Die Hard Sports Fan

So April is over now.  The Amazins’ finished the month of April with a 14-12 record after playing 26 games.  If you prorate it through 162 games then the Mets will be 87-75.  At month end, the Mets are in a three-way tie with the Marlins and the Phillies.  The Braves are 2.5 games back, and the Nats are 4 games behind.

It’s May now, and hopefully a new calendar month along with a trip out west will get the Metropolitans heading in the right direction.  The Mets will go to Phoenix for three games and then to Los Angeles for three games.

After one month, all of you Mets fans keep on booing our team.  What’s up with that?  I understand some of it, but not all of it.  I understand booing Delgado, Castillo, and Heilman for poor performances.  I understand booing Schoeneweis for steroids, and I would never cheer for somebody that shouldn’t be allowed to play baseball anymore.  I hear callers complain on WFAN because they want Willie fired.  I think Willie is an average Manager.  He lacks to NL knowledge that Bobby V. had, but he still has had a winning record with the Mets.  Historically, that’s better than the majority of Mets managers.  I don’t think this is Willie’s fault at all.  He’s by no means perfect, but I’ve seen much worse.

I put more of this on Omar than Willie because all of the starting players that were part of the collapse are still on the field, with the exception of LoDuca and Green.  If these players don’t feel like they have something to prove this year then Omar should get rid of them.  Omar knows what type of heart these guys have.  Only Wright and Alou played through the end of 2007.  I’m was upset with the Mets as an organization for covering up whatever happened last year.  Like I said in the offseason, I wanted to know what happened to Reyes down the stretch so I can justify it if he was sent to the Twins in exchange for Santana.  If he was hurt and would be back healthy this year then I wanted him back.  If he just quit then I wanted him out.  Reyes said he slumped, and he’s still in a funk.  Maybe he shouldn’t be here anymore.  I hated the Castillo contract from the beginning.  He’s not worth more than $10/year.  He told the Mets he was 100% healthy in December when he got his contract, but he asks Willie for days off.  He still can’t bunt or hit the ball.  Pedro and El Duque lied to the Mets about how great they felt on Spring Training.  They’ve been doing that for years already, and that’s why I wrote the post back then called “Talking the Talk or Walking the Walk”.  Omar believes the lies that Pedro and El Duque told them about being healthy so we don’t have a backup plan in place.

On the positive side, I love what I’ve seen out of Church and Pagan.  I never even liked Milledge because he’s a disgusting person so I loved that trade regardless of how any of the three players actually perform in the future.  Figueroa has been pretty solid as well.  And last but not least, Johan Santana is the man.  He finished April with 3 wins.  At three wins a month, he’ll end up with 18 wins at the end of the year.  Santana could’ve had more wins of the offense could put up more runs or if the bullpen could hold a lead.

That’s enough venting for me.  My point was that if the players weren’t good enough to win last year then why would they be good enough to win this year?  And heart is something that shows up on stats sheets.  I’m a Giants fan, and I just watched them win the Super Bowl with a bunch of rookies.  The Giants were picked to finish last in their division even though they made the Playoffs two years in a row prior to that.  The Mets are the favorites to win the World Series, but besides Santana what have they done?

Mets.com:

Citi Field recalls, renews sport’s legacy - Barry M. Bloom pointed out how Citi Field is a testament to NYC’s rich baseball tradition.

Wagner returns to site of scary incident- Marty Noble tells us a story where Billy Wagner got beaned by a comebacker by Stinnett about ten years ago in Phoenix.

Forgettable day for Perez against Bucs - Marty Noble summarized yesterday’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Mets know D-backs present challenge - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for tomorrow’s game between the Mets and the Diamondbacks.

Schneider at Shea, but stays sidelined - Marty Noble reported that Brian Schneider’s thumb is improving, but the staph infection is not fully healed.

Strawberry writing ‘Straw’ memoir - The AP informed us that Darryl Strawberry is currently writing a book titled “Straw” that will be released in 2009.

