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.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
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!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
ONE AND ONE, AS USUAL
The Mets split the first two games of their series with the Marlins so far. Mike Pelfrey was hit around for six runs in four innings, and despite two straight homers from Jose Reyes in successive innings, the Marlins won easily 7-3. I was defiling the Ewa Beach Golf Club at the time, thankfully, and was not able to watch and be angry (at least not at the Mets - just at my short game).
On Tuesday, Johan Santana went seven shaky innings, but the Mets were fortunate enough to face one of my Strat team pitchers, Andrew Miller, who gave up three runs in the first inning. Two of the runs were driven in on two-out singles by Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro. The Mets never trailed after that point, and won 5-3. Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner finished the game with two scoreless innings.
Today, Oliver Perez will test our patience against Marlins ace Scott Olsen. Looks like we're dropping another game back of the Fish after this series!
On Tuesday, Johan Santana went seven shaky innings, but the Mets were fortunate enough to face one of my Strat team pitchers, Andrew Miller, who gave up three runs in the first inning. Two of the runs were driven in on two-out singles by Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro. The Mets never trailed after that point, and won 5-3. Duaner Sanchez and Billy Wagner finished the game with two scoreless innings.
Today, Oliver Perez will test our patience against Marlins ace Scott Olsen. Looks like we're dropping another game back of the Fish after this series!
Monday, May 26, 2008
ROCKIE BOTTOM
Ho-hum, the Mets lost again. Aaron Cook went the route, and some guy named Seth Smith, which I don't think is his real name, hit a three-run homer off John Maine as the Rocks won 4-1. Yeah, call me when I care. If the Mets aren't going to give a rat's ass, why should I?
We're back in Shea to play the first-place Marlins, who have a payroll of about $22 million dollars. There are homes out here in Oahu that cost more. That $22 million figure counts the $6.3 million that Jacque Jones was making when he was a Tiger, which the Tigers are actually paying. The Marlins signed him to a minor league contract, which means they are paying the minimum. This means that the actually payroll that Jeff Loria is paying is about $16 million. The Mets payroll? It's $137 million. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana are each making the same or more than the Marlins are spending for their whole team. Luis Castillo is making $6 million! That's a bunch for guy who can barely hit it out of the infield and has a .675 OPS. Let's bat him second!
Fuck it, I'm playing golf again today. I'll check back to survey the carnage when it's over.
We're back in Shea to play the first-place Marlins, who have a payroll of about $22 million dollars. There are homes out here in Oahu that cost more. That $22 million figure counts the $6.3 million that Jacque Jones was making when he was a Tiger, which the Tigers are actually paying. The Marlins signed him to a minor league contract, which means they are paying the minimum. This means that the actually payroll that Jeff Loria is paying is about $16 million. The Mets payroll? It's $137 million. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Johan Santana are each making the same or more than the Marlins are spending for their whole team. Luis Castillo is making $6 million! That's a bunch for guy who can barely hit it out of the infield and has a .675 OPS. Let's bat him second!
Fuck it, I'm playing golf again today. I'll check back to survey the carnage when it's over.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
OH, RIGHT, THEY PLAY EVERY DAY
I'm still in Hawaii, whiling away the Memorial Day weekend by myself in a luxury hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, trying to manufacture things to do. I chugged all over the Ala Moana Center today looking for a Starbucks. They have two of them, and it still took me an hour to find one. Magellan I'm not.
Oh, and the Mets played! What do you know? This Mets blogging is more painful than Phillies blogging ever was, because I had such low expectations of the Phillies. Plus, I was only a guest in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania, while New York is my birth place.
I'm also pretty time-zone challenged here in the 50th state, and I had no idea the Mets were playing a day game in the Mountain time zone today. I also was unmotivated to watch after last night's painful episode. Billy Wagner blew a 5-4 lead by giving up a Coors Field Special homer to Matt Holliday with one out in the 9th. Naturally, the Mets folded on themselves like so many mollusks in extra innings, and eventually Aaron Heilman gave up the game-winning hit, again struck by Holliday (good timing for the upcoming weekend), in the 13th.
