On Tuesday, the Mets and D'Backs were in a race with a huge weather system bearing down on Shea, and each team scored early. Arizona got a run in the top of the first off John Maine, and the Mets answered with three runs off Micah Owings. David Wright hit a two-run homer deep into the left-field bleachers in the 2nd, and with Maine settled down, it looked like possibly a successful and quick night as the skies gradually darkened. Maine kept throwing more pitches than he would have like, though, and by the end of the 5th, with score now 5-3, he was over 100 pitches and needed to sit down. No problem, right? It's an official game, and the rain is coming any second.
Yup, here it comes. Any second now. Meanwhile, the D'Backs rallied for two runs to tie it in the sixth off Claudio "I Belong in New Orleans" Vargas. Of course, now it finally rained. I went to bed, disgusted at the Mets for blowing an easy rain-shortened win, so I missed the rest of it. Apparently. the rain subsided quickly, and Chris Snyder belted a home run off Joe Smith in the 8th to make it 6-5. Duaner Sanchez was brought in for the ninth but could not keep the game close, yielding dingers to Stephen Drew and Conor Jackson for a 9-5 final. Same old Mets.
The weather was better on Wednesday as Mike Pelfrey made another attempt to stay in the rotation. I was stuck in my bedroom and couldn't watch because my wife was using the so-called Man Cave for her book club. The Mets picked up three runs in the fourth off D'Backs ace Brandon Webb. Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo led off with singles, with Reyes advancing to third on a throwing error by Webb, and after Wright moved Castillo over with a groundout, Carlos Beltran drove home a pair with a base hit to right center. Carlos Delgado reached on an infield hit, and then Marlon Anderson, playing for the (surprise!) injured Moises Alou, grounded into a fielder's choice to pick up an RBI. Webb's pitch count in the 4th inning was 28, and he left after five still trailing 3-0.
Pelfrey, meanwhile, was uncharacteristically brilliant, averaging a strikeout per inning and generally baffling the D'Backs' hitters. Willie was prepared to let Pelfrey try for the shutout, but after Drew led off the 9th with a single, in came Billy Wagner. Again, no problem, right? Billy's pretty reliable. Down went Orlando Hudson on strikes, and things are looking good. Uh-oh, double by Conor Jackson, tying run at the plate, Chad Tracy up. Tracy K'd, and now the D'Backs were down to their last out, with Mark Reynolds up. Reynolds bats right and leads the team in HR's. I don't like where this is going. And where this is going is way up in the left-field bleachers on a 3-2 pitch. Two strikes on him, even! Tie game, 3-3, and Mike Pelfrey goes from a shutout to an ND in record time. Thanks, Bill.
I finally was able to tune in on MLB.TV in the bottom of the 9th just in time to see Brian Schneider hit a can of corn to center with two on to send the game to extras. It looked like another dispiriting loss was on the way, and it was only a question of when. The innings dragged on with neither team threatening. Feliciano relieved Wagner, who gave way to Heilman (ugh) and then Vargas (double ugh), but the Snakes couldn't take advantage. We did nothing against Chad Qualls, and then Edgar Gonzalez, the very dregs of the Arizona bullpen, came in and pitched a scoreless 12th. Just as it seemed the game might last until well past my bedtime, Castillo hit a harmless grounder to third that Reynolds botched. After Wright popped out for what should have been the third out, Beltran stepped up and on a 2-2 count, hit a screamer toward the scoreboard in right. "IT'S OUTTA HERE!! IT'S OUTTA HERE!! AND THE METS WIN THE BALLGAME!" bellowed Gary Cohen through my PC speakers. 5-3 in 13. We NEEDED that one.
The Johan battles the other Diamondbacks ace, Danny Haren, today. Moises is limping, Church is on the DL, and some guy named Chris Aguila is wearing #29. We're six and a half out, and two games under .500. This season is rapidly disintegrating, but at least for one night, it was fun to be a Mets fan. I guess I'll stick with it.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
QUICK ONE
Since last time...
Padres 2, Mets 1
Padres 2, Mets 1
Padres 8, Mets 6
The Mets stink. That is all.
Padres 2, Mets 1
Padres 2, Mets 1
Padres 8, Mets 6
The Mets stink. That is all.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
KEEP GETTING HIT WITH BASEBALLS, SAN DIEGO
Ok, enough with the "Anchorman" references. I promise. Until the next one.
The Padres beat the Mets last night 2-1 on...get ready...you'll love this...a bases-loaded walk-off hit by pitch. Seriously. Scotty Schoeneweis, rapidly reverting to his past suckitude, walked the sacks full in the 9th inning of a 1-1 game (why not try Master William here? You can't win it in the 10th if you give up a run in the 9th, Willie...Baseball 101). The first two unintentional walks both came after 0-2 counts. Nibbling much, Scotty? I missed it of course because I was sawing z's in my Central Time Zone abode, but someday I might have a look at the lowlights on MLB.TV. Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to the mound, but it acted like a sac bunt because Scotty could only get the out at first. Kevin Kouzmanoff was then intentionally passed to set up a force at any base. We got the force, but it was a force-in, not a force-out. Paul McAnulty (real name, once again, withheld) was the plunkee, and you can put this one in the loss
column for the Dumbass Mets.
Kouzmanoff factored in one of those rare plays you don't see often (I didn't see it either, but then again, I don't see much when they play on the West Coast and I'm not there with them) in the 7th inning. The Kouz smacked a hot grounder toward short which struck Tadahito Iguchi in the leg, giving Kouzmanoff a hit and the Mets the final out of the inning. As Crash Davis might say, if you can ricochet only one ball a week of your teammates, it's the difference between .250 and .300. Then again, Iguchi fell on his shoulder trying to avoid the ball and will be out for at least a month, so this may not be such a good strategy.
The loss wasted another decent effort by Mike Pelfrey, who lasted six innings and gave up eight hits, three walks and only the one run. Another who-dat named Josh Banks matched Pelfrey with an almost equal line of 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER. Padres skipper Bud Black, himself an ex-pitcher, did not make Willie's mistake and used his future Hall-of-Fame closer Trevor Hoffman in the top of the 9th for one scoreless inning.
Ho-hum, the Phillies won again, this time with pitching (three-hit shutout by Cole Hamels). The Braves once again beat the Marlins, putting us back in fourth for the moment as we watch the Fish slide back into the depths. The Johan takes on former Phil and current umpire little brother Randy Wolf tonight. Hopefully, Jim is not working the plate. Of course, if Schoeneweis comes in, it wouldn't matter.
The Padres beat the Mets last night 2-1 on...get ready...you'll love this...a bases-loaded walk-off hit by pitch. Seriously. Scotty Schoeneweis, rapidly reverting to his past suckitude, walked the sacks full in the 9th inning of a 1-1 game (why not try Master William here? You can't win it in the 10th if you give up a run in the 9th, Willie...Baseball 101). The first two unintentional walks both came after 0-2 counts. Nibbling much, Scotty? I missed it of course because I was sawing z's in my Central Time Zone abode, but someday I might have a look at the lowlights on MLB.TV. Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to the mound, but it acted like a sac bunt because Scotty could only get the out at first. Kevin Kouzmanoff was then intentionally passed to set up a force at any base. We got the force, but it was a force-in, not a force-out. Paul McAnulty (real name, once again, withheld) was the plunkee, and you can put this one in the loss
column for the Dumbass Mets.
Kouzmanoff factored in one of those rare plays you don't see often (I didn't see it either, but then again, I don't see much when they play on the West Coast and I'm not there with them) in the 7th inning. The Kouz smacked a hot grounder toward short which struck Tadahito Iguchi in the leg, giving Kouzmanoff a hit and the Mets the final out of the inning. As Crash Davis might say, if you can ricochet only one ball a week of your teammates, it's the difference between .250 and .300. Then again, Iguchi fell on his shoulder trying to avoid the ball and will be out for at least a month, so this may not be such a good strategy.
The loss wasted another decent effort by Mike Pelfrey, who lasted six innings and gave up eight hits, three walks and only the one run. Another who-dat named Josh Banks matched Pelfrey with an almost equal line of 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER. Padres skipper Bud Black, himself an ex-pitcher, did not make Willie's mistake and used his future Hall-of-Fame closer Trevor Hoffman in the top of the 9th for one scoreless inning.
Ho-hum, the Phillies won again, this time with pitching (three-hit shutout by Cole Hamels). The Braves once again beat the Marlins, putting us back in fourth for the moment as we watch the Fish slide back into the depths. The Johan takes on former Phil and current umpire little brother Randy Wolf tonight. Hopefully, Jim is not working the plate. Of course, if Schoeneweis comes in, it wouldn't matter.
WORKADAY WIN
I was still at work when the Mets took a quick 3-0 lead on the Giants in the first inning of their getaway early afternoon game Wednesday. Doubles by Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran bracketed a hit-by-pitch of David Wright. Reyes and Wright scored on Beltran's two-bagger, and Carlos Delgado singled in Beltran. All this damage came off Giants youngster Matt Cain, who, today, was not able.
John Maine gave up an unearned run in the 3rd after a Jose Reyes error and a wild pitch. Jose Castillo singled home Fred Lewis (once again, I think these names are made up) to make it 3-1. Reyes hit a two-run homer in the 4th to give the Mets a 5-1 lead, which they held onto despite Duaner Sanchez's best efforts to blow it in the 8th. Sir William picked up another save, his 13th.
The MLB draft is today, with the Mets picking 18th and 22nd in the first round, plus a sandwich pick at #33. The estimable John Sickels is projecting that they will take catcher Jason Castro from Stanford at #18, and Andrew Cashner, a relief pitcher from TCU at #22. I don't put much stock in predictions after that point, since the permutations of who might be available get completely absurd. The important thing is that he thinks the Mets will draft from the college ranks, which makes sense because the farm system is decimated and needs a shot of near-ready talent immediately. Of course, Omar will probably trade it all away for Latino guys in their 40's as soon as possible, but at least they made an effort.
Braves closer-for-now Manny Acosta badly blew a save against the Marlins yesterday afternoon, which allowed the Marlins to stay in second and for us to tie the Braves for third. The Phillies ran into the Edinson Volquez Experience and lost 2-0, for what that's worth. Hopefully, it will screw up their bats for a while. We head down to San Diego, who ended the Cubs nine game winning streak behind Old Man Greg Maddux. Luckily, we won't have to see him, or Jake Peavy, who is hurt.
In other news, Hillary Clinton, having conceded the Democratic nomination, is vowing to fight on in her marriage, despite having to wait for Gina Gershon to get out of the bathroom so she could take her shower this morning.
John Maine gave up an unearned run in the 3rd after a Jose Reyes error and a wild pitch. Jose Castillo singled home Fred Lewis (once again, I think these names are made up) to make it 3-1. Reyes hit a two-run homer in the 4th to give the Mets a 5-1 lead, which they held onto despite Duaner Sanchez's best efforts to blow it in the 8th. Sir William picked up another save, his 13th.
The MLB draft is today, with the Mets picking 18th and 22nd in the first round, plus a sandwich pick at #33. The estimable John Sickels is projecting that they will take catcher Jason Castro from Stanford at #18, and Andrew Cashner, a relief pitcher from TCU at #22. I don't put much stock in predictions after that point, since the permutations of who might be available get completely absurd. The important thing is that he thinks the Mets will draft from the college ranks, which makes sense because the farm system is decimated and needs a shot of near-ready talent immediately. Of course, Omar will probably trade it all away for Latino guys in their 40's as soon as possible, but at least they made an effort.
Braves closer-for-now Manny Acosta badly blew a save against the Marlins yesterday afternoon, which allowed the Marlins to stay in second and for us to tie the Braves for third. The Phillies ran into the Edinson Volquez Experience and lost 2-0, for what that's worth. Hopefully, it will screw up their bats for a while. We head down to San Diego, who ended the Cubs nine game winning streak behind Old Man Greg Maddux. Luckily, we won't have to see him, or Jake Peavy, who is hurt.
In other news, Hillary Clinton, having conceded the Democratic nomination, is vowing to fight on in her marriage, despite having to wait for Gina Gershon to get out of the bathroom so she could take her shower this morning.
OLIVER WITHOUT THE TWIST
Oliver Perez was lit up again on Monday night, this time by the lowly San Francisco Giants, who pounded him for six runs, two home runs, and two doubles to go with two walks in less than one inning. I guess he didn't get much sleep on the cross-country flight that took off at 3 am. The ignominious final was 10-2. Carlos Muniz gave up four runs in relief as a parting gift on his way back to New Orleans. Thanks, Carlos!
Muniz' departure brought in the man of the hour, the man of our dreams, Sweet Pete Martinez. Pedro was activated Tuesday morning, and made his second start of the year Tuesday night. Petey not only made it out of the first inning, but went six strong as the Mets stumbled to a 9-6 victory. The 5th inning was a bit of a sticky wicket for $126 million dollar man Barry Zito and the Giants. To wit: Walk, Single, Double, Sac Fly, Walk, Single. Vinnie Chulk came in and gave up Single, Single (Pedro's second hit of the night), Error, Double and the final two outs. It was 9-1 when it mercifully ended. The Giants battled back for five more runs, three off Scotty Schoeneweis on a Travis "Who Dat" Denker home run in the 9th to make it 9-6. Billy The Aging Kid was required for his 12th save.
One would have to be encouraged by Pedro's fine outing. That said, it was the Giants, and it was only one game. Give me about 15 more or those against some actual competition, and then we'll talk.
The Mets finish up in San Fran today, and then head south to Stay Classy San Diego. The Phils have sprinted out to a 2 and 1/2 game lead, and look unstoppable at the plate at least. The Marlins have lost six out of seven and are starting to resemble the Marlins again. The Braves keep treading water along with us, except they just lost one of their best pitchers for the year (John Smoltz) and we just got one of ours back. At least for one game, anyway.
Muniz' departure brought in the man of the hour, the man of our dreams, Sweet Pete Martinez. Pedro was activated Tuesday morning, and made his second start of the year Tuesday night. Petey not only made it out of the first inning, but went six strong as the Mets stumbled to a 9-6 victory. The 5th inning was a bit of a sticky wicket for $126 million dollar man Barry Zito and the Giants. To wit: Walk, Single, Double, Sac Fly, Walk, Single. Vinnie Chulk came in and gave up Single, Single (Pedro's second hit of the night), Error, Double and the final two outs. It was 9-1 when it mercifully ended. The Giants battled back for five more runs, three off Scotty Schoeneweis on a Travis "Who Dat" Denker home run in the 9th to make it 9-6. Billy The Aging Kid was required for his 12th save.
One would have to be encouraged by Pedro's fine outing. That said, it was the Giants, and it was only one game. Give me about 15 more or those against some actual competition, and then we'll talk.
The Mets finish up in San Fran today, and then head south to Stay Classy San Diego. The Phils have sprinted out to a 2 and 1/2 game lead, and look unstoppable at the plate at least. The Marlins have lost six out of seven and are starting to resemble the Marlins again. The Braves keep treading water along with us, except they just lost one of their best pitchers for the year (John Smoltz) and we just got one of ours back. At least for one game, anyway.
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
Ok, where did I leave off? I had disparaged Oliver Perez' command of the strike zone, and Luis Castillo's power. Oh, yeah, right. They kind of shoved that back in my face on Wednesday. Well, only kind of. Perez walked four and gave up five runs in six innings, but Castillo did hit a first-inning homer. It was actually a great game, especially for the Mets. Endy Chavez tied it up in the bottom of the 9th off Marlins closer Kevin Gregg with his first home run of the season, and after super-pest Alfredo Amezaga hit a solo shot in the top of the 12th, the Mets rallied for two runs in the bottom to win it 7-6. Fernando Tatis continued his return from the void with the game-winning double, scoring David Wright and Carlos Beltran. You can thank my Strat team for this one, as the losing pitcher was Justin Miller, one of my many one-year wonder bullpen bums.
On Thursday, Wright took care of the Dodgers with a pair of two-run blasts, finally putting a Met in double-digits in that category, as the Mets backed up emergency starter Claudio Vargas with eight runs in an 8-4 pasting of LA. Vargas managed to nearly squander a 6-0 lead, but Carlos Muniz bailed out an ineffective Pedro Feliciano in the 6th with two on and the score 6-4 and got Matt Kemp swinging to end the threat. I was at Ala Moana Center again during this game. They have another Starbucks, in the Barnes & Noble! It only took me half an hour to find that one.
Friday brought another Aaron Heilman disaster. I was back home watching this in the Man Cave on the Big Vizio via MLB.TV. The Mets led 5-4 in the 8th when Pedro Feliciano yielded a cheap hit to Juan (only playing because Andruw Jones got hurt) Pierre. Willie wheeled in Heilman, who completely imploded, again. Kemp doubled, and Jeff Kent, James Loney, and Russell Martin all singled before Willie finally brought in Scott Schoenweis. Scottie gave up a wild pitch and another hit, making the final 9-5. Heilman's ERA is now 6.67, and I'm sure his peripheral stats aren't much better. I'm assuming he's out of options, and they'd have to put him through waivers to send him to New Orleans. That might not be such a bad idea. His confidence is shot, and a change of team may help him. He ain't helping us at all.
The Mets returned the 8th inning favor on Saturday in front of a national television audience on FOX, at least when Ken Griffey, Jr, wasn't going for his 600th homer (Leo Mazzone is doing color commentary? With that ridiculous Brooklyn accent? Really?) My man Chad Billingsley was dominant for seven innings, allowing only four feeble Mets hits and no runs. Mike Pelfrey didn't pitch too badly, except for the first and fourth innings when he gave up single runs each time and the Dodgers botched up what could have been much bigger innings. In the 8th, Joe Torre brought in his normal 8th inning guy, Jonathan Broxton, who ended up looking like a fatter Heilman. Wright started off with a ringing double off the right field wall, and then Beltran tied the game with a huge homer in almost the same area that one-hopped the scoreboard. Carlos Delgado got a rare single, and his pinch-runner, Nick Evans was bunted to second by Damion Easley. After an
intentional pass to Brian Schneider, The Missing One, Tatis, did it again, smacking a base hit up the middle to give the Mets the lead and send Broxton to the post-game spread. Billy Wagner struck out the side in the 9th for his 11th save.
