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June 29, 2008
Subway nuggets
ANYONE SEEN A CARLOS? – The Mets fourth and fifth hitters were a combined 0-for-8 against the Yankees Saturday, with Carlos Beltran having a particularly bad day at the plate with four strikeouts.
Carlos Delgado also went 0-for-4 batting fifth, but only struck out once and is 0-for-6 with no RBIs since his 9-RBI outburst in Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader. .
Beltran said the team is not in panic mode despite the lack of runs recently, or the inconsistent play of the offense all season.
“It seems like every ay the game surprises you in different ways,” he said. “No we don’t feel mentally like we are trying to do too much. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t.”
The Mets’ center fielder has a simple solution for the offense, too.
“Get on base, that’s what we need to do,” Beltran added. “That’s been our problem all year.”
HAVING YOUR BACK – Andy Pettitte has been around long enough with the Yankees to know you can just about take a victory to the bank when closer Mariano Rivera comes in to finish a game.
Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his 22nd in 22 chances this season.
“He’s just great – you can’t say enough about what he does,” Pettitte said.
And no, the Shea Stadium PA did not play “Enter Sandman” before Rivera took the mound in the ninth. At that stadium the song belongs to Mets’ closer Billy Wagner.
TURNING THE TIDES – Both Pettitte and manager Joe Girardi agreed the pickoff of Jose Reyes at second base to end the fifth inning was the key to a Yankees’ win.
With Reyes on second and Damion Easley on first, David Wright was at the plate with a 0-1 count when Pettitte caught Reyes napping at second base. Pettitte tossed the ball to Robinson Cano at second to catch Reyes, who had strayed to far off the bag and slipped trying to get back, for the third out.
"No doubt, that was a big part of the game for me,” Pettitte said. “With David Wright up, especially right now in their lineup, he's the guy you worry about, for sure. He seems to be swinging the bat really well right now. That was big."
“That was huge,” Girardi added. “That might have been the turning point of the game. It got Andy out of a jam.”
NO WAY JOSE – Manuel said he would not try to tame Reyes’ aggressiveness on the base path, but would like the young shortstop to be a little more intelligent out there.
“He has to be a little more careful,” Manuel said. “I don’t want to stop his aggressiveness but at the same time he has to be smarter.”
THE COMPANY LINE – Johan Santana summed up the mood of the Mets’ clubhouse after the game.
“We just have to keep battling and hopefully at some point we will turn it around,” he said.
At 39-40, the Mets once again find themselves under .500 for the season.
Posted by Bill on 1:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 26, 2008
All Wright with the Mets
THE WRIGHT REST – Apparently giving David Wright a day off worked out for everyone. The Mets third baseman homered twice and drove in three runs in the team’s x-x victory over the Mariners Wednesday night at Shea Stadium.
Wright blasted a solo shot to left field on the first pitch he saw from Miguel Batista in the first inning to extend the Mets’ lead to 2-0. Wright then added a two-run shot in the second, on a 1-0 pitch from Batista, over the left-field wall.
“As much as I don’t like taking days off, I think it will help me in the long run,” said Wright, who felt “crisper” at the plate Wednesday. “The bat feels a little lighter. Pitches I was just missing and not getting to before the day off I got to tonight. More importantly a break mentally – 24 hours off – I didn’t really think about anything baseball related.”
Manager Jerry Manuel laughed when asked if he planned to give Wright more days off in the future.
“Tomorrow (Thursday). He can take tomorrow off,” said Manuel, about the Mets scheduled off day before starting a four-game series with the Yankees Friday.
****
Wright joked after the game that pressure from Billy Wagner's children helped wake up his bat. Apparently, Wagner's children have Wright on their fantasy baseball team and had threatened to cut him if he didn't improve soon.
CRUNCH TIME FOR THE METS – The four-game series with the Mets is the start of a challenging stretch for the Mets leading up to the All-Star break. After the Subway Series, the Mets head out on the road for a four-game series in St. Louis and then four more in Philadelphia against the NL East-leading Phillies.
“It’s a very good stretch for us and we don’t get a day off to rest anyone,” Manuel said. “We have to get up emotionally and stay up for two weeks.”
PLAYFUL PEDRO – Before Wednesday’s game, Pedro Martinez was in a jovial mood in the Mets’ clubhouse.
A local television reporter tried to interview Martinez when he arrived around 4 p.m. Martinez declined the request and said he only talked when there was something important to talk about after a game.
The reporter replied that he only wanted to ask Martinez about the upcoming Subway Series with the Yankees.
“Subway series?” Martinez responded. “I’ve never taken the subway.”
Martinez then told the reporter to grab a media guide and he can see for himself how the right-hander has faired against the Yankees over the years.
“I’m sure it will be an interesting read,” Martinez added.
JAPAN’S FAVORITE SON – Chatted with a couple Japanese reporters during dinner in the media lunch room and asked them who the most popular MLB player from their country happens to be. (Hideki Irabu did not receive any votes)
The winner was Ichiro, who they referred to as “the King.” The Red Sox’ Daisuke Matsuzaka and Dodgers’ closer Takashi Saito seemed to be next in line.
