Those gosh-darn New York Mets. They go up 8-0 then 10-1 and somehow only end up winning by a single run. The crazy thing is that the Mets are now above .500 and only 2.5 games out of first place in the pitiful division, commonly known as the National League East. The Phillies cannot seem to get a win, the Marlins have slowed down tremendously, the Braves are beset by injuries and the Nationals are just awful. This leaves the Mets as a viable option to come out of the division and make the playoffs. This New York Mets baseball team is just not very good, you know it, I know it, and everyone in baseball knows it. The offensive is terribly inconsistent, the starting pitching is not deep, and the bullpen is lacking ability. With all of these problems it is clear that if the Mets want to continue to make a playoff push they are going to have to make some midseason moves to acquire a solid 8th inning reliever and another hitter.
The Mets current bullpen setup looks something like this: Starter comes out of the game in the 6th inning. Joe Smith comes into the game and gives up a couple of hits then Pedro Feliciano comes in and closes the door on the threat that Smith has just created. Duaner Sanchez comes in for the 8th and gives up a run, and then Wagner comes in to blow the game or dominate depending on his mood the given evening.
The problem with this is that every game that the Mets are leading by only one or two runs becomes a dangerous, since Feliciano is the only consistent guy in the 'pen and he is only brought in after Smith, Heilman, or Schoenweis create a dangerous situation. Acquiring a pitcher like Brian Fuentes would solve this problem, giving the Mets a solid option in the 8th or 7th. A 7th, 8th, 9th combination of Feliciano to Fuentes to Wagner is a whole lot better than anything the Mets are currently putting out there. With the inclusion of a solid end game reliever the Mets can continue to win games like the one last night, only without the heart-attack inducing trauma that occured after Pedro Martinez left the game.
Showing posts with label Mets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mets. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Jerry Manuel and the Infamous Ump Bump
The Jerry Manuel-Brian Runge saga finally appears to be over. Runge formally apologized to Manuel last night for bumping him after his ejection on Tuesday night while arguing Runge's strike zone. I did not personally see the bump, but from the coverage that this received from the local media and ESPN I have come to the conclusion that not only did Runge bump Manuel but he also stuck his finer in his eye and broke his nose. Never have I seen so much coverage over something so minimal. Managers and players bump umpires all of the time, is it really such a big deal that one finally decided to bump back? If anything Runge's bump was helpful to the Mets as it took some of the attention away from the fact that they had just lost to the worst in baseball Seattle Mariners with their ace Johan Santana on the mound. This was followed up by an 11-0 shellacking
and yet people were still talking about the goddamn bump. Runge saved Manuel from a potentially thunderous storm of negative reporting. But now that the bump incident is behind us, the focus can return to The Mets and their pitiful play. Manuel better hope that another umpire is in a bumping mood, otherwise he might end up like Willie, jobless in a California hotel.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Wait For the Other Half
Johan Santana is 7-6. I've heard too many questions about his talent compared to other National League pitchers. Is he as good as Tim Lincecum? Is he as good as Edinson Volquez? Is he as good as Felix Hernandez, who he faced off against on Monday night? The answer to every single one of those questions is yes. Mets' fans, who seem to have harbored the same traits in recent years as Yankees' fans, clearly have forgotten the virtue of patience. It's obvious that the Santana skeptics haven't taken a look at the lefty's second half prowess in his career. Santana, who is notoriously known as a stellar second half pitcher, is 45-11 after the All-Star break since the 2003 season. Keep in mind that he was 5-7 in the second half last year, which was clearly a fluke season. From 2003-2006, he was 40-4 in the second half.
Santana seems to have already started a monster second half, as he has compiled a 1.87 ERA in June to this point. However, he has managed to go only 1-3 as the Mets' offense has averaged a mere 1.8 runs in support of him during those starts.
Last year's National League Cy Young winner, Jake Peavy, struck out 240 batters. 35 of those were pitchers. Santana has averaged 245.75 strikeouts per year over the past four years in an offensively superior league with a designated hitter. Two of the past five years. he's had a second-half ERA under 1.60 and four of the past five years, he's had a second-half ERA under 3.20.
So Mets' fans, calm down about Johan. He'll finish with the lowest ERA of his career. He'll finish with his highest strikeout total. The real question is: will that be good enough for the Mets to make the playoffs?
