Die Hard Sports Fan

The New York Mets (21-19) are playing Game 41 of the 2008 Regular Season against the New York Yankees (20-23) at Yankee Stadium.  It’s the second game of the two-game series.  The game began at 8:05 p.m., and it was aired on ESPN.  We will have to suffer through hours of Joe Morgan just to watch a Mets game.  In my opinion, a Subway Series should never have national broadcasters.

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

Yankees Lineup: Damon, Abreu, Jeter, Matsui, Giambi, Cano, Cabrera, Gonzalez, Molina.

At the Plate

Chien-Ming Wang (6-1) was the starting pitcher for the Yankees.  In the Top of the 1st, Wang retired the side with three ground outs.  Wang gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Wang now retired the first six Mets that he faced.  Wang gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Wang now retired the Mets in order the first time through the lineup.  Wang gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Reyes led of with a double that one-hopped the right field wall for the Mets first hit of the game.  Anderson grounded to the pitcher, and Wang turned around and made the throw to second which got Reyes in a rundown.  Jeter made the throw to Gonzalez who applied the tag on Reyes as Anderson ended up on first.  Wright grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side, and Anderson went to second.  Beltran drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Ryan Church grounded to first, and Giambi threw it off target to second to the point where Jeter had to stretch and eventually come off the bag so Marlon Anderson scored and everybody is safe.  Moises Alou lined an one-out 2-run single into right, and David Wright and Carlos Beltran came around to score as Church went first to third.  (Carlos Delgado crushed a no-out 3-run home run which hit the foul poul in left field which would’ve scored Ryan Church and Moises Alou, but the Umpires screwed up the call and it doesn’t count which is bull.  Where is the instant replay?)  (Jerry Manuel was Ejected from the game for arguing the call.)  Carlos Delgado ended up grounding a one-out RBI single through the hole on the right side which scored Ryan Church, and Alou advanced to second.  Schneider grounded to second, and Cano made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Castillo drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Reyes flied out to left leaving the bases filled with Mets.  Wang gave up 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Wang quickly retired the side.  Wang gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Ryan Church belted a leadoff solo shot to straight away center field.  Alou grounded out to third.  Delgado flied out to left.  Schneider grounded out to second to end the inning.  Wang gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Wang retired the side in order with ground ball outs.  Wang gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Top of the 8th, Wright led off with an opposite field double down the right field line.  Beltran hit a slow ground ball in front of home plate, and Wang made the throw to first to get the out while Wright advanced to third.  Wang intentionally walked Church.  Moises Alou hit a sacrifice fly to right field, and David Wright tagged and came home to score while Church went to second.  Wang gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Wang left the game after pitching 7.2 Innings allowing 6 Hits, 7 Runs, 7 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 1 SO.

Girardi replaced Wang with Ross Ohlendorf with two outs in the Top of the 8th.  Ohlendorf intentionally walked Delgado.  Brian Schneider lined a two-out RBI single to right so Ryan Church came around to score, and Delgado went first to third.  Luis Castillo grounded a two-out RBI single through the hole on the left side which scored Carlos Delgado, and Schneider advanced to second.  Jose Reyes drilled a two-out 3-run homer over the short porch in right which scored Brian Schneider and Luis Castillo.  Chavez replaced Alou, and Chavez grounded out to first to end the inning.  Ohlendorf gave up 3 Hits, 4 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Girardi replaced Ohlendorf with Jose Veras to begin the Top of the 9th.  Veras pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Veras gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (3-3) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Jeter drew a two-out walk.  With Matsui at the plate, Jeter stole second without a throw.  Matsui lined out to first to leave Jeter stranded at second.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Giambi drew a leadoff walk.  Cano grounded to first, and Delgado tagged first as Giambi went to second.  Cabrera flied out along the right field line, and Church ran a long way over there to make the catch.  Gonzalez lined out to right leaving Giambi standing on second.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Perez pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Jeter grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Hideki Matsui crushed a no-out 2-run jack to right which scored Derek Jeter.  Giambi popped up in foul ground behind home plate, and Schneider made the catch.  Perez hit Cano with the pitch.  With Cabrera in the batters box, Cano beat out the throw as he stole second.  Cabrera popped up to shallow right, and Church made the catch.  With Gonzalez at the plate, Perez threw a wild pitch so Cano advanced to third.  Gonzalez popped up to second leaving Cano on third.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Molina led off by lining a double off of the right field wall.  Damon grounded to first, and Delgado tossed it to Perez who tagged first as Molina moved over to third.  Perez caught Abreu looking at strike three.  Jeter flied out to center leaving Molina standing on third.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Perez hit Giambi with the pitch to give the Yankees a leadoff runner.  Cano grounded to the pitcher, and the Mets turned the inning ending double play.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Perez pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Perez retired the first two batters before Randolph made a pitching change.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 7.2 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Joe Smith with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Jeter grounded out to second.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Scott Schoeneweis to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Schoeneweis hit Giambi with the pitch to give the Yankees a one-out base runner.  Cano flied out to left.  Cabrera grounded to the pitcher, and Schoeneweis made the out at first to end the game.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 11 - New York Yankees 2.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Oliver Perez (4-3) got the win and Chien-Ming Wang (6-2) got the loss.

