Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Trying to make sense of it all
Ryan Church killed us the last weekend of the season, again.Marlins pitcher Matt Lindstrom who pitched the 9th inning and earned his 5th save of the season with 99 mph gas. Lindstrom closed out Friday nights game also. He was 3-3 with 5 saves and 3.14 in 66 appearances. On November 20, 2006, the Mets traded Lindstrom and Henry Owens to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick. The Mets GM was Omar Minaya.
Luis Castillo needs to disappear like Orlando Hernandez did.The Mets were 40-47 when Luis Castillo played, 49-26 without him in lineup or on the field.
The Mets offense scored on 5 runs in the last games of year against the Marlins. The bullpen allowed 5 runs in 6 2/3 innings in the final series at Shea.
Johan Santana endeared himself to Mets fans on Saturday, even though his team failed to qualify for the postseason the following day. Santana shut out the Marlins on the second-to-last day of the season despite coming off a career-high 125-pitch outing Sept. 23 against the Cubs and working on short rest for just the second time in his career. Santana, who tossed a shutout Saturday against the Marlins while pitching on short rest, was named NL Pitcher of the Month. He went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA in September.
David Wright finished with a .318 average at Shea.The Mets finished with a winning record of 1,859-1,713 at Shea Stadium, according to Elias. The Mets are 3585-3889 overall since entering the National League in 1962.
Missing injured closer Billy Wagner for the final two months, the Mets’ makeshift bullpen had a 6.23 ERA over the last 17 games. New York was 2-for-6 on save chances and opponents batted .335 against its relievers during that stretch, according to Stats, LLC.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Mets choke in finale again
Willie Randolph was all smiles in 2006 and last night after the final game at Shea.Doomed by a dreadful bullpen that failed them again Sunday, the New York Mets completed their second consecutive September slide with a 4-2 loss to Florida that knocked them out of playoff contention in the final game at Shea Stadium.
Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala served up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning that put the pesky Marlins ahead, and New York (89-73) lost out to Milwaukee (90-72) for the NL wild card on the last day of the season. Schoeneweis went 0-4 after Aug. 25.
As New York played Florida, the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1, earning the league’s last postseason spot. After filing into the clubhouse, several Mets started cleaning out lockers and saying goodbyes, another bitter winter ahead.
It was an eerily similar scenario to last year, when New York lost at home to Florida on the final day of season, ending its playoff hopes.
That defeat finished one of baseball’s biggest meltdowns—the Mets had led the NL East by seven games with 17 to play before they went 5-12 down the stretch. This time, they held first place by a season-high 3 1/2 games with 17 remaining before going 7-10 the rest of the way.
Excluding the 1981 split season, the Mets became the first team in major league history to hold 3 1/2 -game division leads in consecutive Septembers and fail to make the postseason both times, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Brian Gorman was the first base umpire. His father, Tom, worked the plate during the first game at Shea Stadium on April 17, 1964.
With the Mets trailing 2-0, pinch-hitter Robinson Cancel drew a leadoff walk from starter Scott Olsen in the sixth. One out later, Carlos Beltran hit his 27th homer and sent the sellout crowd of 56,059 into a frenzy.
With two outs and a runner on second in the seventh, Jorge Cantu hit a shot to left that appeared to be headed over Endy Chavez’s head until he raced back and reached up to make a difficult catch on the run.
When he made the grab, Chavez was only steps from the spot where he leaped above the fence for an incredible catch that saved the Mets—momentarily—in Game 7 of the 2006 NL championship series against St. Louis.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Mets choking again, no offense
It’s all slipping away for the New York Mets again.
With a listless loss to the Florida Marlins on Friday night, New York relinquished control of its playoff fate. Now, the desperate Mets will start ace Johan Santana on three days’ rest Saturday, but they need help to reach the postseason.
Mike Pelfrey lost to Florida for the fourth time this year and New York’s offense fizzled in a 6-1 defeat that put the fading Mets on the brink of elimination with two games remaining.
