213 Miles From Shea

The Mets try for their second straight two game sweep and try to win their forth in a row tonight as they take on the Phillies. After a a pitchers duel 1-0 game where Santana led the team again, the Mets will be sending up Pelfrey to continue the run and the Phillies will be sending out Moyer to try to keep the Mets bats silent (and personally I am very glad that the game will not be on Fox like the last time Moyer pitched because if I have to hear Buck talk about Moyer's age again I might puke).

Pelfrey is 3-0 on the season over 21.0 IP, 14 ER, 13 BB, 6 K and a 6.00 ERA. In his last outing he got the win against the Phillies where we he pitched 5.1 innings, allowed 7 hits, 3 ER, walked 4 and struck out none. My main concern about Pelfrey right now is he is walking a lot of batters. In fact, I wonder what his ERA would look like if he didn't walk as many as he has. But the key thing for Pelfrey is that he wins, he is 3-0 and winning is what is important. Here are the numbers the Phillies have on Pelfrey:
    Howard 3-11, 4 BB
    Utley 3-12, 2B, 2 HR
    Victorino 4-12
    Coste 2-9
    Rollins 2-8, HR
    Werth 1-8
The Mets need to repeat what they have done the last few nights which is keep the Phillies under control. When they got into to trouble, they got key ground balls and key strikeouts to get out of the innings. Of course, the Mets will need to hit Moyer who can be brilliant at times against the Mets.

Moyer can be tough for the Mets, but he is also human as the Mets found out last time. On the season he is 3-1 but he has a 5.65 ERA over 5 games and 28.2 IP where he has allowed 18 ER. In his last start against the Mets he allowed 5 ER over 5.2 IP and 7 H while walking four and striking out 2. Two rusn came on back to back solo shots by Murphy and Castro. If the Mets can hit Moyer and get into the pen then they can knock out the Phils. Here are the Mets stats against Moyer:
     Delgado 31-81, 7 2B, 8 HR, 17 RBI, 8 BB
     Beltran 12-57, 3 2B
     Reyes 11-41, 2 2B, 2 3B
     Wright 14-36, 4 2B, 2 3B
     Sheff 14-29, 2 2B, 4 HR
     Murphy 1-1, HR, SF, BB
The big difference for the Mets this time around is that they have Delgado available and he has big numbers against Moyer. I said this last time but this lineup can have serious pop against Moyer and if they can just knock the ball around the field then they should get a collection of extrabase hits and cause some damage. The trick is of course that they need to get base runnners and they need to score runs. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Phils!

Once again Santana showed the world tonight that he does not need runs support as he picked up his forth win of the season (but really should be his sixth) and as he recorded another 10 strikeouts and lowering his ERA to 0.91. Seriously he is incredible, it is a joy to watch him pitch. As much as I love watching the Mets bat, I love watching him pitch. He varies his pitches he works the zone he moves in and out. His speeds change, he has great breaking stuff, his fast ball can be revved up for special moments. Its just a clinic out there.

I like the move of using Feliciano tonight, although he got into and then out of trouble. The main reason being is this is a lineup that he can handle but also because Putz and Krod have pitched a lot over the last few days (Putz more than Krod with those 2 innings on Saturday) so it was a good move for a few reasons to have him rest today. The Phillies havn't seen Krod (reason 1) and now if the game is close tomorrow, the Mets can use Putz to close and give Krod the day off before the series with the Pirates.

With all of this talk about pitching, I forgot to mention one of the key things about this win. It is the first time the Mets have won 3 games in a row this season (and they are back .500)! They actually have a winning streak and you have to think they are going to go hard tomorrow as they have a chance to sweep back to back two game series. The key will be for the offense to come back and for the Mets to support their starters. Feel the confidence brewing! Lets Go Mets!

The Mets start their second two game series tonight back home in Queens as they welcome Philly to check out the new digs for the first time tonight. Although there are a lot of similar scenarios from the last time the Mets played the Phillies over the weekend, there is a different feeling in the air as the Mets have one back to back games and now look to stretch the total to three for the first time this season. They will be facing Chan Ho Park again, and now the Phillies will have to face Santana, who Jimmy Rollins directly talked about during their victory celebration.

As you probably have heard by now, Santana is the NL Pitcher of the Month for April, which makes sense as he recorded a 1.10 ERA with 44 strikeouts as he put on a pitching clinic during each of his outings. On the season he has pitched 5 games and has a 3-1 record (and should be a 5-0 record). Last season against the Phils he was 2-0 over 5 games and a 36.1 IP with a 2.97 ERA with 6 BB and 32 K. Here are the numbers the Phillies have been able to put up on Santana:
      Ibanez 12-34
      Feliz 3-17
      Rollins 1-17
      Utley 3-18, HR
      Howard 6-14, 2 HR
      Victorino 1-12
Ibanez is quickly becoming one of my least favorite players to play against the Mets as he is having an excellent season for the Phils. The key for the Mets is for the the Mets too keep the offense in check from start to finsih. The Phils have a lot of comeback wins this year not because they have fight (which they do) but because the offense makes up for the pitching mistakes the pen makes. Yesterday they won 10-7, in a game where the Cards kept coming back up. So if the pitching holds them, then the Mets can win, presuming they take advantage of the Phils pitching and score runs.