- D. Spell
Saturday, May 17, 2008
My Wonderful Shea Experience
So last weekend I went to the Mets-Reds game, the game where Santana started and Carlos Beltran actually managed to hit a triple. Anyway, the whole time I was there I couldn't help but notice how truly terrible Shea Stadium is. Now I know Darrell wrote a post on this already, but neither of us had been to Shea this season, and let me tell you it has not dressed up for its last season.
The most pressing issue at Shea is the seat size. People were a lot smaller in the sixites, I know that, but come now, how could any human being, at any point in our evolutionary lineage fit into the seats at Shea? Sitting in one of them for three straight hours was almost as torturous as listening to the fat bozo sitting right in front of me heckle Ken Griffey Jr.each time he came to the plate. "Hey Griffey, why don't you hit another pop out you loser!". Nicely played good sir, I would wager that you have hurt Mr. Griffey's feelings immensely. No one, not even your buddy sitting next to you, thought you were clever. Yet for all 4 Griffey at bats, you just kept going at it.
Regardless, the seats at she are tiny and the gaps between the seats in one row are also incredibly miniscule. If the person sitting next to you was wearing pleather pants and it was a hot day at Shea, there is a 90 percent chance that you would exit the stadium attached at the thigh.
Now the second issue I have with Shea is the apple that pops up beyond the outfield wall. I originally thought that the apple only came out on homeruns, but in fact it seems as though it comes out whenever the Mets staff sees fit. Delgado got a hit? My god! Send that apple out there! It seems to have lost any significance that it once had and it no longer as the appeal of a quaint novelty, a cute addition for the beleagured Mets fans. Now it is used as an ineffective tool to "motivate" the crowd. I'm shocked that it still even gets out of its hat.
The third problem I had during my visit was the interesting food options available at the stadium. I am not complaining about the prices, those were pretty reasonable compared to those found at Yankee stadium, I am talking about the actual food offered at the park. For example, the size of the Cracker Jacks bag is comparable to the that of your fist. How can I be expected to go through a whole game with a fist-sized back of Cracker Jacks? Exactly, I can't be, why must they taunt me with the fun size Cracker Jacks? Now the peanuts at Shea are salted in the shell. How that's possible I have no idea, but that is the claimon the bag. That seems completely unnatural. The peanut should not taste salty if it is still in its sheath. And yet when I tried a bag, the peanuts were in fact salted and the shell had no flavor at all. Until someone explains how this is possible, there are going to some serious issues. Lastly, Shea has managed to find a Dip'n Dots knock-off company. Honestly I forgot the stupid name of the company, but I can tell you that it carries a inferior product. I have no issue with Shea supporting a mini-sphere ice cream vendor, but that company should be Dip'n Dots not some bootleg brand, that is just dishonest. Which brings me to my last issue with Shea, the parking. I took the 7 train to the game, but my cousin drove. She had to park her car, literally 20 minutes from the stadium and she got to the game 45 minutes early. That shouldn't happem at any sporting venue anywhere in the country. Adequate and convinient parking should be available, period.
So as you can see Shea Stadium and I have a love-hate relationship. I hate the team that plays in it, I hate the seats in it, I hate the food in it, and I hate the parking around it. Other than that though I love it long time.
The most pressing issue at Shea is the seat size. People were a lot smaller in the sixites, I know that, but come now, how could any human being, at any point in our evolutionary lineage fit into the seats at Shea? Sitting in one of them for three straight hours was almost as torturous as listening to the fat bozo sitting right in front of me heckle Ken Griffey Jr.each time he came to the plate. "Hey Griffey, why don't you hit another pop out you loser!". Nicely played good sir, I would wager that you have hurt Mr. Griffey's feelings immensely. No one, not even your buddy sitting next to you, thought you were clever. Yet for all 4 Griffey at bats, you just kept going at it.
Regardless, the seats at she are tiny and the gaps between the seats in one row are also incredibly miniscule. If the person sitting next to you was wearing pleather pants and it was a hot day at Shea, there is a 90 percent chance that you would exit the stadium attached at the thigh.
