213 Miles From Shea

Pelfrey's complete game last night got me thinking, how have the Mets pitchers faired in the Complete game department from 2000 till now? We all know that last year the Mets pitchers were pretty terrible finishing their games last year, and this year they had none until recently (now they have 4, surpassing last year's total of 2).
    2008: 4 CG (Pelfrey 2, Santana 2), 1 SHO
    2007: 2 CG (Maine, Glavine) 2 SHO
    2006: 5 CG (Trachsel, El Duque, Maine, Soler, Perez), 3 SHO
    2005: 8 CG (Glavine 2, Pedro 4, Seo, Heilman), 3 SHO
    2004: 2 CG (Benson, Glavine), 2 SHO
    2003: 3 CG (Trachsel 2, Leiter), 3 SHO
    2002: 9 CG (Leiter 2, Astacio 3, Trachsel, Estes, D'Mico, Bocsik), 6 SHO
    2001: 6 CG (Appier, Rusch, Trachsel, Reed 3), 3 SHO
    2000: 8 CG (Hampton 3, Leiter 2, Rush 2, Jones) 2 SHO
First, a note about 2002. The only main Mets starting pitcher that did not pitch a complete game was Thomson. Although its not major, there is a downward trend of Complete games pitched by Mets pitchers over this span, which is not a surprise to anyone. The CG's start to drop after the best year in 2002, from 2003 on, the CG totals have been low, excluding 2005 where Pedro made his influence felt. This year would be 0 if wasn't for Santana and Pelfrey turning it on since July 27th.

The Mets start an important two game set tonight in Philly. Winner tonight takes the lead in the East. Both teams are playing hard right now in a race that will most likely go to the end of the season. This is where the Mets started to falter last year, against their division rivals. Tonight the Mets will send up Pedro to take on a tough Jamie Moyer.

Moyer is having one of his best years in a while. Right now he is 11-7 with a 3.54 ERA. This is his best ERA since 2003. He has really turned it on this month, to make things even tougher. In four games in August he is 1-1 over 24.2 innings pitched with a dazzling 2.19 ERA. He has brought out his best stuff against the Mets this year as well. He has faced the Mets 4 times already this year with a 1-1 record over 25.2 innings pitched with a stunning 2.81 ERA. (Last year over the same amount of games, he pitched 26 innings with a 3.12 ERA. Some Mets have hit him hard, some Mets have not:
    Delgado 30-77, 7 2B, 8 HR, .390 BA
    Beltran 10-49, 2 2B, .204 BA
    Reyes 10-32, 2 2B, 3B
    Wright 13-30, 4 2B, 2 HR
Delgado had an amazing night last night, and Beltran had an amazing afternoon the day before. Delgado knows how to hit Moyer, and has seen him a lot over his career, Beltran gets fooled a lot by him. Wright will be going for his 100th RBI again tonight. What is key for the Mets offense tonight is to strike first, strike often, and don't give up opportunities. The Phillies have won their last two games by shutting down the Dodgers once the Dodgers got people on base. The Phillies did not allow those players for second base and third base cross the plate. The Mets cannot let that be them tonight.

Pedro will try to light it up for the Mets tonight. On the season he is 4-3 with a 4.97 ERA. Here are his stats against the Phillies over the last couple of years:
    08: 1-0, 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
    07: ND, 6 IP, ER, 0 BB, 9 K
    06: 2 G, 0-1, 8 IP, 9 ER, 3 BB, 11 K
He was effective the last time he faced him. In 2007, he was brilliant (the Mets bullpen then let it go). In 2006, not so effective. Pedro is going have to reach down tonight in the part of him that is sending him to the Hall of Fame and pitch amazingly in this big game. Earlier this month, he put on an impressive show. He can do it again. Here are some Philly hitting stats against him:
    Rollins 9-30, 2B, HR
    Burrell 1-23, HR, 9K
    Utley 7-21, 2B, 3 HR
    Werth 2-9, 5 K
I love looking at Burrell's numbers agianst Pedro, that is owning a hitter. Utley is as dangerous as always. Rollins has been a slump for the past week or so, except he broke out of last night. Did he actually break out of it? We'll find out tonight as the Mets try to tame him.
Lets Go Mets! Beat the Phillies!

