Die Hard Sports Fan

The New York Mets (28-27) are playing Game 56 of the 2008 Regular Season against the San Francisco Giants (24-33) at AT&T Park.  It’s the first game of the three-game series.  The game began at 10:05 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Tatis, Delgdo, Castro, Perez.

Dodgers Lineup: Winn, Castillo, Rowand, Molina, Aurilia, Durham, Horwitz, Burriss, Sanchez.

At the Plate

Jonathan Sanchez (3-3) was the starting pitcher for the Giants.  In the Top of the 1st, Wright lined a two-out single into center.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Church drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Sanchez struck Tatis out looking to end the inning with the bases loaded.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Delgado led off with a double to the base of the base of the right field wall.  Castro grounded to third, and Delgado held up.  Sanchez fanned Vargas.  Jose Reyes lined a two-out RBI double down the left field line, and Carlos Delgado came around to score.  Castillo popped up in foul territory along the right field line, and Winn made the catch to end the inning with a runner on second.  Sanchez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Wright struck out swinging at a wild pitch that went to the backstop so he ended up beating it out to give the Mets a leadoff baserunner.  Sanchez fanned Beltran.  Church grounded to first, and Aurilia got the lead runner out at second.  Tatis grounded to short and beat out the throw by Burriss for a two-out single, and Church moved over to second.  Delgado popped up to shallow center, and Burriss made the catch to end the inning with Mets stranded on first and second.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Castro drew a leadoff walk.  Vargas bunted towards third, and Castillo made the out at first as Castro advanced to second.  Reyes lined out to second.  Luis Castillo grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle, and Ramon Castro came around to score.  Wright grounded to deep second, and the ball deflected off of the glove of Durham (Error on Ray Durham) so Wright ended up on first and Castillo on second.  Beltran grounded to short, and Burriss got the force out at second to end the inning with runners on first and second.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Sanchez hit Delgado with the pitch to give the Mets a two-out base runner.  Castro grounded to third, and Castillo made the out at second to end the inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Beltran grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side.  Sanchez fanned Church.  Tatis grounded to third, and Castillo made the final out of the inning at second.  Sanchez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Sanchez left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 8 SOs.

Bochy replaced Sanchez with Billy Sadler to begin the Top of the 8th.  Sadler pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Sadler gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Sadler retired the side in order for the second straight inning.  Sadler gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.  Sadler left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (4-3) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Randy Winn led off with a solo shot to left.  Rowand pulled a one-out double down the left field line.  Bengie Molina lined an RBI single into left, and Aaron Rowand came around to score.  Aurilia drew a one-out walk.  Ray Durham lined a one-out 2-run double to the gap in left center scoring Bengie Molina and Rich Aurilia.  Brian Horwitz crushed a one-out 2-run homer to left scoring Ray Durham.  Burriss drew a one-out walk.  Perez gave up 5 Hits, 6 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  What starting pitcher only records one out?  It was like Tom Glavine on that Sunday in September against the Marlins.

Randolph replaced Perez with Claudio Vargas with one out in the Bottom of the 1st.  Sanchez bunted right into the glove of Delgado.  Vargas fanned Winn to end the inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Castillo grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Vargas struck out Rowand on three pitches.  With Molina at the plate, Castro threw out Rowand as he attempted to steal second.  Molina grounded a two-out single through the hole on the left side.  Aurilia grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at second to end the inning stranding a runner on first.  Vargas gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Durham grounded the ball down the first base line but got thrown out by Church when trying to take second base.  Horwitz grounded out to third.  Burriss grounded out to short to end the inning.  Vargas gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Vargas pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Vargas retired the side for the second inning in a row.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Vargas left the game after pitching 4.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Vargas with Carlos Muniz to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Durham lined a leadoff single into right.  Horwitz grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Durham went from first to third.  Burriss grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Jonathan Sanchez hit a one-out 2-run double off of the right field wall which scored Ray Durham and Brian Horwitz.  Winn lined out to right, and Church doubled up Sanchez at second.  Muniz gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Rowand grounded a one-out single up the middle.  Molina lined a one-out single into left, and Rowand moved over to second.  Aurilia grounded to third, but Wright could not field it properly so everyone was safe.  Ray Durham drew a one-out walk which scored Aaron Rowand.  Brian Horwitz hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored Bengie Molina.  Burriss drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Muniz gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Muniz left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Muniz with Aaron Heilman with two outs in the Bottom of the 7th.  Bowker is pinch hitting for Sanchez, and Bowker flied out to right to end the inning with the bases loaded.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Winn drew a leadoff walk.  Castillo hit a no-out Ground Rule Double to center, and Winn ended up on third.  Heilman hit Rowand with the pitch which loaded the bases.  Aurilia popped up to second, and Castillo made the out.  Durham grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Heilman left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO.

Final Score: New York Mets 2 - San Francisco Giants 10.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (4-4) took the loss and Jonathan Sanchez (4-3) got the win.

Game Notes:

• Oliver Perez gave up 6 runs in 1/3 of an inning which was too much for the Mets to climb back from.
• Ryan Church had 2 assists from right.

Series Notes:

• The Dodgers are winning the series against the Mets 1-0.

Other Notes:

• Since June 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l.
• The Mets are currently 0-1 on this road trip.
• The Mets are at .500 with a 28-28 record
• Jose Reyes has an 18-game hitting streak, and a 33-game on-base streak.

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It started pouring outside so who knows if today’s game will take place.  It starts at 3:55 p.m., but the weather forecast is calling for heavy rain according to Evan on WFAN.  It just started coming down about thirty minutes ago.  Since the Mets are playing on Sunday Night Baseball tomorrow, it would be relatively easy for them to reschedule the game early tomorrow.  Or they can go into a rain delay and wait for a window.

Mets.com:

Mets’ streak over after bullpen falters - Anthony DiComo summarized last night’s game between the Dodgers and the Mets.

Pelfrey hoping to make statement - Jon Blau put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Dodgers and the Mets.

Castillo day-to-day after injuring hip

Church feels good after pregame warmup - Samantha Newman pointed out that Ryan Church is waiting for doctor’s clearance before returning.

Pedro makes long-awaited return - Anthony DiComo reported that Pedro Martinez, “rejoined the Mets on Friday and is officially set to come off the disabled list and start against the Giants on Tuesday.”

