Daily Archives: September 4, 2009
The Mets defeated the Cubs by the score of 6-2 at Citi Field tonight.
For a full recap and box score, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
A big story tonight was Bobby Parnell, who after getting shelled since becoming a starter, was outstanding through seven innings allowing just five hits and struck out seven.
Parnell found himself in a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the seventh but managed to strike out Mike Fontenot, Kosuke Fukudome, and induced a comebacker hit by Ryan Theriot to preserve the slim lead.
Parnell struck out Fukudome on a 97 mph fastball.
Carlos Zambrano had a nice bounce back effort tonight for the Cubs after getting hit hard by the Mets last weekend in Chicago.
Brian Stokes came on in the eighth and promptly gave up a lead off double to Milton Bradley thanks to a mistake by Angel Pagan, failing to call off both Jeff Francoeur and Luis Castillo on an easy pop up in shallow right-center field…Bradley would end up scoring on Josh Baker‘s third hit of the night.
But the Mets bounced right back in the bottom of the eighth, setup by a double from David Wright that sent Luis Castillo to third, followed by an opposite field RBI single by Fernando Tatis, who was pinch hitting for Daniel Murphy, proving to be the game winner.
In addition, Cory Sullivan added an RBI single in the eighth, who earlier had hit a solo home run off of Zambrano, Omir Santos plated two runs with a single, and Anderson Hernandez singled in a run to complete the five run frame.
The services of Francisco Rodriguez were needed after the Mets kicked the ball around in the ninth inning but he was able to nail down his 29th save by retiring Aramis Ramirez and Jake Fox.
Other Observations and Notes:
The Cubs lineup is certainly thin without Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano, but Parnell did a fantastic job as he had great movement on all of his pitches, and kept the Cubs very off balanced all night long.
Tonight was a rare “feel-good” night for these Mets despite the lapses in the eighth and ninth innings, as it was nice to see this team hang tough and not mail things in after the Cubs tied the game in the eighth inning.
Pagan simply must take charge as the center fielder – the Bermuda Triangle that formed in the top of the eighth inning on the Milton Bradley pop up simply cannot happen…games cannot come down to mental mistakes especially in close games and late, and luckily it didn’t tonight.
Up Next:
The Mets continue their series with the Cubs tomorrow afternoon at Citi Field with Nelson Figueroa facing Rich Harden at 1:10 pm.
Tagged News |
The Mets open a three game series with the Cubs tonight at Citi Field.
Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Cory Sullivan, Omir Santos, and Anderson Hernandez.
Bobby Parnell (3-7, 5.81 ERA) will start for the Mets. Parnell has been flat out awful since he was moved to the starting rotation, posting a 1-4 record with a 10.29 ERA since August 8. He was lifted after allowing eight runs in just 4 2/3 innings last Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Carlos Zambrano (7-6, 3.91 ERA) will start for the Cubs. Zambrano has been inconsistent for much of this season, and last Sunday against the Mets was an indicator of that when he allowed three runs and 11 hits before being removed after 3 1/3 innings.
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes it is not a given that free-agent-to-be OF Matt Holliday will re-sign with the Cardinals.
According to Heyman, though the Cardinals will try to keep him, Holliday and his agent, Scott 
Boras, “could be pursued by the deeper-pocketed Yankees, Mets and maybe even the Red Sox,” especially if Boston fails to sign Jason Bay.
…the super-early buzz from around baseball suggests holliday can expect to get at least a three-year, $50 million deal… frankly, i think he will get more years than that, and maybe more money… however, from what i understand, he’s going to be a stickler about having a full no-trade clause…
…obviously, he’d be great on the Mets… he fills more or less every issue they have, in terms of acquiring one bat… the thing is, he will likely command the entire off-season budget in one shot…
…plus, if he’s going to be a free agent again in three to four years, i can’t see his agent, boras, allowing him sign a deal to hit in the pitcher-friendly Citi Field, in advance of what will be the final big pay-day of his career…
By the way, Heyman also writes about the AL compared to the NL, Derek Jeter’s contract status; Fred Wilpon, Dave Howard and Erin Arvedlund; the availability of Milton Bradley; and other topics from around MLB.
Tagged News |According to this grid from Beyond the Boxscore, Omir Santos is among the top defensive catchers in baseball.
In a post to MLB Trade Rumors, Tim Dierkes takes a look at the off-season, free-agent market for catchers, which will include Rod Barajas, Josh Bard, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Miguel Olivo, Yorvit Torrealba and Jason Varitek, among several others.
…i like santos, but i am not sold on him just yet… he blocks the ball well, and he seems to have a decent-enough arm, but i have no idea what type of game-caller he is, and he looks very fidgety behind the plate… of course, he’s had to catch so many different pitchers this season, i think it might be unfair to cast a final judgment on his backstop abilities…
…omir has looked so-so at the plate over the last few weeks, following a pretty exciting start to the season… he hits right-handed pitching best… Josh Thole hit left-handed pitching quite well in the minors… however, Jerry Manuel said thole is most likely to start only against righties this September… i suspect this is for comfort and confidence… ideally, though, these two could make for a good platoon, though i hope thole can eventually take ownership of the job in time…
By the way, according to Dierkes, Schneider is likely to be a Type B free agent, meaning he could net a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere.
Tagged News |
Despite yesterday’s report in the Daily News, David Lennon of Newsday says the Mets have yet to make any official decisions regarding next season’s dimensions in Citi Field.
