Daily Archives: September 26, 2009
Prior to tonight’s game, Jose Reyes ran with what Jerry Manuel called “intensity”.
Manuel told reporters:
“If that type of stuff could be witnessed and could be somewhat intense or close to game action, it would be very satisfying.”
Despite the encouraging results, Reyes will not play for the remainder of the year, but is expected to play either winter ball or workout at the Mets facility in the Dominican Republic during the offseason.
…I just want to see reyes turn the page on this entire ordeal and come back in the right shape, confident in the health of his leg so he can be what the team needs him to be at the top of this lineup…
The Mets continue their series with the Marlins tonight at 7:10 pm, at Land Shark Stadium in Miami.
Although Jerry Manuel said David Wright would have tonight off, he is in the lineup and batting third.
Daniel Murphy will have the night off, and Fernando Tatis will play first base and bat sixth.
Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur, Tatis, Omir Santos, and Anderson Hernandez.
John Maine (6-5, 4.13 ERA) will start for the Mets. Maine is making his fourth appearance against Florida tonight, and he is 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA against the Marlins this season. At Land Shark Stadium Maine has no record and a 3.60 ERA in just five innings pitched this year.
Sean West (7-6, 4.85 ERA) will start for the Marlins. At Land Shark Stadium, West is 5-2 with a 3.26 ERA on the year, and he has made two stellar starts and one not so stellar starts against the Mets this season, the bad one coming on September 10 when he allowed four runs in four innings.
David Lennon, in a report for Newsday, believes that the Mets might have interest in Cuban Defector Aroldis Chapman who was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball on Friday.
Lennon says that the Mets, who have scouted Chapman during international competition, will speak to his representatives to gauge the market for him in the coming weeks.
Chapman is just 21 and supposedly has a fastball that has been clocked at 102 mph, and is said to have a preference for southern California teams.
For more on Chapman, check out Lennon’s article in Newsday.
Despite missing 2 1/2 months due to a deep bone bruise in his knee, Carlos Beltran has quietly hit .332 in 75 games this season, including .311 with two doubles and a home run since returning from the disabled list on September 8.
…this is the first quiet .330+ batting average i can ever remember, although it will encompass only about a half of the season…
Beltran claims he is not in any pain, but Jerry Manuel thinks that he is subconsciously compensating for his knee to protect himself, which could be a cause for his drop in power, as he feels his swing is “not as fluid” as he would like it to be.
…what was the cause of the drop prior to the injury, Jerry…
David Wright is hitting just .221 with 30 strikeouts in just 23 games since returning from the disabled list on September 1.
Wright has also struck out a career-high 135 times, exceeding his prior high of 118 from last season.
Jerry Manuel told reporters that Wright will have tonight off.
…i have said it all year long that it has been a bizarre season for David but if you take his stats prior to his stint on the disabled list…he was in the top five in hitting all year despite missing some key pieces as protection in the lineup…that said, the strikeouts have been alarming this year and the injury didn’t cause his power outage…
Wright admits that he and the rest of his teammates are disappointed in the way 2009 turned out, telling reporters:
“”There’s not many positives we can take away from this year as a whole…It’s not a learning process dealing with failure. I’m ready after that last out to turn the page and get ready for next year, because this hasn’t been fun for anybody. In fact, it’s been very disappointing.”
Despite that disappointment, Wright is not mailing the rest of the season in, telling reporters that he takes a lot of pride in his at bats and is out there playing to win.
Prior to yesterday’s 6-5 win over the Marlins, Jerry Manuel told reporters that Carlos Delgado has left the team and has gone home to Puerto Rico.
…that is disappointing to me…i am a believer that if the player is not on a rehab assignment, he should be with his team in the dugout during games…i know there are always personal reasons as to why players do certain things but i still believe he should be there…
Meanwhile, Jose Reyes will attempt to run on Saturday, but Manuel believes that it is a long shot that he will see any action in the final week of the season.,
