Series Preview: Mets Open Up Inter-league Schedule With Set in Toronto
Tonight, the Mets begin their inter-league schedule with a three-game series against the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays have been somewhat of a surprise this year, considering the tough division they play in. They are currently in third place, but are only four games behind the Blue Jays in the division.
The Blue Jays, so far, have been led by a plethora of young, talented arms in their rotation. The Mets could have trouble with all three guys they face in this series. Brandon Morrow has been fantastic and may finally be living up to his potential. Ricky Romero also seems to be continuing the success he had last season with the Jays.
On offense, it’s been all about Edwin Encarnacion. Carnacion has 13 homers and 34 RBI this season, both of which lead his team. Jose Bautista, the one who was supposed to lead the team in every offensive catagory, is hitting just .207 with ten homers.
Overall, the Blue Jays are a team on the rise and could pose a problem for the Mets in this three-game series.
Here are the pitching matchups:
Game 1- Tonight 7:07
Jonathon Niese (39.2 IP, 3,40 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, .224 BAA) vs. Ricky Romero (53.1 IP, 3.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .222 BAA)
Game 2- Saturday 1:07
Miguel Batista (25.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .295 BAA) vs. Brandon Morrow (52.2 IP, 2.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .200 BAA)
Game 3- Sunday 1:07
Dillon Gee (43 IP, 5.65 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, .301 BAA) vs. Henderson Alvarez (55 IP, 2.62 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .244 BAA)
More notes…
— Brett Lawrie will miss the entire series after dropping the appeal of his four—game suspension he received for throwing his helmet at an umpire while arguing over balls and strikes. Lawrie is hitting a team-high .281.
— Frank Francisco will continue to close for the Mets, despite recent struggles. Francisco has pitched, very, very badly of late, blowing a few games in a row. However, he is only part of the problem. The entire Mets bullpen has struggled this season, so Francisco is only part of the problem in the ‘pen.
— David Wright is hitting .411!!!
Series Preview: Mets Take Their Struggling ‘Pen Back Home to Face Brewers
Tonight, the Mets begin a brief two-game set against the Brewers at Citi Field.
The Brewers are a team that has been riddled with injuries. After losing Prince Fielder this offseason to the Detroit Tigers, the Brewers needed everyone on their roster healthy and productive more than most teams. However, Mat Gamel, once thought to be the heir apparent to Fielder at first base, recently suffered a torn ACL which will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez, a new addition that was brought in to supply some veteran leadership, as well as an RBI threat, also has a torn ACL and won’t be ready until next season as well. Lastly, Carlos Gomez, the former Met who has made himself into a Gold Glove contender defender, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the past week and a half.
With the lack of offense this year, the Brewers have also needed to rely on their ace, Yovani Gallardo, to carry the load, which he has failed to do. He has a 5.35 ERA in 28.2 innings this season to go along with a 1.55 WHIP. Compare this to his performance last season, in which he went 17-10 along with a 3.52 ERA, and you have a big disappointment. The only bright spots for the Brewers has been the performances of Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, two pitchers the Brewers snagged from the American League a few years back. Marcum has a 3.07 ERA in 44 innings this season, while Greinke has a respectable 3.35 ERA over 43 innings this season.