In the report, Lennon writes, “Citi Field ranks 11th in the National League with 1.67 home runs per game, according to hittrackeronline.com. Not surprisingly, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia is the top hitter’s haven with 2.74 homers.”
…well, i mean, if Fernando Tatis, Alex Cora, Cory Sullivan, Wilson Valdez, Jeremy Reed, etc., were playing on a regular basis for the Phillies all season, i bet Citizen’s Bank Park would be considered a pitcher’s park at this point too… i mean, is it the park, or is it the players… i don’t think its a stretch to say a full season of Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes all batting around David Wright would provide more home runs for Citi Field than, say, valdez, reed, cora, sullivan, tatis, and the Triple-A Bisons…
Speaking of Citi Field and dimensions, in a post to Amazin Avenue, Sam Page explains why and how the Mets should build a team with outstanding outfield defense.
Tagged News |
Jason Fry, of Faith and Fear in Flushing, has created an amazing graphic for the Wall Street Journal, equating the Mets messy season to a game of Monopoly, a.k.a., ‘Metssloppiliy.’
…wow, jason… out… standing…
…amazing work, my man… there are so many funny, sad, clever things in that graphic, i am not even sure which to highlight… in other words, just go check it out here…
Also, check out Andrew’s post to Hot Foot, in which he explains how the Mets can pinch pennies in the bullpen.
Lastly, according to the Associated Press, “A federal judge on Thursday sentenced former major league pitcher Jerry Koosman to six months in prison for not paying his taxes.”
Tagged News |In his major-league debut yesterday, 22–year-old C Josh Thole had two hits, including a double and a stolen base.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, courtesy of ESPN.com, Thole is the first player to catch and steal a base in his first big-league game since Brewers C Joe Kmak in 1993.
“He played extremely well back there. I’m sure he was a little nervous, but he put together some real good at bats and that’s impressive… I like the fact that he gets a couple of strikes and chokes up and fights it off, fights it off, so, he grinded it out today, he stole a base, he did a lot of good things today… it’s exciting.”
…thank you, Brian Schneider, but there is no reason for you to ever start another game for the Mets… instead, thole and Omir Santos must, MUST be the full-time platoon down the stretch… because, there is a very, very good chance they are the same platoon the Mets go with for all of next season… so, why wait… let’s see it in action in September…
…of course, i’m a sucker for old school baseball, so the fact the kid chokes up on the bat, fights and works the count is enough of a reason for me to want to watch him on regular basis…
To see Thole’s first major-league hit, click below:
Tagged News |
David Wright had three hits, including a double and three RBI, with two runs scored, in four at bats for the Mets yesterday, while wearing the traditional batting helmet.
Wright told reporters he did not wear his new Rawlings, super-protective helmet yesterday because it was uncomfortable on his head.
…ummm, or, uncomfortable for his ego… i mean, he was getting made fun non-stop it seems… which is a shame, actually… if it’s most protective, he should have it on… also, he probably could racked in a ton of money promoting that thing for Rawings… at the same time, he did look ridiculous, and baseball is so much about confidence, and being mentally strong… and so, if he felt like an idiot, it might very well have been effecting his performance at the plate…
According to this picture from Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger, Wright’s teammates put a picture of the Great Gazoo on his locker.
Tagged News |
Yesterday against the Rockies, Pat Misch gave up just two runs and four hits, while walking two and striking out three, in seven innings, for his first win in 55 major-league appearances.
“He did a good job,” Jerry Manuel said, following the game. “He very seldom fell behind, but he was able to come back and throw strikes and get ground balls and outs when he needed them… Starting seems to work well for him. I think in relief, it doesn’t give him the chance to get everything out there… When he starts, I think he feels very comfortable and confident… He’s done a good job.”
Misch is 1–0 with a 1.92 in his last two starts for the Mets, while pitching in to the seventh inning in his both outings.
He is 1–5 with a 5.94 ERA in 13 career starts, while 0–3 with a 2.85 ERA in 42 appearances as a relief pitcher.
…i see the stats, but he just looks more comfortable as a starting pitcher… maybe he’s maturing, and understanding the game better, at 28 years old… or, maybe he’s just had two really good starts… who knows… either way, like i said following the game yesterday, like Fernando Nieve earlier this season, i’m far from excited about misch, but he has my attention… and i look forward to watching his next start…
According to Elias Sports Bureau, courtesy of ESPN.com, Misch is only the fourth pitcher in the last 30 seasons with as many as eight losses at the time of his first major-league win.
By the way, in case you missed it…
To watch SNY.TV’s Post Game Extra, featuring clips from the game; quotes from Jerry Manuel, Josh Thole and Misch, and analysis from Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen, use the video player in the sidebar of MetsBlog.com.
Tagged News |
Carlos Beltran played five innings in center field for the Single-A Brooklyn Cyclones yesterday.
…from what i can gather, the plan is for beltran to play DH again, then play more innings in the field, this weekend with Brooklyn, then look to return to the Mets next week at home against the Marlins…
“It’s been a long time since I was able to play the outfield,” Beltran said, following the game. “So, it was a very good day for me.”
…you know what, i’m glad he’s coming back… i know some fans wish he’d just hang it up for the season, coast, relax and get fresh for next season… i understand, and agree with that to a certain extent… but, at the same time, he wants to play, i admire that he wants to play, and, frankly, i miss watching him play…
Tagged News |