By the time this game was over, the Mets were able to turn Yankee Stadium into Shea Stadium.  The fans were standing and clapping for Schoeneweis rather than the batters which meant that they were Mets fans.  I mentioned yesterday that the Mets needed to cash in in that 4th inning because they didn’t get much out of the situation.  Today, the did just that by scoring 4 runs in the 4th inning and that’s without Delgado’s 3-run blast that didn’t count.  The Mets swept the Yankees in this two-game series.  I thought the Mets would win two game after they lost two games because that’s the .500 trend that the Mets have been keeping pace with.  Perez pitched better as the game went on.  The Mets batted around in the 4th inning and the 8th Inning so everybody contributed for the most part.  The Mets are the kings of New York for another month until they face each other again.

Onto Atlanta.  I hope the Mets sweep the Braves, but they will probably will lose the first game because that will follow their l-w-l-w-l-w-l-l-w-w pattern…what’s next?  Unfortunately, a loss or a losing streak before they get on a winning streak.  Or just maybe, this meeting by Willie will really be what the Mets needed to get to the next level.

Share This

The Metropolitans and the Yankees duked it out this afternoon, and the Mets won the first battle of the ’08 Subway Series.  A mini-sweep in the Bronx will delay having to listen to annoying Yankees fans for another month when they go head-to-head in June.

Mets.com:

Efficient Johan lifts Mets over Yanks - Marty Noble summarized today’s game between the Mets and the Yankees.

Speed drives Castillo’s move to ninth - Anthony DiComo lets us know why Luis Castillo batted ninth in the order today.

Mets clear the air before rainout - Marty Noble wrote about the meeting that the Mets held which was about Billy Wagner’s comments and the team’s struggles.

After rainout, Santana raring to go - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Mets and the Yankees.

Subway opener postponed by rain

Randolph plays it cool before opener - Marty Noble stated that Willie Randolph keeps calm amid questions about the Mets’ performance.

Subway Series takes different form - Mike Bauman pointed out that the New York powerhouses hope to turn around their recent struggles.

Mets, Yanks join charity wine effort - Anthony DiComo says that Brian Schneider, Bobby Abreu, and Jorge Posada are working together for a good cause.

Newsday:

Santana, Mets defeat Yankees, 7-4 - Mark Herrmann also summarized today’s Mets-Yanks game.

Randolph’s fate is on the clock … calendar

Wagner apologizes to Delgado; Mets clear the air

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday tells us what happened on May 17th at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium of another year.

Randolph ‘joking’ about his head being on block

Wagner: Don’t compare me with Lo Duca

New York Daily News:

Johan Santana wins battle of lefties as Mets beat Yankees in opener - Mark Feinsand wrote up a game summary for today’s Mets-Yankees game.

Players can get Willie Randolph in clear

Billy Wagner pitch is an apology

It’s Johan Santana vs. Andy Pettitte as rains set lefty duel

Omar Minaya showing support for Willie Randolph, for now

Pedro Martinez’s next simulated game to be on Monday - Roger Rubin wrote that, “Pedro Martinez will take the next step in his rehab from a strained left hamstring on Monday when he throws a simulated game at the Mets’ complex in Port St. Lucie. ”

Mets and Yankees postponed by rain, won’t be made up this weekend

Joe Girardi, Willie Randolph asked to serve as All-Star Game coaches

New York Post:

SANTANA PITCHES METS TO 7-4 VICTORY OVER YANKEES - George A. King III summarized today’s game between the Mets and the Yankees.

OMAR GIVES WILLIE VOTE OF ‘SUPPORT’

MAKEUP LIKELY PART OF 2-PARK TWINBILL

TIME REFLECT ON A LONG SEASON

QUICK RAINOUT PLEASES JOHAN

TEMPESTS PUMMEL SINKIN’ SHIPS

BRONX BACKING - Mark Hale pointed out that the Yankees’ came to Willie’s support.

METS-YANKEES RAINED OUT

RANDOLPH FIRES BACK AT FIRING TALK

New York Times:

In the Bronx, Santana Shows What Could Have Been - Ben Shpigel summarized today’s Mets-Yankees game.

A Meeting, an Apology and Support for Randolph

The Star-Ledger:

Final: Mets 7, Yankees 4 - Jeremy Cothran wrote up a game summary for today’s game between the Mets and the Yankees.

Delgado struggling

Game 40: Mets at Yankees - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineup for today’s Mets-Yankees game.

Mets’ team meeting clears air

Mets’ search lands Wright man for job - Dan Graziano makes his case on why David Wright should be the captain of the Mets.

Game Postponed Until June

Game Called - No Further Update

Share This

The New York Mets (20-19) are playing Game 40 of the 2008 Regular Season against the New York Yankees (20-22) at Yankee Stadium.  It’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

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

Yankees Lineup: Damon, Abreu, Jeter, Matsui, Giambi, Cano, Cabrera, Gonzalez, Moeller.