Sunday was Johan Santana time. After a quick run in the first on a Pierre double and Kemp single, Johan was very much the ace, going 7 and 2/3 before being unable to escape a mini-jam in the 8th. The Mets clobbered Hiroki Kuroda again for the second time in less than a month, and held on this time for a 6-1 win. Ryan Church returned from post-concussion syndrome to hit his 10th home run.
This morning, the Mets flew out to San Francisco and will play the Giants tonight. They'll miss Tim Lincecum and get Jonathan Sanchez, one of my Strat team punching bags, and Barry Zito, everyone's punching bag. Aside from the jet lag, this should be a good stretch. They'll head down to San Diego, a team in free-fall, and then come back home to play the slumping Arizona D'Backs and the (equally, to be fair) mediocre Texas Rangers. We're 3 and 1/2 games behind Philadelphia, who has been crushing the ball lately. I think we'll be settling in here for the next few weeks, with Florida zooming past us on their way to fourth place and Atlanta hanging around with us in second or third. If St. Louis finally hits their predicted collapse, we could be in range for the wild card, provided nobody else of importance gets hurt.
Petey's back on Tuesday! Yaaaaayyy!!!
On Thursday, Wright took care of the Dodgers with a pair of two-run blasts, finally putting a Met in double-digits in that category, as the Mets backed up emergency starter Claudio Vargas with eight runs in an 8-4 pasting of LA. Vargas managed to nearly squander a 6-0 lead, but Carlos Muniz bailed out an ineffective Pedro Feliciano in the 6th with two on and the score 6-4 and got Matt Kemp swinging to end the threat. I was at Ala Moana Center again during this game. They have another Starbucks, in the Barnes & Noble! It only took me half an hour to find that one.
Friday brought another Aaron Heilman disaster. I was back home watching this in the Man Cave on the Big Vizio via MLB.TV. The Mets led 5-4 in the 8th when Pedro Feliciano yielded a cheap hit to Juan (only playing because Andruw Jones got hurt) Pierre. Willie wheeled in Heilman, who completely imploded, again. Kemp doubled, and Jeff Kent, James Loney, and Russell Martin all singled before Willie finally brought in Scott Schoenweis. Scottie gave up a wild pitch and another hit, making the final 9-5. Heilman's ERA is now 6.67, and I'm sure his peripheral stats aren't much better. I'm assuming he's out of options, and they'd have to put him through waivers to send him to New Orleans. That might not be such a bad idea. His confidence is shot, and a change of team may help him. He ain't helping us at all.
The Mets returned the 8th inning favor on Saturday in front of a national television audience on FOX, at least when Ken Griffey, Jr, wasn't going for his 600th homer (Leo Mazzone is doing color commentary? With that ridiculous Brooklyn accent? Really?) My man Chad Billingsley was dominant for seven innings, allowing only four feeble Mets hits and no runs. Mike Pelfrey didn't pitch too badly, except for the first and fourth innings when he gave up single runs each time and the Dodgers botched up what could have been much bigger innings. In the 8th, Joe Torre brought in his normal 8th inning guy, Jonathan Broxton, who ended up looking like a fatter Heilman. Wright started off with a ringing double off the right field wall, and then Beltran tied the game with a huge homer in almost the same area that one-hopped the scoreboard. Carlos Delgado got a rare single, and his pinch-runner, Nick Evans was bunted to second by Damion Easley. After an
intentional pass to Brian Schneider, The Missing One, Tatis, did it again, smacking a base hit up the middle to give the Mets the lead and send Broxton to the post-game spread. Billy Wagner struck out the side in the 9th for his 11th save.
Sunday was Johan Santana time. After a quick run in the first on a Pierre double and Kemp single, Johan was very much the ace, going 7 and 2/3 before being unable to escape a mini-jam in the 8th. The Mets clobbered Hiroki Kuroda again for the second time in less than a month, and held on this time for a 6-1 win. Ryan Church returned from post-concussion syndrome to hit his 10th home run.
This morning, the Mets flew out to San Francisco and will play the Giants tonight. They'll miss Tim Lincecum and get Jonathan Sanchez, one of my Strat team punching bags, and Barry Zito, everyone's punching bag. Aside from the jet lag, this should be a good stretch. They'll head down to San Diego, a team in free-fall, and then come back home to play the slumping Arizona D'Backs and the (equally, to be fair) mediocre Texas Rangers. We're 3 and 1/2 games behind Philadelphia, who has been crushing the ball lately. I think we'll be settling in here for the next few weeks, with Florida zooming past us on their way to fourth place and Atlanta hanging around with us in second or third. If St. Louis finally hits their predicted collapse, we could be in range for the wild card, provided nobody else of importance gets hurt.
Petey's back on Tuesday! Yaaaaayyy!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
ONE AND ONE, AS USUAL
The Mets split the first two games of their series with the Marlins so far. Mike Pelfrey was hit around for six runs in four innings, and despite two straight homers from Jose Reyes in successive innings, the Marlins won easily 7-3. I was defiling the Ewa Beach Golf Club at the time, thankfully, and was not able to watch and be angry (at least not at the Mets - just at my short game).
On Tuesday, Johan Santana went seven shaky innings, but the Mets were fortunate enough to face one of my Strat team pitchers, Andrew Miller, who gave up three runs in the first inning. Two of the runs were driven in on two-out singles by Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro. The Mets never trailed after that point, and won 5-3. Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner finished the game with two scoreless innings.
Today, Oliver Perez will test our patience against Marlins ace Scott Olsen. Looks like we're dropping another game back of the Fish after this series!
On Tuesday, Johan Santana went seven shaky innings, but the Mets were fortunate enough to face one of my Strat team pitchers, Andrew Miller, who gave up three runs in the first inning. Two of the runs were driven in on two-out singles by Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro. The Mets never trailed after that point, and won 5-3. Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner finished the game with two scoreless innings.
Today, Oliver Perez will test our patience against Marlins ace Scott Olsen. Looks like we're dropping another game back of the Fish after this series!
Monday, May 26, 2008
ROCKIE BOTTOM
Ho-hum, the Mets lost again. Aaron Cook went the route, and some guy named Seth Smith, which I don't think is his real name, hit a three-run homer off John Maine as the Rocks won 4-1. Yeah, call me when I care. If the Mets aren't going to give a rat's ass, why should I?
We're back in Shea to play the first-place Marlins, who have a payroll of about $22 million dollars. There are homes out here in Oahu that cost more. That $22 million figure counts the $6.3 million that Jacque Jones was making when he was a Tiger, which the Tigers are actually paying. The Marlins signed him to a minor league contract, which means they are paying the minimum. This means that the actually payroll that Jeff Loria is paying is about $16 million. The Mets payroll? It's $137 million. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana are each making the same or more than the Marlins are spending for their whole team. Luis Castillo is making $6 million! That's a bunch for guy who can barely hit it out of the infield and has a .675 OPS. Let's bat him second!
Fuck it, I'm playing golf again today. I'll check back to survey the carnage when it's over.
We're back in Shea to play the first-place Marlins, who have a payroll of about $22 million dollars. There are homes out here in Oahu that cost more. That $22 million figure counts the $6.3 million that Jacque Jones was making when he was a Tiger, which the Tigers are actually paying. The Marlins signed him to a minor league contract, which means they are paying the minimum. This means that the actually payroll that Jeff Loria is paying is about $16 million. The Mets payroll? It's $137 million. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana are each making the same or more than the Marlins are spending for their whole team. Luis Castillo is making $6 million! That's a bunch for guy who can barely hit it out of the infield and has a .675 OPS. Let's bat him second!
Fuck it, I'm playing golf again today. I'll check back to survey the carnage when it's over.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
OH, RIGHT, THEY PLAY EVERY DAY
I'm still in Hawaii, whiling away the Memorial Day weekend by myself in a luxury hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, trying to manufacture things to do. I chugged all over the Ala Moana Center today looking for a Starbucks. They have two of them, and it still took me an hour to find one. Magellan I'm not.
Oh, and the Mets played! What do you know? This Mets blogging is more painful than Phillies blogging ever was, because I had such low expectations of the Phillies. Plus, I was only a guest in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania, while New York is my birth place.
I'm also pretty time-zone challenged here in the 50th state, and I had no idea the Mets were playing a day game in the Mountain time zone today. I also was unmotivated to watch after last night's painful episode. Billy Wagner blew a 5-4 lead by giving up a Coors Field Special homer to Matt Holliday with one out in the 9th. Naturally, the Mets folded on themselves like so many mollusks in extra innings, and eventually Aaron Heilman gave up the game-winning hit, again struck by Holliday (good timing for the upcoming weekend), in the 13th.
Today's game wasn't quite as angst-filled, probably because I didn't watch it. The Mets jumped all over former Rockies wunderkind Jeff Francis for six early runs and won going away, 9-2. David Wright and Carlos Delgado homered, meaning that maybe, just maybe, a Met will reach double figures in long balls this season. Claudio Vargas got the win, amazingly.
Ryan Church missed another game with post-concussion symptoms, which doesn't sound very promising. With Church and Alou out, the Mets are fielding an outfield of Fernando Tatis, Carlos Beltran, and Nick Evans, a guy who even he himself wouldn't be able to identify in a police lineup.
Willie Randolph remains "embattled", and "under evaluation", with his manager's "support". Hey, sounds like me! Oops.
Oh, and the Mets played! What do you know? This Mets blogging is more painful than Phillies blogging ever was, because I had such low expectations of the Phillies. Plus, I was only a guest in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania, while New York is my birth place.
I'm also pretty time-zone challenged here in the 50th state, and I had no idea the Mets were playing a day game in the Mountain time zone today. I also was unmotivated to watch after last night's painful episode. Billy Wagner blew a 5-4 lead by giving up a Coors Field Special homer to Matt Holliday with one out in the 9th. Naturally, the Mets folded on themselves like so many mollusks in extra innings, and eventually Aaron Heilman gave up the game-winning hit, again struck by Holliday (good timing for the upcoming weekend), in the 13th.
Today's game wasn't quite as angst-filled, probably because I didn't watch it. The Mets jumped all over former Rockies wunderkind Jeff Francis for six early runs and won going away, 9-2. David Wright and Carlos Delgado homered, meaning that maybe, just maybe, a Met will reach double figures in long balls this season. Claudio Vargas got the win, amazingly.
Ryan Church missed another game with post-concussion symptoms, which doesn't sound very promising. With Church and Alou out, the Mets are fielding an outfield of Fernando Tatis, Carlos Beltran, and Nick Evans, a guy who even he himself wouldn't be able to identify in a police lineup.
Willie Randolph remains "embattled", and "under evaluation", with his manager's "support". Hey, sounds like me! Oops.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
FREE WILLIE
This isn't looking too good. The Braves completed their four-game sweep of the Mets tonight, or today, or whenever in God's time zone it was, 4-2. Even Johan Santana was not immune to the Turner Field mojo. The Mets had a 2-1 lead entering the 7th, but the Braves rallied for three run off The Johan, slapping five hits off him before he got an inning-ending double-play grounder from Jeff Franc(aeiou)r. The Mets managed to hit into two double-plays in their final two at-bats off starter Tim Hudson and closer Manny Acosta. The Braves improved their home record to an astounding 20-5 (still a half game worse than the Red Sox at Fenway - that's a lot of happy fans singing "Sweet Caroline").
Does it matter any more where we stand? We suck. Willie Randolph is about to get shit-canned, and for his sake, I hope he does. This team is morose, moribund, somnambulent, and not coincidentally, old and slow. Carlos Delgado is a husk of his former self. Carlos Beltran, while still a great centerfielder, looks lost at the plate, despite his homer today. David Wright cannot hit righties any more. Luis Castillo is HORRIBLE, and should be fired immediately. Jose Reyes is inconsistent and doesn't seem to really care that much. Only Ryan Church and Brian Schneider are playing up to or beyond what we thought they were capable of. Outside of John Maine, Johan Santana, and Billy Wagner, the pitchers are unreliable and more often maddeningly wild and awful. And none of this can be solved. Omar traded away every decent farm-hand aside from Fernando Martinez, and he isn't anywhere near ready to contribute. We're going to be this way all year - one three-game winning streak followed by four or five games where we can't score, can't pitch, or make bone-head plays.
Vaya con Dios, Willie. Let someone else take charge of this morass. You'd be much better off unemployed.
Does it matter any more where we stand? We suck. Willie Randolph is about to get shit-canned, and for his sake, I hope he does. This team is morose, moribund, somnambulent, and not coincidentally, old and slow. Carlos Delgado is a husk of his former self. Carlos Beltran, while still a great centerfielder, looks lost at the plate, despite his homer today. David Wright cannot hit righties any more. Luis Castillo is HORRIBLE, and should be fired immediately. Jose Reyes is inconsistent and doesn't seem to really care that much. Only Ryan Church and Brian Schneider are playing up to or beyond what we thought they were capable of. Outside of John Maine, Johan Santana, and Billy Wagner, the pitchers are unreliable and more often maddeningly wild and awful. And none of this can be solved. Omar traded away every decent farm-hand aside from Fernando Martinez, and he isn't anywhere near ready to contribute. We're going to be this way all year - one three-game winning streak followed by four or five games where we can't score, can't pitch, or make bone-head plays.
Vaya con Dios, Willie. Let someone else take charge of this morass. You'd be much better off unemployed.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
THE HELLSCAPE THAT IS ATLANTA
I'm in Hawaii. Why? Because it's what I do.
Yesterday, the Mets played the role of Anna Kournikova (only not as hot) in an early '90's WTA tennis match, while the Braves were Monica Seles, with the Braves winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. We could go over the details, but it would depress me. Tom Glavine won game 1, to give you an idea of just how depressing it was. That's as far as we need to go.
Today, while I was luxuriating on board an 8 hour flight to Honolulu (well, luxuriating is a bit far, but they do give you hot fudge sundaes in BusinessFirst, so it wasn't bad), the Mets were getting pounded by Atlanta again, 11-4. As before, details would only serve as downers.
That puts our Metsies at 22-22, or .500 if you are math-challenged. We are squarely in fourth place, holding off the Nats by only four games. We aren't good. Even if by some chance Petey comes back, we're still not that good. Hey, what do you know, we're playing the Braves again tomorrow! Thank goodness I'll be at work while that happens.
Yesterday, the Mets played the role of Anna Kournikova (only not as hot) in an early '90's WTA tennis match, while the Braves were Monica Seles, with the Braves winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. We could go over the details, but it would depress me. Tom Glavine won game 1, to give you an idea of just how depressing it was. That's as far as we need to go.
Today, while I was luxuriating on board an 8 hour flight to Honolulu (well, luxuriating is a bit far, but they do give you hot fudge sundaes in BusinessFirst, so it wasn't bad), the Mets were getting pounded by Atlanta again, 11-4. As before, details would only serve as downers.
That puts our Metsies at 22-22, or .500 if you are math-challenged. We are squarely in fourth place, holding off the Nats by only four games. We aren't good. Even if by some chance Petey comes back, we're still not that good. Hey, what do you know, we're playing the Braves again tomorrow! Thank goodness I'll be at work while that happens.
Monday, May 19, 2008
DID I MISS ANYTHING?
I'm back from LA and Saratoga Springs. We had a wonderful time losing money at both the harness races and the Preakness, and regaling each other with stories about my late Uncle Joe, whose remains were interred at the Saratoga National Cemetery (he was a Navy man).
The Mets lost 3 of 4 to the pesky (G)Nats while I was away, which prompted a much-celebrated and profane diatribe from our closer, Mr. William Wagner. After the Mets 1-0 defeat in game four of the series, in which Billy did not appear, he was asked to comment on the team's fortunes. He mused on why he was being interrogated, since he didn't even play. He then asked, rhetorically, "Why don't you ask those guys?", pointing to the lockers of Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Luis Castillo, who had already left the stadium. "Oh, they aren't there," said Billy. "Big fucking surprise."
This led to a round of navel-gazing from the larger New York media about Latin players forming cliques and ducking interviews, using their limited knowledge of English as an excuse, which led to more introspection about racism and group dynamics and calling out one's teammates, which eventually resulted in the solving of everyone's problems and a peaceful, productive world. Ha! Well, at least we beat the fucking Yankees two out of two, so who cares about the rest of it?
I saw part of Game 1 at The Stadium Cafe in downtown Saratoga Springs. This was actually the scheduled Game 2, because Game 1 had been rained out. I believe they will end up playing Game 1 as part of a two-stadium, day-night doubleheader in June. Johan Santana started the game against Andy Pettitte, and was touched up for a Derek Jeter (Peter Eater) two-run homer in the first. Pettitte held the Mets scoreless until the 4th, when Ryan Church, Beltran, and David Wright all singled to start the inning, and then Brian Schneider walked home a run and Castillo hit one of his patented infield singles to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish.
Jose Reyes and Wright hit Yankee Stadium short-porch homers in the 7th off million-dollar-arm-ten-cent-head reliever Kyle Farnsworth to make it 6-2, and then Santana gave up two more homers, to Giambi and Abreu before Wagner finished the game with a four-out save and a 7-4 final. So, how do you like him, now, NY media?
