213 Miles From Shea

The Mets go for another three game winning streak and they will try to do this against the Pirates. The Mets have their ace going tonight, who lowered his ERA to 3.12 in last game. I was at his last game and he gave up a lot of hits, it wasn't until the sixth inning that he really started to settle down and be dominant (for his last two innings). That being said, his line still looked pretty good allowing only 2 runs over 7 (which goes to show that their is a difference between watching a game and looking at the box in the morning). Anyway, the last time that Santana pitched against the Pirates was in 2006 during Interleague play. I'll give you a guess how he did against the Pirates. He got the win, went 7 innings, posted a 1.29 ERA for that game, walked no one and struck out 5. Here are some Current Pirate hitting stats against Santana:
    Gomez 8-14
    Nady 1-9
    Bautista 0-9
I have always liked Gomez, who played off the bench for Baltimore for a few years. For the Pirates tonight, they have Ian Snell pithcing tonight who over 5 games and 30.1 IP, has a 2-1 record with a 4.45 ERA. The Right hander pitched against the Mets twice last year getting an 0-1 record over 11 IP. He posted a 7.36 ERA, 18 Hits, 9 earned runs. As a bright spot for the Pirates, he didn't walk any batter and struck out 12. Here are some Mets hitting stats against Snell:
    Reyes 3-12, 2B, 3B, RBI
    Delgado 2-7, 2B, RBI, BB
    Wright 1-7, RBI
    Chavez, 3-3, 2B
If for some reason, the Mets need to pinch hit while Snell is still pitching, these stats suggest that Chavez should get the nod (although I believe all three AB are from the same game, but 3-3 means that he is getting some sort of good look of Snell's pitches).
Lets Go Mets!

Promotions and the Minor League go together as well as anything and this time, I have four promotions in May that I had to share. First off, please don't hesitate to email me (eteich@umd.edu) if you find any other wacky, crazy promotions or ceremonies in May. There are a lot of minor league teams out there and I did not look at everyone's promotional schedule. One thing I noticed when looking at promotional schedules for many teams, that many teams have devolved their promotions to just some cartoon character walking around the ballpark. Its nice to know that the teams listed here have some creativity left in their systems and to have that true spirit of Minor League Baseball.
We start off with May 1st where the Columbus Catfish are having the World Wide Web Birthday Celebration. There is not much I know about this promotion but apparently if you go to their website on May 1st, you can some good deals for the game, which is a birthday party for this great information super highway.
There is something funny about this next promotion. On May 8th, the Reading Phillies will be giving away a Ryan Howard Snow Globe where, inside, Howard is dressed like Santa Claus. Philly is the team that booed Santa Claus, so this promotion has a quirk just because it exists for the MLB team that it represents.
Akron Aeroes have a great way to get fans to come to the game on May 19. The tickets that night are free. Thats a great way to get people to come down to the ball park and spend money on food and merchandise. If its really successful for them, I wouldn't doubt that we will see other teams start to do this as well.
Finally on May 24, the Bowie Baysox are going for the record books. They are attempting to break the record for most people playing the kazoo at one time. This is a game I will try to attend. This also just screams Minor League Baseball Promotion.

Usually I do not do a post game unless I was at the game, but several profound things happened today that warranted this post. The Mets needed to get this rubber game? Why? Its not September, its not for the division crown, it was not a make or break game but it was key game for building momentum. Consecutive games won, specially after a bad stretch (2 for 6 wins if you count yesterday) means that this team needs to get back on the right streak to help turn it around.
In the first inning, Reyes got in on a wild pitch. Albeit not the best way to get the runner in scoring position home, it worked and the Mets went up 1-0. The Mets then had a pretty good second inning that resulted in 2 runs. The reason this was “pretty good” and not great was because the Mets got a statistical anomaly, and did not pounce on it. You do not expect your pitcher to continue the inning, Nelson did just that and in a blink of the eye, the Mets had bases loaded, with one of their best hitters, who happened to be in a slump, at the plate. Wright could not do anything in this situation, and the inning ended.
Fast forward a bit now, when the game is 4-0 and then 4-3. With one out, the Mets get a runner, Castillo, on second base. This is a big AB for Wright, and personally, the AB that really made this the Mets game. They were up by one, and by a wild pitch had a runner now on 3rd with only one out. This is the type of AB that Wright needs to get an RBI some how. Thats exactly what happened, he singled and Castillo scored. The Mets then got that crucial 2 run cushion and Wright did his job by not allowing that runner to be left on base.
Delgado also woke up today. I'm not saying that this game will end all of his problems, but this could be the start of a nice streak for him, or it might not be. I don't know but at least it will silence the boo's for another day.
If the Mets can start to get the slumps of Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Delgado out of the way, they can really build this momentum that is necessary for any playoff bound team.
On a side note, nice power and hitting today by Castillo and Casanova. Casanova flashed power in Spring, leading the Mets with 3 and hopefully he can slug for some higher numbers until Schneider and Castro come back.