At the Plate

Andy Pettitte (3-4) was the starting pitcher for the Yankees.  In the Top of the 1st, Pettitte struck out Reyes and Church on three pitches each.  Wright beat out a ground ball to short for a two-out single.  With Beltran at the plate, Wright stole second easily.  Pettitte fanned Beltran on four pitches.  Pettitte gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Alou lined a leadoff single into left.  Pettitte struck out Delgado swinging.  Pettitte struck out Easley looking.  Pettitte picked off Alou by getting him in a rundown, and Giambi placed the tag on Alou to end the inning which was poor base running on Alou’s part.  Pettitte gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Pettitte retired the side in order.  Pettitte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Church led off by lining a single to center.  Wright lined a no-out single into left, and Church moved over to second.  Carlos Beltran grounded a no-out RBI single through the hole on the left side, and Ryan Church came around to score and Wright advanced to second.  Alou worked the count full before drawing a no-out walk which loaded the bases.  Delgado popped up in shallow left so the infield fly rule was called, and Jeter made the catch.  Pettitte struck out Easley looking.  Brian Schneider worked himself into a full count before drawing a two-out walk which forced in David Wright.  Luis Castillo hit a slow ground ball half way down the third base line which stopped so the Yankees never made a play as Carlos Beltran came home to score.  Reyes popped up to short leaving three Mets stranded.  Pettitte gave up 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Beltran lined a two-out single into left.  Pettitte hit Alou in the hand so Alou will take first.  With Delgado at the plate, Beltran stole third without a throw.  Pettitte fanned Delgado to leave two Mets stranded.  Pettitte gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Pettitte retired the side in order with three fly balls.  Pettitte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Pettitte left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 7 SOs.

Girardi replaced Pettitte with Kyle Farnsworth to begin the Top of the 7th.  Jose Reyes led off the inning with a solo shot to right field.  Church drew a no-out walk.  David Wright hit a no-out 2-run opposite field jack to right which scored Ryan Church.  Beltran popped up to shallow right, and Cano made the catch for the first out.  Alou grounded to third, and Gonzalez made the out at first.  Delgado hit a two-out pop fly single into shallow center.  Farnsworth struck out Easley on a check swing to end the inning.  Farnsworth gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Girardi replaced Farnsworth with Edwar Ramirez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Castillo drew a leadoff walk on four straight pitches.  Reyes lined a one-out single up the middle, and Castillo moved over to second.  Ramirez struck out Church as Moeller threw out Castillo as Castillo attempted to steal third for a strike him out throw him out double play which ended the inning.  Ramirez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Girardi replaced Ramirez with Joba Chamberlain to begin the Top of the 9th.  Beltran drove a one-out triple to the gap in left center.  Chamberlain struck out Alou staring at strike three.  Carlos Delgado worked the count full before he pulled the ball through the hole on the right side for an RBI single which scored Carlos Beltran.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Easley, and Chamberlain fanned Anderson to end the inning.  Chamberlain gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Johan Santana (4-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Damon drew a leadoff walk.  Santana struck out Abreu swinging.  Derek Jeter crushed a one-out 2-run home run to left field scoring Johnny Damon.  Matsui grounded out to second.  Giambi popped up behind home plate, and Schneider made the catch to end a bad first inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Cabrera drew a one-out walk.  Gonzalez grounded to third, and Wright made the out at first as Cabrera advanced to second.  Santana fanned Moeller to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Damon led off by lining an opposite field single to left.  Abreu drove the ball to the gap to right center for a one-out double, and Damon tried to come around to score but Church made the relay to Castillo who made a perfect throw to Schneider who tagged Damon at the plate to save a run (Girardi came out to argue the call, but it wasn’t even close).  Jeter lined out to right.  Matsui grounded to first, and Delgado flipped the ball to Santana for the final out.  Santana gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Santana pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Santana retired the side in order again for the second straight inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Jeter lined a one-out single into the gap in left center but he attempted to take second and got thrown out by Beltran.  Santana struck out Matsui to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Innings.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Jason Giambi led off by going yard to right field.  Santana caught Cano looking at strike three.  Cabrera grounded out to short.  Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Bobby Abreu hit a two-out solo shot to dead center.  Jeter hit a two-out opposite field double to the right field corner.  Santana gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 7.2 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Billy Wagner with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Matsui grounded to second to end the inning.  Wagner gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Giambi led off by hitting an opposite field flair into left.  Cano hit a broken bat single to third, and Wright stopped it but could not make a throw to first.  Cabrera flied out to right.  Duncan is pinch hitting for Gonzalez, and Duncan popped up behind home plate so Schneider made the catch.  Ensberg is pinch hitting for Moeller, and Wagner fanned Ensberg to end the game.  Wagner gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 7 - New York Yankees 4.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (5-2) got the win and Andy Pettitte (3-5) got the loss.

Since the Mets have been playing w-l-w-l-w-l baseball and they lost two before winning today, I think that the Mets will win tomorrow as well to go on a two-game winning streak.  It’s a pattern.  So the Mets should sweep this mini-series, and then I expect them to lose their first game (or more than one game) in Atlanta to continue the trend that the Mets have set.  After the losing streak, the Mets will win exactly that many games.  I just wish the Mets could put it together when playing the division.

Anyway, the Mets played a pretty good game today.  They took the first game from the Yankees in the Bronx.  Santana gave up 4 runs on 3 homers, but he pitched 8.2 innings before handing the ball off to Wagner for a four-out save.  Pettitte came out smoking hot early on, but then the Mets batted around in the 4th inning.  The Mets scored 3 runs in the 4th inning, but they should’ve scored a whole lot more.  After the bases were loaded, a hit out of the infield would’ve ended this game early.  Fortunately for the Mets, Reyes and Wright were each able to homer over the short porch in right in the 7th for some insurance runs.  In the 9th, Delgado was able cash in by driving in Beltran.  So 7 runs were enough today.  Perez will face Wang tomorrow night so it seems like the edge is in the Yankees favor, but Perez has a pretty good record against the Yankees.  Last year, the Mets hit Wang well the first time they faced him but Wang was lights out the second time around.  We’ll see how it plays out tomorrow.

