Season ending surgery for Johan. Memo to Carlos and Jose: if your problems require surgery, just get it done. Get it done now and just be healthy come March 2010.
J.J. Putz was scheduled to have a rehab start tonight, but was scratched. Heck, shut him down too. Just be healthy for 2010.
Is there anyone else that should be shut down that is not already? Luis Castillo? Frankie Rodriguez? Eh, those guys can keep on playing, not sure I'd be too worried about their inevitable injuries. We can simply go after Orlando Hudson and offer Wags a chance to come back and close, since that's what he wants. Come to think of it, can you imagine K-Rod getting hurt, expected to miss the first few months of 2010, and the Mets sign Wagner to close? Yeah I'm still dreaming about that three-closer bullpen that was not to be.
Wagner, of course, was traded to Boston. I know they've won enough recently, but go Sox. Give us something to cheer about if the LCS and WS goes through the Bronx and Philly.
Seriously what did it? Was it really demolishing Shea Stadium? How could it be? It was the site of failure in recent seasons. Firing Willie Randolph after a win? Mishandling the health of a human being with his concussion by sticking him on a plane to Colorado? Something, something has cursed this franchise. Somebody please find me a team with more bad luck this season than this bunch in the history of team sports.
Why the agony after another expected loss against the Phillies, where Ryan Howard proved no park can hold him? Soon after the game it was revealed that Jeff Francoeur tore a ligament in his thumb. Several minutes later, Johan, the final major piece (we thought David's injury was the capper, but why stop at the hitters) of this team that was injury free now has to miss his next scheduled start to have his elbow examined. Seriously, this is a joke, right? Because you can't joke around like this.
The topping today was MLB's live look-in feature, a very nice addition I must say, which cut-in to the action for the bottom of the 9th. It's nice to see some of the afternoon action when you're stuck at the office. Problem is they were airing the Philly feed. The sound was muted, as I still had Howie and Wayne on Gameday Audio, but the video was enough to make me sick. Philly fans have taken over Citi Field and they were whooping it up for the final outs and CSN, whatever their network is, was showing you red in the stands between every pitch.
Ranger tickets will be ready for pickup next week for subscribers. We are counting down the days to training camp. This baseball season has to end.
Friday: Up by a score of 2-1 in the 9th, K-Rod arrives in a save situation, promptly walks the leadoff batter and all hell breaks loose. Some questionable balls and missed home plate calls aside, he still gave up the walks and the hits that made this one a 6-2 loss. If you can't throw strikes, you have no excuse.
Oliver Perez actually looked dominant through six, but it started to fall apart in the seventh. Encouraging signs? Maybe. That hesitation in his delivery could be just the thing he needs mentally, sort of like that change he made last season when Peterson was let go.
Why are both Cory Sullivan and Jeremy Reed on this team? They are two of exactly the same type of player. Good defense, a lefty bat, can play all three outfield positions. Move one of them for something.
Saturday: Ah, this is the type of snoozer you are looking for from a team that's out of it following a crushing defeat. Alex Cora pulls a homerun into Julio Franco territory and that's that.
It was positive to watch Bobby Parnell get the start, but he was throwing way too many pitches, thus reaching his limit for the evening in the third inning. Perhaps he can get a little deeper next week. Nelson Figueroa and Tim Redding were okay, but how screwed up is the staff right now with a short guy starting and two long men pitching in relief? I think we're all done with Sean Green, who had no control on this day once again.
We get a blown call at the plate go in our favor this time, but to no avail. How bad have the umpires been this season?
Sunday: Johan was just what the doctor ordered. Luis Castillo actually returned to the lineup. Anderson Hernandez had two hits. You know things have to be turning the corner when that happens.
Who was that guy pitching the ninth for the Mets? I like his stuff, and he can bring it up to the mid-90s- we haven't had a guy like that in the ninth since Billy Wagner last season.
Greetings from downtown Montreal, where the only sign of sports is advertisements of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Everyone on their hockey team played with someone else last season, so how can you expect pictures of them anywhere?
