francisco Rodriguez a much needed day off.
- The Mets have won 11 of their last 13 games.
The Other Observations:
- It’s quite impressive watching both Wright and Beltran play at their highest levels. The key for both has been just putting the ball in play and not worrying about hitting homeruns.
- Gary Sheffield was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. With Carlos Delgado‘s season in a state of flux, Sheffield may be the key component to the Mets offensive success. He’s not driving in runs, yet, but he is giving the Mets patient at-bats and putting the ball in play.
- What is with the poor defensive play behind Santana this season? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team tighten up so defensively for a specific pitcher before.
- Alex Cora has been phenomenal in Jose Reyes‘ absence, playing in such a professional manner that reminds me of Jose Valentin’s time with the Mets, minus the stache, of course.
- I said it last night and I’ll say it again, the start of this road trip reminds me of the Mets 9-1 West Coast trip in 2006.
The Game Ball:
- Today’s Game Ball goes to both David Wright and Carlos Beltran for picking up Santana and putting the team on their back.
The Mets look to sweep their four-game series versus the Giants tomorrow night in San Francisco with Mike Pelfrey taking on Matt Cain at 8:05 pm EDT.
Jerry Manuel recently spoke about the statuses of Jose Reyes, and J.J. Putz.
“It was tightness in the calf”, Manuel said about Reyes. “We’ll give him another day and see if that can loosen it up and hopefully that’s part of the progression for that injury to get better. Hopefully he’ll be ready in the next day or so.”
According to Manuel, Putz is also ready to go today, and they would like for him to be the closer should that situation arise.
Oliver Perez also pitched 3 innings in extended spring training today. He allowed no hits, struck out seven, and walked four on 56 pitches.
Tagged Oliver Perez, Regis Courtemanche |
When asked about Carlos Delgado being placed on the disabled list, Jerry Manuel said that he doesn’t expect this to be just a 15 day thing.
Why they placed him on the DL:
“Well he never got away from being uncomfortable. We felt that it was time to make a decision and that’s the decision we came to. To go ahead and give it some time.”
On when he could possibly return:
“Basically when a guy is on the DL I don’t start counting days. I try to take care of the people we have. Delgado is a very important part of what we do. I’ll moniter what goes on and happens with him but for the most part, we have to get the people we have here ready to go.”
On if he’s preparing to be without him for a long time:
“Well I am. That’s just the way I see it. He tried a number of things to get better to get comfort but could never find it. I don’t anticipate this being a 15 day thing in my opionion. I could be wrong and hopefully I am wrong. We’ll go from there.”
If surgery is possible:
“That’s something that he’ll have to discuss with the doctor, not me. I can’t tell a guy to do this and do that. I have no degree in surgery. A degree in a few other things but not surgery.”
On if guys they have can handle first base:
“I feel confident that they can. I think is more of a key for us if sheff can maintain what here’s doing for us in the four spot. That’s more of a key for us. I wouldn’t like wright and beltran to be the 4 guy. I like then 3rd and 5th.”
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |“We’ll continue to play everybody. It gives them a chance to get some consecutive games together. Whoever is hot and going well. They’ll play.”
Today’s Game:
The Mets (20-15, 8-7 Road) continue their four-game series versus the Giants (18-17, 12-8 Home) today at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, starting at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
On The Mound:
- LHP Johan Santana (4-2, 0.78 ERA) starts for the Mets.
- LHP Randy Johnson (3-3, 5.89 ERA) takes the hill for the Giants.
The Lineup:
- Luis Castillo, 2B
- Alex Cora, SS
- Carlos Beltran, CF
- Gary Sheffield, LF
- David Wright, 3B
- Fernando Tatis, 1B
- Ramon Castro, C
- Ryan Church, RF
- Johan Santana, P
Today’s Broadcast:
- Today’s broadcast can be seen locally on FOX and head on WFAN.
Update, 12:50 pm:
The Mets have put Carlos Delgado on the 15-day Disabled List retroactive to May 11 with a right hip impingement.
Delgado will be replaced on the roster with Angel Pagan.
According to SNY, Pagan will not join the team until after tonight’s game.
Delgado will visit a doctor Monday or Tuesday in New York to determine if he needs sugery.
Lastly, Jose Reyes will be out of the starting lineup today for the third straight game with a sore calf muscle.
Original Post:
Prior to last night’s game, SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt reported, Jerry Manuel said Carlos Delgado will go on the disabled list if Delgado does not show improvement with his ailing hip today.
SNY’s Jon Heyman said on the pre-game show, Mets propsect Fernando Martinez is a possibility to be called up, but that depends on if the team feels comfortable using Daniel Murphy at first base.
Tagged Mike Nichols |In case you missed, Tim Redding is expected to make his season debut on Monday, as he gets the start versus the Dodgers in Dodger Stadium.
In two starts for Triple-A Buffalo, Redding has allowed four runs on 13 hits and two walks while striking out nine over 13.0 IP.
Tagged Mike Nichols, Tim Redding |David Wright, who was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI, including the game-tying three-run double in the seventh inning, talked with reporters after last night’s win against the Giants, and had the following to say about:
When things turned around:
“Like I have been saying all along, it’s baseball. You feel good some days and have success and some days you don’t. My preparation is the same. The intensity is the same all year. Just sometimes you have success and sometimes you don’t. There is no magic formula or special recipe to go out there and get hits. Just put in your work and hopefully pitchers make some mistakes and put some good swings on balls.”