Today's game wasn't quite as angst-filled, probably because I didn't watch it. The Mets jumped all over former Rockies wunderkind Jeff Francis for six early runs and won going away, 9-2. David Wright and Carlos Delgado homered, meaning that maybe, just maybe, a Met will reach double figures in long balls this season. Claudio Vargas got the win, amazingly.
Ryan Church missed another game with post-concussion symptoms, which doesn't sound very promising. With Church and Alou out, the Mets are fielding an outfield of Fernando Tatis, Carlos Beltran, and Nick Evans, a guy who even he himself wouldn't be able to identify in a police lineup.
Willie Randolph remains "embattled", and "under evaluation", with his manager's "support". Hey, sounds like me! Oops.
Oh, and the Mets played! What do you know? This Mets blogging is more painful than Phillies blogging ever was, because I had such low expectations of the Phillies. Plus, I was only a guest in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania, while New York is my birth place.
I'm also pretty time-zone challenged here in the 50th state, and I had no idea the Mets were playing a day game in the Mountain time zone today. I also was unmotivated to watch after last night's painful episode. Billy Wagner blew a 5-4 lead by giving up a Coors Field Special homer to Matt Holliday with one out in the 9th. Naturally, the Mets folded on themselves like so many mollusks in extra innings, and eventually Aaron Heilman gave up the game-winning hit, again struck by Holliday (good timing for the upcoming weekend), in the 13th.
Today's game wasn't quite as angst-filled, probably because I didn't watch it. The Mets jumped all over former Rockies wunderkind Jeff Francis for six early runs and won going away, 9-2. David Wright and Carlos Delgado homered, meaning that maybe, just maybe, a Met will reach double figures in long balls this season. Claudio Vargas got the win, amazingly.
Ryan Church missed another game with post-concussion symptoms, which doesn't sound very promising. With Church and Alou out, the Mets are fielding an outfield of Fernando Tatis, Carlos Beltran, and Nick Evans, a guy who even he himself wouldn't be able to identify in a police lineup.
Willie Randolph remains "embattled", and "under evaluation", with his manager's "support". Hey, sounds like me! Oops.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
FREE WILLIE
This isn't looking too good. The Braves completed their four-game sweep of the Mets tonight, or today, or whenever in God's time zone it was, 4-2. Even Johan Santana was not immune to the Turner Field mojo. The Mets had a 2-1 lead entering the 7th, but the Braves rallied for three run off The Johan, slapping five hits off him before he got an inning-ending double-play grounder from Jeff Franc(aeiou)r. The Mets managed to hit into two double-plays in their final two at-bats off starter Tim Hudson and closer Manny Acosta. The Braves improved their home record to an astounding 20-5 (still a half game worse than the Red Sox at Fenway - that's a lot of happy fans singing "Sweet Caroline").
Does it matter any more where we stand? We suck. Willie Randolph is about to get shit-canned, and for his sake, I hope he does. This team is morose, moribund, somnambulent, and not coincidentally, old and slow. Carlos Delgado is a husk of his former self. Carlos Beltran, while still a great centerfielder, looks lost at the plate, despite his homer today. David Wright cannot hit righties any more. Luis Castillo is HORRIBLE, and should be fired immediately. Jose Reyes is inconsistent and doesn't seem to really care that much. Only Ryan Church and Brian Schneider are playing up to or beyond what we thought they were capable of. Outside of John Maine, Johan Santana, and Billy Wagner, the pitchers are unreliable and more often maddeningly wild and awful. And none of this can be solved. Omar traded away every decent farm-hand aside from Fernando Martinez, and he isn't anywhere near ready to contribute. We're going to be this way all year - one three-game winning streak followed by four or five games where we can't score, can't pitch, or make bone-head plays.
Vaya con Dios, Willie. Let someone else take charge of this morass. You'd be much better off unemployed.
