METS 101

METS 8, DODGERS 4

2008-05-29T14:41:00.002-04:00

Welcome back to New York, Joe Torre. Hope you enjoyed getting beat by the Mets! The Dodgers are in town and Joe Torre got a nice ovation from the Shea crowd. But David Wright hit TWO two-run home runs which put LA away. It got close when a 6-0 lead became 6-4, but in the 7th inning, Chavez and Schneider had RBI singles to give us some insurance runs. Not that I saw it - too busy watching the season finale of LOST!

WP: Claudio Vargas (2-2)
LP: Brad Penny (5-6)

METS 7, MARLINS 6 (12 innings)

2008-05-28T22:50:00.002-04:00

Best ending to a game all year! The Mets have never come back after losing in a game through 8 innings... until tonight! Losing 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth, ENDY CHAVEZ hit a home run to tie the game. But it almost looked for naught as Alfredo Amezega homered for Florida in the 12th. But then in the bottom of the 12th, we came back... Wright walked, Beltran singled, and then FERNANDO TATIS smacked a double to left field, driving in both runs. Mets Win! They mobbed Tatis on the field and it was obvious what a huge win this was for them. For weeks, they've been struggling against teams' bullpens and come-from-behind wins were impossible to attain. But tonight they did it! And now the postgame show is on and Darryl Strawberry looks like a pimp in that suit... Finally, I want to give some credit to Aaron Heilman. After sucking hard all year, he pitched two perfect innings tonight with four strikeouts. Good for him.

WP: Duaner Sanchez (1-0)
LP: Justin Miller (1-2)

METS 5, MARLINS 3

2008-05-27T22:02:00.003-04:00

Did Keith Hernandez do something to piss off Gary Cohen and Ron Darling? While Gary and Ron were in the booth, Keith broadcasted from the front row, directly behind home plate. He said he was doing it to get a unique hitters perspective but I wonder! Anyway good news - the Mets actually won tonight! They jumped ahead with three runs in the first and Santana did the rest pitching seven strong innings. That's why we got Johan - to end losing streaks. Little did we know that we'd be having so many of these losing streaks! The Mets lineup also nearly looked like a minor league one. Delgado and Schneider had the day off and Church is still out with his injury. So the 5-8 hitters were Easley, Tatis, Castro and Evans. Whatever gets the job done - Tatis and Castro were both 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs each. With Billy Wagner's save, he moves into sixth place on the alltime list with 368, passing Jeff Reardon. Next milestone - Dennis Eckersley's 390!

WP: Johan Santana (6-3)
LP: Andrew Miller (4-4)
S: Billy Wagner (10)

MARLINS 7, METS 3

2008-05-26T22:38:00.002-04:00

We're dying here. A loss to the first place Fins now puts us 6 and a half games out. On Memorial Day. With the loss, Pelfrey goes to 2-6. Didn't he start the year 2-0? Only bright spot came from the struggling Jose Reyes who hit two home runs. Oh and Heilman pitched two innings of relief without actually giving up any runs. What's more - a "Fire Willie" chant broke out at Shea. Didn't New York just go through this with Isiah Thomas and the Knicks? While Willie met with ownership this afternoon and retained his job, the future is still unclear. When asked if the Wilpons told him that he'd definetely remain manager the rest of the season, Willie responded, "No, they didn't say that."

WP: Ricky Nolasco (4-3)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-6)

ROCKIES 4, METS 1

2008-05-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

Aaron Cook pitched a complete game, only allowing four hits and one run. The Mets offense stinks and if it costs Willie his job then it is to blame. Maine pitched pretty well against the Rockies B team but we still lost two out of three in the weekend series. This was hardly the defending NL Champions (no Holliday, no Tulowitski, no Hawpe, no Barnes) but they still beat us. Now we're 2 games under .500, 5 and a half games behind the Marlins. Coming up is a home series against Florida and that could make or break the season. Either the Mets reverse course and make up ground, or bury themselves even further. What will it be boys?

WP: Aaron Cook (7-3)
LP: John Maine (5-4)

METS 9, ROCKIES 2

2008-05-24T15:25:00.000-04:00

The losing streak finally ends. A five run first inning for the Mets must have really put Willie Randolph at ease. Beltran had a 3-RBI double, and was then followed by RBIs from Castro and Evans (in his first MLB at bat). Later on, Wright and Delgado homered. Along with seven strong innings from Claudio Vargas, it was a well played game. But is that enough to save Willie's job? He's meeting with the Wilpons soon and the bosses will surely put him on the spot to defend the team's performance. Speculation is running rampant as to who will replace him. Jerry Manuel? Lee Mazzilli? Bobby Valentine? Gary Carter?

WP: Claudio Vargas (1-2)
LP: Jeff Francis (1-5)

ROCKIES 6, METS 5 (13 innings)

2008-05-23T16:30:00.000-04:00

The losing streak is at five. Willie Randolph's job security is dangling. Omar Minaya flew into Colorado to express his support for his manager. But how long will that support last? The Mets are now two games under .500 and falling deeper behind in the NL East. Tonight the Mets entered the ninth inning with a 5-4 lead. They gave the ball to Billy Wagner who hadn't given up a run all season. But then Matt Holliday homered tying the game up. On the game went into extras and it was in the 13th when Holliday drove in the game winning run - this time off of Heilman. More bad news - Marlon Anderson got hurt with a strained hamstring. He goes on the DL and Nick Evans is being called up from Binghamton to replace him. Some outfield we have: Alou, Pagan and Anderson are all on the DL and Church still hasn't returned from getting bloodied the other night.

WP: Taylor Buchholz (2-2)
LP: Aaron Heilman (0-1)

BRAVES 4, METS 2

2008-05-22T22:25:00.002-04:00

OK, seriously. What is the deal with this shit. Is it 1997-2005 all over again? Can the Mets not win in Turner Field? A four game sweep. And now the Mets have a losing record on the season. Johan Santana was acquired to stop losing streaks like this but the Mets had no offense for him other than solo home runs by Beltran and Delgado. For Atlanta, Chipper Jones has just been unstopable and tonight he drove in the game winning run. Things are starting to look bleak on the injury front too. Alou strained his right calf yesterday and is back on the DL. Church was hurt trying to break up a double play on Tuesday and while he should be allright, he hasn't started the last two games either. Now it's off to Colorado to play the NL Champs. Just win guys, just win!

WP: Tim Hudson (7-3)
LP: Johan Santana (5-3)
S: Will Ohman (1)

BRAVES 11, METS 4

2008-05-21T22:24:00.000-04:00

No comment.

WP: Jair Jurrgens (5-3)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-5)

BRAVES 6, METS 1 & BRAVES 6, METS 2

2008-05-20T23:31:00.002-04:00

How do you erase the good feeling of sweeping the Yankees? By going down to Atlanta and getting swept in both games of a doubleheader at Turner Field. Game 1 hurt the worst because of who beat us... Tom Glavine. I wanted the Mets to beat Glavine so bad but he had our number by pitching six innings and only giving up one run on three hits. The nightcap was delayed by rain but they eventually played and the result was very similar. Sigh. By losing both games, we drop to 4th place in the NL East. Curse you, Tom Glavine!

Game 1
WP: Tom Glavine (2-1)
LP: John Maine (5-3)

Game 2
WP: Jorge Campillo (1-0)
LP: Claudio Vargas (0-2)
S: Manny Acosta (3)

METS 11, YANKEES 2

2008-05-18T22:59:00.002-04:00

Slaughter! The Mets took over Yankee Stadium and dominated on national television. The Yankees have been struggling with their pitching all year but the one guy they could rely on was Chien-Ming Wang. Not tonight. The Mets lit him up and the final score would have been even higher if the umpires had not blown a call and taken a three run homer away from Delgado. But one guy who did hit a three run homer was Jose Reyes! Church hit a solo shot also. Alou had three RBIs tonight, raising his average to .341. But the hitting explosion was only half the story. Oliver Perez was great! He was dominant in the first three innings but in the 4th gave up a two run homer to Hideki Matsui. Uh oh, I thought his usual meltdown was coming but not tonight! He righted himself and wound up pitching into the eighth inning - his longest outing of the year. Perez beat the Yankees twice last year too. (He seems to bring his A game to A-list opponents) Not that the Yankees are an A-list opponent this year. They've fallen to last place in their division - six games behind the Red Sox!

WP: Oliver Perez (4-3)
LP: Chien-Ming Wang (6-2)

METS 7, YANKEES 4

2008-05-17T11:23:00.000-04:00

Has the clubhouse been healed? Too soon to tell but today was a positive sign. After Billy Wagner sniped to the press about Delgado and Beltran not sticking around to answer questions, he apologized and retracted what he meant. Then team meetings were held and the air was supposedly cleared. Whether or not that would impact their on-field performance remained to be seen but a big win against the Yankees is always satisfying. Even if the Yankees aren't quite what they used to be. Johan probably gave Hank Steinbrenner some regrets for not signing him by going deep into the game (7 and two thirds). Wagner picked Johan up with a four-out save and his ERA remains 0.00. Amazing. Offensively the Mets got home runs from Reyes and Wright off of Kyle Farnsworth (the Yankees version of Aaron Heilman), and big RBIs from Beltran and Delgado. So the offense seemed to be working. The Yanks got some home runs in too courtesy of Jeter, Giambi and Abreu but it wasn't enough. Tonight the Mets go for the "mini-sweep" on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball!

WP: Johan Santana (5-2)
LP: Andy Pettitte (3-5)
S: Billy Wagner (9)

RAINED OUT

2008-05-16T23:39:00.001-04:00

Becoming a Friday night tradition.

NATIONALS 1, METS 0

2008-05-15T23:59:00.003-04:00

This cannot happen. The Mets cannot lose 3 out of 4 to the Nationals. At home. They cannot lose 4 out of 7 during a homestand to the Nationals and the Reds. And for the second game in a row, they cannot let an amazing starting pitching performance go to waste. Today, Mike Pelfrey was amazing. And he lost. Pelf had a no-hitter through six innings. He only gave up one run in the 7th when Felipe Lopez hit a sac fly to score Jesus Flores. But that was all that the Nats needed as the Mets could not score one measly run off of Jason Bergmann. Terrible, just terrible. Billy Wagner snapped again after the game telling reporters "You should be talking to the guys over there... Oh they're not there. Big shock." I fear that Willie is losing this team. If there was a bright spot it was that Luis Castillo played and got two hits so I guess a DL trip won't be necessary.