Newsday:

L. A. routs Heilman in eighth as Mets lose - Roderick Boone also summarized last night’s Dodgers-Mets game.

Revved-up Pedro: ‘We owe something to fans’

Church says he’s ready; team will be cautious

New York Daily News:

Russell Martin gets four hits as Dodgers snap Mets’ win streak - Adam Rubin wrote up a game summary for last night’s game between the Dodgers and the Mets.

Pedro Martinez: We owe fans for ‘07

Mike Pelfrey can make pitch to stay - Andy Martino believes that Mike Pelfrey may be pitching for his job today.

 Ryan Church on Sunday? Maybe so

New York Post:

ANOTHER HEIL OF A MESS FOR METS - Bart Hubbuch walks us through another choke by Aaron Heilman last night.

TORRE FAMILIAR WITH WILLIE’S TURMOIL

CASTILLO MAY LAND ON DL

BAD CALL CAN’T BE DODGED - Brian Costello described the bad call by first-base umpire Tim Welke who called Juan Pierre safe in the eigth inning.  This was the beginning of a 5-run inning for the Dodgers.  Welke had this to say about the play,

After watching the replay three times I know why I called him safe. In my judgment his heel was on the bag before Delgado caught the ball. I know his toe is in the air and that makes it look as though he hasn’t reached the bag but I know why I called him safe.

PEDRO: ‘GREAT’ DAYS ARE AHEAD

New York Times:

Mets Give Their Fans Reasons to Boo - Joshua Robinson summarized last night’s Dodgers-Mets game.

Martínez Is Back in Mets’ Dugout, Bringing His Upbeat Attitude With Him

Church Says He Does Not Regret Helping Out Mets

The Star-Ledger:

Today’s Lineup…

Good vibes turn sour for Mets

Pedro ready to provide a lift

Mets winning streak ends; Dodgers win, 9-5 - Colin Stephenson also wrote up a game summary for last night’s game between the Dodgers and the Mets.

Uh-oh - During last night’s game, Colin Stephenson pointed out that, “Luis Castillo has left the game with some sort of leg injury.”

Pelfrey sees the handwriting on the wall

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The New York Mets (26-26) are playing Game 53 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Los Angeles Dodgers (26-27) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the second game of the four-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Dodgers Lineup: Pierre, Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, Ethier, DeWitt, Maza, Kershaw.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Tatis, Castro, Delgado, Evans, Maine.

On the Mound

John Maine (5-4) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Pierre drew a leadoff walk.  With Kemp at the batters box, Pierre beat out the bad throw by Castro as he stole second.  Maine fanned Kemp.  Kent grounded to third, and Wright looked Pierre back to second before making the out at first.  James Loney drove a two-out RBI double into the gap in right center, and Juan Pierre came around to score.  Russell Martin lined a two-out opposite field RBI double down the right field line, and James Loney came around to score.  Andre Ethier grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Russell Martin came around to score.  DeWitt grounded to first, and Delgado tagged first to end the inning.  Maine gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Maine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Maine now retired the Dodgers for the second inning in a row.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Russell Martin hit a leadoff jack to left field.  Maine fanned Ethier.  Maine struck out DeWitt on a foul tip.  Maza grounded out to third to end the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Maine retired the side in order.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Martin lined a two-out single into left.  Ethier grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to end the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Maine left the game after 6.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 1 BB, and he had 6 SOs.

Randolph replaced Maine with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 7th.  DeWitt lined a leadoff single into left.  Maza grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play (Castillo had to leave the game after this play, and Easley replaced him).  Park grounded towards the pitcher, and Feliciano made the out at first to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Pierre beat out a ground ball to short for a leadoff single.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Feliciano left the game after pitching 1.0 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman with no outs in the Top of the 8th.  Matt Kemp drove a no-out double into the gap in right center, and Juan Pierre came all the way around to score.  Jeff Kent lined a no-out opposite field single into right, and Matt Kemp came around to score (Hu came in to pinch run for Kent).  Loney grounded a no-out single through the hole on the right side, and Hu went from first to third.  Russell Martin grounded a no-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Chin-Iung Hu, and Loney went from first to third.  Heilman gave up 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Scott Schoeneweis with no outs in the Top of the 8th.  Schoeneweis threw a wild pitch that hit the bat of Ethier and redirected to the backstop, and James Loney came home to score and Martin advanced to second.  Schoeneweis struck out Ethier looking.  Blake DeWitt lined a one-out RBI single into center which scored Russell Martin, and then the Mets got DeWitt caught in a rundown as he attempted to go to second and Delgado applied the tag.  Maza grounded to first, and Delgado tagged him to end the inning.  Schoeneweis gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Carlos Muniz to begin the Top of the 9th.  Muniz pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Muniz gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Clayton Kershaw (0-0) was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Luis Castillo pulled a no-out 2-run shot to left scoring Jose Reyes.  Kershaw struck out Wright looking.  Beltran grounded out to short.  Tatis grounded out to second to end the inning.  Kershaw gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Kershaw pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Kershaw gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Reyes drew a one-out walk.  Castillo drew a one-out walk.  Wright drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, and Jose Reyes tagged up and scored as Castillo tagged up and advanced to third.  Tatis gounded to third, and DeWitt made the out at first leaving Mets stranded at the corners.  Kershaw gave up 0 Hits, 2 Run, 3 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Castro lined a leadoff single into left.  Delgado lined a no-out single into center, and Castro went to second.  Evans lined a single into left, and both runners advanced to load the bases.  Maine grounded to third, and DeWitt got the lead runner out at home while Maine ended up on first.  Jose Reyes grounded to third, but DeWitt could not field it cleanly so Ramon Castro scored and everybody is safe.  Castillo drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Kershaw gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  Kershaw left the game after pitching 3.2 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Torre replaced Kershaw with Chan Ho Park with two outs in the Bottom of the 4th.  Wright grounded to short, and Maza made the out at first to end the inning leaving the bases full of Mets.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Park retired the side in order with three ground outs.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Casanova drew a two-out pinch hit walk.  Reyes grounded out to second, and Kent made the force out at second to end the inning.  Park gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Wright drove a one-out double to the base of the center field wall.  Park intentionally walked Beltran.  Tatis lined a one-out single through the hole on the right side to load the bases.  Ramon Castro grounded back to the pitcher, and the ball redirected off of Park and towards third so DeWitt made the out at first as David Wright came home to score.  Park intentionally walked Delgado to load the bases.  Park fanned Evans to end the inning with the bases full of Mets.  Park gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Park left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Torre replaced Park with Jonathan Broxton to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Broxton pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Broxton gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Torre replaced Broxton with Takashi Saito to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Tatis grounded to second, and Maza got the out at first and Beltran moved over to second.  Castro got hit by the pitch.  Delgado grounded to second, and Maza made the out at first to end the game.  Saito gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Los Angeles Dodgers 9 - New York Mets 5.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Aaron Heilman (0-2) blew the save and took the loss and Chan Ho Park (2-1) got the win.