Pelfrey (13-11) allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings, falling to 0-4 in five starts against Florida this year. The big right-hander went 0-3 in his final six outings this season, though he pitched well for the most part.
New York fell two games behind NL East-leading Philadelphia, which beat Washington 8-4, and a game back of Milwaukee in the wild-card race. The Brewers topped the Chicago Cubs 5-1.
Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza and Darryl Strawberry received warm ovations when they were introduced before the game as the Mets began saying goodbye to big Shea. They will move next season into a new ballpark, Citi Field.
The Mets used eight pitchers, matching a club record for a nine-inning game.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Cubs Triple A team loses in 9th to Amazin's
Carlos Beltran’s RBI single in the ninth off reliever Kevin Hart capped a rally from a three-run deficit. The Mets remained tied with the Brewers atop the wild-card standings and pulled within a game of idle Philadelphia for first place in the NL East with three games remaining.
Richardo Rincon means "Gives Up Three Run Homer on First Pitch" in Spanish.
Daniel Murphy hosts a hitting school in the off season. They teach every aspect of the game except one.
Thank God Ryan Church head is still dazed and confused. While avoiding the tag at the plate last night to score, he later admitted he saw two catchers and ran clear of the futherest one the left.
Pitching what could be his final game for the Mets, Pedro Martinez struck out a season-high nine and left to a warm ovation with the score tied 3-all in the seventh. He pointed to the crowd and raised his fist high. Met fans are dopes, the Cubs had a triple A team out there last night. Pedro cheated the Mets out of 4 years of salary and having only one decent year. Adios Pedro!
Dudley D-Wright hit a sacrifice fly in the first for his 124th RBI, matching Mike Piazza’s team record set in 1999. Wright should have at least 150 RBI.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Brutal loss to the Cubs at Shea
New York dropped into a tie for the wild-card lead with Milwaukee and remained 1½ games behind Philadelphia in the NL East.
In the type of game that could mean lights out for the season, the score alone didn't detail the agony of the Mets' 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
Last year, after opening a seven-game division lead with 17 games to play, the Mets dropped into a tie for a playoff position with three games remaining. They've lost four of five and have four games left, so they're one game ahead of last season's pace for futility.
It's hard to conceive of a more demoralizing defeat. Many in the booing crowd of 54,416 quickly filed out following Aramis Ramirez's homer.
New York stranded seven runners in the seventh through ninth innings. The Mets failed to score after putting runners at the corners with no outs in the seventh, then got only one run—on Jeff Samardzija’s bases-loaded walk to Ramon Martinez—after putting runners at the corners with no outs in the eighth. The ninth was even worse.
Following Daniel Murphy’s leadoff triple in the ninth off Bob Howry, David Wright could have won it. He took three straight balls, fouled off a pitch, then missed the next two. Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran were intentionally walked to bring up Ryan Church, who grounded meekly to Ronny Cedeno. The second baseman, playing in, threw home for the forceout. Ramon Castro struck out on three pitches.
Church, who was 0-for-5, struck out with runners on first and third and none out in the eighth and hit into a forceout at home with the bases full and one out in the ninth after the Cubs intentionally walked Delgado and Carlos Beltran. Church is hitting .217 this month.
For the eighth time this season, the Mets failed to win after taking a four-run lead, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Take a look at some of the Worst Met Moments At Shea >>
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Heilman booed while warming up
Santana, glowering at plate umpire Phil Cuzzi after some close throws, tossed a career-high 125 pitches. It was the highest total for a Mets pitcher since Orlando Hernandez threw 130 on Aug. 14, 2007, at Pittsburgh.
Santana got into trouble in the 8th inning after striking out the first two batters, the Mets bullpen phone rang and Aaron Heilman got up and started to throw.
A scurry of fans in the right field who had a clear view of the Mets bullpen started groaning and yelled at other fans, "Oh No! Not Heilman!" Heilman is 3-8 this season with a 5.26 ERA, five blown saves and only three saves.