When I inquired about Hideki Okajima, I only received several chuckles.
CELEBRATING A WIN – So how did Seattle starting pitcher R.A. Dickey spend the next day after blanking the Mets for seven innings in an 11-0 win?
The Mariners’ pitcher went to the Museum of Modern Art for the day. So much for the dumb jock theory for all major-league players.
Posted by Bill on 12:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 12, 2008
The great battles of Texas and New York
Interleague play is back, and the Mets and Yankees have the opportunity to renew two of the biggest rivals in franchise history this week (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Who can forget all the great games over the years between the Mets and Rangers for the Nolan Ryan Cup? And will it be the Yankees or the Astros that emerges with this year’s Roger Clemens Cup?
Yawn.
As much as I enjoy six games between the Yankees and Mets each regular season and two Cubs-White Sox series in the Windy City, this weekend’s slate of games are what is wrong with interleague play.
Outside of the transplanted Texans living in the tri-state area does anyone else get jacked up when the Rangers come to Shea Stadium.
I mean sure, getting the opportunity to see rising star Josh Hamilton mash at Shea will be fun – especially against the Mets’ bullpen – but who else is a crowd draw on the Rangers?
Milton Bradley? Now that could be interesting when MB takes the field at Shea tonight. Wonder if Bradley will want to have a “private talk” with each Met fan in attendance when they boo and jeer him?
The way the Mets are playing though they can’t afford to look passes anyone these days. Texas rolls into town with a better record than the Mets at 34-34 and have been playing better baseball over the past month.
Texas leads the majors in batting average (.285), runs (383) and RBIs (367), and ranks third in home runs (85).
“As tough (Thursday’s) loss is we have a hot Texas ball club coming in to worry about,” Mets third baseman David Wright said after Thursday’s 5-4 loss in 10 innings to the Diamondbacks dropped the New York to 31-34 on the season.
The rest of the interleague slate for the Mets includes: three games in Los Angeles, starting Monday, against the Angels followed by an NL three-game series at the Colorado Rockies. The Mets then return home and host three with the Seattle Mariners – another classic series – before the Yankees come to town. (Don’t forget there’s also a Yanks-Mets game at Yankee Stadium left to be made up as well)
Down in Texas, the highlight of the Yankees three-game in Houston figures to be seeing Joba Chamberlain swing a bat. Chamberlain (1-2, 2.67 ERA), who looked better in his second start last Sunday against Kansas City will open the series tonight against former Yankee Shawn Chacon (2-2, 4.96).
Unfortunately, since Andy Pettitte started Thursday against the A’s he will not get to face his old team.
For the Yankees, after Houston they return home to host three games with the Padres and three with the Reds, who feature rookie sensation Jay Bruce. Then it’s off to Pittsburgh for three games before the Mets’ series.
BACK WHERE IT STARTED – If you think about it, the Mets’ fall actually began around the time interleague play began last month. The Mets limped into Yankee Stadium having lost three of four to the Nationals and went on to beat the Bronx Bombers twice.
Of course any momentum gained from the two-game series quickly extinguished in Atlanta with “Willie-gate” and a four straight losses to the Braves. The Mets are 9-14 since the Yankees’ series and once again Willie Randolph’s job could be in jeopardy when the teams meet again June 27.
The Yankees are 13-9 (not including Thursday night’s game in Oakland) since the first meeting with the Mets.
WHERE’S THE RUNS? – Mets closer Billy Wagner has blown three straight save opportunities, but his teammate says the offense is to blame for the team’s recent struggles.
“Billy is the least of our concerns now,” Wright said. “We have to start swinging the bats better and getting some runs and putting teams away when we have the opportunity.”
The Mets rank 15th in RBIs (289), 21st in homers (56) and 22nd in batting average (.254).
Wright and his teammates have a chance to get well this weekend. The Rangers have the highest ERA in baseball at 5.06.
Posted by Bill on 10:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bacon, big shots and a guy named Bradley …
Not sure when bacon, sausage and hamburgers became “health food” items, but that’s what was on the menu in the press lunchroom Thursday afternoon at Shea Stadium on Fitness and Nutrition Education Day.
Apparently, the information was only for the 10,000 local elementary and middle school students in attendance because there was a whole lot of bacon going down in the lunchroom. (I went with a turkey sandwich). I guess part of the educational experience was for the children to see what you can look like when you eat press box food nightly – I’m thinking “Scared Straight.”
Today’s brush with greatness – Sitting next to me in the press box for the game is former ESPN and current MSNBC broadcaster Keith Olbermann. He’s chatting with Lupica.
Welcome to Shea, Milton! – Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez might want to be on their best behavior in the TV booth this weekend with the Texas Rangers’ Milton Bradley around.
The violatial Bradley flipped out Wednesday night in Kansas City over comments he heard from Royals’ announcer Ryan Lefebvre during the game.
