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Wednesday’s Mets News: Save Us Johan

April 23, 2008 By: Keith Category: AL East, Aaron Heilman, Carlos Delgado, Chicago Cubs, Jorge Sosa, MLB, Moises Alou, NL Central, NL East, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Pedro Martinez, Shea Stadium, Washington Nationals, Willie Randolph Comments Off

Yesterday was yesterday, and today is a new day.  I hope that brighter days are coming now.  It’s imperative because the Mets are going to face the Nationals and the Braves for five games.  These are the games that matter more than any other.  If the Mets can walk out of D.C. with a mini-sweep then maybe it will give them enough mojo to win the series against the Braves over the weekend.

Johan SantanaHere’s a picture of the new Nationals Park which replaced the ugliest stadium in sports, RFK.  I went there once, and they needed a new stadium.  If you never made the trip to RFK then you didn’t miss anything.  Anyway, Washington is only 2-5 in their new park so New York doesn’t need to make it easier for them to get closer to a winning record at home.  Santana is on the mound tonight, and he has to stop the bleeding.

Mets.com:

Capital time to visit Washington, D.C. - Jon Greenberg put together a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Mets and the Nationals.

Alou finding timing in rehab outings

 Can’t Compare - Anthony DiComo is taking in Yankees and Mets games on the same day — in Chicago.

Newsday:

Trouble at first glance - David Lennon summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Pedro can return to mound in 10-14 days - David Lennon found out that Pedro Martinez can return to the mound in 10-14 days.  At that point in time, Martinez will need about three weeks before he can return to the Mets.

DEBATE: Who hurts his team more: Delgado or Giambi?

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Find out what happened on today’s date at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium.

New York Daily News:

Don’t expect to see El Duque or Pedro Martinez soon - Adam Rubin informs us about Mets injuries.

Met bullpen implodes against Cubs - Adam Rubin criticizes how the Mets bullpen performed in Chicago.

New York Post:

LIFELESS METS PUT TO SWEEP - Bart Hubbuch asks where the offense was in the Mets-Cubs series.

SOSA FAR, SOSA NOT GOOD - Bart Hubbuch pointed out how poorly Jorge Sosa has been so far.

HEILMAN NO WORRY TO WILLIE - Willie Randolph had this to say about Aaron Heilman’s struggles, “He’s just going to have to make pitches. That’s the life of a set-up guy. I’m going to use him like I’ve been using him. He’s healthy, and I’m not ready to reduce his role a month into the season. He’s fine. He’s strong. It’s early. That [workload] will even out later on. I’m not concerned about it.”

New York Times:

For a Day, Chicago Becomes a New York Kind of Town - Jack Curry wrote up an article about how the Mets played the Cubs and how the Yankees played the White Sox on the same day in Chicago.

The Star-Ledger:

Delgado looking powerless - Jeremy Cothran breaks down the struggling Carlos Delgado.

Infield blunder opens floodgates

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Tuesday’s Mets News: On to D.C.

April 22, 2008 By: Keith Category: Angel Pagan, Billy Wagner, Brian Schneider, Carlos Delgado, Chicago Cubs, Howard Johnson, MLB, NL Central, NL East, New York Mets, Ryan Church, Shea Stadium Comments Off

Losing a two-game series 15-2 is very deflating.  Maybe the flights had a little bit to do with it, but the Mets played some ugly baseball the last two days.  Maybe a change of scenery will make a difference.  The next stop is at our nation’s capital for a two-game series with the Nationals.  Here’s a look at the pitching matchups:

  • 04/23/2008 - Johan Santana (2-2) - Tim Redding (3-1)
  • 04/24/2008 - Oliver Perez (2-0) - Shawn Hill (0-0)

Mets.com:

Offensive well runs dry in Chicago - Jon Greenberg summarized today’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Mets making do with bumps, bruises - Jon Greenberg discusses the injury status of the Mets.

Put simply, Mets outplayed by Cubs - Anthony DiComo summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Majors dream continues for Figueroa - Anthony DiComo wrote up a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Confident Pagan accepting of role - According to Anthony DiComo, Angel Pagan has no problem returning to a backup once Alou returns.

Schneider sits for second straight game - Anthony DiComo reported that Brian Schnieder will sit out in today’s game as well.

Newsday:

Another strong outing for Maine but no W - David Lennon also summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Pagan will soon find it tough to get playing time

New York Daily News:

Mets get slammed as Ronny Cedeno powers Cubs to victory - The AP summarized today’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Met bullpen implodes against Cubs - Adam Rubin summarized yesterday’s game between the Mets and the Cubs also.