Newsday:

Mets lose, 13-1, to Pirates; Wagner calls out team - Jim Baumbach also summarized how the Mets stunk it up yesterday.  Billy had this to say about the team’s perfomance, or lack there of, “Today, we just didn’t show up. I’m not saying Pittsburgh can’t beat the New York Mets. But I’m just saying there’s no way we should have this lopsided of a score. Yes, you’re going to have games like this. It’s something that can’t continue to linger.”

Wagner rips Perez over poor outing - Katie Strang got this quote from Wagner about Oliver Perez’s start yesterday, “Perez honestly has to step up and know we used every guy in the bullpen the night before. He can’t come out there and decide he doesn’t have it today, so be it.”  I hope Billy has something to say about every player every time they mess up which is pretty often.

Wright can do no wrong in fans’ eyes

Schneider back with Mets, but not ready to play

Water main break at Citi Field delays Mets game

New York Daily News:

Pirates crush sloppy Mets, 13-1

September stench still reeks at Shea - Mike Lupica discusses how poorly the Mets have been playing.

Oliver Perez takes walk on wild side - Roger Rubin explains what things Oli was doing wrong yesterday.

Can’t put a finger on Brian Schneider’s return to Mets

New York Post:

METS SEND IN THE OOPS

SCHNEIDER LEAVES HOSPITAL STAPH BEHIND

THIS (BLEEP) IS MORE THAN A BLIP - Mike Vaccaro found out how other Championship teams took loses like the Mets did yesterday and moved on.

INEPT OLLIE FUELS AMAZIN’ FOLLY

New York Times:

It Was a Dark Afternoon for the Daydreaming Mets - Ben Shpigel also summarized yesterday’s Pirates-Mets game.

The Star-Ledger:

Wagner has harsh words for Perez

Pirates rip sloppy Mets

Share This

Well, the Mets couldn’t sweep the Pirates.  Not only could they not sweep the Pirates, but it took them 11 innings to beat them the first night and they got torched today.  The Mets (14-12) have an off day tomorrow before they head out west for a 6-game road trip.  The Mets will be in Arizona (20-8) over the weekend and in L.A. (13-13) early next week.  The Diamondbacks are smokin’ hot right now.  If we struggle with the Nats and the Bucs then it’s safe to assume that we’ll struggle out west.  I hope not though.

The Mets are 14-12 now.

Mets.com:

Game delayed by water main break - Marty Noble explained why today’s Pirates-Mets game got off to a late start.

Wright gives Mets walk-off win - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Mets up to the task against southpaws - Marty Noble assembled a pregame analysis for today’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Alou cleared to return to Mets - Marty Noble stated that Moises Alou could play this wekeend vs. Arizona.

Valentin pays visit to Mets teammates - Marty Noble pointed out that Jose Valentin visited the team prior to last night’s game, and Valentin expects to return to the team by the end of May.

Church looking for first All-Star bid

Newsday:

Mets win on Wright’s long single in 11th - Jim Baumbach summarized last night’s Pirates-Mets game.

Alou could be back in Mets’ lineup on Friday

Mientkiewicz: You haven’t seen the real Johan yet

Mets’ Schneider close to leaving hospital

New York Daily News:

David Wright’s 11th-inning hit gives Mets 5-4 win over Pirates - Adam Rubin also summarized last night’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Mets catcher Brian Schneider released from hospital - The AP reported that Brian Schneider was released by the hospital yesterday.

In cold, Johan Santana’s drama is gripping - Roger Rubin found out that Johan Santana thought it was difficult to pitch in the chilly conditions last night.

Moises Alou’s bat set for road swing

To Ryan Church, strong start to year is all relative

Matt Wise might replace Jorge Sosa - Adam Rubin reported that Matt Wise is expected to rejoin the Mets in Arizona this weekend after a rehab appearance Thursday.  Rubin believes that the Mets might send Jorge Sosa down to the minors when Wise returns.

New York Post:

WRIGHT ON TIME - Bart Hubbuch summarized last night’s Pirates-Mets games as well.