WP: Jason Bergmann (1-1)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-4)
S: Jon Rauch (9)

NATIONALS 5, METS 3

2008-05-14T22:20:00.002-04:00

I have no words to describe the intense hatred I am feeling right now for Aaron Heilman. And my disgust with Willie Randolph not only for putting him into a close game, but for keeping him in way too long. Let's start with the good news though. Claudio Vargas pitched a hell of a game tonight. Six solid innings where he only gave up one run on three hits. Then in the 7th, as the game was tied at 1, Vargas walked a batter and Willie took him out. And put in Heilman. A single, a walk and two more singles later, the Nationals had a 5-1 lead. And the biggest travesty? Since Vargas walked the batter who represented the go-ahead run, Vargas is the one who gets the loss! I've had it with Aaron Heilman. Get rid of him. Or at least don't play him if the margin is any less than 5 runs.

P.S. Now I'm watching Willie's press conference and he's saying that in that situation, he had to let Heilman work through the inning. NO!!!!!!!!

WP: Tim Redding (5-3)
LP: Claudio Vargas (0-1)
S: Jon Rauch (8)

METS 6, NATIONALS 3

2008-05-13T23:49:00.003-04:00

Before getting to the game - lots of roster news. Angel Pagan has been placed on the disabled list. Called up to replace him on the bench is veteran Fernando Tatis. Matt Wise has finally been activated from the DL and to make room, the Mets designated for assignment Jorge Sosa. Smart move to keep the red-hot Joe Smith and dump the ice-cold Sosa. And finally, the Mets called up Claudio Vargas to make the start on Wednesday. To make room, they designated Figgy for assignment. Poor guy. While Nelson Figueroa is a great story and he got off to a good start, his last few outings were pretty poor. Hopefully no other team will claim him and he'll be back. Now as for tonight's game - credit must be given to John Maine. Six innings and he only gave up two runs and two hits. The Mets have won the last six games that Maine has pitched and he lowered his season ERA to 2.81. In getting the save tonight, Billy Wagner maintains his perfect ERA of 0.00. Also, let's talk about that trade Omar made over the winter getting Church and Schneider from the Nats. Tonight Church went 2 for 4 with a game-tying home run, a game winning two-run double, and 4 RBIs total. Schneider went 3 for 4 with an RBI of his own. And Lastings Milledge? 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts.

WP: John Maine (5-2)
LP: John Lannan (3-4)
S: Billy Wagner (8)

NATIONALS 10, METS 4

2008-05-12T22:48:00.003-04:00

This one was close for the first few innings but then it just got away from them. Tied at three going into the fifth inning, Figgy gave up 3 runs. Then in the next inning, Jorge Sosa gave up 4 more. Ex-Met Lastings Milledge was 1 for 4 with a double, but the offensive star for the Nats was their pitcher Odalis Perez. He went 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Combined with over six good innings, the other O. Perez was player of the game. For the Mets, we did get home runs from Wright and Easley. Unfortunately, Easley was playing because Luis Castillo is out with a strained quad. Will he go on the DL? At least the Mets had their entire lineup healthy... for about a week. And speaking of roster moves, when will Matt Wise be activated? And who is going to start for the Mets on Wednesday? With Saturday's doubleheader and no off day, the Mets don't have a starter for that day. Looks like they'll be calling someone up from AAA. But then who goes down? Gotta love the roster drama.

WP: Odalis Perez (1-3)
LP: Nelson Figueroa (2-3)

METS 8, REDS 3

2008-05-11T23:05:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day! The Mets rewarded all of the moms at Shea with a pink hat, and all moms everywhere with a big win. Perez was great through five but fell apart in the sixth. The guy can't seem to go deep into games anymore. But the bullpen (Schoeneweis/Smith/Feliciano) was able to hold it down. The bigger story was that the Mets bats were alive today. For the second day in a row they had back-to-back homeruns. Today it was Beltran and Church. The bats rocked the Reds' prime rookie, Johnny Cueto, who didn't look like the heralded prospect he's supposed to be. But the oddest part of the game came in the ninth inning when the Reds batted out of order. It took about ten minutes for the umpires to sort it all out. Dusty Baker double switched one too many times and noone knew what the correct batting order was! Silly Dusty.

WP: Oliver Perez (3-3)
LP: Johnny Cueto (2-3)

REDS 7, METS 1 (Game 2)

2008-05-10T01:12:00.000-04:00

I was this close to dropping Bronson Arroyo from my fantasy team. One more awful start and he would have been gone. But in game 2 of today's doubleheader, Arroyo pitched eight strong innings for the Reds. Either he pitched great or the Mets were just tired from scoring 12 runs in the first game. Hard to tell. Credit also has to be given to Red shortstop (and ex-Met) Keppy! Also known as Jeff Keppinger, he had five hits, driving the Red offense. The Reds didn't really break the game wide open though until the late innings. They scored two in the eighth off of Sanchez and three in the ninth off of Wagner although it was mostly infield errors that did them in. Afterward Wagner knocked over a water cooler and blasted the bullpen. Um... ok. Granted the bullpen is pretty awful at times but isn't he supposed to be its leader? At any rate the Mets' great performance in Game 1 and poor performance in Game 2 of today's doubleheader is pretty representative of their topsy turvy season thus far. And what's the deal with Florida having won six in a row???

WP: Bronson Arroyo (2-4)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-3)

METS 12, REDS 6 (Game 1)

2008-05-10T01:07:00.000-04:00

I was at this game with Neil, Howie and Caren and it was a great game to be in attendance for. Johan labored but got through six innings with only allowing three runs. But the story of the first game of this doubleheader was the offense. Carlos Beltran had 5 RBIs including a 3-run triple that broke the game wide open. Carlos Delgado was 3 for 4 with a huge home run. And right after Delgado hit his homer, Brian Schneider followed it up with one of his own. The Mets scored 12 for the second game in a row. Which led all of us to remark that they'd probably get shut out in Game 2. Not quite... but close.

