Author Archives: D.J. Short

..to kick off Blogger Beat for the 2008 season, I did a quick Q & A with Jason Weitzel, who writes about the Phillies at Beerleaguer…

D.J. Short…

Carlos Beltran made some uncharacteristic remarks about the Mets being the “team to beat” this Spring. Do Phils fans get wrapped up in that kind of thing or do you feel this is more of a media creation?

Jason Weitzel…

Some fans get caught up in it, certainly. The media feeds it by talking up the series, detailing the budding rivalry and recounting the important building blocks (Wagner, Burrell, ‘Team to Beat’), and certain players like Beltran and Rollins fuel the fire, which rages until the first pitch, when it becomes just a normal baseball game. I’m all for it, though. It adds excitement and anticipation.

D.J. Short…

With the first week of the season in the books, tell me the biggest concern that you have noticed with the Phils.

Jason Weitzel…

Their defense. They’ve committed 11 errors so far, including botched plays from players who were supposed to be silky smooth (Pedro Feliz, So Taguchi). Rollins threw to first instead of home the other day, and the winning run scored uncontested. I don’t know that there would have been a play, but you have to try. Runner up to poor defense has been Brett Myers, who had a very good spring but hasn’t lasted more than five innings yet. On Sunday, he wasn’t making smart pitches and was missing high with his fastball. Pitching is always the main concern, but with the addition of Rudy Seanez, and Brad Lidge’s return, the bullpen looks a little deeper.

D.J. Short…

Will the Phillies ever have a winning April?

Jason Weitzel…

I used to think firing off the line was the key to everything, a view adopted in 1993 when the Phils stormed through April and never looked back. It’s a different game now. Ten teams will be in the hunt until September, and the Phils and Mets will be among them. If you make it through April with a .500 mark or your head just above water, you’re in good shape. For years, that’s what Atlanta seemed to do: just hover around in the beginning and turn on the jets in July. Right now, the Phils are 3-4, which doesn’t bother me.

D.J. Short…

Do you feel the club will miss the departed Aaron Rowand?

Jason Weitzel…

They will, because everyone connected to the team and clubhouse says they will. That’s not a popular notion in the striped-down world Beerleaguer, where intangibles are immediately shot down, but there’s something to be said about Rowand’s lost leadership when everyone connected to the team talks about it. They say Rowand taught them to be winners and kept the team going. For once in ’07, they didn’t fold in the end. Now, it’s up to someone else to provide the spark.

D.J. Short…

Lastly, do you feel that the Mets have put themselves in position to reclaim the division? What do you feel are their weaknesses?

Jason Weitzel…

Absolutely. You don’t add someone like Johan Santana to finish second in your division. As for their weaknesses, you’d know better than I would, but I suppose health would be the main concern. There’s a lot of quality sitting on your sidelines only a week into the season – Pedro, El Duque. Wise is day-to-day. Head-to-head, I’d still say the Mets have the edge in the rotation thanks to Maine and Perez.

…thanks, Jason…by the way, i also asked the over/under on brawls between the clubs this season, but he wouldn’t take the bait…oh well…

The Game :

The Mets (2-2) close out an abbreviated two-game series with the Braves (2-3) this afternoon at Turner Field, starting at 1:35 pm.

The Lineup :

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Luis Castillo
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• RF Ryan Church
• LF Angel Pagan
• C Brian Schneider
• SP Johan Santana

The Pitchers :

LHP Johan Santana (1-0, 2.57 ERA) starts for the Mets. Santana won his Mets debut on Monday against the Marlins, allowing two runs on three hits over 7 IP while striking out eight. He took a no-decision vs. the Braves last season (June 14), despite allowing just two runs on five hits over seven innings, while striking out nine. In two career starts vs. the Braves, Santana is 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA. Today will be his first career start at Turner Field.

RHP John Smoltz makes his 2008 debut for the Braves. Smoltz began the season on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. In six starts vs. the Mets last season, he was 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA. In 68 career appearances vs. the Mets, Smoltz is 17-14 with a 3.42 ERA. He has faced the Mets more than any other team.