On if he is feeling more comfortable at the plate:
“It’s easy to say because of the results that something is different. I feel the same up there. I feel confident just as I did when things weren’t going so good. You can feel great and hit balls right at people and not get the results or you can go up there and feel terrible and bloop balls in. It’s putting your work in and putting your preparation in. Doing your homework on the opposing pitcher and try to give yourself every chance you have to succeed.”
Coming back against Tim Lincecum:
“I would say 9 out of 10 times when you get five runs of support for Tim Lincecum the game is over. We got lucky and had some good at-bats. We were able to get his pitch count up early in the game. The number one goal coming into the game was to get Tim Lincecum out of the game as quickly as possible. He pitched extremely well, but we were lucky to be able to get in the bullpen and make some things happen late.”
The approach against Brian Wilson:
“I think that we are just putting together good at-bats. He is one of the better closers in the game. You can’t expect to go in there and score runs off him. You just have to hit some mistakes. He is a guy you are not going to have very much success against. Just have go up there and make some things happen.”
The increased spirit in the team:
“That comes along with winning. We have had some success going back on teams, we haven’t won all those games, but we’ve shown we are going to fight until the end. That is the attitude you have to practice to be good at and we’ve had some practice at that lately.”
On Francisco Rodriguez‘s performance:
Tagged Mike Nichols |“He is unreal. He never ceases to amaze you. I’m running oout of good things to say about him. He has been great for us attitude wise. He is very confident and challenging guys. He has been as dominant as you can be but I think more importantly he wants the ball everyday and wants the ball in those big situations. That is something you can’t really put into words. That is the kind attitude and respect he brings.”
Mets manager Jerry Manuel talked with reporters after last night’s win against the Giants, and had the following to say about:
Livan Hernandez‘s performance:
“I thought he did a good job. He said he felt real good tonight. Sometimes when you feel good you’re little stronger than you should be. And I think that was the case tonight. He kept them there. He gave us a chance, gave of the five innings we needed and we were able to chip back into the game.”
The spirit of the team:
“We put some good swings on [Tim Lincecum]. The kind of the spirit of the team during that time was, ‘we still got a shot, we still have some innings left.’ We added a run here and there and then got a big hit. This is what we were missing earlier in the year. We had the people out there, but we never really got that big hit.”
If the spirit different than it was two weeks ago:
“No. I think even the last week of spring training it was going to be a little different. Even though we didn’t come and appear to do the things everyone thought we would do right away. I still thought pretty good that there was some guys that like to hit late and like to be clutch. I think the freedom that we have on the bases and taking advantage of that type of stuff helps keep the guys going as well.”
Will the fans give David Wright a break now or will they just ignore it:
“[Laughs] I think when they wake up and see what he has done and how he has carried us and how we have come back. I don’t think they will need to give him a break. I think he will be doing this for a long time. As cold as he was I knew there would be a time when he was going to get hot. I think that time is now. Hopefully that will last as long as he was cold.”
Gary Sheffield‘s at-bats:
“He’s always been a hitter that is aware of the strikezone. As violent as he is with his bat, he is under control. He has a tremendous eye. With that in the middle of the order and patience that he has just adds to the other guys, therefore the guy on the mound ends up with a lot of pitches over the course of a ballgame.”
Wright’s leadership with Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes out the lineup:
Tagged Mike Nichols |“David has really stepped up. Obviously Carlos Beltran has been big all year long. It is really good to see David doing the things he is doing right now. I think that is very impressive when you have the other big guy out. He is sitting there in that fifth spot with guys out there constantly and putting together big at-bats.”
The Mets (20–15) defeated the Giants (18–17) in San Francisco tonight by the score of 8 to 6.
For a full recap and boxscore, go here.
The Least You Should Know:
- David Wright was 3-for-5 with 4 RBI, including the game-tying three-run double in the seventh inning.
- The Mets overcame an early four-run deficit for their largest comeback victory of the season.
- Livan Hernandez lasted five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. Obviously not a great outing for Livan, but on the bright side he settled down after the first two innings and and didn’t not walk a batter.
- The Mets have won 10 of their last 12 games.
The Other Observations:
- The game is over when K-Rod takes the hill.
- I love the Mets new home in Clutch City.
- With Carlos Delgado out, Daniel Murphy, who had a key pinch-hit RBI single, may be more useful as a pinch-hitter than an everyday player. He is now 4-for-8 as a pinch-hitter.
- Sean Green‘s number 48 curse continues.
- The more at-bats Gary Sheffield gets, the better he looks at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Sheffield has three consecutive multi-hit games.
- The 421-foot gap in right center and the 24-foot right field wall may have saved the Mets tonight.
- Jose Reyes looked uncomfortable during his pinch-hitting appearance.
- It’s only the first two games of the trip, but the Mets play reminds me of the 2006 west coast road trip.
- Longtime MetsBlog.com commenter, Dykstraw, may have said it best on Twitter, ‘this is a season defining win.’
The Game Ball:
- Tonight’s Game Ball goes to David Wright for the clutch game-tying three-run double in the seventh inning.
The Mets play the Giants tomorrow afternoon in San Francisco with Johan Santana taking on Randy Johnson at 4:10 pm EDT.