WP: Johan Santana (4-2)
LP: Matt Belisle (1-3)

RAINED OUT

2008-05-09T22:19:00.001-04:00

Doubleheader tomorrow! I'll be at Game 1 watching Johan. In roster news, Ramon Castro was activated and Raul Casanova is gone. The bigger question is who will go when Matt Wise is activated soon.

METS 12, DODGERS 1

2008-05-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

Take THAT, L.A.! 12-1... not bad. Only thing that would have been better would have been 12-0. See, John Maine is on my fantasy team and if he got a complete game shutout, that would have earned me major points. Instead he had a shut out through 8, started the ninth, but gave up a run before Willie took him out. Ah well. A minor complaint! Maine really was outstanding though and his 8 and a third innings was the most pitched this season by any starter. The offense clicked too - 4 runs in the 2nd, 6 runs in the 5th, another home run by Ryan Church (his sixth of the year). So the Mets went 3-3 on this west coast trip, and now it's back to Shea to play the Reds. I'll be going to the game on Saturday!

WP: John Maine (4-2)
LP: Brad Penny (5-3)

DODGERS 5, METS 4

2008-05-06T17:45:00.000-04:00

Damn these late West Coast games. I went to bed and the Mets were winning 4-1. I woke up and they had lost 5-4. What's up with that? But at least I stayed awake long enough to see Moises Alou steal home. It was part of a double steal, but it was still pretty cool. Carlos Beltran didn't play tonight because he had the flu but the offense wasn't terrible. Neither was our bullpen. All five runs came off Figgy which is sad because Figgy is fighting to retain a roster spot when people start coming off of the DL. What killed him was the new Dodger third baseman, Blake DeWitt. DeWitt went three for four with four RBIs and his Game Winning RBI was an inside the park home run! That happened in the fifth inning, making the score 5-4, and there was no more scoring after that. Now that we've officially lost the series to LA, hopefully we can at least salvage the last game of the series!

WP: Hong-Chih Kuo (2-1)
LP: Nelson Figueroa (2-2)
S: Takashi Saito (5)

DODGERS 5, METS 1

2008-05-05T21:00:00.004-04:00

It's always fun when the Mets play the Dodgers. Well... not always. There was the 1988 NLCS. Game 4. I was 11 years old and I was there with my dad in the top row of the upper deck. Had we won, we'd have taken a 3-1 series lead. But then Mike Scioscia hit the home run in the ninth inning to force it into extras and we'd eventually lose. Twenty years later I still remember that Scioscia home run. But then there was 2006 when the Mets swept the Dodgers in the NLDS - the clincher coming during my 29th birthday party! Anyway tonight's game? Eh. Not much to say. Funny seeing Joe Torre in a Dodger uniform though. Always liked Joe - hard to root against him when he was with the Yankees, hard to root against him now.

WP: Chad Billingsley (2-4)
LP: Oliver Perez (2-3)

METS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2

2008-05-04T21:38:00.002-04:00

Maybe the "Fire Willie" calls will diminish after this weekend. The Mets went into Arizona where the Diamondbacks had the best record in the NL, and we were able to win the weekend series two out of three. It was indeed a pitchers duel today between Santana and Haren but neither factored into the decision. While the Mets jumped out to a 2-0 lead and while Johan left the game with a 2-1 lead, the D-Backs tied it up in the 7th against Joe Smith. But tied at 2, the Mets broke the game open in the top of the 9th scoring three against Chad Qualls. Jorge Sosa was the winning pitcher of record and his 4-1 won/loss record is funny when compared to his awful 6.38 ERA. Sosa's four wins in relief actually leads the team! Now we go to L.A. to take on the Dodgers!

WP: Jorge Sosa (4-1)
LP: Chad Qualls (0-2)
S: Billy Wagner (7)

DIAMONDBACKS 10, METS 4

2008-05-03T22:58:00.003-04:00

Did not see any of this game (Founders Day at Vassar!) but was catching updates on my new blackberry... which is awesome btw. This always figured to be a tough game as Brandon Webb is undefeated and one of the best pitchers in baseball. Still the Mets hung in there against him, thanks in large part to a three-run homer by Carlos Delgado in the 6th inning. The D-Backs were holding a 5-4 lead against us, and it still seemed possible that we could come back. Until the 8th when Arizona busted the game wide open against Sanchez and Schoeneweis. Five runs in that inning made the final score look like a wipeout. Offensive credit has to go to Arizona second baseman Augie Ojeda. Filling in for the injured Orlando Hudson, Ojeda went 3 for 4 with SIX RBIs. Good for him but he better not do that again tomorrow. The rubber match is a good one! Johan Santana vs. Dan Haren!

WP: Brandon Webb (7-0)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-2)

METS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 2

2008-05-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

The Mets sure love playing at the BOB! Oh wait, it's not Bank One Ballpark anymore. Chase Field... that's the new name. Who can keep track these days. Anyway the Mets won their 14th out of their last 15 games in Arizona tonight and it was a nice way to erase the awful play of Wednesday. The big news is that Moises Alou returned from the disabled list! Playing in his first game of 2008, he batted fifth in the order and went 1 for 3 with an RBI single. Other highlights included Jose Reyes going 4 for 5 and scoring 3 runs... he only needed a homer to hit for the cycle. While Reyes didn't homer, Ryan Church and David Wright both did. We got off to a fast start against Arizona's Micah Owings (3 runs in the first, one more in the second) and never lost the lead. John Maine pitched six solid innings and Smith, Feliciano and Sanchez were reliable in relief. Not a bad way to begin a weekend series against the D-Backs - who currently have the best record in the National League!

