Daily Archives: August 26, 2009
The Marlins defeated the Mets by the score of 5-3 tonight at Land Shark Stadium.
For a full recap and box score, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
If not Mike Pelfrey, then who? Big Pelf went 5.2 innings and allowed five runs on 11 hits. He also added to the Mets’ major league leading walk total, by giving free passes to five Marlins. He evaded a first inning, bases loaded jam, but gave up a two-run “triple” to Cody Ross in the third. Ronny Paulino then hit a bomb into the left-centerfield stands to make it 4-2.
Cy Young candidate Josh Johnson struck out seven, and is now 7-0 lifetime against the Mets.
The Mets actually had the lead in the second thanks to Fernando Tatis, who drove in Cory Sullivan. Anderson Hernandez also had a RBI in the frame. They would score only once more on a Sullivan sac fly in the sixth.
Other Observations and Notes:
Cory Sullivan has an arm. He gunned down Dan Uggla at second, and threw a bullet to home on a fly late in the game.
I feel like they are just playing the games as a formality at this point. Maybe it’s just my disappointed perception, but I hope the Mets don’t feel the same.
The Next Game:
The Mets finish their series against the Marlins tomorrow in Miami at 1:10 p.m. with Tim Redding (1-4, 6.10) facing off against Anibal Sanchez (2-4, 4.97).
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
The Mets continue their three game series tonight against the Marlins at Land Shark Stadium in Miami.
Angel Pagan will leadoff, followed in order by Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Cory Sullivan, Fernando Tatis, Brian Schneider, and Anderson Hernandez.
Mike Pelfrey (9-8, 4.67 ERA) will start for the Mets. Pelfrey has put together two consecutive positive outings, with his last outing being the most promising in a win against Philadelphia. Pelfrey has faced the Marlins once this year, and despite pitching real well into the eighth inning on May 29 allowing just a run on five hits, took a no decision in a 2-1 Mets win.
Josh Johnson (12-3, 2.99 ERA) will start for the Marlins. Johnson has had a stellar season and is a big reason why the Marlins are in position for a playoff run. He did struggle in his last outing against the Astros, allowing four runs and taking the loss and he was unable to make it out of the fifth inning. Johnson has dominated the Mets in three starts this season, going 2-0 and pitching to a 2.45 ERA.
Oliver Perez has been diagnosed with patella tendon tendinosis in his right knee and will 
have season-ending surgery.
…are you surprised… seriously, i hope you aren’t…
Perez was examined today by Dr. Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
The Mets expect Perez to be ready for Spring Training.
…i think i may use that red cross logo as the T in MetsBlog…
By the way, the Mets rotation is now Pat Misch, Tim Redding, Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa and Mike Pelfrey.
Update, 3:58 pm:
Lance Broadway has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo to replace Perez.
Broadway was 5-9 with a 6.17 ERA combined with Buffalo and Charlotte.
Tagged News |
In a post to his blog for Newday, Ken Davidoff explains why, “The Billy Wagner trade is the strongest evidence yet that the Mets are prioritizing cash savings over building a deep organization.”
… i used to believe the Mets would spend around $25 million on payroll this off season… however, for what it’s worth, i am now hearing more and more that that number may actually end up being around $15 million, as the team looks to trim back spending… they’re not alone, though… most every team is going to take that approach, including the Yankees, who some believe might be forced to slash their budget by as much as 25 percent…
Last week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post estimated the Mets are currently paying their front office, manager and coaching staff roughly $12 million.
…add that to payroll for players, and this could be why Fred Wilpon was quoted by the Post as saying Omar Minaya will absolutely be back with the Mets in 2010…
… i keep thinking about that statement, though, while also thinking about what Andrew Marchand wrote to his blog last week for 1050 ESPN Radio, where he said the Mets might re-assign minaya to a different position and promote current Assistant GM John Ricco to take omar’s place as GM…
…i mean, wilpon never said omar would absolutely be back as GM… he just as said omar would be back…
Tagged News |On February 12th, I posted about my campaign to raise money this season for the American Cancer Society in honor of the five year anniversary of my father’s passing due to Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
For every home run the Mets hit this season, I will be donating $5 to the ACS.
So far this season I have raised over $3,000, due mostly in part to members of the Metsblog community, and for that I am extremely grateful.
I have an overall goal of raising $5,000, but at this rate I will not get there without some help.
Please help me ‘Knock Cancer Outta Here!,’ and reach my goal before season’s end on October 4th. If everyone who read this donated just $1, I could get there today! All contributions go to the ACS and will help to fund many cancer-related programs and research.
