Game 3 recap- another loss.

Mets lose 3-1, and fall to 1-2 on the season.

The Good: Jon Niese threw 6 quality innings, allowing 3 runs. Angel Pagan and Jeff Francoeur each had 2 hits. Bullpen (Igarashi, Takahashi, Nieve, Feliciano) threw three scoreless innings.

The Bad: The offense managed only one extra base hit, a meager eight total bases and zero walks. Ouch. A couple defensive mishaps didn't help Niese (poor angle on a ball in the gap by Pagan), even though there were no errors charged.

Mets open up a three-game series tomorrow night versus the Washington Nationals (1-2), Mike Pelfrey vs G. Mock. Washington is just what the doctor ordered, hopefully.

Let's go Mets

Game 3- Mets vs Marlins

Here is the Mets line-up for tonight, facing the 1st LHP of the year, Nate Robertson. Game time: 7:10 PM.

Here is tonight’s starting lineup:

CF Angel Pagan
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
LF Jason Bay
RF Jeff Francoeur
1B Fernando Tatis
C Rod Barajas
SS Ruben Tejada
SP Jon Niese
 
Prediction: Mets win 4-3, getting a well-pitched game from Jon Niese (6 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 5 k's), and the Mets win the 1st series of the year.
 
LET'S GO METS!

Another Point I forgot to bring up in the Recap

This was something that I had thought of as I was watching the game last night, but didn't write it down to focus on it this morning. Thankfully, Joe Janish (over at MetsToday.com), didn't forget about it, and wrote a great post on it, which can be found here (Tejada vs Cora, SS vs 2B).

When the double switch was made and Tejada came in the game, why did he play 2nd base, when all spring we heard he was the best defensive SS in camp? He obviously has more range than Cora at SS, and Cora has more experience playing 2B than SS. It didn't have an impact on the end result of the game, but these little details can add up and cost a team a couple games throughout the year...

And here is the quote I love from Joe's article:

Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill … but, these “little” things have been piling up for years, and when you add them all up, you have to believe they’ve had something to do with the Mets’ failure to make the postseason three years running.

I agree 100%, and it's a well thought out post, as well as a great overall blog. Make sure you check it out. http://www.metstoday.com/

Game 2- The Unhappy Recap

Mets lost last night's game 7-6 in 10 innings.

Overall impression: The Mets had no business even being a position to win this game. They got helped out by a bunch of gift walks from the Marlins bullpen, as well as a phantom balk call to tie the game. Yet it still hurts nonetheless, because they had a few chances late in the game, as described below, to steal a victory.

The Good:

• The Mets battled back from being down 6-1, and even had some nice long at bats (M Jacobs in the 9th inning, even though he popped out). 
• Jason Bay and David Wright got on base 6 times combined (4 walks). I can't wait until Jerry constructs a line up that teams can't pitch around both of these guys...

The Bad:

• John Maine was not good. Period, end of story. People can talk about how he was throwing his change-up and slider better, but that still doesn't hide the fact that he was inconsistent with his fastball, and when he threw his fastball, it got pounded. Some of the radar readings for his fastballs were 88 mph, which is not going to get major league hitters out consistently without great control/command, which John Maine does not have.
• Mike Jacobs hit a few long FOUL balls. It does nothing for the team and eventually he will strike out (two more in this game). To be fair, he did have that long at-bat in the 9th that was a huge improvement, as well as a line drive base hit in the 8th.
• J Mejia continued to "develop", as he was put into a game the Mets were down 4-1 in the 6th inning, and promptly was greeted by a couple base hits. He completed his one inning of work, allowing one run, three hits, and one strike out.
• Was that 6th inning so important that he was desperately needed on the big league team? I know this is nit-picking, but to use our star prospect in such a low-leverage situation when he should be developing to be a starter in AA, is unfathomable to me.

Bonehead play of the day: Fernando Tatis, who is such a great clubhouse guy etc, inexplicably tries to score from 3rd base on a wild pitch with the bases loaded, and 2 outs, D Wright at the plate, and the Mets down 6-3 in the bottom of the 7th.

And this is Tatis after the game. "I can't be over-aggressive there," Tatis said. "And I was over-aggressive. You're a veteran but you still learn. ... Unbelievable. With David at the plate, I should have made sure [the ball] got far away. That situation then ... might have changed the whole game. My mistake. Bad play."

