This will be very quick. I'm in Hawaii and jet-lagged, and I'd rather be looking at the ocean out my window, frankly.
Friday: the Mets lose 3-2 on a 9th inning 2-out single by a kama'aina, Shane Victorino. Maybe I'll go fire eggs at his porch.
Saturday: the Mets break open a tight game with 6 runs off a suddenly mortal Phils bullpen, win it 9-4.
Sunday: Daddy Wags blows a 2-0 lead in the 9th on a Jayson Werth homer, but Fernando Tatis picks him up with a 2-run shot of his own, as the Mets prevail 4-2 in 12 innings.
Monday: Wagner nearly blows another one, but the Mets scrape by with a 10-9 victory after leading 8-0 at one stage.
Tuesday: Mike Pelfrey dominates the Giants, as the Amazins beat San Fran 7-0.
Four wins, one loss, and they should have won that one too. The Mets are now only one and half behind Philly, and only one in the loss column. The only bad news is that Ryan Church is back on the DL with migraines, likely from his two concussions.
Ok, back to staring at the ocean...
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
THE MAUL OF TROY
Last night added to the growing pile of evidence that the Mets of 2008 don't have what it takes to be champions, as if we didn't know that for certain already. They took a 7-5 lead over the Cardinals to the bottom of the 8th, and lost the game in regulation on homers by nepotism beneficiary Chris Duncan in the 8th and in the 9th by Blue Jay cast-off Troy Glaus, who had also homered in the first.
Pedro Feliciano did the honors against Duncan, and Carlos Muniz (?) gave up the game-winner. What on earth is Carlos Muniz doing in a high leverage situation? It was probably because, well, he was the last and only option. Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, and Feliciano had already appeared, and Scotty Schoeneweis is a lefty and has been terrible of late. Jerry Manuel was following the conventional wisdom of saving your closer on the road, which I think is stupid. You can't win it in the 10th if you give up a run in the 9th. I'd rather take my chances with Muniz with an opportunity to have the lead than with the game tied. Duaner Sanchez was also in the pen, but I guess he wasn't available after appearing last night. The real killer was Feliciano allowing the home run to Duncan, who was slugging .179 with ZERO homers against left-hand pitchers coming into the game. I missed the depressing doings because of a rain delay that pushed the final way past my bedtime, but, man, that must have some kind of cookie that Feliciano served up to Duncan.
The first part of the game was pretty encouraging, except for the fact that Pedro Martinez got shelled again. His career is in danger of an unsightly and premature ending if he can't get it together soon. The Mets were down 4-0 before the last cars had exited I-70, thanks to Glaus' first home run and a two-run single by Rick Ankiel. Ankiel added his second dinger in two games in the fifth to add to Petey's woes. In between, though, the Mets had once again staged a comeback to tie the game, with Damion Easley getting a big two-out single in the 3rd with the bases loaded to score two. The rain started in the 4th, and I turned it off and went to bed.
After Ankiel had made it 5-4, the Mets jumped all over the once great Mark Mulder in the 7th. Mulder had a miserable outing, giving up hits to Carlos Delgado and Ryan Church, throwing a wild pitch, and hitting Brian Schneider. That Billy Beane, he sure knows when to cut a guy loose. The Mets posted three runs in the inning, and looked to be on their way. So much for that.
The Phillies won again, and appear to be over their recent outbreak of suck. We've had that disease from the outset, and no cure is evident.
Pedro Feliciano did the honors against Duncan, and Carlos Muniz (?) gave up the game-winner. What on earth is Carlos Muniz doing in a high leverage situation? It was probably because, well, he was the last and only option. Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, and Feliciano had already appeared, and Scotty Schoeneweis is a lefty and has been terrible of late. Jerry Manuel was following the conventional wisdom of saving your closer on the road, which I think is stupid. You can't win it in the 10th if you give up a run in the 9th. I'd rather take my chances with Muniz with an opportunity to have the lead than with the game tied. Duaner Sanchez was also in the pen, but I guess he wasn't available after appearing last night. The real killer was Feliciano allowing the home run to Duncan, who was slugging .179 with ZERO homers against left-hand pitchers coming into the game. I missed the depressing doings because of a rain delay that pushed the final way past my bedtime, but, man, that must have some kind of cookie that Feliciano served up to Duncan.
The first part of the game was pretty encouraging, except for the fact that Pedro Martinez got shelled again. His career is in danger of an unsightly and premature ending if he can't get it together soon. The Mets were down 4-0 before the last cars had exited I-70, thanks to Glaus' first home run and a two-run single by Rick Ankiel. Ankiel added his second dinger in two games in the fifth to add to Petey's woes. In between, though, the Mets had once again staged a comeback to tie the game, with Damion Easley getting a big two-out single in the 3rd with the bases loaded to score two. The rain started in the 4th, and I turned it off and went to bed.
After Ankiel had made it 5-4, the Mets jumped all over the once great Mark Mulder in the 7th. Mulder had a miserable outing, giving up hits to Carlos Delgado and Ryan Church, throwing a wild pitch, and hitting Brian Schneider. That Billy Beane, he sure knows when to cut a guy loose. The Mets posted three runs in the inning, and looked to be on their way. So much for that.
The Phillies won again, and appear to be over their recent outbreak of suck. We've had that disease from the outset, and no cure is evident.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
TONY, ARM US!
That was unexpected. The Mets called up retread starter Tony Armas, Jr. from New Orleans to fill in because of the Friday doubleheader with the Yanks, and he wasn't bad. In fact, I think Oliver Perez should start thinking about whether or not he likes hot sauce on his oyster po-boys.
The Mets prevailed 7-4 against the Cards, thanks in large part to Mr. Armas, Jr. He got off to a slow start, giving up a no-doubter two-run shot to Rick Ankiel in the first and another run on a Skip Schumaker double in the second. The Mets clawed their way back to a tie with a run in the 2nd and a Ramon Castro two-run double in the 4th. In the 5th, Cards pitcher Todd Wellemeyer's wheels fell off, and the Mets scored three runs on four hits to knock him out of the game. Armas, meanwhile, settled in and did not allow another run until the 6th. David Wright capped off the Mets scoring in the top of the 6th with a towering home run into the bullpen in left. Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Duaner Sanchez, and Billy Wagner each got some solid work in to end the game.
No ground was gained in the East as the Phillies clubbed around the Braves, after sending noted sensitive man Brett Myers to AAA Lehigh Valley. Watch out, Allentown. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. Or drunk.
The Mets prevailed 7-4 against the Cards, thanks in large part to Mr. Armas, Jr. He got off to a slow start, giving up a no-doubter two-run shot to Rick Ankiel in the first and another run on a Skip Schumaker double in the second. The Mets clawed their way back to a tie with a run in the 2nd and a Ramon Castro two-run double in the 4th. In the 5th, Cards pitcher Todd Wellemeyer's wheels fell off, and the Mets scored three runs on four hits to knock him out of the game. Armas, meanwhile, settled in and did not allow another run until the 6th. David Wright capped off the Mets scoring in the top of the 6th with a towering home run into the bullpen in left. Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Duaner Sanchez, and Billy Wagner each got some solid work in to end the game.