Here are the pitching matchups for these two games:
Game 1- Tonight 7:10
Miguel Batista (18.1 IP, 5.89 ERA, 2.13 WHIP, .338 BAA) vs. Yovani Gallardo (38.2 IP, 5.35 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .284 BAA)
Game 2- Tuesday 7:10
Dillon Gee (37.2 IP, 4.78 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .296 BAA) vs. Zack Greinke (43 IP, 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .252 BAA)
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Here’s a table comparing the two teams:
| Mets |
Statistic |
Brewers |
|
.270 (5th in MLB) |
AVG |
.237 (23rd in MLB) |
|
.343 (3rd in MLB) |
OBP |
.312 (15th in MLB) |
|
.392 (13th in MLB) |
SLG |
.412 (9th in MLB) |
|
4.25 (25th in MLB) |
ERA |
4.62 (26th in MLB) |
|
1.14 (26th in MLB) |
WHIP |
1.45 (27th in MLB) |
|
19 (13th in MLB) |
QS |
18 (17th in MLB) |
More notes…
—Don’t be surprised if Terry Collins tries some new tactics with the bullpen in this series. After last night’s awful performance/blowup of Frank Francisco, we may be seeing a change in who closes games from now on, which I think is a good thing. I’m not sure Francisco was the right fit from the start. He is eerily similar to Armando Benitez. He keeps you on the edge of your seat whenever he pitches, putting the team in a bad position often at the beginning of innings. In his first blown save against the Marlins over the weekend, he gave up a leadoff double to Giancarlo Stanton that set the tone for the Marlins in that inning and then again last night, giving up the leadoff triple to Emilio Bonifacio. You just can’t do that as a closer, or any type of relief pitcher for that matter. The ejection from the game was also a sign of Francisco’s growing frustration with himself. Maybe a little break from closing games will help him clear his mind.
—Wow, is David Wright hitting! He had another great series down in Miami over the weekend, raising his average from .376 to an even .400. He also had a home run in the second game, and has been making some fantastic plays in the field. His range and the accuracy of his arm have been unbelievable so far this year.
—Daniel Murphy has also been quietly putting things together at the plate. Murphy is in the middle of a nine-game hitting streak, and was 8-12 against Miami over the weekend. He is hitting .405 in his last ten games.
—Go Mets!
It May be Time to Send Ike Davis to Triple-A
I’ve been wrestling with this idea in my head for a while now. The idea of sending Ike Davis down to Triple-A Buffalo to find his swing.
I have been very hesitant to decide on anything up until this point, but now I think it’s tim the Mets made the move.
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Ike is struggling, and I mean really struggling, hitting .174 for the year, including .147 in 34 at-bats in May so far. He’s never slumped like this before. He had huge expectations coming into this season, with many people talking about 30-40 home runs for him, but now that seems really unlikely and a huge stretch. At this point, I’d be perfectly happy with him hitting .260 with 20 homers. But Davis can’t do that until he fixes his swing.
Ike has to find what made him so successful in the five weeks he spent healthy last year. He went on a tear to start the season, hitting seven homers while driving in 25 and hitting .302 in 36 games before going down with a season-ending injury. What has slowed him down this season, in my mind, has been his plate discipline. He is swinging at every outside curveball thrown to him. His walk rate is down to almost half of what it used to be. He just can’t seem to find it at the plate.
A similar thing happened to Cliff Lee in 2007 with the Indians. Of course, Lee is a pitcher, so it is a little different, but it still relates. In 2007, Lee started the year 5-8 with a 6.38 ERA. He was very inconsistent with his mechanics and was sent down to the minors to refine his mechanics. Now, this wasn’t some rookie being sent down. This was an established pitcher, who had won 18 games two years prior, but he just could not stop walking people. After ten starts in the minors, Lee was recalled and resumed his role as a starting pitcher in 2008. That year, he went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA, winning the Cy Young Award. Lee hasn’t looked back since. He is 65-34 since then and has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game today. This just shows that it can work, even with players who have already had success on the big league level.
This is definitely a move Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson should at least consider. Will it work for Ike? I don’t know. Every player would handle this type of situation differently. Some would be angry, while others would be humbled and use the opportunity to their advantage. The option should at least be explored and discussed. Who knows? Maybe a minor league stint would make Davis the premier slugger that he has the potential to be.
[poll id=”21”]
The Phillies Won’t Really Become Sellers, Right?
“My job is to keep all lines of communication open, for the good of the club today and tomorrow,” Amaro said. “I can’t shut any doors down. You try to be creative. And there are a lot of creative GMs out there who have different goals.”
Amaro first mentioned the possibility of the Phillies as sellers to CSNPhilly’s Jim Salisbury earlier Thursday. It sounded as if he was speaking out of frustration or trying to send a message to his players. But Amaro said he was only being realistic.
“If we continue to play like this and keep dropping out of the race, it’s going to be tough to be buyers,” he said. “The one way we can be buyers is by keeping our heads above water — if we’re five games out, seven games out, within striking distance, then yeah.”