Fans were hoping Mel Rojas or Branden Looper might be available before Heilman.
Luckily Santana worked out of the jam and came off the field to a standing ovation.
In the 9th inning, Pedro Feliciano got Kosuke Fukudome to foul out to David Wright, but then Henry Blanco singled to left and Micah Hoffpauir. Jerry Manuel called on Luis Ayala trotted in and got the final two outs for his 9th save as a Met.
Oliver Perez was all over the place and never got through the fifth inning for the Mets. The left-hander allowed five earned runs on six hits and five walks in 41/3 innings, squandering a 5-1 lead in the process.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sunday's game no longer last game at Shea
The New York Mets pulled a double play to close out Shea Stadium, but many fans are calling it a foul ball.
The Mets announced Wednesday that, because of the success of the New York Yankees final game at the Stadium in the Bronx. A second final game will be played at Shea this Monday said a high ranking Met official.
We are making up a game from the 1973 season in which we did not play because we clinched and decided not to make it up. The Mets will face the Chicago Cubs in the makeup game.
We only played the Cubs 17 of the 18 scheduled games in 1973 and need to makeup this game which will be the last game ever to be played at the soon-to-be demolished Queens stadium.
But some fans jeered the changed schedule, arguing they'd already paid for tickets to the very last game at Shea - not the second to last.
"I think we were misled," said David Stark, 40, of Yorkville, who bought 4 $195 tickets to the Mets final home game at Shea. The Mets added "a second - and final" game at Shea on Sept. 29, a Monday day game.
"They just really screwed people and totally diluted the value of these...Sunday final game tickets!" said Stark, a computer geek who is from Atlanta.
Mets officials said that since the 50,000 tickets to the final game sold out in 48 minutes, demand dictated they add another game to accommodate as many fans as possible.
A Mets spokesman rejected charges the team hoodwinked people, releasing a transcript of MLB schedule saying at a Feb. 7 press conference that "it's possible we'll do more" games "if there's enough of a ticket demand."
Tickets for the final final game in Shea Stadium history go on sale at 9 a.m. Saturday online at www.507TIXX.com or at (718) 507-TIXX.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Amazin' Mess
Jason Marquis became the second pitcher to hit a grand slam against the Mets this season, and the Chicago Cubs clinched home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs with a 9-5 victory Monday night that damaged New York’s postseason chances.
The last Cubs pitcher to drive in five runs was Milt Pappas on Aug. 11, 1972, against the Mets at Wrigley Field.The 1977 Cubs were the previous team to give up two grand slams to pitchers in one season. Montreal’s Don Stanhouse and Philadelphia’s Larry Christenson hit those long balls, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Marquis added an RBI groundout in the fifth to make it 8-2. The last Cubs pitcher to drive in five runs was Milt Pappas on Aug. 11, 1972, against the Mets at Wrigley Field. Box Score >>
Jon Niese (1-1) lasted only three-plus innings in his third major league start and New York lost its third straight since moving into first place Friday with a win at Atlanta.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Bullpen chokes up another game
Down 4-3, Atlanta struck in the eighth against Scott Schoeneweis (2-5) and three Mets relievers. It was the latest collapse for a beleaguered bullpen missing injured closer Billy Wagner.
The relievers have a league-high 16 blown saves since the All-Star break, the worst in the NL. Schoeneweis has lost three games since Aug. 26 and the relievers have a woeful 2-8 record since Aug. 11. Considering the Brewers are next with 10, you can make the case it's fairly remarkable the Mets are this close to playing in October.
Joe Smith surrendered a tiebreaking triple to Jeff Francoeur in Atlanta’s four-run eighth inning as the Mets’ wild-card lead was trimmed to 1 1/2 games over victorious Milwaukee.
Pedro Feliciano pitched next, and got one out before issuing an intentional walk. That brought on Aaron Heilman and, after another intentional walk, Martin Prado delivered a two-run double.