Billy Wagner dogs Hank’s take on Joba, thinks rookie should stay in bullpen

Shea, Meadowlands among facilities helping spread green message

HoJo: Carlos Delgado not in slump - Adam Rubin captured the thoughts of Howard Johnson on Carlos Delgado’s lack of offense.  Here’s what HoJo said about Delgado:

It’s possible to have good at-bats without hits. Carlos has been a guy who has been very competitive in that he has not gotten himself out as much. During that Phillies series, one day, he was like 12 inches total from having three or four hits. Those things change the numbers. Those are good, quality at-bats. … He wasn’t getting himself out like the Carlos of last year. Last year I saw him get himself out a lot - when you’re ahead in the count chasing balls you shouldn’t be chasing.

New York Post:

METS SLAMMED BY CUBS - The AP put wrote up a game summary for today’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

DAZED AND ABUSED - Bart Hubbuch put together a game summary for last night’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

DELGADO’S NO BIG HIT - Bart Hubbuch talks about Delgado’s lack of success.

RYAN’S BEEN ALL RIGHT - Brett Cyrgalis compliments Ryan Church for his early season success.

New York Times:

Offense Again Fails Mets in Chicago - Ben Shpigel provided a game summary for today’s Mets-Cubs game.

Mets Say Delgado Is Not Playing as Badly as He Looks

The Star-Ledger:

Mets fall to Cubs, 8-1

Checkin in from the North Side - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineups for today’s Mets-Cubs game.

Cubs flatten Mets

Schneider sits for another night

Final: Cubs 7, Mets 1

Game 18: Mets-Cubs - Jeremy Cothran provided the lineups for last night’s Mets-Cubs game.

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Game 19: New York Mets 1 - Chicago Cubs 8

April 22, 2008 By: Keith Category: Brady Clark, Carlos Delgado, Chicago Cubs, Joe Smith, Jorge Sosa, MLB, NL Central, NL East, Nelson Figueroa Jr., New York Mets, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis Comments Off

The New York Mets (10-8) are playing Game 19 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Chicago Cubs (13-6) at Wrigley Field.  It’s the second game of the two-game series, and the final game of 2008 at Wrigley Field.  The game began at 2:20 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Pagan, Wright, Beltran, Delgado, Easley, Clark, Casanova, Figueroa.

Cubs Lineup: Johnson, Pie, Lee, Ramirez, Fukudome, DeRosa, Cedeno, Blanco, Lilly.

At the Plate

Ted Lilly (0-3) was the starting pitcher for the Cubs.  In the Top of the 1st, Lilly sent the top of the lineup down in order.  Lilly gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Lilly retired the middle of the lineup in order.  Lilly gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Lilly now pitched perfectly the first time through the lineup.  Lilly gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Lilly got Reyes swinging at strike three.  Pagan drove a one-out double into the gap in right center.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran also drew a two-out walk to load the bases.  Delgado popped up in shallow left, and Cedeno made the out.  Easley popped up to shallow right, and DeRosa made the catch to leave the bases juiced.  Lilly gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Clark led off by lining a single into right.  Casanova grounded slowly to third, and Ramirez made the out at first as Clark moved over to second.  Figueroa grounded out to short.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Pagan popped up to second base to leave two Mets on.  Lilly gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th,  Beltran drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Delgado lined a one-out single into right.  Easley dropped a one-out single into shallow right.  Brady Clark grounded to second, but DeRosa only got the out at second so Carlos Delgado came home to score.  Casanova grounded to short, and Cedeno made the force out at second to leave two Mets on.  Lilly gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Lilly left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 4 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Piniella replaced Lilly with Bob Howry to begin the Top of the 7th.  Howry sent the Mets down in order.  Howry gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Piniella replaced Howry with Carlos Marmol to begin the Top of the 8th.  Marmol breezed right through the Mets.  Marmol gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Piniella replaced Marmol with Kevin Hart to begin the Top of the 9th.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Sosa, and Anderson drew a one-out walk.  Casanova grounded a one-out single up the middle, and Anderson advanced to second.  Chavez grounded to first, and Lee made the force out at second as Anderson moved over to third.  Reyes grounded out to first to end the game.  Hart gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

