May 2009
Omir Santos Is Better Than Brian Schneider (Sheff Wins It With His Legs)
(Paul J. Berreswill/AP)
Tonight Omir Santos showed us all again that he should be the everyday Mets catcher, even after Schneider gets back, as he is a better catcher all around then anyone the Mets have used since LoDuca. He can run, and do it well, as the infield had to play in and not double-play depth when he was up because of that speed, and that is why his hit got through the left side to score the Mets winning run.
With Brian Schneider coming back tommorow, the Mets are trying to deal Ramon Castro, and the White Sox, and Mariners have been teams thrown around, and if a trade will be made, it will be made before tommorow’s game at 1:10, versus Florida. Omir Santos will most likely be sent to the bench upon Schneider;s return, but Schneider could end up getting traded because of Omir’s play, and it appears to have not gone unnoticed with Mets hierarchy , as they are looking to deal Castro. Could Schneider be dealt to a catcher-less team like the Yankees? Or if Wieters is a bust for Baltimore and needs more Triple-A?
Mike Pelfrey was great, and is looking his best all year reminding me of last year, or maybe even better. He gets groundballs, but is now mixing strikeouts in with that, and is showing that Omar was wise for putting him in the two-hole, and I think he could be a one for some teams, and I would not mind him being the Mets number one if we did not have Johan. He went eight innings of one run ball, against Florida who he struggles against in his career.
The bullpens for both teams were great, but in the end it was the Mets’ pen that triumphed. After Pelf came out Jerry went with Parnell, who threw 1/3 of an inning, without allowing a run. Frankie Rodriguez came in and threw a scoreless ninth, and his ERA leads the Mets at .76. JJ Putz is looking great, and has the pop back in his fastball, as he threw 1 2/3 innings of shut out ball in the 10th and 11th innings, but left Pedro Feliciano with a daunting task of facing a right handed batter (they hit over .300 off him), with a runner on third and two outs, but he got him to fly to Beltran to end the inning.
In the 11th inning, I was laughing at how much attention Gary Sheffield was getting from Brian Sanches on first base nonetheless, but he shocked the world. Sanches threw at least 7 pickoffs to first base, but with Tatis up, he went! Ronny Paulino threw off line to the first base side and it sailed into centerfield, which allowed Sheffield to advance to third on the play, with one out( Sheffield was credited with a stolen base, his second of the year). Then on the next pitch, and I think intentionally they hit Tatis in the back with a fastball, I think they did it to scare Mets hitters, and set a double play up with Santos coming up. Omir of course came through with a base hit to score Sheffield, and Put it in the books!
I am going to start a weekly all about baseball email newsletter, if you want to subscribe to it, send me your favorite team, and your email address to nptlobster@yahoo.com, the first one will be sent next Friday.
Game Recap: Mets 7 Nats 4
Last night the Mets beat Washington 7-4, behind Daniel Murphy, and some help from technology.
Offense
Daniel Murphy had five RBIs and was 3-4 to lead the Mets in their sweep of the Nationals. Other notable names are Angel Pagan, who hit lead-off, was 2-4, and scored 2 runs, and continued to be a good table-setter. Gary Sheffield had another good game, and is really looking good as he went 1-2 with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, and 2 walks. David Wright was 1-5, with a golden sombrero of Ks. Luis Castillo was 2-2, with 2 runs scored as well.
Starting
Johan Santana was not on his A-game, but he got his National League leading seventh win, but was not at his sharpest. The most surprising part was his 6, yes I said 6 walks, but he also struck out 11 batters, to be the 5th fastest pitcher ever to get to 1500 Ks. He walked 4 batters in the 4th innin gwhen he allowed three runs, but was lights out after thst throwing 120 pitches.
Bullpen
Bobby Parnell threw 2/3 of an inning, allowing one hit and earning a hold, he was then followed by Pedro Feliciano who got one batter out to end the inning. In the 8th inning JJ Putz threw an inning without allowing a run, and then the Mets scored some insurance in the bottom of the 8th so Frankie Rodriguez could come in and relax, and “Put it in the books!”.