Carlos Delgado’s two-run homer with one out in the ninth off Mike Gonzalez pulled the Mets within a run, but Carlos Beltran and Damion Easley struck out to end the game. The Mets went 1-8 in Atlanta this season.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Pedro stinks up in first
Jose Reyes and Bobby Parnell sit in the dugout in the loss against the Braves Saturday Sept. 20, 2008.Following Philadelphia’s 3-2 win at Florida, New York dropped into second place in the NL East, a half-game behind the Phillies.
The Braves’ first three batters of the game reached against Martinez, who is 1-3 with a 7.00 ERA in his last five starts. Anderson led off with a single and swiped second before Martin Prado walked on four pitches. Johnson followed with a double to right and Brian McCann drove in Prado with a groundout.
Omar Infante struck out but Casey Kotchman singled in Johnson to make it 3-0. Martinez surrendered another hit to Jeff Francoeur before Brandon Jones struck out to end the inning.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Mets fire manager again
The New York Mets fired ex-manager Willie Randolph again early Wednesday morning.
Willie has been fired twice this season.Former bench coach Jerry Manuel, who previously managed the Chicago White Sox and currently manages the Mets, will replace Randolph as a scapegoat on an interim basis, according a statement released by the team at approximately 3:15 a.m. EDT. Manuel said he spoke to Randolph on Wednesday morning.
“It was a very tough decision,” New York general manager Omar Minaya said during a news conference Wednesday. I woke up Willie from a deep sleep and asked him to drive four hours to Washington D.C. from Randolph's home in New Jersey.” So Randolph came down and was fired in the parking lot at Nationals Park.
Jerry Manuel is the new guy to blame.Minaya said he made the decision to fire Randolph because he wanted “closure” and did not want speculation about Randolph’s status weighing on his players’ minds. "Someone has to be blamed" said Minaya.
Randolph’s job security had been unstable since September, when the club suffered arguably the biggest regular-season collapse in baseball history, blowing a seven-game standings lead to the Philadelphia Phillies with 17 contests remaining.
Now they have blown a three game lead.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Mets fall out of first place
It took six days for the New York Mets to squander a 3 1/2 -game cushion in the NL East. Now, the only race they lead is for the wild card—and not by much.
Mets' latest flop appears to have caught Jose Reyes (l.) by surprise as Endy Chavez (c.) and Carlos Delgado file out of dugout.
Philadelphia moved a half-game in front with an 8-7 win at Atlanta. It’s the first time the Mets, who have lost four of five, have been out of first place since Aug. 26. They lead struggling Milwaukee by a half-game in the wild-card standings.
Needing wins in a tense pennant race, the free-falling Mets can’t find a way to beat the lowly Nationals. Sounds the same as last September—only this flop happened faster.
They were up by 3 1/2 games with 17 to go this year, but that lead is gone. And on Tuesday night, New York also lost outfielder Fernando Tatis for the rest of the season to a separated shoulder.
The Mets went 1-5 against the Nationals over the final two weeks last season — a big reason for their massive meltdown. This time, New York has dropped the first two in a four-game series at Washington mainly because it can’t find any offense.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Pedro looks finished, Dudley D-Wright strikes
Dudley D-Wright ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play with the bases load.Manuel saw Nationals rookie John Lannan (9-13) limit the Mets to one hit over seven innings.
He saw the heart of his lineup—David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado—combine to go 0-for-11 with four strikeouts.
He saw Wright ground into a bases-loaded double play in the eighth.
He saw Pedro Martinez (5-5) allow four runs in six innings.
He saw reliever Duaner Sanchez turn a 4-1 deficit into a 7-1 deficit by allowing Elijah Dukes’ homer in the seventh.
Trailing 7-1 Monday, the Mets threatened to make things interesting once Lannan left the game. The rookie left-hander gave up a double in the third to Brian Schneider, who wound up scoring on Jose Reyes’ RBI groundout—and that was it.