On the Mound

Nelson Figueroa Jr. (1-0) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Figueroa pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Ramirez drew a leadoff walk.  Fukudome grounded the ball to first under the glove of Delgado and into right field so Fukudome arrived safely at first as Ramirez went first to third.  DeRosa drew a no-out walk to load the bases.  Figueroa fanned Cedeno on three straight pitches.  Blanco grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play to get Figueroa out of a jam.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Pie grounded a hard two-out single to first which hit Delgado and went into right field.  Lee lined out to left to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Fukudome grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side.  DeRosa flied out to center.  Ronny Cedeno lined a two-out double into the right field corner, and Kosuke Fukudome came around to score.  Figueroa intentionally walked Blanco.  Lilly grounded to second, but nobody covered first so Lilly beat out the play to load the bases.  Reed Johnson lined a two-out 2-run single into left scoring Mark DeRosa and Ronny Cedeno.  Pie grounded out to first to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 4 Hits, 3 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Lee drew a leadoff walk.  Ramirez flied out to right.  Fukudome drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  DeRosa flied out to right, and Lee tagged up and went to third.  Cedeno lined out to right to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Blanco led off by grounding a single under Reyes and into left.  Fontenot is pinch hitting for Lilly.  This move brought Randolph to out to the mount to make a pitching change.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 7 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Scott Schoeneweis with no outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Fontenot dropped down a sacrifice bunt along the first base line, and Scoeneweis made the out at first as Blance advanced to second.  Johnson drew a one-out walk.  Pie grounded right in front of home plate, and Casanova made the out at first as both runners advanced.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Joe Smith with two outs in the Bottom of the 6th.  Lee flied out to the warning track in dead center, but Beltran made the out to leave two Cubs on base.  Smith gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Ramirez grounded a leadoff single through the hole on the left side.  Fukudome drove a no-out double that one-hopped the wall, and Rameriz went first to third.  Mark DeRosa lined an RBI single into right center, and Aramis Ramirez came home to score and Fukudome advanced to third.  Smith caught Cedeno swining at ball four to strike him out.  Smith gave up 3 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Smith with Pedro Feliciano with one out in the Bottom of the 7th.  Soto is pinch hitting for Blanco, and Feliciano threw a wild pitch to Soto so DeRosa moved over to second.  Soto drew an intentional walk to load the bases.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Jorge Sosa with one out in the Bottom of the 7th.  Murton is pinch hitting for Howry, and Murton grounded to first so Delgado made the out at home.  Johnson popped up to second to end the inning.  Sosa gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 8th, Pie lined a leadoff single into right.  Lee grounded a no-out single through the hole on the right side, and Pie moved over to second.  Ramirez flied out to the warning track in left.  Fukudome drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  DeRosa grounded to short, and Reyes made the out at home as DeRosa beat out the relay throw to first.  Ronny Cedeno smacked a Grand Slam near the foul poul in left scoring Derrek Lee, Kosuke Fukudome, and Mark DeRosa.  Soto lined a two-out single into left.  Marquis popped up to shallow left, and Reyes made the catch to end the inning.  Sosa gave up 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 1 - Chicago Cubs 8.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  Nelson Figueroa Jr. (1-1) got the loss and Ted Lilly (1-3) got the win.

OUCH!!!  It bothered me a little bit when the Mets lost the final game of the Phillies series, but I figured that the Mets would recover quickly and sweep this mini-series.  As you can tell by the scoreboard, the Mets got stomped twice by the Cubies.  The Mets starters pitched decently.  Wright was the one that stopped driving in the runs.  He’s been the only one doing that for the Mets so if he stops then the Mets only put up a run a game which isn’t enough.  This Cedeno kid beat the Mets by himself.

The Mets need to get out of Chicago ASAP.  Maybe things will turn around as soon as they get off the plane in Washington.  The Mets are 10-9 now.  They are disappointing me right now.

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Game 18: New York Mets 1 - Chicago Cubs 7

April 21, 2008 By: Keith Category: Aaron Heilman, Chicago Cubs, David Wright, Duaner Sanchez, Endy Chavez, John Maine, Jorge Sosa, Jose Reyes, MLB, NL Central, NL East, New York Mets Comments Off

The New York Mets (10-7) are playing Game 18 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Chicago Cubs (12-6) at Wrigley Field.  It’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:05 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

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

Phillies Lineup: Johnson, Fontenot, Lee, Ramirez, Fukudome, DeRosa, Soto, Cedeno, Zambrano.