—Ken Rosenthal, Fox Sports
[caption id=”” align=”alignright” width=”281” caption=”The future of the Phillies rests on this man’s shoulders (Photo Courtesy of Michael Baron)”]
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It seems like just yesterday that we were sulking as the Phillies celebrated a World Series championship in 2008. They were led by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, two young stars on the rise, poised to lead the Phillies to greatness for the next ten years. Ryan Howard was the next great slugger, hitting 48 homers and driving in 146 runs that year. They had Brad Lidge, who didn’t blow a save the entire season.
Since then, the Phillies have made a few great runs. In 2009, they fell short in the World Series to the Yankees, losing four games to two. Last year, they blew away everyone with a 102-60 record, but allowed the Cardinals to slip by them in the divisional round.
I didn’t think the Phillies would blow things up so early. However, the entire direction of the franchise has been determined by the health of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Without them, there is little to no chance that the Phillies could muster up another championship run.
What may keep the Phillies from becoming sellers is one man: Ruben Amaro Jr. Amaro is known to be a big spender. He may try to spend his way out of this mess. He was the one who traded for Roy Halladay. He was the one who stole Cliff Lee. And he was the one who dealt for Hunter Pence last season. There is a point where every GM has to realize that there’s no use in desparately trying to put together a team at the deadkinep but where that point is remains to be seen.
I don’t think he, or the Phillies, will go down without a fight.
Notes: Tejada, Hamels, Werth
Here are a few notes…
——- Ruben Tejada was placed on the Disabled list yesterday, and was replaced on the roster by Jordanny Valdespin. Tejada has a strained right quad muscle, which he hurt while falling into first base. He also apparently hurt his eye on the play. From ESPNNewYork.com:
Tejada had a significant cut on his left cheek Monday, but there are no current concerns about vision issues or a concussion. He said he fell as a result of the quadriceps injury — not the opposite, that awkwardly falling caused him to be injured.
“The MRI yesterday confirmed the initial diagnosis of a right quad strain,” assistant GM John Ricco said. “He was feeling a little bit better today, but still feeling something in the quad, which confirmed what the MRI showed.”
Ricco added that the organization considered keeping Tejada active but not in the lineup for five days or so, but decided the DL was prudent given how much season remains.
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It’s sad to see a young guy go on the DL like this in such a freak incident, especially a player who has been playing so well. In 27 games, Tejada was hitting .305 with a .362 on-base percentage. He has also scored 14 runs and driven in eight.
Tejada has shown great strides at the plate this season, hitting a ton of extra-base hits. He had 15 doubles in 97 games last season. This year, he already has ten. Hopefully, as the Mets have insisted, Tejada is alright and will be ready to go in two weeks.
———Yesterday, Cole Hamels of the Phillies was suspended five games for admitting that he intentionally hit Nationals phenom Bryce Harper in the first inning of Sunday night’s Phillies-Nationals game on ESPN.
For those who don’t know, Hamels came out after the game saying he intentionally hit the 19 year-old outfielder, claiming to be welcoming him to the big leagues.
Now, for Hamels to admit this is arrogant and just plain stupid. Admitting that he hit Harper on purpose won’t help anyone. In fact, it almost guarantees a suspension. Why would anyone want that? Of course, Hamels didn’t and it was probably a heat-of-the-moment thing, you have to check yourself before going there. I have no problem with Hamels hitting Harper, because well, that’s part of baseball. Pitchers hit batters for all kinds of reasons- rivalry, retalliation, or as Hamels did, “welcoming someone.” The admitting of the intent to hit Harper was what I had a problem with. What good can possibly come out of that? At least the Phillies might lose one more game because of it…
——— Another notable thing happened in Sunday night’s game. Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth broke his wrist in an awful-looking play in the outfield. Werth dove for a pop fly, with his left hand getting caught on the ground. It was bent really far back. What was even worse was him having to get up, retrieve the ball, and throw it back into the infield.
Now the already struggling Nationals offense will be without one of their best hitters. This will only put more pressure on Bryce Harper to perform.