Share This

The New York Mets (19-16) are playing Game 36 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Washington Nationals (15-23) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the opener of a four-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Nationals Lineup: Lopez, Guzman, Zimmerman, Johnson, Milledge, Kearns, Mackowiak, Flores, Perez.

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

On the Mound

Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Figueroa pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Johnson grounded to first but Delgado (Error on Carlos Delgado) made a poor throw to Figueroa to give the Nationals a leadoff runner (I saw it as an out, but the Umpire called him safe).  Milledge drew a no-out walk.  Kearns grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Rob Mackowiak hit a sacrofice fly to the warning track in center, and Nick Johnson tagged up and scored and Lastings Milledge tagged up and went to third.  Figueroa struck out Flores looking.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Perez lined a leadoff single into right.  Lopez grounded a no-out single through the hole on the right side, and Perez went to second.  Guzman hit a chopper to second, and Easley made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Figueroa hit Zimmerman with the pitch so the bases are loaded.  Figueroa walked Nick Johnson which scored Odalis Perez and kept the bases loaded.  Figueroa got Milledge swinging through strike three.  Kearns lined out to center to end the inning with the bases juiced.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits,  0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Mackowiak drew a leadoff walk.  Figueroa hit Flores with the pitch.  Perez dropped down a bunt towards third, and Wright made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Lopez grounded the ball back to the pitcher, and Figueroa (Error on Nelson Figueroa Jr.) threw the ball way off the plate so Rob Mackowiak came home to score and Flores went to third.  Zimmerman grounded to second, and Easley tossed the ball to second to end the inning.  Guzman flied out to shallow center.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Johnson grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Milledge popped up to first, and Easley made the catch.  Kearns flied out to the warning track in right.  Mackowiak drew a two-out walk.  Jesus Flores lined a two-out 2-run double down the left field line which scored Nick Johnson and Rob Mackowiak.  Odalis Perez lined a two-out RBI single down the right field line, and Jesus Flores came around to score.  Lopez drew a two-out walk.  Guzman popped up to shallow left, and Reyes made the catch to finally end this inning.  Figueroa gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 6 Runs, 4 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 6th.  Zimmerman led off by grounding a double down the left field line.  Johnson drew a no-out walk.  Lastings Milledge hit a no-out 2-run double about 3/4 of the way up the left field wall which scored Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson.  Kearns grounded to third, and Wright made the out at first as Milledge advanced to third.  Sosa struck out Mackowiak on a foul tip.  Sosa intentionally walked Flores.  Odalis Perez grounded a two-out RBI single up the middle which scored Lastings Milledge, and Flores went to second.  Felipe Lopez dropped a two-out RBI single into left, and Jesus Flores came around to score.  Guzman grounded to second, and Easley made the out at first to end another awful inning.  Sosa gave up 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sosa with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 7th.  Sanchez sent the side down in order.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Joe Smith to begin the Top of the 8th.  Smith struck out the side.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Guzman lined a two-out double over Alou’s head in left.  Wagner fanned Zimmerman.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 3 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Odalis Perez (0-3) was the starting pitcher for the Nationals.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  With Beltran at the plate, Wright stole second without a throw.  Carlos Beltran lined a two-out RBI single to left which scored David Wright.  Alou lined a two-out single to left, and Beltran advanced to second.  Perez fanned Delgado on three straight pitches.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Damion Easley led off with his first home run of 2008 which went right over the wall in dead center.  Schneider grounded out to first.  Perez got Figueroa looking at strike three.  Reyes dropped down a bunt towards the pitcher, and Perez did not even make a throw to first so Reyes ended up with a two-out single.  Church grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side, and Reyes advanced to second.  Wright grounded to third, and the ball bounced off of Zimmerman and into Guzman’s glove.  Guzman proceeded to make the out at first to end the inning.  Perez gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Alou dropped a one-out single along the right field line.  Perez got Delgado swinging at strike three.  Damion Easley dropped a two-out RBI single into right, and Carlos Delgado came around to score.  Schneider grounded to the pitcher, and Perez made the out at first to end the inning.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Reyes lined a one-out single into left.  With Church in the batters box, Flores threw out Reyes as he attempted to steal second.  Perez fanned Church.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in th 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Wright drew a leadoff walk.  Beltran flied out to right.  Alou lined a one-out single into left, and Beltran moved over to second.  Delgado grounded to second, and Lopez made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Easley flied out to right to leave two Mets in scoring position.  Perez gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Perez pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, David Wright smacked a one-out solo shot to left.  Beltran grounded to third, and Zimmerman misfielded the ball so Beltran beat it out.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 6.1 Innings allowing 11 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 5 SOs.