WP: John Maine (3-2)
LP: Micah Owings (4-1)

PIRATES 13, METS 1

2008-04-30T22:59:00.003-04:00

It's a really good thing that this game took place during the work day. I completely forgot about it until 6:00 when I remembered to go online and see what happened. Needless to say I was not pleased. What the hell happened? It looked like a total Oliver Perez breakdown. Here was his second inning...

- X. Nady walked
- A. LaRoche struck out looking
- J. Bautista walked, X. Nady to second
- C. Gomez walked, X. Nady to third, J. Bautista to second
- T. Gorzelanny reached on fielder's choice, X. Nady scored, J. Bautista to third, C. Gomez to second on second baseman L. Castillo's fielding error
- N. McLouth walked, J. Bautista scored, C. Gomez to third, T. Gorzelanny to second
- F. Sanchez singled to center, C. Gomez scored, T. Gorzelanny to third, N. McLouth to second
- J. Bay hit sacrifice fly to center, T. Gorzelanny scored
- R. Doumit singled to left, N. McLouth scored, F. Sanchez to third, R. Doumit to second advancing on throw
- N. Figueroa relieved O. Perez

Ouch. From there Figgy mostly held it down in relief until the 6th inning came along and Jorge Sosa had another of his wonderful outings giving up five more runs. How was our offense? We only got two hits the entire game! How was our defense? Our fielders made three errors! Indeed this entire game was an error. They have an off day tomorrow to stew about it and then open a weekend series against Arizona - the best team in the National League right now.

WP: Tom Gorzelanny (2-3)
LP: Oliver Perez (2-2)

METS 5, PIRATES 4 (11 innings)

2008-04-29T23:21:00.002-04:00

I'll start by saying I'm not sure I can get used to the sight of Darryl Strawberry in a suit, giving postgame analysis in the SNY studio. Now, on to tonight's game. I guess it was inevitable that Billy Wagner would allow a run and blow a save eventually. Thankfully it did not haunt us too much as the Mets would wind up winning the game in extra innings. Only thing that sucked about it was that Johan wound up getting a no decision. Offensive highlights tonight were a Ryan Church two-run homer, a 3 for 3 night for Jose Reyes (including an RBI triple), a 3 for 5 night for Endy Chavez, and David Wright getting the game winning RBI in the 11th. Delgado was cheered in his first at bat but wound up going 0 for 5, bringing his average back down to .194. Sigh. Day game tomorrow to wrap up this abbreviated series with the Bucs!

WP: Jorge Sosa (3-1)
LP: John Van Benschoten (0-1)

RAINED OUT

2008-04-28T20:23:00.003-04:00

Rained all day in New York City so no game tonight against the Pirates! It will be made up in August. So instead of recaping a game, let's talk about the "controversy" that came up from Sunday's game. After Delgado's second home run, the fans were cheering and asking for a curtain call. He refused and a few booed him for that reason. I didn't think it was much of a big deal but apparently that's what people are still talking about. Who cares? Let the guy do what he wants. Would it have been nice if he took a bow? Sure. But if he didn't feel like it, too bad. Fortunately most Met fans respect Delgado's right to decide - a poll on MetsBlog showed that 86% feel he can do what he wants while only 14% thought he should have heeded the fans call. The guy has always been private anyway. As long as he breaks out of his slump, that's the only thing that's important.

METS 6, BRAVES 3

2008-04-27T22:57:00.002-04:00

The no-hitter is over! Billy Wagner gave up a single today. But he still got the save as the Mets actually won this weekend's series against the Braves. So now instead of a hitless inning streak, Wagner can still boast of a scoreless inning streak. But nevermind Wagner's save - the Player of the Game is Carlos Delgado who hit TWO home runs. With his performance today, Delgado is now hitting above the .200 mark... .205 to be exact! Hey, it's progress. Also hitting a home run for the Mets today was Raul Casanova. Encouraging to see especially as Schneider continues to get treatment for his thumb infection. Good to see the Mets defeat John Smoltz and take 2 of 3 from the Braves - especially since Atlanta has always given us a hard time. Chimpmunk Jones wasn't in the lineup today though. Also encouraging was another decent outing from Figgy. Three runs allowed in five and a third. At this rate, Pedro can take his time recovering from the hamstring injury. Speaking of injuries - still no word on when Moises Alou will come back. Turns out that he's got swelling in his ankle and is going to have an MRI tomorrow.

WP: Nelson Figueroa (2-1)
LP: John Smoltz (3-2)
S: Billy Wagner (6)

METS 4, BRAVES 3

2008-04-26T22:55:00.002-04:00

The Mets have never had a no-hitter in their entire history. And... we still haven't. HOWEVER, in getting the save today, Billy Wagner pitched his ninth hitless inning of the season. It's not a "no-hitter" but it's still pretty cool! And today the Mets won their first game of the season against Atlanta. Maine was solid through five. (Why only five?) And the Mets hitting was better although all of the scoring came in one inning... the bottom of the third. A Beltran double drove in Endy Chavez and Wright, and a Ryan Church triple drove in Beltran. Then the ever-slumping Delgado hit a weak grounder but it still scored Church. Whatever works. The bullpen held it down. Heilman pitched the sixth inning again while Feliciano and Sanchez pitched the eighth, setting up for Wagner. This leads me to believe that Heilman has been demoted. At least until he gets his act together. Rubber match tomorrow - Figgy vs. Smoltz! Too bad that Glavine is on Atlanta's DL and is missing this series...