Game Notes:

• Luis Castillo hit another 2-run dinger.
• Aaron Heilman blew the save giving up 4 runs without recording an out.

Series Notes:

• The Dodgers and the Mets are tied up 1-1.

Other Notes:

• Since May 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-l-l-l-l-w-l-l-w-w-w-l.
• The Mets are currently 3-2 on this homestand.
• The Mets are now one game under .500 with a 26-27 record.

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The Metropolitans were unable to provide Willie with a post-meeting victory last night.  Various Mets were asked if Willie should be their manager, and only Wagner stated that he supported Willie.  Other players danced around the question, and tried to be politically correct.  Delgado got really weird about the question.  I’ve been trying to find the full quote, but none of the papers got it.  Here’s a portion of what Carlos said, “I’ll tell you what I think. I think we need to play better. I think they don’t pay me to think. They pay me to play baseball. … (That’s) not a good question to ask.”  When I listened to it, he finished the last question by saying that it’s not a good question to ask in front of everybody.  So when should reporters ask the question?  Also, Delgado was very nasty to the reporters after the first couple of questions.  He began swearing which is probably why I can’t find it in the papers.  Remember this, Delgado didn’t want to be on the Mets so he went to the Marlins instead.  So what did Omar do?  He went out and got Delgado.  Carlos had one good year on the Mets in ‘06.  In ‘07, he had a .258 average and was bored.  This year, he has a .215 average.  He’s a classless bum so get rid of him.  The team chemistry should improve a little bit from this.  I’m sure there’s more problems, but this is a good start.  Thanks Willie for benching Delgado tonight.  There are much bigger problems than Willie.  Omar believes that he has championship talent so he is the first person that needs to wake up and smell the coffee.  Once he realizes how wrong he is in his assessment, he will have to get rid of the bums and bring in championship talent.  Even if these players have the physical talent, they don’t have the mental talent.  Take Reyes for example.  He has been great until Willie benched him.  Once there was adversity, he has sucked.  Down the stretch in ‘07, he sucked.  Now that the Mets are supposed to win, Reyes sucks and the Mets are playing .500 ball.  Reyes was able to succeed without pressure.  After the collapse, my question was whether or not Reyes was injured or childish.  I was upset with the Mets for not stating what the problem was until Spring Training.  I thought Reyes should’ve been dealt to the Twins if he was being childish, but not if he was injured.  In Spring Training, we found out that he was being a baby and he’s still on the Mets.  Omar needs to take a better look at this team, and there are so many more issues.

Mets.com:

Mets reliving a bit of history - Marty Noble compared the ‘08 Mets to the ‘04 Mets.

Mets held at bay by first-place Marlins - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Heilman locating pitches better of late - Jon Blau put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Pedro to make return on June 3

Randolph to remain manager of Mets

Church to see a neurologist - Marty Noble reported that Ryan Church, “is to be examined by a neurologist.”  Also, Marlon Anderson was, ”assigned to the disabled list because of a strain of his left hamstring.”

Tigers and Mets have common ground - Fred Claire believes that the Mets and the Tigers are struggling despite big offseason moves.

Newsday:

In the end, this town could make Willie toast

Same old ending as Marlins top Mets, 7-3 - Arthur Staple also summarized last night’s Marlins-Mets game.

Randolph still Mets manager after meeting

Beltran on manager situation: It’s a distraction - Carlos Beltran had this to say about Willie’s status:

I think they should say that and come out with something like that. Because it is a distraction. The reality is people say, ‘No, that doesn’t affect the ballclub,’ but it does. It does because you come to the ballpark wondering what’s going to happen. It’s natural as players, we all think like that.

At one point, I was in that situation when they were talking every day about me being traded when I was in Kansas City. To me, it was thinking it might be today. Tomorrow might be the day. It’s not fun coming wondering like that every day to the ballpark.

Randolph saga is field day for media - I bet it is.  It’s been so overdone.  I was bored of the story after the first two days.

Lightning kills former Mets pitcher Gonzalez - The AP reported that “Former Mets pitcher Geremi Gonzalez was killed by a lightning strike in his native Venezuela on Sunday. He was 33.”  I’ve never actually knew anybody that was killed by lightning.  That is an awful story.  Die Hard Mets Fan sends our prayers to Geremi Gonzalez.

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what happened at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on May 27 of a year in the past.

New York Daily News:

Embattled Mets manager Willie Randolph has brass’ support - for now

Fielding gaffes fail to boost Willie Randolph and doom Mets vs. Marlins - Peter Botte wrote up a game summary for last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Willie Randolph survives to manage the Mets another day

One meeting can’t clean up the Mets

Met players: It’s on us and not Willie Randolph

Thank Aaron Heilman for preventing blowout vs. Marlins

Ryan Church service still on hold

Lightning kills ex-Met riding boat

New York Post:

THERE’S A WILL, BUT NOT A WAY

DON’T BLAME WILLIE

THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB ON A TEAM OF GOATS

PELFREY’S PUZZLED BY POOR START

BLAME FOR THIS MESS GOES BEYOND DUGOUT

JOSE’S HOT BAT CAN’T START FIRE

WILLIE’S REPRIEVE

PLAYERS: BLAME SHOULD FALL ON US

WILLIE RANDOLPH KEEPS HIS JOB

TRADING PLACES - Dan Tomasino pointed out that, “The first-place team in the NL East will play at Shea Stadium tonight, but it’s not the hometown Mets.”