Game 2 was a Sunday night ESPN affair, which is probably why they didn't play a doubleheader yesterday. Gotta keep ESPN happy with well-rested players! I only caught the first couple innings, having just returned from New York State after an interminable 5 hour layover at Newark Liberty (oh, the irony) Airport. It was 0-0 at that point, with Chien Ming Wang looking unhittable and Joe Morgan prattling on that it was better to walk a guy with two outs than with none out (really, Joe? That's an amazing insight. You would think that Baseball Prospectus hadn't figured out the run expectancy of every possible baserunner/out situation and calculated that a man on first with none out resulted in an average of 0.783 runs while a runner on first with two outs resulted in an average of 0.209 runs, but they have in fact done that, and we all know that, so nice try!) I decided to catch up on my DVR recordings, and by the time I got back, the Mets led 4-2, with a couple of clutch two-out singles by Moises Alou and Delgado in the 4th. Oliver Perez immediately surrendered a two-run jack by Hideki Matsui in the bottom of the inning, but again, the Mets never trailed, as Ryan Church homered in the 6th and the Mets teed off on some guy who will be heading back to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre soon named Ross Ohlendorf for the final four runs of a six-run 8th to post an 11-2 drubbing of the last-place Yankees. "Last-place Yankees". Mmm, it sounds so sweet.
The Mets are now a game back of the Marlins, tied with the Phillies for second place in the NL East. The Fish are starting to return to at least near-Earth orbit, having lost five of six to the likes of the Reds and Royals. They move on to play the D-Backs and the Giants at home before traveling to play us and the Phillies. I suspect their grip on first place will relent by the weekend, and now it's up to us and the Phillies as to who will take over. We have a pretty tough schedule coming up, starting with the Braves in Atlanta followed by the Rockies in Denver, and then the Marlins and Dodgers at home. The Phillies have it easier, with Washington there, the Astros at Minute Maid, and then home for the Rockies and Marlins.
Can I say it again? "Laaaast-plaaaaace Yaaaaankeeeeeees." Gotta savor it!
The Mets lost 3 of 4 to the pesky (G)Nats while I was away, which prompted a much-celebrated and profane diatribe from our closer, Mr. William Wagner. After the Mets 1-0 defeat in game four of the series, in which Billy did not appear, he was asked to comment on the team's fortunes. He mused on why he was being interrogated, since he didn't even play. He then asked, rhetorically, "Why don't you ask those guys?", pointing to the lockers of Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Luis Castillo, who had already left the stadium. "Oh, they aren't there," said Billy. "Big fucking surprise."
This led to a round of navel-gazing from the larger New York media about Latin players forming cliques and ducking interviews, using their limited knowledge of English as an excuse, which led to more introspection about racism and group dynamics and calling out one's teammates, which eventually resulted in the solving of everyone's problems and a peaceful, productive world. Ha! Well, at least we beat the fucking Yankees two out of two, so who cares about the rest of it?
I saw part of Game 1 at The Stadium Cafe in downtown Saratoga Springs. This was actually the scheduled Game 2, because Game 1 had been rained out. I believe they will end up playing Game 1 as part of a two-stadium, day-night doubleheader in June. Johan Santana started the game against Andy Pettitte, and was touched up for a Derek Jeter (Peter Eater) two-run homer in the first. Pettitte held the Mets scoreless until the 4th, when Ryan Church, Beltran, and David Wright all singled to start the inning, and then Brian Schneider walked home a run and Castillo hit one of his patented infield singles to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish.
Jose Reyes and Wright hit Yankee Stadium short-porch homers in the 7th off million-dollar-arm-ten-cent-head reliever Kyle Farnsworth to make it 6-2, and then Santana gave up two more homers, to Giambi and Abreu before Wagner finished the game with a four-out save and a 7-4 final. So, how do you like him, now, NY media?
Game 2 was a Sunday night ESPN affair, which is probably why they didn't play a doubleheader yesterday. Gotta keep ESPN happy with well-rested players! I only caught the first couple innings, having just returned from New York State after an interminable 5 hour layover at Newark Liberty (oh, the irony) Airport. It was 0-0 at that point, with Chien Ming Wang looking unhittable and Joe Morgan prattling on that it was better to walk a guy with two outs than with none out (really, Joe? That's an amazing insight. You would think that Baseball Prospectus hadn't figured out the run expectancy of every possible baserunner/out situation and calculated that a man on first with none out resulted in an average of 0.783 runs while a runner on first with two outs resulted in an average of 0.209 runs, but they have in fact done that, and we all know that, so nice try!) I decided to catch up on my DVR recordings, and by the time I got back, the Mets led 4-2, with a couple of clutch two-out singles by Moises Alou and Delgado in the 4th. Oliver Perez immediately surrendered a two-run jack by Hideki Matsui in the bottom of the inning, but again, the Mets never trailed, as Ryan Church homered in the 6th and the Mets teed off on some guy who will be heading back to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre soon named Ross Ohlendorf for the final four runs of a six-run 8th to post an 11-2 drubbing of the last-place Yankees. "Last-place Yankees". Mmm, it sounds so sweet.
The Mets are now a game back of the Marlins, tied with the Phillies for second place in the NL East. The Fish are starting to return to at least near-Earth orbit, having lost five of six to the likes of the Reds and Royals. They move on to play the D-Backs and the Giants at home before traveling to play us and the Phillies. I suspect their grip on first place will relent by the weekend, and now it's up to us and the Phillies as to who will take over. We have a pretty tough schedule coming up, starting with the Braves in Atlanta followed by the Rockies in Denver, and then the Marlins and Dodgers at home. The Phillies have it easier, with Washington there, the Astros at Minute Maid, and then home for the Rockies and Marlins.
Can I say it again? "Laaaast-plaaaaace Yaaaaankeeeeeees." Gotta savor it!
Monday, May 12, 2008
WHO'S UP, DUSTY?
I'm typing this on my BlackBerry while waiting for my LA flight. I have first class on this trip, which on an Embraer is indistiguishable from coach on a large jet, and I only paid 15,000 miles! Hey, it didn't cost me personally anything, so why not?
Needless to say, I will be dispensing with any exhaustive recaps on this weekend's games. The Mets won the day half of a day/night doubleheader on Saturday against the Reds behind a largely ineffective Johan Santana, who labored through six shaky innings. The Mets clubbed around Reds starter Matt Belisle and pretty much anybody else they brought in to win by a final of 12-6.
The night game wasn't as kind to the New Yorkers. The formerly hittable Bronson Arroyo, perhaps better known as the front man of The Bronson Arroyo Band, stymied the Mets with a nasty drop-down slider, and Mike Pelfrey, though better than usual, still wasn't good enough. Billy Wagner had his worst outing of the year, yielding three unearned runs in the 9th following an error by David Wright. The final was 7-1.
On Sunday, both teams broke out the newly-traditional pink bats (and less-traditional pink sweatbands) in honor of Mother's Day and breast cancer awareness. Pink or not, the ones the Mets got had plenty of life in them, as Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church went deep off Reds rookie Johnny Cueto. The Reds climbed back to make it 6-3 at one point before the Mets tacked on two insurance runs for the 8-3 final.
The notable part of this game involved the Reds batting out of order in the 9th inning. How does this happen in 2008? Reds skipper Dusty Baker double-switched a few too many times, confusing himself and his players, though not Willie Randolph or the umpires. I missed this whole debacle because I had to go to my rec league soccer game (more on that particular debacle later), but evidently, David Ross was supposed to be in the 9 hole and Corey Patterson was supposed to be hitting 8th. Ross led off the inning with Patterson on deck, and lined out. Patterson then came up, and as soon as he took a pitch, Willie came out of the dugout and pointed out the error, making Patterson out. Since Ross was batting out of order to start the inning, he had to bat again in his actual spot, and he singled. Ryan Freel and Joey Votto then finished the inning and the game with two groundouts. That inning more or less cemented the idea in Reds fans minds that their team is not merely dreadful, but a pathetic joke as well. The "Fire Dusty" web sites should be chewing up a lot of bandwidth this week.
Now on to rec league soccer. I checked the league web site several times on Sunday to make sure the game wasn't canceled for Cinco De Mayo, or winded out, or some other such nonsense, and as far as I could tell, it was still on. My wife and I showed up early, at about 3 pm for a 3:30 game. I looked around, but didn't see anybody familiar. We took a seat in our folding chairs along a random sideline until the team captain showed up. 3:15 passed by, then 3:20, then 3:25, still nobody. We saw the opponents arrive and start setting on the opposite sideline from where we were, so that looked encouraging. Finally, the ref asked me if I' m the captain, I say, "Uh, no." Now it's 3:30, and ABSOLUTELY NOBODY ELSE from my team is there. The ref asks, "Are you in the Army? Because you're an Army of one!" Since the ref's kid is on the other team, he decided that we would have a scrimmage. Oh great, six-on-six, on a full regulation soccer field, for 90 minutes. My life was flashing before my eyes. I'm hard-pressed to finish an 11-on-11 game with ample substitutions.
It wasn't that bad, since nobody tried very hard, and they were all pretty cool. I even scored a goal and got to play goalie for a while. Still, NOT ONE of my so-called teammates bothers to show up? What the hell is that? I mean, if they all decided to forfeit, why didn't they tell the league organizer, so she could update the web site, or tell me, or at least tell the other team so they could choose to show up or not. Bastards. Well, I'll be on a plane while next Sunday's game is going on, so they can drag their asses up and down the pitch without my help.
Needless to say, I will be dispensing with any exhaustive recaps on this weekend's games. The Mets won the day half of a day/night doubleheader on Saturday against the Reds behind a largely ineffective Johan Santana, who labored through six shaky innings. The Mets clubbed around Reds starter Matt Belisle and pretty much anybody else they brought in to win by a final of 12-6.
The night game wasn't as kind to the New Yorkers. The formerly hittable Bronson Arroyo, perhaps better known as the front man of The Bronson Arroyo Band, stymied the Mets with a nasty drop-down slider, and Mike Pelfrey, though better than usual, still wasn't good enough. Billy Wagner had his worst outing of the year, yielding three unearned runs in the 9th following an error by David Wright. The final was 7-1.
On Sunday, both teams broke out the newly-traditional pink bats (and less-traditional pink sweatbands) in honor of Mother's Day and breast cancer awareness. Pink or not, the ones the Mets got had plenty of life in them, as Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church went deep off Reds rookie Johnny Cueto. The Reds climbed back to make it 6-3 at one point before the Mets tacked on two insurance runs for the 8-3 final.
The notable part of this game involved the Reds batting out of order in the 9th inning. How does this happen in 2008? Reds skipper Dusty Baker double-switched a few too many times, confusing himself and his players, though not Willie Randolph or the umpires. I missed this whole debacle because I had to go to my rec league soccer game (more on that particular debacle later), but evidently, David Ross was supposed to be in the 9 hole and Corey Patterson was supposed to be hitting 8th. Ross led off the inning with Patterson on deck, and lined out. Patterson then came up, and as soon as he took a pitch, Willie came out of the dugout and pointed out the error, making Patterson out. Since Ross was batting out of order to start the inning, he had to bat again in his actual spot, and he singled. Ryan Freel and Joey Votto then finished the inning and the game with two groundouts. That inning more or less cemented the idea in Reds fans minds that their team is not merely dreadful, but a pathetic joke as well. The "Fire Dusty" web sites should be chewing up a lot of bandwidth this week.
Now on to rec league soccer. I checked the league web site several times on Sunday to make sure the game wasn't canceled for Cinco De Mayo, or winded out, or some other such nonsense, and as far as I could tell, it was still on. My wife and I showed up early, at about 3 pm for a 3:30 game. I looked around, but didn't see anybody familiar. We took a seat in our folding chairs along a random sideline until the team captain showed up. 3:15 passed by, then 3:20, then 3:25, still nobody. We saw the opponents arrive and start setting on the opposite sideline from where we were, so that looked encouraging. Finally, the ref asked me if I' m the captain, I say, "Uh, no." Now it's 3:30, and ABSOLUTELY NOBODY ELSE from my team is there. The ref asks, "Are you in the Army? Because you're an Army of one!" Since the ref's kid is on the other team, he decided that we would have a scrimmage. Oh great, six-on-six, on a full regulation soccer field, for 90 minutes. My life was flashing before my eyes. I'm hard-pressed to finish an 11-on-11 game with ample substitutions.
It wasn't that bad, since nobody tried very hard, and they were all pretty cool. I even scored a goal and got to play goalie for a while. Still, NOT ONE of my so-called teammates bothers to show up? What the hell is that? I mean, if they all decided to forfeit, why didn't they tell the league organizer, so she could update the web site, or tell me, or at least tell the other team so they could choose to show up or not. Bastards. Well, I'll be on a plane while next Sunday's game is going on, so they can drag their asses up and down the pitch without my help.
Friday, May 09, 2008
A PENNY BURNED
The Mets blew out the Dodgers 12-1 on getaway day, smacking Brad Penny around in the 2nd and 5th innings and saddling him with 10 earned runs by the time he was mercifully pulled. He had a 3.19 ERA coming in, and 4.79 going out. John Maine, conversely, lowered his ERA from 3.48 to 3.00, tossing 8 and a third innings before being relieved by Duaner Sanchez. Ryan Church hit his 6th homer, and second in the series (we won't mention the one he allowed by sitting on his ass on the warning track - oh, I guess we will).
Everybody else but the Nats won in the NL East, so nothing changed in the standings. The Reds bring their 4.59 team ERA to Shea for the weekend. We get Matt Belisle, Bronson Arroyo, and rookie Johnny Cueto, three of their least effective starters. Time to muscle up.
Everybody else but the Nats won in the NL East, so nothing changed in the standings. The Reds bring their 4.59 team ERA to Shea for the weekend. We get Matt Belisle, Bronson Arroyo, and rookie Johnny Cueto, three of their least effective starters. Time to muscle up.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A.B.B. - 189
REPUBLICANS - TCP calls the North Carolina and Indiana primaries for John McCain. I love going out on a limb like that. What an adrenaline rush! Ok, so Johnny Mac is waiting for his coronation in Minneapolis in September. He's been out making some speeches in mostly Democratic areas, like New Orleans and Memphis, screwing up the difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites, endorsing a gas tax holiday that everyone with any sense is excoriating, and denying affairs with lobbyists. Other than that, his campaign is catching fire. Well, he is pulling even with Obama and Clinton, but one gets the feeling this is because we still don't know who he's running against. Once that gets sorted out, those polls should probably drift back to the 8-10 point spread we had been seeing. I think in the end, he'll get trounced in the popular vote, by 10% or more, but narrowly lose or maybe even win the Electoral College. That should be interesting.
DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama - Everybody is saying he clinched it last night, so I will too. It's like chicken soup; it couldn't hurt. I pretty much just want this to be over, and since I can't see Obama conceding, that means I want Obama to win. I think he's earned it in a lot of ways, with pledged delegates, popular votes, grace under the fire of 100 million hits on Jeremiah Wright YouTube videos, etc. As I mentioned above, though, he'll be hard-pressed to sway any tossup or weak Republican states to his side. Hillary may be right that he can't win the Electoral College while she can.
Hillary Clinton - She might as well fight to the end. The Senate is not doing anything of substance other than contemplating more tax rebates during Bush's lame duck year, and she might even win. It would only take about 80 superdelegates to switch allegiances to turn the count around to her favor. She and Bill must have at least that many with skeletons in their closets.
DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama - Everybody is saying he clinched it last night, so I will too. It's like chicken soup; it couldn't hurt. I pretty much just want this to be over, and since I can't see Obama conceding, that means I want Obama to win. I think he's earned it in a lot of ways, with pledged delegates, popular votes, grace under the fire of 100 million hits on Jeremiah Wright YouTube videos, etc. As I mentioned above, though, he'll be hard-pressed to sway any tossup or weak Republican states to his side. Hillary may be right that he can't win the Electoral College while she can.
Hillary Clinton - She might as well fight to the end. The Senate is not doing anything of substance other than contemplating more tax rebates during Bush's lame duck year, and she might even win. It would only take about 80 superdelegates to switch allegiances to turn the count around to her favor. She and Bill must have at least that many with skeletons in their closets.
MMM, MMM, BAD
I went to bed at 7 pm last night due to an ailing stomach from eating bad Campbell's soup I bought at Wal-Mart (I hope Google gets all of that). Needless to say, I didn't watch MTV reality star Blake DeWitt's lumber around the bases while Ryan Church sat stunned on the warning track. I also missed Moises Alou stealing home. What, did he go in with his hands waving and Russell Martin didn't want to get urine all over himself? I'll have to check that one on video later. The Mets smacked around Hiroki Kuroda but couldn't touch Hong Chi-Kuoh or Takaishi Saito (the Dodgers will soon be known as the Los Angeles Toyota Four-Runner Dodgers). The final score was 5-4 thanks to DeWitt's inside-the-park job. If MTV had filmed that play, it would have been less exciting than most scenes in "The Hills", it took so long. Nelson Figueroa's ERA is settling out at replacement level, just as I suspected it would.
The Phillies lost, keeping the margin at 1-1/2 games, but the Mets record is now 16-15, and we are in fourth place, tied with Atlanta. We do have seven games with the Reds and Nats, though, and we need to get healthy in that stretch. Interleague starts after that with the Yankees at the Stadium, followed by Atlanta and Colorado on the road, then Florida and the Dodgers at home, and then another West Coast trip. The Mets have to make three separate California trips before the All-Star break because of the Angels being on the schedule. I'm only making two this year, and I don't have to exert myself, other than to eat vendor dinners. Hey, it's not easy downing a dessert after beer, appetizers, and a complete entree, you know! That has nothing to do with my stomach ache, yesterday, of course. That was all Campbell's and Wal-Mart (one more shot, Google, don't let me down).