Does it matter any more where we stand? We suck. Willie Randolph is about to get shit-canned, and for his sake, I hope he does. This team is morose, moribund, somnambulent, and not coincidentally, old and slow. Carlos Delgado is a husk of his former self. Carlos Beltran, while still a great centerfielder, looks lost at the plate, despite his homer today. David Wright cannot hit righties any more. Luis Castillo is HORRIBLE, and should be fired immediately. Jose Reyes is inconsistent and doesn't seem to really care that much. Only Ryan Church and Brian Schneider are playing up to or beyond what we thought they were capable of. Outside of John Maine, Johan Santana, and Billy Wagner, the pitchers are unreliable and more often maddeningly wild and awful. And none of this can be solved. Omar traded away every decent farm-hand aside from Fernando Martinez, and he isn't anywhere near ready to contribute. We're going to be this way all year - one three-game winning streak followed by four or five games where we can't score, can't pitch, or make bone-head plays.
Vaya con Dios, Willie. Let someone else take charge of this morass. You'd be much better off unemployed.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
THE HELLSCAPE THAT IS ATLANTA
I'm in Hawaii. Why? Because it's what I do.
Yesterday, the Mets played the role of Anna Kournikova (only not as hot) in an early '90's WTA tennis match, while the Braves were Monica Seles, with the Braves winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. We could go over the details, but it would depress me. Tom Glavine won game 1, to give you an idea of just how depressing it was. That's as far as we need to go.
Today, while I was luxuriating on board an 8 hour flight to Honolulu (well, luxuriating is a bit far, but they do give you hot fudge sundaes in BusinessFirst, so it wasn't bad), the Mets were getting pounded by Atlanta again, 11-4. As before, details would only serve as downers.
That puts our Metsies at 22-22, or .500 if you are math-challenged. We are squarely in fourth place, holding off the Nats by only four games. We aren't good. Even if by some chance Petey comes back, we're still not that good. Hey, what do you know, we're playing the Braves again tomorrow! Thank goodness I'll be at work while that happens.
Yesterday, the Mets played the role of Anna Kournikova (only not as hot) in an early '90's WTA tennis match, while the Braves were Monica Seles, with the Braves winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. We could go over the details, but it would depress me. Tom Glavine won game 1, to give you an idea of just how depressing it was. That's as far as we need to go.
Today, while I was luxuriating on board an 8 hour flight to Honolulu (well, luxuriating is a bit far, but they do give you hot fudge sundaes in BusinessFirst, so it wasn't bad), the Mets were getting pounded by Atlanta again, 11-4. As before, details would only serve as downers.
That puts our Metsies at 22-22, or .500 if you are math-challenged. We are squarely in fourth place, holding off the Nats by only four games. We aren't good. Even if by some chance Petey comes back, we're still not that good. Hey, what do you know, we're playing the Braves again tomorrow! Thank goodness I'll be at work while that happens.
Monday, May 19, 2008
DID I MISS ANYTHING?
I'm back from LA and Saratoga Springs. We had a wonderful time losing money at both the harness races and the Preakness, and regaling each other with stories about my late Uncle Joe, whose remains were interred at the Saratoga National Cemetery (he was a Navy man).
The Mets lost 3 of 4 to the pesky (G)Nats while I was away, which prompted a much-celebrated and profane diatribe from our closer, Mr. William Wagner. After the Mets 1-0 defeat in game four of the series, in which Billy did not appear, he was asked to comment on the team's fortunes. He mused on why he was being interrogated, since he didn't even play. He then asked, rhetorically, "Why don't you ask those guys?", pointing to the lockers of Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Luis Castillo, who had already left the stadium. "Oh, they aren't there," said Billy. "Big fucking surprise."
This led to a round of navel-gazing from the larger New York media about Latin players forming cliques and ducking interviews, using their limited knowledge of English as an excuse, which led to more introspection about racism and group dynamics and calling out one's teammates, which eventually resulted in the solving of everyone's problems and a peaceful, productive world. Ha! Well, at least we beat the fucking Yankees two out of two, so who cares about the rest of it?