Word comes from back home that the Mets won yesterday. The score was 5-1 and the gist of it was 1. Santana was pitching and 2. the Mets did not hit any homeruns.
I only got internet access today after a mix-up with the wireless here. What they call wireless is not exactly that- you use a cable they provide. Anyway, after seeing some highlights of the game, you realize the Mets could have easily blown this one, and it would have been bad. Our lefties in the pen could not get an out, yet Sean Green and Brian Stokes someone managed to get just enough to preserve the 8th for Francisco Rodriguez in the 9th. And what a 9th that was. A nice clean 10-pitch-two-strikeout performance. Of course, by that time the score was already 5-1, thanks to some more smallball by the Mets which included a suicide squeeze.
Just looking at the highlights on mlb.com made me glad I did not have to endure the Fox telecast. Use your mute buttons when watching the ESPN feed tonight. I'll check in with the Gameday audio feed.
Now that was the type of outing from the Johan Santana we all know and love. He threw strikes, made it look easy right throughout, then hung in there when things were getting dicey and he was well over 100 pitches.
Jeff Francoeur contributed in his first at-bat with a 2-rbi single, not the prettiest of hits, but a hit nonetheless. The Mets are 1-0 with him in the lineup, what's not to like?
Maybe, just maybe a reserve player can step up to be a solid player who deserves to be an everyday player. Angel Pagan, can you possibly be the one?
After ragging on Omir Santos a couple of posts in a row, he comes out and gets three hits. Who should I trash today? That Pelfrey kid has been horrible, how many innings will he last today?
That about describes the Mets situation after being swept in a three game series in Philadelphia. With every runner the Mets put on base (not that there were many), you kind of waited for the rally-killer in the form of a double play or strikeout.
Johan was solid, only giving up the two solo homeruns, although he only had three strikeouts. I'll feel a lot better about him being back once the K's are back to the 5-10 per game level.
Despite being an absolute double play machine, you can't fault Tatis today. He hit that ball hard, and the Phillies defense is sucking everything up. Since when is Ryan Howard all of a sudden Keith Hernandez at first base?
If you are in a fantasy league and have unlimited transactions my advice to you is simply pick up the next starter vs the Mets. That means check for Kershaw, Kuroda and Wolf on the waiver wire this week.
Didn't that fourth inning just about sum up this losing streak, which is now at five?
Fernando Martinez hit his first career homerun. Too bad is came in the same game where he literally fell on his face in centerfield with the bases loaded, leading to a 4-run play capped by Johan throwing the ball away. Send the kid down.
Speaking of Johan, for how many starts in a row are we going to hear about him not having his best stuff? You wonder exactly how much of a pass he is going to get with every start in which he lacks his one-time pinpoint control, which are coming at an alarming rate. Walking a pitcher? Haven't we had enough of that after Sunday night? I guess some credit goes to Ryan Braun, who really went down to get that low pitch and hit it well to clear the bases.
I want my .300 hitting, 25+ HR David Wright instead of .350 slap hitter David. He hit one that was vintage David, outta here to right-center. The only positive of the night. The kid hitting the homerun in the ninth followed a double play- whoop-de-damn-doo at that point.
***
Frankly, I though Scott Gomez was untradeable, but it happened. This is a great move, even if we got a bag of peanuts in return. No disrespect to Gomer, who I didn't mind in his time here, but the salary was just way too much in this cap era.
However, it's July 1. The worst day of the year. Who will the Rangers overpay this year now that they have a little cap room?
For the second straight series, the Mets win the first game, but lose the second and now face yet another two out of three series loss.
What's there to say about this one? Four hits on the day, with a sleepwalk from the third inning on. Beltran singled in the 9th to give us hope that maybe, just maybe, David Wright would come up with a dramatic game tying 9th inning homerun when you least expect it. Instead he flails away at two pitches in the dirt to end the game. Sigh.
Pedro Feliciano made an appearance yet again. The guy does not get sore. It helps when you throw only a few pitches a day, but damn.
At least Johan was Johan again. However it was the same story with him as earlier in the season. Locked into a pitcher's duel, and coming out on the short side.