The Phillies lost, keeping the margin at 1-1/2 games, but the Mets record is now 16-15, and we are in fourth place, tied with Atlanta. We do have seven games with the Reds and Nats, though, and we need to get healthy in that stretch. Interleague starts after that with the Yankees at the Stadium, followed by Atlanta and Colorado on the road, then Florida and the Dodgers at home, and then another West Coast trip. The Mets have to make three separate California trips before the All-Star break because of the Angels being on the schedule. I'm only making two this year, and I don't have to exert myself, other than to eat vendor dinners. Hey, it's not easy downing a dessert after beer, appetizers, and a complete entree, you know! That has nothing to do with my stomach ache, yesterday, of course. That was all Campbell's and Wal-Mart (one more shot, Google, don't let me down).
THE RAVINES
That sure wasn't worth staying up for. And I didn't. The Mets fell 5-1 at Dodger Stadium last night well after I was in bed. Oliver Perez eschewed the walk for the long ball, surrendering homers to Rafael Furcal, Matt Kemp, and some guy named Blake DeWitt, who sounds like he is starring on one of those faux reality shows on MTV in his spare time. The Amazins managed a run on five hits and four walks off the guy that I watched live, Chad Billingsley. Billingsley struck out 12 the night I was there, but only managed four K's last night. They aren't giving out any free pizza in either case, just so you know.
The Phillies manhandled the D-Backs and are now 1-1/2 games clear. We temporarily dropped behind the Marlins, who didn't play. Tonight, Blake DeWitt and his girlfriend Carly Haverford hang out at a restaurant and exchange monosyllabic conversation punctuated by awkward silences while eating spinach fettucine. Riveting television!
The Phillies manhandled the D-Backs and are now 1-1/2 games clear. We temporarily dropped behind the Marlins, who didn't play. Tonight, Blake DeWitt and his girlfriend Carly Haverford hang out at a restaurant and exchange monosyllabic conversation punctuated by awkward silences while eating spinach fettucine. Riveting television!
PLANE CRAZY
Well, maybe we'll school them. It was a pretty good weekend in the desert, as the Mets took two of three from the young and formidable Snakes. Game 1 was pretty much a laugher from the outset. Jose Reyes led off with a triple, and everything went downhill from there for would-be Rick Ankiel impersonator Micah Owings. The D-Backs got two runs back off John Maine in the second, but that was all they could muster for the whole game. Maine went six strong, and Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano and Duaner Sanchez were scoreless in the final three for a 7-2 final. I was in the Minneapolis Airport until about the 7th when my plane finally took off (my 7:11 pm flight left at 11 pm CDT!) I had to shut down my laptop at about 10 pm to make sure I didn't miss the boarding announcements. They bumped me to first class, so I officially cannot complain. I think that's in my frequent flyer contract somewhere, near where it says, "This airline makes no promises of actual transportation whatsoever."
Game 2 was a laugher in the other direction. The guffawing started as soon as Duaner Sanchez entered the game in the 8th with the Mets trailing 5-4. At least for once it wasn't Heilman! Carlos Delgado had only recently hit a three-run homer off Arizona ace Brandon Webb to put the Mets within hailing distance, but the usually reliable Sanchez had a major meltdown, giving up five singles, a walk, and a wild pitch in 1/3 of an inning before Scotty Schoeneweis finished the inning and allowed three more runners to score to give Arizona a 10-4 victory. I missed this entire game because of those wonderful MLB.TV blackout rules. They read like the frequent flyer contract; "MLB.TV makes no promise of actual entertainment delivered whatsoever." Well, I only would have been able to watch it on Fox on a tiny TV screen at Retama Park, where I was betting on (and losing my shirt on) the Kentucky Derby. Stupid chalk. RIP Eight Belles, you ran a hell of a race.
The rubber game (starring Royce Ring - that's an old joke from my Phillies blog a couple of years ago) featured Johan Santana and Danny Haren. The D-Backs have two aces, plus Randy Johnson, so we were bound to get at least one if not two of them. David Wright wasn't too impressed, hitting a massive homer to left to make it 2-0 in the 4th. Catcher Chris Snyder hit a (literally) ringing triple off the top of the fence in left to make the score 2-1, and then after a bases-loaded escape by Santana in the 6th, Joe Smith immediately surrendered the lead on a hit, a walk, and a broken-bat dunker by Mark Reynolds. I joined the game in progress right as Santana was getting out of the 6th, after buying some sweet new cross-trainers with the money I didn't win at the track.
The game stayed tied 2-2 until the 9th, and I was figuring the Mets bullpen would come up with another way to lose, especially after Chad Qualls and his 0.00 ERA made his appearance. Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou (looking pretty good for an old man) greeted Qualls with singles, and as Delgado was coming up, everyone in the known universe was thinking double play. Carlos tapped a roller to 1st, and Conor Jackson wheeled to throw to second. I was thinking, well, it was probably hit too slowly for a DP, so the worst we'll get is 1st and 3rd. How about 1st and 2nd and a run in? Jackson's throw zoomed over the head of Augie Ojeda into left field, scoring Beltran and sending about 10,000 people out into the 110 degree heat of their parked cars. Brian Schneider moved the runners up with a sac bunt, and then Bob Melvin elected to walk Luis Castillo to load the bases for another possible DP. Marlon Anderson would have none of it, smashing a first-pitch pinch-hit single (#67 of his career) to right for the fourth run, and Jose Reyes followed with a a sac fly for the final score of 5-2. Chad Qualls new ERA: 0.51.
With the Phillies and Marlins winning, the Phils maintained their half-game lead over us and Florida. The Braves are 11-4 at home, and 4-11 on the road! The Phils have to go in to Chase Field and try to beat these guys now, while we head off to LA, in between my trips there. A bunch of co-workers are going to the Tuesday game with tickets I bought for them. So cruel.
Game 2 was a laugher in the other direction. The guffawing started as soon as Duaner Sanchez entered the game in the 8th with the Mets trailing 5-4. At least for once it wasn't Heilman! Carlos Delgado had only recently hit a three-run homer off Arizona ace Brandon Webb to put the Mets within hailing distance, but the usually reliable Sanchez had a major meltdown, giving up five singles, a walk, and a wild pitch in 1/3 of an inning before Scotty Schoeneweis finished the inning and allowed three more runners to score to give Arizona a 10-4 victory. I missed this entire game because of those wonderful MLB.TV blackout rules. They read like the frequent flyer contract; "MLB.TV makes no promise of actual entertainment delivered whatsoever." Well, I only would have been able to watch it on Fox on a tiny TV screen at Retama Park, where I was betting on (and losing my shirt on) the Kentucky Derby. Stupid chalk. RIP Eight Belles, you ran a hell of a race.
The rubber game (starring Royce Ring - that's an old joke from my Phillies blog a couple of years ago) featured Johan Santana and Danny Haren. The D-Backs have two aces, plus Randy Johnson, so we were bound to get at least one if not two of them. David Wright wasn't too impressed, hitting a massive homer to left to make it 2-0 in the 4th. Catcher Chris Snyder hit a (literally) ringing triple off the top of the fence in left to make the score 2-1, and then after a bases-loaded escape by Santana in the 6th, Joe Smith immediately surrendered the lead on a hit, a walk, and a broken-bat dunker by Mark Reynolds. I joined the game in progress right as Santana was getting out of the 6th, after buying some sweet new cross-trainers with the money I didn't win at the track.
The game stayed tied 2-2 until the 9th, and I was figuring the Mets bullpen would come up with another way to lose, especially after Chad Qualls and his 0.00 ERA made his appearance. Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou (looking pretty good for an old man) greeted Qualls with singles, and as Delgado was coming up, everyone in the known universe was thinking double play. Carlos tapped a roller to 1st, and Conor Jackson wheeled to throw to second. I was thinking, well, it was probably hit too slowly for a DP, so the worst we'll get is 1st and 3rd. How about 1st and 2nd and a run in? Jackson's throw zoomed over the head of Augie Ojeda into left field, scoring Beltran and sending about 10,000 people out into the 110 degree heat of their parked cars. Brian Schneider moved the runners up with a sac bunt, and then Bob Melvin elected to walk Luis Castillo to load the bases for another possible DP. Marlon Anderson would have none of it, smashing a first-pitch pinch-hit single (#67 of his career) to right for the fourth run, and Jose Reyes followed with a a sac fly for the final score of 5-2. Chad Qualls new ERA: 0.51.
With the Phillies and Marlins winning, the Phils maintained their half-game lead over us and Florida. The Braves are 11-4 at home, and 4-11 on the road! The Phils have to go in to Chase Field and try to beat these guys now, while we head off to LA, in between my trips there. A bunch of co-workers are going to the Tuesday game with tickets I bought for them. So cruel.
Friday, May 02, 2008
SO MUCH FOR THAT IDEA
Yeah, "make it snappy". I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass.
I'm here in Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, or MSP as we cool kids call it. I may never leave again. The flight home was supposed to depart at 7:11. Then it was 8:33. Then it was 9:33. Then it was 9:43. Now it is 10:15. The last time I checked anyway. It's probably now being scheduled for sometime in 2012 (at 11:17 - love the exact minutes). At some point, Northwest needs to just come clean and admit that they were planning to abscond with the fares and jet off to Rio. On any other airline.
The Mets are about to get schooled by the blazing-hot Arizona Diamondbacks, a far superior team with several pitchers that are hitting better than Carlos Delgado. I'm hoping I don't get to watch much of it, but I could probably grab a flight to Arizona, catch the ending, fly back to MSP and make my flight home.
I'm paying $7.95 for this blog entry, so how about you reader(s) send me some cash? I take PayPal.
I'm here in Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, or MSP as we cool kids call it. I may never leave again. The flight home was supposed to depart at 7:11. Then it was 8:33. Then it was 9:33. Then it was 9:43. Now it is 10:15. The last time I checked anyway. It's probably now being scheduled for sometime in 2012 (at 11:17 - love the exact minutes). At some point, Northwest needs to just come clean and admit that they were planning to abscond with the fares and jet off to Rio. On any other airline.
The Mets are about to get schooled by the blazing-hot Arizona Diamondbacks, a far superior team with several pitchers that are hitting better than Carlos Delgado. I'm hoping I don't get to watch much of it, but I could probably grab a flight to Arizona, catch the ending, fly back to MSP and make my flight home.
I'm paying $7.95 for this blog entry, so how about you reader(s) send me some cash? I take PayPal.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
SHORT STOP
I'm heading home a day early! I have to catch a 6:40 am flight tomorrow morning, so I am no mood to write much. The Mets split with the Buc-os, winning a 5-4 game in 11 innings, and then losing an error-plagued Oliver Perez wild-o-thon 13-1. The second game was so bad, they had to use two starting pitchers. Nelson Figueroa came in to bail out Perez in the second and allowed two more of his runs to score, and then allowed another of his own before Jorge Sosa really put it out reach.
The Mets are still only a half-game behind the Phillies, who took over first place from the Marlins after Florida was swept by the Dodgers. This is looking like the order that we might be seeing for quite a while. The Nats plain old stink, and Atlanta's bullpen has been decimated; they are losing a ton of 1-run games on the road. The Marlins will probably settle out to fourth place eventually, unless we beat them there. We look pretty mediocre. We're a .500 team, and probably will be unless Petey gets healthy and contributes. Maybe Pagan can play first when Alou returns, because Delgado looks like he's lost it completely. I don't know. We look like the US economy, barely staying above water but with not much in the way of future prospects.
Home, Northwest, and make it snappy!
The Mets are still only a half-game behind the Phillies, who took over first place from the Marlins after Florida was swept by the Dodgers. This is looking like the order that we might be seeing for quite a while. The Nats plain old stink, and Atlanta's bullpen has been decimated; they are losing a ton of 1-run games on the road. The Marlins will probably settle out to fourth place eventually, unless we beat them there. We look pretty mediocre. We're a .500 team, and probably will be unless Petey gets healthy and contributes. Maybe Pagan can play first when Alou returns, because Delgado looks like he's lost it completely. I don't know. We look like the US economy, barely staying above water but with not much in the way of future prospects.
Home, Northwest, and make it snappy!
Monday, April 28, 2008
COME FOR THE BEAR ATTACKS, STAY FOR THE...OK, DON'T STAY
I'm in Kenai, AK, where one Marc Johnson was attacked by a brown bear the other day while jogging. If you read my travelogue, you'd know that jogging is not a great idea here. I cited moose or North Slopers as the enemy of the jogger, but brown bears will also suffice.
The Mets weren't exactly doing some mauling, but they did take two of three from the Braves. The Friday game was won 6-3 by Atlanta, as the comically named Jair Jurrjens combined with three relievers to toss a two-hitter. Jurrjens did his best to fritter away the game, walking in three consecutive runs in the third. Bobby Cox was thrown out of his record 18 jillionth game for arguing balls and (very few) strikes during this episode.
The following day, the Mets put up a four spot in the 3rd inning and made it stand up for John Maine to win 4-3. The inning featured a single by David Wright, a double by Carlos Beltran, and a triple by Ryan Church. Carlos Delgado didn't get the memo and merely grounded in the final run of the inning. Aaron Heilman has finally lost his eighth inning job, but did come in in the 6th to allow a run, so at least that stayed consistent.
On Sunday, Delgado found the memo, and decided to hit two homers to make up for it. The Mets got out to a 1-0 lead against John Smoltz on a typical Jose Reyes leg-it-around-the-bases inning. Reyes hit a double, moved to third on a grounder, and scored on a wild pitch. Raul Casanova and Delgado followed with homers in the 2nd and 3rd to make it 4-0. Smoltz didn't make it past four innings, and was obviously not himself. Nelson Figueroa, (The Kid from Brooklyn, as Gary Cohen called him - um, he's 33, Gary), was throwing blanks until the 6th, when it all fell apart quickly. Jeff Francoeur singled, Mark Teixeira doubled to score Francoeur, and Mark Kotsay singled to score Teixeira. Willie brought in Joe Smith, who nearly got Martin Prado to it into a double play as the third run of the inning scored. I was pretty much thinking a tie was inevitable the way things have been going lately, but Smith got Brian Pena to stifle the threat. After I left to go play in a soccer game that, unbeknownst to me had been canceled, Wright got an RBI single in the 7th, and Delgado hit his second homer of the day in the 8th to ice it. Billy Wagner allowed his first hit of the season in the 9th to Matt Diaz, but managed to get the easy save.
After my arduous journey to Alaska, via Minneapolis for some reason, I was all set to catch the Mets/Pirates game on MLB.TV, but then I saw that it was PPD. I have yet to watch a game on my work laptop this season, which pisses me off, because I could have bought Extra Innings and not have had to put up with the crappy picture of MLB.TV on my home set. Well, tomorrow is another day. The game should be in the 3rd inning or so when I get back to my swank digs in Kenai. They do have excellent wireless still, thank goodness.
The Mets weren't exactly doing some mauling, but they did take two of three from the Braves. The Friday game was won 6-3 by Atlanta, as the comically named Jair Jurrjens combined with three relievers to toss a two-hitter. Jurrjens did his best to fritter away the game, walking in three consecutive runs in the third. Bobby Cox was thrown out of his record 18 jillionth game for arguing balls and (very few) strikes during this episode.
The following day, the Mets put up a four spot in the 3rd inning and made it stand up for John Maine to win 4-3. The inning featured a single by David Wright, a double by Carlos Beltran, and a triple by Ryan Church. Carlos Delgado didn't get the memo and merely grounded in the final run of the inning. Aaron Heilman has finally lost his eighth inning job, but did come in in the 6th to allow a run, so at least that stayed consistent.
On Sunday, Delgado found the memo, and decided to hit two homers to make up for it. The Mets got out to a 1-0 lead against John Smoltz on a typical Jose Reyes leg-it-around-the-bases inning. Reyes hit a double, moved to third on a grounder, and scored on a wild pitch. Raul Casanova and Delgado followed with homers in the 2nd and 3rd to make it 4-0. Smoltz didn't make it past four innings, and was obviously not himself. Nelson Figueroa, (The Kid from Brooklyn, as Gary Cohen called him - um, he's 33, Gary), was throwing blanks until the 6th, when it all fell apart quickly. Jeff Francoeur singled, Mark Teixeira doubled to score Francoeur, and Mark Kotsay singled to score Teixeira. Willie brought in Joe Smith, who nearly got Martin Prado to it into a double play as the third run of the inning scored. I was pretty much thinking a tie was inevitable the way things have been going lately, but Smith got Brian Pena to stifle the threat. After I left to go play in a soccer game that, unbeknownst to me had been canceled, Wright got an RBI single in the 7th, and Delgado hit his second homer of the day in the 8th to ice it. Billy Wagner allowed his first hit of the season in the 9th to Matt Diaz, but managed to get the easy save.
After my arduous journey to Alaska, via Minneapolis for some reason, I was all set to catch the Mets/Pirates game on MLB.TV, but then I saw that it was PPD. I have yet to watch a game on my work laptop this season, which pisses me off, because I could have bought Extra Innings and not have had to put up with the crappy picture of MLB.TV on my home set. Well, tomorrow is another day. The game should be in the 3rd inning or so when I get back to my swank digs in Kenai. They do have excellent wireless still, thank goodness.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS @ LA DODGERS - LIVE BLOG
I'm at Dodger Stadium! For reals! I'll be live-blogging the game tonight between Arizona and LA, at least until the battery runs out on my BlackBerry. It's pre-game and the D'Backs just finished BP and now the grounds crew is out. I love to watch the dude with the groovy groove thing behind his little ATV. It's mesmerizing.
Chavez Ravine is resplendant tonight, just as I thought it would be. This stadium is...old. I knew that intellectually, but it seems older up close. Like Sarah Jessica Parker, I imagine. They kept the '60s style scoreboard, just like at Shea. This one looks even more retro.
The Mets game has been playing on the Jumbotron. Aaron Heilman just gave up a granny. What a bum. I think it may be time to give Duaner Sanchez his 8th inning job back.
Some soap guy did the Anthem. Nice job!