The third place Mets will take on the forth place Braves in the rubber game tomorrow (or today, depending when you read this) at Shea. First off, what a difference a week makes. Last week, when the Mets were 4 games above .500, for the most part, the rest of division outside of Florida was below .500. Now the Nationals are the only team that are not at .500 or above.
Anyway, the Braves have their even bigger arm going for them for this game. Smoltz has stepped out to be their dominant Ace this season (Which is saying a lot on a team that had a few candidates to be the actual Ace). This will be an uphill battle for the Mets. Smoltz has one game already against the Mets where he lasted 5 innings, got the win, allowed 2 hits, no runs, walked 2 and struck out 6. This mirrors his season very well where he is 3-1 over 4 games and 23.0 innings posting a 0.78 ERA.
Last season, Smoltz was 2-1 over 6 games and 38.0 innings against the Mets. He posted a 3.55 ERA against us. Here are some Mets stats against Smoltz:
    Reyes 17-57, 3 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, .298 BA
    Wright 10-43, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .233 BA
    Delgado 12-42, 4 HR, .286 BA
Reyes has really been struggling these last 6 games. He has gone 2-26 during that stretch. Currently, he has one of the best BA's against Smoltz on the team, and it would be much easier for the Mets to get things going if Reyes can get on base. The Mets had a “big” inning today, but having one of those innings, when its the only inning of scoring is not quite what I was looking for in earlier posts. If they can have a big inning tomorrow, then they really can start to build some momentum in-between games and during games.

The Mets have a tough challenge today. They have lost 4 of their last 5 and if they choose today to start winning again, they will have to do so against the ever challenging Tim Hudson. John Maine will be taking the hill for the Mets who is looking to approve his record to .500 today. In his last start against the Braves this season, also his first start of the season, he took a loss after 4 innings pitched, allowing 4 runs (9.00 ERA), had 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. So far for the season, he is 1-2 over 4 starts, 22.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 14 BB, 16 K. Last season he had a 1-1 record in 3 games against the Braves, going 18.1 IP, 3.93 ERA, 9 BB and 17 K.
For his first start against the Braves, which Fox Sports said he was throwing at 97 MPH, a lot of his issues can be written off due to not pitching for about 8 days. Now he is on a regular schedule, he can find rhythm and be the effective pitcher we know he can be.
In Hudson's last start against the Mets, he went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA, over 6 innings pitched, no walks and 4 strikeouts. Since Hudson has been around, a lot of Mets have a large collection stats against him:
    Delgado 17-53, 3 2B, 6 HR, 12 RBI, .321 BA, .438 OBP
    Beltran 18-54, 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .333 BA
    Reyes 13-45, 2B, HR, .289 BA
    Wright 8-37, HR, .216 BA
Today is a big day for Delgado. He has good numbers against Hudson. Right now, he, Wright, and Reyes are all slumping. Because of Delgado's success against the Braves' Ace, he needs to step and be a leader today, cause some offense power, and help get that big inning that the Mets disparately need.
Lets Go Mets!

Out of everyone in the pen right now, even though Heilman is facing the most criticism, I truly feel that the Sosa is the one on the wire. Sosa is the pitcher in the pen that, for some reason, a pitcher cannot make his scheduled start, he is the spot starter. With the way he is pitching right now, he cannot be that spot starter because he cannot get out of innings. Last year, Sosa had to be sent down to AAA for a bit of time, and came back and was more effective. He is very close for a repeat trip.
If that happens, there are three pitchers I feel have a good chance of coming up. The first one, Collazo, is the least likely of the three because he is an actually RP, this spot has to be filled by a SP/RP. Collazo struggled this Spring and last season, but so far, he has been lights out in AAA. He has pitched 8 games, which add up to 16.0 IP. He has posted a 1.69 ERA, one walk, 7 strikeouts and 0.94 WHIP. The numbers look good for him right now.
The two more likely candidates are Ruddy Lugo and Bostick. Both of these pitchers can be SP and be RP, which is what Sosa is. Lugo so far this season has posted a 2-1 record, 2.88 ERA in 4 games, 25.0 IP, only 4 walks and 26 K. Bostick also has good numbers, 2-1 record, 2.97 ERA, 5 G, 30.1 IP, 13 BB and 17 K.
When it comes to these two pitchers, Lugo has the upper hand because of his amazing walk to strikeout ration. A better assessment of the situation will be when Lugo makes his fifth start so the numbers are even between Bostick and Lugo. At this point, we might need to shake things up a bit in the pen by just switching on pitcher, you never know what can happen.