Last time the Mets faced Park they had no problems scoring runs. In that game game the Mets scored 7 runs over 4.2 innings and over 8 hits. On the season he has one loss over 5 games and 4 starts, 21.0 IP and 20 ER. His BB to K ratio is 1 as he has 11 in each category. Prior to that last game against Park, the Mets have actually sturggled against Park throughout his carear, but they were able to put that aside last time, so lets hope they do that again tonight. Here are the Mets numbers against Park:
      Beltran 5-15, 2B, HR
      Castillo 4-15
      Tatis 7-12, 2B, 2 HR
      Delgado 3-5, 2 2B, HR
      Wright 4-7, 2 2B
      Murphy 1-3, HR
The Mets bats started to show life this season when they started playing the Phils. Lets hope they continue that as they looke to expand on the numbers above. One thng I am bracing my self to hear over and over agian is about that inning years ago where Tatis hit two grand slams agianst Park in one inning (and this is one of the things that I don't mind hearing a lot). The Mets recent power surge has been nice, but it will be even nicer if we can see the Mets bring that back to Queens. Lets Go Mets! Beat the Phils!

The key thing with a two game series is to not split them or to lose both because unless the team is very far up in the standings, neither will help the team in anyway. However, a two game sweep is always helpful because then the team gets a nice standings boost. When you think about it, the only outcomes to come from a two game series are -2 off of the incoming record, no change off of the incoming record or +2 off of the incoming record and that is what the Mets were able to do against the Braves in this quick two game set. They came in at 10-13 and leave at 12-13, about to play the Phillies to try to get back to .500. This also puts the Mets in a position to do something they have not done yet this year, which is to win three games in a row, which is what they will try to do tomorrow.

The ninth inning was very dicey, but the Mets were able to get out of it, which is a good sign. In fact, the entire ninth inning, top and bottom should be looked at as a positve sign for this team. They were able to get two runs in the top of the inning, and then in the bottom they were able to recover from a terrible mistake from Carlos Delgado, to still close the game out with a win, and a lot of that comes from the confidence on the mound in Krod. He just sends out confidence to the players on the field and that is a key part of this team this year the fact that he can do it.

There are two minor concerns I have about going into the next series. With as good as the offense was in the ninth, they could have done a lot more, and they could have been in a position where they would have needed a lot more. That being said, if the Mets lead was less than three or the right fielder was not Francoeur, I think Beltran tries to go home on that deep fly ball, but his decision to stay here was the correct one. What I am more concerned about is if the Mets have a close game tomorrow where they need Krod. This was a long outing tonight and he went last night as well. Although Putz has also pitched back to back days, if the game is close, depending on how deep the starters go, I have no problem with Putz either closing or doing part of the inning to help out Krod. Either way, I wouldn't be surprised or overly concerned to see Krod pitch again tomorrow.

The Mets complete their two game stint in Atlanta tonight as they try to sweep a series for the first time this season. The Mets will be relying on Hernandez to perform tonight as the Braves will be watching their investment in Kawakami, who hasn't been spot on so far this season. The key for the Mets is not just to sweep tonight but a win moves them closer to .500, where they want to get to and then get beyond. To do that they will need the themes from last night to continue.

Hernandez wasn't the greatest the last time out as he had to leave after 5.1 after giving up 3 runs. On the season he is 1-1 over 4 games and 21.1 innings pitched with a 6.75 ERA, 6 BB and 12 K. In recent years, Atlanta is one team he has not wanted to face. Last season he lasted only 4.1 innings as he gave up 8 hits and 4 runs and year before he lasted 4.0 innings and he managed to give up 8 runs. He is going to have to focus tonight and shut down this Atlanta team. Here are what the Braves have been able to do to him in the past:
     Chipper 22-57, 10 2B, 3B, HR, 11 BB
     Johnson 2-13
     Francoeur 4-10, 2B, HR
     Kotchman 2-3
After that one rough inning last night for Maine, the Mets pitching staff was able to lock down this Atlanta offense with the exception of course being Chipper. As long as we can keep Chipper Jones in check all night, this Mets pitching staff, on the back of Livan having a good start, should be able to control this offsense.

