213 Miles From Shea

The Mets this Spring must like to win it in the ninth. Scoring wise in this game, they started off down 3-0, then tied it, and then eventually they were down 8-4. In the 8th inning they scored 4 runs and tied it. Then they got the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Like any a game that has large jumps in scoring, there was good pitching and there was bad pitching. There was good hitting and bad hitting. Here are the box highlights from today:
The Good:
    Castillo 1-2, 2 RBI, BB
    Evans 1-1, R, 4 RBI, HR (Grand Slam)
    Murphy 2-3
    Stokes 1.0 IP, no hits, no walks, no runs
    Rivera 1-2, R, RBI, HR
    Reed 2-4, 2R, RBI
The Bad:
    Castro 0-3
    Knight 2.0 IP, 4H, 3 ER, K
    Sanchez 1.0 IP, 3H, 2R, ER, BB, 2K
    Fossum 1.2 IP, 3H, 3R, 2ER, 3K
Castillo performed well today, and at a big time too, the bases were loaded when he hit his single. That is the type of situations the Mets did not perform in last year, and you need to get hits with RISP. The Mets got another bases loaded situation, and Evans really took advatage of it with his Grand Slam. On the topic of bench players like Evans hitting well, Reed is holding his stake continueing his amazing spring with with another 2-4 day, with two runs, and RBI.
On the pitching side, I can't believe I am saying this but going into today I think Knight had a shot of making the rotation due to the faults of Hernandez, Redding, and Garcia. But he came into today and pitched really poorly in the first inning, and then picked it up in the second inning. He could still get this spot….Although I hope he doesn't because his upside isn't that much.

Yesterday was a great day in the WBC. There were some great games and actually, some surprises as well. The USA game was a lot of fun to watch, if you were rooting for USA. It was a very close game until the 6th inning where USA entered down by one and left up by 7, and then would finish the game winning 15-6. Wright played very well, making up for his poor performance (0-4) in the first game that USA played in the classic. That meant that USA punched their ticket for the next round (joining Korea and Japan as teams that are moving on). The Dominican Republic also bounced back from their shocking loss with a win yesterday which eliminated Panama and puts them a win away for the second round. The real shock of the night was Mexico. Mexico was supposed to steam roll over Austrailia or at least, if somehow they managed to lose, it would be a close game. Austrailia, down for a while in the game, came back and just demolished Mexico by a score 17-7, with the game ending by the mercy rule in the eigth. Mexico really played some sloppy ball, they weren't getting their gloves down and it became the hitting show for Austraillia (who had well over 20 hits in the game). Here are some of the box lines for Mets playing yesterday's WBC games:
    Pan- Tejada 0-2
    DR- Reyes 0-4, R, BB
    USA- Wright 3-5, 2R, BB
    Mex- Perez 2.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, BB, 5K
Wright went from 0-4 in the classic to hitting really well. He was dialed in, his balls were falling down in the outfield and he was moving runners on the bases. Also, he was running well on the bases. He really fits in with that lineup that USA has (probably because it is one of the best lineups I have ever seen play, if you havn't watch them play yet, you have to, it will amaze you what they can do). Perez really had a rough night, and believe it or not, he was actually in a position to win the game when he first left. He basically got rocked by allowing a lot of hits and two homers. For his defense though. the field was very slick, balls were moving fast, and Mexico wasn't fielding well. Also, the park is made for homeruns (Cuba hit a ton earlier in the day). He really had to take things into his own hands to get out of the game, like get 5 strikeouts.
On a side note, I really like the double elimination format., it makes for more meaningful games.

