Daily Archives: July 8, 2009
The Mets beat the Dodgers, 5-4, tonight at Citi Field.
For a complete recap, box score and stats, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
- The story tonight was the return of Oliver Perez. An admittedly “really nervous” Perez was decent tonight, and did all I could realistically ask for his first time out. Although he had seven walks and was quite wild, his slider had a lot of break on it, and Perez was able to work his way out of a few jams, specifically after walking the bases loaded with two outs in the third inning. He went five, had two strikeouts, and allowed two to score on five hits.
- With the game tied at one in the third, Daniel Murphy, who scorched two doubles tonight, scored on a seeing-eye single by David Wright to left. Wright later scored on a Casey Blake error, and Jeremy Reed then drove Gary Sheffield in to make it a 4-1 ballgame. Sheffield’s failure to slide made it a much closer play than it needed to be. Get dirty Sheff, that may have been costly.
- Daniel Murphy made one of the most unbelievable plays I have ever seen. Mark Loretta nailed a line drive off the first base bag, which launched the ball high into the air. Murphy tracked it down, barehanded it, and slung it behind his back to Bobby Parnell to record the out at first. Luck of the Irish.
- In the eighth, Ryan Church made a sliding attempt at a liner off of Matt Kemp‘s bat, but missed it, earning Kemp a triple. He would eventually score to make it 5-3.
- K-Rod came in and immediately gave up a home run to Manny Ramirez. He then walked Casey Blake on four pitches, and gave up a base hit to Russell Martin. He finally forced a game ending double play to earn the save.
Other Observations and Notes:
- Phew. With everyone in the division that matters winning today, and having the lead all night, this was a must win.
- It was very nice to see someone, anyone return from the disabled list, even if it was Oliver Perez, who has been a source of frustration in the past.
- The game moved at a Trachselesque pace.
- Home plate umpire, Wally Bell’s strike zone was a bit askew. Ask Gary Sheffield and Nick Evans.
- I erased anything in my post that may have jinxed them during that last inning. Yes, I’m superstitious.
The Game Ball:
- Tentatively goes to Oliver Perez. It couldn’t have been easy to go out there tonight with the burden of an inflated contract, and fan expectations weighing down on him, but his serviceable outing has allowed me to sigh a shallow breath of relief, for now.
Livan Hernandez squares off against Randy Wolf in the rubber game tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
This afternoon, Jerry Manuel was a guest of Evan Roberts and Joe Beningo on WFAN.
Asked if his team could survive after the break, Manuel said that the pitching is good enough to stay competitive.
With regards to the poor defense of the team, Manuel said “we’re doing things to address that.”
…I wish I could see what exactly his staff has instilled in his players to correct the miscues…
Roberts then asked Manuel about the high frequency of mental errors, and Manuel attributed them to so many players playing at a frequency that was unexpected and while that doesn’t make them acceptable, he does take responsibility for that.
…well I am happy he doesn’t find them acceptable, but in my mind, there should be no reason why any Major League baseball player makes this amount of mental mistakes…
Manuel did acknowledge that when a mental mistake is made, he takes his player into the tunnel to address it.
With regards to Luis Castillo getting thrown out at third base last night, Manuel felt that it was a “smart gamble” and it coming down to Matt Kemp executing a great throw.
…I am not going to kill Castillo for the move only because I have to believe he was simply trying to make something happen, but when the team has not scored a run since a pitcher blooped an RBI single three days prior, I thought that he should’ve been more conservative…
Manuel went on to promise Beningo that if the Mets don’t score tonight, he will do what Billy Martin did and pull tomorrow’s lineup out of a hat.
…I am not so sure that is a bad idea right now, Jerry…
To listen to Manuel’s conversation with Joe and Evan, go to WFAN.com.
Tagged News |
To watch today’s episode of New York Baseball Today, in which Bob Ojeda and I discuss Oliver Perez and pitching from behind in the count, click play below:
Tagged News |
Another day, another lineup…
Alex Cora will bat leadoff, followed in order by Daniel Murphy at first, David Wright, Gary Sheffield, Ryan Church, Jeremy Reed, Brian Schneider behind the plate, and Luis Castillo at second.
Oliver Perez will make his return from te disabled list tonight.
Update, 4:12 pm:
In a post to his Twitter page, Newsday’s David Lennon, “Carlos Delgado played catch, now he’s over at first base. Looks like he’s about to field grounders.”
Update, 5:40 pm:
With the left-handed Perez on the hill tonight, the left-handed Don Mattingly is throwing BP to the Dodgers.
By the way, from what I can gather, despite what is being reported, Jose Reyes will not play in a minor-league rehab game this week, as he’ll continue to rest following yesterday’s cortisone shot.
Update, 5:50 pm:
Asked if he will give David Wright a day off before the All Star break, Jerry Manuel said:
“I haven’t considered giving him a day. I think this time for him is a great experience in the sense that he is the guy who is left in this offense because of losing other guys. I think despite the struggles that he’s having, I think this is gonna be a positive thing for him moving forward in that trying to do too much isn’t the answer. I think he’ll grow from this.”