Could it get any better for a Pittsburgh sports fan yesterday? If you had great seats to the Pirates game last night and could not refuse them despite wanting to watch Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night, you had almost the best of both worlds. A just-over-two-hour baseball game in which your team continues to make the New York team look like the one that's been losing for almost twenty years and a hop over to the Igloo, a short walk across the bridge, to join the party watching the hockey. A fun night all around. Screw you guys.
I give up trashing this city and it's teams. The Mets need to get out fast and we need to forget about terrible towels and white-outs once and for all. Oh wait, it's a four game series? At least the pain will be quick with an early day game after night game.
Johan was cruising last night. I missed the first inning and my only concern was "did he give up a hit?" Not only did he not, but he retired the first ten in order. This was going to be the one, especially after the two sparkling defensive plays the Mets made. But it was not to be, and then later it fell apart in the sixth.
Have I told you I hate the Penguins? So much for a sweep.
It's not good enough. Johan pitched yesterday. How many errors did he have to fight through for yet another start? There were another two from Ramon Martinez. Which leads us to the injury situation.
Jose Reyes continues to be out. Then last night, Carlos Beltran has some knee issues, giving us the adventures of Gary Sheffield in left field instead of DH. At least we did not lose much with Jeremy Reed in center field (who would have played left). He mad a nice play late in the game, bouncing himself off the big wall in left center after making a running catch.
I think Johan started that incident with Kevin Youkilis after hitting him in the elbow. Youk's elbow was clearly above home plate; the pitch was not even inside, it was just high. Johan was peeved and let him know it, which was good for him because he took that anger and shut everyone down the rest of the way. I still can't hate Youkilis. Must be that thing with the Yankees.
I'm with Gary on his opinion of the Yankees-Phillies series. I could not care less because it's May. Part of me was happy the Yanks finally lost after how many games already. But then there were the Phillies, who slugged their way to another victory. They hit some bombs in that park last night.
Friday: Livan Hernandez was awful early and the Mets were trailing reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum by a score of 5-1. It did not look good. You were surprised to see him bat in the bottom of the 6th after he gave up a couple in the top half. I guess the Giants did not want to go to their bullpen and were they ever right. The Mets eventually got to Lincecum in the 7th, knocked him out and pounded on the relief core, highlighted by a three-run double by David Wright. Does anyone notice Brian Stokes has an ERA of 0.56? The Giants closer, the funny looking guy with the strange haircut was touched up for some winning runs in the 9th for the second straight night. Saturday: The Big Unit is done. There's a first time for everything and on Saturday, Randy Johnson gave up four hits to the first four batters in a game for the first time ever. Eventually something like that is going to happen if you keep pitching when you're pushing 50. Johan was not his usual-self, which of course was going to happen in a game where he got plenty of run support. Can Eric Karros kiss the Mets ass anymore than he did on that Fox telecast? At least the Giants had their hometown guy, Jon Miller, doing the game on Sunday night, the ESPN sportsync radio special (I did not get a chance to use the handy sync radio for the Fox game as I did not watch live and had to settle for DVR- at least a familiar voice in Kenny Albert was doing the play-by-play). Sunday: Mike Pelfrey committed three balks. You only hope this is not the start of Chuck Knoblauch/Rick Ankiel-like mental problems. If it is, we're in trouble. Matt Cain was walking the country early in the game and the Mets did not take advantage. Add Alex Cora to the list of injuries, forcing Fernando Tatis to play shortstop for the first time in a very long time. I cannot recommend the sportsync radio enough to avoid listening to Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips. All I hear the next day is people bitching about having to listen to that broadcast. Fix it.
Johan Santana was brilliant again tonight. He got the loss. The boxscore says he gave up seven hits, but really, how many "hits" did he give up? The defense let him down. You had a feeling David Wright was going to bounce that throw in the first inning; it felt like he had to make that throw from the outfield when he fielded that one.