Now the second issue I have with Shea is the apple that pops up beyond the outfield wall. I originally thought that the apple only came out on homeruns, but in fact it seems as though it comes out whenever the Mets staff sees fit. Delgado got a hit? My god! Send that apple out there! It seems to have lost any significance that it once had and it no longer as the appeal of a quaint novelty, a cute addition for the beleagured Mets fans. Now it is used as an ineffective tool to "motivate" the crowd. I'm shocked that it still even gets out of its hat.
The third problem I had during my visit was the interesting food options available at the stadium. I am not complaining about the prices, those were pretty reasonable compared to those found at Yankee stadium, I am talking about the actual food offered at the park. For example, the size of the Cracker Jacks bag is comparable to the that of your fist. How can I be expected to go through a whole game with a fist-sized back of Cracker Jacks? Exactly, I can't be, why must they taunt me with the fun size Cracker Jacks? Now the peanuts at Shea are salted in the shell. How that's possible I have no idea, but that is the claimon the bag. That seems completely unnatural. The peanut should not taste salty if it is still in its sheath. And yet when I tried a bag, the peanuts were in fact salted and the shell had no flavor at all. Until someone explains how this is possible, there are going to some serious issues. Lastly, Shea has managed to find a Dip'n Dots knock-off company. Honestly I forgot the stupid name of the company, but I can tell you that it carries a inferior product. I have no issue with Shea supporting a mini-sphere ice cream vendor, but that company should be Dip'n Dots not some bootleg brand, that is just dishonest. Which brings me to my last issue with Shea, the parking. I took the 7 train to the game, but my cousin drove. She had to park her car, literally 20 minutes from the stadium and she got to the game 45 minutes early. That shouldn't happem at any sporting venue anywhere in the country. Adequate and convinient parking should be available, period.
So as you can see Shea Stadium and I have a love-hate relationship. I hate the team that plays in it, I hate the seats in it, I hate the food in it, and I hate the parking around it. Other than that though I love it long time.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Last Night in New York Sports
Yankees-1 Rays-2
In what can only be described as an embarrassing showing, the Yankees lost again to the Rays, who are now in first in the AL East. The Yanks continue to have severe offensive offensive struggles, this time being shut out by Edwin Jackson of all people. The Yanks wasted another solid start by Wang and more solid bullpen work by Kyle Farnsworth. I didn't think that I would ever say this, but the Yankees offense simply and truly sucks. There is no other way to seee it, and that is a serious issue for the Yanks the rest of the season. Maybe ARods return, supposedly later this week, will jumpstart things. I sure hope so.
Mets-6 Nationals-3
Ryan Church continued his hot hitting with his 8th home run of the year and John Maine pitched a beauty of a game, and the bullpen didn't implode. Also the Mets were playing the Nationals-you and I could beat the Nationals.
In what can only be described as an embarrassing showing, the Yankees lost again to the Rays, who are now in first in the AL East. The Yanks continue to have severe offensive offensive struggles, this time being shut out by Edwin Jackson of all people. The Yanks wasted another solid start by Wang and more solid bullpen work by Kyle Farnsworth. I didn't think that I would ever say this, but the Yankees offense simply and truly sucks. There is no other way to seee it, and that is a serious issue for the Yanks the rest of the season. Maybe ARods return, supposedly later this week, will jumpstart things. I sure hope so.
Mets-6 Nationals-3
Ryan Church continued his hot hitting with his 8th home run of the year and John Maine pitched a beauty of a game, and the bullpen didn't implode. Also the Mets were playing the Nationals-you and I could beat the Nationals.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Last Weekend in New York Sports
Darrell was kind enough to give me the weekend off, I know you all missed me. Anyway if you took the weekend off to spend more time with your mother here's what you missed.
Friday:
Yankees-5 Tigers-6
As Darrell wrote so eloquently last week, Kei Igawa sucks. And he followed through on his terrible pitching ability Friday night going 3 innings, allowing 11 hits, 6 runs, and not striking out a single batter. Besides Igawa the Yankees were good Friday night, nearly coming back to tie the game up against Todd Jones, alas it was not to be. But 5 innings of shut out ball from the bullpen and another home run from Jason Giambi were very positive indicators for the Yanks. Even Robinson Cano had two hits, so you know it must have been a good day.