URGENT MATTER - Even though the Mets have been winning, Kevin Kernan believes that the Mets need to play with more urgency because they don’t understand how to put away a much lesser opponent.

ALOU MAY BE BACK FRIDAY

SANCHEZ SIDESTEPS BIG TROUBLE - Duaner Sanchez took the blame for allowing last night’s game to get into extra innings.

New York Times:

Mets Will Take a Victory They Nearly Gave Away

Alou Is Finally Ready to Play, but Schneider Is Not

Smoltz Put on Disabled List With Sore Right Shoulder - YEAH!!!

The Star-Ledger:

Wright’s hit boosts Mets in 11th

Alou says he’ll play vs. D’backs

Share This

The New York Mets (14-11) are playing Game 26 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-16) at Shea Stadium.  The series opener got postponed so it’s the second game of the two-game series.  The game began at 1:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth, Sanchez, Bay, Doumit, Nady, LaRoche, Bautista, Gomez, Gorzelanny.

Mets Lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Church, Delgado, Pagan, Molina, Perez.

On the Mound

Oliver Perez (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Bay drew a two-out walk.  Perez fanned Doumit to leave one stranded.  Perez gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, Nady drew a leadoff walk.  Perez caught LaRoche looking at strike three.  Bautista drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Gomez drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Tom Gorzelanny grounded slowly to second, and Castillo (Error on Luis Castillo) barely release the ball so it ended up on the ground while everbody is safe and Xavier Nady came home to score.  Nate McLouth drew a one-out walk which scored Jose Bautista.  Freddy Sanchez grounded a one-out RBI single up the middle so Chris Gomez came home to score, and the bases remained loaded.  Jason Bay hit a one-out sacrifice fly to center, and Tom Gorzelanny tagged up and scored.  Ryan Doumit pulled an RBI single over the third base bag which scored Nate McLouth, Sanchez went first to third, and Doumit got out of being caught in a rundown and advanced to second.  Perez gave up 2 Hits, 7 Runs, 4 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 2nd Inning.  Perez left the game after pitching 1.2 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 7 Runs, 2 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Randolph replaced Perez with Nelson Figueroa Jr. with two outs in the Top of the 2nd.  Nady dumped a 2-run single into right which scored Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit.  LaRoche drew a two-out walk.  Bautista grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first to stop whatever it is that I’m watching on television.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, McLouth grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Sanchez flied out right to end the inning.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Nady drew a two-out walk.  LaRoche grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side which moved Nady to second.  Figueroa also caught Bautista looking to leave two Pirates on base.  Figueroa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Gomez grounded out to short.  Grozelanny popped up to short.  McLouth grounded a two-out double over the first base bag.  Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out RBI single into left as Nate McLouth came around to score.  Figueroa fanned Bay on three straight pitches to leave one Pirate on base.  Figueroa gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Figueroa left the game after pitching 3.1 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 BBs, and he had 3 SOs.

Randolph replaced Figueroa with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 6th.  Doumit led off by hitting a Ground Rule Double over the left field wall.  Xavier Nady drove a no-out RBI double to the gap in left center, and Ryan Doumit came around to score.  Sosa fanned LaRoche.  Bautista grounded to second, and Castillo made the out at first while Nady advanced to third.  Gomez grounded to third, and Wright (Error on David Wright) bobbled the ball so Gomez was safe at first while Xavier Nady scored.  Bixler is pinch hitting for Gorzelanny, and Bixler hit a two-out broken bat single into right center as Gomez moved over to second.  Nate McLouth drove a two-out 2-run double over the head of Pagan which scored Chris Gomez and Brian Bixler.  Freddy Sanchez drove the ball to deep left field, and Pagan (Error on Angel Pagan) dropped the ball so Sanchez ended up with a double as Nate McLouth came around to score.  Bay lined out to short to end another ugly inning.  Sosa gave up 4 Hits, 5 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sosa with Pedro Feliciano to begin the Top of the 7th.  Nady grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side (Mientkiewicz is pinch running for Nady).  LaRoche grounded to short, and the Mets turned the double play.  Feliciano gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 8th.  Heilman pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Top of the 9th, Heilman retired the side in order again.  Heilman gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