For all the questions of why Jerry Manual left Pedro Feliciano in to face lefty killer Matt Diaz, we know that it should not have ever come to that matchup had it not been for the Jose Reyes boot. That being said, do you want a Feliciano vs Diaz (who had been struggling vs anyone this season) matchup or a Stokes vs lefty pinch hitter, like Greg Norton. I'll take the former- Pedro's your guy in that spot, he's gotta get the job done. You could say you wanted to see Parnell pitch the whole inning, but what's Pedro's role in the bullpen if he does not come in to face their best hitter in the 7th, a lefty in a big spot?
Stokes and Takahashi were bound to give up a run at some point.
Derek Lowe looked good, but remember, he wanted four years. Give that contract some time.
NHL playoffs: -When you watch two teams you despise, the best thing in that situation is to watch the visiting team win a couple of games in a row in overtime. Nothing like seeing the fans stunned. I really hate Pittsburgh, I'm kind of rooting for the lesser of two evils, the Caps, in game 7. But go Boston or Carolina in the next round. -Roberto Luongo gave up 7 goals. Wow. Bye bye Vancouver. Still don't like you since '94.
Johan vs Chan Ho. Sounds like trouble. How many times to you see a lopsided pitching matchup like this one but it never turns out the way it is supposed to? But Johan did what he's been doing all season, and you have to go back to a game last July before you find a less than stellar start from him.
Chan Ho Park however, was nothing like his last start vs the Mets last week. Five innings of no-hit ball?
Why the hell does Jose Reyes continue to slide headfirst into firstbase? The day will happen- following the slide, the trainer will come out, he's out of the game, we find out about a fracture or torn ligament the next day, and he's out several weeks.
Chase Utley hit a ball that was clearly out in Citizens Bank Park, but a harmless flyout yesterday. Take that!
For the second straight day, the Mets benefit from a throwing error by the opposing thirdbaseman, this time scoring the only run they needed in the 9th inning. Thank you Pedro Feliz.
Great job by Pedro Feliciano in the 8th inning with JJ Putz not available, striking out Ryan Howard. Other than the K, a flyout to the warning track in left field would have been just as nice.
There's nothing like a midweek day game. Most people are working, but a bunch of them are enjoying a relaxing day at the ballpark. Unless you're a Met fan.
The Mets found a way to blow another one today. It was the first weekday matinee of the season, and my first of the season as well. Last season I went to four. The Mets are now 0-5 since last season in these games. All of them memorable:
4/8/08- Opening day vs Philadelphia. We're looking good with a 2-0 lead after 6 until the bullpen and some shoddy defense takes over, a sign of things to come. Phillies spoil the home opener with a 5-2 win.
4/30/08- A beautiful sunny day, yet the game was delayed 40 minutes. Not a cloud in the sky, but a water main break in the area. Oliver Perez gives up a 7-spot in the second inning and the Mets lose 13-1 to the Pirates.
5/15/08- Mike Pelfrey takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning. The problem was the game was still scoreless at that point. The Nationals get a leadoff hit in the 7th to end the bid, and scratch out a run in the 8th. With Carlos Beltran on third and one out in the 9th, Carlos Delgado lines out to first, Beltran's too far from third and gets doubled up.
6/12/08- 4-2 Mets lead the Diamondbacks in the 9th. Enter Sandman. Wagner gives up 2 in the 9th, Heilman one in the 10th and the Mets lose 5-4.
4/29/09- Johan has a new bullpen now to protect his leads. However, up one run in the 8th, JJ Putz walks the first two batters of the inning, a sac bunt and 2-rbi single later the Marlins take the lead. After the Mets have the first two reach base in the bottom of the 9th, they fail to score one, capped by a bizarre decision to pinch hit Omir Santos, who had to run in from the bullpen, for Ramon Castro, who had two hits on the day. Santos popped out to end the game with the bases loaded.
Flashback to 1992. The Rangers were up 2 games to 1 in the second round of the playoffs vs the Pittsburgh Penguins. Up by a score of 3-1 in the second period, Mike Richter lets in an awful goal by Ron Francis from beyond the blue line. We know what happened after that. The goal that gave the Caps a 2-0 lead in game 5 last night gave me the same feeling. It can only go downhill from here.
