213 Miles From Shea

Time for our first check in on former Mets. With a high amount of team turnover in the last few seasons, there are former Mets all over the league. All of the stats are as of end of business Saturday:

Reyes: 14 H, 61 AB, .230 BA, 5 2B, 2 3B, 6 R, 4 SB, 2 RBI

Beltran: 17 H, 53 AB, .321 BA, 5 HR, 13 R, 3 SB, 8 RBI

K-Rod: 0-1, 5.14 ERA, 8 G, 1 GF, SV, 7.0 IP

Capuano: 1-0, 16.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 3 GS, 15 K, 1.313 WHIP

Pagan: 14 H, 60 AB, .233 BA, 3 2B, 3 3B, HR, 9 R, SB, 3 RBI

First, even with Tejada’s current “slump” he is still quite a bit ahead of Jose Reyes in production. Who would have thought of that? Beltran has also been killing it this year. Who would have thought that at this point in the season Beltran would have more stolen bases than Jose Reyes.

K-Rod, after being a really effective set-up man last year, has gotten off to a rocky start. Capuano has been effective, but not worth the price tag the Mets would have had to pay during the off season.

As for Pagan, he has played well against the Mets, but not so well over all on the season.

I have seen my fair share of memorable baseball games at the ballpark. In Baltimore I saw Lee Mazzilli throw bubblegum out onto the field after a Chris Gomez foul ball was correctly called a foul ball instead of a home run. I saw Nick Markakis hit three home runs in one game. I’ve seen Chris Capuano pitch an incredible game, one of the best pitched games of the 2011 season. I’ve seen Felipe Lopez hit a grand slam off of Aaron Heilman in relief of Oliver Perez in DC. I’ve seen the Mets hit into what felt like 21 ground ball double plays against the Nationals. My first game at Citi Field, my only Mets home game in 2009, was when the Mets hit into an unassisted triple play to end a baseball game for the second time in modern baseball history.

I have never seen an ending to a game like today’s.

A friend of mine from college invited me out to the game today (Hey Dan!, also Dan was at the game where Felipe Lopez hit the grand slam off of Heilman) and the ending was just wild. The crowd was uneasy as Francisco took to the mound to start off the ninth inning. He allowed a lead off hit to Posey but was able to bounce back and get Huff out. At that point he allowed a run to score and left the game with runners on the bases. Byrdak came in to get his out and Rauch came into get his out.

Except not. As four Mets converged in shallow right there was that nagging sensation that something was about to go terribly wrong. The ball fell, two runs scored. Brand new ball game.

At this point the mood in the crowd is disbelief. It looked like we were all about to go home, and well, now we have to face the possibility of extra innings. Cue the bottom of the ninth.

Duda got on base. Thole bunted him over. Tejada got on base. Baxter got on base. Bases loaded. One out.

Infield all the way in. Outfield shallow. Go time for Captain Kirk. A deep flyball, in or out of the ball park ends the game.

Kirk hits it down the first base line into a tailor made double play ball. The ball is thrown to Posey at Home Plate for the first out. Hairston slides in to disrupt the throw as the ball goes back to first for the probably inning ending double play. Instead Posey makes a bad throw, and the winning run comes across to score.

At this point the mood is joy, and utter confusion. Watching this live, without the benefit of replay on television or commentary meant having to recreate the entire set of events in our minds, and of course the talk about the “if” game as we left the ball park. What if Pelfrey stayed in to finish the game? What if Rauch came out in the first place? What if, in the bottom of the eighth, Davis doesn’t get picked off and Wright doesn’t get caught stealing?

And, as Dan’s Father pointed out, the incredible story line of how Tejada goes from being the goat with the pop up, to the hero scoring the run.

What a bizarre game. But hey, you never know what you are going to see when you go to the ball park.

The Mets and Giants play game two of their four game set this afternoon as Mike Pelfrey takes on Vogelsong. In the first game, the Mets were able to rally in the ninth inning to bring the game to extras, but then lost. The Mets look to end their three game slide today where they need to get their pitching and hitting to coincide again. In Pelfrey’s first two starts he has pitched 11.2 innings with an ERA of 3.09. In his second start of the season he pitched 6 innings where he allowed one earned run over 8 hits. Last season he was 1-1 against the Giants in two starts over 13.2 innings with an ERA of 1.98. The Giants have the following numbers against Pelfrey:

Cabrera 3-12
Sandoval 3-13, 2B
Blanco 4-11
Huff 4-12

The Mets bats get a crack at a Ryan Vogelsong today who has pitched 6.1 innings this season allowing 2 ER. Last season he made two starts against the Mets where he pitched 11.0 innings where he allowed 7 ER. The Mets have the following numbers against Ryan in his career:

Wright 2-7
Murphy 2-5
Duda 0-4
Thole 2-4
Davis 1-2, HR
Hairston 2-3
Tejada 1-2

Let’s Go Mets!