At the Plate

Tom Gorzelanny (1-3) was the starting pitcher for the Pirates.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran also drew a two-out walk.  Gorzelanny fanned Church to leave two Mets on base.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Pagan drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Gorzelanny struck out Molina on three pitches.  Figueroa lined out to center to leave one Met on base.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Grozelanny sent the top of the lineup down in order.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Gorzelanny caught Beltran staring at strike three.  Church drew a one-out walk on four pitches.  Delgado grounded a one-out single through the hole on the right side, and Church went first to third.  Pagan blooped the ball into shallow center, but Sanchez made the running catch.  Molina popped up to shallow right, and Nady made the catch leaving Mets standing on the corners.  Gorzelanny gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of 5th, Reyes drew a one-out walk.  Castillo popped up in foul ground along the first base line, and Doumit made the catch.  Wright grounded out to short to end the inning.  Gorzelanny gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 5th Inning.  Gorzelanny left the game after pitching 5.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 5 BBs, and he had 4 SOs.

Russell replaced Gorzelanny with John Van Benschoten to begin the Bottom of the 6th.  Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Ryan Church drove a no-out RBI double into the gap in right center, and Carlos Beltran came all the way around to score.  Delgado grounded out to short.  Van Benschoten fanned Pagan.  Molina flied out to right to end the inning.  Van Benschoten gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 7th, Van Benschoten retired the side in order.  Van Benschoten gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 7th Inning.  Van Benschoten left the game after pitching 2.0 Innings allowing 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 ER, 1 BB, and he had 3 SOs.

Russell replaced Van Benschoten with Evan Meek to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Wright drew a leadoff walk.  With Beltran at the plate, Meek threw a passed ball so Wright moved over to second.  Beltran popped up to short, and Gomez made the catch.  Church grounded out to short.  Delgado drew a two-out walk.  Pagan also drew a two-out walk which loaded the bases.  Molina grounded out to first to leave the bases juiced.  Meek gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 3 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 9th, Meek retired the side in order.  Meek gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 9th Inning.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 13 - New York Mets 1.  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.

The Mets already had to play a day game following a late extra innings night game.  Then, today’s game was delayed 40 minutes because a water main broke.  Oli was simply awful today.  He pitched 1.2 innings and gave up 7 runs while 5 were unearned.  The Mets made 3 errors today which made everything worse than it could’ve been.  The Bullpen allowed even more runs to score.  The offense isn’t even worth discussing since the Mets only put up 1 run on the scoreboard.  This was torture to watch.  On the Pirates, X-Man was on fire today.  Nady was 3 for 3, with 3 RBIs and 2 walks.  I hope Omar goes after him.  The Pirates put up 12 of their 13 runs in just 2 innings.

Share This

The New York Mets (13-11) are playing Game 25 of the 2008 Regular Season against the Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15) at Shea Stadium.  The series opener got postponed so it’s the first game of the two-game series.  The game began at 7:10 p.m., and it was aired on SNY.

Pirates Lineup: McLouth, Gomez, Sanchez, Bay, Nady, LaRoche, Bautista, Paulino, Snell.

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

On the Mound

Johan Santana (3-2) was the starting pitcher for the Mets.  In the Top of the 1st, Nate McLouth led off with a solo shot to right.  Gomez grounded out to third.  Sanchez grounded out to second.  Santana fanned Bay.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 1st Inning.  In the Top of the 2nd, LaRoche drew a one-out walk.  Santana caught Bautista looking at strike three.  Paulino grounded out to short to end the inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 2 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Top of the 3rd, Santana pitched a 1-2-3 inning.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Top of the 4th, Jason Bay hit a one-out jack to left.  Nady flied out to left.  Santana fanned LaRoche.  Santana gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 4th Inning.  In the Top of the 5th, Santana sent the bottom of the lineup down in order.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  In the Top of the 6th, McLouth drew a leadoff walk.  Santana got Gomez on a called strike three.  Sanchez flied out to left.  Bay drew a two-out walk.  Santana hit Nady in the arm to load the bases.  Santana gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 6th Inning.  Santana left the game after pitching 5.2 Innings allowing 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 3 BBs, and he had 7 SOs.