Garrett Mock entered for the eighth and immediately gave up Luis Castillo’s double, a walk and Reyes’ RBI single. Mock was replaced by Mike Hinckley, and Ryan Church greeted him with a single that loaded the bases.
That brought up Wright, he of the 31 homers and 114 RBIs and MVP candidacy. But Hinckley got him to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Bullpen does it again
Luis Ayala is a bum.Luis Ayala failed to convert a save Sunday for the second time in nine tries since joining the Mets. And with 14 games left in the Mets' season, they are walking a tightrope in the late innings as they try to hold onto the National League East lead.
Fill-in closer Luis Ayala gave up a go-ahead homer to pinch-hitter Greg Norton, and the Atlanta Braves rallied for five runs in the ninth inning Sunday and a 7-4 victory. The Mets’ lead in the NL East was cut to one game by Philadelphia, which swept a doubleheader from Milwaukee.
Chipper Jones loves Shea Stadium Met fans.Wasting two homers by David Wright and a strong start from Oliver Perez, the Mets lost for the ninth time in 30 games.
Atlanta slugger Chipper Jones had three hits, including an RBI double, in his final game at Shea Stadium, where he’s had so much success that he named one of his sons Shea.
The All-Star third baseman, who missed Saturday’s doubleheader with a stiff back, finished with a .313 batting average, 19 homers and 55 RBIs in 88 games at the ballpark.
The Daily News Anthony McCarron answers the question. Where is Dave Kingman?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Mets bullpen blows first game, then Niese shuts down Braves
Jonathon Niese stood in the center of the clubhouse, accepting congratulations from a parade of grateful teammates.
His first major league win was a crucial one for the New York Mets.
Niese pitched eight poised innings in his second career start, David Wright hit the first of three Mets homers and New York beat the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Saturday night for a doubleheader split.
Jeff Francoeur hit a tying single in the eighth inning of the first game and Atlanta rallied against Santana and the Mets’ bullpen, beating New York 3-2 for its first one-run road win in more than a year.
Omar Infante’s sacrifice fly put the Braves in front, capping a three-run eighth.
Mike Gonzalez closed out Atlanta’s fourth straight win with a perfect ninth and the Braves won a one-run game away from home for the first time since a 7-6 victory on Aug. 9, 2007, also at Shea Stadium.
After ex-Met Mike Hampton kept the Braves close in the opener, Jeff Ridgway (1-0) worked a scoreless seventh to win his first career decision. Gonzalez earned his 10th save in 11 chances.
Scott Schoeneweis (2-4) took the loss, allowing a single to his only batter.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Fans sit in the rain for 2 plus hours
Eager to lock up the NL East title after letting it slip away last season, the New York Mets will have to wait a day before beginning their taxing stretch drive.
New York’s game against the Atlanta Braves was postponed by rain Friday night and will be made up Saturday as part of a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 3:55 p.m.
Many fans gathered until the covered area's of the seats and drank beer, ate hot dogs for two hours before MLB called the game.
Across town, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays were rained out as well and will play a day-night doubleheader Saturday.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees and Mets have each played two games at home on the same day only twice before: Sept. 21, 1982 (Yankees vs. Cleveland, Mets vs. Montreal) and April 13, 1997 (Yankees vs. Oakland and Mets vs. San Francisco).
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wake me up, when September ends
The Mets are at the point where last season collapsed. With 17 games to play in 2007, the Mets held a seven-game lead, which they ultimately coughed up.
This time, the lead is 3 1/2 games over the Phillies in the National League East with 17 to play. Yet the cushion feels so much more secure.
The Mets beat the Nationals 13-10 as David Wright went 4-for-4 with four runs, three RBIs, a walk and three fielding gems as the Mets swept a two-game series from the Nationals. The Mets opened a season-high 3 1/2-game lead over second-place Philadelphia. New York squandered an early 7-1 lead as Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman struggled.
David Wright belted his 125th career home run as a Met on Wednesday, moving into sole possession of fifth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Wright passed Todd Hundley. Dave Kingman is fourth with 154.
Aaron Heilman has been quietly dealing with tendinitis in his left knee that interim manager Jerry Manuel revealed has been affecting Heilman’s location since spring training. Heilman allowed a game-tying, two-run homer Wednesday to Washington’s Cristian Guzman, but the Mets rallied for a 13-10 win.
Jose Reyes took over sole possession of the franchise record for steals as a Met with Nos. 282 and 283 in the third inning Wednesday. Mookie Wilson had shared the record at 281.
Billy Wagner underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday that’s expected to sideline him until at least September 2009. The procedure was performed by team doctors David Altchek and Struan Coleman at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. “The surgery went better than expected,” the team said in a statement.
Hothead Elijah Dukes mixes it up with Mike Pelfrey, Mets' fans.
Dukes, obtained from Tampa Bay last winter following a rookie season filled with off-field problems, barked at Mets starter Mike Pelfrey following an inside pitch in the fourth inning - one at-bat after he belted a mammoth home run. Dukes also incited already-booing fans behind the Nationals dugout in the ninth with a series of arm gestures.
The Mets accused him of leading the chants from the dugout that caused Nelson Figueroa to liken the Nationals to female softball players.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Billy done, Kong matched, Burgos busted
Billy Wagner is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, with a knee ligament transferred to his left elbow. The 37-year-old Wagner declared he would pitch again in the majors, even if he has to wait until 2010.
Dave "King Kong" KingmanCarlos Delgado’s two-homer game allowed him to pass Dave Winfield for 30th on the all-time list with 466. Delgado also tied Dave Kingman’s 1976 franchise record for multi-homer games in a season with seven. When asked to comment, Kingman told reporters to "F&#% Off!"
Ambiorix Burgos was arrested around 11 p.m. Monday after allegedly slamming his girlfriend against a wall at a Holiday Inn near Shea Stadium, the New York Daily News reported. Burgos has not pitched in the majors since Tommy John surgery in August 2007. No mention was whether the thieves who stole his jewelry in spring training were apprehended.
Pedro wants to play next year
Pedro Martinez is finished.Martinez’s arrival during the 2004-05 offseason, along with the arrival of Carlos Beltran that same winter, served as the centerpieces of Omar Minaya’s first offseason as general manager. Now Martinez’s four-year, $53 million contract is expiring, and whether the Mets should re-sign the 36-year-old is debatable.
After making only five starts last season because of rotator cuff surgery, the three-time Cy Young Award winner has contributed just 17 starts and has a 5.44 ERA this year.
A poor showing Sunday against the Phillies in Game 1 of a doubleheader, when he allowed six runs in four innings in what became a 6-2 loss, allowed Philadelphia to close within one game of the first-place Mets.
“It’s disappointing,” Martinez said. “Of course, I’d feel really disappointed if I didn’t try hard enough, but everything I had I left out there for my team. No one can second-guess my intentions.”
Monday, September 8, 2008
Mets say Billy Wagner probably out for season
Billy Wagner is expected to miss the rest of the season, leaving the New York Mets without their All-Star closer as they try to maintain a slim lead in the NL East.
Billy Wagner is done.Wearing a protective sleeve on his left elbow, Wagner tested his arm Sunday with disappointing results. Between games of a day-night doubleheader against Philadelphia, he went to the mound in a virtually empty Shea Stadium and faced teammate Gustavo Molina.
A wild Wagner hit the reserve catcher on the left foot with his 13th pitch and walked off the field to consult with a trainer and the Mets’ coaching staff. The left-hander will be re-examined by a doctor Monday and is likely done for the season, manager Jerry Manuel said after his team’s 6-3 victory in the nightcap.
The 37-year-old Wagner is 0-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 27 saves in 34 chances. He is in the third season of a four-year, $43 million contract and ranks sixth on the career saves list with 385.
Luis Ayala, acquired from Washington last month in a trade, has quickly become Jerry Manuel’s closer. Ayala, who struggled with the Nationals most of the season, is 5-for-6 in save opportunities for the Mets.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Mets save face in series finale
Carlos Delgado slugged two homers off Cole Hamels in the nightcap of the doubleheader, and the Mets avoided a three-game sweep. The Mets maintained a two-game lead over the Phillies in the NL East, identical to the division separation entering Sunday’s doubleheader. Johan Santana limited the Phillies to two runs and five hits while tossing 116 pitches in 7 1/3 innings in the Mets 6-3 win.
Delgado had his sixth multi-homer game of 2008 in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader. That’s one shy of Dave Kingman’s franchise-record seven multi-homer games set in 1976. Delgado reached 100 RBIs for the ninth time.
Philadelphia went 7-11 against the Mets this season after winning the final eight matchups last year. Before the ninth, Mets relievers had not allowed a run in 23 innings since last Sunday.
Pedro Martinez allowed six runs in four innings in an afternoon makeup of Saturday’s Tropical Storm Hanna postponement. Jamie Moyer limited the Mets to two hits in seven scoreless innings. The Mets went the first 16 innings of the series scoreless until David Wright’s RBI double in the eighth inning off reliever Scott Eyre. The Mets lost 6-2 in the first game.
Jose Reyes matched Mookie Wilson's franchise-record 281 steals on Sept. 3 in Milwaukee. Seems like Jose has not been on base since.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Meet the hitless wonders at Shea
Brett Myers buzzed through the Mets’ lineup, pitching eight dominant innings and leading the Phillies to a 3-0 victory Friday that cut their NL East deficit to two games.
Greg Dobbs hit a two-run homer off Mike Pelfrey (13-9), and the Phillies took the opener of a crucial series between the top teams in the division. Brad Lidge got through a shaky ninth, retiring Carlos Beltran and Ryan Church with two on to end New York’s sixth loss in 23 games.
After struggling early this season, Myers (9-10) is 6-1 in nine outings since coming back from the minors July 20. He is 4-0 with a 0.58 ERA in his past four starts spanning 31 innings—holding the opponent scoreless three times.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Mets taking risks
Jon Niese’s debut in the Mets rotation may have an encore—but it looks as if it will take two weeks. Interim manager Jerry Manuel indicated the Mets likely would ride their top four starting pitchers until a fifth starter is again required Sept. 16 at Washington.
Niese, a 21-year-old left-hander, was knocked out by the Brewers in the fourth inning Tuesday without recording an out.
“It’s the first one,” Manuel said about Niese’s debut. “You almost have to throw that one out and you have to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
The Mets went the opposite route during last year’s September collapse, giving veteran ex-Padre Brian Lawrence six largely underwhelming starts down the stretch before turning to rookie Philip Humber the final week of the season for rotation help.
If the Mets did choose to use a veteran instead of Niese, Nelson Figueroa and Brandon Knight would receive the most consideration.
“This situation we’re in is not a time to be grooming or looking at guys for years to come,” Manuel said. “We’re in a pennant race.”
Monday, September 1, 2008
Delgado’s late homer gives Mets the win
Delgado tied Jose Canseco on all-time HR list.Delgado’s two-run homer off Eric Gagne in the eighth inning propelled the New York Mets to a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.
“Probably the worst shadows that I’ve been involved with since I’ve been in professional baseball, but it goes the same way for both teams,” Delgado said. “It was pretty tough, but whatever. We got it done.”
It was Delgado’s 462nd career homer, tying him with Jose Canseco for 31st place on the all-time list.
Mets closer Billy Wagner threw about 20 pitches off a mound Monday. Bernazard said the team would “see how it feels” on Tuesday before deciding what the next step would be for Wagner, on the DL with a strained left forearm.