Kawakami has had a rough few starts so far this season where he is 1-3, has a 7.06 ERA over 21.2 innings, 11 BB and 18 K. This season righties have hit .292 against him with a .542 slugging chip and lefties have hit .278 off of him with a .659 slugging percentage. The Mets bats this year have hit a combined .277 against righties and have 15 of their 19 homers this year against righties (which is mostly due to the amount of right handed pitching they see vs left handed pitching). To start the year off the Mets have struggled in the power department but in thier last three games they have hit 6 as a team including one friday night, two saturday afternoon and three last night. Keeping up the power will keep the Mets competetive because you don't leave men on when you knock the ball out of the yard (but that doesn't mean they should become power happy, they still need to play fundalmentals, and play a fast, base running game, the power follows and sometimes arrises from that). Lets Go Mets! Sweep the Braves!

The Mets won a critical game tonight as they showed themselves that can come back from being behind to take the game overall. Before I get into what the Mets did right today, compared to the season so far, I wanted to comment about the end of the game. Did you see the Braves bench in the bottom of the ninth? I was watching on Braves feed (my only option) so they were talking about this like crazy. Every player was on the top step watching Krod, since this is their first time seeing Krod. The announcers were reacting a lot to this because they couldn't remember a time in recent history when the Braves did this. Just wanted to point that out.

In terms of starting pitching, Maine did something very important tonight. He was able to stop the bleeding from the second inning and remain in control for the rest of the game. No other starting pitcher who has struggled in the beginning of the game has been able to regain form like Maine was able to do tonight, and that is a very promising achievement for him. The other thing the Mets did tonight that they have struggled with all year was hitting the long ball. The Mets had three of them which was the source of all 6 RBI. If the power returns to this team and especially if it retuns to the middle of the lineup like it did tonight, this team can do start to do some very special things in this divsion.

The point is, there are a lot of positive things to build off of tonight and hopefully the Mets will build off of them. Tomorrow is important because although it is only a two game series, a win tomorrow is still a sweep. So lets get the win, lets get the sweep and lets move on to being the team we can be. Lets Go Mets!

The Mets open up a quick two game set in Atlanta tonight as there five (now four) game road trip continues. The Braves are the team I cannot stand. Anytime I see them win I get sick, especially when its against the Mets. I feel best about the Mets when they beat Atlanta. In my mind they are our rivals just based on history. Anyway, the Mets will be sending Maine up to the mound tonight as the Braves will be going with Vazquez, who they aquired over the off season to help solidify their starting rotation.

Maine, 1-2 on the year, has a 5.40 ERA over 21.2 innings pitched, 12 BB and 15 K. Last year he was 1-2 against the Braves and struggled as his 6.92 ERA shows (9 BB and 14 K over that time). However, he did fairly well against the Braves in 2007 with a 1-1 record over three games, 18.1 IP, 9 BB, 17 K and a 3.93 ERA. The big thing for Maine tonight is he had a good outing last time out on the mound and he needs to build on that to give this starting rotation the boost that it needs (especially after all of the Perez drama). Here are the stats the Braves have on Maine:
     Escobar 3-12
     Francoeur 3-14
     Johnson 3-12, 2B, 3B
    Chipper 5-9, HR
    Prado 2-4
The Braves always seem to step it up when the play the Mets and the Mets need to play tonight with the same energy that they played over the weekend in Philly. If the Mets can keep the Braves Bats under control, then this could be a less stress night, but that is contigent on the offense.

Its been a while since the Mets have seen Javier Vazquez. The Last time he pitched against us was in 2005 where he got the loss after a great outing of 7 innings with 2 ER. On the season he is 2-2 over 4 games with a 3.38 ERA over 32.0 IP, 8 BB and a very nice 42 K. The K numbers worry me because this Mets team is striking out a lot, which can be morally crushing. Here are the numbers the Mets have against Vazquez:
     Castillo 24-67, 2 2B, 3B, HR
     Sheff 10-54, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR
     Delgado 4-24, 3 HR
     Cora 6-17, 2B
     Tatis 3-10, 2 2B
     Reyes 3-10
     Beltran 0-6
     Wright 1-3
Delgado's numbers are very interesting as he has a very low batting average against Vazquez but when he makes contact, he makes it count as 3 of hsi 4 hits are homers. The Mets can probably really benefit having him back in the lineup tonight just because it will feel like their normal lineup more. Castillo will also be key tonight as they will need his experience against Vazquez to shine. Hopefully with the off day yesterday, Castillo and Sheff shared some tips about hitting Vazquez to the team, who on the whole has not seen him all that much (or all that recent). Lets Go Mets! Beat The Braves!

Due to injuries and a strange off day schedule, the Mets had to make a ton of roster moves so far this April. Just to give you a snap shot idea, they have had to release Marlon Anderson to get Livan Hernandez, they've had an injured Pelfrey that led to several bullpen switches, they've have had an injured catcher and now looks like they have a bum starting pitcher. With all of this we have had Delgado injured at first base without going to the DL, so rostermoves have been plenty for this team.