At the Plate

Carlos Zambrano (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Cubs.  In the Top of the 1st, Reyes dumped a leadoff single into left field.  Castillo grounded to first, and Lee made the out at first as Reyes moved over to second.  Wright worked himself into a full count before staring at strike three.  Beltran grounded to short, and Cedeno made the out at first to leave a runner at second.  Zambrano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Church grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side.  Casanova struck out swinging as Church attempted to steal third, but Soto threw out Church to end the inning.  Zambrano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Zambrano quickly retired the side.  Zambrano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Castillo drew a leadoff walk.  Wright grounded to third, and the Cubs turned the double play.  Beltran popped up to third, and Ramirez made the catch.  Zambrano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Delgado led off by lining a single into center.  Church grounded to second, and Fontenot only made the force out at second on the double play attempt.  Casanova grounded to first, and Lee made the out at first and then got the Cubs got Delgado out in a rundown.  Zambrano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, Chavez led off with a standup double off the wall in left center.  Maine dropped down a sacrifice bunt in front of home plate, and Soto threw to third but Ramirez didn’t tag Chavez at third so everybody is safe.  Reyes grounded to short, and the Cubs turned the double play as Endy Chavez came home to score.  Castillo grounded to third and beat out the throw by Ramirez for a two-out single.  With Wright in the batters box, Castillo stole second safely.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran lined out to left to leave two Mets stranded.  Zambrano gave up 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.  In the Top of the 7th, Zambrano sent the Mets down in order.  Zambrano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.  Zambrano left the game after pitching 7.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Piniella replaced Zambrano with Carlos Marmol to begin the Top of the 8th.  Marmol retired the side in order.  Marmol gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Piniella replaced Marmol with Kerry Wood to begin the Top of the 9th.  Wood pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Wood gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.

On the Field

John Maine (1-1) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Johnson grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  With Fontenot at the plate, Casanova threw out Johnson as he attempted to steal second base.  Maine fanned Fontenot.  Lee flied out to right to end the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Ramirez drew a leadoff walk.  Fukudome flied out to shallow center.  DeRosa popped up in foul ground along the first base line, and Delgado made the catch.  Soto grounded slowly in front of home plate, and Casanova made the out at first.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Cedeno grounded out to second.  Maine fanned Zambrano.  Maine hit Johnson with the pitch in the left arm.  Fonteno grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to leave on Cub on base.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Lee lined a leadoff single into center.  Aramis Ramirez drove a 2-run homer to left center scoring Derrek Lee.  Fukudome grounded out to short.  DeRosa grounded a one-out single through the hole on the left side.  Maine got Soto swinging at strike three.  Cedeno flied out to left to end the inning.  Maine gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Maine walked Fontenot on four pitches to give the Cubs a two-out runner.  Lee grounded to third, and Wright got the lead runner at second to end the inning.  Maine gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Ramirez grounded out to third.  Fukudome lined a one-out single into left.  Maine struck out DeRosa on a check swing.  With Soto at the plate, Maine threw a wild pitch so Fukudome moved over to second.  Maine got Soto staring at strike three to end the inning.  Maine gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 6th Inning.  Maine left the game after pitching 6.0 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 6 SOs.

Randolph replaced Maine with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Cedeno grounded to third, but the ball bobbled in Wright’s (Error on David Wright) hand so Cedeno beat out the throw to first.  Ward is pinch hitting for Zambrano, and Ward grounded to third and Wright made the out at first while Cedeno moved over to second.  Johnson also grounded to third, and Wright held Cedeno at second before making the out at first.  Fontenot grounded out to second to end the inning.  Sanchez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Aaron Heilman to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Lee led off by grounding to short, but Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) mishandled the ball so Lee beat out the play.  Heilman hit Ramirez with the pitch.  Fukudome grounded a no-out single through the hole on the left side to load the bases.  Heilman fanned DeRosa.  Soto popped up to second.  Ronny Cedeno lined a 2-run single up the middle scoring Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, and Fukudome advanced to second.  Heilman gave up 2 Hits, 4 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Jorge Sosa with two outs in the Bottom of the 8th.  Felix Pie broke the game open by crushing a 3-run shot to right scoring Kosuke Fukudome and Ronny Cedeno.  Johnson grounded out to third to end the inning after the Cubs put a 5-spot on the scoreboard.  Sosa gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Final Score: New York Mets 1 - Chicago Cubs 7.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.  John Maine took the loss while Carlos Zambrano got the win.