Series Preview: Banged-Up Mets Head to Philly
Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
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The Mets play the Phillies, who, up until this point, have been unable to get on any kind of a roll. Many thought before the season that due to the injuries to Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, as well as the age of Jimmy Rollins, their offense would struggle but no one thought it would be this bad. The Phils are in the bottom third in baseball in runs scored, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Catcher Carlos Ruiz has been their best hitter, which is a little odd considering he is a career number seven or eight hitter.
The decent pitching the Phillies have has been the only thing keeping them alive. Despite Cliff Lee (eho will return on Wednesday) hitting the DL, the Phillies’ staff is in the top ten in baseball in quality starts, WHIP, and ERA. Cole Hamels has been stellar, but luckily will not face the Mets in this series.
Here are the pitching matchups for the series:
Game 1- Tonight 7:05
Jon Niese- Niese finally had a bad start in his last outing in Houston. He went only three innings, but that was due to a desparation pinch-hitting move that Terry Collins made in the fourth inning. Niese allowed five earned on six hits in the start.
Roy Halladay- At 35 years old, Halladay is still going strong this season. He is 3-2 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.110 WHIP. He is averaging about seven innings per outing this year.
Game 2- Tuesday 7:05
Miguel Batista- Here we go with Miguel Batista. The 41 year-old has been awful this year, but somehow got the nod from Terry Collins to join the rotation in place of Chris Schwinden. Batista is 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA this year.
Joe Blanton- You would think that you would have an easy go of it against a team’s fifth starter. That’s not the case with Blanton. He threw a shutout against the Braves in his last start, and has been looking good on the mound thus far in 2012.
Game 3- Wednesday 7:05
Dillon Gee- Gee pitched well on Friday against the D-Backs, tossing six innings of two-run ball. He also walked three and struck out six.
Cliff Lee- Lee, who has been suffering from a strained left oblique, will come off the DL on Wednesday to face the Mets in his first start since April 19. In three starts this year, Lee is 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA.
More notes
— Ruben Tejada left yesterday’s game with a strained right quad. Tejada hit the DL today and will be replaced on the roster by Jordanny Valdespin.
— Even with Valdespin in the big leagues, we will probably not see much of him. Terry Colins has expressed his liking for Justin Turner. Turner, not Valdespin, will likely get the majority of the playing time at shortstop. I’m not the biggest fan of having Valdespin ride the bench in the majors. I’d much rather have him getting playing time in Buffalo, developing. For those of you wondering, the rule that states a player cannot be recalled until ten days after they were sent down does not apply if they are replacing an injured player.
— Ike Davis is hitless in his last four games, going 0-11, which brings his batting average down to .168. Ike has shown signs of coming back to life, only to return to struggling.
—Daniel Murphy, on the other hand, had a great series against Arizona. Murphy was 7-12 in the three games, and had two RBI. It’s great to see that maybe Murphy’s fantastic run at the plate last year may not have been a fluke. Terry Collins has moved him up in the lineup in place of Ike Davis.
—Tonight’s and Wednesday’s pitching matchups should be pretty interesting to watch. Both Niese and Gee have pitched well this season. Their ERA’s don’t quite say that, but each of them had one bad outing that basically ruined their ERAs. Other than that, they have pitched well this season. Of course, they will both be going up against two of Philly’s aces, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.
—Jonathon Paplebon has been great so far for the Phillies, saving nine games and pitching to a 0.82 ERA in 11 innings pitched. Just something to look out for if any of these games are close.
An Idea With Upside
I came across an article today on CBS Sports (h/t Minor League Ball) in which Bryan Fischer talks about a possible between Major League Baseball, and the NCAA in which MLB would help fund some scholarships. Fischer said:
The partnership is aimed at expanding the importance of college baseball and is expected to result a significant investment by MLB that could include funding scholarships across the sport. The NCAA Board of Directors was briefed on the matter last week at their annual meeting.
“It’s very early,” a source said. “But we’re hopeful something meaningful will come out of the talks.”