New York Times:

Randolph Is Still Mets’ Manager

No Good News for Randolph as Mets Lose Again - Joe LaPointe summarized last night’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

The Star-Ledger:

Game 50: Marlins at Mets - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineup for tonight’s game between the Marlins and the Mets.

Wise placed on DL - Jeremy Cothran reported that, “Matt Wise was placed on the 15-day disabled list with weakness in his throwing (right) shoulder. To fill the void in the bullpen, the Mets called up RHP Carlos Muniz from Triple-A New Orleans.”

Somebody has to go, but it’s not Willie

Players speak volumes by staying silent

Reyes continues puzzling season

Willie will, for now

It’s all about the manager right now

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The New York Mets (22-23) are playing Game 46 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Colorado Rockies (18-29) at Coors Field.  It’s the first game of the three-game series.  The game began at 9:05 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Anderson, Schneider, Chavez, Perez.

Rockies Lineup: Taveras, Barmes, Holliday, Atkins, Helton, Spilborghs, Baker, Torrealba, Reynolds.

At the Plate

Greg Reynolds (0-1) was the starting pitcher for the Rockies.  In the Top of the 1st, Reynolds pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Reynolds gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Beltran drew a leadoff walk on four pitches.  Reynolds fanned Delgado.  Anderson lined out to center.  Reynolds got Schneider looking at strike three to end the inning.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Chavez beat out a ground ball to second for a leadoff single.  Perez drew a no-out walk.  Reyes grounded to second, and Baker made the out at second so Reyes arrived at first safely while Chavez advanced to third.  Luis Castillo slapped a one-out RBI single into left which scored Endy Chavez, and Reyes moved over to second.  Reynolds struck out Wright swining.  Beltran flied out to the warning track in center with Mets stranded on the corners.  Reynolds gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, (Anderson injured his hamstring running out a ground ball, and Willie and the Trainor had to carry him off the field so he will have to be replaced) Reynolds retired the side in order.  Reynolds gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Reynolds retired the side for the second straight inning.  Reynolds gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Castillo drew a leadoff walk on four pitches.  Wright grounded to third, and Atkins made the out at first as Castillo advanced to second.  Beltran grounded to second, and Baker made the out at first as Castillo moved over to third.  Carlos Delgado hit a two-out 2-run homer to center scoring Luis Castillo.  Tatis replaced Anderson, and Fernando Tatis hit a two-out solo shot to center.  Schneider grounded out to second to end the inning.  Reynolds gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Reynolds left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Hurdle replaced Reynolds with Jason Grilli to begin the Top of the 7th.  Chavez grounded a leadoff single down the left field line.  Easley is pinch hitting for Smith, and Easley grounded a single through the hole on the left side so Chavez went from first to third.  Jose Reyes popped up to shallow left, and Endy Chavez tagged up and scored.  Castillo grounded to short, and the Rockies turned the inning ending double play.  Grilli gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Grilli pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Grilli gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  Grilli left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Hurdle replaced Grilli with Manny Corpas to begin the Top of the 9th.  Tatis lined a leadoff single into right.  Schneider dropped down a bunt in front of home plate, and Torrealba made the out at first as Tatis went to second.  Chavez grounded to second, and Baker made the out at first as Tatis advanced to third.  Casanova is pinch hitting for Schoeneweis, and Casanova grounded out to first stranding Tatis.  Corpas gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Hurdle replaced Corpas with Brian Fuentes to begin the Top of the 10th.  Reyes drove a leadoff double into the gap in right center.  With Castillo in the batters box, Reyes was picked off at second base.  Castillo flied out to right.  Fuentes fanned Wright to end the inning.  Fuentes gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 10th Inning.

Hurdle replaced Fuentes with Taylor Buchholz to begin the Top of the 11th.  Delgado drove a one-out double into the gap in right center.  Tatis grounded to second, and Herrera held up Delgado before making the out at first.  Buchholz got Schneider on a check swing to end the inning with Delgado stranded on second.  Buchholz gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 11th Inning.  In the Top of the 12th, Buchholz retired the side in order.  Buchholz gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 12th Inning.  In the Top of the 13th, Wright lined a one-out single into right.  Beltran popped up to short, and Quintanilla made the out.  Delgado lined out to first leaving Wright stranded on second.  Buchholz gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 13th Inning.  Buchholz left the game after pitching 3.0 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (4-3) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Barmes hit a one-out Ground Rule Double to left field.  Holliday flied out to right.  Garrett Atkins hit a two-out 2-run bomb to left field scoring Clint Barmes.  Helton lined a two-out opposite field single into left.  Spilborghs drew a two-out walk.  Perez struck out Baker on three straight pitches to end the inning.  Perez gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Reynolds drew a one-out walk.  Taveras lined a one-out single into right center, and Reynolds advanced to second.  Perez fanned Barmes.  Holliday grounded to third, and Wright got the force out at second to end the inning.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Atkins lined a leadoff single into left.  Helton grounded to second, and the Mets turned the double play.  Spilborghs drew a two-out walk.  With Baker in the batters box, Schneider threw out Spilborghs as he attempted to steal second base.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Baker drew a leadoff walk on four pitches.  Torrealba flied out to left center, and Beltran made the catch.  Reynolds bunted in towards the pitcher, and Perez made the out at first as Baker advanced to second.  Taveras grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first stranding Baker.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Atkins drew a two-out walk.  With Helton at the plate, Perez threw a wild pitch so Atkins moved over to second.  Helton drew a two-out walk.  Spilborghs drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Baker flied out to right to end the inning with the bases full of Rockies.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Torrealba beat out a ground ball to third for a leadoff single.  Herrera is pinch hitting for Reynolds, and Herrara drew a no-out walk.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 8 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Joe Smith with no outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Taveras worked the count full before he dropping a bunt down towards first, and Smith made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Clint Barmes pulled a one-out 2-run double down the left field line which scored Yorvit Torrealba and Jonathan Herrera.  Holliday lined out to left.  Smith struck out Atkins looking.  Smith gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Scott Schoeneweis to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Spilborghs drew a one-out walk.  Podsednik replaced Baker, and Podsednik grounded into an inning ending double play.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Schoeneweis pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Schoeneweis left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Billy Wagner to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Matt Holliday hit a one-out solo shot to center field.  Atkins lined a one-out single into center.  Helton lined a one-out single into center, and Atkins went first to third.  Spilborghs grounded to short, and Reyes got Atkins to hold up at third and then made the out at first.  Podsednik worked himself into a full count before popping up to short to end the inning.  Wagner gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 10th, Torrealba beat out a ground ball to third the Wright (Error on David Wright) misfielded.  Herrera is pinch hitting for Fuentes, and Herrera grounded to second so Castillo made the out at first as Torrealba went to second.  Wagner struck out Cook, and Schneider threw out Torrealba as he attempted to steal third.  Wagner gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 10th Inning.  Wagner left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Randolph replaced Wagner with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Bottom of the 11th.  Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Aaron Heilman to begin the Bottom of the 12th.  Podsednik grounded to the pitcher, and the ball deflected towards second so Podsednik beat it out for a two-out single.  Torrealba popped up to second, and Castillo made the catch to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 12th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 13th, Herrera grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Francis is pinch hitting for Buchholz, and Francis dropped down a sacrifice bunt which allowed Herrera to move over to second.  Heilman fanned Quintanilla.  Matt Holliday grounded an RBI single through the hole on the right side, and Jonathan Herrera came around to score.  Heilman gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 13th Inning.  Heilman left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Final Score: New York Mets 5 - Colorado Rockies 6 (in 13).  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Aaron Heilman took the loss (0-1) and Taylor Buchholz got the win.