State Of The Mets
Here are some things I missed in my absence.
- Mets Lose Church, Reyes, and Delgado to Injuries, and Beltran is Banged Up
The Mets were off to a hot start in May, and then the injury bug hit, first we lost Delgado until August, and that is best case scenario, and next we lost Jose Reyes to a calf injury, that kept him from running full speed, and has left the Mets without a true lead-off hitter, and finally Ryan Church hurt his hammy, and we lost him as well.
- Mets Replacements Do Okay
So with three holes to fill, Jerry had a tough job to do. His biggest problem is losing Delgado’s presence in the middle of the line-up. In order to solve this Daniel Murphy was moved to first base where he has played very good defense, and Gary Sheffield was installed as the everyday left fielder, and has played as well as I have seen since he was with the Yankees, and is really driving runs in, and filling in more than adequately as clean-up hitter.
Next without Reyes, he lost a shortstop and a lead-off hitter. At shortstop he has been using Ramon Martinez, who gives average offense, and good defense, he struggled at first, but has put it together. In the lead-off hole Jerry has been using Angel Pagan, who is filling in for Carlos Beltran in centerfield, and he has been hitting .300, so he has been good enough, and has been setting the table for Wright, Sheffield, and Tatis.
To fill in for Ryan Church, the Mets top prospect Fernando Martinez was called up, and has been on base twice through two games, but has not had his first hit yet. He has played good defense, and has shown off his arm at times, as he is a five tool player.
- The Mets Get Involved In The Trade Market
The Mets have had trade rumors swirling around them since Delgado went down, with names like Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Derosa, and Aubrey Huff being thrown out there, but the only actual move they have made is sending cash to Cleveland for Wilson Valdez, who was added to the 25 man roster instantly.
The Mets are not going to trade for Adrian Gonzalez, unless they deal Wilmer Flores, Fernando Martinez, and Jon Niese, among others, as the Padres say they would want a lot of players for him. Mark Derosa is a player they have admitted interest in, as he could play Left, Short, Right, and first base if needed. Aubrey Huff can play first and left, so that is why he was put in there, but I do not believe that.
Dayn Perry of Foxsports suggests the Mets trade for Jake Peavy, but his article is extremely insane, saying that Livan Hernandez has been awful, I’m sorry. last time I checked every game he pitches the Mets have a chance to win, and his ERA and W-L record are 4.28, and 4-1, and Jake Peavy’s are 3.48, but his w-l record is 4-5, and he can not get his team a win, so think before you speak Dayn.
Game Recap
The Mets continued their May surge with a 9-6 win over San Fransisco.
(George Niktin/AP)
Starting
I think that Johan was so ineffective because he had runs to work with for once, as the Mets pounced on Johnson early. Johan was able to go seven innings and allow six runs, four earned. The one thing I noticed was that his ERA went from .78 up to 1.30 and he is still leading the NL. He was leaving the ball out over the plate to the Giants hitters who were hitting it. His line was 7 IP, 4 ER, 11 hits, 6 Ks, 0 BB.
Bullpen
The Mets’ pen had two innings to cover in a tight game, and we were not going to use Frankie Rodriguez, which made it even tougher, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going. In the eighth we went with Bobby Parnell who threw a shut out inning to set it up for JJ Putz to get a save, his first as a Met by putting em’ down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
(George Niktin/AP)
Offense
The Mets offense continued to surge, led by David Wright (who is red hot) and Carlos Beltran. Beltran had two doubles and three RBIs. Gary Sheffield was 3-4 with two runs scored, and is starting to look really good, and I think he could return to the form he was in in his prime. Alex Cora was 2-4 and Luis Castillo 1-4. Ryan Church was 1-5, and Ramon Castro was 2-5 with two RBIs.
Game Recap
The Mets won their seventh straight game 8-4 over the Pirates, and they swept them in the process.
Starting
Livan did not have his best stuff, but he got through six innings of two run ball against the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed a lead off hitter almost every inning, but would then feed off of the Pirates young hitters aggression and excitement, to get out of it almost every time going six innings of two run ball, for the Mets’ seventh straight quality start. His line was: 6 IP, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 Ks, 7 hits.