I saw part of Game 1 at The Stadium Cafe in downtown Saratoga Springs. This was actually the scheduled Game 2, because Game 1 had been rained out. I believe they will end up playing Game 1 as part of a two-stadium, day-night doubleheader in June. Johan Santana started the game against Andy Pettitte, and was touched up for a Derek Jeter (Peter Eater) two-run homer in the first. Pettitte held the Mets scoreless until the 4th, when Ryan Church, Beltran, and David Wright all singled to start the inning, and then Brian Schneider walked home a run and Castillo hit one of his patented infield singles to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish.
Jose Reyes and Wright hit Yankee Stadium short-porch homers in the 7th off million-dollar-arm-ten-cent-head reliever Kyle Farnsworth to make it 6-2, and then Santana gave up two more homers, to Giambi and Abreu before Wagner finished the game with a four-out save and a 7-4 final. So, how do you like him, now, NY media?
Game 2 was a Sunday night ESPN affair, which is probably why they didn't play a doubleheader yesterday. Gotta keep ESPN happy with well-rested players! I only caught the first couple innings, having just returned from New York State after an interminable 5 hour layover at Newark Liberty (oh, the irony) Airport. It was 0-0 at that point, with Chien Ming Wang looking unhittable and Joe Morgan prattling on that it was better to walk a guy with two outs than with none out (really, Joe? That's an amazing insight. You would think that Baseball Prospectus hadn't figured out the run expectancy of every possible baserunner/out situation and calculated that a man on first with none out resulted in an average of 0.783 runs while a runner on first with two outs resulted in an average of 0.209 runs, but they have in fact done that, and we all know that, so nice try!) I decided to catch up on my DVR recordings, and by the time I got back, the Mets led 4-2, with a couple of clutch two-out singles by Moises Alou and Delgado in the 4th. Oliver Perez immediately surrendered a two-run jack by Hideki Matsui in the bottom of the inning, but again, the Mets never trailed, as Ryan Church homered in the 6th and the Mets teed off on some guy who will be heading back to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre soon named Ross Ohlendorf for the final four runs of a six-run 8th to post an 11-2 drubbing of the last-place Yankees. "Last-place Yankees". Mmm, it sounds so sweet.
The Mets are now a game back of the Marlins, tied with the Phillies for second place in the NL East. The Fish are starting to return to at least near-Earth orbit, having lost five of six to the likes of the Reds and Royals. They move on to play the D-Backs and the Giants at home before traveling to play us and the Phillies. I suspect their grip on first place will relent by the weekend, and now it's up to us and the Phillies as to who will take over. We have a pretty tough schedule coming up, starting with the Braves in Atlanta followed by the Rockies in Denver, and then the Marlins and Dodgers at home. The Phillies have it easier, with Washington there, the Astros at Minute Maid, and then home for the Rockies and Marlins.
Can I say it again? "Laaaast-plaaaaace Yaaaaankeeeeeees." Gotta savor it!
The Mets lost 3 of 4 to the pesky (G)Nats while I was away, which prompted a much-celebrated and profane diatribe from our closer, Mr. William Wagner. After the Mets 1-0 defeat in game four of the series, in which Billy did not appear, he was asked to comment on the team's fortunes. He mused on why he was being interrogated, since he didn't even play. He then asked, rhetorically, "Why don't you ask those guys?", pointing to the lockers of Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Luis Castillo, who had already left the stadium. "Oh, they aren't there," said Billy. "Big fucking surprise."
This led to a round of navel-gazing from the larger New York media about Latin players forming cliques and ducking interviews, using their limited knowledge of English as an excuse, which led to more introspection about racism and group dynamics and calling out one's teammates, which eventually resulted in the solving of everyone's problems and a peaceful, productive world. Ha! Well, at least we beat the fucking Yankees two out of two, so who cares about the rest of it?