Game Notes:

• Delgado hit a 2-run solo shot.
• The Mets made a ton of mistakes and should’ve won the game in 9 innings.  The problem was that the Rockies made just as many mistakes so nobody wanted to win.

Other Notes:

• Since May 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-l-l-l-l.
• It is the first time this month that the Mets lost 5 straight games.
• The Mets are now two games under .500 with a 22-24 record.

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The New York Mets (22-19) are playing Game 42 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Atlanta Braves (22-21) at Turner Field.  It’s the first game of the four-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Maine.

Braves Lineup: Escobar, Kotsay, Jones, Teixeira, McCann, Francoeur, Johnson, Blanco, Glavine.

At the Plate

Tom Glavine (1-1) was the starting pitcher for the Braves.  In the Top of the 1st, Luis Castillo somehow pulled a one-out solo shot down the left field line.  Wright grounded a one-out single up the middle.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Church lined a one-out opposite field single into left, and Wright advanced to third and Beltran advanced to second.  Moises Alou lined out to third, and the runners stayed put.  Delgado lined out to right to end the inning with the bases juiced.  Glavine gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Glavine pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Glavine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Glavine retired the side again.  Glavine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Glavine retired the side for the third time.  Glavine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Glavine now sent the Met down in order for the fourth straight inning.  Glavine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Glavine now sent the Mets down in order for the fifth inning in a row.  Glavine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  Glavine left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 1 Runs, 1 ER, 1 BB, and he had 4 SOs.

Cox replaced Glavine with Will Ohman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Ohman pitched a 1-2-3 inning also.  Ohman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Ohman struck out Schneider before Cox made a pitching change.  Ohman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  Ohman left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Cox replaced Ohman with Blaine Boyer with one out in the Top of the 8th.  Reyes lined a two-out single into right.  Castillo grounded out to third to end the inning.  Boyer gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Cox replaced Boyer with Manny Acosta to begin the Top of the 9th.  Beltran lined a one-out single up the middle.  Church grounded to first, and the Braves only got the out at second on the double play attempt.  Alou grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Church advanced to second.  Delgado grounded to first, and Teixeira made the toss to Acosta who tagged first to end the game.  Acosta gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

John Maine (5-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Escobar lined a leadoff double down the right field line.  Kotsay grounded to short, and Reyes made the throw to Wright who tagged Escobar as he was sliding into third.  Jones grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first as Kotsay advanced to second.  Mark Teixeira lined a two-out RBI single into center, and Mark Kotsay came around to score.  McCann popped up to left, and Alou made the final out of the inning.  Maine gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Blanco drew a two-out walk.  With Glavine in the batters box, Blanco beat out the throw as he stole second safely.  With Glavine at the plate, Maine threw a wild pitch so Blanco advanced to third.  Glavine grounded to the pitcher, and Maine made the out at first to end the inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Escobar grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  With Kotsay in the batters box, Schneider threw out Escobar as he attempted to steal second.  Kotsay lined out to left.  Jones lined a two-out single into right.  Teixeira grounded a two-out single up the middle, and Jones advanced to second.  Brian McCann lined a two-out RBI single into center, and Chipper Jones came around to score while Teixeira moved over to second.  Francoeur popped up to shallow left, and Reyes made the out leaving to Braves on base.  Maine gave up 4 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Johnson drove an opposite field leadoff double to the gap in left center.  Blanco drew a no-out walk.  Glavine dropped down a sacrifice bunt towards the pitcher, and Maine made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Yunel Escobar lined out to right, and Kelly Johnson tagged up and scored while Blanco advanced to third.  Kotsay popped up to left, and Alou made the final out of the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Jones drew a leadoff walk.  Teixeira beat out a ground ball down the third base line for a no-out single, and Jones moved over to second.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Maine left the game after pitching 4.0 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Maine with Scott Schoeneweis with no outs in the Bottom of the 5th.  McCann grounded to first, and Delgado made the throw to Schoeneweis at first for the out while both runners advanced.  Schoeneweis intentionally walked Francoeur to load the bases.  Kelly Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to left, and Chipper Jones tagged up and scored while the other runners held up.  Blanco grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to end the inning.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Gotay led off with a pinch hit ground ball through the hole on the right side for a single.  Escobar flied out to left.  Kotsay flied out to left.  Jones popped up to first to end the inning.  Schoeneweis gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Shoeneweis left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Aaron Heilman to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Teixeira drew a leadoff walk.  Brian McCann crushed a no-out 2-run home run to left center which scored Mark Teixeira.  Francoeur popped up to short.  Johnson grounded out to second.  Blanco grounded out to first to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Matt Wise to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Kotsay grounded a two-out single up the middle.  Wise got Jones looking at strike three.  Wise gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 1 - Atlanta Braves 6.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  John Maine (5-3) got the loss and Tom Glavine (2-1) got the win.

