213 Miles From Shea

The Mets find themselves in a position again where they are going to rely on Santana to pull the team out of a rut. The Mets were in a similar position last Saturday. They Mets just got off of a series where they dropped three of four to the Nationals, and although Santana gave up 4 runs off of three homers, he pitched long enough and effective enough to help the Mets beat the Yankees and complete a two game sweep. And then the momentum disappeared.
The Mets have lost badly the last three games. They need to get fired up, they need to play extremely tonight. I hate looking at the standings in May. I really do, but it is so hard not to notice that our competition, the Braves and the Phillies, are both four games over five hundred, and thats not even including the Marlins who gave Brandon Webb the first loss of the season last night. Needless to say, I'm frustrated and so are most Mets fans.
Santana will try to solve our frustrations tonight as he hopes to repeat his performance against the Braves earlier this season. Santana picked up a loss in an amazing pitcher duel between him and Smoltz earlier in the season. Santana pitched 7 innings allowing a hit, a run, no walks and striking out 3. The Braves have put up these numbers against Santana:
    Teixiera 4-20, 2B, HR
    Diaz 7-12
    Kotsay 2-12
    Chipper 3-7
Lets hope the Mets can give Santana more run support this time around. The Mets will have to deal with Hudson tonight who has a win and a loss against the Mets this season. In the first game this season, he lasted 6 innings, gave up three runs, walked none and struck out 4 on his way to a Braves win. In his second start, he lasted 3 innings, gave up 4 runs, walked none and struck out one on his way to a Braves loss. So hopefully the Mets offense can reproduce the same results from the latter game. Here are some Mets numbers against Hudson:
    Delgado 17-55, 3 2B, 6 HR (.309 BA)
    Beltran 19-56, 2 2B, 3 HR (.339 BA)
    Wright 9-39, HR
    Reyes 13-47, 2 2B, HR
Hey offense, wake up! Hey bullpen, wake up! Lets win one tonight!
Lets Go Mets!

Mike Piazza truly was this generation's modern day Tom Seaver. There are so many memories of his play of the Mets and it is really hard to put in words what he has meant for Mets fans like you and me.
Soon after Mike Piazza's last game as a Met, someone sent me this video. This is the video that was played at Shea Stadium during Piazza's last game as a Met. I believe the original source of the video is from Mlb.com. It is a very good video at showing all of the great Piazza moments and if you have never seen it before I suggest that you take some time to watch it. The video can be found here, it should open up in a new window.
The Baltimore Sun posted a gallery of Mike Piazza moments. They did not include any photos with him as a Dodger and the majority of the photos were taken within the last 8-9 years.

Mike Piazza Portrait by LeRoy Neiman

The Mets will try to forget about their terrible play yesterday by trying to take down Jurrjens tonight. Jurrjens has a 4-3 record so far this year with a 2.84 ERA. He has already pitched against the Mets giving up 3 runs over 6 innings to get a win and a quality start. In that game he walked 4 and he struck out 4. Here are some Mets numbers against Jurrjens:
    Beltran 0-2, RBI
    Anderson 1-2
    Church 0-2, RBI
Basically, everyone's numbers look like that. Hopefully the offense will awaken tonight. Pitching for the Mets tonight and trying right the ship will be Mike Pelfrey. This will be Mike's second start against Atlanta this year. Last time he was not effective. In 5.1 innings, he let up 5 runs, walked 4 and struck out 1. Needless to say he needs to turn it around today. Here are some Braves numbers against Mike:
    Johnson 2-7, HR
    Francoeur 1-8
    McCann 5-9, 3 2B
    Chipper 2-6, HR
Pelfrey will have to keep McCann under control tonight to get the win.
Lets Go Mets!
   

Today it looked like the Mets had momentum for the first half of the first inning, and then it disappeared. Between this afternoon's game and tonight's game the Mets can find what they had this past weekend in New York. The Mets this afternoon will be trying to rock Jorge Campillo. Campillo has made 13 appearances this year, but has made no starts. He has pitched 21.1 IP, a 1.27 ERA, 5 BB and 17 K. The last time he started was in 2005. There are no current Mets that have hit him, and there are no current Mets who have had more than one AB against Campillo.
The Mets will using Vargas to duel Campillo tonight. He took a loss in his last start but pitched effectively. He lasted 6.1 innings, allowed 2 runs, walked 4 and struck out 6. A repeat performance of that would be great. The following Braves have these stats against Vargas:
    Chipper 6-19, 2B, HR
    Johnson 1-7
    Francoeur 1-5
    Kotsay 0-4
If Vargas can keep the Braves off base and if the Mets can get the offense going, hopefully the final result will help us forget about game one today.
Lets Go Mets!