Bullpen
The Mets’ pen had to come on for three innings of work, and they did it pretty well. In the seventh Jerry went to Pedro Feliciano who went through the inning fairly easily. Then Putz came in and pitched the eighth, and then the Mets tagged on a bunch of runs so Sean Green finished the game.
Offense
It was a great thing to see Snell on his A-game, but the Mets still getting two him, with the key hit being Omir Santos’s two run single making it 3-2. Jose Reyes was 2-4 and is red hot lately. David Wright was 1-4 as well, but had a run scored and an RBI, and continued his streak of playing well.
Remember the livechat tonight at 6:30 Eastern!
Live Chat Tommorow
I am having a live chat tommorow
at 6:30 PM eastern time. You should check it out, arrive at
6:30 and stay to the end of Mets vs Braves
Game Recap
The now first place Mets beat the Pirates 10-1 yesterday.
Starting
John Maine had a tough act to follow as Mets pitching has been brilliant lately, and he did that and more going six innings and only a run, and that was on Paul Maholm’s first big league homer (yes he is a pitcher). He was locating his pitches well, and kept his pitch count relatively low, as he was able to get his second straight quality start. His line was: 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 hits, 3 Ks, 2 BBs.
Bullpen
The Mets pen basically had to act as a collective long reliever in a game where they did not need to pitch well, but they did anyway. For the seventh Sandy Alomar went with Ken Takahashi, who has been amazing for the Mets this year, and he honestly could be my starting pitcher any day. He went two innings, only allowing one hit and no runs. In the ninth Alomar went with Brian Stokes, who allowed a hit. but no runs as the Mets won it 10-1.
Offense
Today the entire offense was clicking on all cylinders as they scored ten runs. Jose Reyes was three for five with a run scored and three RBIs. Carlos Beltran hit a bomb to left field for his sixth home run of the year, and it was beautiful. Gary Sheffield, Luis Castillo, Fernando Tatis, and David Wright all came through with timely singles at some point in the first few innings. Wright was 2-5 with two RBIs.
Game Recap
Last night the red hot Mets took a 7-3 win over the Pirates.
Starting
Jon Niese had struggled at Triple-A, but he was brilliant last night, going six innings of two run ball to give Mets starting its fifth straight quality start. He had five Ks, and finally seemed to get it at the Major League level, and if he can pitch well he could stick at the major league level for quite a while. His final line was: 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 Ks, NO WALKS!, 7 hits.
Bullpen
We had no K-Rod and we were in a tight game, so for the seventh Jerry brought in Sean Green, who allowed two on with one out, but he would get Freddy Sanchez, and then the Mets went to the original starter for tonight, Ken Takahashi, who threw one pitch to get Nate McLouth to ground to Delgado, end of inning. In the ninth with a five run lead and no K-Rod, Jerry went to JJ Putz, who allowed a run, but the Mets got the win anyway. The pen looked great, and we would have lost this game last year.
Offense
The Mets offense scored two runs in the first, and then took six innings off until the eighth inning when they exploded for five runs. The inning was lead by Carlos Beltran’s single, and then Delgado monstrous home run, to right center field, where I thought no one would ever hit a homer, the offense is going on all cylinders right now.
Line-Ups
Mets
1 Jose Reyes (SS)
2 Luis Castillo (2B)
3 Carlos Beltran (CF)
4 Carlos Delgado (1B)
5 David Wright (3B)
6 Daniel Murphy (LF)
7 Omir Santos (C)
8 Ryan Church (RF)
9 Jon Niese (P)
Match-Up
Jon Niese (0-0 0.00)
Jeff Karstens (1-1 5.85)
Standings
1 Phillies 14-12 0 GB vs ATL
2 Mets 14-13 .5 GB vs PIT
3 Marlins 15-15 .5 GB @ COL
4 Braves 13-15 2 GB @ PHI
5 Nationals 8-18 6 GB @ ARZ
Prospects Guy
Recent Comments