Randolph replaced Santana with Pedro Feliciano with two outs in the 6th Inning.  LaRoche popped up to short to leave the bases full of Pirates.  Feliciano gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Randolph replaced Feliciano with Aaron Heilman to begin the Top of the 7th.  Bautista grounded a leadoff single up the middle.  Paulino drew a no-out walk.  Morgan is pinch hitting for Marte, and Morgan popped out in shallow left.  Heilman gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Heilman with Scott Schoeneweis with one out in the Top of the 7th.  McLouth grounded to second, and Castillo tagged Paulino as he was running to second.  With Gomez in the batters box, Schoeneweis threw a passed ball.  Casanova threw the ball to Schoeneweis who tagged out Bautista as he was going home.  Schoeneweis gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 7th Inning.

Randolph replaced Schoeneweis with Duaner Sanchez to begin the Top of the 8th.  Gomez led off with a line drive into left field.  Sanchez pulled a no-out double down the left field line, and Gomez went from first to third.  Sanchez fanned Bay.  Nady drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Adam LaRoche drew a one-out walk to bring home Chris Gomez.  Bautista grounded to third, and Wright made the force out at home.  Paulino popped up to shallow right, and Castillo made the catch.  Sanchez gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Randolph replaced Sanchez with Billy Wagner to begin the Top of the 9th.  Doumit is pinch hitting for Grabow, and Doumit grounded to short.  Delgado couldn’t hold onto the catch from Reyes (Error on Jose Reyes) so the Pirates have a leadoff runner on base (Bixler is pinch running for Doumit).  With McLouth in the batters box, Wagner threw a wild pitch so Bixler moved over to second.  Wagner got McLouth swinging at strike three.  Gomez grounded out to short as Bixler advanced to third.  Freddy Sanchez hit a two-out RBI single to the gap in right center, and Brian Bixler came home to tie up the game.  Wagner fanned Bay.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 1 Run, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Top of the 10th, LaRoche hit a one-out opposite field double off of the wall in left field.  Bautista flied out to center.  Paulino grounded out to short to leave LaRoche standing on second.  Wagner gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 10th Inning.

Randolph replaced Wagner with Jorge Sosa to begin the Top of the 11th.  Gomez grounded a two-out single through the hole on the right side.  Sanchez popped up to shallow center, and Beltran made the catch.  Sosa gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

At the Plate

Ian Snell (2-1) was the starting pitcher for the Pirates.  In the Bottom of the 1st, Reyes dropped a bunt in front of home plate and beat out the throw for a leadoff single.  With Castillo at the plate, Paulino threw out Reyes as he attempted to steal second.  Castillo flied out to left.  Wright drew a two-out walk.  Beltran grounded out to first to leave Wright on base.  Snell gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 1st Inning.  In the Bottom of the 2nd, Snell retired the side in order.  Snell gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 2nd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 3rd, Chavez flied out to center.  Santana flied out to right.  Reyes drew a two-out walk.  Castillo grounded to second, and the Pirates turned the double play to end the inning.  Snell gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 0 SOs in the 3rd Inning.  In the Bottom of the 4th, Beltran drew a one-out walk.  Ryan Church tied up the game with a one-out 2-run homer to right scoring Carlos Beltran.  Delgado flied out to left.  Casanova grounded out to first to end the inning.  Snell gave up 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 BB, and he had 1 SO in the 4th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 5th, Chavez led off with a line drive to left.  Santana attempted to bunt on strike three, but he missed the ball.  Jose Reyes hit a one-out RBI triple off of the right field wall, and Endy Chavez came around to score.  Castillo drew a one-out walk.  David Wright grounded to short, and Sanchez (Error on Freddy Sanchez) mishandled the throw from Gomez so everybody is safe and Jose Reyes scored.  Beltran drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Snell gave up 3 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 5th Inning.  Snell left the game after pitching 4.1 Innings allowing 5 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 5 BBs, and he had 2 SOs.