Top 1st
Chad Billingsley upped his 6.17 ERA by giving up an RBI single to Conor Jackson. The late-arriving crowd is living up to its name.
ARI 1, LA coming up.
Bottom 1st
Edgar Gonzalez got the first two but then Nomah singled and Jeff Kent doubled him home. I thought Garciaparra was out but I'm way up here. Some lady spilled her beer down about five rows. Andruw Jones has seen 4.5 pitches per at-bat, and has grounded many of them weakly to short, apparently.
ARI 1, LA 1
Top 2nd
After Matt Kemp botched a fly for a double, Jeff "Who Dat" Salazar went Ravine to make it 3-1. Billingsley's ERA is making like George W. Bush's disapproval ratings. All the beer stayed within proper containers this half inning.
ARI 3, LA 1
Bottom 2nd
Three up, three down. I was beginning to doubt I would see one of those tonight. The Mets lost 10-5.
ARI 3, LA 1
Top 3rd
Billingsley whiffed all three to give him seven for the game. We're all getting some California Pizza Kitchen pizza! Well, if the D'Backs don't smack him around first before he gets 10 K's.
ARI 3, LA 1
Bottom 3rd
Another 1-2-3 for Gonzalez. They're not booing, they're saying "Andruuuuuuuw...youuuuuu suck!"
ARI 3, LA 1
Top 4th
Two more strikeouts for Billingsley, Mmmm, I can taste that wood-fired goodness. Sandy Koufax struck out 18 on this date. Maybe we're seeing history. Or not.
ARI 3, LA 1
Bottom 4th
The Dodgers tied it up on hits by Nomah and Loney and a sac fly by Ethier. Billingsley had a chance to help his own cause but grounded out to end the inning. Isn't every player trying to help his own cause all the time?
ARI 3, LA 3
Top 5th
The good news for Billingsley was two more K's. The bad news was the single by Young, the double by Drew, the wild pitch, and the non-double play that looked like a bad call to me. The bad news for me is that I appear to be misinformed about that free CPK pizza. I should have figured in this economy.
ARI 5, LA 3
Bottom 5th
A web gem by Stephen Drew ended Nomah's bid for a third hit, and also the inning after the D'Backs completed the 6-4-3 double play. I think almost half the crowd has made it through the traffic and is on the way to their seats.
ARI 5, LA 3
Top 6th
In order for Billingsley, but only one strikeout. I think Pete Rose should be re-instated, and The Wave, the YMCA dance, and beach balls should receive a lifetime ban. This I Believe.
ARI 5, LA 3
Bottom 6th
Pitching change - Juan Cruz relieved Edgar Gonzalez after Russell Martin singled James Loney to third. Cruz plunked Ethier, but struck out Kemp flailing on a slider and got pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney to sky out to center. I managed to escape Kiss Cam. I would have had to kiss my BlackBerry.
ARI 5, LA 3
Top 7th
New pitcher Scott Proctor gets them in order. And we got our first "Yankees Suck" chant of the night. Even in LA they know.
ARI 5, LA 3
Bottom 7th
Chad Qualls should have had an easy inning, but he had a brain fart with Furcal on second and one out. Nomah hit a come-backer, and Qualls eschewed the easy out at first and tried to get Furcal, who wasn't really trying to advance to third. Third baseman Mark Reynolds threw back to second and hit Furcal in the head for an error. Kent singled in Furcal for one run, but Qualls got a 4-6-3 DP to end the rally. Now I am missing the top of the 8th explaining all this.
ARI 5, LA 4
Top 8th
Joe Beimel relieved Proctor with two outs and a run in. The Dodgers got screwed when a routine fielder's choice to Nomah turned into run. Garciaparra's throw was a little wide to Kent, and the ump called Conor Jackson safe at second. He was out. They never call that play safe ever. After Proctor threw a wild pitch, Upton hit a sac fly to score Jackson. Beimel got Salazar looking to end the inning, but the lead is back to two. I am now officially cold.
ARI 6, LA 4
Bottom 8th
Three up, three down for Tony Pena (not junior). Now 2/3 of the crowd is heading to their cars so they can clog up the freeways on the way home.
ARI 6, LA 4
Top 9th
The inning began with Kent saying the magic word to the ump and getting tossed, undoubtedly still arguing about the bad call in the 8th. The funny part was, somebody in the Dodger dugout had sent Chin Lung Hu out to take grounders while Kent was still arguing and had not yet been ejected. They must have known he would eventually say the word and/or phrase that would get the deed done. Meanwhile Cory Wade made his major league debut with a scoreless inning.
ARI 6, LA 4
Bottom 9th
A very quick 1-2-3 for Brandon Lyon, and now all I have to do is find my rental car. It's kinda gray, and I think it's a GM product.
FINAL SCORE - ARI 6, LA 4
Chavez Ravine is resplendant tonight, just as I thought it would be. This stadium is...old. I knew that intellectually, but it seems older up close. Like Sarah Jessica Parker, I imagine. They kept the '60s style scoreboard, just like at Shea. This one looks even more retro.
The Mets game has been playing on the Jumbotron. Aaron Heilman just gave up a granny. What a bum. I think it may be time to give Duaner Sanchez his 8th inning job back.
Some soap guy did the Anthem. Nice job!
Top 1st
Chad Billingsley upped his 6.17 ERA by giving up an RBI single to Conor Jackson. The late-arriving crowd is living up to its name.
ARI 1, LA coming up.
Bottom 1st
Edgar Gonzalez got the first two but then Nomah singled and Jeff Kent doubled him home. I thought Garciaparra was out but I'm way up here. Some lady spilled her beer down about five rows. Andruw Jones has seen 4.5 pitches per at-bat, and has grounded many of them weakly to short, apparently.
ARI 1, LA 1
Top 2nd
After Matt Kemp botched a fly for a double, Jeff "Who Dat" Salazar went Ravine to make it 3-1. Billingsley's ERA is making like George W. Bush's disapproval ratings. All the beer stayed within proper containers this half inning.
ARI 3, LA 1
Bottom 2nd
Three up, three down. I was beginning to doubt I would see one of those tonight. The Mets lost 10-5.
ARI 3, LA 1
Top 3rd
Billingsley whiffed all three to give him seven for the game. We're all getting some California Pizza Kitchen pizza! Well, if the D'Backs don't smack him around first before he gets 10 K's.
ARI 3, LA 1
Bottom 3rd
Another 1-2-3 for Gonzalez. They're not booing, they're saying "Andruuuuuuuw...youuuuuu suck!"
ARI 3, LA 1
Top 4th
Two more strikeouts for Billingsley, Mmmm, I can taste that wood-fired goodness. Sandy Koufax struck out 18 on this date. Maybe we're seeing history. Or not.
ARI 3, LA 1
Bottom 4th
The Dodgers tied it up on hits by Nomah and Loney and a sac fly by Ethier. Billingsley had a chance to help his own cause but grounded out to end the inning. Isn't every player trying to help his own cause all the time?
ARI 3, LA 3
Top 5th
The good news for Billingsley was two more K's. The bad news was the single by Young, the double by Drew, the wild pitch, and the non-double play that looked like a bad call to me. The bad news for me is that I appear to be misinformed about that free CPK pizza. I should have figured in this economy.
ARI 5, LA 3
Bottom 5th
A web gem by Stephen Drew ended Nomah's bid for a third hit, and also the inning after the D'Backs completed the 6-4-3 double play. I think almost half the crowd has made it through the traffic and is on the way to their seats.
ARI 5, LA 3
Top 6th
In order for Billingsley, but only one strikeout. I think Pete Rose should be re-instated, and The Wave, the YMCA dance, and beach balls should receive a lifetime ban. This I Believe.
ARI 5, LA 3
Bottom 6th
Pitching change - Juan Cruz relieved Edgar Gonzalez after Russell Martin singled James Loney to third. Cruz plunked Ethier, but struck out Kemp flailing on a slider and got pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney to sky out to center. I managed to escape Kiss Cam. I would have had to kiss my BlackBerry.
ARI 5, LA 3
Top 7th
New pitcher Scott Proctor gets them in order. And we got our first "Yankees Suck" chant of the night. Even in LA they know.
ARI 5, LA 3
Bottom 7th
Chad Qualls should have had an easy inning, but he had a brain fart with Furcal on second and one out. Nomah hit a come-backer, and Qualls eschewed the easy out at first and tried to get Furcal, who wasn't really trying to advance to third. Third baseman Mark Reynolds threw back to second and hit Furcal in the head for an error. Kent singled in Furcal for one run, but Qualls got a 4-6-3 DP to end the rally. Now I am missing the top of the 8th explaining all this.
ARI 5, LA 4
Top 8th
Joe Beimel relieved Proctor with two outs and a run in. The Dodgers got screwed when a routine fielder's choice to Nomah turned into run. Garciaparra's throw was a little wide to Kent, and the ump called Conor Jackson safe at second. He was out. They never call that play safe ever. After Proctor threw a wild pitch, Upton hit a sac fly to score Jackson. Beimel got Salazar looking to end the inning, but the lead is back to two. I am now officially cold.
ARI 6, LA 4
Bottom 8th
Three up, three down for Tony Pena (not junior). Now 2/3 of the crowd is heading to their cars so they can clog up the freeways on the way home.
ARI 6, LA 4
Top 9th
The inning began with Kent saying the magic word to the ump and getting tossed, undoubtedly still arguing about the bad call in the 8th. The funny part was, somebody in the Dodger dugout had sent Chin Lung Hu out to take grounders while Kent was still arguing and had not yet been ejected. They must have known he would eventually say the word and/or phrase that would get the deed done. Meanwhile Cory Wade made his major league debut with a scoreless inning.
ARI 6, LA 4
Bottom 9th
A very quick 1-2-3 for Brandon Lyon, and now all I have to do is find my rental car. It's kinda gray, and I think it's a GM product.
FINAL SCORE - ARI 6, LA 4
NAT KING COLD
I'm still in chilly LA, sitting in a cramped room with a bunch of other computer geeks, while workers in the next room loudly install cabinets. At least they aren't blasting Tejano music.
I "watched" most of last night's Mets game on my BlackBerry on MLB.com's Live Pitch-By-Pitch service. It was 1-0 Mets when I tuned in in the Nationals half of the 4th, with Johan Santana cruising and two outs. Then Wily Mo Pena and Juan Nieves singled, and pitcher Tim Redding doubled them in. You know something bad happened on Pitch-By-Pitch when it says "Pitch in play, no out(s)".
In the top of the 5th, the Mets tied it off of Redding, who was walking the planet, and then the Nats brought in lefty Ray King to get Ryan Church. That didn't go so well, and by the time the inning was over, the Mets had four runs and led 5-2. The BlackBerry said that Church hit a slow roller to 3rd, and that Carlos Beltran managed to score from first on Ryan Zimmerman's throwing error. I figured that had to be a transcription problem, but I read in the paper this morning and that is precisely what happened. That's what I'd call a bad throw. Santana eventually doubled in the same inning, which also didn't look right on the BlackBerry. The Mets went on to record an easy 7-2 victory, and the Nats continued their slide into the murky abyss of the Anacostia River. Not much changed in the NL East. Florida beat Atlanta again, and the Phillies lost, leaving the Mets deficit at 1-1/2 games.
Alas, I will not be going to Dodger Stadium to watch the Mets. The project I am working on was delayed a week, and the Mets will be elsewhere by the time I get back here. I'm thinking I might head out there tonight on my own. The stands look pretty empty on the highlights.
I "watched" most of last night's Mets game on my BlackBerry on MLB.com's Live Pitch-By-Pitch service. It was 1-0 Mets when I tuned in in the Nationals half of the 4th, with Johan Santana cruising and two outs. Then Wily Mo Pena and Juan Nieves singled, and pitcher Tim Redding doubled them in. You know something bad happened on Pitch-By-Pitch when it says "Pitch in play, no out(s)".
In the top of the 5th, the Mets tied it off of Redding, who was walking the planet, and then the Nats brought in lefty Ray King to get Ryan Church. That didn't go so well, and by the time the inning was over, the Mets had four runs and led 5-2. The BlackBerry said that Church hit a slow roller to 3rd, and that Carlos Beltran managed to score from first on Ryan Zimmerman's throwing error. I figured that had to be a transcription problem, but I read in the paper this morning and that is precisely what happened. That's what I'd call a bad throw. Santana eventually doubled in the same inning, which also didn't look right on the BlackBerry. The Mets went on to record an easy 7-2 victory, and the Nats continued their slide into the murky abyss of the Anacostia River. Not much changed in the NL East. Florida beat Atlanta again, and the Phillies lost, leaving the Mets deficit at 1-1/2 games.
Alas, I will not be going to Dodger Stadium to watch the Mets. The project I am working on was delayed a week, and the Mets will be elsewhere by the time I get back here. I'm thinking I might head out there tonight on my own. The stands look pretty empty on the highlights.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
L.A. STORY
I'm on the west coast this week on business, so we'll dispense with the last few games quickly:
Friday, April 18th: Mets 6, Phillies 4. Santana beats Hamels as both bullpens get shelled. Heilman gives up another homer. He is a mess.
Saturday, April 19th: Mets 4, Phillies 2. Oliver Perez returns to form, at least until the next game. No one will be stopping Chase Utley in his rampage through the pitching staffs of the National League this year.
Sunday, April 20th: Phillies 5, Mets 4. The Mets erased a 4-0 deficit before Pedro Feliz homered off Pedro Feliciano. So, Pete Happy hits a homer off Pete Happy Person. And I am not happy. Nor am I Pete. But I am a person, as far as I know. Oh, and Utley hits two more homers, just for the hell of it.
Monday, April 21st: Cubs 7, Mets 1. Willie goes to the Heilman well again, and gets as much good water as usual. The Cubs blow open a 2-1 lead in the 8th with a 5-run inning off Aaron The Terrible. Felix Pie (Spanish for Felix Foot) uses his hands to bash a three-run homer.
Tuesday, April 22nd: Cubs 8, Mets 1. Joe Smith and Jorge Sosa were the guilty parties in this one. Nelson Figueroa left with a 3-1 deficit. The Mets get all of two runs and ten hits at Wrigley.
The Marlins have kept on crushing bad teams (I thought they were one, but maybe not), and have their 1-1/2 game lead back, with Atlanta and Philly a half game back of us. Now it's on to Washington. You think the pope left any chaw in the locker room?
Friday, April 18th: Mets 6, Phillies 4. Santana beats Hamels as both bullpens get shelled. Heilman gives up another homer. He is a mess.
Saturday, April 19th: Mets 4, Phillies 2. Oliver Perez returns to form, at least until the next game. No one will be stopping Chase Utley in his rampage through the pitching staffs of the National League this year.
Sunday, April 20th: Phillies 5, Mets 4. The Mets erased a 4-0 deficit before Pedro Feliz homered off Pedro Feliciano. So, Pete Happy hits a homer off Pete Happy Person. And I am not happy. Nor am I Pete. But I am a person, as far as I know. Oh, and Utley hits two more homers, just for the hell of it.
Monday, April 21st: Cubs 7, Mets 1. Willie goes to the Heilman well again, and gets as much good water as usual. The Cubs blow open a 2-1 lead in the 8th with a 5-run inning off Aaron The Terrible. Felix Pie (Spanish for Felix Foot) uses his hands to bash a three-run homer.
Tuesday, April 22nd: Cubs 8, Mets 1. Joe Smith and Jorge Sosa were the guilty parties in this one. Nelson Figueroa left with a 3-1 deficit. The Mets get all of two runs and ten hits at Wrigley.
The Marlins have kept on crushing bad teams (I thought they were one, but maybe not), and have their 1-1/2 game lead back, with Atlanta and Philly a half game back of us. Now it's on to Washington. You think the pope left any chaw in the locker room?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
ONLY 14 INNINGS? PFFFT!
I missed it of course, but the Mets scratched home a run in the 14th inning on a leadoff single by Damion Easley and two wild pitches and a throwing error by Joel "That Pederast" Hanrahan (who'll get a demotion if he keeps this up) to complete a sweep of the Nats by a 3-2 score. The Mets and Nats got no sympathy from the Rockies and Padres, who played a 22-inning yawnfest that only recently ended.
While I was awake, Nelson Figueroa was strong again. He only faltered for three batters in the 4th, giving up a single off his glove to Ryan Zimmerman followed by a no-doubter home run into the Mets bullpen by Nick Johnson and another single by Lastings Milledge. He finished with 7 IP and 2 ER on 3 hits. The Mets couldn't touch Nats starter John Lannan, who retired 16 batters in a row at one point after giving up a quick first-inning run on a Ryan Church RBI double. It looked the 2-1 lead might hold up with two outs in the eighth, when Church hit an easy roller to Ronnie Belliard. As often happens to bad teams, though, Belliard nonchalanted it off his glove for an error, and the game turned around completely for the Mets. After Luis Ayala relieved Saul Rivera and walked David Wright, Jon Rauch came in to face Carlos Delgado. Why the Nats didn't bring in their only lefty, Ray King, was not explained on the telecast nor could I find any
other explanation on-line. King did appear in the 12th and gave up a hit and made an error, so we was healthy. In any event, Rauch left a fastball up to Delgado, who ripped it into right to score Church with the tying run. Then they played and played and played.
Wright hit into a crushing double play with runners on first and second and one out in the 12th, which must have made the few remaining idiots at Shea lose some hope of ever going home. The Nats got two on in the 13th off Jorge Sosa but couldn't score, and didn't threaten in the 14th. Finally, the weirdness that usually occurs in a game like this made its presence known, as Hanrahan wild pitched Easley to second, threw a ball into center field to send Easley to third, and after walking the bases loaded intentionally, wild-pitched again for the game-winner.
Atlanta finally beat the Marlins, and the Phillies won big over Houston, so the contenders all moved up a game. Tonight, after a very late flight to Philadelphia (14-inning games only happen on getaway days, that's a rule), the Mets start a three-game set with the Phillies. Aces Santana and Hamels go tonight.