And the scouting begins on a nine year old Jericho Scott. Scott is a pitcher with a very nice fast ball. He is already throwing it at 40 mph and he's the best pitcher in the league. However, being the best means you cannot play. He is so good that the league is refusing to have teams play when he pitches because they are worried that he could hit someone or hurt someone, something that he has never done. Even in this youth baseball environment, there are calls of controversy because Scott refused an invitation to join the league champion team, which is sponsored by the employer who has employees that administrate the league. So of course, and rightfully so, his Mom is calling foul.

Your heart has to melt for him, especially with this quote he gave CNN and SI (article found here):
         “I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it's all my fault nobody could play.”
Because on top of not allowing Scott to play, the League wants to disband his entire team. That is straight out ridiculous and it is well too much pressure and guilt to put on a great player. I really hope something or somebody has the ability to step in and prevent this from happening.

The only suggestion that I could think of, and its terrible because Scott won't be able to play with his teammates, is that Scott would be allowed to transfer to another nearby league for older players where Scott won't be the best anymore, but he will still be very good. It would be like being called up from High Single A to AAA, but it could very well help develop his skill as a pitcher (and a pitchers mind).

This story has already hit ESPN and has been on Sportscenter. If I find out anything else, I will post it here.

The Mets got a much needed win tonight behind two players: Carlos Delgado and Mike Pelfrey. We all know the story going into tonights game. The Phillies have climbed two games in two days and they were only a half game back from first place. In this stressful, moment, a young pitcher, in his season where he has gone from average to good, started a path of greatness tonight. Fresh off of his first complete game in his last start, Pelfrey pulled off a better game tonight. He went 9 innings again tonight and allowed only one run over 6 hits, no walks and 6 strikeouts. So double the amount of strikeouts, 2 less runs, and 3 less walks. He was amazin tonight and so efficient with his pitches. With the depressing news about Maine today, this was the type of performance the Mets really wanted tonight out of their starter. They didn't need a complete game, but it does so much for morale.

The Bats were alive tonight too. It got started, like how it normally does, with runs in the first inning. Reyes got on, then stole base number 41 on the year. Wright later walked in that inning and then Delgado with the big bat brought them both home with the opposite field homerun. With this lead the Mets never looked back. Delgado then struck again in the seventh inning with a deep three run homer which completed his 6 RBI game. Other offensive stars include Reyes who was a homerun shy of the cycle. Pelfrey also hustled in the 8th inning from first to home on the Reyes triple.

All in all, a great game for the Mets tonight. The only downside of tonight the Mets had no control over as the Phillies won tonight as well. Now the Mets still with no breathing room, have to take on the Phills tomorrow in an important September matchup. Lets hope that the Mets can keep up momentum they built tonight into Philly and start building a cushion on top of the NL East.

This year, we might see two teams eliminated before the calender flips to September. Seattle is dangerously close to being eliminated, and if they lose tonight and the Angels, win, they are mathematically out. The Nationals could be eliminated in a few days with an elimination number of 6. The teams that are in the top 5 lowest elimination numbers are all teams that saw their postseason hopes fly away a long time ago, like June:
    1. Seattle, Elimination Number 2
    2. Washington, Elimination Number 6
    3. Cincinnati, Elimination Number 9
    4. Pittsburgh, Elimination Number 10
    5. Tie: San Diego and Oakland, Elimination Number 13
A true sign that the pennant races are heating up, and games are about to become big is that for some teams, their games become opportunities to see young players perform, and have their current players set personal records. We are approaching that time, we are getting ready for another stomach turning, heart wrenching, plot filled September baseball hopefully leading up to October Baseball.

Yesterday was the second time that I have been to Jewish Heritage day at Shea (the first time I went with the intention of going, this time it was a bit of a surprise), and I love when the Mets have heritage days at Shea. It adds another dimension to the game, and yes its gimicky, but its also fun. It is also, especially with Jewish Heritage day, never shoved down your throat. The special things that went on yesterday was a group of Paparim dancers, a Jewish singing group (National Anthem and God Bless America), a Yiddish version of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and the scoreboard saying everyone names in Hebrew.