I hate when the Mets face a pitcher like Zambrano did tonight.  Carlos pitched 7 scoreless innings allowing 5 hits.  Maine pitched a pretty good game.  John gave up 2 runs over 6 innings, and gave up 5 hits.  One of the hits was a two-run jack.  So the Mets dropped 2 consecutive games right now.  They have to wake up early tomorrow to play a day game.  Figueroa will make his first start as a Met away from Shea.

The Mets are 10-8 now.  It seems like the NL is playing them tough this year.  They need to put their foot down on the NL already.

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Monday’s Mets News: In the Windy City

April 21, 2008 By: Keith Category: Brian Schneider, Chicago Cubs, David Wright, MLB, Mike Pelfrey, Moises Alou, NL Central, NL East, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Church, Shea Stadium, Willie Randolph Comments Off

The Mets are in Chicago for a quick two-game set with the Cubies.  By quick, I mean that the Mets will play a night game followed by a day game and then they leave the Windy City.  Tonight’s game begins at 7:05 p.m. ET, and tomorrow’s game begins at 2:20 p.m. ET.  Here’s the pitching matchups for this series:

  • 04/21/2008 - John Maine (1-1) - Carlos Zambrano (2-1)
  • 04/22/2008 - Nelson Figueroa Jr. (1-0) - Ted Lilly (0-3)

Hopefully, the Metropolitans can rebound from last night’s loss and sweep this two-game series against the Cubs.  It’s time for the Mets to stomp on the NL, seriously.  It will make up for losing the series to the Brewers.  After this Chicago trip, the Mets head down for a quick series in D.C.  It’s the first time the Mets will play the Nats in their new stadium.  On the weekend, the Mets host the Braves at Shea, and it’s on.

Mets.com:

Wrigley FieldChicago busy with Mets, Yanks - In case you didn’t know this already, Anthony DiComo reminds us that both New York teams will be playing in the Windy City on Tuesday.

Mets rally, but can’t sweep Phillies - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Phillies.

Mets no strangers to ‘grind’ of season - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Mets and the Cubs.

Schneider out with bruised right forearm - Marty Noble pointed out that Brian Schneider didn’t play in last night’s game due to a bruised right forearm.  Schneider is expected to return to the lineup tonight in Chicago.

Alou progressing in rehab stint - Joseph Santoliquito tells us how Moises Alou is doing with his rehab assignment down in Port St. Lucie.  If all goes well then Alou may be back at Shea this weekend when the Mets host the Braves.

Church was ready to toe slab - Marty Noble pointed out that Ryan Church would’ve pitched in the 14-inning game last week against the Nationals.  It turns out that Church was a pitcher during his freshman year at the University of Nevada which was eight years ago.

Newsday:

Three Phillies HRs negate Mets’ comeback - Anthony Rieber also summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Phillies.

Everything adding up for Mets’ rising star Wright - Johnette Howard wrote an article about how David Wright is a rising star.

Mets’ Schneider sits with bruised forearm

New York Daily News:

Pedro Feliz slugs pinch-hit homer to lift Phillies past Mets, 5-4 - Adam Rubin summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Phillies as well.

Mets’ Home Run Apple loved to core - Anthony McCarron tells us why the Home Run Apple is loved.

Moises Alou may return Friday

A Shea honor for Jack Lang - Adam Rubin reported that, “The Mets will honor the late Daily News sports writer Jack Lang with a ceremony and video tribute before Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. game against the Braves at Shea. Lang, who died in January 2007, covered the Mets for 25 years, from the team’s inception in 1962.”

Brian Schneider: One day at a time

New York Post:

HOMER COOKIN’ BEATS METS - Bart Hubbuch also wrote up a game summary about last night’s Mets-Phillies game.

WILLIE: NO SYMPATHY FOR PHIL ILLS - Bart Hubbuch captured Willie Randolph’s thoughts on the injuries that the Phillies are suffering.  Willie said, “Welcome to the club, just like everybody else. No one feels sorry for us when we have injuries, so we’re definitely not going to feel sorry for them, that’s for sure. Injuries are part of the game. We’ve got guys out, too.”

AMAZIN’ OPPORTUNITY MISSED - Mike Vaccaro lets us know that the Mets missed out on a golden opportunity by not being able to sweep the Phillies.

PELFREY ON RIGHT TRACK - Dan Tomasino liked what he saw out of Mike Pelfrey last night.

New York Times:

Two Homers From Utley as Phillies Top the Mets

The Star-Ledger:

Greetings from Chicago

Mets fall in series finale

Forearm bruise sits Schneider

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