WP: John Maine (2-2)
LP: Tim Hudson (3-2)
S: Billy Wagner (5)

BRAVES 6, METS 3

2008-04-25T12:48:00.000-04:00

Tonight the Mets scored 3 runs... on 2 hits. All they managed all night against Jair Jurrjens and the Atlanta bullpen were two singles by Marlon Anderson and Raul Casanova. So how did they get the three runs? Bottom of the third... after the hits by Anderson and Casanova, and two subsequent outs, Luis Castillo walked. Jurrjens then consecutively walked with the bases loaded Wright, Beltran and Church. Insane. At that point we had a 3-1 lead but it was downhill from there. Our offense was done for the night but Atlanta's was just beginning including Kelly Johnson who hit a home run and had 4 RBIs. The team is looking really bad right now. Never mind that we're back at .500 and have slid to fourth, the quality of play is not good. Now we have Tim Hudson and John Smoltz to look forward to.

WP: Jair Jurrjens (3-2)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-1)

NATIONALS 10, METS 5

2008-04-24T23:45:00.002-04:00

Disgusting. An early 3-0 lead went down the drain in a hurry. Perez pitched four shutout innings before falling apart in the fifth. Then Heilman gives up a grand slam in the sixth. Then Sosa allows three more runs in the seventh. Do those names sound familiar? They should. When you give up 10 runs, it's hard to blame the hitters and while we did score five tonight, it wasn't because of the big names. In my comments from yesterday, Howie lamented the lack of production from the big bats and he's right. Tonight Reyes was 1 for 5, Wright was 0 for 4, and Delgado was 0 for 4. Delgado's batting average is now under .200 (.198 to be exact) and that's frightening. Beltran was 1 for 5 but at least his one was a home run. Also hitting a home run was Marlon Anderson. Maybe we can try him out at first base. In roster news, Brian Schneider is currently out with an infected thumb. He's not going on the DL but since the Mets might need an extra catcher, Gustavo Molina was called up from AAA. To make room for him, Brady Clark was designated for assignment. Brady, we hardly knew ye.

WP: Mike O'Connor (1-0)
LP: Oliver Perez (2-1)

METS 7, NATIONALS 2

2008-04-23T00:16:00.000-04:00

The Mets entered Nationals Park for the very first time and beat up on the Nats like the last place team that they are. Johan... what can I say. He played the ace again. Seven innings, two runs allowed. Duaner Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Billy Wagner hurled yet another scoreless inning in the ninth. Offensively speaking, the Mets had it going on but perhaps their best bat of all was Santana himself! In the tradition of Met aces like Seaver and Gooden, this guy can hit. Tonight he hit two doubles. And now would be a good time to take a look at last winters trade of Ryan Church and Brian Schneider for Lastings Milledge as all three played tonight. Church went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs. Schneider went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Milledge? 0 for 4.

WP: Johan Santana (3-2)
LP: Tim Redding (3-2)

CUBS 8, METS 1

2008-04-22T23:06:00.003-04:00

Ugh. Second disgusting loss to the Cubs in a row. Today's game was much like yesterday's. Like Maine, Nelson Figueroa did not pitch badly. He was just outdone by Chicago's Ted Lilly. Lilly - who had been struggling all year - ruled over the Met lineup. Most frustrating part? 4th inning. Mets load the bases. Delgado and Easley pop out. Mets don't score. That must have disheartened the team because in the bottom of the 4th, the Cubbies scored three against Figgy. He left the game down 3-1, and then our wonderful bullpen took over. I'm being a little sarcastic there. Joe Smith allowed one run, which was annoying but forgivable. What was unforgivable was Jorge Sosa surrendering a GRAND SLAM to Ronny Cedeno. Not Ramirez, not Lee, not the injured Soriano - but Ronny Cedeno. Sigh. Sosa is doing nothing for this team and I'm not one to demand heads but I think he needs to go. Next stop for the Mets is a trip to Washington D.C. to play in the brand new Nationals Park. Hopefully we can beat them up like we did last week at Shea. One thing to be happy about - we won't have to face John Lannan who pitched so well against the Mets last week. Lannan pitched seven shutout innings against the Braves today. This kid is going to be something special.

WP: Ted Lilly (1-3)
LP: Nelson Figueroa (1-1)

CUBS 7, METS 1

2008-04-21T11:03:00.000-04:00

When you’re hot, you’re hot and right now the Chicago Cubs are hot. They’ve won 12 of their last 15 and have moved into first place in the NL Central. Tonight the Mets were their latest victim. John Maine did not pitch badly. It’s just that Carlos Zambrano was better. We only scored one run over seven innings against him. Maine only gave up two runs in his six innings of work, including an Aramis Ramirez homer. But the Cubs blew the game open in the 8th inning against Aaron Heilman and Jorge Sosa. It seems that if any members of the bullpen will give up runs this season, it will be Heilman and Sosa. A Ronny Cedeno 2-RBI single started their rally and a Felix Pie 3-run homer was the death knell. Day game tomorrow at Wrigley – Lilly vs. Figgy!