Wright stood transfixed for a moment, as Mike Piazza did at the end of the Mets' 162nd game in 1999 when a wild pitch denied him a chance at heroism.

Mets have to try to win the series tonight, game time 7:10PM. Jon Niese (LHP), vs Nate Robertson (LHP, recently acquired from the Tigers). Should be a different Mets line-up tonight, as they are facing the 1st lefty of the year (Tatis at 1st, R Tejada at SS, Pagan in CF)?

LET'S GO METS!

smallest and cutest mets fan!

J Mejia vs B Parnell

I know this article was from a couple days ago, but I wanted to write up a more detailed post about it. Well, time has been at a premium for me, so I will just pass this along. Again, this is from Toby Hyde of MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com.

Even Dan Warthen told Adam Rubin at the new ESPNNY that Mejia’s breaking ball isn’t there yet:

There’s a lot of different options for a talent like this, because he does have a plus curveball. Now, the command of the curveball is well below major league average. But the pitch itself is above average, as is his changeup.

Make sure you read the whole article here: Confused Rosters and Happy Thoughts, which has a nice chart comparison of Mejia vs Parnell's minor league stats.

N Figueroa claimed by the Phillies

Figgy was claimed by the Phillies today, adding to the "scrap metal" that the Phillies are picking up from the Mets (the other being Brian Schneider).

I know he is going to be dying to kill the Mets, but I have limited faith that he will still be on the Phillies when the Mets 1st play them (April 30th).

Baseball Blogger Alliance Predicts rematch of 2009 World Series

Below is the press release issued today; as I had said the other day, I predict a Yankees victory over the Phillies. As far as the other awards: AL MVP: A-Rod. NL MVP: Pujols. AL Cy: Grienke. NL Cy: Halladay. AL ROY: Matsuz. NL ROY: Heyward. Goose Gossage AL: M Rivera. Goose Gossage NL: J Broxton


The World Series will have a familiar look in October, according to the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.
For the first time, the membership of the BBA was polled for their preseason predictions, with the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies being the most common selections for World Series participants.  The Yankees received 36 votes to easily outpace Boston’s 18, while the Phillies’ 31 votes edged out St. Louis’s 24.  The rematch ends the same as last year, with New York being the choice of 20 of the 75 that cast ballots.
Members of the Alliance registered their opinions on a number of things for the coming 2010 season, from divisional standings to award winners.
In the American League, New York, Minnesota and Seattle were chosen as the favorites to win their respective divisions.  Seattle barely edged out Los Angeles and Texas in the tightest divisional race.
Over in the National League, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Los Angeles are considered the favorites.  The Dodgers just edged past Colorado for the top spot in the NL West.
When it comes to postseason hardware, the National League picture looks a lot clearer than the American League.
All of the National League award selections were clear cut.  Atlanta’s Bobby Cox was selected as the top manager, beating out Philadelphia’s Charlie Manuel and St. Louis’s Tony La Russa by six votes.  Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward, a spring training darling, received more than three times the votes than his closest competition, Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg, for best rookie. Philadelphia pitcher Roy Halladay was almost four times more likely to be named the league’s best starter than his runner-up, San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum.  St. Louis’s first baseman Albert Pujols put them all to shame, though, holding a 43-7 vote edge over second place in the player of the year voting.
Even the newly minted Goose Gossage Award was definitive in the National League, with Los Angeles’s Jonathan Broxton receiving over double the votes of San Diego’s Heath Bell.
In the American League, things were relatively closer.  Seattle’s Don Wakamatsu outpolled Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire by five votes.  Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson took top rookie honors by six votes over Texas pitcher Neftali Feliz and Baltimore hurler Brian Matusz.  Seattle’s Felix Hernandez had a comfortable cushion over Kansas City’s Zack Greinke for the AL’s best starter, and Twins catcher Joe Mauer is favored to win his second straight MVP by six votes over Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
The most dominating winner in the American League was New York reliever Mariano Rivera, who is favored to win the inaugural Goose Gossage Award.  Rivera received three and a half times the votes of runners-up Jonathan Paplebon of Boston and Joakim Soria of Kansas City.
The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in 2009 and numbers 147 blogs across baseball, representing every major league team and including numerous general baseball blogs. The official website of the BBA is located at www.baseballbloggersalliance.com.  The BBA can be found on Twitter by the handle @baseballblogs and the hashmark #bbba.  Members of the BBA may also be heard at Blog Talk Radio each Tuesday night with their call-in show, BBA Baseball Talk.

Game 2- Mets vs Marlins

Here is tonight’s lineup vs Ricky Nolasco (RHP):


SS Alex Cora
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
1B Mike Jacobs
LF Jason Bay
CF Gary Matthews Jr.
RF Jeff Francoeur
C Rod Barajas
SP John Maine
 
Yes, this is the same exact line-up from opening day. Guess Jerry will "continue to play the hot hand."
 
Nolasco has struggled in the past versus the Mets (5.99 ERA), but he is a good pitcher with a live fastball and a nasty slider. He was one of the best pitchers in the national league in the 2nd half of the year, with a FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching - a measure that runs on a similar scale to ERA but strips out factors such as defense, run and bullpen support) of 2.34 after June 7th.
 
Prediction: Mets lose 5-1, as Nolasco shuts down this poor offense, and Maine doesn't get out of the 6th inning.
 
LET'S GO METS!

Pictures from Opening Day

Here are a bunch of pictures from yesterday's game. I was sitting in section 520, row 8, for those looking for the point of reference.

Some thing I've never seen before: a hot dog eaten on a POCKET KNIFE.

Nice pre-game introductions.

D-Straw with HoJo after his weak 1st pitch effort...

Notice Johan's arm action on the 1st picture. His elbow is in a straight line with his body and at shoulder height, which is exactly where he wants to be right before his front foot hits the ground, leading to a good release point.

His throwing shoulder is not in line with his front shoulder (hyper-abduction), and the ball is still behind him when his foot hits the ground. This is going to need to cause him to rush his upper body, which will often result in pitches high in the zone (and that will lead to a lot of HRs in the majors)

Impressive leg strength there by K-Rod, but I do not like the scapular loading that is evident on the right. I know some people would say this is proper mechanics, but I disagree. I think it puts increased forces on the anterior (front) of the shoulder.



Hope you enjoy these pictures.

Some more thoughts from the Mets opener

I know I should not be negative after the Mets played a crisp game and won convincingly, but here are a couple of other thoughts that I didn't put in the quick recap yesterday.

• Mike Jacobs looked AWFUL in his 4 at bats, with a couple strikeouts. He also had to come out for a defensive replacement for the "great defender", Fernando Tatis. Yes, Tatis has played less than 60 games at 1st base in his career. 
• So basically he's a DH that can't make consistent contact; sounds like an ideal #4 hitter Jerry.
• That was the first time I've ever heard the whole medical staff boo'd (the athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coordinator, and the physical therapist.
• Stay classy NY
• Johan was sharp and a treat to watch 
• The radar guns weren't shown in Citi Field yesterday, so I don't know how his velocity was, but it wasn't important, as his change-up and slider were terrific
• Fernando Nieve deserves a nice round of applause for his two inning effort
• After looking at some of the pictures of his motion, I may have noticed why he often leaves his pitches up in the zone. I will post this later on tonight
• F Rodriguez was very sharp, especially after barely pitching in spring training
• Jason Bay had a nice Triple, which definitely surprised the NY fans who heard all about his bad knees this off-season
• Yes, it was misplayed by the outfielders, but you still got to love not settling for the double, which 95% of the Mets of the past years would've done.

I can't stand this day off today for the Mets, but there is nothing we can do about it.

There will be more pictures posted tonight, highlighted by close-ups of Johan, Nieve and K-Rod's deliveries.

Let's Go Mets! 

Game 1- The Happy Recap

For those of you unfortunate ones that had to work today, the Mets played a complete game, and handily beat the Marlins 7-1.

The game ball goes to Mr. Johan Santana, who retired the 1st seven hitters he faced, and never let the Marlins get comfortable at the plate.

Other impressions: Citi Field definitely feels like the Mets home now, with the Apple more prominently displayed, the banners all around the stadium, the gates renamed etc. I did not get a chance to check out the museum, but everyone that I have heard from LOVED it. I will definitely go there next game.

The game was announced as a sell out, but it was a passive crowd, especially for Opening Day.  There was a spattering of boos in pre-game introductions (Oliver Perez), which is complete uncalled for and ridiculous. The crowd definitely cheered with Wright's HR, but the crowd noise wasn't any where near what it has been in the past. Even the two strike clapping was weak.