Acta replaced Perez with Chris Schroder with one out in the Bottom of the 7th.  Alou flied out to right.  Delgado flied out to the warning track in left.  Schroder gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Schneider grounded to the pitcher but the ball bounced off of Schroder’s glove and went towards second, but Lopez made a bad throw to first so Schneider beat it out for a one-out single.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Smith, and Anderson popped up in foul ground along the first base line and Johnson made the catch.  Reyes drew a two-out walk on four pitches.  Schroder gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Schroder left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Acta replaced Schroder with Saul Rivera with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Church drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Wright grounded to third, and Zimmerman made the out at first leaving the bases full of Mets.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Rivera quickly slammed the door on the Mets.  Rivera gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.  Rivera left the game after pitching 1.1 Innings allowing 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO.

Final Score: Washington Nationals 10 - New York Mets 4.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Nelson Figueroa Jr. (2-3) got the loss and Odalis Perez (1-3) got the win.

The Mets got beat up and battered by another subpar ball club.  W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L.  What does all of that equal?  .500 baseball, and the Mets are great at it.  Sometimes they go W, W, L, L, W, W, L, L.  In the end, it equals the same thing.  The Nats were all over Figueroa.  After swinging for the fences every at bat, Milledge finally got a big hit against his former team.  He just missed a 3-run shot, and ended up with a 2-run double that bounced off of the left field wall.  The Nats put up a 10 spot on the Mets.  Who da thunk it?  The Mets had control of this game for a few innings, but Perez and the bullpen got out of some jams leaving many Mets on base.  The Mets need to cash’em in $$$$$$$$ the next three games.

Share This

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.

Share This

Last night’s game got postponed so the Reds and the Mets are playing a double header today.  The Mets stomped the Reds in the early game, and the night game begins at 7:30 p.m.  Hopefully, we’ll get to witness another whoopin’ tonight.  Mike Pelfrey is supposed to face Bronson Arroyo.  Arroyo used to be the Reds’ ace, but his 1-4 record in ‘08 wouldn’t show us any evidence of that.  Pelfrey started out the year pitching well, but tailed off lately.  If he doesn’t have a good outing, then possibly the offense can put up double digits again.

Mets.com:

Mets-Reds opener at Shea rained out - Marty Noble wrote, “The Mets’ Friday night game against the Reds at Shea Stadium was postponed because of rain. It was rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday as the second game of day-night doubleheader. The first game is to begin at 1:10 p.m., as originally scheduled. Tickets from the postponed game will be honored at the 7:30 game.”

Wise back, available to Mets in twin bill - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for both of today’s games between the Reds and the Mets.

Newsday:

Randolph realizes culture of sports has changed - Jim Baumbach tell us how Willie Randolph’s cousin Barry calls him up and gives him pointers on managing the team because Barry is a Mets fan.

Improving Delgado dropped to seventh in lineup - Jim Baumbach noted that Carlos Delgado got moved down to the seventh spot in the lineup for the first time in more than 12 years.

Mets-Reds game rained out, doubleheader Saturday

New York Daily News:

Willie Randolph not in radio daze

Mets mull Matt Wise move - Mark Lelinwalla pointed out that Matt Wise is ready to come off of the DL, but the Mets are not ready to make a roster move yet.

Nice pitch by Pedro Martinez - Peter Botte lets us know what he thought of Pedro Martinez’s batting practice session.

Johan Santana first in twin bill

New York Post:

WILLIE…OR NOT - According to Kevin Kernan, David Wright says don’t blame Willie for losses.

RAINOUT FORCES TWINBILL

PEDRO’S PROGRESS POSITIVE

New York Times:

Mets, Still in High Gear, Pound Reds - Ben Shpigel summarized today’s game between the Reds and the Mets.

Castro Back With Mets; Wise Is Soon to Follow

The Star-Ledger:

Randolph keeps his cool in face of media flak

Casanova says goodbye, Castro hello

Pitching plans - Colin Stephenson lets us know how the Mets plan on handling the starting rotation due to the rainout.

Share This

The New York Mets (17-15) are playing Game 33 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Cincinnati Reds (14-21) at Shea Stadium.  It’s the first game of a three-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Reds Lineup: Patterson, Freel, Griffey Jr., Phillips, Votto, Encarnacion, Keppinger, Ross, Belisle.