No ground was gained in the East as the Phillies clubbed around the Braves, after sending noted sensitive man Brett Myers to AAA Lehigh Valley. Watch out, Allentown. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. Or drunk.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
BEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS
I hope the Mets' plane makes it to St. Louis today. Oh, you mean they were there last night? Could have fooled me.
Kyle Lohse, who admittedly has received some Dave Duncan magic, but still, is not the second coming of Bob Gibson, stymied the so-called Mets on five hits over seven innings, and the Cardinals scored on the seemingly absent New Yorkers in each of the first five innings for a 7-1 drubbing. If it wasn't for Rick Ankiel throwing one of his trademarked wild pitches (and heaven knows, the Mets have seen that before), the Mets would have been shut out completely, and had very little to prove their presence at Busch Stadium.
John Maine had an Oliver Perez-like outing, with bad command and bad location, which meshed well with the Mets bad defense. David Wright needs to surrender his Gold Glove to authorities immediately. He caused one of the runs in the 4th by making a ridiculously conceived throw to first on an Aaron Miles grounder that even a post-knee-surgery Tiger Woods could have beaten out. The throw sailed into foul territory behind the bag, where $6 million man Luis Castillo was not backing up, allowing Miles to go to second. Phat Albert Pujols immediately bounced a single up the middle to score Miles to make it 5-0 and end any serious hopes of a Met victory. Prior to that, in the 2nd, The $6MMan, as I like to call him, let an easy two hopper by Skip Schumaker go right through his $6 million legs to allow Yadier Molina to score from second with the third Cardinal run.
The loss put us three back in the loss column behind the Phillies. We're still one behind them in games played, and will be up through the All-Star break. All the good teams are in the NL Central this year, which leaves the East and West up for grabs. If anybody can put together a 2007 Rockies-like streak at any point, the division will be theirs. I'd settle for a two-game winning streak at this point.
Kyle Lohse, who admittedly has received some Dave Duncan magic, but still, is not the second coming of Bob Gibson, stymied the so-called Mets on five hits over seven innings, and the Cardinals scored on the seemingly absent New Yorkers in each of the first five innings for a 7-1 drubbing. If it wasn't for Rick Ankiel throwing one of his trademarked wild pitches (and heaven knows, the Mets have seen that before), the Mets would have been shut out completely, and had very little to prove their presence at Busch Stadium.
John Maine had an Oliver Perez-like outing, with bad command and bad location, which meshed well with the Mets bad defense. David Wright needs to surrender his Gold Glove to authorities immediately. He caused one of the runs in the 4th by making a ridiculously conceived throw to first on an Aaron Miles grounder that even a post-knee-surgery Tiger Woods could have beaten out. The throw sailed into foul territory behind the bag, where $6 million man Luis Castillo was not backing up, allowing Miles to go to second. Phat Albert Pujols immediately bounced a single up the middle to score Miles to make it 5-0 and end any serious hopes of a Met victory. Prior to that, in the 2nd, The $6MMan, as I like to call him, let an easy two hopper by Skip Schumaker go right through his $6 million legs to allow Yadier Molina to score from second with the third Cardinal run.
The loss put us three back in the loss column behind the Phillies. We're still one behind them in games played, and will be up through the All-Star break. All the good teams are in the NL Central this year, which leaves the East and West up for grabs. If anybody can put together a 2007 Rockies-like streak at any point, the division will be theirs. I'd settle for a two-game winning streak at this point.
Monday, June 30, 2008
FOUR OUT OF SIX AIN'T BAD
The Mets may finish third or fourth, they may win only 75 or 80 games, Oliver Perez may frustrate the hell out of us, Petey may be on his last legs, Jerry Manuel may not be any better than Willie Randolph, Omar Minaya may continue to overvalue aging guys from the Dominican, the Wilpons may continue to meddle and sow dysfunction, and Luis Castillo may wear out a path with grounders to shortstop, but WE BEAT THE YANKS 4 GAMES TO 2! Suck it, Yankees!
Game 4 of the Subway Series was played Friday afternoon at The Stade, a make-up game for an earlier rainout. The Mets got out to 1-0 lead early on a gentlemen named Dan Giese whose likeness will not be appearing on any monuments, but gave the run right back in the bottom of the first. Carlos Beltran lined a two-run homer into the short porch in right in the 3rd to make it 3-1, but once again, the Mets couldn't consolidate, as Mike Pelfrey allowed a bunch of dinks and dunks for three more Yankee runs. Giese got into more trouble in the fifth, loading the bases on two walks and a David Wright single. That brought in another non-immortal, Edwar (My Parents Forgot The Last D) Ramirez. He allowed a fielders choice to Beltran, and then Carlos Delgado smacked a double that Bobby Abreu chased like a radioactive rabbit in the right field corner as two more runs scored.
Ramirez started the 6th, but gave up a single to Brian Schneider and a walk to Jose Reyes and was relieved by Ross Ohlendorf, who may not even have a uniform number for all I know. Wright singled to drive in Schneider and then Beltran walked, setting the stage again for Delgado, who hit a Mantle-like blast into the deep recesses of the right-center bleachers, possibly conking one of those "roll call" idiots right on his malformed noggin. That made the score 11-4, and the competitive section of the game was over. Delgado added a three-run shot off LaTroy Hawkins in the 8th to make the final score 15-6. He finished with a team record 9 RBI.
The nightcap at Shea was an unfortunate mess. Pedro Martinez was once again solid for a few innings, and then completely jumped the rails and gave up a total of six runs over the last two and two-thirds he was in there. Reclamation project Sidney Ponson was fantastic for the Yankees, lasting six innings and allowing no runs on five hits and four walks. Scotty Schoeneweis had another in a series of bad games and gave up the last three runs as the Yanks won 9-0.
Thanks to the wunderkind of FOX and MLB, I was unable to watch Saturday's game. Instead I was forced to watch the Cubs and White Sox, presumably because I live west of the Mississippi. Of course, I didn't watch it, because I don't care about those teams, and thus missed all the lovely advertising. Here's an idea: I paid over $100 for MLB.TV, so how about you let me watch that, and you can include all the advertising you want? There's nothing else to do between innings anyway. No, instead, you drive away the very people you want to attract with a blackout. Good job!
I listened on WFAN, and was not pleased. Once again, the Mets couldn't score enough runs for Johan Santana, and lost for his fifth straight start. It started well, with Ramon Castro hitting a titanic homer to left center off Andy Pettitte in the 2nd. That was the last lead the Mets would have, though. Santana started off the 4th with walks to Jeter and Abreu, and both players eventually scored. The Yanks added a crucial insurance run in the 6th when Robinson Cano hit a two-out single with the bases loaded to score A-Rod, who of course had also walked. David Wright led off the bottom of the 6th with a home run, but it was exactly two batters too late. If the Johan had gotten Cano out, Wright's homer would have tied it, and the Mets may not have seen Mo Rivera, but as it was, they did, and they were baffled like most everyone else is. 3-2 Yanks.