Baseball is currently an equivalency sport at the collegiate level, with schools allotted 11.7 full scholarships to distribute how they see fit. This results in players receiving a wide range of scholarship money to attend school, from nothing to a select few getting a full scholarship depending on how the coach recruits. What form an MLB sponsorship will take is yet to be determined but it could result in a general scholarship fund or additional scholarships for each school paid by the league.
A move like this could not only put college baseball back on the map, but also offer greater opportunities to players after baseball. Think about all the 
high school players who get drafted. The vast majority of them don’t make it. However, if they can afford to go to college thanks to a scholarship, they won’t be left with nothing.
The fact that baseball only get 11.7 scholarships is ridiculous. Scholarships are divided up in odd ways to fill out a roster. That’s not how it should be. Everyone who is good enough should be able to play college ball. Also, as Matt Garioch pointed out on Minor League Ball, the quality of play in the NCAA would rise and it would become a great developmental way.
Anything that encourages high school players to attend college, and makes it readily available to them- is something I’m all for.
Series Preview: Mets Head Down to Houston (Along With Their Cowboy Boots)
Tonight, the Mets begin their three-game series in Houston against the Astros.
The Mets are coming into this series after taking two of three in Colorado. They were embarrassed in the first game when the Rockies scored 11 runs in the fifth inning alone and won by a score of 18-9. However, they bounced back, winning the next two games 7-5 and 6-5. Friday night’s bullpen blow-up is hopefully a one-time thing.
The Astros, 8-14, have only shown slight improvement from their dreadful season last year. However, one major bright spot has been Wandy Rodriguez. Wandy, 33, is 2-2 this season with a 1.72 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. The Mets will face him in game three.
Here are the pitching matchups…
Game 1- Tonight 8:05
R.A. Dickey- The 3-1 Dickey bounced back from an awful start aginst the Braves on April 18 with a stellar outing against the MArlins. He surrendered only three hits over seven innings, allowing one run and striking out seven.
Bud Norris- Norris hasn’t pitched very well in either of his last two starts. In the first start, in Washington, he allowed ten hits and four earned in six innings. It got worse in his last start, allowing seven runs in 5.2 against the Brewers.
Game 2- Tuesday 8:05
Jon Niese- Niese is still on a roll. In his last start, he allowed two runs over seven innings. He hasn’t failed to go at least six innings so far this season.
J.A. Happ- Happ is 1-1 on the season with a 4.70 ERA. In his last start against the Brewers, he allowed four earned on seven hits over five innings.
Game 3- Wednesday 2:05
Chris Schwinden- Schwinden was part of that awful 18-9 loss to the Rockies on Friday, getting the ball rolling in the fifth inning. He was only charged with six runs, but he couldn’t get an out in the fifth inning.
Wandy Rodriguez- As I mentioned earlier, Wandy is dominating. His worst start this season came on April 11, when he allowed three runs in five innings against the Braves. He is really pitching well.
More notes…
— The Mets flew down to Houston last night in cowboy outfits and there are pictures to prove it.
—Andres Torres will lead off and play center field tonight, coming off the DL to play for the first time since Opening Day. Zach Lutz, who was 1 for 8 this season, was sent back down to the minors.
—According to Adam rubin, Terry Collins may still be thinking about keeping Kirk Nieuwenhuis in center field, even though Torres will return.
—Ruben Tejada had a nice weekend in Colorado. He went 10-17, raising his batting average 105 points.
—Ike Davis had the game-winning RBI-single in yesterday’s 6-5, eleven inning win. Ike has shown flashes of breaking out and finally starting to hit, but it hasn’t quite happened yet.
—Lastly, I just wanted to point out this hilarious article on the Astros from The Onion.
Baseball Card of the Week:
If there is one card that defines the intelligent, thoughtful, knuckleballing man that is RA Dickey, it’s a diamond refractor baseball card.
Source: oldtimefamilybaseball
Series Preview: Mets Head Home to Face Giants in Four-Game Set
Tonight at 7:10, the Mets begin their four-game set against the Giants…
The Mets return home after losing a best-of-three series to the Braves this week. The series started off on a high note-the only one of the series- with the Mets winning 6-1 on Monday. Dillon Gee dominated the Braves, allowing just one run on four hits. He finished up after seven innings. Ike Davis had a big three-run homer that broke a tie game, making the score 4-1 Mets. The Mets scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, making the game 5-1. Finally, Jason Bay finished up the game with a solo shot in the ninth.