Saturday:
Mets-12 Reds-6
For the opening half of Saturday's doubleheader, the Mets came out swinging, scoring seven runs in the first five innings of off starter Matt Belisle and reliever Bill Bray, before Mike Lincoln came in and shut the door, allowing only four runs in two innings. Everyone was able to hit off of the Reds pitchers, David Wright had two hits and Carlos Beltran was able to hit a triple, his second of the season. Santana pitched well, although he did allow 10 hits in just six innings, but the offensive firepower was more than enough to make up for Santana's less than perfect pitching.
Mets-1 Reds-7
The second half of the doubleheader looked like the exact opposite of the first game. The Mets offense could not put it togther against Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, who surrendered just four hits over eight innings. Mike Pelfrey had a pretty good start himself, allowing two runs over six. And the game stayed close until the 8th, when Duaner Sanchez game up another two runs, and at that point it was all over. 3 unearned runs in the 9th off of a David Wright error, and the game ended up looking like a route, but it was really a close game for the Mets.
Yankees-5 Tigers-2
Darrell Rasner had his second consecutive strong start and the Yankees finally ended their losing streak against the Tigers. Derek Jeter hit his first homerun of the year and Jason Giambi continued his slump busting ways, hitting a double and driving in a run in the Yankees victory. The bullpen showed up yesterday as well, good for 3 innings of shutout ball. Kyle Farnsworth is securing his spot as the 7th inning guy in the Yankees bullpen, making this team reminiscent of the Yankees teams of yore, when the Yanks were nearly unbeatable with a lead after the 6th inning.
Red Bulls-2 LA Galaxy-1
In the first Red Bulls game since I wrote my post about them, the Bulls squeaked past the LA Galaxy thanks to goals by Angel (I mentioned him) and Danleigh Borman (I did not mention him). David Beckham is on the Galaxy and the Red Bulls held him scoreless even though he did take like 5 free kicks. Where is your bending power now punk? So the Bulls have not lost a game in four consecutive matches, and they have only played six matches in all. Just to remind you it is not too late to join the Red Bulls bandwagon.
The Knicks sign Mike D'Antoni to be their next head coach. Yeah, let's see how well that works out.
Sunday:
Mets-8 Reds-3
After taking the second game of the double header off on Saturday the Mets offense came back strong on Sunday, scoring six runs off of rookie Johnny Cueto in just 4 2/3 innings. Carlos Beltran hit an RBI ground-rule double and a two-run homer in the victory and Oliver Perez had one of his best starts of the season as the Mets took care of business at home against one of the worst teams in the Majors.
-Mose
Friday:
Yankees-5 Tigers-6
As Darrell wrote so eloquently last week, Kei Igawa sucks. And he followed through on his terrible pitching ability Friday night going 3 innings, allowing 11 hits, 6 runs, and not striking out a single batter. Besides Igawa the Yankees were good Friday night, nearly coming back to tie the game up against Todd Jones, alas it was not to be. But 5 innings of shut out ball from the bullpen and another home run from Jason Giambi were very positive indicators for the Yanks. Even Robinson Cano had two hits, so you know it must have been a good day.
Saturday:
Mets-12 Reds-6
For the opening half of Saturday's doubleheader, the Mets came out swinging, scoring seven runs in the first five innings of off starter Matt Belisle and reliever Bill Bray, before Mike Lincoln came in and shut the door, allowing only four runs in two innings. Everyone was able to hit off of the Reds pitchers, David Wright had two hits and Carlos Beltran was able to hit a triple, his second of the season. Santana pitched well, although he did allow 10 hits in just six innings, but the offensive firepower was more than enough to make up for Santana's less than perfect pitching.
Mets-1 Reds-7
The second half of the doubleheader looked like the exact opposite of the first game. The Mets offense could not put it togther against Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, who surrendered just four hits over eight innings. Mike Pelfrey had a pretty good start himself, allowing two runs over six. And the game stayed close until the 8th, when Duaner Sanchez game up another two runs, and at that point it was all over. 3 unearned runs in the 9th off of a David Wright error, and the game ended up looking like a route, but it was really a close game for the Mets.
Yankees-5 Tigers-2
Darrell Rasner had his second consecutive strong start and the Yankees finally ended their losing streak against the Tigers. Derek Jeter hit his first homerun of the year and Jason Giambi continued his slump busting ways, hitting a double and driving in a run in the Yankees victory. The bullpen showed up yesterday as well, good for 3 innings of shutout ball. Kyle Farnsworth is securing his spot as the 7th inning guy in the Yankees bullpen, making this team reminiscent of the Yankees teams of yore, when the Yanks were nearly unbeatable with a lead after the 6th inning.