All the details are on my ACS sponsored site, so please go there for more information.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and Let’s Go Mets!
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
Yesterday, in regards to the constant bad news regarding injuries, Jerry Manuel said, “We’re building up equity for years to come.”
Does he mean in a Karmic sense? Maybe? Maybe not? Who knows?
I do believe the silver lining to this season will be that players like Johan Santana, David Wright, Jeff Francoeur, 
Francisco Rodriguez, Daniel Murphy and others, because they have endured through what has been a very, very difficult year, complete with devastating injuries, freak accidents, bizarre plays, frustrated fans and a 24–7 media circus, these players may emerge next season better prepared and have a tighter bond for having gone through what they’ve gone through… together.
Additionally, Wright will almost certainly emerge as the clear-cut captain of this team. He shouldered much of the responsibility left in the absence of Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, among others, not just on offense, but also having to stand at his locker, more or less every day, and deal with it all, over and over again.
In this sense, I hope Manuel is right, in that the Mets have built a ton of equity.
Tagged News |In case you missed it, Johan Santana will undergo season-ending, arthroscopic surgery today to remove bone chips from his left elbow.
Santana had a similar surgery with the Twins in 2003.
He told reporters last night that he will be 100 percent by spring training next season, saying:
“I’m going to do my best to recover and,
believe me, I’m going to be ready to go for 2010… I’ve been through this before. I know exactly what it is and I know exactly what it takes me to get ready to get back on the mound and help my team. We’re doing it a month sooner than I did last time, so I’m very optimistic that we’re going to be good.”
…it’s good news that johan is only having bone spurs removed… however, as someone close to the team explained to me last night, there is still concern of what the future holds… in short, there is a one-in-five chance stress on the elbow continues, like with Chris Carpenter, and he ends up having Tommy John Surgery at some point in future years… this is apparently the concern with JJ Putz, who had a similar clean-out, and, sure enough, was shut down yesterday to have surgery on the notorious ulnar collateral ligament…
In a post to his blog for ESPN.com, Rob Neyer raises questions about whether the Mets mismanaged Santana, since, as he put it, “It’s been apparent for quite some time that Santana wasn’t pitching like himself.”
What’s worse, as Joel Sherman points out in a must-read column for the New York Post, Omar Minaya said during yesterday’s conference call that he had no recollection of Santana’s elbow issue in spring training.
…i do… i mean, all of St. Lucie basically shut down that day… however, santana later told 
reporters, in late March, that it wasn’t his elbow, per say, but the muscle and tendon in the tricep above the elbow… that said, i highly, highly doubt omar was being coy with reporters… if he says he doesn’t remember, that’s downright frightening…
…to me, as crazy as that may be, it doesn’t hold a candle to why omar could not explain why santana has been pitching the last few weeks…
…i mean, if he had been struggling with a sore elbow since the All Star break, as they said, then why on earth was he allowed to step on a mound… i understand if the Mets were in a pennant race… but, the Mets have been out of it for weeks now… weeks… i don’t understand…
Sherman ends his must-read column by writing:
“Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran also were allowed to go back on the field and worsen injuries. Is this about a culture from the Wilpons down that pushes hurting players to keep selling tickets? If not, the Mets must determine why this keeps happening… For the item that might be most irreparably injured for these Mets is their reputation.”
…i don’t know the answer, but something isn’t right… there is bad luck, and then there is bad communication… i keep hearing how players and trainers do not communicate well… i have heard from people around the team that players do not stick to the training routines, given to them from the trainers… omar can’t remember injuries… 20 men have been put on the disabled list… 20… i’ve lost count of who’s having surgery and who isn’t… it’s a mess…
Tagged News |James Kannengieser of Amazin Avenue posts dozens of classic Billy Wagner quotes from his time with the Mets.
Mack from Mack’s Mets says the Mets made an excellent trade with the Red Sox, swapping Wagner for 26–year-old 1B-OF Chris Carter, adding:
“I don’t want supplemental picks, especially with the way the Mets have been drafting under the Omar administration… The Mets don’t need 22-year old prospects, they need players that can help turn this team around next year.”
The Brooklyn Met Fan explains why he’d rather have Nelson Figueroa on the mound instead of Oliver Perez.
In a post to Never Forget 69, Lou Di Falco looks back at this day from the Mets during the 1969 season.
Lastly, Coop from My Summer Family explains why the Mets should forfeit the rest of season.
Tagged News |