The second and third games were far from pretty. In the second game, Johan Santana had the worst start of his career. He went just 1.1 innings, allowing six runs and throwing 55 pitches. The Braves made him work due to him falling behind early. Johan only threw first pitch strikes to four of 11 batters in his abbreviated outing. The Mets would go on to lose 9-3.
The weather in Atlanta had a big impact on the rubber match of the series. In the early innings, Jair Jurrjens struggled, and R.A. Dickey was stellar. In the warm, humid air in northern Georgia, Dickey’s knuckleball had more movement than I’d ever seen. Braves hitters didn’t have a chance. Then, the rain came and wow did it pour. Dickey was thrown off by the rain, his knuckleball losing its movement, causeing him to struggle. He gave up hit after hit, including three home runs. He ended the day with a loss after giving up eight runs in what would end in a 14-6 loss for the Mets.
The Giants, on the other hand, are coming in to Queens off a series win against the Phillies. The highlight of the series was Wednesday’s pitching duel between Cliff Lee and Matt Cain. Both held each other’s team scoreless for nine innings. Cain left the game after nine, but Lee stayed in- yes, a manager sent a pitcher out for a tenth inning of work. Lee pitched a scoreless tenth, and the Phillies scored in the eleventh to win the game. Cain and Lee both pitched gems, but neither got a win.
Here are the pitching matchups for the series:
Game 1- Tonight 7:10
Jon Niese- Since signing his five-year extension, Jon Niese has been stellar. He is 2-0 on the season with a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched. Niese threw seven innings, allowing one run on six hits in his only start against the Giants in his career.
Barry Zito- Zito, considered a failure since signing with the Giants, has surprised everyone this season. He pitched a shutout in his first start of the season,and followed up with another impressive outing his last start. Zito pitched seven innings against the Pirates on April 14, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out four. Zito is 3-2 with a 3.31 ERA in six career starts against the Mets.
Game 2- Saturday 1:10
Mike Pelfrey- Pelfrey, to everyone’s surprise, has also pitched well this season. After allowing three runs on ten hits in his first start, Pelfrey allowed just one in six innings against the Phillies in his last outing.
Ryan Vogelsong- Vogelsong burst onto the scene last year for the Giants, earning an All-Star selection. He finished the season eleventh in the Cy Young Award voting, ending the year with a 13-7 record to go along with a 2.71 ERA. In his only start this season, he allowed two runs in 6.1 innings.
Game 3- Sunday 1:10
Dillon Gee-Gee, so far, has continued the success he had last season, pitching two decent games so far this season. The last one, on Monday against the Braves, he lasted seven innings and allowed just one run.
Tim Lincecum- “The Freak” has struggled more than he ever has so far this season for the Giants. In each of his three starts, he has allowed at least five runs. So far, he is 0-2 on the season with a 10.54 ERA on the season.
Game 4- Monday 7:10
Johan Santana- Coming off the worst outing of his career, Johan will look to brush back injury concerns against the Giants in the final game of the series.Johan was atrocious in Atlanta, which raised worries about his health. However, all signs still point to him starting the game.
Madison Bumgarner- Bumgarner, a young arm with Cy Young potential, recently signed an extension with the Giants, which could end up being seven years. The deal is very similar to the one Niese signed. Bumgarner allowed two runs in six innings in his last start against the Phillies.
Here are some more random notes:
— I’m excited to see Kirk Nieuwenhuis get some more at-bats from the leadoff spot. So far, he has impressed, showing he can do a little bit of everything. He needs to play well in the coming weeks to keep his job when Andres Torres returns.
— I’m really hoping Johan bounces back, just to get his last start, a big distraction, out of everyone’s minds. He needs to get ahead early, throwing first pitch strikes. If he doesn’t he falls into a groove and becomes predictable.
—There has been so much talk about Tim Lincecum’s struggles this year. I’m really want to see what all the buzz is about.
—Ruben Tejada is awesome.