I was a big fan of the giveaway yesterday as well. It was a Mets Player/Number T-Shirt, but instead of a player, it said Shea 08 on the back. When I was at Jewish Heritage day back in 2003, the giveaway was a shirt that said Lets Go Mets in hebrew, a shirt I still wear often.

The merchandising at Shea (and Keyspan Park for that matter) has always amazed me. I usually go to Camden Yards since I live less than 20 minutes for the stadium, and the Orioles have a lot less gift shops than the Mets do. The Orioles main gift shop is slightly smaller than the Mets Team Shop, and a few shops along the concourses. So I am always a little shocked when I see the big shop outside, and the pretty sizable shops across all the decks at Shea, and I love it. I love the support the Mets have, even when they lose, its amazing. Anyway, what blew me away this time in the shop was there was a Dan Murphy Jersey already for sale, and their the was a Tatis Jersey for sale as well. I just didn't expect to see them already out.

Yesterday I made the trek from Baltimore to Shea Stadium for probably my last time seeing the Mets this year at home. Even when the Mets lose at Shea, I have a great time (which I'll talk about in a post later on) but I wanted to focus on Manuel for a little bit. It takes me a while to highly criticize a managing move (in other words, the move made has to be really dumb for to get angry at the Manager) and there was one move by Manuel that made me very, very upset.

Up until the 7th inning, Manuel was doing a very good job, like usual, yesterday. He sent out Perez to bat in the bottom of the sixth, which I was happy with, he wasn't doing too bad yesterday. After the first out yesterday, he took Perez out of the seventh. I know his pitch count was up at the time, but he could have lasted the rest of the inning. The feeling in the section when Manuel came out was a general “Whats going on?”, and that was before we saw Heilman coming out of the pen.

It was a mistake, but it was one mistake, and hopefully the Mets can put it behind them today as they go for the split with the Astros. On another note, this is the second time this year I have seen Heilman make things much worse for Perez before this year, so I was laughing a little in my head because it felt like it was my bad luck. I was at a game in Washington in April where Heilman came on to relieve, and this was when he was terrible this year, and he gave up a grand slam to the Nationals, he only needed to get one out. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the results of today's game.

The Mets will try to split their series with the Astros today, and hang on to first place. The Mets will send up Mike Pelfrey today to bring the Mets back into the Mets column. Pelfrey this year, who's pitching schedule might be changed soon to give him more rest, is 12-8 this year with a cool 3.86 ERA. In August he is 3-1 with a 3.62 ERA and in his last two games, he is 2-0 over 16 innings with a 1.69 ERA. He is turning on his stuff late in the season and that is what the Mets need right now. His problem today will be the Astros that know how to hit him:
    Berkman 4-7, 2B, 2 HR
    Pence 4-7, 2B
    Ausmus, Rodriguez, Quintero, Wiggington: 2-10
Berkman and Pence can give anyone problems (Pence a perfect example yesterday with a game tying homerun). To win today, like anyday, the Mets will have to hope that the bats come alive.

The Astro's will be sending a resurgent Moehler to the mound today, who is doing very well this year (9-4, 3.87 ERA). Since July 4th, he has not lost (5 wins in 8 games), and has a 3.47 ERA. In August alone, he is 3-0 in four starts with a 2.38 ERA. So the Mets will hope to be the wall today that can break him. In 2007, he lasted only 2.1 innings against the Mets, took the loss and gave up two earned runs. In 2006, he lasted 5 innings against the Mets and allowed three runs (he took the loss then too). Here are some Mets numbers against Moehler:
    Delgado 8-26, 4 2B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 5 RBI
    Beltran 9-16, 4 2B, 5 RBI
    Church 4-12, HR
    Wright 4-11, 2 2B
The Mets have some excellent power numbers against Moehler, especially Delgado. 7 of his 8 hits have been for extra bases, the total bases for his 8 hits are 21! So lets hope the Mets can beat up on Moehler today! Lets Go Mets!