Lefebvre was praising Bradley’s teammate Josh Hamilton for being able to turn his life around after almost ruining it due to a drug problem and added "it doesn't appear Milton Bradley has done the same thing in his life."
Bradley raced up four flights of stairs after the game to the press box to have a word with Lefebvre after the game. General manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington caught Bradley before he got to Lefebvre and escorted him back to the locker room.
"All I want to do is play baseball and make a better life for my kid than I had, that's it," said a teary-eyed Bradley afterwards. "I love all you guys. ... I'm strong, but I'm not that strong."
Maybe with Bradley in town it will add some spice to the “BIG” Rangers-Mets series upcoming this weekend. Now that I think of it, Hernandez vs. Bradley could be good stuff
…. More on the big interleague matchups for the Yankees and Mets in the next blog.
Great pitching matchup today at Shea - Dan Haren vs. Johan Santana. Mets up 1-0 in second on a homer from Ramon "I knew it was a 1 p.m. game" Castro.
Santana is dealing - five Ks through two innings and struck out the side in the second. Mets' fans have been waiting for this!!
Posted by Bill on 1:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 4, 2008
All about aces .....
A few tidbits and items from Tuesday’s Blue Jays-Yankees game and on the return of Pedro Martinez:
JOBA CHAPTER I – The best part about Tuesday’s outing by Joba Chamberlain is that it’s over. The Yankees’ 22-year-old didn’t say as much after the game, but just having one start under his belt should lift a tremendous weight – the weight of Yankee nation – off his shoulders.
“It was his first start and his was not as sharp as he wanted to be,” Yankees skipper Joe Girardi said. “I think Joba expects to be perfect every time out.”
In 21/3 innings, Chamberlain was hardly perfected with one hit, two runs (one earned), four walks, three strikeouts and one balk. However, he did retire the side in the second inning and kept his fastball up around 94-98 mph during the 62-pitch outing.
“It’s a learning experience and I’ll try to be better next time out,” Chamberlain said. “They (the Blue Jays) are a veteran ball club and they came in with a plan. … It’s something to build off of.”
Chamberlain, who will start Sunday against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium and likely have around an 80 pitch count, said he physically felt fine on the mound and his legs felt good after 62 pitches. He did expect more a longer outing, though.
“(My goal) wasn’t 21/3 innings,” he said. “I would have liked three or four (innings).”
PEDRO RETURNS – While the Bronx did not have a happy outcome for Joba on Tuesday, the Mets have to feel good about the performance of Pedro Martinez,
In only his second start of the season – and first since opening week when he injured his hamstring – Martinez tossed 109 pitches over six innings. Getting out of a jam with two runners on in the sixth and no outs – and not allowing a run - was particularly impressive.
Martinez yielded seven hits and three earned runs while striking out three and walking three in a 9-6 win. He even went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI.
If the Mets can get this kind of performance every fifth game from Pedro they’ll take it in a heartbeat. With John Maine hot and cold at times
and Oliver Perez in the tank, a Johan Santana-Martinez 1-2 punch is just what the Mets need to climb back into the National League East race.
Perhaps what’s even more important than having Pedro on the field it the swagger and the voice he brings to the clubhouse. The Mets are in dire need of that even more than just another pitcher on the staff.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DIAMOND – Count Jays pitcher Roy Halladay among the minority at Yankee Stadium Tuesday that was not caught up in the Joba hype.
Halladay was too busy worrying about his own game.
“Obviously you are aware of what’s going on in the game, but I am trying to worry about what I need to get done and do,” Halladay said.
The Jays’ staff ace said working on a restricted count – something he has dealt with before and Chamberlain had Tuesday – is not an easy thing for a pitcher.
“I did it here (at Yankee Stadium) late in the year with a 70-pitch count,” Halladay said. “When you have to make that emphasis on trying to cut down pitches it’s tough. Sometimes you get away from pitching pitches because you trying to conserve, so it’s definitely a tough thing to do. You just have to be cautious going on that there and worry about it. But, I always found it a little bit difficult.”
Halladay allowed six hits and two runs over six innings against the Yankees to improve his record to 7-5 on the season.
HEY, THESE TEAMS ARE GOOD – The days of the Yankees considering the AL East championship and a trip to the postseason their birth right are over – especially this season.
New York sank into last place again after Tuesday night’s loss to the Jays 9-3 and the Orioles won 5-3 over Minnesota. The climb out will not be easy with the Rays, Jays and Red Sox playing solid baseball.
“Everyone is doing great,” Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi said. “Actually in all of baseball (teams are playing well). We caught some teams early when they were struggling, but for the most part everyone is playing pretty decent baseball now when we run into them. We have to get a little more consistent ourselves.”
By the way, Giambi left Tuesday’s game after being hit by a Halladay pitch, but X-rays were negative. Giambi was hit in the sixth inning, but stayed in the game until the eighth.
“He’s day-to-day,” Girardi said.
Posted by Bill on 1:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