WP: Carlos Zambrano (3-1)
LP: John Maine (1-2)

PHILLIES 5, METS 4

2008-04-20T08:37:00.000-04:00

So much for the sweep. Nationally televised on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, we came up a bit short although put in a strong effort. After falling behind 4-0 (not Pelfrey's best outing) the Mets came back in the 6th with 4 runs, tying the game up. But in the bottom of the 7th, the usually reliable Pedro Feliciano gave up a pitch hit home run to another Pedro... Pedro Feliz. And that was all. The Mets almost rallied in the 9th but not this time. And with the Marlins winning, we're not in first anymore! Tonight we start a two-game series against the Cubs... our only trip to Wrigley all year.

WP: J.C. Romero (1-0)
LP: Pedro Feliciano (0-1)
S: Brad Lidge (3)

METS 4, PHILLIES 2

2008-04-19T13:06:00.000-04:00

Did not actually see this game as I was sedering in New Jersey. Is sedering a word? Well, it is now. But I was pleased to hear that the Mets won their fifth game in a row and their fourth against the Phillies! It was a reversal of opening day as this time Oliver Perez pitched the better of Jamie Moyer. And if Jose Reyes had any side effects from his Friday night collision, they did not show as he hit a two-run homer. It's probably a good thing I didn't see this game as I might have had an ulcer when Aaron Heilman was brought into a bases loaded jam in the 8th. While he did surrender one run, he also struck out the last two batters, getting the Mets out of it. And once again Wagner was perfect in the 9th. Very satisfying to beat the Phils. Especially since their fans are growing more and more obnoxious. Cheering when Jose Reyes got hurt and booing when he was OK? No class.

WP: Oliver Perez (2-0)
LP: Jamie Moyer (1-1)
S: Billy Wagner (4)

METS 6, PHILLIES 4

2008-04-18T23:34:00.002-04:00

First place! Coming off the 3-game sweep of the Nats, the Mets took the bus down to Philadelphia and defeated the rival Phillies. Nevermind that Jimmy Rollins was not in their lineup tonight. Johan Santana was at his finest, David Wright was a home run away from hitting the cycle, and Billy Wagner pitched yet another hitless inning. There were a couple of scary moments though. Reyes stole second base by sliding headfirst... and wound up taking a knee to his head. What could have been a serious injury turned out to be not much more than getting the wind knocked out of him. Then in the 8th inning, Aaron Heilman gave up a three-run homer, making a 5-1 lead a 5-4 lead. While two of the runners on base were charged to Santana, Heilman cannot keep doing this to us! Fortunately the Mets were all about getting extra insurance runs tonight. I watched this game with the Mets Meetup Group at Mustang Sallys! A fun time was had - the highlight being when someone at the bar accidentally changed all of the TVs channels from the Met game to... Channel 55's showing of "An Ideal Husband." The whole bar started yelling to turn it back... and they did. Back to SNY. Except the game was on Channel 11. So everyone starts yelling "11! 11!" So the bar turns on ESPN. "11! 11!" Finally they got the channel right. Good stuff.

It's Passover weekend so I may not be able to post as frequently. Happy Pesach!

WP: Johan Santana (2-2)
LP: Cole Hamels (2-2)
S: Billy Wagner (3)

METS 3, NATIONALS 2 (14 innings)

2008-04-17T23:27:00.000-04:00

It's not often that they play the 7th inning stretch twice in one game. This was a long one. 14 innings. 4 hours and 45 minutes. It was a really good pitching matchup between two unhearlded starters. Nelson Figueroa - otherwise known as Figgy - was excellent for his second start in a row. On the other hand, Washington's John Lannan struck out 11 batters in six innings! The Nats took a 2-1 lead into the 8th inning but Delgado got a clutch RBI hit, tying the game up. After five scoreless innings from both teams, the Mets finally won when Damion Easley scored... on a wild pitch. Hey, whatever works! And yet, this was still not the longest game of the night. The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 2-1... in 22 innings... which took 6 hours and 16 minutes to play. Wow.

WP: Jorge Sosa (2-1)
LP: Joel Hanrahan (0-1)

METS 5, NATIONALS 2

2008-04-16T22:17:00.004-04:00

It was night of the long ball. 1st inning - Home Run Ryan Church! 5th inning - Home Run Jose Reyes! Later in the 5th inning - 3 run Home Run Carlos Beltran! And that was all the scoring we needed. The pitching was strong as John Maine was solid in his first win of the year. Good bullpen work too as Joe Smith did a great job as setup man and Billy Wagner had an easy ninth inning for the save. I don't know if the Mets are playing really well these past two games or if the Nationals are just playing like the last game team that they are. While Milledge played tonight (and went 1 for 3), our friend Paul LoDuca was once again out of the lineup. It was revealed that he has a bruised hand and will miss the series. First Glavine ducks the Mets, now LoDuca! With the Phillies loss tonight, the Mets move into sole possession of second place in the NL East. How are the Marlins of all teams still in first? This can't possibly last...