Sunday's game was on TBS, for some reason, so I got to enjoy some hi-def action for a change. Jason Giambi's mustache looks even more spectacularly 70's-porn-ier in HD. Ron Darling's pre-game chiron asked, "Which Oliver Perez will show up?" It turned out to be Gallant and not Goofus for a change, and the Yanks had no answers. Perez plowed through the Bomber order, walking none and allowing only three hits and a run (a huge Wilson Betemit homer) in seven innings. Pedro Feliciano had a 1-2-3 8th, and Billy Wagner made some hearts palpitate by allowing a leadoff single to Peter Eater Jeter, but escaped unharmed for his 18th save. Delgado hit another home run in the winning effort. The final score was a tidy 3-1.
The Phillies lost a late game in Texas, dropping their lead over Florida to one game. Despite our under-.500 first half, we're still only three out. A couple good weeks, and we could take charge of this thing. Unfortunately, Petey is a shambles right now, Pelfrey and Perez are still not consistent, and Johan is not getting any run support. The offense has been picking up, but Alou is out indefinitely, and even though it was nice to get Ryan Church back, Trot Nixon and Endy Chavez are both lousy corner outfielders on offense. Maybe we can get Xavier Nady back from the Pirates, but I doubt it. Omar has traded every decent player away, so this is probably the team that we go with in the second half.
But we beat the Yankees 4 game to 2! 2008 isn't so bad after all.
Game 4 of the Subway Series was played Friday afternoon at The Stade, a make-up game for an earlier rainout. The Mets got out to 1-0 lead early on a gentlemen named Dan Giese whose likeness will not be appearing on any monuments, but gave the run right back in the bottom of the first. Carlos Beltran lined a two-run homer into the short porch in right in the 3rd to make it 3-1, but once again, the Mets couldn't consolidate, as Mike Pelfrey allowed a bunch of dinks and dunks for three more Yankee runs. Giese got into more trouble in the fifth, loading the bases on two walks and a David Wright single. That brought in another non-immortal, Edwar (My Parents Forgot The Last D) Ramirez. He allowed a fielders choice to Beltran, and then Carlos Delgado smacked a double that Bobby Abreu chased like a radioactive rabbit in the right field corner as two more runs scored.
Ramirez started the 6th, but gave up a single to Brian Schneider and a walk to Jose Reyes and was relieved by Ross Ohlendorf, who may not even have a uniform number for all I know. Wright singled to drive in Schneider and then Beltran walked, setting the stage again for Delgado, who hit a Mantle-like blast into the deep recesses of the right-center bleachers, possibly conking one of those "roll call" idiots right on his malformed noggin. That made the score 11-4, and the competitive section of the game was over. Delgado added a three-run shot off LaTroy Hawkins in the 8th to make the final score 15-6. He finished with a team record 9 RBI.
The nightcap at Shea was an unfortunate mess. Pedro Martinez was once again solid for a few innings, and then completely jumped the rails and gave up a total of six runs over the last two and two-thirds he was in there. Reclamation project Sidney Ponson was fantastic for the Yankees, lasting six innings and allowing no runs on five hits and four walks. Scotty Schoeneweis had another in a series of bad games and gave up the last three runs as the Yanks won 9-0.
Thanks to the wunderkind of FOX and MLB, I was unable to watch Saturday's game. Instead I was forced to watch the Cubs and White Sox, presumably because I live west of the Mississippi. Of course, I didn't watch it, because I don't care about those teams, and thus missed all the lovely advertising. Here's an idea: I paid over $100 for MLB.TV, so how about you let me watch that, and you can include all the advertising you want? There's nothing else to do between innings anyway. No, instead, you drive away the very people you want to attract with a blackout. Good job!
I listened on WFAN, and was not pleased. Once again, the Mets couldn't score enough runs for Johan Santana, and lost for his fifth straight start. It started well, with Ramon Castro hitting a titanic homer to left center off Andy Pettitte in the 2nd. That was the last lead the Mets would have, though. Santana started off the 4th with walks to Jeter and Abreu, and both players eventually scored. The Yanks added a crucial insurance run in the 6th when Robinson Cano hit a two-out single with the bases loaded to score A-Rod, who of course had also walked. David Wright led off the bottom of the 6th with a home run, but it was exactly two batters too late. If the Johan had gotten Cano out, Wright's homer would have tied it, and the Mets may not have seen Mo Rivera, but as it was, they did, and they were baffled like most everyone else is. 3-2 Yanks.
Sunday's game was on TBS, for some reason, so I got to enjoy some hi-def action for a change. Jason Giambi's mustache looks even more spectacularly 70's-porn-ier in HD. Ron Darling's pre-game chiron asked, "Which Oliver Perez will show up?" It turned out to be Gallant and not Goofus for a change, and the Yanks had no answers. Perez plowed through the Bomber order, walking none and allowing only three hits and a run (a huge Wilson Betemit homer) in seven innings. Pedro Feliciano had a 1-2-3 8th, and Billy Wagner made some hearts palpitate by allowing a leadoff single to Peter Eater Jeter, but escaped unharmed for his 18th save. Delgado hit another home run in the winning effort. The final score was a tidy 3-1.
The Phillies lost a late game in Texas, dropping their lead over Florida to one game. Despite our under-.500 first half, we're still only three out. A couple good weeks, and we could take charge of this thing. Unfortunately, Petey is a shambles right now, Pelfrey and Perez are still not consistent, and Johan is not getting any run support. The offense has been picking up, but Alou is out indefinitely, and even though it was nice to get Ryan Church back, Trot Nixon and Endy Chavez are both lousy corner outfielders on offense. Maybe we can get Xavier Nady back from the Pirates, but I doubt it. Omar has traded every decent player away, so this is probably the team that we go with in the second half.
But we beat the Yankees 4 game to 2! 2008 isn't so bad after all.
Friday, June 27, 2008
A.B.B. 130
With the Mets taking an off day on Thursday, let's focus on the Anybody But Bush race. Yesterday, Barack Obama met with former Democratic Party foe Hillary Clinton in the symbolically chosen town of Unity, New Hampshire. It's a good thing they didn't meet in Hillary's first choice, I Hate You And Everything You Stand For, North Dakota.
It's OK, it's a "Land of friendly people!"
Anyway, it's Obama vs. McCain, or Hussein vs. Bush Part II, if you listen to each one of their campaign staffs. Actually, Obama probably wouldn't want that matchup, based on what happened the first time. How are they doing? Let's run down the state polls.