But all in all, the Mets did what they needed to do: pitched effectively (two good innings from Nieve and one from K-Rod), played good defensive (Alex Cora had one nice gab), and even took a couple walks (here's looking at you Frenchy).

I will be post more thoughts and pictures from the game tomorrow, but I need to go spend some time with my lonely wife.

LET'S GO METS!

and the mets win 7-1. more later!

and the hits just keep on coming... 5-1 bot 6.

a good start to the season

6 up 6 down for johan...

d wright w opp field hr...he did hit a hr last home opener at citi...

lets go mets!

weak 1st pitch by d-straw. didnt even throw from the mound.

Live blogging today

I may try to live blog at some points through the day/game today; so if you see a bunch of short and to the point posts today, now you know why.

About to hop on the train and start the trek to Citi Field.

LET'S GO METS!

New York Mets vs Florida Marlins- Game 1 of 162

New York Mets 2010 Opening Day

Alex Cora, SS
Luis Castillo, 2B
D Wright, 3B
M Jacobs, 1B
J Bay, LF
G Matthews Jr, CF
J Francoeur, RF
R Barajas, C
J Santana, SP

My game prediction: I've said that this Mets line-up is not capable of scoring many runs, especially versus an ace Josh Johnson, but we better not forget who the best pitcher in the NL East is, according to Mr. Santana himself, "Johan." Johan exits to a standing ovation, going 8 strong innings, and hands the ball over to K-Rod who shuts the door on a 2-1 Mets victory!

Opening day is here!! LETS GO METS!

Opening Day 2009 Part 2. Guest Post

Guest Post by John Scatamacchia

"Excited and anxious I await my dream,

to escape, applaud and praise my team.

Opening day I always can trust,

it's just for this high that I crazily lust."

- The Fan

Opening day is about 4 things for me:

• Being a true opening day. Home openers just aren't the same. You no longer have the 6 months waiting to watch a meaningful game and the bitterness of the last loss is far far away.
• Day game; just the way it is supposed to be.
• Return to the old ballpark who's sights, sounds and smells have been missing all winter long.
• The new high profile acquisition for who it is believed will be the savior that leads the Mets to the promise land.

April 13th 2009 had none of these. It was a home opener played at night not in Shea Stadium and the new acquisition, Francisco Rodriquez, would not enter the game in a save situation. Not only all this but it was against the San Diego Padres. The Padres! Really? Not a division rival. Not even a former division rival like the Cardinals or the Cubs. But the San Diego Padres to open a new ball park just didn’t do it for me.


After making my way through the new turn stiles, for which I had to scan my own ticket, I headed straight to my new seat. I found Section 520 Row 17 Seat 9 in the last row of the stadium with a P-Touch label #9 placed over the #10 because they had skipped #9 when numbering the row and now needed to place cheap labels over most seats in the row. Good job Mets, very classy. As I sat in my seat I didn’t know where I was. I felt like I was watching the Mets on the road. I turned around from my seat and could see the rubble of Shea Stadium. That was home and I missed it.

I wanted to make the game about the game and not the stadium. I had been in Citi Field twice already, visiting every nook and cranny to relieve my curiosity about the new confines. So I sat in my seat anxious to see who would get the first hit, run, RBI, and homerun. I did not expect the answer to all those to be Jody Gerut. Jody Gerut, who would only hit 9 homeruns with 35 RBIs in the 2009 season, actually it a homerun in the first official at bat in Citi Field. It was unbelievable. Although as a Mets fan “You Gotta Believe” because if it can happen it will happen. That at-bat gave you the feeling of typical Mets, here we go again. This season won’t be any different than the last two.

When the Mets got up in the bottom of the first and David Wright doubled to get the Mets first hit it seemed fitting at the time. Even more so when he hit a three-run homer in the fifth to tie the game. Ironic now with all the struggles David had in the new ballpark. That homerun brought magic into the ballpark for the first time. The hope was there that this would be a great evening. But it didn’t last long as they gave up the lead in the sixth. When Reyes flew out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth that was it for the Mets as they went 1-2-3 in the seventh, eighth, and ninth. They couldn’t even manage to get the tying run on base and give the fans some hope. Adding salt to the wound was that it was former Mets Duaner Sanchez and Heath Bell who closed out the game.

The disappointment did not match that of the last games in 2006, 2007, and 2008. After all the Mets were only 3-4 now with 80 more chances this year for a miracle in Citi Field. But another golden opportunity for a great memory eluded the Metropolitans.