The game itself was a disgrace. Without Sean Avery in the lineup (a move I actually did not have a problem with), the Rangers rolled over, gave up, and showed no grit and toughness whatsoever. The play that was a microcosm of the whole game was when Erskine was pushing around Callahan and laughing at him, while Cally gave a few token gloves-in-the-face, nothing more. At that spot you just drop them and go. I don't know what he was afraid of- you're not getting suspended for fighting in that situation. At least Torts showed some fire.
Cally is obviously not the problem however. Paging Gomez, Drury, Antropov, and Zherdev! Simeon Varlamov has made the saves he had to make, but he has not faced any sustained pressure at any point since starting game 2. Three goals in the last four games! Lundqvist has won three games for the Rangers, games that easily could have gone the other way. The Caps, on the other hand, have destroyed the Rangers in their two victories. I don't think there ever was this much a pessimistic feeling for a team that had a 3 games to 2 series lead going home for a game 6.
Henrik, please steal us one more tomorrow. I have more confidence against Boston than against the beast that is Alexander Ovechkin.
The other team in D.C. however, is a disgrace. Who the hell is in charge of the Washington Nationals? Let's put together an ensemble of hotheads Scott Olsen, Elijah Dukes and Julian Tavarez. Ryan Zimmerman must love his new ballpark or something, signing a five-year extension. I guess you gotta give the guy credit for being loyal. I'd be looking for free agency as soon as possible.
Johan Santana is locked in and is worth every penny. Four game losing streak? Let me start out by striking out the first six batters I face, to give the team a little boost.
I like Bobby Parnell. Throws hard and throws strikes. Parnell, Putz, and K-Rod, nothing but strikeouts. Total 180 from last year's bullpen, post-Wagner.
Nats, thanks for handing us game 2 of the series this afternoon. Eight runs given up, five of them unearned. Good bounce back game for Mike Pelfrey. He was not spectacular, but all the ground balls he gave up were a good sign. Even most of the base hits he gave up were singles that found holes. No problem with that. He'll just induce a double play.
Washington's baseball team needs a general manager fast, someone who will break up this bunch. Jim Bowden should have been fired a while ago, never mind this scandal that forced his resignation. Just how many starting outfielders are on this team? Did I mention Julian Tavarez already? The guy who admits he signed with them only because no one else wanted him?
The Mets are 0-5 in the last game of a series. The Rangers are home with a chance to advance in the playoffs. Let's lay Washington to rest tomorrow afternoon.
Aside from the new stadium, there has not been opinion and commentary on the Mets themselves here. With opening day now having come and gone, it's time to get going.
We have a bullpen now. Not since 2006 have we been able to say that. Yes it's only one game. But this is exactly what the braintrust had in mind over the winter meetings. Santana-Putz-K-Rod not quite. On this cold and frigid Cincinnati day, we needed Sean Green to come up big as well.
Daniel Murphy is awesome. He's the perfect #2 hitter and showed it with a patient at bat before launching one into the rightfield seats.
Freakin MLB gameday did not pick up the WFAN feed today. So those of us stuck at work without a radio and who did not speak Spanish had to listen to the Cincinnati feed (WADO, home of the Met broadcasts in Spanish, was available on Gameday radio). Made us root harder for Putz when those clowns were hoping for a walk and a blast from Votto in the 8th. Of course they made it a point to remind us that Votto hit a double off JJ while playing for Team Canada in the WBC. Sit down Joey!
Hey, Luis Castillo had a double.
The Mets offense picked up right they left off last season, leaving 50 men on base.
It was opening day, listening to the game at the office was not enough. The DVR was rolling come evening time. Welcome back Gary, Keith, and Ron. I only watched maybe a couple of innings of spring training, all 45 days or so of it.
Oh baby, baseball's back. Thanks to what the Mets have done the past couple of seasons I'm pretty numb to what the Rangers are doing right now. Although the same cities are kind of making it irritating. On the diamond, Philly gets in the last two years because we lose to Florida. Now on the ice, Florida could get in because we lose to Philly.