Alabama - McCain safe
Alaska - McCain close
Arizona - McCain safe
Arkansas - McCain safe
California - Obama safe
Colorado - Obama close
Connecticut - Obama close
Delaware - Obama safe
D.C. - Obama safe
Florida - McCain safe
Georgia - Too close to call
Hawaii - Obama safe
Idaho - McCain safe
Illinois - Obama safe
Indiana - Too close to call
Iowa - Obama close
Kansas - McCain safe
Kentucky - McCain safe
Louisiana - McCain safe
Maine - Obama safe
Maryland - Obama safe
Massachusetts - Obama safe
Michigan - Obama close
Minnesota - Obama safe
Mississippi - McCain close
Missouri - McCain close
Montana - McCain close
Nebraska - McCain safe
Nevada - McCain close
New Hampshire - Obama safe
New Jersey - Obama safe
New Mexico - Obama close
New York - Obama safe
North Carolina - McCain close
North Dakota - McCain close
Ohio - Too close to call
Oklahoma - McCain safe
Oregon - Obama close
Pennsylvania - Obama close
Rhode Island - Obama safe
South Carolina - McCain safe
South Dakota - McCain safe
Tennessee - McCain safe
Texas - McCain close
Utah - McCain safe
Vermont - Obama safe
Virginia - Too close to call
Washington - Obama safe
West Virginia - McCain safe
Wisconsin - Obama safe
Wyoming - McCain safe
Tallying up the electoral votes, that gives us:
McCain safe - 126
McCain close - 80
Obama safe - 200
Obama close - 73
Too close to call - 59
If the election were held today, Obama would win with at least 273 electoral votes to a maximum of 265 for McCain. The battleground states appear to be Virginia, Indiana, Georgia and Ohio, but Obama would win even if he lost all four and maintained his advantage in the rest of the states where he is leading. And if these polls were even a semblance of reality, which we know they are not.
I would have to conclude from this cursory analysis that Obama will have to screw the pooch pretty badly to lose this election. He has 200 safe electoral votes to McCain's 126, which is an enormous cushion. With Obama's cash advantage by way of his decision to decline public funding, you would have to believe that he will only improve his numbers in the battleground states and possibly even turn one or two McCain-close states.
Obama has to watch out for Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado, Iowa, and New Mexico. These are all trending his way right now, but not by much. Pennsylvania and Oregon have been going Democratic in the past few elections, but both are high in a demographic he has struggled with, working class whites. Iowa, Colorado, and New Mexico have traditionally been Republican strongholds. If he has any more of these Reverend Wright flare-ups or other gaffes, all five of these states could go to McCain.
As for McCain, the fact that my home state of Texas is only in the "close" column says a lot about his candidacy. He has a tremendous amount of work to do, and it is difficult to imagine that he is up to the task. He'll have to turn at least a few of those five states I mentioned earlier, and he'll have to win Ohio, Virginia, and for heavens sake Georgia to have any chance. I can't believe Georgia is a battleground state. That might be apocryphal, but there are a large number of African Americans in increasingly prominent positions there, so it could be true.
It's OK, it's a "Land of friendly people!"
Anyway, it's Obama vs. McCain, or Hussein vs. Bush Part II, if you listen to each one of their campaign staffs. Actually, Obama probably wouldn't want that matchup, based on what happened the first time. How are they doing? Let's run down the state polls.
Alabama - McCain safe
Alaska - McCain close
Arizona - McCain safe
Arkansas - McCain safe
California - Obama safe
Colorado - Obama close
Connecticut - Obama close
Delaware - Obama safe
D.C. - Obama safe
Florida - McCain safe
Georgia - Too close to call
Hawaii - Obama safe
Idaho - McCain safe
Illinois - Obama safe
Indiana - Too close to call
Iowa - Obama close
Kansas - McCain safe
Kentucky - McCain safe
Louisiana - McCain safe
Maine - Obama safe
Maryland - Obama safe
Massachusetts - Obama safe
Michigan - Obama close
Minnesota - Obama safe
Mississippi - McCain close
Missouri - McCain close
Montana - McCain close
Nebraska - McCain safe
Nevada - McCain close
New Hampshire - Obama safe
New Jersey - Obama safe
New Mexico - Obama close
New York - Obama safe
North Carolina - McCain close
North Dakota - McCain close
Ohio - Too close to call
Oklahoma - McCain safe
Oregon - Obama close
Pennsylvania - Obama close
Rhode Island - Obama safe
South Carolina - McCain safe
South Dakota - McCain safe
Tennessee - McCain safe
Texas - McCain close
Utah - McCain safe
Vermont - Obama safe
Virginia - Too close to call
Washington - Obama safe
West Virginia - McCain safe
Wisconsin - Obama safe
Wyoming - McCain safe
Tallying up the electoral votes, that gives us:
McCain safe - 126
McCain close - 80
Obama safe - 200
Obama close - 73
Too close to call - 59
If the election were held today, Obama would win with at least 273 electoral votes to a maximum of 265 for McCain. The battleground states appear to be Virginia, Indiana, Georgia and Ohio, but Obama would win even if he lost all four and maintained his advantage in the rest of the states where he is leading. And if these polls were even a semblance of reality, which we know they are not.
I would have to conclude from this cursory analysis that Obama will have to screw the pooch pretty badly to lose this election. He has 200 safe electoral votes to McCain's 126, which is an enormous cushion. With Obama's cash advantage by way of his decision to decline public funding, you would have to believe that he will only improve his numbers in the battleground states and possibly even turn one or two McCain-close states.
Obama has to watch out for Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado, Iowa, and New Mexico. These are all trending his way right now, but not by much. Pennsylvania and Oregon have been going Democratic in the past few elections, but both are high in a demographic he has struggled with, working class whites. Iowa, Colorado, and New Mexico have traditionally been Republican strongholds. If he has any more of these Reverend Wright flare-ups or other gaffes, all five of these states could go to McCain.
As for McCain, the fact that my home state of Texas is only in the "close" column says a lot about his candidacy. He has a tremendous amount of work to do, and it is difficult to imagine that he is up to the task. He'll have to turn at least a few of those five states I mentioned earlier, and he'll have to win Ohio, Virginia, and for heavens sake Georgia to have any chance. I can't believe Georgia is a battleground state. That might be apocryphal, but there are a large number of African Americans in increasingly prominent positions there, so it could be true.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
WRIGHT IS RIGHT
I missed all the fun, again. I was banished to our makeshift office, which would otherwise be our spare downstairs bedroom, because my wife was having her book club in the (Half A) Man Cave. Since I knew that I wouldn't be getting the 42" screen, I dawdled, watching The Daily Show, Colbert, and PTI on the DVR in the bedroom until about 6:30, and then I listened to some podcasts until about 7 pm. When MLB.TV came on on the office PC, I was expecting another disaster, but happily, I saw the 2 2 4 line for the Mets in the first three innings. I had to check RotoTimes.com to figure out that David Wright had homered twice.
Then, as if to spite me, the Mets offense took the rest of the night off, and John Maine got into enough scrapes to make me nervous. Thankfully, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, and Duaner Sanchez each pitched a scoreless inning and ended all hopes of a Mariner sweep. The Mets won it 8-2, and will enjoy their rare home day off today as they prepare for a four game set with the Bronx Bummers. The Yanks have been showing faint signs of life lately, winning seven of ten and settling firmly in third place behind the Rays. Pretty much like us, really. It should be a good series. Not Ana Ivanovic in tennis whites good, but close.
Then, as if to spite me, the Mets offense took the rest of the night off, and John Maine got into enough scrapes to make me nervous. Thankfully, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, and Duaner Sanchez each pitched a scoreless inning and ended all hopes of a Mariner sweep. The Mets won it 8-2, and will enjoy their rare home day off today as they prepare for a four game set with the Bronx Bummers. The Yanks have been showing faint signs of life lately, winning seven of ten and settling firmly in third place behind the Rays. Pretty much like us, really. It should be a good series. Not Ana Ivanovic in tennis whites good, but close.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
WORSE THAN THE WORST
Yipe. An 11-0 shellacking by the freaking Mariners. Yeah, this was surely all Willie Randolph's fault.
