Daily Archives: June 20, 2009
Bart Hubbuch, in a post to Twitter, has reported that Carlos Beltran will have the MRI performed on his right knee on Monday.
Beltran has been troubled by a bone bruise in that knee.
The Mets lost to the Rays this afternoon by a score of 3-1.
To read a full recap, and see the boxscore, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
- Johan Santana allowed two runs on three hits in 7 1/3 innings – not allowing a hit until the fifth inning, but one of the runs he allowed was a game deciding, solo home run to Carlos Pena in the seventh inning.
- James Shields was real sharp today for the Rays – especially with his curve ball and change-up, going seven innings and allowing a run on three hits. He retired the last 14 batters he faced and the Rays’ bullpen extended that string to 19 consecutive batters before Carlos Beltran singled with two outs in the ninth.
- The game was delayed by rain in the top of the eighth inning for one hour and fifteen minutes. Bobby Parnell took over for Santana when play resumed and promptly walked Pat Burrell who hit for Shields, and allowed a hard single to BJ Upton. He was relieved by Pedro Feliciano and got the speedy Carl Crawford to ground into a 1-6-3 double play to put out the fire.
- Sean Green‘s streak of not allowing a run ended at 15 consecutive appearances when he allowed a solo home run to Ben Zobrist in the top of the ninth inning.
- The Mets 3-4-5 hitters were a combined 2 for 11 at the plate today.
Etc, Misc., and Other Stuff:
- Classic pitchers duel today, but it seems like Santana is constantly on the short side of these kinds of games. His velocity was still inconsistent and he wasn’t dominating, but it was nice to see him pitch well enough to win despite not having his best stuff.
- What has happened to Bobby Parnell? In his last six appearances, his ERA has gone from 1.96 to 3.67 and has allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks in just four innings.
- David Wright is now 3 for his last 22 with nine strikeouts over that span. The Mets simply cannot afford to have Wright get this cold again, especially with the question marks now surrounding Carlos Beltran and an MRI looming on the bone bruise in his knee.
- Ryan Church, on the other hand, is 6 for his last 16 with three runs scored and three RBI.
- It seems that opposing left handed hitters can hit the ball out to the right field corner at Citi Field. You would think that the lefty-heavy Mets could do the same.
- Fans at Citi Field were booing Luis Castillo during the game last night, and they were sarcastically cheering him when he caught an easy pop up during the game today.
- I can see that Met fans still love Pat Burrell now that he plays for Tampa Bay.
The Mets play the rubber game of this three game series tomorrow afternoon at Citi Field beginning at 1:10 pm with Mike Pelfrey facing Jeff Niemann.
David Lennon, in a post to Twitter, says that both John Maine and Oliver Perez will start each end of a doubleheader for St. Lucie on Monday.
Lennon also reports that Jose Reyes, who is on the disabled list with a torn tendon in his hamstring, feels something on “quick moves”.
Reyes reportedly played catch on the field prior to last night’s game but was supposed to take ground balls.
…that doesn’t sound good, considering that a major part of his game is stealing bases, which requires a “quick move”…
Update, 5:25 pm, by Matthew Cerrone:
“Carlos Beltran is hurting again from the bone bruise below his right knee and he plans to get an MRI soon to find out the extent of the damage,” writes David Lennon, in a post to his blog for Newsday.
…seriously, at this point, you’d think they’d have one of those LifeScreening machines set up in the clubhouse, like a security gate in the airport… guys walk through it, if bells and whitsles start ringing they step aside and go directly to the trainer’s room… otherwise, if all is quite, go home…
For quotes from Beltran, check out Lennon’s blog.
…beltran is in today’s game, which i would think is a good sign…
Tagged Oliver Perez |
Jeremy Reed will start in left field today, in place of Gary Sheffield.
Alex Cora will leadoff, followed in order by Daniel Murphy at first, then Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Ryan Church, Reed, Omir Santos, Luis Castillo, and Johan Santana.
Update, 3:16 pm:
The gates are open, and fans have been e-mailing to say the tarp is bing removed from the field.
According to Newsday’s David Lennon, in a post to Twitter, a team official has said the game will start on time.
Tagged News |Pictures of highlights during last night’s game against the Rays are available here.
The entire collection of pictures may be found by visiting flickr .
Updated, 11:06 am, by Matthew Cerrone:
…nice work, michael… i particularly like the shot of you in the box, who took that… as well as the shot of the bench, framed in a square… and, of course, the shot of Ken Rosenthal and Omar Minaya shaking hands…
Updated, 11:12 am, by Michael Baron:
…the picture of me was taken by my girlfriend, Natalie, from my seats in the Promenade.
Tagged Photographs |
I am eager to see Johan Santana today, when the Mets take on the Rays at 4 pm on FOX.
This is important. Obviously, the Mets will not go very far if Santana isn’t right.
He and Dan Warthen have been saying everything is righted, he feels no pain, it was a blister, the grip, etc., and they’ve made adjustments to his delivery to compensate, and, in other words, it’s all good.
Additionally, there is something about Johan in a day game at Citi Field that gets me super focused and pumped up. As a Mets fan, I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to watch two rare pitchers, Johan and Pedro Martinez, who can captivate thousands and thousands of people, from the players to those in the stands, as though they’re the Pied Piper. It’s like they grab the ball, stand in the center of the ring, put everyone on their back and say, ‘Follow me.’
I can’t think of many other pitchers, if any, that create this type of energy and inspiration. I’m sure Blue Jays fans love watching Roy Halladay. However, does he have the X-Factor that Johan, or Martinez, have, i.e., that fist-pumping, eye-popping intensity that tends to rub off on every one who is watching?