Red Bulls-2 LA Galaxy-1
In the first Red Bulls game since I wrote my post about them, the Bulls squeaked past the LA Galaxy thanks to goals by Angel (I mentioned him) and Danleigh Borman (I did not mention him). David Beckham is on the Galaxy and the Red Bulls held him scoreless even though he did take like 5 free kicks. Where is your bending power now punk? So the Bulls have not lost a game in four consecutive matches, and they have only played six matches in all. Just to remind you it is not too late to join the Red Bulls bandwagon.
The Knicks sign Mike D'Antoni to be their next head coach. Yeah, let's see how well that works out.
Sunday:
Mets-8 Reds-3
After taking the second game of the double header off on Saturday the Mets offense came back strong on Sunday, scoring six runs off of rookie Johnny Cueto in just 4 2/3 innings. Carlos Beltran hit an RBI ground-rule double and a two-run homer in the victory and Oliver Perez had one of his best starts of the season as the Mets took care of business at home against one of the worst teams in the Majors.
-Mose
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Last Night in New York Sports
Mets-12 Dodgers-1
The Mets finally woke up offensively, and in a big way, to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryan Church continued his hot hitting, stroking three hots, one a solo shot in the 6th inning. The rest of the Mets offense came predominantly from the bottom half of the order with John Maine, Marlon Anderson, Raul Casanova, and Angel Pagan accounted for half of the Mets' runs scored and half of the RBIs. John Maine pitched a beautiful game, which tends to happen when a pitcher is given an early cushion, in this case 4 runs after the 2nd inning, and he carried a shutout into the 9th inning before surrendering the Dodgers' only run of the game. The Mets escaped their long road trip without any ill effects and they return home to Shea still 2 games over .500
Yankees-0 Indians-3
Cliff Lee continues his dominance this season, pitching 7 innings of shutout ball, without surrendering a walk. Wang pitched a fine game, but it nothing would have been enough to out-duel Lee who lowered his ERA to 0.81, I would be a little more upset about the outcome of this came were it not for the fact that I have Cliff Lee on my fantasy team, didn't even draft him, but picked him up off waivers after the second week of the season. The Yankees offensive struggles continued, particularly Robinson Cano, who actually lifted his average to .160 after going 1 for 4. The Yankees have scored only 3 runs against the Indians, after an offensive explosion against the Mariners last week. Hopefully the strong hitting team will appear in tonight's game against the more hittable Paul Byrd.
The Mets finally woke up offensively, and in a big way, to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryan Church continued his hot hitting, stroking three hots, one a solo shot in the 6th inning. The rest of the Mets offense came predominantly from the bottom half of the order with John Maine, Marlon Anderson, Raul Casanova, and Angel Pagan accounted for half of the Mets' runs scored and half of the RBIs. John Maine pitched a beautiful game, which tends to happen when a pitcher is given an early cushion, in this case 4 runs after the 2nd inning, and he carried a shutout into the 9th inning before surrendering the Dodgers' only run of the game. The Mets escaped their long road trip without any ill effects and they return home to Shea still 2 games over .500
Yankees-0 Indians-3
Cliff Lee continues his dominance this season, pitching 7 innings of shutout ball, without surrendering a walk. Wang pitched a fine game, but it nothing would have been enough to out-duel Lee who lowered his ERA to 0.81, I would be a little more upset about the outcome of this came were it not for the fact that I have Cliff Lee on my fantasy team, didn't even draft him, but picked him up off waivers after the second week of the season. The Yankees offensive struggles continued, particularly Robinson Cano, who actually lifted his average to .160 after going 1 for 4. The Yankees have scored only 3 runs against the Indians, after an offensive explosion against the Mariners last week. Hopefully the strong hitting team will appear in tonight's game against the more hittable Paul Byrd.