The Mets lost on the road today against Washington to a score of 8-3 with many of the younger guys in the system getting playing time. The names include Flores, Ike Davis (our first pick in the draft last year), and catcher Thole. The game was also important as Livan Hernandez was making a start, to try to step up from his terrible outing last time. Here are the highlights from today's road game:
The Good:
    Andy Green 2-3, R
    Reed 1-4, 2B, RBI
    Nieuwenhuis 1-1, RBI, 2B
    Hernandez 3.0 IP, 4H, ER, K
    DeSalvo 1.0IP
    Stokes 1.0 IP, 2H, K
The Bad:
    Muniz 1.0 IP, H, 2ER, BB
    Parnell 0.0 IP, 3H, 3ER, 2BB
    Church 0-3
    Evans 0-4
    Flores 1-4, 2 Errors
Livan Hernandez went the longest of any of the nay of the Mets fifth starters hopefuls this Spring and probably got a boost thanks to Reddings terrible peformance earlier today. This was a good start, in fact it was better than a quality start because his ERA was a 3.33. If he can do this consistently a few more times this spring then he will get the starting job, which will be a surprise to everyone (meaning he was a real dark horse for this job at the start of Spring).
With good pitching in a loosing game usually comes bad pitching and thats what the Mets got today from Muniz and Parnell. Both of these guys are long shots of making the pen. Parnell really struggled today, he couldn't even record one out. Also a little disconcering is Church and Evans struggling. Church has his job but Evans at this point looks to be going to AAA with the way the majoity of the Mets bench hopefuls are performing right now.

The Mets pounded Michigan today with a score of 18-7. However, Michigan scored 5 runs in .1 innings against Mets fifth starter hopeful Redding, who was supposed to be one of more experienced pitchers going against Michigan today. The Good and the Bad here are pretty straight foward with the bad pretty much all falling on Redding. For the good, I had to be more selective then usual with the Mets bats scoring 18 runs. Here are some Box Highlights:
The Good:
     Anderson 2-4, 2R, 2 RBI, HR
     Kielty 2-4, 2R, 3 RBI, 2BB
     Mackowiack 2-4, 4R, 2H, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2BB, SB
     Garcia (SS) 3-5, 2R, BB, SB
     Garcia (P) Win, 2.0 IP, 3H, K
     Green 1.0 IP, 0H, 0R
     Villon .2 IP, 0H, 0R
     Robertson 2.0 IP, 3K
The Bad: Redding .1 IP, 5H, 5 ER, K, 2HR
What a performance today by Mackowiack. He really went to town today with those numbers. Also on the bench battle Anderson continued to perform well and Kielty had another great day. The deicision of who will make the bench is becoming more difficult while our bench hopefuls are all performing at a high level. Garcia finally had a good start, but it was against Michigan so he is going to need some more good starts to prove he deserves the spot.
Redding, on the other hand, finally got the ball today and he just blew it. He really stunk. He was about to be in the lead by default with the struggles of Hernandez and Garcia, but he went out there today, with the job to lose, and he just did terrible. He has to perform well in his next start to get this spot. The battle for this fifth spot is starting to worry me, and as Pedro does well, I am starting to lean to bringing back Pedro (with the intention of having to move him around to the minors if necessary if other pitchers start to perform).

Yesterday was a great day for the classic because there was a lot of good baseball and there was an upset as well. The Netherlands somehow slipped by the DR and now they are on their way to get into the second round (Reyes really had nothing to do with the loss because he didn't play other than a pinch run). So the DR has to get back on track fast to make it to the second round. Also Korea and Japan both secured their spots for the next round (which is not a surprise). Here are how the the Mets and Pedro did during yesterday's games:
    Pedro 3.0 IP, H, 4K
    Wright 0-4, K
    Putz 1.0 IP, 2H, ER, Save
    Beltran 1-4, BB
    Delgado 3-4, 2B, HR, 2R, RBI
    Figueora 2.2 IP, 3BB, K
I have come to accept now that due to Figueroa's pitching style (think, ugh, Traschel) he will give up a lot of walks just because he has to pick around the edges of the strike zones. I'm glad though the walks were the only blemish on his performance because in reality his WHIP yesterday was just a touch above 1 as he gave up no hits. Delgado really had a great day and shows that he can have a great season in him. Pedro did amazing, and I am sure their are plenty of Mets fans thinking right now about maybe giving Pedro a shot, I think today for the Mets will be telling as Garcia, Redding and Hernandez will all try to pitch to make up for injuries and bad performances. Today's WBC action looks nice as Venezuela will take on the USA (the two leaders of the pool) and more. 