The Notes :

Jose Reyes was 7-for-19 (.368) with three RBI vs. Smoltz last season. Reyes is a .309 lifetime hitter vs. Smoltz.

Mark Teixeira has four hits, including a homer, in 17 career at-bats vs. Santana — he has also struck out five times.

David Wright is two homers away from 100 for his career. With his next home run, he will tie George Foster for ninth on the Mets all-time home run list.

The Braves have scored a major-league best 37 runs through their first five games.

The Bleachers :

For a live chat, head over to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

…enjoy, and as always, let’s go mets…

At his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos reports that RHP Matt Wise will be unavailable today due to a sore right forearm.

An MRI on the pitcher was negative.

The Game :

Weather-permitting, the Mets (2-1) will take on Braves (1-3) this afternoon at Turner Field, starting at 3:55 pm.

The Lineup :

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Luis Castillo
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• RF Ryan Church
• LF Angel Pagan
• C Brian Schneider
• SP John Maine

The Pitchers :

RHP John Maine makes his 2008 debut for the Mets. In 32 starts last season, Maine was 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA. In three starts vs. the Braves last year, he was 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA. Maine won his only career start at Turner Field last season (Aug. 31) yielding a single run on three hits over seven dominant innings, striking out eight. In seven spring starts, Maine was 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA.

RHP Tim Hudson (0-0, 2.57 ERA) takes the hill for the Braves. Hudson started Sunday night against the Nationals, allowing two runs on three hits over 7 IP while striking out three. He was 2-2 with a 3.33 ERA in four starts vs. the Mets last season.

The Notes :

David Wright carries a 20-game hitting streak into today’s game.

A number of Mets have had success against Hudson including Carlos Delgado, who is 16-for-50 (.320) with 6 HR and 12 RBI lifetime, while Carlos Beltran is 17-for-51 (.333) with 3 HR and 11 RBI.

Over the first four games of the season, Chipper Jones is 8-for-18 (.444) with a homer and six RBI.

The Mets and Braves split 18 total contests last season. The Mets were 5-4 at Turner Field.

The Bleachers :

For a live chat, head over to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

…enjoy, and as always, let’s go mets…

Tonight’s game vs. the Braves was postponed due to inclement weather.

It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 20th.

The Game :

The Mets (1-1) look for the victory in the rubber game vs. the Marlins (1-1) at Dolphin Stadium at 7:10 pm.

The Lineup :

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Luis Castillo
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• LF Angel Pagan
• RF Ryan Church
• C Brian Schneider
• SP Oliver Perez

The Pitchers :

LHP Oliver Perez makes his 2008 debut for the Mets. In 29 starts last season, Perez was 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA. In four starts vs. the Marlins last season, he was 2-1 with a 4.84 ERA. In four career starts at Dolphin Stadium, he is 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA. Perez had a 5.40 ERA in six spring starts.

LHP Andrew Miller starts for the Marlins. In 13 starts with the Tigers last season, Miller was 5-5 with a 5.63 ERA. He was acquired by the Marlins as part of the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade. He won his only career start vs. the Mets last season (June 10th), yielding four runs on five hits over 5.1 IP while walking three and striking out five. Miller had 4.23 ERA in seven spring appearances.

The Notes :

David Wright has a 19-game hitting streak dating back to last season. Wright is the only player in franchise history to have four separate hitting streaks of 15 or more games.

David Wright homered off Miller last season.

Josh Willingham is 4-for-12 with 2 HR vs. Perez lifetime.

The Bleachers :

For a live chat, head over to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

…enjoy, and as always, let’s go mets…

The Game :

The Mets (1-0) continue their opening series with the Marlins (0-1) at Dolphin Stadium this evening, starting at 7:10 pm

The Lineup :

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Luis Castillo
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• RF Ryan Church
• LF Angel Pagan
• C Brian Schneider
• SP Pedro Martinez

The Pitchers :

RHP Pedro Martinez makes his 2008 debut for the Mets. In five starts last season, Martinez was 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA. In 10 career appearances at Dolphin Stadium, Martinez is 5-2 with a 1.89 ERA. Martinez had a 2.00 ERA in two spring starts.