- Mose
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Where Oh Where are Pedro and El Duque
Just in case you were confused let me remind you, Pedro Martinez, the Mets projected second starter, and Orlando Hernandez, the projected fifth starter/long reliever are both injured and have not made a significant contribution to the team this season. The Daily News ran an article today describing the "progress" being made by both pitchers in their long road back to the major leagues. Martinez throwing a bullpen session without feeling any substantial pain is great news because it means that he can, contrary to popular belief, throw a baseball without injuring some part of his body. How close Pedro is to starting again is anyone's guess, but if there are no further setbacks then I think Pedro will pitch in the majors by the all star break. Of course he will reinjure himself as soon as he steps on the mound of a major league game and this entire cycle will being anew-Injury, Rehab, Minor League Start, Major League Start, Injury...
Now for Orlando Hernandez the news is not as promising. He is still in a walking boot and there is some doubt as to whether he will ever be able to pitch effectively again. The issue at hand is that El Duque cannot plant off of his injured causing his pitches to lose a tremendous amount of velocity. What is surprising about Hernandez's situation is that unlike Pedro he is not particularly injury-prone. He was never an innings-eater, throwing over 165 innings only two times in his 10 year career, but he was also never a serious injury risk throwing under 120 innings only twice. This could spell the end for El Duque as a Met and as a pitcher in the Major Leagues.
Recently, El Duque has been as consistent as it gets for a muddled Mets rotation, with back to back 20 start seasons, which means that this Mets team has had to scramble to find a replacement starter. Nelson "Bert" Figueroa was roughed up in his start last night and Mike Pelfrey's ERA continues to rise. If the Mets want to contend for the playoffs they must acquire another reliable starter because they are certainly not going to be getting those innings from Hernandez and Pedro cannot be counted on to return from his injury.
-Mose
Ultimate Subway Series-Mets Play-In Series
Mets Play-In Game: Best 3 out of 5
8. 1985 Mets VS. 9. 1976 Mets
Game 1
Home: Mets 85-Gooden
Away: Mets 76- Seaver
In an exciting game 1 of the play-in series, the 1976 Mets took an early lead thanks to a Wayne Garret 2-run home run off of Doc Gooden. The 85 Mets scratched back, taking a 4-3 lead. But then in the 8th, Dave King Kong Kingman crushed a 2-run homer off of Roger McDowell sealing the 76 victory 5-4
Game MVP-Dave Kingman, 3RBIs and 1 Homer
76 Mets win 5-4
Game 2
Home: Mets 85-Sid Fernandez
Away: Mets 76-Koosman
In another tight game the 85 Mets pulled off the late inning heroics, coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the 8th inning thanks to a bases loaded double by Rafael Santana. Sid Fernandez only lasted 4 innings, but the 85 Mets bullpen was stellar, only giving up 3 baserunners in 5 innings.
Game MVP-Rafael Santana-3RBIs
85 Mets win 6-4
Game 3
Home: Mets 76-John Matlack
Away: Mets 85- Ron Darling
The 76 Mets handled the 85 bullpen easily in this one, scoring 3 runs in just 2 innings of relief work. John Matlack shut down the 85 Mets offense as the team now faces elimination before the true tournament even begins.
Game MVP-John Milner-4RBIs, 1 Home Run
76 Mets win 6-2
Game 4
Home: Mets 76-Tom Seaver
Away: Mets 85-Dwight Gooden
On the brink of elimination the 85 Mets elect to start Dwight Gooden and the 76 Mets counter by returning Tom Seaver, their game 1 starter to the mound. A pitcher’s duel through 7 innings the 76 Mets were winning 2-1 in the top of the 8th when Darryl Strawberry came up with 2 men on and hit a line drive home run over the RF wall, giving the 85 Mets a 4-2 lead. Straw’s homer was enough and the 85 Mets were able to force a game 5, at home.