R.A. Dickey, it turns out, is a knuckleballer. He's a knuckleballer with a 5.77 ERA coming in who the Mets could not figure out for the life of them, failing to mount even a serious threat for the first six innings Mr. Dickey was on the mound, and merely loading the bases with two outs in the 7th. The score was 10-0 by then, so even if Jose Reyes had come through, it would have been at best 10-4. What a sad and sorry lot.
Ok, we'll try this again. This game, they should win. Miguel Batista, who is replacing the injured Erik Bedard tonight, has an ERA of 6.26, and a 3-9 record. He lost his starting job earlier in the season and wasn't much better in the bullpen, and is only starting due to Bedard's injury. We have our #2, John Maine. Thank goodness the Phillies are still losing. By the way, the 16-2 runs-scored start to this series has put the Mets at a -8 run differential for the year, which is right what our record would indicate it should be.
R.A. Dickey, it turns out, is a knuckleballer. He's a knuckleballer with a 5.77 ERA coming in who the Mets could not figure out for the life of them, failing to mount even a serious threat for the first six innings Mr. Dickey was on the mound, and merely loading the bases with two outs in the 7th. The score was 10-0 by then, so even if Jose Reyes had come through, it would have been at best 10-4. What a sad and sorry lot.
Ok, we'll try this again. This game, they should win. Miguel Batista, who is replacing the injured Erik Bedard tonight, has an ERA of 6.26, and a 3-9 record. He lost his starting job earlier in the season and wasn't much better in the bullpen, and is only starting due to Bedard's injury. We have our #2, John Maine. Thank goodness the Phillies are still losing. By the way, the 16-2 runs-scored start to this series has put the Mets at a -8 run differential for the year, which is right what our record would indicate it should be.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
FRANKLY, I COULD HAVE WAITED 38 YEARS
I made it to the Man Cave, and just as MLB.TV finished buffering and a picture popped up, there was King Felix's grand slam sailing over the right field fence. It was a replay, but I didn't like seeing it much no matter when it happened.
4-0 Mariners. And I hadn't even got the couch cushions arranged yet. Damn it! Then Felix proceeded to stymie the Mets for the next few innings. At least that I expected. The Mets did get a run and knocked Felix out of the game in the 5th on a wild pitch and a mad dash home by Carlos Beltran. Felix stood too much on the plate, and Beltran barreled into him, rolling over his left ankle. He's the proverbial day-to-day, but as Dan Patrick once asked, aren't we all?
The Mets had the inklings of a rally in the 9th off emergency closer Sean Green (not Jewish), but it fizzled when Carlos Delgado was viciously struck out by Green's replacement, Arthur Rhodes. Damion Easley also K'd, looking, to end the game at 5-2.
To recap, if King Felix doesn't close his eyes and hit a granny, that one was ours. Ok, you have to blame David Wright for booting a grounder and prolonging the inning as well, but still. Thirty-seven years since an AL pitcher has hit a grand slam, and the Mets have to be the ones to give up the next one. Sigh.
4-0 Mariners. And I hadn't even got the couch cushions arranged yet. Damn it! Then Felix proceeded to stymie the Mets for the next few innings. At least that I expected. The Mets did get a run and knocked Felix out of the game in the 5th on a wild pitch and a mad dash home by Carlos Beltran. Felix stood too much on the plate, and Beltran barreled into him, rolling over his left ankle. He's the proverbial day-to-day, but as Dan Patrick once asked, aren't we all?
The Mets had the inklings of a rally in the 9th off emergency closer Sean Green (not Jewish), but it fizzled when Carlos Delgado was viciously struck out by Green's replacement, Arthur Rhodes. Damion Easley also K'd, looking, to end the game at 5-2.
To recap, if King Felix doesn't close his eyes and hit a granny, that one was ours. Ok, you have to blame David Wright for booting a grounder and prolonging the inning as well, but still. Thirty-seven years since an AL pitcher has hit a grand slam, and the Mets have to be the ones to give up the next one. Sigh.
Monday, June 23, 2008
EASTWARD, HO!
The Mets completed the west-of-Texas segment of their schedule with a 2-games-to-1 series win over the Rockies. Believe it or not, we are only two games back of Philadelphia in the loss column. They have played two more games than us due to all the lousy weather in New York this year, plus they have a game in hand due to scheduling. Had we won the two rainouts that have yet to be played (vs. Pittsburgh and the Yankees), we'd be only two and a half out. Sorry about that, Willie.
As for the game this weekend, John Maine was stellar in the opener, allowing only six hits, three walks and two runs in six and two-thirds innings. The Mets rode a five-run explosion in the 2nd off Rockies ace Aaron Cook to an easy 7-2 win. The two-out hits in the 2nd inning were fairly breath-taking. Jose Reyes, Endy Chavez, and David Wright all smacked hard RBI singles off Cook when it looked like he had escaped the worst of it. I thought Cook was a goner at that point, but he ended up going seven, probably because the Rockies bullpen is a shambles. I turned it off after 4 innings and headed to bed, even on a Friday night. I am old.
Game 2 was a lowlight of the trip. Fortunately, I missed it because I didn't have the energy to go up to the Man Cave at 8 pm to tune in. We had just committed to spending about $7,000 on a home improvement project, and dropping that kind of money on something that is not going to be any fun at all is exhausting. The Mets took a quick lead on a Jose Reyes triple and a Luis Castillo sac fly, and Petey was strong for the first four, striking out four and only allowing two hits and a walk. Then the homers and singles and doubles started and wouldn't stop. Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe went back-to-back to lead off the 5th, then Troy Tulowitzki doubled, pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez singled, Willie Taveras singled home a run, Jeff Baker doubled home two more (you get the idea). When Claudio Vargas is deemed a better option, you aren't pitching well. Vargas did get a DP to end the inning, but the Mets had no answer for Jimenez, who lasted all the way through the 8th. The final was 7-1.
Sunday afternoon brought better things for the Mets pitchers especially. I was playing Strat and having brats at one of my fellow owners' houses, and he didn't have MLB Extra Innings, so I was out of luck. Reyes led off the game with another triple, and scored on a grounder by Wright that was ruled a hit and error after Tulowitzki threw it away. The Mets then scored all the runs they would need on a two-run homer by Carlos Beltran in the third. Mike Pelfrey is rounding into shape as a decent alternative to El Duque (and certainly one with a better future). He went five and two-thirds of shutout ball and was removed due to a high pitch count and a couple of walks in the 6th. Joe Smith finished the inning and then gave up the only Rockies run in the 7th, a Yorvit Torrealba dinger. The usual pair of Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner sewed up the 3-1 win.
The Mets return to Shea to play the woeful Seattle Mariners, owners of the worst record in baseball. Had it been two weeks ago, the stage would have been set for some crushing Metsian disappointment, but these look like games we should win. Johan faces King Felix tonight (I'll drag myself to the Man Cave for that one, come hell or hardwood flooring), and after that we get some guy named R.A. Dickey with an ERA north of five and then the thoroughly underachieving Erik Bedard on Wednesday. The Manuel magic will be put to the real test in the subsequent games, with four against the Yanks, four against the Cards, and four more against the Phillies. After these 15 games, we'll see what we have. Or we'll be actually looking forward to seeing the office get redecorated.