The Mets look to extend their winning streak to four games tonight as they take on the Houston Astros. Earlier this season, at a key time when the Mets were surging, the Mets looked at a three game series with the Astros as one they should easily win. This wasn't the case as the Astros went on to sweep the Mets. Today, Santana, who pitched well against the 'stros during that series, will try to take this first game.

Johan Santana has been on a tear recently. In his last six games, he is 3-0 with 2 complete games, 46.1 Innings pitched a 1.75 ERA, and 32 strikeouts for 8 walks (yes thats right, a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio during that stretch). One of those games was against the Astros where he pitched 6.1 innings, allowed one earned run, walked 2 and struck out 3 on his way to a no decision. Over his career, he hasn't made mincemeat of the Astro's current lineup, but he has done fairly well:
    Erstad 9-37, 2B
    Tejada 10-30, 2B, 2 HR, 5 BB
    Wiggington 5-11, 2 2B
    Ausmus 0-3
    Berkman 0-2
The two players, historically, to watch out for today are Tejada and Wiggington. Personally, I would be more worried about Wiggington who was named the NL player of the week with Santana last week. I am sure that will be mentioned a lot tonight. Santana will need run support, and to do that, the Mets will need to beat up on Roy Oswalt.

Since July 28th, Oswalt has pitched 5 games and has a record of 4-0 over 33 innings pitched with a 3.27 ERA to show for it. His one No Decision was against the Mets where he gave up 4 runs over 6 innings. The Mets over their careers have hit Oswalt pretty well, and should do it again:
    Reyes 7-24, 2 2B
    Beltran 8-17, 2 2B, HR
    Wright 3-17, 2B
    Delgado 5-11, 2 2B, HR
    Easley 3-8, 2 HR
I am not worried about Wright's numbers after last night. He hit Hampton well last night, despite being a career .111 hitter against him going into the game. With Delgado, lets hope his hitting from last night carries on into tonight as he knows how to hit Oswalt. My prediction is that Manuel has Easley playing second base for this game due to his numbers. (I am leaving to go to NJ soon, so I can't update once the lineups are posted).

As HoJo said in the 1986 Mets Rap, Get Metsmerized, “With Power, Pitching, Speed and Style, Results guaranteed to make you smile.” Lets go for that tonight! Lets Go Mets!  As a side note, I will not be in town until late Sunday (but I will be at the game on Sunday, so lets hope the Mets can figure out Randy Wolf).

The Mets finished the sweep tonight as they beat the Braves by the score of 5-4. This game saw a lot of good moments for the Mets, the main one being the resurgence of Carlos Delgado. Earlier today I mentioned that his stats were sliding slightly from his resurgence in July, tonight he raised his BA a lot as he went 5-5, a double and 4 singles, knocking in 3 runs including the game winning, walk off, RBI. (Can't forget to mention Wright here as well, who went 3-4 on the night with a HR, two singles, the winning run scored and his 98th RBI on the season as he marches towards 100. Also his 25th homer gives him 4 straight years of at least 25 homers). Delgado being the hero tonight (and in the first game), Pelfrey the hero last night, Santana in the game last Sunday, it shows that the Mets have a lot of different players that can be that hero, that can get those hits late in the game or be the person that pitches out of a jam. Thats what takes a team far in October, when the team is comprised of a bunch of heroes rather than one or two supermen.

Another key piece for tonight was Ayala. He allowed a hit, but that was it in 1.1 innings of work. He seemed a little risky when the Mets picked him up (minimal risk cause the Mets gave up nothing for him), but he seems to be energized being on a winning team, and is showing off that old stuff he had with the Nationals a few years back. Speaking of the Nationals, they finally broke their 12 game losing streak as they squeaked by the Phillies 4-3. So Philly is now 2.5 games back, which is good considering the Mets will be facing Pitchers this weekend that historically give them problems (like Wolf who is 2-0 against the Mets this year with a 0.75 ERA. I will be at that game this weekend, so I am hoping the Mets break that curse).