I saw part of Game 1 at The Stadium Cafe in downtown Saratoga Springs. This was actually the scheduled Game 2, because Game 1 had been rained out. I believe they will end up playing Game 1 as part of a two-stadium, day-night doubleheader in June. Johan Santana started the game against Andy Pettitte, and was touched up for a Derek Jeter (Peter Eater) two-run homer in the first. Pettitte held the Mets scoreless until the 4th, when Ryan Church, Beltran, and David Wright all singled to start the inning, and then Brian Schneider walked home a run and Castillo hit one of his patented infield singles to give the Mets a lead they would not relinquish.
Jose Reyes and Wright hit Yankee Stadium short-porch homers in the 7th off million-dollar-arm-ten-cent-head reliever Kyle Farnsworth to make it 6-2, and then Santana gave up two more homers, to Giambi and Abreu before Wagner finished the game with a four-out save and a 7-4 final. So, how do you like him, now, NY media?
Game 2 was a Sunday night ESPN affair, which is probably why they didn't play a doubleheader yesterday. Gotta keep ESPN happy with well-rested players! I only caught the first couple innings, having just returned from New York State after an interminable 5 hour layover at Newark Liberty (oh, the irony) Airport. It was 0-0 at that point, with Chien Ming Wang looking unhittable and Joe Morgan prattling on that it was better to walk a guy with two outs than with none out (really, Joe? That's an amazing insight. You would think that Baseball Prospectus hadn't figured out the run expectancy of every possible baserunner/out situation and calculated that a man on first with none out resulted in an average of 0.783 runs while a runner on first with two outs resulted in an average of 0.209 runs, but they have in fact done that, and we all know that, so nice try!) I decided to catch up on my DVR recordings, and by the time I got back, the Mets led 4-2, with a couple of clutch two-out singles by Moises Alou and Delgado in the 4th. Oliver Perez immediately surrendered a two-run jack by Hideki Matsui in the bottom of the inning, but again, the Mets never trailed, as Ryan Church homered in the 6th and the Mets teed off on some guy who will be heading back to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre soon named Ross Ohlendorf for the final four runs of a six-run 8th to post an 11-2 drubbing of the last-place Yankees. "Last-place Yankees". Mmm, it sounds so sweet.
The Mets are now a game back of the Marlins, tied with the Phillies for second place in the NL East. The Fish are starting to return to at least near-Earth orbit, having lost five of six to the likes of the Reds and Royals. They move on to play the D-Backs and the Giants at home before traveling to play us and the Phillies. I suspect their grip on first place will relent by the weekend, and now it's up to us and the Phillies as to who will take over. We have a pretty tough schedule coming up, starting with the Braves in Atlanta followed by the Rockies in Denver, and then the Marlins and Dodgers at home. The Phillies have it easier, with Washington there, the Astros at Minute Maid, and then home for the Rockies and Marlins.
Can I say it again? "Laaaast-plaaaaace Yaaaaankeeeeeees." Gotta savor it!
Monday, May 12, 2008
WHO'S UP, DUSTY?
I'm typing this on my BlackBerry while waiting for my LA flight. I have first class on this trip, which on an Embraer is indistiguishable from coach on a large jet, and I only paid 15,000 miles! Hey, it didn't cost me personally anything, so why not?
Needless to say, I will be dispensing with any exhaustive recaps on this weekend's games. The Mets won the day half of a day/night doubleheader on Saturday against the Reds behind a largely ineffective Johan Santana, who labored through six shaky innings. The Mets clubbed around Reds starter Matt Belisle and pretty much anybody else they brought in to win by a final of 12-6.
The night game wasn't as kind to the New Yorkers. The formerly hittable Bronson Arroyo, perhaps better known as the front man of The Bronson Arroyo Band, stymied the Mets with a nasty drop-down slider, and Mike Pelfrey, though better than usual, still wasn't good enough. Billy Wagner had his worst outing of the year, yielding three unearned runs in the 9th following an error by David Wright. The final was 7-1.
On Sunday, both teams broke out the newly-traditional pink bats (and less-traditional pink sweatbands) in honor of Mother's Day and breast cancer awareness. Pink or not, the ones the Mets got had plenty of life in them, as Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church went deep off Reds rookie Johnny Cueto. The Reds climbed back to make it 6-3 at one point before the Mets tacked on two insurance runs for the 8-3 final.