RHP Rick VandenHurk starts for the Marlins. In 18 appearances last season, VandenHurk was 4-6 with a 6.83 ERA. VandenHurk was hit hard in two appearances vs. the Mets last season, allowing 12 runs on 10 hits, including 4 HR, over 9 IP. He had a 4.35 ERA in six appearances this spring.

The Notes :

Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes each homered off VandenHurk last season.

Luis Gonzalez is 16-for-44 (.364) with four doubles, a homer and five RBI vs. Martinez lifetime.

The Mets six-run fourth inning yesterday set a new franchise record for offensive output during an Opening Day inning — the club’s previous record was a five-run seventh inning vs. the Cubs in 1979.

The Bleachers :

For a live chat, head over to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

…enjoy, and as always, let’s go mets…

The Game :

The Mets kick off the 2008 season on the road with a series against the last team they faced in 2007, the Florida Marlins, starting at 4:25 pm EDT.

The Lineup :

• SS Jose Reyes
• 2B Luis Castillo
• 3B David Wright
• CF Carlos Beltran
• 1B Carlos Delgado
• LF Angel Pagan
• RF Ryan Church
• C Brian Schneider
• SP Johan Santana

The Pitchers :

LHP Johan Santana makes his regular season debut for the Mets. Santana was 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA in 33 starts with the Twins last season. This is the third consecutive Opening Day start for Santana. He won his only career start at Dolphin Stadium last season (June 24th) allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits over 6 IP while striking out seven and walking one. Santana had a 3.15 ERA in five spring training starts.

LHP Mark Hendrickson gets the Opening Day nod for the Marlins, the first Opening Day start of his career. Hendrickson was 4-8 with a 5.21 ERA in 122.2 IP for the Dodgers last season. He was signed by the Marlins as a free-agent. Hendrickson has two career appearances vs. the Mets, both in relief. He had a 1.69 ERA in 16 IP this spring.

The Notes :

The Mets are 29-17 on Opening Day — the best winning percentage of any team.

The only previous Opening Day meeting between the Mets and Marlins was on April 5, 1999 — the Marlins defeated the Mets 6-to-2 — current Met and former Marlin 2B Luis Castillo went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

The Mets are 12-10 all-time in season openers on the road.

Todd Hundley and Darryl Strawberry are the all-time Met leaders in home runs on Opening Day, with four each.

Former Met and Marlin IF/OF Jeff Conine will throw out this afternoon’s ceremonial first pitch.

The Bleachers :

For a live chat, head over to the Hot Foot Bleachers.

…so, the name discussed on this blog incessantly over the winter finally makes his regular season debut…that said, all the punditry takes a break today…opening day is a special occassion to just sit back and enjoy baseball’s return…Johan Santana’s debut is just icing on the cake as far as i’m concerned…albeit, expensive icing…

…enjoy, and as always, let’s go mets…

Moises Alou will miss the start of the season due to hernia surgery.

Alou suffered the injury during Monday’s game with the Braves.

He is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.

…if you are somehow surprised by this, you haven’t been around very long…

Tagged Moises Alou |

Baseball Prospectus have unveiled their PECOTA projected standings for the 2008 season.

They predict the Mets to finish first in the NL East with a 96-66 record, while the Braves (86-76) and Phillies (84-78) are projected to finish second and third, respectively.

The team depth charts also project runs scored, runs allowed, team batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

In BP’s Unfiltered, Nate Silver writes, “The Mets really might be the best team in baseball, regardless of what league they happen to play in.”

…yikes…no pressure, right…

…just a point of reference to the potential value of Johan Santana‘s addition…the pitcher with the highest VORP (value over replacement player) of any Met last season was John Maine, with 33.7….Santana’s VORP, in what many called on “off-year,” was 57.7…wow…needless to say, BP predicts pitching to be the difference between the Mets and the rest of the division…

…by the way, if VORP sounds like a foreign language to you, check out this column Rob Neyer wrote for ESPN.com, which does an excellent job of explaining it for the layman…i know i’m making it a goal of mine to better understand how it works…my first step is picking up the new Baseball Prospectus book for the 2008 season, which is supposed to ship next week…

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