Russell replaced Snell with Damaso Marte with one out in the Bottom of the 5th.  Marte caught Church staring at ball four which resulted in a strike out.  Marte fanned Delgado.  Marte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 2 SOs in the 5th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 6th, Marte worked a 1-2-3 inning.  Marte gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 6th Inning.

Russell replaced Marte with Tyler Yates to begin the Bottom of the 7th.  Reyes drew a leadoff walk.  With Castillo at the plate, Reyes stole second.  Castillo drew a no-out walk.  Yates fanned Wright.  Beltran flied out to left near the line.  Church grounded out to second to leave two Mets on base.  Yates gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 2 BBs, and he had 1 SO in the 7th Inning.

Russell replaced Yates with John Grabow to begin the Bottom of the 8th.  Chavez lined a two-out single into shallow center.  Pagan is pinch hitting for Sanchez, and Grabow fanned Pagan to end the inning.  Grabow gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 8th Inning.

Russell replaced Grabow with Franquelis Osoria to begin the Bottom of the 9th.  Reyes led off by grounding a single up the middle.  Castillo dropped down a bunt towards third, and Bautista made the out at first as Reyes moved over to second.  Wright flied out to right, and Reyes stayed put.  Beltran grounded out to second to leave Reyes on base.  Osoria gave up 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 9th Inning.  In the Bottom of the 10th, Osorio retired the side in order.  Osorio gave up 0 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 10th Inning.

Russell replaced Osorio with John Van Benschoten to begin the Bottom of the 11th.  Chavez hit a broken bat single up the middle to give the Mets a leadoff runner.  Anderson is pinch hitting for Sosa, and Van Benschoten was called for a Balk so Chavez moved over to second base.  Anderson dropped down a bunt towards third, and Bautista made the out at first as Chavez advanced to third.  Van Benschoten intentionally walked Reyes.  With Castillo in the batters box, Reyes went to second and it was called defensive indifference.  Castillo drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  The Wright Stuff crushed an opposite field single that hit right of the foul poul and fell in fair territory so Endy Chavez came home to score.  Van Benschoten gave up 2 Hits, 1 Run, 2 BBs, and he had 0 SOs in the 11th Inning.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 4 - New York Mets 5 (In 11).  The MLB.com Box Score is attached.

Another game, another win.  Santana gave up two solo shots.  He threw a lot of pitches, and he only went 5.2 innings.  The Mets got off to a slow start tonight offensively.  Church tied up the game at 2 in the 4th.  Jose was on base 6 times tonight and went 3 for 6.  Endy was 3 for 5.  Wright was 0-4 before he hit the walkoff.  I wish that the Mets didn’t have to go to extra innings against the Pirates, but it is what it is.

The Metropolitans are 14-11 now.  The Mets will host the Pirates again tomorrow for a day game.  After that, they head out west.

Share This

Due to last night’s rainout, the Pirates and the Mets will only play a two-game series.  Last night’s game will be made up on August 11, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. ET.  Johan Santana and John Maine will be the starting pitches in the two-game set.  These are the Pirates so I’m looking forward to a mini-sweep.

Mets.com:

Series opener vs. Bucs postponed - Marty Noble lets us know that last night’s Pirates-Mets game is to be made up on Aug. 11 at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Delgado looks to stay hot vs. Bucs - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

MUSEUM TO UNVEIL NEW ROBINSON PLAQUE SATURDAY - The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will unveil a new plaque of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, featuring updated language to further honor his legacy, this Saturday, May 3, at 1:30 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Gallery. The ceremony will feature Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow, as she shares her thoughts on her late husband’s legacy.