The notable part of this game involved the Reds batting out of order in the 9th inning. How does this happen in 2008? Reds skipper Dusty Baker double-switched a few too many times, confusing himself and his players, though not Willie Randolph or the umpires. I missed this whole debacle because I had to go to my rec league soccer game (more on that particular debacle later), but evidently, David Ross was supposed to be in the 9 hole and Corey Patterson was supposed to be hitting 8th. Ross led off the inning with Patterson on deck, and lined out. Patterson then came up, and as soon as he took a pitch, Willie came out of the dugout and pointed out the error, making Patterson out. Since Ross was batting out of order to start the inning, he had to bat again in his actual spot, and he singled. Ryan Freel and Joey Votto then finished the inning and the game with two groundouts. That inning more or less cemented the idea in Reds fans minds that their team is not merely dreadful, but a pathetic joke as well. The "Fire Dusty" web sites should be chewing up a lot of bandwidth this week.
Now on to rec league soccer. I checked the league web site several times on Sunday to make sure the game wasn't canceled for Cinco De Mayo, or winded out, or some other such nonsense, and as far as I could tell, it was still on. My wife and I showed up early, at about 3 pm for a 3:30 game. I looked around, but didn't see anybody familiar. We took a seat in our folding chairs along a random sideline until the team captain showed up. 3:15 passed by, then 3:20, then 3:25, still nobody. We saw the opponents arrive and start setting on the opposite sideline from where we were, so that looked encouraging. Finally, the ref asked me if I' m the captain, I say, "Uh, no." Now it's 3:30, and ABSOLUTELY NOBODY ELSE from my team is there. The ref asks, "Are you in the Army? Because you're an Army of one!" Since the ref's kid is on the other team, he decided that we would have a scrimmage. Oh great, six-on-six, on a full regulation soccer field, for 90 minutes. My life was flashing before my eyes. I'm hard-pressed to finish an 11-on-11 game with ample substitutions.
It wasn't that bad, since nobody tried very hard, and they were all pretty cool. I even scored a goal and got to play goalie for a while. Still, NOT ONE of my so-called teammates bothers to show up? What the hell is that? I mean, if they all decided to forfeit, why didn't they tell the league organizer, so she could update the web site, or tell me, or at least tell the other team so they could choose to show up or not. Bastards. Well, I'll be on a plane while next Sunday's game is going on, so they can drag their asses up and down the pitch without my help.
Needless to say, I will be dispensing with any exhaustive recaps on this weekend's games. The Mets won the day half of a day/night doubleheader on Saturday against the Reds behind a largely ineffective Johan Santana, who labored through six shaky innings. The Mets clubbed around Reds starter Matt Belisle and pretty much anybody else they brought in to win by a final of 12-6.
The night game wasn't as kind to the New Yorkers. The formerly hittable Bronson Arroyo, perhaps better known as the front man of The Bronson Arroyo Band, stymied the Mets with a nasty drop-down slider, and Mike Pelfrey, though better than usual, still wasn't good enough. Billy Wagner had his worst outing of the year, yielding three unearned runs in the 9th following an error by David Wright. The final was 7-1.
On Sunday, both teams broke out the newly-traditional pink bats (and less-traditional pink sweatbands) in honor of Mother's Day and breast cancer awareness. Pink or not, the ones the Mets got had plenty of life in them, as Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church went deep off Reds rookie Johnny Cueto. The Reds climbed back to make it 6-3 at one point before the Mets tacked on two insurance runs for the 8-3 final.