Yesterday, the D-Backs traded reliever Tony Pena to the White Sox for 23–year-old infield prospect Brandon Allen.
In a post to his Twitter page, SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the D-Backs love Allen, ‘and can see him as their starting first baseman next year.’
…if the D-Backs like allen for first next season, i wonder what the future holds for 29–year-old 1B-3B Chad Tracy, who has struggled three seasons, complete with all sorts of injuries…
Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com believes the D-Backs plan to make further trades, including RHP Jon Garland and infielder Felipe Lopez.
Lopez, 29, who will be a free agent at the end of this season, is batting .303 with 23 extra base hits and six stolen bases in 314 at bats for the D-Backs this season.
…i don’t love lopez, but if Jose Reyes ends up being out for the season, lopez could be an interesting option for the Mets, assuming Omar Minaya decides to put a band-aid on his roster…
He has played every position but center field, pitcher and catcher during the last two seasons.
Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com quoted Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi as saying, though his team is not necessarily shopping RHP Roy Halladay, he is open to listening to offers.
According to Ken Davidoff in Newsday, who talked with Ricciardi, “Halladay is signed through next year, and there’s very little 
chance that he’ll stick with the Jays after that. Toronto is not going to make the playoffs this year. So, he’ll listen to offers.”
…in other words, i bet j.p.’s phone has not stopped ringing in the last 24 hours…
Yesterday, in a poll on MetsBlog.com, 54 percent of people who voted said they would trade Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores and Brad Holt for Halladay.
Davidoff expects the Mets and Yankees to engage the Jays regarding Halladay, though he believes there is little chance of either team making such an acquisition.
That said, last week, in a report for the Globe and Mail of Toronto, Jeff Blair said the Jays will essentially give away Alex Rios or Vernon Wells, so long as it saves them money to help re-sign Halladay.
The 28–year-old Rios is hitting .260 with 10 HR, and ended the last two seasons hitting roughly .290, with around 15 stolen bases, 15 HR, 80 RBI and 40 doubles.
…i have to think, if the Jays trade Halladay, they’ll just end up keeping rios, since the whole reason behind trading rios would be to help keep Halladay… that said, like several people e-mailed me saying yesterday, i wonder if the Mets would be more able to acquire Halladay if they were also willing to take on the five-year, $60 million left on rios’s contract… or, does that defeat the point for ricciardi…
By the way, according to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies have already been in contact with the Blue Jays.
Following last night’s loss to the Dodgers, David Wright said, according to the Daily News:
“I just think we stink right now, we’re just not very good… When you don’t pitch, you don’t hit, you don’t play defense, you’re not going to win very many games. We’re not playing very good baseball… I don’t think anybody’s having very much fun right now.”
…well, the 39,000 people in Citi Field last night would probably agree, because i know we’re not having a ton of fun either…
The headline to Ken Davidoff’s column for Newsday today reads, “Maybe they should call it Piti Field.”
According to Davidoff, “Citi Field has turned into the world’s largest dentist’s office. The patrons have grown so numb to the pain, they barely acknowledge it.”
…he’s right… it was a strange and depressing crowd last night…i shudder to say this, but the crowd last night reminded me of the low, disinterested energy from the mid-90s…
John Franco is co-hosting today’s mid-day show on WFAN, and will soon welcome in Al Leiter as his guest.
To listen to WFAN live, online, click here.
…if these two take live calls from fans, what do you think is the under-over on phone calls about Scott Kazmir…
During spring training, I asked Franco about rumors of his involvement with Leiter in Kazmir being traded to the Rays.
To watch my interview with Franco, click here.
Tagged WFAN |
The Mets are 39–43, five losses behind the Phillies; they trail eight teams for the Wild Card; and are 6–14 in their last 20 games.
However, they have 80 games left to play, the potential to make a trade, and Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, John Maine, Billy Wagner and J.J. Putz eventually due back from the disabled list.
[poll id="279"]
Tagged Poll |In a post to Mets Merized Online, Russell Zanca says, “If you’re not feeling desperate, then I think you don’t understand MLB.”
According to Adam, the Brooklyn Met Fan, “The Mets are unwatchable… It’s that simple.”
That said, on My Summer Family, Coop explains why she is not ready to give up, saying, “In fact, I’m kind of excited to see how this season will end up.”
Jason Fry from Faith and Fear in Flushing would like to discuss 2010 with Omar Minaya.
Speaking of the future, Mack of Mack’s Mets lists his plan for what is essentially a fire sale, including cutting and trading players.
Sam Page of Amazin Avenue takes a closer look at Mets 18–year-old, Single-A OF Cesar Puello, and who he compares to.
In a post to Hot Foot, Rob Harding brainstorms some trade ideas for Jose Reyes, including deals with the Red Sox and Rangers.
Lastly, John from Metstradamus explains the significance of last night’s score.
For more on last night’s loss, read post-game recaps from Flushing Faithful, the ‘Ropolitans, the Real Dirty, and Mets Today.
← Older posts