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

On the Mound

Johan Santana (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Patterson dropped down a bunt towards first and Delgado made a bad flip to Santana so Patterson beat it out for a leadoff single.  With Freel at the plate, Santana threw to first and the Mets tagged Patterson in a rundown.  Freel grounded out to first.  Griffey lined a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Phillips lined a two-out double into the corner in left, and Griffey went from first to third.  Votto lined out to right leaving two Reds stranded.  Santana gave up 3 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Keppinger drew a one-out walk.  Ross popped up to second.  Santana struck out Belisle to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Freel lined a one-out double near the left field line.  Griffey popped up to short.  Phillips grounded out to short to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Edwin Encarnacion drove a one-out solo jack over the left field wall.  Keppinger flied out to center.  Santana fanned Ross.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Belisle grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Santana struck out Patterson on a foul tip.  Freel dropped a bunt towards third, and Wright made the out at first as Belisle advanced to second.  Griffey grounded out to second to end the inning.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Phillips lined a leadoff triple into the right field corner.  Votto popped up to short.  Edwin Encarnacion grounded a one-out RBI single under the diving Wright, and Brandon Phillips came home to score.  Keppinger grounded a one-out single under Reyes’ glove, and Encarnacion moved over to second.  Santana got Ross looking.  Hatteberg is pinch hitting for Belisle, and Scott Hatteberg lined a two-out RBI single into right while Edwin Encarnacion scored and Keppinger went to third.  Santana fanned Patterson to end the inning.  Santana gave up 4 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 10 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 1 BB, and he had 5 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Freel lined a leadoff single into left.  Griffey lined out to center.  With Phillips in the batters box, Freel stole second without a throw.  Phillips drew a one-out walk.  Joey Votto lined a one-out RBI double into left, and Ryan Freel scored and Phillips advanced to third.  Heilman got Encarnacion swinging.  Keppinger grounded out to short to end the inning.  Heilman gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 8th.  Ross lined a leadoff single up the middle.  Hairston is pinch hitting for Lincoln, and Hairston popped up to center and Beltran made the catch.  Patterson popped up to third, and Wright made the catch.  Freel lined a two-out single into center, and Ross moved over to second.  Ken Griffey Jr. drove a two-out 2-run double halfway up the wall in right field which scored David Ross and Ryan Freel.  Patterson grounded out to second to end the inning.  Feliciano gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 9th.  Votto drew a leadoff walk.  Encarnacion grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play.  Keppinger grounded in front of home plate, and Schneider made the out at first to end the game.  Sosa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Matt Belisle (1-2) was the starting pitcher for the Reds.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Belisle fanned Church to leave two Mets stranded.  Belisle gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Alou lined a leadoff single into center.  Delgado drove a single into the gap in right center, and Alou moved over to second.  Schneider grounded to first, and Votto only got the out at second.  Santana struck out, but Ross could not handle the ball and it went to the backstop so Santana beat out the play at first while Moises Alou came home and Schneider went to second (Since first base was occupied, Santana could not take first base so Schneider is the only baserunner).  Reyes flied out to left to end the inning.  Belisle gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Castillo drew a leadoff walk.  Wright lined a no-out single into right, and Castillo went from first to third.  Carlos Beltran lined a no-out RBI single into center which scored Luis Castillo, and Wright advanced to second.  Church grounded out to first, and both runners advanced.  Moises Alou dropped a one-out bloop single over the head of Phillips, and David Wright and Carlos Beltran scored.  Delgado grounded to first, and the Reds turned the inning ending double play.  Belisle gave up 3 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Belisle pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Belisle gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Castillo grounded to the pitcher but Belisle (Error on Matt Belisle) made a bad throw to first so Castillo went to second.  Wright lined a no-out single, and Castillo advanced to third.  Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly to center, and Luis Castillo tagged up and scored and Wright tagged up and went to second.  Ryan Church lined a one-out RBI single into right center, and David Wright came around to score.  Alou grounded to third, and the Reds turned the double play.  Belisle gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Belisle left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 6 Runs, 5 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Baker replaced Belisle with Bill Bray to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Delgado lined a leadoff double down the left field line.  Schneider lined a no-out single into right, and Delgado advanced to third.  Bray gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Baker replaced Bray with Mike Lincoln with no outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Easley is pinch hitting for Santana, and Easley grounded to third and was thrown out at first by Encarnacion.  Reyes drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Lincoln caught Castillo looking at strike three.  David Wright drew an RBI two-out walk which brought Carlos Delgado home.  Carlos Beltran lined a two-out 3-run triple down the right field line which scored Brian Schneider, Jose Reyes, and David Wright.  Church grounded out to second to end the inning.  Lincoln gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Carlos Delgado hit a one-out jack to right field.  Brian Schneider followed that up with a solo shot of his own to the right field corner.  Chavez is pinch hitting for Heilman, and Lincoln fanned Chavez.  Reyes grounded out to first to end the inning.  Lincoln gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Lincoln left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 3 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 2 SOS.

Baker replaced Lincoln with Jeremy Affeldt to begin the 8th Inning.  Affeldt pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Affeldt gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 6 - New York Mets 12.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Johan Santana (4-2) got the win and Matt Belisle (1-3) got the loss.

The Mets put up double digits for the second game in a row.  The entire lineup was hitting except for Reyes and Castillo.  Delgado had 3 hits, and Beltran had 5 RBIs.  Santana got the ‘w’, but he didn’t look so good on the mound.  He gave up 10 hits, and had men on base all game.  Somehow, he got out of it only giving up 3 runs.  Heilman and Feliciano were responsible for the rest of the runs.

The Reds and the Mets will begin the second game of the day at 7:30 p.m.

Share This

Tonight, Nelson Figueroa (2-1) will toe the rubber for the Mets.  He will face Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers and has a 1-2 record.   If the Mets are going to win this series, Figueroa has to come through.  Also, John Maine is going to face the Dodgers’ ace, Brad Penny, tomorrow night.  I was hoping the Mets would win the first two, but that’s not possible anymore.  We’ll have to wait and see if the Mets can come home with a succesful road trip.

Mets.com:

Marking Strawberry’s silver anniversary - Marty Noble pointed out that Darryl Strawberry made his Shea Stadium debut 25 years ago today.  Noble really put together an excellent article about Straw here.  Doc and Darryl were my favorite Mets back then.  I always wondered what they could’ve accomplished if they stayed off the crack and out of trouble.  Both of them were Hall of Fame bound but couldn’t stay on the right track.  It really is a shame, but they are adults and made their own choices.  It’s like in “The Bronx Tale”, “There’s nothing worst than wasted talent.”