Since May 1st, this is the Mets trend: w-l-w-l-l-w-w-l-w-l-w-l-l-w-w-?.  Each time they lose one or more games, they mitigate a losing streak with the exact number of wins.  Once the Mets win enough games to offset the losses, they lose again.  That question mark is for today’s which game which resulted in a loss.  The unpredictable part of this is trying to determine how long the losing streak will be.  The Mets haven’t lost more than two games in a row this month yet so it seems like the worst thing that can happen is that the Mets loss two games before winning two games to go even with the Braves.

Isn’t it funny how Tom Glavine can pitch effectively against the Mets?  When he was on the Mets, he can pitch well except every team except the Braves.  That is why I always thought he was secretly on the Braves payroll because he got like one win in 6 years against the Braves.  I thought the Mets were going to knock Tommy out of the game in the first inning, but the Mets only got one run.  After that, Glavine retired 17 straight Mets.  I wanted him to feel devastated.  Maine didn’t have it today which is unfortunate because we’re playing the Braves.  Willie was kind enough to bring in Heilman for an inning so we can watch McCann hit a 2-run homer off of him.  The last thing I want to watch is the Braves tack on runs even if Willie didn’t think the team could come back and win the game.  Don’t give them the satisfaction.  The Mets only got 5 hits today.  We’ll see what happens tonight.

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If you remember how I was bitching yesterday that Santana shouldn’t have been held back a day to face the Yankees because the division is more important then listen to what I’m pissed off about now.  That was before last night’s game and today’s game.  How good of a game did Vargas pitch last night?  He pitched 6.1 Innings allowing 3 Hits and 2 Runs.  Pretend that was Johan’s line, and then Heilman came in and gave up 4 Runs while only recording one out.  Or better yet, how great was Pelfrey today?  He pitched 7.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits and 1 Run.  The Bullpen subsequently came in and put up zeroes.  Santana was suppposed to pitch today so pretend that he pitched as great as Pelfrey did.  The problem is that the Mets wouldn’t have won either game because the offense sucks.

The only thing the Mets did differently today is mess up that w-l-w-l-w-l thing.  Now, they lost two in a row to the last place Nats…and at home to boot.  The Mets lost the series 3 games to 1, and the Mets finished the homestand with a 3-4 record against the Reds and the Nationals.  It’s kind of pathetic.

Mets.com:

Pelfrey flirts with no-no, loses to Nats - Anthony DiComo summarized today’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Castillo returns to lineup for Mets

Schoeneweis OK after trip to hospital - Anthony DiComo reported that Scott Schoeneweis suffered severe abdominal pain which sent him to the emergency room.

Heilman’s rough outing dooms Mets - Anthony DiComo summarized last night’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Versatile Tatis a diamond in the rough - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis between the Nationals and the Mets.

Pedro pain-free in simulated game

Castillo could be headed to DL

Alou ejected for arguing strike call

Newsday:

Mets waste Pelfrey’s gem in 1-0 loss to Nationals - The AP also summarized today’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Heilman ruins good outing by Vargas as Mets fall - David Lennon also summarized last night’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Mets’ Schoeneweis rushed to hospital; OK now

Mets waste game for Vargas and unfortunate fans

Mets reliever Schoeneweis had hospital visit

Santana’s talk of Subway Series, but won’t talk

Castillo trying to avoid the disabled list

New York Daily News:

Billy Wagner rips Mets teammates for ducking media - I don’t even understand how the Mets allow the players to not be available for questions.

Mike Pelfrey flirts with no-hitter, but Mets bats fall flat in loss to Nationals - The AP summarized today’s Nationals-Mets game.

Mets should admit to flaunting Johan Santana vs. Yanks in Subway Series

Aaron Heilman allows three runs in 7th inning, dooms Mets vs. Nationals - Adam Rubin summarized last night’s Nationals-Mets game.

Moises Alou tossed into Bronx debut

For Scott Schoeneweis, tough to stomach

New York Post:

NO RELIEF IN SIGHT - Bart Hubbuch stated that Aaron Heilman’s relief efforts last night were ”frightening”.

PELFREY LOOKS TO SETTLE IN VS. NATS

MARTINEZ’S SIMULATED ‘PROGRESS’

METS NEED MORE VARGAS

OFFENSE STRUGGLES AGAIN

New York Times:

Alou Loses Cool, Heilman Loses Control and Mets Lose a Game - Joe Lapointe wrote up a game recap for last night’s game between the Nats and the Mets.

Castillo Will Probably Go on the D.L.

The Star-Ledger:

Final: Nationals 1, Mets 0 - Jeremy Cothran also wrote up a game summary for today’s Nats-Mets game.

No, No, Luis Castillo - Dan Graziano believes that Castillo had to score on the ball that was dropped by Austin Kearns.

Pelfrey looking sharp

Game 39: Nationals at Mets - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineup for today’s game between the Nationals and the Mets.

Heilman ruins debut for Vargas

Pedro making progress

Final: Nationals 5, Mets 3

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The New York Mets (20-17) are playing Game 38 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (16-24) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the third game of the four-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Boone, Kearns, Dukes, Pena, Flores, Redding.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Easley, Vargas.

On the Mound

Claudio Vargas (0-0) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Lopez lined a leadoff double off of the right field wall.  Guzman flied out to left.  Vargas fanned Zimmerman.  Boone popped up to first.  Vargas gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Vargas pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Flores drew a leadoff walk.  Redding dropped down towards first, and Delgado got the lead runner out at second.  With Lopez in the batters box, Vargas threw a wild pitch so Redding went to second.  Lopez drew a one-out walk.  Guzman flied out to left.  Zimmerman grounded to short, and Reyes made the force out at second to end the inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Boone beat out ground ball to deep short for a single to lead off the inning.  Kearns flied out to center.  Dukes grounded to short, and the Mets turned the inning ending double play.  Vargas gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Vargas pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Lopez drew a leadoff walk.  Guzman grounded to second, and the Mets turned the double play.  Ryan Zimmerman tattooed a two-out solo shot to the upperdecks in left.  Vargas fanned Boone to end the inning.  Vargas gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Dukes drew a one-out walk on four straight pitches.  Vargas gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Vargas left the game after pitching 6.1 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ERs, 4 BBs, and he had 6 SOs.