While I was awake, Nelson Figueroa was strong again. He only faltered for three batters in the 4th, giving up a single off his glove to Ryan Zimmerman followed by a no-doubter home run into the Mets bullpen by Nick Johnson and another single by Lastings Milledge. He finished with 7 IP and 2 ER on 3 hits. The Mets couldn't touch Nats starter John Lannan, who retired 16 batters in a row at one point after giving up a quick first-inning run on a Ryan Church RBI double. It looked the 2-1 lead might hold up with two outs in the eighth, when Church hit an easy roller to Ronnie Belliard. As often happens to bad teams, though, Belliard nonchalanted it off his glove for an error, and the game turned around completely for the Mets. After Luis Ayala relieved Saul Rivera and walked David Wright, Jon Rauch came in to face Carlos Delgado. Why the Nats didn't bring in their only lefty, Ray King, was not explained on the telecast nor could I find any
other explanation on-line. King did appear in the 12th and gave up a hit and made an error, so we was healthy. In any event, Rauch left a fastball up to Delgado, who ripped it into right to score Church with the tying run. Then they played and played and played.
Wright hit into a crushing double play with runners on first and second and one out in the 12th, which must have made the few remaining idiots at Shea lose some hope of ever going home. The Nats got two on in the 13th off Jorge Sosa but couldn't score, and didn't threaten in the 14th. Finally, the weirdness that usually occurs in a game like this made its presence known, as Hanrahan wild pitched Easley to second, threw a ball into center field to send Easley to third, and after walking the bases loaded intentionally, wild-pitched again for the game-winner.
Atlanta finally beat the Marlins, and the Phillies won big over Houston, so the contenders all moved up a game. Tonight, after a very late flight to Philadelphia (14-inning games only happen on getaway days, that's a rule), the Mets start a three-game set with the Phillies. Aces Santana and Hamels go tonight.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
CHICO AND THE MAINE
That would be Matt Chico and John Maine. Maine got the better of Chico last night, something Jack Albertson rarely did to Freddie Prinze back in the 70's, tossing six and two-thirds strong innings before walking Christian Guzman and Ronnie Belliard and yelling an expletive that would not have made it past the NBC censors as Willie Randolph (who was playing the role of Scatman Crothers) came out to get him. Joe Smith finished the inning and the 8th, and Billy Wagner had a 1-2-3 ninth to close out a 5-2 Mets victory.
Both team scored a single run in the 1st, as Maine walked two and looked generally shaky. Ryan Church's homer in the bottom of the inning tied it, and then Austin Kearns homered in the 4th to untie it. The Mets took the lead they would never relinquish in the 5th on a solo shot by Jose Reyes, and a three-run smash by Carlos Beltran, both their first dingers of the season.
There was a Chad Cordero sighting for the Nats, but his fastball was a no-show. The flat-brimmed one clearly still has a bum shoulder, and could not break 81 mph with his heater. He was good enough to retire the side in order, but what was he doing out there? The guy needs to go back on the Disabled List. It's not like the Nats will sniff a pennant race this season, and he's only 26. Baseball GM's befuddle me sometimes.
The Mets are now 7-6, still a game and a half behind Florida, who beat Atlanta for the second straight time, and a game ahead of Philadelphia, who failed to mount a second consecutive 9th inning comeback at home against Houston. Florida's cupcake April schedule continues with another game against Atlanta followed by three home games against the Nats before heading to Atlanta for three. Finally they'll play a team with a winning record (maybe) when they travel to Milwaukee on April 25th. Don't worry, the Fish will start stinking it up before too long.
Both team scored a single run in the 1st, as Maine walked two and looked generally shaky. Ryan Church's homer in the bottom of the inning tied it, and then Austin Kearns homered in the 4th to untie it. The Mets took the lead they would never relinquish in the 5th on a solo shot by Jose Reyes, and a three-run smash by Carlos Beltran, both their first dingers of the season.
There was a Chad Cordero sighting for the Nats, but his fastball was a no-show. The flat-brimmed one clearly still has a bum shoulder, and could not break 81 mph with his heater. He was good enough to retire the side in order, but what was he doing out there? The guy needs to go back on the Disabled List. It's not like the Nats will sniff a pennant race this season, and he's only 26. Baseball GM's befuddle me sometimes.
The Mets are now 7-6, still a game and a half behind Florida, who beat Atlanta for the second straight time, and a game ahead of Philadelphia, who failed to mount a second consecutive 9th inning comeback at home against Houston. Florida's cupcake April schedule continues with another game against Atlanta followed by three home games against the Nats before heading to Atlanta for three. Finally they'll play a team with a winning record (maybe) when they travel to Milwaukee on April 25th. Don't worry, the Fish will start stinking it up before too long.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
BATS NOT HITTING THE PELFREY
It was Jackie Robinson Night all around baseball, and the Mets player with the same first and last initials and the most similar playing style as #42 had his first big night of the year as New York blanked the Nats 6-0. Jose Reyes had four hits, including a double and triple, and showed no signs of a bad hammy. David Wright did his best Dixie Walker impression, bashing another homer and doubling twice, and driving in five of the six Met runs. I'm not sure which 1947 Brooklyn Dodger he was supposed to be (Ervin Martin Palica, maybe?), but Mike Pelfrey threw a stellar seven innings of shutout ball, walking two and striking out four. Aaron Heilman worked out of a jam of his own making in the 8th, and noted reckless cab passenger Duaner Sanchez made his 2008 debut with a one-hit ninth.
This was the best the Mets have looked all year, but you have to consider the competition. The Nationals are about as sorry a collection of ballplayers as the Mets will see this year, and they are in a particularly bad stretch of what should be a dismal season. Still, it was a very good night on one of the best commemorative days of the year. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda at CitiField was also dedicated yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing it when I make my pilgrimage next year. I'm still trying to figure out what game I'd like to go to. I'm thinking I'll time it with the US Open across the street so I can also watch the several hundred Russian girls with -ova at the end of their name play tennis in frightfully skimpy outfits.
While the Nats are away, Pope Benedict XVI is saying Mass at their new stadium this morning. HOLY WATER!! ICE COLD HOLY WATER HERE!! FOUR DOLLARS!! VOTIVE CANDLES!! GET 'EM WHILE THEIR HOT!! HYMNALS! CAN'T TELL THE HYMNS WITHOUT A HYMNAL!!
I'm going straight to hell.
This was the best the Mets have looked all year, but you have to consider the competition. The Nationals are about as sorry a collection of ballplayers as the Mets will see this year, and they are in a particularly bad stretch of what should be a dismal season. Still, it was a very good night on one of the best commemorative days of the year. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda at CitiField was also dedicated yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing it when I make my pilgrimage next year. I'm still trying to figure out what game I'd like to go to. I'm thinking I'll time it with the US Open across the street so I can also watch the several hundred Russian girls with -ova at the end of their name play tennis in frightfully skimpy outfits.
While the Nats are away, Pope Benedict XVI is saying Mass at their new stadium this morning. HOLY WATER!! ICE COLD HOLY WATER HERE!! FOUR DOLLARS!! VOTIVE CANDLES!! GET 'EM WHILE THEIR HOT!! HYMNALS! CAN'T TELL THE HYMNS WITHOUT A HYMNAL!!
I'm going straight to hell.
Monday, April 14, 2008
MILWAUKEE'S FINEST
It started out well. With most of Brooklyn in his player's box, Nelson Figueroa made his debut as a Mets starter by allowing only two hits in six innings. The Mets offense strung together a three-run 4th inning, which was enough to get Figgy the win, even after his 87 mph fastball started getting timed by the Brewers' many sluggers. Aaron Heilman (gasp!) and Billy Wagner both delivered perfect innings to sew up the 4-2 victory.
Game two of the series on Saturday was a different beast altogether, with Johan Santana, a man with expectations set far higher than they were for a guy who hadn't started a game since 2004, facing his counterpart ace, Ben Sheets. Neither pitcher was sharp early, with the Mets taking an early 2-0 lead punctuated by a Carlos Delgado near-homer double off the right field wall. The Brewers got a run back in the 2nd on a safety squeeze by Sheets, and then Big Ben settled in. Johan, not so much. While Sheets was retiring the next 19 batters in a row, Santana was giving up enormous home runs to Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, and the crushing blow by Gabe Kapler that knocked him out of the game. David Wright hit one out to the picnic pavilion in left in the 8th to end Sheets' streak, but the Mets couldn't dent the shaky Brewer pen, and lost it 5-3.
The finale on Sunday was a tedious, sloppy, and ultimately dispiriting 9-7 defeat. The Mets trailed early, on another Gabe Kapler homer (I really think you should go back to managing, Gabe. Please.), but re-took the lead on Wright's third HR of the season in the 1st and a two-run bottom-of-the-order rally in the 2nd. New York appeared to start to pull away in the 3rd when Carlos Beltran and Brian Schneider each had RBI hits to make the score 6-2. Pitcher Oliver Perez barely missed an extra-base hit to the right field corner off Brewer starter Jeff Suppan, and then struck out to end the inning, or the Mets might really have put it away. I don't know if it was the near miss at bat, or the fact that the Brewers can flat out rake, but Perez fell completely apart in the top of the 4th, allowing Milwaukee to tie the game on two 2-run singles by Jason Kendall and Ryan Braun.
The score remained tied until the 6th, when reliever Jorge Sosa gave up another towering drive to Weeks, and then nearly wriggled out of a jam before Corey Hart ripped a single to left to score Kapler to make it 8-6. The Brewers hitters just keep coming in waves. If these guys can keep their pitching healthy, which is a huge if, they can hang with anybody.
Kapler added another RBI double off Joe Smith, and the Mets got a Damion Easley RBI single in the 7th, and then continued hitting into more double plays in more varied and interesting ways than had ever been seen by most of the patrons present (starting in the 4th inning, it was 3-unassisted, 4-6-3, 1-6-3, 4-6-3, 3-2). Old friend and boo-receiver Guillermo Mota and former and current bullpen mate Eric Gagne finished up with two shutout innings.
Obviously, the encouraging aspect of the weekend, perhaps the only one, was Nelson Figueroa. It'll be interesting to see how he does on the road when only maybe his wife is there to cheer for him, as opposed to the better part of a borough. He was not at all overpowering, but he changed speeds, had good command, and was poised and confident. He was kind of like, well, El Duque, although we can probably find Figueroa's birth certificate. As I mentioned, the Brewers bats caught up the third time around, which will probably be a recurrent theme in Figueroa's tenure on the staff.
Nobody took charge in the NL East this weekend, with Florida maintaining their tenuous 1-1/2 game edge over us and the Phillies. The Nats finally won after nine straight losses, defeating the Braves on Sunday, which put Atlanta two games back. The Mets get an off day today, and then we try to start another losing streak for the Nationals.
Game two of the series on Saturday was a different beast altogether, with Johan Santana, a man with expectations set far higher than they were for a guy who hadn't started a game since 2004, facing his counterpart ace, Ben Sheets. Neither pitcher was sharp early, with the Mets taking an early 2-0 lead punctuated by a Carlos Delgado near-homer double off the right field wall. The Brewers got a run back in the 2nd on a safety squeeze by Sheets, and then Big Ben settled in. Johan, not so much. While Sheets was retiring the next 19 batters in a row, Santana was giving up enormous home runs to Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, and the crushing blow by Gabe Kapler that knocked him out of the game. David Wright hit one out to the picnic pavilion in left in the 8th to end Sheets' streak, but the Mets couldn't dent the shaky Brewer pen, and lost it 5-3.
The finale on Sunday was a tedious, sloppy, and ultimately dispiriting 9-7 defeat. The Mets trailed early, on another Gabe Kapler homer (I really think you should go back to managing, Gabe. Please.), but re-took the lead on Wright's third HR of the season in the 1st and a two-run bottom-of-the-order rally in the 2nd. New York appeared to start to pull away in the 3rd when Carlos Beltran and Brian Schneider each had RBI hits to make the score 6-2. Pitcher Oliver Perez barely missed an extra-base hit to the right field corner off Brewer starter Jeff Suppan, and then struck out to end the inning, or the Mets might really have put it away. I don't know if it was the near miss at bat, or the fact that the Brewers can flat out rake, but Perez fell completely apart in the top of the 4th, allowing Milwaukee to tie the game on two 2-run singles by Jason Kendall and Ryan Braun.
The score remained tied until the 6th, when reliever Jorge Sosa gave up another towering drive to Weeks, and then nearly wriggled out of a jam before Corey Hart ripped a single to left to score Kapler to make it 8-6. The Brewers hitters just keep coming in waves. If these guys can keep their pitching healthy, which is a huge if, they can hang with anybody.
Kapler added another RBI double off Joe Smith, and the Mets got a Damion Easley RBI single in the 7th, and then continued hitting into more double plays in more varied and interesting ways than had ever been seen by most of the patrons present (starting in the 4th inning, it was 3-unassisted, 4-6-3, 1-6-3, 4-6-3, 3-2). Old friend and boo-receiver Guillermo Mota and former and current bullpen mate Eric Gagne finished up with two shutout innings.
Obviously, the encouraging aspect of the weekend, perhaps the only one, was Nelson Figueroa. It'll be interesting to see how he does on the road when only maybe his wife is there to cheer for him, as opposed to the better part of a borough. He was not at all overpowering, but he changed speeds, had good command, and was poised and confident. He was kind of like, well, El Duque, although we can probably find Figueroa's birth certificate. As I mentioned, the Brewers bats caught up the third time around, which will probably be a recurrent theme in Figueroa's tenure on the staff.
Nobody took charge in the NL East this weekend, with Florida maintaining their tenuous 1-1/2 game edge over us and the Phillies. The Nats finally won after nine straight losses, defeating the Braves on Sunday, which put Atlanta two games back. The Mets get an off day today, and then we try to start another losing streak for the Nationals.
Friday, April 11, 2008
ANGEL OF THE (ALMOST) MORNING
Long after I went to sleep, Angel Pagan hit a game-winning single up the middle, scoring Jose Reyes to give the Mets a 4-3 victory in the 12th at about 11:10 PM EDT (less than an hour from the morning). Jorge Sosa vultured the win, finishing up the top of the 12th for Scott Schoeneweis. Scotty finally contributed positively, getting Chase Utley to ground into a DP to end the 11th. Starter John Maine went six plus strong innings, leaving in the 7th after a Pedro Feliz homer was followed by a Chris Coste double.
It looks like the Mets caught a break on the game-winning play, as Reyes may have been tagged out after a strong throw by mid-game replacement centerfielder Jayson Werth. I haven't seen it yet. Who cares? The call was made, so let's move on. We could use some breaks against the Phils, who suddenly started getting all the bounces last year after Jimmy Rollins proclaimed them the team to beat.
New York built a 3-0 lead, on a two-run single by Ryan Church in the 4th and an RBI single by Carlos Beltran in the 6th, both off starter Adam Eaton. After Feliz's homer, Pedro Feliciano finished the seventh, and then Aaron Heilman entered in his customary 8th inning slot. Don't get too comfy, Aaron. For the third time this season, Heilman surrendered two runs in an appearance, starting with a frightening blast by Ryan Howard, followed by a walk to Pat Burrell, a Geoff Jenkins single, and a So Taguchi RBI grounder.
Billy Wagner came in to pitch the ninth, and I'm a bit concerned about his velocity. It's April, only his second appearance, he's pitching from the full windup, and he was still only able to hit 95 on his fastball. That could be down to 92 by Summer, and maybe in the 80's by September. The slider looked great, but he tends to get wilder with that pitch as the season progresses. In this outing, the only blemish was a two-out walk to Utley, but if both the fastball and slider decline even a little bit off what they were last night, the hits might not stop coming.
At 4-4, we're still a game and a half behind Florida. Hey, Marlins, play some real teams, already! The Braves were snowed out in Colorado, which allowed them to avoid a four game sweep. Nelson Figueroa makes his first start in the bigs since 2004 tonight vs. the Brewers and Manny Parra. As I've been saying in the comments, Figueroa figures to be a replacement-level starter. Anything better will be a bonus, and we start finding out tonight if he can provide it.
It looks like the Mets caught a break on the game-winning play, as Reyes may have been tagged out after a strong throw by mid-game replacement centerfielder Jayson Werth. I haven't seen it yet. Who cares? The call was made, so let's move on. We could use some breaks against the Phils, who suddenly started getting all the bounces last year after Jimmy Rollins proclaimed them the team to beat.
New York built a 3-0 lead, on a two-run single by Ryan Church in the 4th and an RBI single by Carlos Beltran in the 6th, both off starter Adam Eaton. After Feliz's homer, Pedro Feliciano finished the seventh, and then Aaron Heilman entered in his customary 8th inning slot. Don't get too comfy, Aaron. For the third time this season, Heilman surrendered two runs in an appearance, starting with a frightening blast by Ryan Howard, followed by a walk to Pat Burrell, a Geoff Jenkins single, and a So Taguchi RBI grounder.
Billy Wagner came in to pitch the ninth, and I'm a bit concerned about his velocity. It's April, only his second appearance, he's pitching from the full windup, and he was still only able to hit 95 on his fastball. That could be down to 92 by Summer, and maybe in the 80's by September. The slider looked great, but he tends to get wilder with that pitch as the season progresses. In this outing, the only blemish was a two-out walk to Utley, but if both the fastball and slider decline even a little bit off what they were last night, the hits might not stop coming.