Series Preview: Mets Go to Altanta to Battle Braves
Starting tonight at 7:10, the Mets begin a three-game series with the red-hot Braves.
The Mets are coming off a series win in Philadelphia, in which they took two out of three. In the first game, R.A. Dickey outdueled Cliff Lee, allowing just one run over seven innings of work. Jason Bay hit his first home run of the year, a two-run blast, which sealed the deal for the Mets in a 5-2 victory. The bullpen went the rest of the way, shutting down the Phillies. Jon Niese dominated the second game, throwing 6.2 shutout innings. Niese followed up a no-hit bid with an even more impressive outing. The big story of the game, however, was the impressive comeback of David Wright. Wright had missed three games due to a broken pinkie finger and a DL stint seemed imminent. Instead, Wright played through the pain and went 3-5 with a home run. The Mets won 5-0. On Sunday, the Mets went for the sweep and were unsuccessful. Mike Pelfrey managed to give up just one run, but the bullpen blew the game. They allowed two runs in the seventh and five in the eighth, losing 8-2.
The Braves have been on a roll. Since losing their first four games, including three to the Mets, Atlanta has won five straight. They are coming off a series sweep of the Brewers. Jair Jurrjens was the only starter to not pitch extremely well, giving up five runs in his outing. Otherwise, the Braves are on a roll and will look to continue their hotstreak at home against the Mets.
Here are the pitching matchups:
Game 1- Tonight 7:10
Dillon Gee (0-1, 5.06 ERA)- Gee was solid in his first outing of the year against the Nationals, throwing 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He also struck out six. Gee is 2-2 with a 3.46 ERA in seven starts against the Braves in his career.
Tommy Hanson (1-1, 2.70 ERA)- Hanson allowed the only run of the game in a pitching duel against Johan Santana and the Mets on Opening Day, earning the loss. He walked three in the outing. In his last start against the Brewers, Hanson allowed two runs in five innings while striking out eight.
Game 2- Tuesday 7:10
Johan Santana (0-1, 0.90 ERA)- Johan upped his pitch count in his last start, a major sign of progress and health. Johan threw 99 pitches (56 strikes) against Washington in his last start. He allowed one run on five hits over five innings, but earned the loss due to the struggling Mets offense. His third start of the season will likely be a full one for Santana- one in which he can finally let it rip.
Randall Delgado (1-0, 3.60)- The 46th ranked prospect in baseball according to Baseball America is getting a shot in the rotation. In his first start this season, Delgado allowed two runs over five innings in a win over the Astros.
Game 3- Wednesday 12:10
R.A. Dickey (2-0, 2.08 ERA)- Dickey has been sensational this season, earning wins in each of his first two starts. Dickey opened up the season with a six inning performance against the Braves on April 7, allowing just two runs. In his last start, he allowed only one run over seven innings. Dickey’s knuckleball clicked for the first time this year in his last start. The warm weather should help Dickey tremendously.
Thoughts:
Despite the bad loss yesterday, the Mets have a real shot to win this series. They proved themselves worthy on Friday and Saturday with two very impressive wins. They have pitched well this year, and despite the offense only being spotty, the Mets have managed to go 6-3 against some stiff competition. If the bullpen doesn’t repeat the seven-run performance from Sunday, they will be fine. Part of yesterday’s struggle was mismanagement by Terry Collins, using a longman in a setup man’s role. Terry won’t make the same mistake again.
Let’s go Mets!
Thursday Trivia: Premiere Edition
I’m starting a new feature here at Up Along First called “Thursday Trivia.” Each Thursday, I will post a Mets-related or MLB-related trivia question. Good luck!
In light of yesterday’s 50th anniversary of the first ever New York Mets game: How many 15-game losers did the Mets have in 1962? Can you name them?
Click “Continue reading” for the answer…
Answer: Four (Roger Craig- 24, Al Jackson- 20, Jay Hook- 19, and Craig Anderson- 17)
MLB Right To Suspend Ozzie Guillen
Yesterday, Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was suspended for five games for his comments he made about former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, which included Guillen saying “I love Fidel Castro” in an interview he did for Time Magazine.
