213 Miles From Shea

The Mets and Astros play the afternoon rubber game today as they close up their weekend series. The first game featured a weak offensive showing but the Mets were still able to squeak out a win. Last night the Mets bats were awful as there were plenty of batters on base, and there was no hope of getting them home. Well the Mets look to turn that around today as they get behind Robert Allen and beat Bud Norris.

Dickey has been fantastic this season, even though he had a bad start in his last outing where he gave up 5 earned runs in 7 innings against the Marlins (a team that had been giving him trouble this entire season). The last time he faced the Astros he had a very good outing as he picked up the no decision in 8.1 innings of work while allowing only 2 ER. The Astros have these numbers on Dickey:

The Mets batters will have to deal with Bud Norris today who is 6-7 with a 5.03 ERA. Two outings ago he was able to beat the Mets while allowing only 2 ER over 7 innings to the Amazins and in his last outing he was effective again as he allowed only one earned run over 6 innings of work. The Mets have these numbers on him:

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets and the Astros play game two tonight as the Mets look to win their second game in a row. Last night's game featured only 3 hits for the Mets, but they somehow managed to pick up win by scoring 2 runs (one on a sacrifce, the other on a bases loaded walk). In other words, the saving grace for the Mets last night was Mike Pelfrey and the Mets look for that same spark in Johan Santana today.

Santana is 10-8 on the season with a 2.94 ERA and has been hard luck in his last two starts. In his last three games overall he has pitched three complete games but in his last two outings he has been on the losing side. One of those games was against the Houston Astros when Santana's only problem was Hunter Pence who hit a three run jack in the first, and a solo in the 8th, those were the only 4 earned runs he allowed. The Astros have these numbers on Johan:

The Mets get another chance at Brett who is 9-7 with a 3.08 ERA. In his last three games he has pitched 21 innings while allowing only 5 ER with an ERA of 2.14. One of his outings during those three games was against the Mets and he was pretty good as he allowed only 2 ER over 7 innings against them. The Mets have these numbers on Brett:

Lets Go Mets!

In the midst of the season the Mets are having, it is sometimes hard to remember that at its root, baseball is just supposed to be a fun game. Speaking of fun games, check out this funny scene with David Wright and the Philly Phanatic filled a few seasons ago in Philly:

On Wednesday we looked at the first edition of the 2010 Elimination Update where it looked like the Orioles were on the brink of the end with an elimination number of 3. As we look again today, we will see how the Orioles some how have held on some form of mathematical hopes while other teams are falling off fast. While no team has been eliminated yet, the Orioles who looked destined to be eliminated first and still can be today, may be able to push it back so a team like the Pirates get eliminated before them (not that it means anything though, except for pride):

The second opinion may not be in yet (should be coming over the next several days) but the dark news for the Nationals franchise is in that their star phenom pitcher will require Tommy John surgery and will need a recovery time of about 12 months (one year – which is normal for pitchers who have the procedure done).

This is a huge blow for the Nationals for a variety of reasons. The first problem the Nationals have is the same that any team has when they lose a player to injury. Strasburg is one of the best if not the best player on the roster right now due to his early success and his high ceiling. This team needs Strasburg on the roster if they want a chance to win or if they want to be able to attract free agents to get them excited about this team. Now they will have the issue of what will he be like after he came back. There are a good amount of pitchers who have had success after the surgery like Carpenter and Burnett. Than there is one player that is so similar to Strasburg: Kerry Wood. Wood was phenomonal before Tommy John. Since then he still has been good, he has been better than average, but never really returned to his standing as a young breakout star.

The next impact for the Nationals is the money. Strasburg brought in on average 12,000 for games that he was expected to start. It is next to impossible to get tickets for a reasonable price when Strasburg is pitching because the fans know when he is on the mound, they have a much better chance of seeing something special. Not having Strasburg is a critical blow for the economic status of the Nationals, who need help to continue to revitalize their fanbase (and now really need help because Strasburg is where they put all their eggs in the basket).

All of baseball is the final group that feels the negative impact of Strasburg getting injured. His existence on the mound was fantastic for baseball as he brought sold out games on the road no matter where he went. He demanded National TV coverage with people watching across the state getting interested in baseball due to this young star. The baseball card market, which has seen some struggles over the last decade had a peak this summer when Strasburg first made it, dipped when he first got injured, came back when Strasburg came back, and we can all guess where its going now that some Kerry Wood fears are coming to fruition.

Strasburg injured is bad for the Nationals, and bad for Baseball.

The Mets lost an ugly game last night as a 4th inning implosion set the tone for the rest of the night. They look to get back on the winning track against the Astros tonight as they open up a series against them at home. The Mets look for Pelfrey to continue his late resurgence. In his last three games he has pitched 22.0 innings with a 2-1 record while posting an ERA of 1.64. The Astros have these numbers on Mike:

The Mets draw Figueroa again. He has now made two consecutive starts now, including one against the Mets, and he has allowed only 2 ER in 11 innings. He hasn't been stellar against his old team though this year as he has now logged in 7 innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned over 8 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against the former disgruntled (well probably still disgruntled) Met:

Let's Go Mets!

For the last edition of Racing Things At Baseball Stadiums, for now, we
visit Houston for probably the most ridiculous race of all. Unlike the
other races, the ridiculousness isn't just because it is a mascot race,
but the over arching corporate bombardment just makes it very odd.
Behold, the Taco Bell Hot Sauce Race of
Houston:

The Mets almost came back to take one from the Marlins last night but fell just short of the comeback. Tonight the Mets will try to take the rubber game against the fish behind Jon Niese. Niese is 8-5 on the season with a 3.33 ERA and is coming off of a “complete game” 5 inning performance where he allowed one earned run making it now 4 straight games where he has done just that. This season he has made three starts against the Marlins with a 1-2 record and a 3.60 ERA. The Marlins have these numbers on Jon:

The Marlins will be sending out Sanchez to the mound with his 10-8 record and a 3.16 ERA. He has been great in his last 3 games as he has pitched 19.2 innings allowing only 2 ER, or a 0.92 ERA. Against the Mets this year he is 1-1 this season with a 4.62 ERA. The Mets have these numbers on Sanchez:

Lets Go Mets!

The Diamondbacks started a race recently where they have legendary players in their franchise race against each other. As you can see in the video below, the costumes are very similar to the ones in Washington. The four players are Randy Johnson, Luis Gonzalez, Mark Grace and Matt Williams. Check it out: