Mets drop twinbill, Subway Series
June 28, 2004 -
The momentum the Mets had gained Saturday afternoon in a 9-3 triumph was but a memory by the time they left Yankee Stadium the next night.
After handing the Yanks that humbling defeat a day earlier, the Mets lost both games of a day-night doubleheader in The Bronx on Sunday. Art Howe's club dropped an 8-3 decision in the opener before succumbing, 11-6, before 55,387 fans in the nightcap.
Matt Ginter was tagged for seven runs on seven hits in three-plus innings.The Mets, who entered Sunday's action with the best ERA in the Major Leagues (and who still lead all clubs with a mark of 3.69 -- ahead of the Padres, Brewers, Cubs, Astros and Red Sox -- through Monday's games), have been looking for improvement from the starters at the bottom of their rotation, namely Jae Seo and Matt Ginter.
A former first-round pick by the White Sox, Ginter had his moments in his first few starts for the Mets. He was 1-0 with a 2.43 ERA through six starts and looked to be the steal of the offseason for general manager Jim Duquette, who picked up Ginter from the White Sox for Timo Perez just before the start of the season.
But Ginter has had difficulty of late, including his outing Sunday night. Ginter allowed seven runs on seven hits through three-plus innings. The Yanks plated six runs in the first inning with Ruben Sierra providing the big blow, a three-run homer that reached the second deck in right field.
Pitching coach Rick Peterson told Howe that Ginter looked good in his bullpen session before the game, but Ginter explained that once he took the field his pitches wound up in the hittable zone too often.
The Subway Series History: How The Yankees beat up the Mets >>
Erickson recalled, sent to Triple-A
June 28, 2004 - The Mets recalled right-hander Scott Erickson from his rehabilitation assignment on Monday before assigning him to Triple-A Norfolk for more work on his way back to the Mets. Erickson must pass through waivers first, however, before it becomes official in 72 hours.
Erickson must pass through waivers first, however, before it becomes official in 72 hours. According to Jeff Borris, one of Erickson's representatives, the veteran right-hander will make approximately four more starts for the Tides, at which the point the situation will be revisited. He was 1-3 with a 6.97 ERA in five starts in the International League.
General manager Jim Duquette acknowledged over the weekend that Erickson was not quite ready to return to the Major Leagues, an opinion Duquette said the hurler shared. Erickson will continue to work his way back from the strained hamstring that knocked him out of action just prior to the third game of the season in Atlanta.
New York remains in the market for a starter best suited for the back end of its rotation, but Erickson, at the moment, does not appear to be an upgrade over Jae Seo or Matt Ginter.
Jose Reyes stretches before his season debut against the Detroit Tigers.June 19, 2004 - Months after a hamstring injury forced the Mets' projected franchise player into a long and frustrating rehab, Jose Reyes was in the lineup Saturday, batting second and playing second base at Shea for the first time since August 31.
Months after a hamstring injury forced the Mets' projected franchise player into a long and frustrating rehab, Reyes was in the lineup Saturday as the Mets battled the Detroit Tigers, batting second and playing second base at Shea for the first time since hurting his ankle in a game on August 31, 2003.
Reyes, 21, left Double-A Binghamton on Saturday morning and arrived at Shea around 1:00 p.m. ET -- six hours before the game. After spending most of the early season in Port St. Lucie, Fla., rehabbing and watching his team on television, Reyes played four games with Binghamton, going 2-for-18 with three RBIs and three steals.
Yates returns to Norfolk
June 18, 2004 - The Mets optioned Tyler Yates back to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday upon Richard Hidalgo's arrival in Queens. While the move isn't surprising, it does leave New York with 11 pitchers on the Major League roster for the first time this season.
Both manager Art Howe and general manager Jim Duquette, however, didn't view being down an arm in the bullpen as a problem. Howe pointed to the upcoming off-day on Monday as one reason for his lack of concern. He could work the bullpen a little harder this weekend knowing there is a day off at the back end.
And, with Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel sandwiching starts around Al Leiter, the bullpen may not get a great deal of work anyway. The situation will be reevaluated at some point early next week.
As for Yates, his demotion was not performance related, though he did have a rough outing Wednesday night against the Tribe, allowing four runs on five hits in one inning of work. Because it was his first outing in nearly a week, management wasn't too concerned.
"The adjustment of going back to the 'pen has been easy," Yates said. "When I pitched the other night, it was the best I felt since before the [Tommy John] surgery [in 2002]. But I got hit around a little. So what do I take out of it?"
Hall of Fame catchers honor Piazza
June 18, 2004 - It seemed a bit ironic that Mike Piazza walked into the press conference on the day he was being honored as the all-time home run leader among catchers carrying a first baseman's mitt.
The game's catching royalty -- Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk -- were all crowded around the podium in an auxiliary locker room at Shea Stadium on Friday, awaiting Piazza's arrival, all taking notice of what glove he was carrying, all gently chiding him in their own way about making the move out from behind the plate.
It hasn't helped that Friday's game against Detroit marked just the second time since May 22 that Piazza strapped on the catching gear. He also caught Thursday night in the series finale against Cleveland, and came away wondering just a little bit why he even continues to get back behind the plate. He took a foul tip off his wrist, a not so subtle reminder of just how difficult the job can be, especially when compared to fielding hard grounders or throws in the dirt at first base.
Mets acquire Hidalgo for Weathers
June 17, 2004 - The Mets added the much-needed bat for which they had been searching on Thursday, acquiring Richard Hidalgo and cash from Houston in exchange for popular reliever David Weathers and minor league pitcher Jeremy Griffiths.
Richard HidalgoWhether Hidalgo, 28, proves to be the right bat to help protect Piazza remains the other central point in this deal. Hidalgo, a career .278 hitter, is batting .256 this season and had lost his starting job in right field earlier this week. He hit 44 homers and drove in 122 runs in 2000 but has only four homers and 30 RBIs this season. Only Piazza [33] has more RBIs on the Mets.
Walling out, Baylor in as Mets hitting coach
June 15, 2004 - The Mets' inability to produce consistently at the plate, a situation that was particularly glaring on the recently completed road trip, resulted in its first casualty on Tuesday, when the club announced the firing of hitting instructor Denny Walling.
ench coach Don Baylor will take over on an interim basis though it seems likely that the job will be his through the remainder of the season. General manager Jim Duquette said the decision, with which manager Art Howe did not agree, was his to make and that he had full support of ownership.
Duquette added that no other changes in the coaching staff are expected at this time but he did say that the situation is constantly being re-evaluated. He added that the move was not an indictment of Howe.
Jose ReyesJune 15, 2004 - Jose Reyes was scheduled to continue his rehabilitation Tuesday night with Binghamton, the club's affiliate in the Double-A Eastern League, and could possibly rejoin the Mets as soon as Friday night.
Reyes, who went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and an RBI before leaving after his eighth-inning at-bat, will play for the B-Mets in their three-game set with Akron before management re-evaluates the situation.
General manager Jim Duquette wouldn't commit to having Reyes back in New York in time for the weekend series against the Tigers, though, saying any such decision would be made based on how the Reyes makes it through this week.
Missed opportunities doom Mets
June 11, 2004 - he official record will say the Mets gave up a run in the 15th inning on Thursday and were swept by the Twins with a 3-2 loss.
But the Mets lost this game twice -- once in the 15th, and once by letting the slowest player on the Twins rumble 270 feet without catching him in the ninth.
Leading 2-1 in the ninth, Braden Looper was one out away from nailing down his 12th save of the season when Matthew LeCroy dumped a single into right field. Pinch-hitter Jose Offerman then laced Looper's first pitch into the gap in left-center field.
Mike Cameron cut off the ball on the warning track as LeCroy -- a first baseman with catcher's speed -- lumbered around the bases. Cameron wheeled and fired over the heads of both cutoff men, allowing LeCroy to score without a throw to the plate.
Mets select Rice hurler Humber
June 7, 2004 - There was little surprise when the Mets announced that they had chosen hard-throwing right-hander Phil Humber with the third pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.
Sure, there was some speculation that Long Beach State's Jered Weaver might be a target or even Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew. But when it came time to make the third overall selection in the draft, New York opted for the safe bet and went with the ace from Rice University. It was the Mets' highest selection since choosing Paul Wilson with the top overall pick in 1994.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Humber, a Carthage, Texas, native, went 13-4 this season for the 2003 NCAA champions, posting a 2.27 ERA in 20 games (15 starts). Most impressive, however, were his 154 strikeouts in 115 innings. He finished his college career with a 35-8 record after taking the loss Sunday in the Owls' NCAA Tournament Regional loss to Texas A & M.
Mets dip back below .500
June 5, 2004 - The Mets (27-28) once again dipped below the .500 mark and also fell back to 4 1/2 games behind the front-running Marlins in the National League East. The Mets will close out their much-ballyhooed 12-game stretch against Florida and Philadelphia on Sunday needing a victory to break even.
The seventh-inning chess match was inevitable on Saturday afternoon.
Right-hander Ricky Bottalico was on the mound for New York, which, at the time, was holding a three-run lead over Florida. But when the Marlins put back-to-back singles together off the reliever, skipper Jack McKeon turned to all-time pinch-hit leader Lenny Harris. New York manager Art Howe, in turn, decided to bring in southpaw Mike Stanton to face the left-handed-hitting Harris, who had only one at-bat against lefties this season and was hitless in four career meetings with Stanton. Not to be outmaneuvered, McKeon quickly called Harris back to the dugout and sent the right-handed-hitting Damion Easley to the plate.
Stanton had been one of Howe's most effective relievers this season, but Easley promptly sent a 3-1 cutter that caught too much of the plate into the visiting bullpen in left field for a game-tying, three-run homer. The percentages were with Howe, even against Easley, who was hitting only .217 this season against left-handers.
Stanton miscues have been rare this season. Miscues by the remainder of the bullpen have been equally infrequent, yet against the Fish they were plentiful. Four of the five relievers Howe used on Saturday allowed runs, including David Weathers, who surrendered what would turn out to be the decisive run in the eighth, and Florida emerged with a 7-6 victory to hand New York it's second consecutive loss.