The Mets might have lost today but it was an important day for another reason: we got a look at today at a lot of prospects that are young in our system that people have been projecting over the next four years or so. Mainly the two names that were the largest are Dillon Gee and Flores, the next teenage hitting machine after Fmart. While not everyone had a great game, it was nice to see the young Mets get their day, so here are the box highlights on the day:
The Good:
    Murphy 2-3, R, 2BB, 2 2B
    Kielty 2-3, R, RBI, 2B
    Sullivan 3-5
    Flores 1-4, RBI, 2B
    Gee 2.0 IP, BB, 2K
The Bad:
     O'day 1.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB
     Green 1.0 IP, 2H, ER, BB, K
I am so glad to see Murphy have a good game. He hasn't been spot on for a week, and today he was spot on. He got up the plate 5 times today and made it on base two times due to walks and two times due to doubles. What does that mean? Well he is seeing the ball well enough to draw walks and hit doubles and he is getting patient at the plate, which are both important characteristics of great hitters. Sullivan bounced back from his ugly game yesterday with a nice three hits on the day and in his debut, Flores got an RBI double. Gee, after a very unlucky start his last time out, got ahold of himself and performed very well, and hopefully he will continue to do that.
The only person I'm concerned about is Green, who has been good for the most part during Spring but struggled during this game. With Sanchez starting to perform and spots in the pen limited, he just has to get back on track and he will will maintian his lead on one of those pen spots. Split Squad for the Mets tommorrow, including their annual game against University of Michigan.

The Mets had another ninth inning win yesterday as the beat the Cards. There was some nice hitting and some nice pitching with some bad pitching and some bad hitting during the game. The bigger story didn't happen in the game but Tatis, who will be on the bench or will be a platoon (in other words, he will be on the 25 man), will be playing in the WBC to replace Arod for the DR. That means for the rest of Spring, the other bench hopefuls will be seeing a lot more time, which was evident in today's box and yesterday's box. So here are some highlights from Friday's Spring Game:
The Good:
    Castillo 1-2, R, BB, 2B
    Valetine 3-4, 2B
    Murphy 1-5, R, 2 RBI
    Anderson 2-2, RBI
    Sanchez 1.0 IP, 2BB
    Muniz 1.0 IP, K, Win
    Cherry 1.0 IP, H, Save
The Bad:
     Niese 2.0 IP, 2H, 2ER, 2 BB, 2K
     Reed 0-4, BB
     Sullivan 0-4, BB
Sanchez is fighting for a pen job. If the Mets release him before April 1st, they will save a lot of money, but more importantly, he really struggled last season and suprises, like Rocky Cherry, could be pressing down on his bullpen spot (especially since three spots are already filled with Krod, Putz, and Feliciano), so Sanchez has to perform. Even though he allowed two walks, he didn't allow any walks and overall he has had a pretty good Spring. This is going to be a battle that is going to go down to the wire.
The other big battle this Spring has been for the bench. Sullivan and Reed are both fighting for spots, and Reed has a slight advantage just because he came over in the trade. Well they both took steps back today as they both went 0-4, on the plus side for both of them, at least they drew walks. On other side, Anderson, who was facing the possibility of losing his bench job, is also starting to streak right now. He had another nice day at the plate. Once again, another battle that is going to go down to the wire.