As for the game this weekend, John Maine was stellar in the opener, allowing only six hits, three walks and two runs in six and two-thirds innings. The Mets rode a five-run explosion in the 2nd off Rockies ace Aaron Cook to an easy 7-2 win. The two-out hits in the 2nd inning were fairly breath-taking. Jose Reyes, Endy Chavez, and David Wright all smacked hard RBI singles off Cook when it looked like he had escaped the worst of it. I thought Cook was a goner at that point, but he ended up going seven, probably because the Rockies bullpen is a shambles. I turned it off after 4 innings and headed to bed, even on a Friday night. I am old.
Game 2 was a lowlight of the trip. Fortunately, I missed it because I didn't have the energy to go up to the Man Cave at 8 pm to tune in. We had just committed to spending about $7,000 on a home improvement project, and dropping that kind of money on something that is not going to be any fun at all is exhausting. The Mets took a quick lead on a Jose Reyes triple and a Luis Castillo sac fly, and Petey was strong for the first four, striking out four and only allowing two hits and a walk. Then the homers and singles and doubles started and wouldn't stop. Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe went back-to-back to lead off the 5th, then Troy Tulowitzki doubled, pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez singled, Willie Taveras singled home a run, Jeff Baker doubled home two more (you get the idea). When Claudio Vargas is deemed a better option, you aren't pitching well. Vargas did get a DP to end the inning, but the Mets had no answer for Jimenez, who lasted all the way through the 8th. The final was 7-1.
Sunday afternoon brought better things for the Mets pitchers especially. I was playing Strat and having brats at one of my fellow owners' houses, and he didn't have MLB Extra Innings, so I was out of luck. Reyes led off the game with another triple, and scored on a grounder by Wright that was ruled a hit and error after Tulowitzki threw it away. The Mets then scored all the runs they would need on a two-run homer by Carlos Beltran in the third. Mike Pelfrey is rounding into shape as a decent alternative to El Duque (and certainly one with a better future). He went five and two-thirds of shutout ball and was removed due to a high pitch count and a couple of walks in the 6th. Joe Smith finished the inning and then gave up the only Rockies run in the 7th, a Yorvit Torrealba dinger. The usual pair of Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner sewed up the 3-1 win.
The Mets return to Shea to play the woeful Seattle Mariners, owners of the worst record in baseball. Had it been two weeks ago, the stage would have been set for some crushing Metsian disappointment, but these look like games we should win. Johan faces King Felix tonight (I'll drag myself to the Man Cave for that one, come hell or hardwood flooring), and after that we get some guy named R.A. Dickey with an ERA north of five and then the thoroughly underachieving Erik Bedard on Wednesday. The Manuel magic will be put to the real test in the subsequent games, with four against the Yanks, four against the Cards, and four more against the Phillies. After these 15 games, we'll see what we have. Or we'll be actually looking forward to seeing the office get redecorated.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
WP-ROD
This one was on me. All the way. Francisco Rodriguez is one of my Strat team pitchers, and David Wright is also on my Strat team (he normally plays left field, but that's another story).
The Mets beat the Angels in 10 innings by a score of 5-4 to notch Jerry Manuel's first managerial win. I was snoring loudly in Texas, and missed it all, of course. New York took another 1-0 lead in the first on a Wright groundout, and even expanded it to 3-0 before blowing it. Oliver Perez calmed his demons up until the 4th, when Jeff Mathis singled home the first run. The beasts within Oliver really came out in the 5th, when the Halos loaded the bases on two hits and a walk. Vlad "The Met Impaler" Guerrero then singled home the tying runs, and Torii Hunter put LAA on top 4-3 with another hit.
Perez was allowed to stay in, which looks to be the first instance of a non-Willie decision in Manuel's tenure. Peterson and Randolph would have worn a path to Perez in that inning and used at least three bullpen guys, so maybe things will be better. Perez got out of the 5th and got an inning-ending DP in the 6th before giving way to Joe Smith in the 7th with the Mets still trailing.
It must have looked pretty grim, with the Mets down to their last out, David Wright up against one of the toughest righty closers in the game, and Jose Reyes stuck on first because he was too afraid to try to steal with Wright up. K-Rod got strike one, but then after a ball, he bounced one in the dirt, which gave Reyes just enough time to scamper to second. The rest I've seen plenty of times on my Strat computer game, although Wright isn't the one doing it. David smacked one of K-Rod's trademark sliders into left field to score Reyes with the tying run, and after Duaner Sanchez recorded a 1-2-3 ninth, they went on to extras.
It didn't last too much longer. Third batter Damion Easley, who started his career with the California Angels (yes, he's old), hit a 1-0 pitch from Justin Speier into the left field seats, and Billy Wagner had no problems in the bottom of the inning for his 16th save.
Today the Mets get a day off, although they'll have to spend it in LoDo. Or SoDo, whichever. What lame neighborhood names they have in Denver. Let me guess, they call Upper Downtown UpDo? At least they are only one time zone removed from me, and I can maybe catch the first five innings. Yaaayyyy, no more Pacific time zone games!!! Summer is here.
The Mets beat the Angels in 10 innings by a score of 5-4 to notch Jerry Manuel's first managerial win. I was snoring loudly in Texas, and missed it all, of course. New York took another 1-0 lead in the first on a Wright groundout, and even expanded it to 3-0 before blowing it. Oliver Perez calmed his demons up until the 4th, when Jeff Mathis singled home the first run. The beasts within Oliver really came out in the 5th, when the Halos loaded the bases on two hits and a walk. Vlad "The Met Impaler" Guerrero then singled home the tying runs, and Torii Hunter put LAA on top 4-3 with another hit.
Perez was allowed to stay in, which looks to be the first instance of a non-Willie decision in Manuel's tenure. Peterson and Randolph would have worn a path to Perez in that inning and used at least three bullpen guys, so maybe things will be better. Perez got out of the 5th and got an inning-ending DP in the 6th before giving way to Joe Smith in the 7th with the Mets still trailing.
It must have looked pretty grim, with the Mets down to their last out, David Wright up against one of the toughest righty closers in the game, and Jose Reyes stuck on first because he was too afraid to try to steal with Wright up. K-Rod got strike one, but then after a ball, he bounced one in the dirt, which gave Reyes just enough time to scamper to second. The rest I've seen plenty of times on my Strat computer game, although Wright isn't the one doing it. David smacked one of K-Rod's trademark sliders into left field to score Reyes with the tying run, and after Duaner Sanchez recorded a 1-2-3 ninth, they went on to extras.
It didn't last too much longer. Third batter Damion Easley, who started his career with the California Angels (yes, he's old), hit a 1-0 pitch from Justin Speier into the left field seats, and Billy Wagner had no problems in the bottom of the inning for his 16th save.