The Mets try to extend their winning streak to three games this afternoon as they start off their double header in Atlanta. As a team, the Mets have played very well the past two games and this could be the first real signs of serious momentum for the team. The match-up this afternoon will be Maine vs Glavine.
Glavine's season this year is one that mirrors the Braves very well. They have also struggled a lot this year and a look at Glavines last several games shows that really, the starting pitching does not make a strong impact on the outcome because quality starts get wasted, and bad starts get erased (in 7 starts this year, he has 2 decisions):
    May 4: 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, ND
    May 9: 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 , ND
    May 14: 5.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, Win
Atlanta extremely good at home with a record of 16-5, and very poor on the road with a record of 6-16. Hopefully the Mets with these stats against Glavine can help turn that around today:
    Castillo 28-73 (.384 BA), 3 2B, HR
    Alou 21-67 (.313), 8 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI
    Church 1-12
Maine has already pitched against the Braves twice this year. His first start of the year, which was very rocky, and then he picked up a win against them in his second bout this season with the Braves. Overall he is 1-1 in 9 IP, with a 6.00 ERA, 6 BB and 12 K against the Braves this year:
    April 5: 4 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
    April 26: 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
The following Braves have done this against Maine over his career:
    Teixeira 4-12, 2B, HR
    McCann 1-11
    Francoeur 3-12 
    Escobar 1-10
    Chipper 4-7, HR
The most dangerous person there is Chipper who his hitting very well against Maine lifetime and this year, looks to be the next coming of Ted Williams with his .400+ BA. It would be really nice to shut him down this weekend and make his BA drop. Lets take game 1! Lets Go Mets!

Did anyone else have a flash back last night to the third game of the season when the Mets won 13-0. During that game, when it was a 3-0 lead, Beltran hit a homerun that was called back as a ground rule double because of the fence on the Outfield wall. After that bad call, the Mets just blew out the Marlins racking up the hits and the runs.
Well that was very similar to last night. The score was 3-0, Delgado hits a homer, gets it called back, this time called foul, and then the Mets explode to beat the Yankees 11-2. Also, in both games, Perez was the starting pitcher for the Mets.
Another important thing about last night was the Mets were building real momentum right to the Delgado home run. Thats type of call that can swing all of the momentum to the other team. They get a break on big moment in the game, they feel energized, etc. It almost happened too as the Yanks jumped out to 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth but credit Perez for putting a stop to that, and getting the Mets back on the right track.
Good Game Last night, and all around good game.

The ESPN National Sunday Night baseball game goes to the Subway Series tonight as the Mets try to take the two game set. They go up against a tough opponent tonight as they attempt to wrestle with Wang. Wang has had an excellent season so far. He has gone 6-1 over 9 games pitching 59 innings, and posting a 2.90 ERA. In his last start, he picked up a no decision after pitching 7 innings, allowing one run, walking three and striking out 2. His start before that one, against Lee and Cleveland, was his only loss of the season. He pitched 7 innings allowed 3 runs, walked 3 and struck out 4 in that start. Last year he had a start against the Mets where he picked up the win in 8.2 innings of work. He allowed 2 runs, walked one and struck out 10 mets. That being said, the Mets have not hit him very well:
    Beltran 1-4, RBI
    Reyes, 1-4
    Wright 0-4
I haven't used the phrase “important test” for the Mets in a while, but I think it applies here. Today the Mets will have to prove that the meeting has worked, that they are the team they are on paper, and that they can beat one of the game's best pitchers.
Perez takes the mound for the Mets today, fresh off of a win in his last start (6 IP, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K). In 2007 Perez pitched against the Yankees twice with great success. He picked up 2 wins over 15 innings, posted a 1.20 ERA, only allowed 2 runs, waked 5 and struck out 11. Here are some Yankee stats against Oliver:
    Jeter 4-12
    Moeller 1-12
    Abreu 0-6
    Cano 4-8
    Cabrera 0-7
Perez needs to channel 2007 Oliver Perez tonight. If he does that, he will be successful, he will get out of jams, he will be able to stop the bleeding if it ever gets to that and he will give the bullpen some more rest.
Lets Go Mets!