Randolph replaced Vargas with Aaron Heilman with one out in the Top of the 7th.  Pena grounded to third, and Wright made a barehand throw to first to get Pena while Dukes moved over to second.  Jesus Flores grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side, and Elijah Dukes came around to score.  Harris is pinch hitting for Redding, and Harris drew a two-out walk.  Felipe Lopez grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Jesus Flores, and Harris went first to third and Lopez went to second as the throw came home to the plate.  Cristian Guzman grounded a two-out 2-run single up the middle which scored Willie Harris and Felipe Lopez.  Heilman did what he does best by giving up 4 runs while only recording 1 out.  Heilman gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Joe Smith with two outs in the Top of the 7th.  Smith struck out Zimmerman on three straight pitches to end the nightmare-ish inning.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Smith retired the side in order.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  Smith left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 ER, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Randolph replaced Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 9th.  Feliciano pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Tim Redding (4-3) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Redding retired the side in order.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Redding pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Redding now retired the lineup in order the first time through it.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Reyes drew a leadoff walk.  Church popped up in foul ground near the Nationals dugout, and Zimmerman made the catch.  Wright lined a no-out single up the middle, and Reyes advanced to second.  Beltran lined to third, and Zimmerman threw the ball to second before Reyes could get back to the bag to end the inning.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, (Moises Alou struck out and subsequently slammed the bat down on the dirt and got ejected) Brian Schneider crushed a two-out solo shot to right.  Easley drew a two-out walk.  Redding fanned Vargas to end the inning.  Redding gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Redding pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Redding gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Redding left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Acta replaced Redding with Saul Rivera to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Chavez replaced Alou, and Chavez grounded a one-out single to the pitcher who bobbled the ball.  Delgado grounded a one-out single off of the pitcher and through the hole on the right side, and Chavez went first to third.  Brian Schneider grounded out to first, and Endy Chavez came home to score while Delgado moved over to second.  Easley grounded out to the pitcher, and Rivera made the out at first to end the inning.  Rivera gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Anderson lined a pinch hit opposite field single to left to give the Mets a leadoff runner.  Reyes flied out to left.  Church drew a one-out walk.  Rivera gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Rivera left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Acta replaced Rivera with Luis Ayala with one out in the Bottom of the 8th.  Wright flied out to center.  Ayala gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Acta replaced Ayala with Jon Rauch with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Carlos Beltran grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side, and Marlon Anderson came around to score while Church went first to third.  Chavez popped up to shallow center, and Dukes made the catch to end the inning.  Rauch gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Rauch slammed the door on the Mets.  Rauch gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Washington Nationals 5 - New York Mets 3.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Claudio Vargas (0-1) got the loss and Tim Redding (5-3) got the win.

Surprisingly, this game was a pitching duel early on.  Claudio Vargas pitch a great game in his first game of the year.  Vargas walked a batter, Willie made a pitching change, and Heilman gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in 1/3 of an inning to blow another game for the Mets.  Schneider drove in 2 of the Mets runs today.  Now, the Mets cannot win the series against the last place Nats.  At best, they can tie it tomorrow.  It really is pathetic that the Mets don’t have the killer instinct in them after last year’s collapse.  The Mets need to do something before the season ends and they are still playing .500 ball.

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Die Hard Mets Fan would like to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!  The Mets won the weekend series against the Reds, and then the Nats are coming to Queens tomorrow for a four-game series.  Hopefully, we can continue to watch the Metsies beat up on the scrubs of the NL.  Next weekend begins the first interleague series, and the Mets will be in the Bronx for the weekend for the first Subway Series of ‘08.

Mets.com:

Quirks and all, Perez picks up victory - Marty Noble summarized today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Strained left quad stops Castillo - Marty Noble reported that Luis Castillo had to leave today’s game against the Reds because he strained his left quad in the 5th Inning.

Pelfrey undergoing transformation - Marty Noble stated that last night’s loss to the Reds was in some ways a moral victory for Mike Pelfrey because he pitched 6 innings allowing 2 runs.  After a couple of poor performances, Pelfrey made some changes which led to an improved outing last night.  His teammates informed him that he was tipping off his pitches by chewing on his mouthpiece when he threw fastballs, but not when he threw breaking balls.  So one change was getting rid of the mouthpiece, and the other change was not using what he claims is his best pitch (the two seam fastball) because it hasn’t been successful lately.

Pelfrey solid, but Mets fall in nightcap - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Beltran powers Mets in matinee - Marty Noble summarized yesterday’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Mets aim to stay solid vs. weaker clubs - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Son of former Met a chip off old block - Marty Noble lets us know how the son of former Mets’ catcher Ron Hodges, Casey Hodges, who pitches for Mount Olive College is doing so far in his collegiate career.

Newsday:

Subpar Santana still good enough for Mets - Mark Herrman summarized yesterday’s double header between the Reds and the Mets.

Pelfrey still improving despite loss

Mets’ Beltran primed to break funk - Ken Davidoff stated that Carlos Beltran may get out of the funk after his 5-RBI game in the first game against the Reds.

New York Daily News:

Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church hit back-to-back homers as Mets blast Reds - The AP summarized today’s Reds-Mets game.

Mets are like night and day in doubleheader, split games vs. Reds - Anthony McCarron also summarized yesterday’s Reds-Mets double header.

Johan Santana seems slow to change up Mets’ fortunes

Wagner loses his cool on watercooler - Kristie Ackert tells us that Billy Wagner took out his frustrations on the water cooler in the dugout after he stunk it up in the 9th Inning of last night’s game against the Reds.

Like night & day for Aaron Heilman - Kristie Ackert explained how different Aaron Heilman was when used in both games of yesterday’s double header.

Lucky 7th for Carlos Delgado - Mark Lelinwalla describes how successful Carlos Delgado was when batting in the seventh spot of the lineup in yesterday’s day game against the Reds.

Junior achievements wow Willie - Since the Reds are in town and Griffey is close to hitting his 600th Home Run, Anthony McCarron found out what Willie Randolph’s thoughts are on Ken Griffey Jr.’s exceptional career.  McCarron also provided some stats for what could’ve been for the slugger.

Griffey has struggled to stay healthy his entire career. He could have played 3,115 games over his career if he had played every game of every season he’s been in the majors, including this one. But he’s only played in 2,414, or 77.5%. He’s missed 701 games, or more than four full seasons. Still, he’s hit 597 homers.