The notable part of this game involved the Reds batting out of order in the 9th inning. How does this happen in 2008? Reds skipper Dusty Baker double-switched a few too many times, confusing himself and his players, though not Willie Randolph or the umpires. I missed this whole debacle because I had to go to my rec league soccer game (more on that particular debacle later), but evidently, David Ross was supposed to be in the 9 hole and Corey Patterson was supposed to be hitting 8th. Ross led off the inning with Patterson on deck, and lined out. Patterson then came up, and as soon as he took a pitch, Willie came out of the dugout and pointed out the error, making Patterson out. Since Ross was batting out of order to start the inning, he had to bat again in his actual spot, and he singled. Ryan Freel and Joey Votto then finished the inning and the game with two groundouts. That inning more or less cemented the idea in Reds fans minds that their team is not merely dreadful, but a pathetic joke as well. The "Fire Dusty" web sites should be chewing up a lot of bandwidth this week.
Now on to rec league soccer. I checked the league web site several times on Sunday to make sure the game wasn't canceled for Cinco De Mayo, or winded out, or some other such nonsense, and as far as I could tell, it was still on. My wife and I showed up early, at about 3 pm for a 3:30 game. I looked around, but didn't see anybody familiar. We took a seat in our folding chairs along a random sideline until the team captain showed up. 3:15 passed by, then 3:20, then 3:25, still nobody. We saw the opponents arrive and start setting on the opposite sideline from where we were, so that looked encouraging. Finally, the ref asked me if I' m the captain, I say, "Uh, no." Now it's 3:30, and ABSOLUTELY NOBODY ELSE from my team is there. The ref asks, "Are you in the Army? Because you're an Army of one!" Since the ref's kid is on the other team, he decided that we would have a scrimmage. Oh great, six-on-six, on a full regulation soccer field, for 90 minutes. My life was flashing before my eyes. I'm hard-pressed to finish an 11-on-11 game with ample substitutions.
It wasn't that bad, since nobody tried very hard, and they were all pretty cool. I even scored a goal and got to play goalie for a while. Still, NOT ONE of my so-called teammates bothers to show up? What the hell is that? I mean, if they all decided to forfeit, why didn't they tell the league organizer, so she could update the web site, or tell me, or at least tell the other team so they could choose to show up or not. Bastards. Well, I'll be on a plane while next Sunday's game is going on, so they can drag their asses up and down the pitch without my help.
Friday, May 09, 2008
A PENNY BURNED
The Mets blew out the Dodgers 12-1 on getaway day, smacking Brad Penny around in the 2nd and 5th innings and saddling him with 10 earned runs by the time he was mercifully pulled. He had a 3.19 ERA coming in, and 4.79 going out. John Maine, conversely, lowered his ERA from 3.48 to 3.00, tossing 8 and a third innings before being relieved by Duaner Sanchez. Ryan Church hit his 6th homer, and second in the series (we won't mention the one he allowed by sitting on his ass on the warning track - oh, I guess we will).
Everybody else but the Nats won in the NL East, so nothing changed in the standings. The Reds bring their 4.59 team ERA to Shea for the weekend. We get Matt Belisle, Bronson Arroyo, and rookie Johnny Cueto, three of their least effective starters. Time to muscle up.
Everybody else but the Nats won in the NL East, so nothing changed in the standings. The Reds bring their 4.59 team ERA to Shea for the weekend. We get Matt Belisle, Bronson Arroyo, and rookie Johnny Cueto, three of their least effective starters. Time to muscle up.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A.B.B. - 189
REPUBLICANS - TCP calls the North Carolina and Indiana primaries for John McCain. I love going out on a limb like that. What an adrenaline rush! Ok, so Johnny Mac is waiting for his coronation in Minneapolis in September. He's been out making some speeches in mostly Democratic areas, like New Orleans and Memphis, screwing up the difference between Sunnis and Shi'ites, endorsing a gas tax holiday that everyone with any sense is excoriating, and denying affairs with lobbyists. Other than that, his campaign is catching fire. Well, he is pulling even with Obama and Clinton, but one gets the feeling this is because we still don't know who he's running against. Once that gets sorted out, those polls should probably drift back to the 8-10 point spread we had been seeing. I think in the end, he'll get trounced in the popular vote, by 10% or more, but narrowly lose or maybe even win the Electoral College. That should be interesting.
DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama - Everybody is saying he clinched it last night, so I will too. It's like chicken soup; it couldn't hurt. I pretty much just want this to be over, and since I can't see Obama conceding, that means I want Obama to win. I think he's earned it in a lot of ways, with pledged delegates, popular votes, grace under the fire of 100 million hits on Jeremiah Wright YouTube videos, etc. As I mentioned above, though, he'll be hard-pressed to sway any tossup or weak Republican states to his side. Hillary may be right that he can't win the Electoral College while she can.
Hillary Clinton - She might as well fight to the end. The Senate is not doing anything of substance other than contemplating more tax rebates during Bush's lame duck year, and she might even win. It would only take about 80 superdelegates to switch allegiances to turn the count around to her favor. She and Bill must have at least that many with skeletons in their closets.
DEMOCRATS
Barack Obama - Everybody is saying he clinched it last night, so I will too. It's like chicken soup; it couldn't hurt. I pretty much just want this to be over, and since I can't see Obama conceding, that means I want Obama to win. I think he's earned it in a lot of ways, with pledged delegates, popular votes, grace under the fire of 100 million hits on Jeremiah Wright YouTube videos, etc. As I mentioned above, though, he'll be hard-pressed to sway any tossup or weak Republican states to his side. Hillary may be right that he can't win the Electoral College while she can.
Hillary Clinton - She might as well fight to the end. The Senate is not doing anything of substance other than contemplating more tax rebates during Bush's lame duck year, and she might even win. It would only take about 80 superdelegates to switch allegiances to turn the count around to her favor. She and Bill must have at least that many with skeletons in their closets.
MMM, MMM, BAD
I went to bed at 7 pm last night due to an ailing stomach from eating bad Campbell's soup I bought at Wal-Mart (I hope Google gets all of that). Needless to say, I didn't watch MTV reality star Blake DeWitt's lumber around the bases while Ryan Church sat stunned on the warning track. I also missed Moises Alou stealing home. What, did he go in with his hands waving and Russell Martin didn't want to get urine all over himself? I'll have to check that one on video later. The Mets smacked around Hiroki Kuroda but couldn't touch Hong Chi-Kuoh or Takaishi Saito (the Dodgers will soon be known as the Los Angeles Toyota Four-Runner Dodgers). The final score was 5-4 thanks to DeWitt's inside-the-park job. If MTV had filmed that play, it would have been less exciting than most scenes in "The Hills", it took so long. Nelson Figueroa's ERA is settling out at replacement level, just as I suspected it would.
The Phillies lost, keeping the margin at 1-1/2 games, but the Mets record is now 16-15, and we are in fourth place, tied with Atlanta. We do have seven games with the Reds and Nats, though, and we need to get healthy in that stretch. Interleague starts after that with the Yankees at the Stadium, followed by Atlanta and Colorado on the road, then Florida and the Dodgers at home, and then another West Coast trip. The Mets have to make three separate California trips before the All-Star break because of the Angels being on the schedule. I'm only making two this year, and I don't have to exert myself, other than to eat vendor dinners. Hey, it's not easy downing a dessert after beer, appetizers, and a complete entree, you know! That has nothing to do with my stomach ache, yesterday, of course. That was all Campbell's and Wal-Mart (one more shot, Google, don't let me down).
The Phillies lost, keeping the margin at 1-1/2 games, but the Mets record is now 16-15, and we are in fourth place, tied with Atlanta. We do have seven games with the Reds and Nats, though, and we need to get healthy in that stretch. Interleague starts after that with the Yankees at the Stadium, followed by Atlanta and Colorado on the road, then Florida and the Dodgers at home, and then another West Coast trip. The Mets have to make three separate California trips before the All-Star break because of the Angels being on the schedule. I'm only making two this year, and I don't have to exert myself, other than to eat vendor dinners. Hey, it's not easy downing a dessert after beer, appetizers, and a complete entree, you know! That has nothing to do with my stomach ache, yesterday, of course. That was all Campbell's and Wal-Mart (one more shot, Google, don't let me down).
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