Well that was a fun game, wasn't it? I watched the game today with two friends, one an Orioles fan and the other a Yankee fan. As soon as Farnsworth came out, the Yankee fan said something to the effect of, “Over under one half homers Farnsworth gives up this inning? I'm taking over” The Oriole fan agreed to the Bet with 2-1 odds ($2 payout if Farnsworth gave up a home run). As soon as they finished shaking hands, that very pitch, Reyes took it yard.
The situation was hilarious.
Anyway, good game today guys. The main downside was the amount of home runs that Santana gave up. We all knew going into the trade that was his weakness. Today I'll write it off as an affect of the wind, especially on that Abreu bomb that kept going and going. Off the bat, it did not look like a home run.
Very old style baseball game as well for the Mets. They had two pitchers, a starter than the closer, who came in for a 4 save out. That really helps out the pen, which Willie has been over using. On the topic of Willie, for as much heat as he has received over the last couple of weeks, it seemed like he woke up today. He was arguing a balk from the dugout and he also showed emotion for the pitch that got Alou looking. I am not suggesting that this one game gets him off of the hotseat, but hopefully it can spark a trend.
All around good day.

Thanks to the rainout last night, the Mets will try to play
their 40th game this afternoon against the Yankees. The Mets are staying on the
same game plan as last night, having Santana pitch (Santana's numbers against
the Yanks can be found here). The Yankees have decided to stay on their
schedule and have Pettitte pitch today. The Mets have a slew of players that
have hit Pettitte well in the past:
    Delgado 21- 60 (.350 BA), 3 2B, 5 HR
    Easely 16-56
    Beltran 12-34 (.353 BA), 3 2B, HR
    Wright 5-13
    Alou 1-4, 3 BB
    Castillo 1-9
The numbers suggest that Easely should get the nod over Castillo today. On the
season, Pettitte has a 3-4 record over 47 innings pitched and has posted a 4.40
ERA. Last year, he took a loss against the Mets going 7 innings, allowing 3
runs, walking 1 and striking out 4. The Mets big hitters (Wright, Church,
Delgado, Beltran) need to put up some damage on Pettitte today. One of the big
problems in the series against the Nationals was that the four of them were not
on the same rhythm at all.

Lets Go Mets!
Beat the Yankees!

Change is a good thing. Many experiments over the years have shown that change leads to an increase in productivity. The Hawthorne Experiments in the 1920's showed that when the lighting was changed in the Hawthorne plant, their workers productivity and interpersonal relationships increased. Even when they dimmed the lights as a change, the workers productivity increase. Well Interleague Baseball is a change of pace for the Mets and lets hope that this change in game play, adding in a DH, playing in an electric stadium, will cause an increase of Bat Production and a Stable Bullpen. The Mets last year were 8-7 in Interleague Play and 3-3 vs the Yankees.
 To help lead the Mets to hopefully a burst of momentum, one of the things they need (it also has escaped them all year) will be our Ace, Johan Santana. Santana over 8 games this year has a 4-2 record (really should be more than 4 wins, thanks to the Mets pen), over 52.1 innings, and has struck out 52 batters. He has a 3.10 ERA over this period of time. In 2007, he pitched a game against the Yankees where he picked up a win in 7 innings over work, allowing 2 runs, 2 walks and striking out 5. Here are some Yankee numbers against him:
    Damon 5-24, 3 2B
    Jeter 5-17, 3 2B
    Cano 4-9
    Cabrera 1-3
What separates Santana from the rest is his ability to get out trouble. He gets in trouble, he can work his way out. Perez should pay attention to this tonight so he can learn this ability.
Pitching for the Yankees tonight is Rasner. Rasner has a 2-0 record this year in as many games, over 12 innings of work posting a 3.00 ERA, a walk and 5 strikeouts. He is young (27) and over his four years of play, he has a 6-5 reocrd over 19 games (12 starts), 64.1 innings, and a 3.92 ERA. This year he has been very good:
    Right Handers hit .227
    Left Handers hit .190
    When RISP .000
The only runs he has given up this year are two solo shots. So, like Santana, his weakness is the long ball. That RISP stat spells trouble because if he can keep cool during those situations, he can easily work through the Mets who just forget how to hit when they have RISP. Should be an interesting night. Lets hope change works! Lets Go Mets! Beat the Yankees!