The first big move the team had to do this year was the right one and that was to get rid of Marlon Anderson. At the end of the day, with Sheff on the bench, we didn't need Marlon and he didn't bring enough to the table to argue keeping him around. We remember the good times we had with him, but his production has dropped as his time with the Mets has gone on. This was a GOOD move.

The next set of moves were highly criticized because for a while they didn't seem to make much sense. The Mets needed a spot starter so they brought up Figueroa and then DFA'd O'day. Then the next day, they DFA'd Figueroa to bring in Fossum. A few days later they DFA'd Fossum to bring in Takahashi. We need to break this down case by case. DFA'ing O'day for Figueora. Although at the time that move didn't make much sense, looking back on it, it was a GOOD move because O'day has continued to struggle with his new team, the Rangers. O'day was a rule five draft pick, so it seemed like we were going to lose him either way. DFA'ing Figueora though was a BAD move because we could have easily lost him. We are very lucky he cleared back so we can use him again if he works his way back in the minors. We should have called up a pitcher with options, so this situation wouldn't happen, especially considering we DFA'd Figueora pretty much right away. Finally, DFA'ing Fossum looks to be a good move. He was never really on for the Mets and the player they brought in, the 40 year old Rookie Veteran from Japan (I know that preposition structure looks wierd) is very interesting. I like Takahashi's stuff and I am very curious to see what he can do for us this season.

Finally the last big move that needs to be discussed was bringing in Santos for Schnieder. Santos jumped up the depth chart this Spring with his impressive display of power and has not disapointed with his hitting yet this season. He is also pretty fast for a catcher (because he is young) and more importantly, he has a good stance behind the plate (he doesn't move around a lot, does a good job framing pitches). So the Mets will have to make a tough decision very soon between him and Castro. I vote for Santos because I like youth on the team, but we will have to wait and see what the team decides.

Its a new month and its time again to highlight another set of promotions across the league. One of my personal favorites already passed and it took place yesterday in Seattle. The Mariners gave out replica hats of the 1939 Seattle Mariners (a Pacific League Team). To top it off, they played in their Rainer uniforms and Oakland (the opponent) got in the action as well as they wore the old Oakland Oak uniforms. Really good work with this. The Mariners seem to have a very good PR department because this was a turn back the clock night done pretty much perfectly right.

Next on the list is the Angels with their title for their Friday Night Fireworks. They have titled all of them Big Bang Friday. Now this probably doesn't mean anything to most of you out there, but I am an Astronomy/Physics Major, so whenever I see something like this, I can't help but to be happy about it.

This next one might be tough for some of you out there. If you are a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, then just skip this paragraph. The Dodgers are giving out radios KABC and the 50th for something. The radios look really old fashion, which could give people some people some pretty back flashbacks to when the Dodgers moved away.

The Marlins have one night when they are they doing five things this month, and one just makes no sense to me. Lawyer Appreciation night. Really?

The Royals are giving away a replica Monarchs jersey this month for one of the games, it looks really nice and is a very good tribute.

The Twins are repeating a great promotion from last year but it looks different. They are giving away a Justin Morneau fishing lures. Last year they were wearing his Jersey, this year they look like glove leather.

The Mets had a very tough game yesterday. I would like to start with the positives which are that from after the time Perez left the game to the time Green came to pitch, the game was a lot of fun to watch. Both teams were playing tough, and both teams were making great plays, it was a lot of fun. Also, Murphy and Castro showed the Mets do have fight as the two of them really put the Mets back in the game with their back to back Homers. It was the second staight day for Murphy who just crushed it and then for Castro it was first of the season and it was also him showing the Mets that they will have to make a tough decision very soon when Schnieder comes back (although I am still rooting for Santos).

Before we get to the hot topic problem, I think Green needs some time off. He blew a game earlier in the week against the Marlins and he did it again this weekend. I am not too concerned but I want the Mets to start watching him. He was great in the spring, so he just needs to refocus himself on pitching, and also needs to be kept on a short lease.

Perez Perez Perez. Horrible doesn't begin to explain his outing which is really sad because now his entire season is in jeapordy. The Mets are pretty much now, one way or another, going to be forced to pull his next start and they are going to need to figure out a solution for the rotation in the mean while. This is a complex issue, so I am going to tackle most of this in another post I will be doing soon about Mets roster moves and who I like on the team right now. What it comes down to is that Perez is beyond a mental problem which is his usual thing. Usually he lacks confidence in his stuff and over thinks pitches. Now there is another concern because his actually stuff has gone MIA, which is disturbing. Here is hoping that our 36 million dollar man doesn't stay in this state for too long.