At 4-4, we're still a game and a half behind Florida. Hey, Marlins, play some real teams, already! The Braves were snowed out in Colorado, which allowed them to avoid a four game sweep. Nelson Figueroa makes his first start in the bigs since 2004 tonight vs. the Brewers and Manny Parra. As I've been saying in the comments, Figueroa figures to be a replacement-level starter. Anything better will be a bonus, and we start finding out tonight if he can provide it.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
PHINALLY
We beat the Phillies! It only took nine games and one division title, but the Mets for once outscored their surly neighbors 90 miles to the southwest, 8-2. Mike Pelfrey was solid, allowing two runs in five innings, and the bullpen, bolstered by the now-present Pedro Feliciano, held the Phils scoreless. Feliciano had been away attending to a "family emergency", which contributed to Tuesday's late game collapse.
The game was a laugher in more ways than one, owing mostly to the Phillies ineptitude with the glove, and Kyle Kendrick's inability to throw a strike after getting the count to 0-2. Jimmy Rollins was on the bench with a sore ankle, forcing Eric Bruntlett to play short, and that was where most of the hilarity ensued. The Mets scored in the first inning on what was apparently a poorly scored error by Chase Utley on a hard-hit grounder by David Wright (I was standing outside a Coldwater Creek waiting for my wife to spend more money at the time). The Phils tied it up in the second after Jose Reyes botched a sure inning-ending double play grounder, tossing it behind second baseman Damion Easley and off his fingertips. Pelfrey stayed remarkably calm after that play, allowing a Carlos Ruiz single, but getting pitcher Kendrick and the Flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino to ground out.
Kendrick walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, accounting for three of the six walks by the alliterative young righty, but wriggled out of that jam by getting Carlos Beltran to tap weekly to Utley. In the third, the Mets did regain the lead on a double by Delgado, who looks very Delgado-like again, and singles by Ryan Church and Easley. After Brian Schneider lined out, Pelfrey attempted a bunt and nearly interfered with Ruiz, who nudged Pelfrey out of way, grabbed the ball, and threw wide to third off Pedro Feliz' glove to load the bases. Bruntlett then literally booted a possible double-play grounder by Reyes, scoring Church. Angel Pagan followed with a double just inside the bag at third, to make it 5-1, and then after Chad Durbin relieved the frustrated Kendrick, Wright hit a sharp grounder that Bruntlett completely whiffed trying to backhand for his second error of the inning and the Phillies third. Reyes scored on that play to
make it 6-1, and Durbin then bounced a sinker off the front of the plate to the backstop to score Pagan to make it 7-1.
The Phils mounted a few minor challenges, including loading the bases off Feliciano in the 8th, but could not get closer than five runs the rest of the way. The win makes us 3-4, still a game and a half back of the Marlins, and in third place. The Braves were hammered by the Rockies, and go for four straight losses to Colorado this afternoon.
MLB.TV gave me a non-full screen picture for about the first six innings last night, and then somebody at MLB headquarters flipped a switch and I got the full screen video. I have no idea what they are doing with this product. It seems like nobody really cares that much about customer service, but they are all over the idea that if they can't figure out a way to derive revenue off the commercials, you aren't getting them! I'm assuming somebody stands by each feed and manually cuts it over to the white "MLB.TV" logo screen between innings and during pitching changes. If that's the case, why isn't somebody checking the feed to make sure we're getting full-screen video? I gave the Microsoft Silverlight video player another shot last night, but even at 800 KB it's jumpy and looks terrible. The 1.2 MB feed is a complete mess. I might just go ahead and get Extra Innings, because MLB.TV is not getting any better, and if you call their customer service line, all you get is some dope with a New Yawk accent who basically tells you to go screw yourself. If I didn't travel so much, I never would have bought it in the first place. I might also invest in a Slingbox, which can broadcast your cable signal to any PC over the web.
The game was a laugher in more ways than one, owing mostly to the Phillies ineptitude with the glove, and Kyle Kendrick's inability to throw a strike after getting the count to 0-2. Jimmy Rollins was on the bench with a sore ankle, forcing Eric Bruntlett to play short, and that was where most of the hilarity ensued. The Mets scored in the first inning on what was apparently a poorly scored error by Chase Utley on a hard-hit grounder by David Wright (I was standing outside a Coldwater Creek waiting for my wife to spend more money at the time). The Phils tied it up in the second after Jose Reyes botched a sure inning-ending double play grounder, tossing it behind second baseman Damion Easley and off his fingertips. Pelfrey stayed remarkably calm after that play, allowing a Carlos Ruiz single, but getting pitcher Kendrick and the Flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino to ground out.
Kendrick walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, accounting for three of the six walks by the alliterative young righty, but wriggled out of that jam by getting Carlos Beltran to tap weekly to Utley. In the third, the Mets did regain the lead on a double by Delgado, who looks very Delgado-like again, and singles by Ryan Church and Easley. After Brian Schneider lined out, Pelfrey attempted a bunt and nearly interfered with Ruiz, who nudged Pelfrey out of way, grabbed the ball, and threw wide to third off Pedro Feliz' glove to load the bases. Bruntlett then literally booted a possible double-play grounder by Reyes, scoring Church. Angel Pagan followed with a double just inside the bag at third, to make it 5-1, and then after Chad Durbin relieved the frustrated Kendrick, Wright hit a sharp grounder that Bruntlett completely whiffed trying to backhand for his second error of the inning and the Phillies third. Reyes scored on that play to
make it 6-1, and Durbin then bounced a sinker off the front of the plate to the backstop to score Pagan to make it 7-1.
The Phils mounted a few minor challenges, including loading the bases off Feliciano in the 8th, but could not get closer than five runs the rest of the way. The win makes us 3-4, still a game and a half back of the Marlins, and in third place. The Braves were hammered by the Rockies, and go for four straight losses to Colorado this afternoon.
MLB.TV gave me a non-full screen picture for about the first six innings last night, and then somebody at MLB headquarters flipped a switch and I got the full screen video. I have no idea what they are doing with this product. It seems like nobody really cares that much about customer service, but they are all over the idea that if they can't figure out a way to derive revenue off the commercials, you aren't getting them! I'm assuming somebody stands by each feed and manually cuts it over to the white "MLB.TV" logo screen between innings and during pitching changes. If that's the case, why isn't somebody checking the feed to make sure we're getting full-screen video? I gave the Microsoft Silverlight video player another shot last night, but even at 800 KB it's jumpy and looks terrible. The 1.2 MB feed is a complete mess. I might just go ahead and get Extra Innings, because MLB.TV is not getting any better, and if you call their customer service line, all you get is some dope with a New Yawk accent who basically tells you to go screw yourself. If I didn't travel so much, I never would have bought it in the first place. I might also invest in a Slingbox, which can broadcast your cable signal to any PC over the web.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
HOME MOPE-ENER
I missed the last Shea home opener because I work for the Man. Several Men, and a few Women, actually, who do not allow streaming video on the company wires. I didn't miss much, as the Mets dropped another one, this time to the hateable Phillies, 5-2.
Oliver Perez had another stellar outing, giving up only three hits and three walks in five innings. The bullpen failed to hold another lead, though, with Schoeneweis and Heilman (sounds like one of those personal injury law firms that advertise on the outer cable channels) doing their worst. The Mets got an early couple of runs off Old Man Jamie Moyer, but that was all they could muster for the day, as Chad Durbin, JC Romero, and the previously combustible Tom Gordon shut them out.
The good news is, Wright, Delgado and Beltran are all hitting, Pagan, Church and Schneider aren't embarrassing themselves, yet, and at least Perez and Santana look sharp. The bad news is the bullpen, which could be a disaster this year, especially since they will be overtaxed having to mop up for Mike Pelfrey and Nelson Figueroa. Of course, Pelfrey and Figueroa pitching in the first place is the real bad news. El Duque will have to miss a rehab start while he continues to recover from his foot ailment, and there's no telling when Petey will be back.
The loss drops the Mets to 2-4, a game and a half behind the Marlins, who have been getting fat on Pittsburgh and Washington. The Braves lost again to the Rockies, a team that was hitting under .200 coming into that series. The NL East looks historically awful right now.
Oliver Perez had another stellar outing, giving up only three hits and three walks in five innings. The bullpen failed to hold another lead, though, with Schoeneweis and Heilman (sounds like one of those personal injury law firms that advertise on the outer cable channels) doing their worst. The Mets got an early couple of runs off Old Man Jamie Moyer, but that was all they could muster for the day, as Chad Durbin, JC Romero, and the previously combustible Tom Gordon shut them out.
The good news is, Wright, Delgado and Beltran are all hitting, Pagan, Church and Schneider aren't embarrassing themselves, yet, and at least Perez and Santana look sharp. The bad news is the bullpen, which could be a disaster this year, especially since they will be overtaxed having to mop up for Mike Pelfrey and Nelson Figueroa. Of course, Pelfrey and Figueroa pitching in the first place is the real bad news. El Duque will have to miss a rehab start while he continues to recover from his foot ailment, and there's no telling when Petey will be back.
The loss drops the Mets to 2-4, a game and a half behind the Marlins, who have been getting fat on Pittsburgh and Washington. The Braves lost again to the Rockies, a team that was hitting under .200 coming into that series. The NL East looks historically awful right now.
Monday, April 07, 2008
FORGET THE MAINE - AND THE SOSA TOO
The Mets/Braves game was washed out on Friday, which turned out to be the highlight of the weekend for the New Yorkers.
Saturday's game started out fairly well, with the Mets tying the game at 1-1 in the second on an Angel "Godless" Pagan fielder's choice. The game proceeded squarely downhill after that, and never recovered. John Maine nearly wriggled out of a jam in the 3rd, but then gave up a two-out two-run single to Matt Diaz. He yielded another two-out RBI hit in the 4th, this time to Mark Teixeira, to make it 4-1.
The Mets briefly made a comeback, getting to within one run at 4-3 on a RBI single by Reyes and a run-scoring groundout by Castillo. Maine gave way to Joe Smith, who along with Scott Schoeneweis gave up another run in the 6th to make it 5-3. It looked like the Mets might do some damage off reliever Pete Moylan when Brian Schneider and pinch-hitter Endy Chavez both reached base in the 7th, but the top of the order fizzled out the rally, and Jorge Sosa came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th.
Since Sosa had a nice outing last time, I was pretty much prepared for the worst this time, and the worst pretty much occurred. It wasn't all Sosa's fault, only mostly. Brian McCann hit a double up the gap with one out, and then Jeff Francoeur popped up to short right for what should have been out number two. Reyes went back on it, Pagan came in, and Pagan failed to call off Reyes, who turned his back to the field and completely lost the ball. It fell in for a single, moving McCann to third. Fill-in second basemen Martin Prado drew an unconscionable walk, and was followed by pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson, the real second baseman. Johnson showed why he is the regular, hitting a pinch-hit grand slam deep into the right field stands, effectively ending the game. It did for me, anyway, as I turned it off and got on with my life. The Mets added a couple of runs off of Royce Ring, and the Braves followed with a couple off of Nelson Figueroa to make the final 11-5.
Sunday's game matched aces John Smoltz and Johan Santana. The two pitchers posted zeroes until the bottom of the third, when Yunel Escobar doubled in Mark Kotsay to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Smoltz was finished after 5 shutout innings, and once again I had some hopes that the Mets could have some fun with the Braves bullpen, but it wasn't to be. Blaine Boyer, Pete Moylan, and Will Ohman, not exactly names to be feared, held the Mets scoreless for three innings. Meanwhile, Aaron Heilman relieved a valiant Santana and gave up a two-run bomb to Teixeira in the 8th to put the game out of reach. Braves closer Rafael Soriano allowed a meaningless two-out run in the 9th for the 3-1 final. Luckily, I missed the ending because I attended a San Antonio Missions game with another owner in my Strat league who, moved here last year. They also lost, but I would recommend picking up Dexter Fowler from the Rockies' organization in your next draft.
The losses dropped the Mets to 2-3, a half-game back of the Braves and Marlins. The Phillies did not distinguish themselves over the weekend either, losing two of three to Cincinnati. We get the Phils at home tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday after an off-day today. Mike Pelfrey gets the Tuesday start, and thank goodness it's not at Citizen's Bank Park. ESPN has Figueroa starting against Milwaukee on Friday night. Wow, this is not looking very pleasant. I'm starting to resign myself to a .500 season if Pedro stays on the DL or is as ineffective as he was for the three-plus innings he did pitch. And I'm also thinking that .500 might be good enough to make the playoffs in this very poor division.
Saturday's game started out fairly well, with the Mets tying the game at 1-1 in the second on an Angel "Godless" Pagan fielder's choice. The game proceeded squarely downhill after that, and never recovered. John Maine nearly wriggled out of a jam in the 3rd, but then gave up a two-out two-run single to Matt Diaz. He yielded another two-out RBI hit in the 4th, this time to Mark Teixeira, to make it 4-1.
The Mets briefly made a comeback, getting to within one run at 4-3 on a RBI single by Reyes and a run-scoring groundout by Castillo. Maine gave way to Joe Smith, who along with Scott Schoeneweis gave up another run in the 6th to make it 5-3. It looked like the Mets might do some damage off reliever Pete Moylan when Brian Schneider and pinch-hitter Endy Chavez both reached base in the 7th, but the top of the order fizzled out the rally, and Jorge Sosa came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th.
Since Sosa had a nice outing last time, I was pretty much prepared for the worst this time, and the worst pretty much occurred. It wasn't all Sosa's fault, only mostly. Brian McCann hit a double up the gap with one out, and then Jeff Francoeur popped up to short right for what should have been out number two. Reyes went back on it, Pagan came in, and Pagan failed to call off Reyes, who turned his back to the field and completely lost the ball. It fell in for a single, moving McCann to third. Fill-in second basemen Martin Prado drew an unconscionable walk, and was followed by pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson, the real second baseman. Johnson showed why he is the regular, hitting a pinch-hit grand slam deep into the right field stands, effectively ending the game. It did for me, anyway, as I turned it off and got on with my life. The Mets added a couple of runs off of Royce Ring, and the Braves followed with a couple off of Nelson Figueroa to make the final 11-5.
Sunday's game matched aces John Smoltz and Johan Santana. The two pitchers posted zeroes until the bottom of the third, when Yunel Escobar doubled in Mark Kotsay to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Smoltz was finished after 5 shutout innings, and once again I had some hopes that the Mets could have some fun with the Braves bullpen, but it wasn't to be. Blaine Boyer, Pete Moylan, and Will Ohman, not exactly names to be feared, held the Mets scoreless for three innings. Meanwhile, Aaron Heilman relieved a valiant Santana and gave up a two-run bomb to Teixeira in the 8th to put the game out of reach. Braves closer Rafael Soriano allowed a meaningless two-out run in the 9th for the 3-1 final. Luckily, I missed the ending because I attended a San Antonio Missions game with another owner in my Strat league who, moved here last year. They also lost, but I would recommend picking up Dexter Fowler from the Rockies' organization in your next draft.
The losses dropped the Mets to 2-3, a half-game back of the Braves and Marlins. The Phillies did not distinguish themselves over the weekend either, losing two of three to Cincinnati. We get the Phils at home tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday after an off-day today. Mike Pelfrey gets the Tuesday start, and thank goodness it's not at Citizen's Bank Park. ESPN has Figueroa starting against Milwaukee on Friday night. Wow, this is not looking very pleasant. I'm starting to resign myself to a .500 season if Pedro stays on the DL or is as ineffective as he was for the three-plus innings he did pitch. And I'm also thinking that .500 might be good enough to make the playoffs in this very poor division.
Friday, April 04, 2008
MLB PREDICTIONS - WRONG OR YOUR MONEY BACK
Yes, it's back, by popular (read: my own) demand, TCP's annual MLB Predictions. Participate in the Moral Imperatives, if you dare. Simply list the winners of all 6 divisions, the 2 wildcard teams, and how the playoffs will play, um, off, plus any other happenings that might, um, happen. Then I will ridicule you. Start ridiculing me...now!
NL East....Phillies. Oh, how I hate to make this prediction. I was a Mets fan for the first 22 years of my life, moved to Illinois and became a White Sox fan, moved to Houston and became an Astros fan, and then moved to Pennsylvania and became a Phillies fan. Then Ed Wade hired one too many 40-year old relievers, MLB.tv came into existence, and Brett Myers beat his wife and Phillies President Bill Giles apologized to him for letting her get in the way of his fist, and I went back to being a Mets fan. Then Jimmy Rollins turned into the second coming of Ernie Banks, and the Phillies are good now. Meanwhile, the Mets appear to believe that they are in an over-40 Latino-only league. The Braves have cut costs to the bone and will play Mark Kotsay in CF, who has more back problems than the Mandelbaum family on Seinfeld. The Marlins would LOVE to have the Braves salary structure, and should enjoy some peace and quiet at their home games. The Nats built a new stadium, which if nothing else, should be cheaper than their last new stadium, the Stade Olympique, which Montrealers are still paying for even though it is now used mostly for the occasional Rush concert.
NL Central...Cubs. Ah, the Audacity of Hope! Comically named Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome (the crowd chants Fuk-U!, Fuk-U!) joins this band of chronic fan-letter-downers for their 100th Anniversary non-World-Series-winning campaign. But they should make the playoffs in the Weakest Division In Baseball (c). The Brewers will find a way to blow it again, as Ben Sheets comes down with Smallpox or possibly Diphtheria. The Reds should be improved, but they are still the Reds. The Astros hired Ed Wade as their GM, so watch out at the 59 Diner for a phalanx of relievers coming in for the early bird special. The Cards have one pitcher in RF and another pitcher batting eighth, signaling their complete surrender. The Pirates can't even get "Talk Like A Pirate Day" scheduled until they are already out of it by 40 games.