Perez dropped by Dodgers - Anthony DiComo summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Dodgers.

Figueroa must shake off rust - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Mets and the Dodgers.

Randolph keeping eye on Delgado - Anthony DiComo found out that Willie Randolph doesn’t want Carlos Delgado to get too homer conscious.

Newsday:

Perez, Mets roughed up by Dodgers, 5-1 - David Lennon also summarized last night’s Mets-Dodgers game.

Pressure is lighter for Torre in LA - Shaun Powell says that Joe Torre enjoys the laid back atmosphere out in L.A.

Delgado is HR king for Puerto-Rican born players - David Lennon pointed out that Delgado hit his 435th Home Run on Saturday which crowned him as the Home Run Kin for Puerto Rican-born players.  I thought he already did that.

For Mets, there’s no place like mild, mild West - David Lennon tells us why he thinks the Mets play better baseball on the road.

New York Daily News:

Oliver Perez loses again, Mets dropped by Dodgers 5-1 - Adam Rubin wrote up a game recap for last night’s game between the Mets and the Dodgers.

Joe Torre’s enjoying California dream

Wise decision looming for Mets - The Mets have to make room for Matt Wise’s return, and Adam Rubin lists three options that the Mets can make.

New York Post:

OLLIE FLOPS AGAIN

WILLIE: SHEA FANS A DRAG - According to Bart Hubbuch, Willie believes that the Mets appear more relaxed on the road because the team doesn’t have to hear all of the negativity at Shea.

New York Times:

Mets’ Pérez Absorbs Hits, Including One in the Gut

Torre Says Wins Will Help Mets Win Back Fans

The Star-Ledger:

Chilly day here in Pasadena - Jeremy Cothran offers more thoughts on Perez.

Schneider backs Ollie

Torre enjoying California sun

Perez stumbles again

Final: Dodgers 5, Mets 1

Fading… - Dan Graziano was falling asleep.

Share This

The Mets currently have a 2-1 lead over the D-Backs.  Santana is doing what he does right now, and he just worked himself out of a bases loaded jam as well.  He’s finished after 6 Innings so we’ll see how this plays out.  I definitely want the Metropolitans to win the series before leaving the Valley of the Sun.  The Mets will head out to the City of Angels after the game.

Mets.com:

Schneider to play through the pain - Anthony DiComo noted that Brian Schneider was going to start today, and he has to play through the pain of his injury.

One step forward, two steps back - Anthony DiComo summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Diamondbacks.

Mets display their offseason prize - Anthony DiComo put together a  pregame analysis for today’s game between the Mets and the Diamondbacks.

Franco officially ends 23-year career - The AP reported that former Met, Julio Franco, officially retired on Wednesday at the age of 49.

Reyes was caught in the moment - Anthony DiComo says Jose Reyes played it smart when he attempted the cycle on Friday.

Church’s lineup spot benefits everyone - Anthony DiComo stated that the Mets are wig when Reyes is succeeding and Ryan Church is batting second in the lineup.

Newsday:

Mets catcher Schneider ready for duty

Pitching meltdown sinks Mets in Phoenix - David Lennon summarized yesterday’s Mets-Diamondbacks game.

Ex-Met Gary Carter never shy about curtain calls

New York Daily News:

Mets finally fall to D-backs in Arizona

Brian Schneider to return in L.A.

Boo-birds in full flock this spring - Jesse Spector explains why the Mets are getting booed so much in ‘08.

New York Post:

DUD IN DESERT

SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH… - Billy Wagner.

DELGADO FINDING GROOVE

25 BEST SHEA STADIUM MOMENTS: NO. 21

VERSATILE MURPHY TURNING HEADS - Tim Bontempts tells us how a prospect named Dan Murphy, third baseman of Double-A Binghamton, had a great April, hitting .363 with one home run and 18 RBI in 26 games.

New York Times:

Webb Is the Model, and Pelfrey Learns a Lesson About His Craft

The Star-Ledger:

Game 29: Mets at Diamondbacks - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineup for today’s game.

A tough day for Pelfrey as D’Backs roll

Delgado shows signs he’s still got it

Final: Diamondbacks 10, Mets 4

Mets lose to Diamondbacks, 10-4 - Jeremy Cothran summarized yesterday’s game.

Game 28: Mets at Diamondbacks - Jeremy Cothran provded the lineup for yesterday’s game.

Share This

The New York Mets (14-12) are playing Game 27 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Arizona Diamondbacks (20-8) at Chase Field.  It’s the first game of a three-game series.  The game began at 9:40 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

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

Diamondbacks Lineup: Young, Byrnes, Hudson, Jackson, Reynolds, Drew, Upton, Montero, Owings.