Today the Mets get a day off, although they'll have to spend it in LoDo. Or SoDo, whichever. What lame neighborhood names they have in Denver. Let me guess, they call Upper Downtown UpDo? At least they are only one time zone removed from me, and I can maybe catch the first five innings. Yaaayyyy, no more Pacific time zone games!!! Summer is here.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
MANUEL AUTOMATIC
The Mets, bleary from jet lag for the third time this year and throat-sore from answering 8,000 questions about Willie Randolph, put it on auto-pilot for a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Ninety Miles Southeast of Oxnard Angels. Even Johan Santana couldn't help, giving up three quick runs in the first after the Mets had taken a 1-0 lead. LAA got another in the third and added a Jeff Mathis home run in the 6th before Santana was replaced by Aaron Heilman after 95 lackluster pitches. The sixth run scored in the 8th after a throwing error by $6 million man Luis Castillo.
The Jerry Manuel era starts 0-1. The Omar Minaya era continues its downward spiral into a black hole of stupidity. Which Oliver Perez will show up tonight? Will anyone care? And now that the Mets have been in California three times this year, are they eligible for gay marriage? These are the pressing questions before us.
The Jerry Manuel era starts 0-1. The Omar Minaya era continues its downward spiral into a black hole of stupidity. Which Oliver Perez will show up tonight? Will anyone care? And now that the Mets have been in California three times this year, are they eligible for gay marriage? These are the pressing questions before us.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
SO, DOES HE HAVE TO CHECK OUT OF HIS HOTEL ROOM?
Ah, the Mets. After 46 years, you'd think they'd have a decent Human Resources handbook, or something.
Within hours of capping off a 9-6 victory over the (Insert Geography Joke Here) Angels, Omar Minaya, General "Manager" of the Mets, fired manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson, and first base coach Tom Nieto. They were replaced by former bench coach Jerry Manuel, AAA pitching coach Dan Warthen, and the recently-hired Kenny Oberkfell, respectively. Yeah, that'll help.
I have no words. I'm going to write anyway, because I have nothing better to do at this particular moment. Remember when 2008 looked like a pretty good year? We had Johan, we had Wright and Reyes, this Church guy looked like a pretty good pickup, Pedro was healthy, Alou was healthy, Beltran was still in his prime, and though Delgado was not looking great, but he could still be counted on for 20-25 homers and some RBI's. Duaner was coming back fairly early, Billy the Kid was still there, Joe Smith looked to build on his impressive 2007 stint, and despite the fact we still had Schoeneweis and his ridiculous salary, he couldn't get any worse, could he?
Wow. It's all officially circling the drain now. Johan's been great, but the farm system we gave up to get him is as dry as my front lawn. Alou needs ID to get into the stadium he is there so infrequently. Delgado is an embarrassment. Beltran has only finally gotten going recently, but still isn't up to his normal standards. Church got a concussion and was subsequently sent on road trips (see lack of Human Resources handbook mentioned above). Wright can't hit righties, and Reyes is more streaky than usual. Luis Castillo is making $6 million dollars to slap balls to the shortstop. The bullpen is very close to having to be registered as a WMD. Oliver Perez pitches great one outing, and can't get anybody out in the next. Mike Pelfrey probably belongs in AAA, but with El Duque out indefinitely and Pedro in and out of the rotation, we have no choice but to let him learn how to pitch in the majors. There are guys who hadn't recorded a hit in
several YEARS prior to 2008 getting significant playing time.
So now we finish 2008 with an interim manager, an interim pitching coach, and a GM who has no clue and probably should be fired. This is a very bad mess, and a very expensive one at that.
How can we get out of it? Well, fire Omar and get a GM that knows his way around a sabermetric report would be a start. What GM in his right mind counts on Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez, and Pedro Martinez to continue to perform at high levels well into their late 30's and 40's? How can Omar not see that Carlos Delgado is toast, and not at least have some idea of how to replace him? Why did Omar pay $6 million for Luis Castillo, when he could have paid the minimum for Ruben Gotay and gotten equally bad performance? How can Omar let a guy with a concussion go on road trips? WHO IN THE HELL IS ROBINSON CANCEL?
Here's a suggestion, Lords Wilpon: farm out the GM job to the Baseball Prospectus crew. They are pretty good a critiquing every other GM, so why not get them to put up or shut up? Gary Huckabay and Rany Jazayerli can be in charge of player personnel, Joe Sheehan can handle media relations, Will Carroll can direct the medical staff, Neil deMause can negotiate contracts, Clay Davenport can be the Assistant GM in charge of Advanced Statistical Methods, etc. If they win, it's good for the Mets, and if they lose, every other organization and Joe Morgan will send you gift baskets when they have to shutter their site.
Think about, guys. It can't be worse than what's going on now.
Within hours of capping off a 9-6 victory over the (Insert Geography Joke Here) Angels, Omar Minaya, General "Manager" of the Mets, fired manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson, and first base coach Tom Nieto. They were replaced by former bench coach Jerry Manuel, AAA pitching coach Dan Warthen, and the recently-hired Kenny Oberkfell, respectively. Yeah, that'll help.
I have no words. I'm going to write anyway, because I have nothing better to do at this particular moment. Remember when 2008 looked like a pretty good year? We had Johan, we had Wright and Reyes, this Church guy looked like a pretty good pickup, Pedro was healthy, Alou was healthy, Beltran was still in his prime, and though Delgado was not looking great, but he could still be counted on for 20-25 homers and some RBI's. Duaner was coming back fairly early, Billy the Kid was still there, Joe Smith looked to build on his impressive 2007 stint, and despite the fact we still had Schoeneweis and his ridiculous salary, he couldn't get any worse, could he?
Wow. It's all officially circling the drain now. Johan's been great, but the farm system we gave up to get him is as dry as my front lawn. Alou needs ID to get into the stadium he is there so infrequently. Delgado is an embarrassment. Beltran has only finally gotten going recently, but still isn't up to his normal standards. Church got a concussion and was subsequently sent on road trips (see lack of Human Resources handbook mentioned above). Wright can't hit righties, and Reyes is more streaky than usual. Luis Castillo is making $6 million dollars to slap balls to the shortstop. The bullpen is very close to having to be registered as a WMD. Oliver Perez pitches great one outing, and can't get anybody out in the next. Mike Pelfrey probably belongs in AAA, but with El Duque out indefinitely and Pedro in and out of the rotation, we have no choice but to let him learn how to pitch in the majors. There are guys who hadn't recorded a hit in
several YEARS prior to 2008 getting significant playing time.
So now we finish 2008 with an interim manager, an interim pitching coach, and a GM who has no clue and probably should be fired. This is a very bad mess, and a very expensive one at that.
How can we get out of it? Well, fire Omar and get a GM that knows his way around a sabermetric report would be a start. What GM in his right mind counts on Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez, and Pedro Martinez to continue to perform at high levels well into their late 30's and 40's? How can Omar not see that Carlos Delgado is toast, and not at least have some idea of how to replace him? Why did Omar pay $6 million for Luis Castillo, when he could have paid the minimum for Ruben Gotay and gotten equally bad performance? How can Omar let a guy with a concussion go on road trips? WHO IN THE HELL IS ROBINSON CANCEL?