Game MVP-Darryl Strawberry-3 RBIs, 1 Home Run
85 Mets win 4-2
Game 5
Home: Mets 85-Sid Fernandez
Away: Mets 76-Jerry Koosman
The final game of the series was decided in a rematch of the game 2 starters. And the game like every other in the series was a late-inning nail biter. The 76 Mets took the lead early with a John Milner homer in the 3rd inning followed by 2 quick runs in the 5th. Koosman had been stifling the Mets’ hitters through 6 innings, allowing only 4 hits. But then he plunked Gary Carter in the arm to start the 7th, who came around to score on a Howard Johnson single, The 8th started even worse for Koosman, following back to back singles, a sacrifice fly and three more hits, the 85 Mets had tied the game up at 3 apiece and had the bases loaded with only one out. Koosman was replaced by Bob Apodaca who managed to get Rafael Santana to end into an inning ending 5-2-3 double play. Entering the 9th inning Jesse Orosco replaced Sid Fernandez and threw an easy 1,2, 3 inning. The bottom of the 9th, was also the bottom of the order for the 85 Mets and looked as though the game would go into extra innings. Howard Johnson grounded out to start the frame; Lenny Dykstra came in as a pinch-hitter for Orosco and smoked a single. Wally Backman came to the plate a rocketed a triple into the gap, Dysktra scored and the 85 Mets took the series 3 games to 2.
Game MVP-Wally Backman-Walkoff triple
85 Mets win 4-3
Again thanks to Whatifsports.com’s SimMatchup technology for making this possible. The official opening round of the Mets series will begin shortly; I hope you enjoyed the play-in battle.
-Mose
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Ultimate Subway Series-Mets Teams
The Seeding of the Mets half of the bracket is as follows:
The play-in series between the 1976 Mets and the 1985 Mets will be played later today. It is a best of 5 series, a series recap will be forthcoming.
1. 1986 Mets
The 1986 Mets were far and away the greatest Mets teams of all time, and one of the best baseball teams of the 80’s period. The team has been immortalized by taking part in one of the most famous plays of all time-Bill Buckner’s booted ground ball. A killer rotation that had four 15 game winners, combined with a potent offense headlined by Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, Keith Hernandez, and Darryl Strawberry make this team Mets team truly amazing.
2. 1969 Mets
The first Mets team to win the World Series, and the first team to have a winning record is rewarded with the second seed in the tournament. With the two-headed monster of Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, and the excellent bullpen work of Tug McGraw the team dominated the playoffs, only losing one game. The offense wasn’t spectacular, but Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee were enough to carry them through.
3. 1988 Mets
Only two years removed from the incredible 86 season, the 88 Mets almost matched their success. David Cone dominated the NL winning 20 games, and Doc Gooden won 18. One of the most powerful teams in Mets history, the 88 Mets had three players with at least 20 homer runs-Kevin McReynolds, Darryl Strawberry, and Howard Johnson, unfortunately they did not do much hitting otherwise, only Wally Backman had a batting average over .300
4. 2000 Mets
The greatest Mets team of this century, and losing half of the 2000 World Series, gets the 4th seed in our bracket. Back when Mike Hampton was good, and Armando Benitez was a reliable closer this Mets pitching staff was the cream of the crop. Piazza, Alfonzo, Ventura, Payton, Bell, the lineup reads like a late 90’s allstar team.
5. 2006 Mets
Oh 2006, such high hopes, such a good playoff run, only to be stopped by Adam Wainwright and his killer curve. We all know the team, but maybe this time Beltran will take a hack. One interesting note, the Mets used 10 starting pitchers in 2006 more than any other team in the NL
6. 1999 Mets
One of the weakest Mets pitching staff in the tournament, no starters with more than 13 wins, or with an ERA under 4.00. Thankfully the offense was nearly as prolific as the 2000 iteration, and with Rickey Henderson on this team you never know what could happen.
7. 1973 Mets
The 1973 Mets are famous for one reason and one reason alone. The 73 Mets were the worst team of all time to have played in a World Series. That .509 winning percentage was just enough for them to squeak into the playoffs, and past the Reds where they almost beat the powerhouse 73 Athletics. The pitching on the team was excellent as was true on every Mets team with Seaver and Koosman, but the hitting was truly atrocious. The leading hitter was Felix Milan who hit .290 and the next highest average was from Rusty Staub-.279. Not so good.
1985 Mets and 1976 Mets
In a battle for the final seed we have the 1985 Mets, very similar to the 1986 team, but not as good offensively. 1985 was also Dwight Gooden’s bonkers year, in which he went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA in over 275 innings pitched.
The 1976 Mets, like the 73 Mets were incredible in the pitching game, but offensively inept, and not nearly as lucky.