Bobby Valentine has ‘zen’ moment in new movie - Patrick Huguenin found out that three NYU students made a documentary about Bobby Valentine titled, ”The Zen of Bobby V”.  The documentary “examines Valentine’s remarkable adaptation to a baseball culture far from home.”  Bobby V is now the manager of Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines.  I gotta check out this flick because it seems like it will crack me up.

New York Post:

BELTRAN, CHURCH POWER METS OVER REDS - Mike Puma summarized today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

METS SUFFER FROM SPLITTIN’ RED-ACHE - Mike Puma summarized both games of yesterday’s double header between the Reds and the Mets.

DELGADO GETTING THINGS IN ORDER

PASSION IS KEY TO BEIN’ AMAZIN’ - Kevin Kernan believes that the Mets didn’t have enough passion to win both game of the double header yesterday.

DAVID HAS RIGHT IDEA - Mike Puma stated that “When David Wright is going right, he’s thinking right (field).”

25 BEST MOMENTS AT SHEA: NO. 20

METS BEAT REDS 12-6 - Mike Puma summarized the first game of yesterday’s double header between the Reds and the Mets.

New York Times:

Mets’ Offense a Safeguard Against a Potential Pérez Combustion - Ben Shpigel summarized today’s Reds-Mets game.

The Star-Ledger:

Mets roll over Reds, 8-3 - Alex Delanian summarized today’s game Reds-Mets game.

BREAKING NEWS: Delgado’s agent is insane - Dan Graziano walks us through his encounter with Delgado’s Agent David Sloane.

Get your pink caps on - Alex Delanian provided the lineup for today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Santana gets himself out of a jam

Mets’ pop goes flat - Colin Stephenson explains some reasons why the Mets were not able to win the nightcap of the double header against the Reds.

What to do with three hours of dead time - Colin Stephenson lets us know what some of the players did during the three and a half hour break in between yesterday’s double header.

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The New York Mets (18-15) are playing Game 34 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Cincinnati Reds (14-22) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the second game of a three-game series.  The game began at 7:30 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Reds Lineup: Freel, Hairston Jr., Griffey Jr., Encarnacion, Dunn, Keppinger, Hatteberg, Bako, Arroyo.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Chavez, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Easley, Anderson, Castro, Pelfrey.

On the Mound

Mike Pelfrey (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Freel pulled a leadoff double over the third base bag and down the line.  Hairston dropped down a bunt towards first, and Pelfrey made the out at first while Freel advanced to third.  Ken Griffey Jr. lined a one-out RBI single into left, and Ryan Freel came home to score.  Encarnacion flied out to right.  Dunn flied out to left to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Keppinger grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the right side.  Pelfrey fanned Hatteberg and Bako back-to-back.  Arroyo lined to center, and Beltran dove to make a beautiful catch.  Pelfrey gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Pelfrey pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Pelfrey gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Keppinger lined a two-out single to right.  Hatteberg blooped the ball along the left field line, but Anderson dove for it but couldn’t hold onto the ball so Keppinger advanced to third.  Bako drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Arroyo grounded to first, and Delgado tagged first to end the inning leaving the bases full.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Griffey dropped a two-out single into right.  Encarnacion popped up to second to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Keppinger grounded a one-out single under Reyes and into center.  Scott Hatteberg drove a one-out RBI double to the gap in right center, and Jeff Keppinger came all the way around to score.  Bako lined the ball foul of the left field line, and Anderson made the catch.  Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning.  Pelfrey gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Pelfrey left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 8 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Pelfrey with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Heilman pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Dunn hit a slow grounder to third, and Wright didn’t make a play on it so Dunn ended up with a one-out single (Patterson replaced Dunn).  Keppinger grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side, and Patterson moved over to second.  Scott Hatteberg grounded a one-out  RBI single through the hole on the left side which scored Corey Patterson and Keppinger went first to third.  Paul Bako grounded a one-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Jeff Keppinger and Hatteberg advanced to second.  Arroyo flied out to left.  Freel grounded to third, and Wright made the force play at second.  Sanchez gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Griffey drew a one-out walk.  Encarnacion grounded to third, and Wright (Error on David Wright) misfielded the ball so Encarnacion is safe and Griffey moved over to second.  Patterson grounded to first, and Delgado (Error on Carlos Delgado) made a high throw to second so the bases are loaded.  Jeff Keppinger grounded an RBI single to short, and Reyes attempted to make a play at third but it was not in time and Ken Griffey Jr. scored.  Scott Hatteberg hit a sacrifice fly to left, and Edwin Encarnacion came home to score.  Paul Bako grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the right side scoring Jeff Keppinger.  Wagner gave up 2 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Randolph replaced Wagner with Jorge Sosa with two outs in the 9th Inning.  Valentin popped up to right to end the nightmare.  Sosa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Bronson Arroyo (1-4) was the starting pitcher for the Reds.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Arroyo struck out the side.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Beltran drew a leadoff walk.  Delgado grounded a no-out single up the middle, and Beltran moved over to second.  Easley lined out to center.  Anderson grounded to first, but Hatteberg (Error on Scott Hatteberg) dropped the ball so the Reds couldn’t turn the double play so Hatteberg flipped the ball to Arroyo to try to get the out at first and Arroyo dropped the ball so everybody is safe.  Arroy struck out Castro swinging.  Pelfrey lined out to right leaving the bases loaded.  Arroyo gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Reyes led off with an opposite field double to left.  Chavez dragged a bunt towards first, and Arroyo made the out at first while Reyes advanced to third.  David Wright grounded to short, and Keppinger dropped the ball so Wright beat it out as Jose Reyes came home to score.  Beltran drove a one-out double to the gap in right center and bounced to the wall, but Wright got thrown out at home plate.  Beltran went to third on the throw to home.  Delgado grounded out to short to end the inning.  Arroyo gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Castro drew a two-out walk.  Pelfrey grounded to second, and Hairston made the force play at second.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Arroyo retired the side in order.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Arroyo pitched another 1-2-3 inning.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Arroyo struck out the side for the second time tonight.  Arroyo gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Arroyo now retired the Mets in order for 4 straight innings.  Arroyo gave up 0 hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Baker replaced Arroyo with Francisco Cordero to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 inning to end the game.  Cordero gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 7 - New York Mets 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is atta