Alou’s MRI postponed - Marty Noble stated that Moises Alou was unable to fly to New York early enough to make it to the Doctor yesterday because of the weather.  Alou had to postpone his visit to the foot Doctor until today.

Newsday:

Mets’ Delgado: I wasn’t sending message to fans - Katie Strang found out what Carlos Delgado had to say about not coming out of the dugout when the fans called for a curtain call.  Delgado said,

I hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh. We were winning by two. All I did was add another run. I didn’t think that was the right moment. It wasn’t a walk-off home run, it wasn’t a tiebreaking home run. It was a home run in April.

Rain puts Santana’s return to Shea on hold

New York Daily News:

Carlos Delgado says staying in dugout was his choice and not slight to fans

All wrong bringing David Wright into Carlos Delgado’s mess of nonsense

Media to Met fans: Boooo!

Curtain call Q&A with Carlos Delgado

Jane Jarvis recalls the happy times and tunes at Shea

Johan Santana goes after rainout - Roger Rubin informed us that Johan Santana will make the start tonight even after he was supposed to pitch last night, but the game got rained out.

Brian Schneider gets swell news - Roger Rubin reported that Brian Schneider could return shortly from an infection in his left thumb.

New York Post:

DELGADO NOT BUYING BOOS

THUMBS DOWN FOR SCHNEIDER

CURTAIN SNUB DESERVES CHEER

METS-PIRATES RAINED OUT

New York Times:

Nady Could Fill the Void He Left

Delgado Will Wait to Take His Bow

The Star-Ledger:

Delgado has no regrets about curtain-call snub

Revised pitching rotation - Colin Stephenson tells us how the rotation was affected by the rainout.

Mets rained out

Some days, it rains

Share This

So I had a wonderful time at the wedding in S.C., and now I’m back.  I feel like I missed so much between the NFL Draft, the Braves-Mets series, and the Rangers-Penguins series.

So the Mets were able to take two-out-of-three from the Braves, which is awesome.  I only watched Friday’s game so far.  I’m in the Top of the 4th of Saturday’s game now.  Beginning tonight, the Mets will host a three-game series with the Pirates.  Here’s a look at the probable pitching matchups:

• 04/28/2008 - Ian Snell (2-1) - Johan Santana (3-2)
• 04/29/2008 - Tom Gorzelanny (1-3) - Oliver Perez (2-1)
• 04/30/2008 - Zach Duke (0-2) - Mike Pelfrey (2-1)

Mets.com:

Mailbag: What about Alou at first? - Marty Noble answers Mets fans’ questions.

Next up for Mets is Pirates, Snell - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Pirates and the Mets.

Newsday:

Delgado (2 HRs) snubs curtain call in Mets win

Church chips in with big catch, deft sidestep

Possible fracture slows Alou’s return to Mets - Anthony Rieber reported that Moises Alou might have a fracture in his left ankle.  Rieber wrote,

Minaya said a CT scan taken Friday showed “there might be potentially a slight fracture in there.” Alou is scheduled to travel to New York today for a possible MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery. “The CT scan shows something,” Minaya said. “What that something is, they want to be able to see here in New York.”

New York Daily News:

Carlos Delgado’s two homers power Mets past Braves, 6-3 - Peter Botte summarized yesterday’s game between the Braves and the Mets.

Applaud slumping Carlos Delgado for tuning out Shea cheers

Arm woes hit John Smoltz - Roger Rubin reported that John Smoltz had to have his shoulder looked at by medical staff after yesterday’s outing.

Moises Alou to have MRI as ankle delays return

New York Post:

NO CURTAIN FOR CARLOS

WAGNER SEES STREAK GO OUT WITH A BLOOP

NEGATIVITY ALWAYS AT-BAT

UNLUCKY BREAK FOR ALOU

New York Times:

Delgado Homers Twice but Isn’t Taking Any Bows

The Star-Ledger:

Fan Blogger: Snub just puts more pressure on Delgado

Mets-fans relationship on the rocks despite win

Alou’s ankle could keep OF out even longer

Delgado opts to ignore fans’ curtain call

Share This