The Giants come into town to take on the Mets in a four game stretch. April is a tough month for the Mets as they had four consecutive in division series followed up by the Giants. Anyway, the Mets look to rebound from their last two starts as they take on Barry Zito tonight behind Jon Niese. Niese is 2-0 on the season with a 2.13 ERA over 12.2 innings pitched. Niese doesn’t really have numbers against Giants last year as he saw 0.1 innings in relief where he allowed 2 ER. In 2010 he made a start against San Francisco where he allowed 1 ER in 7 innings of work as he picked up the loss. The Giants have the following numbers against the Mets:

Cabrera 3-7, 2B
Theriot 1-3
Blanco 1-4
Sandoval 1-4
Huff 2-2
Posey 1-3, 3B

The Mets will get a look at Barry Zito, who has been on this season with a 1-0 record and a 1.13 ERA over 16.0 innings of work where in his first start he pitched a complete game shut out. In his second start he allowed 3 runs, 2 earned in 7 innings. He did not pitch against the Mets in 2011 however in 2010 he made one start against the Mets where he held them scoreless for 8.0 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against Zito:

Hairston 7-27, 2B, HR
Wright 4-14, 2B
Bay 2-8
Cedeno 2-4
Davis 0-3
Tejada 1-3

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets play their second rubber game of the season this afternoon as they look to rebound from last night. Santana had a rough start last night and ultimately the Mets could not back him up with runs. In today’s game, R.A. Dickey will take on Jair Jurrjens. Dickey this season has a 2-0 record in as many starts over 13.0 innings while allowing 3 ER (2.08 ERA), 5 BB and 10 strikeouts. His first start of the season was against the Braves as he picked up the win in 6 innings of work while allowing 2 earned runs over 3 hits. The Braves have the following numbers against Dickey:

Bourn 7-23, 2B, HR
Uggla 0-23
Hinske 3-20, 2 2B
McCann 3-17, HR
Prado 3-20, HR
Freeman 4-12, 2 2B

The Mets will get another look at Jair Jurrjens this season who is 0-1 over 2 starts and 9.1 innings with an ERA of  7.71. As of today, Jurrjens leads the majors in homers allowed at 4. When he started his season with the Mets, he pitched 4.1 innings where he allowed 7 hits and 3 ER while picking up the loss. The Mets have the following numbers against Jair:

Wright 8-32, 2B, 3B, 2 HR
Murphy 7-25, 2 2B, 3B
Bay 4-18, 2B
Thole 4-13, 2 2B, 3B
Davis 0-9
Duda 1-4, HR

Let’s Go Mets!

When I got to work this morning, my twitter (@213MFS, by the way) was blowing up with messages about the Jose Reyes video tribute the Mets are planning next week. After thinking about at various points about it over the day, I’m not upset at the Mets for doing this, but I don’t understand why they are doing this. I’m not angry, I still like Jose Reyes and I completely understand why he went to Miami.

However, there really is no reason for the team to honor him, because that’s what a video does, it honors him coming back to the ballpark If he stays healthy, he will be coming back to the ballpark a lot in the 6 years.

The best I can rationalize about the Mets decision to make a video is that he was key player of the Mets and an icon in Queens for the last 9 years. However, he left in his prime, and even though the Mets never offered him contract, the Mets wanted him back (at the right price).

With Piazza it was different. Piazza was a generational player (Jose is borderline) and Piazza left the Mets at the end of his career. It was known throughout the season that it was a separation that was needed for both Piazza and the Mets. When he came back, he wasn’t on a division rival thus it was the only time he would be back in Queens. In addition, at that time it wasn’t known yet if he would play another season, so it was a unique opportunity to honor Piazza.

With Reyes in his prime and playing on a rival team that plays in New York between 9 and 10 times a season, a video tribute doesn’t fit. Piazza had an opportunity to play in 3 games in New York (maybe 4, I don’t know how long the series was), Reyes will have about 60 chances + a contract after those 6 years.

I’m not angry or upset they are honoring Reyes, I just don’t get it.

The Mets look to win their second straight series and their second series against the Braves in 2012 tonight as they take on the Braves in Atlanta. Last night’s game featured a very strong outing from Dillon Gee as he dominated the Braves lineup and prevented any rallies from happening. Ike Davis homered for his second straight game, putting the Mets ahead 4-1. Jason Bay ended up making a huge catch to rob a homer, and then hit one himself to set the Mets out ahead. Tonight the Mets look to back Johan Santana as he takes on Randall Delgado.