NL West...Diamondbacks. These are the guys who haven't changed their name to be politically correct. I guess they could take out the "Diamond" to be sensitive to African tribal conflicts. They won it last year with a bunch of guys that had to get permission slips from their parents to make road trips. I don't expect them to get any worse. The Padres rid themselves of one Giles brother, but are still subsidizing the other one's declining years for some reason. The Dodgers have Joe Torre, who will suddenly become a much worse manager now that he doesn't have a $200 million payroll. The Rockies, as often happens to World Series losers, will slip back to reality, probably because of a humidor malfunction. The Giants have the worst lineup since Saturday night on ABC in 1976 (Dave Roberts is "Holmes & Yo-Yo", and Ray Durham is "Mr T & Tina").
NL Wild Card...Padres
NL Playoffs...D'Backs beat Phillies, Cubs beat Padres. D'Backs beat Cubs when a female Chicago mental patient dressed as Beatrix Kiddo from "Kill Bill" wielding a samurai sword runs onto the field during Game 7 and causes Fukudome to drop a crucial pop fly. The Cubs bullpen will then give up 18 runs.
AL East...Red Sox. I'm a Yankee despiser going way back, so there doesn't need to be any other reason, but now that Manny is doing yoga, the chakras will be opened up in Fenway like nobody's business. The Yankees will revert to the 70's as Hank Steinbrenner takes full control. He'll try to start a running feud with Bobby Abreu, but unlike Reggie Jackson, Abreu will barely notice, or care. The Rays, who DID change their name to be politically correct, will still not be any good, but they will be better than the Blue Jays and way better than the Orioles, who should change everything about their franchise except their name (and ballpark) immediately.
AL Central...Tigers. The Motor City Kitties went out and got Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins for a bunch of minor leaguers. Detroit hasn't seen a knee-capping like that since Nancy Kerrigan. The Indians (the guys who should really be changing their names), will continue to field a team with a guy nicknamed Pronk. The White Sox will cause manager Ozzie Guillen to finally become unable to utter anything besides unintelligible bilingual profanity. The Twins will discover that the Mets farm system wasn't any good BEFORE they traded Johan Santana to acquire it. The Royals will experience another year in a rebuilding process that began shortly after the retirement of George Brett.
AL West...Angels. No more team name jokes, we've hit our quota. Los Angeles De Los Angeles De Anaheim (ok, one more) has a four-man outfield of Garrett Anderson, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, and Gary Matthews, Jr., which would be great if they were playing in a beer league on Tuesday nights, but not so good for the majors. They'll figure it out enough to beat the likes of the Mariners, Athletics and Rangers, who don't have four decent outfielders between them. The Rangers are just hoping George W. Bush doesn't go back to being their owner in his post-White House years.
Al Wild Card...Yankees
AL Playoffs...Red Sox beat Tigers, Angels beat Yankees. Red Sox beat Angels as Sox fans, instead of singing "Sweet Caroline" during the middle of the 8th inning, take to reciting passages of the Bhagavad Gita.
World Series...D'Backs beat Red Sox, despite the fact that the latter parts of the games are past most of their bed times.
NL East....Phillies. Oh, how I hate to make this prediction. I was a Mets fan for the first 22 years of my life, moved to Illinois and became a White Sox fan, moved to Houston and became an Astros fan, and then moved to Pennsylvania and became a Phillies fan. Then Ed Wade hired one too many 40-year old relievers, MLB.tv came into existence, and Brett Myers beat his wife and Phillies President Bill Giles apologized to him for letting her get in the way of his fist, and I went back to being a Mets fan. Then Jimmy Rollins turned into the second coming of Ernie Banks, and the Phillies are good now. Meanwhile, the Mets appear to believe that they are in an over-40 Latino-only league. The Braves have cut costs to the bone and will play Mark Kotsay in CF, who has more back problems than the Mandelbaum family on Seinfeld. The Marlins would LOVE to have the Braves salary structure, and should enjoy some peace and quiet at their home games. The Nats built a new stadium, which if nothing else, should be cheaper than their last new stadium, the Stade Olympique, which Montrealers are still paying for even though it is now used mostly for the occasional Rush concert.
NL Central...Cubs. Ah, the Audacity of Hope! Comically named Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome (the crowd chants Fuk-U!, Fuk-U!) joins this band of chronic fan-letter-downers for their 100th Anniversary non-World-Series-winning campaign. But they should make the playoffs in the Weakest Division In Baseball (c). The Brewers will find a way to blow it again, as Ben Sheets comes down with Smallpox or possibly Diphtheria. The Reds should be improved, but they are still the Reds. The Astros hired Ed Wade as their GM, so watch out at the 59 Diner for a phalanx of relievers coming in for the early bird special. The Cards have one pitcher in RF and another pitcher batting eighth, signaling their complete surrender. The Pirates can't even get "Talk Like A Pirate Day" scheduled until they are already out of it by 40 games.
NL West...Diamondbacks. These are the guys who haven't changed their name to be politically correct. I guess they could take out the "Diamond" to be sensitive to African tribal conflicts. They won it last year with a bunch of guys that had to get permission slips from their parents to make road trips. I don't expect them to get any worse. The Padres rid themselves of one Giles brother, but are still subsidizing the other one's declining years for some reason. The Dodgers have Joe Torre, who will suddenly become a much worse manager now that he doesn't have a $200 million payroll. The Rockies, as often happens to World Series losers, will slip back to reality, probably because of a humidor malfunction. The Giants have the worst lineup since Saturday night on ABC in 1976 (Dave Roberts is "Holmes & Yo-Yo", and Ray Durham is "Mr T & Tina").
NL Wild Card...Padres
NL Playoffs...D'Backs beat Phillies, Cubs beat Padres. D'Backs beat Cubs when a female Chicago mental patient dressed as Beatrix Kiddo from "Kill Bill" wielding a samurai sword runs onto the field during Game 7 and causes Fukudome to drop a crucial pop fly. The Cubs bullpen will then give up 18 runs.
AL East...Red Sox. I'm a Yankee despiser going way back, so there doesn't need to be any other reason, but now that Manny is doing yoga, the chakras will be opened up in Fenway like nobody's business. The Yankees will revert to the 70's as Hank Steinbrenner takes full control. He'll try to start a running feud with Bobby Abreu, but unlike Reggie Jackson, Abreu will barely notice, or care. The Rays, who DID change their name to be politically correct, will still not be any good, but they will be better than the Blue Jays and way better than the Orioles, who should change everything about their franchise except their name (and ballpark) immediately.
AL Central...Tigers. The Motor City Kitties went out and got Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins for a bunch of minor leaguers. Detroit hasn't seen a knee-capping like that since Nancy Kerrigan. The Indians (the guys who should really be changing their names), will continue to field a team with a guy nicknamed Pronk. The White Sox will cause manager Ozzie Guillen to finally become unable to utter anything besides unintelligible bilingual profanity. The Twins will discover that the Mets farm system wasn't any good BEFORE they traded Johan Santana to acquire it. The Royals will experience another year in a rebuilding process that began shortly after the retirement of George Brett.
AL West...Angels. No more team name jokes, we've hit our quota. Los Angeles De Los Angeles De Anaheim (ok, one more) has a four-man outfield of Garrett Anderson, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, and Gary Matthews, Jr., which would be great if they were playing in a beer league on Tuesday nights, but not so good for the majors. They'll figure it out enough to beat the likes of the Mariners, Athletics and Rangers, who don't have four decent outfielders between them. The Rangers are just hoping George W. Bush doesn't go back to being their owner in his post-White House years.
Al Wild Card...Yankees
AL Playoffs...Red Sox beat Tigers, Angels beat Yankees. Red Sox beat Angels as Sox fans, instead of singing "Sweet Caroline" during the middle of the 8th inning, take to reciting passages of the Bhagavad Gita.
World Series...D'Backs beat Red Sox, despite the fact that the latter parts of the games are past most of their bed times.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
The Mets were off last night, and moved up to a half-game behind the Nats, who dropped an extra-inning "Citizens Bank Special" to the Phillies, 8-7.
Meanwhile, I got word that I am headed to Los Angeles during the last week of April and the first week of May, when by happenstance, the Amazin's will be in town. I am so there. Photos and a full accounting of Dodger Dog delectability will follow.
The Braves are up next for a weekend set leading up to the final Opening Day at Shea against Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, I got word that I am headed to Los Angeles during the last week of April and the first week of May, when by happenstance, the Amazin's will be in town. I am so there. Photos and a full accounting of Dodger Dog delectability will follow.
The Braves are up next for a weekend set leading up to the final Opening Day at Shea against Philadelphia.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
WRIGHTING THE SHIP
The Mets improved to 2-1 with a 13-0 smackdown of the Marlins. David Wright singled, doubled, homered, and generally made us all feel goooood. The homer was a majestic objet d'art, with Wright waiting perfectly on a hanging curve from Lee Gardner and making every millimeter of the sweet spot of the bat meet of the baseball. It was a no-doubter even through the blurry haze of MLB.TV.
Carlos Beltran now leads the civilized planet in extra-base hits, adding three more doubles last night. One of the doubles was a home run that crew chief Rick Reed (not the ex-Met scab pitcher) let himself be talked out of. The ball bounced squarely of a railing about three feet beyond the fence and came back into play. Reed initially signalled for a homer, but after a conference with the other blind bats, who were even further from the play than Reed, umping second base, was, he changed it to a double. It's a play replay was made for. Someday, Bud will embrace this new-found video thingy he's heard so much about.
Oliver Perez went six shutout innings, and then Pedro replacement Nelson Figueroa, Pedro Feliciano, and Daddy Wags finished up. Ol' Pete had his MRI in New York, and he'll be out the obligatory "4 to 6 weeks", meaning he'll be back when he's damn well ready. Pedro tends to take his time with pretty much every aspect of his life, so I'm think we'll see him back on the mound in early June. That will leave El Duque and Mike Pelfrey to get way too many starts. Luckily, the Phillies' bullpen is a shambles and the Braves have no pitching after Smoltz and Hudson, so I think we'll muddle through, at least as long as Wright and Beltran stay this molten, anyway. I'll think I'll watch that Wright homer again on the highlight video. Mmm, mmm, gooooood.
Carlos Beltran now leads the civilized planet in extra-base hits, adding three more doubles last night. One of the doubles was a home run that crew chief Rick Reed (not the ex-Met scab pitcher) let himself be talked out of. The ball bounced squarely of a railing about three feet beyond the fence and came back into play. Reed initially signalled for a homer, but after a conference with the other blind bats, who were even further from the play than Reed, umping second base, was, he changed it to a double. It's a play replay was made for. Someday, Bud will embrace this new-found video thingy he's heard so much about.
Oliver Perez went six shutout innings, and then Pedro replacement Nelson Figueroa, Pedro Feliciano, and Daddy Wags finished up. Ol' Pete had his MRI in New York, and he'll be out the obligatory "4 to 6 weeks", meaning he'll be back when he's damn well ready. Pedro tends to take his time with pretty much every aspect of his life, so I'm think we'll see him back on the mound in early June. That will leave El Duque and Mike Pelfrey to get way too many starts. Luckily, the Phillies' bullpen is a shambles and the Braves have no pitching after Smoltz and Hudson, so I think we'll muddle through, at least as long as Wright and Beltran stay this molten, anyway. I'll think I'll watch that Wright homer again on the highlight video. Mmm, mmm, gooooood.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
OH, MY HAMMY!
That didn't go well.
Pedro Martinez' healthy period lasted all of three and one-third innings in 2008. After inducing a grounder from Matt Treanor (how's that name for irony?), Petey grabbed the back of his leg and called out the Mets trainers. ESPN is reporting that he heard a "pop" in his hamstring. It might have been champagne coming from Phillies' and Braves' clubhouses.
Pedro wasn't exactly looking like Johan Santana at the time, ceding homers to Dan Uggla and Luis Gonzalez in his brief stint. According to the fine Marlins broadcast team of Rich Waltz and Tom Seaver-killer Tommy Hutton, Luis Gonzalez is third on the all time list for homers by a left fielder (only Mr. Bonds and Mr. Williams are his betters), which was pretty shocking to me at least. He still throws like a particularly unathletic girl.
The Mets erased a 4-0 deficit to tie the game, mostly with walks, singles, and sac flies. Marlins starter Rick Vandenhurk was no Dutch Master, throwing 76 pitches in 3-plus innings of work and giving up three of the four runs. That left the decision to the bullpens, and both were outstanding. After Renyel Pinto bailed out Vandenhurk in the third inning, the rest of Florida's pen yielded only a questionable infield hit to Brian Schneider for the rest of the game. It's a shame that the Marlins will have to wear these guys' arms out, because they look pretty good when fresh. The Mets pen was equally as good, especially Jorge Sosa, who finished up for Pedro in the third and went two more scoreless frames.
The 4-4 score held until the bottom of the 10th, after I had given up and gone to bed. Fifth Met reliever Matt Wise served up a nice fat one to someone called Robert Andino, who smacked it over the scoreboard in left field for the game-winner. All 27 Marlins fans left at the game drove home through the chowder-like south Florida humidity happy, and the Mets dropped to 1-1.
I was watching the game, as I will most games this year, on MLB.TV. I chose MLB.TV over ExtraInnings from the cable provider because I travel so much. At home, I have a 42" LCD TV, to which I have connected a spare PC in the VGA input of the TV. It works great, and I love being able to check my Strat team's live stats between innings. I bought the Premium package to take advantage of their higher resolutions. This year, they upped the highest resolution to 1.2 megabits, but I ended up watching most of it at 800 kilobits because the 1.2 feed kept freezing up at least twice per half-inning. MLB makes you download some kind of "web accelerator" if you want to watch the 1.2 feed, and as soon as I saw that, I knew it wasn't going to be very good. I can only hope Time-Warner continues to improve their bandwidth up to broadcast quality, because this accelerator business will never cut it. Maybe in 2013 I'll get a decent picture.
The Mets take on the Istiophoridae again today, with Oliver Perez matching left arms with rookie Andrew Miller. Miller is on my Strat team, so I fully expect a thumping from the Mets' bats. I only hope young Andrew can keep it from turning Buerhle-esque.
Pedro Martinez' healthy period lasted all of three and one-third innings in 2008. After inducing a grounder from Matt Treanor (how's that name for irony?), Petey grabbed the back of his leg and called out the Mets trainers. ESPN is reporting that he heard a "pop" in his hamstring. It might have been champagne coming from Phillies' and Braves' clubhouses.
Pedro wasn't exactly looking like Johan Santana at the time, ceding homers to Dan Uggla and Luis Gonzalez in his brief stint. According to the fine Marlins broadcast team of Rich Waltz and Tom Seaver-killer Tommy Hutton, Luis Gonzalez is third on the all time list for homers by a left fielder (only Mr. Bonds and Mr. Williams are his betters), which was pretty shocking to me at least. He still throws like a particularly unathletic girl.
The Mets erased a 4-0 deficit to tie the game, mostly with walks, singles, and sac flies. Marlins starter Rick Vandenhurk was no Dutch Master, throwing 76 pitches in 3-plus innings of work and giving up three of the four runs. That left the decision to the bullpens, and both were outstanding. After Renyel Pinto bailed out Vandenhurk in the third inning, the rest of Florida's pen yielded only a questionable infield hit to Brian Schneider for the rest of the game. It's a shame that the Marlins will have to wear these guys' arms out, because they look pretty good when fresh. The Mets pen was equally as good, especially Jorge Sosa, who finished up for Pedro in the third and went two more scoreless frames.
The 4-4 score held until the bottom of the 10th, after I had given up and gone to bed. Fifth Met reliever Matt Wise served up a nice fat one to someone called Robert Andino, who smacked it over the scoreboard in left field for the game-winner. All 27 Marlins fans left at the game drove home through the chowder-like south Florida humidity happy, and the Mets dropped to 1-1.
I was watching the game, as I will most games this year, on MLB.TV. I chose MLB.TV over ExtraInnings from the cable provider because I travel so much. At home, I have a 42" LCD TV, to which I have connected a spare PC in the VGA input of the TV. It works great, and I love being able to check my Strat team's live stats between innings. I bought the Premium package to take advantage of their higher resolutions. This year, they upped the highest resolution to 1.2 megabits, but I ended up watching most of it at 800 kilobits because the 1.2 feed kept freezing up at least twice per half-inning. MLB makes you download some kind of "web accelerator" if you want to watch the 1.2 feed, and as soon as I saw that, I knew it wasn't going to be very good. I can only hope Time-Warner continues to improve their bandwidth up to broadcast quality, because this accelerator business will never cut it. Maybe in 2013 I'll get a decent picture.
The Mets take on the Istiophoridae again today, with Oliver Perez matching left arms with rookie Andrew Miller. Miller is on my Strat team, so I fully expect a thumping from the Mets' bats. I only hope young Andrew can keep it from turning Buerhle-esque.
Monday, March 31, 2008
OPEN SEASON ON MARLIN
Oh, yeah, you know it, I'm baseball blogging again. I gotta keep this thing on life support. It's how I know I'm alive.
I didn't see today's Mets game, it being an afternoon tilt and me being a person who works at that time. I noticed from ESPN GameCast that the Mets put up a 6-spot in the 4th, with my man crush David Wright capping off the scoring with a bases-clearing double. Johan put in a decent effort, striking out 8 in 7 innings. The bullpen was scoreless, which is a good sign.
The Marlins have Luis Gonzalez. In right field! Dude has an arm like a paraplegic. In my advanced state of decrepitude, I could go first to third on him, on a line drive hit right at him, with me carrying two bowling balls. What are they thinking?
I didn't see today's Mets game, it being an afternoon tilt and me being a person who works at that time. I noticed from ESPN GameCast that the Mets put up a 6-spot in the 4th, with my man crush David Wright capping off the scoring with a bases-clearing double. Johan put in a decent effort, striking out 8 in 7 innings. The bullpen was scoreless, which is a good sign.
The Marlins have Luis Gonzalez. In right field! Dude has an arm like a paraplegic. In my advanced state of decrepitude, I could go first to third on him, on a line drive hit right at him, with me carrying two bowling balls. What are they thinking?
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