This is much different than anything Guillen has said before. In Chicago, he was often in trouble for bad-mouthing umpires, management of other teams, or beat writers. Now, he’s gone to a whole new level.
He begged and begged for his apology to be accepted, especially in the Latin areas of Miami and southern Florida. “Calle Ocho,” a neighborhood close to the Marlins’ new ballpark, consists of mostly Latin-Americans, including many Cubans. This was the fanbase ownership was trying to tap into when they chose the location and personnel for the franchise. Now that Guillen has made these comments, however, all that effort may go to waste. I would expect boycotting of games and even go as far as fearing for the safety of Ozzie Guillen because this is a very, very serious thing he said. Family members of some of the residents in the area were jailed, mistreated, or even killed by Fidel Castro’s government, and now Guillen is praising him? This is absolutely unacceptable. He should have been fired on the spot for this.
The comments Guillen made hit so many nerves in the Latin community, which may ruin Guillen’s already so-so reputation, but also the efforts the Marlins have put into making Miami, and “Calle Ocho,” a perfect fit.
Series Preview: First Place Mets Host Nationals at Citi Field
[caption id=”attachment_1781” align=”aligncenter” width=”439” caption=”PELFREY-GEE-SANTANA- The rotation for this week’s series against the Nationals at Citi Field.”]
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After sweeping the Braves over the weekend, the Mets will look to the Nationals to be their next victims as they start a three-game series in Citi Field tonight at 7:10.
David Wright comes in hot for the Mets tonight. David has driven in a run in each of the first three games of the season. At this point, his rib injury seems far behind him. Yesterday, he continued that, reaching base three times, including two walks.
Speaking of yesterday, the Mets finished off a three-game sweep of the Braves by a score of 7-5. Jonathon Niese had a no-hitter through six, but Freddie Freeman broke it up on a right field single. The Braves scored four in the seventh, but the Met offense was just too good. Lead by 4-5 Ruben Tejada, the Mets scored seven runs on 11 hits to beat Atlanta, with Frank Francisco earning the save once again, pitching a perfect ninth.
The Nationals, meanwhile, took on the Cubs and almost came back to win it in the ninth, but just fell short. Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija threw 8.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out eight. He was relieved by Cubs closer Carlos Marmol, who got Xavier Nady to fly out and end the game. The Nats fell to 2-1, but earned the series win.
Here are your starters for the series:
Game 1- Tonight at 7:10:
- Mike Pelfrey- Mets- Mike is coming off an awful 7-13 season in which he posted an abysmal 4.74 ERA, which is much better than how he pitched. He almost lost his job in Spring Training, but was saved by two nice starts. He hopes (for his future’s sake) that he continues and pitches well tonight.
- Edwin Jackson- Nationals- In the Nats’ second biggest move of the winter, they acquired starter Edwin Jackson, signing him via free agency. Jackson 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA between the White Sox and Cardinals last season. He helped the Cardinals in their playoff run last year, and made three postseason starts.
Game 2- Tuesday at 7:10:
- Dillon Gee- Mets- Gee will look to capture some of that first half magic from last season, when he was the last undefeated starter in baseball at 7-0, and a Rookie of the Year favorite. Now, after a second half to forget, Gee will look to start his first full season with a set role with a bang against the Nationals on Tuesday.
- Ross Detwiler- Nationals- Detwiler beat out John Lannon for the last spot in the Washington rotation after going 1-1 in seven games this spring. Last season, Detwiler started 10 games, going 4-5 with a 3.00 ERA.
Game 3- Wednesday at 1:10:
- Johan Santana- Mets- Johan will make his second start of the year Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field. In his Opening Day start against the Braves, Santana pitched five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits.
- Stephen Strasburg- Nationals- Strasburg will make his second career start against the Amazin’s. The first came back in 2010, when he tossed five innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five.
The Mets were 8-10 against the Nationals last season.
Mets Call up Capt. Kirk
The Mets announced today via Twitter that Kirk Nieuwenhuis will be the replacement for Andres Torres as he heads to the DL. Kirk went 0-2 in his Triple-A debut yesterday.