-Mose
Last Night in New York Sports
Mets-1 Dodgers-5
Chad Billingsley pitched a gem of a game, Oliver Perez struggled to not give up the long balls, and the Mets' offense continued to sputter. Billingsley held the Mets to 5 hits and 1 Run, while Perez gave up 3 home runs, one in the first at bat of the game to Rafael Furcal, one to Bobby DeWitt, and one to Matt Kemp later on in the inning.Brian Schnieder, who is finally back at catcher, seemed to have trouble throwing to second, his first two tosses were well off their mark, but the third found its target.One last note, how could it be that Lee Mazzilli and Darryl Strawberry share time on the same postgame show? No one finds it a little odd that Mazzilli, the former manager of the Orioles and utility coach of the Yankees is on the same show as Strawberry convicted drug offender? How much did they have to pay Mazzilli to agree to that, someone needs to get Lee a new agent, that's for sure.
-Mose
Chad Billingsley pitched a gem of a game, Oliver Perez struggled to not give up the long balls, and the Mets' offense continued to sputter. Billingsley held the Mets to 5 hits and 1 Run, while Perez gave up 3 home runs, one in the first at bat of the game to Rafael Furcal, one to Bobby DeWitt, and one to Matt Kemp later on in the inning.Brian Schnieder, who is finally back at catcher, seemed to have trouble throwing to second, his first two tosses were well off their mark, but the third found its target.One last note, how could it be that Lee Mazzilli and Darryl Strawberry share time on the same postgame show? No one finds it a little odd that Mazzilli, the former manager of the Orioles and utility coach of the Yankees is on the same show as Strawberry convicted drug offender? How much did they have to pay Mazzilli to agree to that, someone needs to get Lee a new agent, that's for sure.
-Mose
Monday, May 5, 2008
A Little Mets Article for All of You Pagan Lovers Out There
Since Darrell can't seem to get over his Yankees bias, I will say a little something on the Mets. I will admit it; the Mets look decent so far this year. To have an over-.500 record with injuries to your 2nd best starter, and your starting right fielder is impressive. Everything else is pretty much going great. Santana has been dominant, and with a little more run support he will have one of the best seasons of his career. John Maine and Olivier Perez have been more than serviceable as middle of the rotation starters and Nelson Figueroa (Figueroa as Bert) is still the front-runner in his local Bert and Ernie look-a-like pageant. The bullpen is pitching better than expected-Scot Schoeneweis, Pedro Feliciano, and Joe Smith are all canceling out the horrid performances of Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, and Jorge Sosa. These great performances have allowed the Mets to have the 6th best ERA in the league and the 5th best batting average against in the NL. And it is a good thing too, because the offense has been stuttering thus far.
The team batting average is .248, 13th in the NL, and you know you are in trouble when Ryan Church is the leading hitter with a .312 average. It is easy to place the blame on two of the Mets bigger offensive starts-Carlos Beltran who is hitting a paltry .210 or Carlos Delgado who is only hitting .213. Beltran’s troubles can be explained by the fact that he is not hitting the ball in the air as often as he has been. Over 42 percent of his balls hit in play have been on the ground, which is his second highest percentage ever, narrowly behind the amount of groundballs he hit in his first year with Mets in 2005. However, I think this year Beltran will return to form because he continues to take pitches and draw walks, eventually the long fly balls will return and the line drives will find the gaps. For Delgado I think that this down turn is more than just a slight aberration. Delgado began the year injured and it seems to have taken some of the pop out of his swing. Delgado is no longer hit line drives; he has become an all or nothing type of hitter. When he swings its either going to be a homerun or a little dribbler to second base, and he has been swinging more and more often this season, than any other time in his career. Until his patience at the plate returns Delgado will continue his struggles. Incredibly Angel Pagan of all people has picked up the slack and has given the Mets a bit of the offensive spark that they have been missing. If Pagan’s production continues and the only David Wright picks up his pace the Mets offense will rise to at least the top half of the NL, if not beyond, and that would be a very very good thing for their playoff chances.
One more note on the Mets season thus far. Over one third of their games have been decided by 2 runs or less, and more than half have been decided by 3 runs or less. This has made Mets games a lot of fun to watch, even for a Yankees fan. I am sure that Mets fans would prefer a blow out every game, but I would say that it is a good thing that they are getting practice in tight games because at the end of the season you do not want a repeat of last year. Unless of course you have a masochistic streak (again not talking about Darell’s Mom), and in that case good for you.
-Mose
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