Johan Santana makes his third start of the season and his second start against the Braves in 2012 tonight. On the season so far Santana has made two starts allowing 1 ER in 10.0 innings with 5 BB and 13 K. When he pitched against Atlanta on Opening Day, he shutout the Braves in 5 innings of work. The Braves have the following numbers against Johan:

Diaz 17-34, 4 2B, HR (…wow)
McCann 8-31, 2B, 3 HR
Chipper 7-27, HR
Prado 4-22, 2B
Uggla 1-21, HR
Bourn 5-14
Heyward 1-10

The Mets bats will get their first look at Randall Delgado tonight who in his first start in 2012, picked up the win in 5 innings of work, allowing 2 earned runs, walking 2 and striking out 6. Last season he made 7 starts for the Braves where he logged 35.0 innings with a 1-1 record an an ERA of 2.83. Not surprisingly, Randall Delgado has not recorded any major league at bats against anyone on the Mets roster.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets travel down to Atlanta tonight to take on the Braves for the second time this year. In the first meeting this year, the Mets took all three games on their way to their quick start to the season. Recently, the Braves have Larry back in their lineup and are riding a 5 game win streak, pulling up to a game back behind the Amazins, and 1.5 games behind the Braves. The Mets will be sending out Gee for his first look at the Braves this year while the Mets bats will get a second look at Tommy Hanson.

Gee dropped his first game of the season as he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned over 8 hits, a walk and 6 strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Last season he was 2-1 in 6 starts against the Braves over 32.0 innings with a 3.38 ERA. The Braves have the following numbers against Dillon Gee in his career:

Prado 4-17, 2B
Uggla 3-16, 2B, 3B
Heyward 4-10, HR
McCann 2-11, 2B
Bourn 3-10
Freeman 1-11
Chipper 1-8, 2B

The Mets bats will get a second look at Tommy Hanson this season. In two starts this season, Hanson is 1-1 over 10.0 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Tommy faced the Mets on Opening Day where he allowed one earned run in 5 innings, picking up the loss against Santana. Last season he was 0-2 vs the Mets as he allowed 10 ER in 8.1 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Hanson:

Wright 3-20, 2 2B
Thole 8-18, 2B, HR
Davis 2-12, 2B
Bay 3-11, HR
Duda 3-8, HR
Murphy 5-8, 2 2B
Tejada 0-7

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets look for the sweep today as they take on the Phillies in Philly in a Sunday afternoon game celebrating the legacy of Jackie Robinson. The major story in yesterday’s game surrounded David Wright. Was he rushed to play to soon? How will his pinky handle the bat and throws? Wright answered everyone as he took the first pitch he saw to the deepest part of Citizens Bank Park. The Mets would later tack on more runs from GDP from Bay and 2 run homer from Lucas Duda. For the second day in a row, the Mets had strong starting pitching from Jon Niese and good relief work. The Mets will try to repeat all of this behind Mike Pelfrey as he takes on Cole Hamels.

Pelfrey picked up a no decision in his first start of the season where he pitched 5 innings, allowed 3 ER over 10 hits while walking 1 and striking out 8. It was a very Mike Pelfrey start where at times he seemed awesome and at other times he made you want to throw the remote through the television. Last season he made 6 starts against the Phillies for 28.0 innings and a 7.71 ERA. The Phillies have the following numbers on Mike:

Victorino 15-48, 3 2B, 3B, HR
Rollins 12-41, 3B, HR
Ruiz 8-26, 2B
Polanco 6-25, 2B
Pence 7-18, 2B, HR
Wigginton 1-11

Cole Hamels had a rough start to the season where he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned over 5.1 innings with 8 hits and 9 strikeouts. Last season, Cole was Cole where he pitched 216.0 innings with a 2.79 ERA.  There was one team that consistently gave him trouble last year, and that was the New York Mets who in 4 games, limited Cole to 21.0 innings of work with a 6.86 ERA off of 26 hits, 9 walks and 23 strikeouts. The Mets have the following numbers on Hamels in his career:

Wright 12-39, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR
Hairston 8-20, 4 2B, 3 HR
Tejada 2-12
Bay 4-10, 2 2B
Pelfrey 3-9, 2B (Seriously)
Davis 3-7
Murphy 3-6, 2B, HR

Let’s Go Mets! Beat the Phils!

The Mets took the opener of the series last night by the score of 5-2 as the Mets powered 2 homers out of the ball park as the pitching staff kept striking out the Phillies lineup. In today’s match up, the Mets bats will go up against Vance Worley as the Mets send out Jon Niese. In his first start of the season, Niese flirted with history as he took a no hitter in the 7th inning. In that start Niese struck out 7 batters but was tagged for 3 earned runs as things started to unravel in the 7th. Last season he faced the Phillies 5 times over 27.2 innings and a 5.53 ERA over a 2-3 record. The Phillies have the following numbers against the Mets:

Polanco 9-21, 4 2B
Rollins 4-16
Victorino 4-15, HR
Mayberry 4-15, 2B, 2 HR
Ruiz 5-14
Pence 2-11

The Mets bats will take a crack at Vance Worley tonight, who in his first start of the season pitching 6 innings, allowing 1 run over 5 hits. He pitched in 5 games against the Mets last year, 4 starts, over 23.0 innings with a 3.13 ERA. Overall last season he pitched 131.2 innings with an ERA of 3.01 and a record of 11-3. The Mets have the following numbers against Vance:

Bay 2-8
Turner 4-10, 2 2B
Thole 3-8, 2B
Murphy 4-8
Tejada 2-8
Duda 1-4

Let’s Go Mets!