Team USA got to do the Top 10 a couple of nights ago on Letterman, so incased you missed here is what they said, in the order and by the player (courtesy of mlb.com):

10. Jimmy Rollins: “Due to economic crisis, we all have to share same pair of pants.”

9. Curtis Granderson: “Japan has one of them crazy robot shortstops.”

8. Dustin Pedroia: “Because it's an international event, our right fielder is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”

7. Chipper Jones: “The winning team plays Neptune in the Galactic Baseball Classic.”

6. Roy Oswalt: “It's fascinating seeing how players from other countries scratch themselves.”

5. Adam Dunn: “You'll be part of a cherished baseball tradition dating
all the way back to 2006.” (Letterman added: “Oh, the stories they can
tell.”)

4. Ryan Braun: “Because of the metric system, games will be 6.83 innings.”

3. Kevin Youkilis: “Before each game, get to sit through 30 different national anthems.”

2. David Wright: “Australia's secret weapon: a fastball-throwing kangaroo.”

1. Derek Jeter: “What else are you going to watch, hockey?”

 Pretty funny, I didn't like Wright's too much (and I know that is not his fault) but I was a fan of Jeter's, Braun's, Dunn's and Jones'.

I know this article is two days late but the two games that have been played so far turned out the way I thought they would, and most people thought they would. With the classic upon us, and 16 nations going for the crown, who is going to go all the way? I have my ideas, and I'm sure other people do as well, but here is how I see it. These are my predictions for the winners of the first round, which probably 90% of people out there agree with:
Pool A: Japan
             Korea
Pool B: Cuba
             Mexico
Pool C: United States
             Venezuela
Pool D: Dominican Republic
             Puerto Rico
This is the point where the competition will get tough. There are few scenarios that can go either way in the second round of double elimination. Round Two Winners:
Pool AB: Japan
               Cuba
Pool CD: United States
                Puerto Rico
The hardest decision was Cuba vs Korea. I feel Korea easily has enough talent to actually be a dark horse in this tournament. They won the gold in the Olympics over the summer and they play well. The only reason I put Cuba above them is because Cuba will play good fundamentals and they have a lot of good young players, that good defect from Cuba for the majors over the year. Another hard decision was the DR vs the PR. Due to all of the injuries that the DR has been having, I feel the core of the PR team will be able to push past them. Semifinal Predictions:
Pool AB: Japan
Pool CD: United States
As talented as Cuba is, the talent in team Japan will win overall and push them into the finals for second straight year. Same thing with the US vs the PR. PR has a very talented club but the US club really does look amazing on paper and they should get to the finals game to play Japan (as a side note, how interesting would it be to see a finals game of the US vs Cuba, just a thought). And the winner of the 2009 World Baseball Classic will be:
Champion: Japan
Overall, in the end, Japan repeats. I really want to say USA, and they do have a legitimate shot of making it to the finals. The issue is going to become pitching. USA can easily make it on their hitting alone, but Japan is going to confront them with some good pitching. I think the combination of Darvish and Matusaka might be a little too much to handle but its going to be a very close game and it might finally decide that age old question about Japanese pitching and American hitting in American ballparks.

The WBC started for real today as Japan beat China in the opening game. Just as a quick introduction, Yu Darvish pitched great. We've talked about him before on this site, and he is just as good as advertised. Anyway, the Mets played games all over the place today so without further ado, here are the Mets lines from the WBC today:
PR-Beltran 0-3
      Delgado 0-3, BB, R
US-Wright 2-5
DR-Reyes 1-4, R, 2B
Ven-Krod 1.0 IP, 3K
We saw what Krod is made of today when he went and for one inning allowed no runs, no hits, no walks and then struck out 3. He was the real deal today and its exciting to think about what he is going to do in New York this season. Wright also had nice day with Reyes, so its also nice to see some of core guys getting ready to go for the season. The actual WBC for the remaining pools not in Asia starts soon, and the competition is going to be tough. I'm about to watch the China/Japan game from earlier today, and I'm looking foward to seeing some tough, good baseball.