Here's a suggestion, Lords Wilpon: farm out the GM job to the Baseball Prospectus crew. They are pretty good a critiquing every other GM, so why not get them to put up or shut up? Gary Huckabay and Rany Jazayerli can be in charge of player personnel, Joe Sheehan can handle media relations, Will Carroll can direct the medical staff, Neil deMause can negotiate contracts, Clay Davenport can be the Assistant GM in charge of Advanced Statistical Methods, etc. If they win, it's good for the Mets, and if they lose, every other organization and Joe Morgan will send you gift baskets when they have to shutter their site.
Think about, guys. It can't be worse than what's going on now.
Monday, June 16, 2008
RANGERS IN THE DAY (AND EARLY EVENING)
This will be quick. I have no patience for these guys anymore. When guys like Robinson Cancel are getting game-winning RBI's, even if he is playing for the Mets, does it really matter?
The Mets blew a perfectly good 4-0 lead last Thursday afternoon to Arizona. I was following on ESPN's GameCast, and I saw it coming from 12 inches away (the distance from me to my monitor). First, in the 8th, Joe Smith relieved Johan Santana, who had been outstanding as usual, and gave up a RBI triple to Mark Reynolds to cut the lead in half. Then in the 9th Billy Wagner reprised his role of two days ago, and gave up the tying runs, although this time the tying run itself scored on a groundout that was nearly a game-ending DP. Then Aaron Heilman came in to start the 10th. Need I say more?
On Friday, New York cruised to a 7-1 win over Texas behind Oliver Perez, of all people. Oliver had one of his increasingly rare good days, giving up only three hits and three walks in seven innings. No one particularly shone on offense, with several players contributing timely hits. It was the kind of game that makes you even more angry at all the other games.
Saturday was a rainout, and with the Rangers only in town for one trip and needing to get away early, a traditional doubleheader was scheduled for Sunday. I was blacked out from watching the game on MLB.TV because the Rangers, some 300 miles away, are in my "home area", and were supposedly on Fox Sports Southwest, although they weren't showing up on my TV. Texas took a 1-0 lead off John Maine in the 3rd with an Ian Kinsler home run, but Carlos Delgado tied it in the 5th with a round-tripper of his own. Ramon Vazquez hit a two-run homer in the 5th, and then Carlos Beltran answered with a homer of his own in the 6th to make it 3-2. Maine started the 7th, but then the bullpen was summoned, and all hell broke loose, as usual. Pedro Feliciano gave up a two-run single to Vazquez, and Kinsler hit another dinger to put the game apparently on ice. The Mets battled back with three in the 8th and two in the 9th, but newly acquired former Diamondback Trot Nixon was stranded at 2nd for the 8-7 final.
The second game was a relaxed affair before friends and family, as most of the first game patrons had gone home to see if Tiger Woods could win the US Open on a gimpy knee (answer - probably, but not until today). That's what I was watching also, until my wife and I went to dinner and saw the game on Fox Sports Southwest on one of the establishment's TV's. After we got home, I checked the channel on the HD side, and got nothing but a test-pattern. I then checked the Low Def channel, and even though something called "Sports Science" was scheduled, there were the Mets and Rangers at Shea. So, I guess MLB.TV was right! Now, why is the HD channel not running when the Low Def channel is?
In any event, the Mets erased an early 2-0 deficit and rallied back to tie and then take the lead behind Petey. The first two scored on back-to-back RBI singles by David Wright and Beltran, and the final two came in on a hit by the aforementioned Cancel. What an appropriate name for an '08 Met! Pedro and the bullpen retired the final 16 Rangers batters and the Mets won 4-2. Maybe the Mets should restrict attendance at home games for the rest of the year. The bullpen seemed to like the relative quiet.
The series win puts us within two games of .500, looking up longingly at the Phillies, who lost two of three to St. Louis. Nothing has changed, and undoubtedly not much will for some time. Alou is back on the DL, and Trot Nixon is not the player Alou is even though he is over six years younger. Ryan Church may be back soon, but who knows how long he'll stay. The bullpen isn't going anywhere, and that's the biggest shame.
Hey, another trip to California! Just what we need.
The Mets blew a perfectly good 4-0 lead last Thursday afternoon to Arizona. I was following on ESPN's GameCast, and I saw it coming from 12 inches away (the distance from me to my monitor). First, in the 8th, Joe Smith relieved Johan Santana, who had been outstanding as usual, and gave up a RBI triple to Mark Reynolds to cut the lead in half. Then in the 9th Billy Wagner reprised his role of two days ago, and gave up the tying runs, although this time the tying run itself scored on a groundout that was nearly a game-ending DP. Then Aaron Heilman came in to start the 10th. Need I say more?
On Friday, New York cruised to a 7-1 win over Texas behind Oliver Perez, of all people. Oliver had one of his increasingly rare good days, giving up only three hits and three walks in seven innings. No one particularly shone on offense, with several players contributing timely hits. It was the kind of game that makes you even more angry at all the other games.
Saturday was a rainout, and with the Rangers only in town for one trip and needing to get away early, a traditional doubleheader was scheduled for Sunday. I was blacked out from watching the game on MLB.TV because the Rangers, some 300 miles away, are in my "home area", and were supposedly on Fox Sports Southwest, although they weren't showing up on my TV. Texas took a 1-0 lead off John Maine in the 3rd with an Ian Kinsler home run, but Carlos Delgado tied it in the 5th with a round-tripper of his own. Ramon Vazquez hit a two-run homer in the 5th, and then Carlos Beltran answered with a homer of his own in the 6th to make it 3-2. Maine started the 7th, but then the bullpen was summoned, and all hell broke loose, as usual. Pedro Feliciano gave up a two-run single to Vazquez, and Kinsler hit another dinger to put the game apparently on ice. The Mets battled back with three in the 8th and two in the 9th, but newly acquired former Diamondback Trot Nixon was stranded at 2nd for the 8-7 final.
The second game was a relaxed affair before friends and family, as most of the first game patrons had gone home to see if Tiger Woods could win the US Open on a gimpy knee (answer - probably, but not until today). That's what I was watching also, until my wife and I went to dinner and saw the game on Fox Sports Southwest on one of the establishment's TV's. After we got home, I checked the channel on the HD side, and got nothing but a test-pattern. I then checked the Low Def channel, and even though something called "Sports Science" was scheduled, there were the Mets and Rangers at Shea. So, I guess MLB.TV was right! Now, why is the HD channel not running when the Low Def channel is?
In any event, the Mets erased an early 2-0 deficit and rallied back to tie and then take the lead behind Petey. The first two scored on back-to-back RBI singles by David Wright and Beltran, and the final two came in on a hit by the aforementioned Cancel. What an appropriate name for an '08 Met! Pedro and the bullpen retired the final 16 Rangers batters and the Mets won 4-2. Maybe the Mets should restrict attendance at home games for the rest of the year. The bullpen seemed to like the relative quiet.
The series win puts us within two games of .500, looking up longingly at the Phillies, who lost two of three to St. Louis. Nothing has changed, and undoubtedly not much will for some time. Alou is back on the DL, and Trot Nixon is not the player Alou is even though he is over six years younger. Ryan Church may be back soon, but who knows how long he'll stay. The bullpen isn't going anywhere, and that's the biggest shame.
Hey, another trip to California! Just what we need.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
SNAKEBIT/BITING BACK
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.
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.
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!!!
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