At the Plate 

Micah Owings (4-0) was the starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks.  In the Top of the 1st, Reyes led off with a triple off the wall in right center.  Ryan Church hit a sacrifice fly to center field which brought Jose Reyes home.  Wright lined a one-out single up the middle.  With Beltran at the plate, Owings threw a wild pitch so Wright took off for second.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Moises Alou grounded an RBI single under the glove of Hudson and into center field so David Wright came around to score and Beltran went first to third.  Carlos Delgado grounded an RBI single through the hole on the right side which brought Carlos Beltran home and Alou advanced to second.  Casanova flied out to center, and the runners held up.  Castillo grounded a ball that rolled in front of home plate, and Montero made the out at first to leave two Mets on base.  Owings gave up 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Maine grounded out to third.  Reyes dropped a one-out double into shallow center.  Ryan Church drove an RBI double into the gap in right center which scored Jose Reyes (Church has 2 RBIs in 2 attempts already which further confirms that he should be in the 2 spot).  Wright popped up to shallow right, and Hudson made the catch.  Beltran popped up to second, and Hudson made the catch.  Owings gave up 2 Hits, 1 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Delgado drew a one-out walk.  Owings caught Casanova looking at strike three.  Castillo grounded to second, and Hudson made the out at first to end the inning.  Owings gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Ryan Church lined a two-out solo shot to deep right field.  Wright pulled a two-out double down the left field line.  Beltran grounded out to first to end the inning.  Owings gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Delgado dropped a one-out single into right field.  Casanova flied out to center.  Castillo grounded to short, and Drew tagged second for the force out to end the inning.  Owings gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Reyes lined a one-out opposite field single into left.  Church popped up in foul ground along the third base line, and Reynolds made the catch.  With Wright in the batters box, Reyes stole second.  David Wright pulled a two-out 2-run jack over the left field wall which scored Jose Reyes.  Beltran drew a two-out walk.  Owings gave up 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Owings left the game after pitching 5.2 innings allowing 11 Hits, 7 Runs, 7 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Melvin replaced Owings with Brandon Medders with two outs in the Top of the 6th.  With Alou at the plate, Beltran stole second.  Alou drew a two-out walk.  Delgado flied out to left to leave two Mets stranded.  Medders gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Melvin replaced Medders with Doug Slaten to begin the Top of the 7th.  Casanova drew a leadoff walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Diamondbacks turned the double play.  Easley is pinch hitting for Maine, and Easley grounded out to third.  Slaten gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Melvin replaced Slaten with Juan Cruz to begin the Top of the 8th.  (Reyes is in need of a Home Run to hit for the cycle) and Reyes drove the ball off of the high wall in dead center, and he attempted an inside the park home run but got thrown out easily at the plate (so he only ended up with another triple).  Church flied out to center.  (Wright is in need of a triple to hit for the cycle) and Wright struck out swinging.  Slaten gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Melvin replaced Slaten with Tony Pena to begin the Top of the 9th.  Pena pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Pena gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

John Maine (2-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Young led off by grounding a single up the middle.  Byrnes popped up to second.  Hudson flied out to left.  Jackson grounded hard to third, and it bounced off of Wright (Error on David Wright) and went into left field so Jackson is on first and Young advanced to second.  Reynolds grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at first to leave to D-Backs on base.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Upton drove a one-out stand up double off of the wall in dead center.  With Montero in the batters box, Maine threw a wild pitch so Upton moved over to third.  Miguel Montero drove the ball over Beltran’s head for a one-out RBI double, and Justin Upton came home to score.  With Owings at the plate, Maine threw another wild pitch so Upton is at third now.  Owings drew a one-out walk.  Chris Young grounded an RBI single up the middle which brought Miguel Montero home, and Owings moved over to second.  Maine fanned Byrnes.  Hudson popped up in foul territory along the left field line, and Wright made a beatiful diving catch to end the inning.  Maine gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Maine pitched his first 1-2-3 inning of the game.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Owings drew a two-out walk.  Maine fanned Young.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Hudson pulled a one-out double down the right field line (Hudson injured himself on the play and had to leave the game so Ojeda replaced him.  Jackson lined the ball off of Delgado’s glove, and the ball went into right field so Jackson ended up with a one-out single and Ojeda advanced to third.  Maine fanned Reynolds.  Drew flied out to left to leave runners on the corners.  Maine gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Maine retired the side in order.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Maine with Joe Smith to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Smith pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Drew drew a two-out walk.  Upton grounded a two-out single under the glove of Reyes, and Drew went first to third (I thought Wright tagged Drew in time).  Upton advanced to second when the throw was made at third.  Smith gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  Smith left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs.

Randolph replaced Smith with Pedro Feliciano with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Montero grounded out to third to leave to D-Backs on base.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Sanchez slammed the door on the D-Backs.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 7 - Arizona Diamondbacks 2.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  John Maine (3-2) got the win and Micah Owings (4-1) got the loss.

So all it took for the Metsies to get hot was a little bit of sunshine.  The Mets continue to play unbelievable baseball in the desert.  You can just look at the scoreboard to see what type of game it was, and it went quickly for a game with 9 runs.  Maine was struggling, but he pitched 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs.  The bullpen put up gooseggs with Smith, Feliciano, and Sanchez.  The offense was smokin’ hot.  Reyes and Wright each nearly batted for the cycle.  Church batted in the 2 spot, and you know what that means…the Mets win.  It was Alou’s 2008 debut, and he had 1 Hit, 1 RBI, and he had 1 walk.

The Amazins’ stole a win from the D-Backs because the pitching matchup was in their favor.  Tomorrow, it’s in their favor again.  However, it’s in the Metropolitans favor on Sunday with Santana on the mound.  It was a great game.  The Diamondbacks were 20-8 so they can afford to take a few losses.  Maybe Pelfrey can steal another win from Arizona tomorrow so Santana can steer New York to an unlikely sweep.

Share This