Tonight, the Mets will try to right the ship as they take on their NL East foes, the Atlanta Braves. After winning 5 straight, the Mets have now dropped 3 of 4. Pelfrey who has been effective this year, will be taking on Jurrjens tonight.
Jurrjens sound unfamiliar? You are not alone. There are no current Mets that have Plate Appearances against him. He played with Detroit last year and now is with the Braves. So far this season, he has pitched 4 games (25.1 IP) and has posted a 2-2 record, 3.20 ERA, 9 BB, and 21 K's.
Pelfrey also has good numbers through 3 starts this year posting a 2-0 record in 17.0 innings, 3.18 ERA, 6 BB and 9 K. There are Braves that do have stats against Pelfrey:
    Francoeur 0-5
    Johnson 1-5   
    Chipper 1-4
    McCann 3-7
    Teixeira 1-4
Pelfrey is up! The Mets are home! (Generally not a statistical good thing) Lets Go Mets!

I was at the game last night, and despite everything that happened, I still had a good time. (To clarify that, the Mets fan in me was Angry, Vulgar, and agitated, the Baseball fan in me was still taking in the sights of the stadium, which on trip #2 have not worn of yet). To quote someone in my group last night, as we walked up to the ballpark, “You smell that? New Ballpark smell!”
Anyway, back to the game. Going into the bottom of the fifth, the Mets were practically in cruise control (the wrong attitude to be in), and then Oliver, who had about 70 pitches to that point, who was effective to that point, completely broke down. He could not get anyone out. The bases were immediately loaded. Now I am not quick to blame Perez totally because the Nats got a lot of lucky breaks in this area. They seemed to hit the ball in the right spot of the infield that there was no player, those little spots. (This continued for the next three innings) Bad breaks like that, plus defense blunders adds a lot of pressure to pitchers.
That pressure, which pitchers should be able to handle does not help pitchers that load the bases with no outs (Perez), have struggled this year (Heilman), and cannot finish innings (Sosa).
On the other side of the plate, the Mets struggles at the plate really shined through last night. The inability to have a big inning is starting to kill this team. Wright slumping a bit in these two games (have two walks and no hits) really hurts this team, but its hard to blame Wright because recently, when things do go right, Wright is in the middle of it, he doesn't have to carry the team, there are 24 other guys out there that can and do step up. Remember how over a week ago, the Mets had a 6 run-inning against the Phills? Well that led to a three game win streak, and then later (after two dropped to the Brewers) to a five game streak.
It's to early to panic. The Mets are one big inning and a couple of good outings away from another win streak. I was talking to a friend after the game and explained my philosophy, which is probably very similar to many peoples, for how to look at the start of the season. At the start of the season, the standings mean nothing. Winning is what you aim for. That is different then aiming to be #1 because there are times that when the team thats in second place loses, theres a little less pressure to win. Well when you try to win and do win early, then the team just builds a cushion above .500 and then the standings take care of themselves. So forget the Phillies, forget the Braves, and just focus on each W.

Don't have too much time, but gotta leave a preview before the game! First off, I will be there again tonight, and once again, I am very excited.
Anyway, Shawn Hill makes his second start of the season for the Nationals. In his first start, he got a ND over 5 innings, 6 hits, 4 ER (7.20 ERA), no walks and 6 K's. He has been very effective against the Mets last year at least, as in two games he posted a 1-0 record over 14 innings, 2.57 ERA, walking 3 and striking out 7. The following Mets have these stats against Hill:
    Reyes 0-7
    Beltran 2-5, HR, 2 RBI
    Wright 3-6
It was good to see the Mets get back on track last night. There is no reason to repeat that tonight against the Nats. Last night the Mets seemed very focused on small ball between the four stolen bases and the sac hits everywhere. It will be interesting to see if Willie calls the small ball again tonight, or as a surprise, allows the players to swing for the fences. I'm leaning my self towards small ball, because the Mets tend to better in these situations.
Also did anyone else see that the game last night was very similar to the first of the season. Same score, both were alway, Santana pitched both of them. The only big difference was that last night there was no “big” inning for the Mets last night even though they had one 3 run inning, the others were pretty small.
Lets Go Mets!