WP: John Maine (1-1)
LP: Matt Chico (0-3)
S: Billy Wagner (2)

METS 6, NATIONALS 0

2008-04-15T21:19:00.003-04:00

So many great stories tonight. Mike Pelfrey, who last year started 0-7, is now 2-0 after pitching seven incredible shutout innings. Jose Reyes, who missed the weekend because of a hamstring injury, returned to the lineup and went 4 for 5. He was just a home run away from hitting the cycle. David Wright did hit a home run and also drove in 5 of the Mets' 6 runs. Duaner Sanchez made his first appearance since July 2006 and pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Tonight was also the return to Shea of Lastings Milledge - albeit in a Washington National uniform. He was booed. Paul Lo Duca would have been booed even louder had he played. Alas, he did not. Instead Washington's catcher was ex-Met Johnny Estrada. If you can call someone an ex-Met who never actually put their uniform on. Another interesting note was that with Reyes' return to the lineup and Castillo's recent hitting struggles, Willie decided to bat Ryan Church in the #2 slot. Interesting move. I would have thought he'd make Pagan the #2 hitter but we'll see how Church fares. What else? With Sanchez returning to the roster, Carlos Muniz was sent back down to the minors. Too bad because Muniz was effective in his appearances but I'm sure he'll be back. All in all, a very satisfying game. And that's without even mentioning that it was Jackie Robinson night! A bit confusing to see all the players on both teams wearing #42 uniforms - at least for identification purposes!

WP: Mike Pelfrey (2-0)
LP: Odalis Perez (0-3)

BREWERS 9, METS 7

2008-04-13T18:18:00.002-04:00

When Oliver Perez faced off against Jeff Suppan in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, it was a pitchers duel that went into the final inning a 1-1 tie. Today was pretty much the opposite. Perez hit the first batter he faced and then gave up a 2 run homer to Gabe Kapler. The Mets then stormed back against Suppan and took a 6-2 lead. The Brewers tied it back up against Perez and took the lead against Jorge Sosa. The hits didn't stop there - the Mets having ample opportunities to come back but they were foiled by double plays. The Mets hit into five double plays today and left ten men on base. Can't expect to win when that happens. They even almost made a comeback against former Met Guillermo Mota in the 8th inning but it was not to be. Tomorrow is an off day and the next game is Tuesday night when the Mets start a series against the Washington Nationals. It will be a return to Shea for Lastings Milledge and Paul LoDuca. The good news is that Jose Reyes is expected to make his return to the lineup!

WP: Salomon Torres (2-0)
LP: Jorge Sosa (1-1)
S: Eric Gagne (3)

BREWERS 5, METS 3

2008-04-12T21:17:00.002-04:00

Today was Johan Santana's Shea Stadium debut and he just didn't have it. The long ball was what killed him as he surrendered home runs to Bill Hall, Richie Weeks and Gabe Kaplar. Funny that it was those three and not the Brewers' big home run hitters, Fielder and Braun. But even if Johan hadn't given up those shots, it would have been difficult for the Mets to prevail because Ben Sheets was outstanding. At one point he retired 18 batters in a row. He was really rolling until David Wright hit a homer against him in the eighth. When Brewer manager Ned Yost came to take Sheets out of the game, the camera caught him shouting something out loud. Kind of funny. Then when Gagne came out to pitch the 9th inning, Gary Cohen had the line of the day, saying that Gagne is a Seth Rogan lookalike. One thing that bothered me... when Willie took Santana out of the game, I heard some boos. Come on people, he didn't pitch THAT badly and it's his first game at Shea. Way to welcome him. Fortunately there are lots of other fans who still appreciate him. As he walked off, many fans sitting behind the Mets dugout were standing and applauding. Rubber match tomorrow - Oliver Perez vs. Jeff Suppan. Isn't that a rematch of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS?

WP: Ben Sheets (2-0)
LP: Johan Santana (1-2)
S: Eric Gagne (2)

METS 4, BREWERS 2

2008-04-11T13:19:00.000-04:00

Now THAT is how you win a baseball game. Great pitching. Just enough hitting. If the Phillie series made me uncomfortable, this game made me feel a whole lot better. And how about Brooklyn's own Nelson Figueroa? He had not won a game in the Major Leagues since 2003 and he was impeccable tonight in his Mets debut. He retired the first 14 batters he faced. The Mets have never had a no hitter or perfect game. How great would it have been if their first came from Figueroa? I guess his emergence is the silver lining in Pedro's injury. But it was just his first start - can't get TOO excited! And the bullpen really delivered. Smith in the 7th, Heilman in the 8th and Wagner in the 9th. A huge relief to see Heilman have a good outing. The only snafu in tonight's win was that Jose Reyes hurt his hamstring. He says that it's not too bad and that he just needs to rest it. Let's hope so, our disabled list can't get much longer!

WP: Nelson Figueroa (1-0)
LP: Manny Parra (1-1)
S: Billy Wagner (1)

METS 4, PHILLIES 3 (12 innings)

2008-04-10T23:20:00.003-04:00

Winning the rubber match against the Phillies should be a joyous occasion. Instead the emotion is exhaustion. This is a game that the Mets pulled out in 12 innings yet it should not have gone that far. John Maine was very good tonight and deserved the win. But Aaron Heilman had his third terrible outing in a row and the 3-1 lead he was handed became a 3-3 tie. Then the Mets were unable to do anything against the Phillie bullpen and it felt like we were doomed to lose. But then the 12th inning finally came along and our luck changed. Our hottest hitter, Angel Pagan hit an RBI single against Tom Gordon, driving in Jose Reyes. Also, while Heilman was poor, credit has to be given to the other Met relievers for holding it down - Feliciano, Wagner, Smith, Schoeneweis and Sosa. So now we are back at the .500 mark and will begin a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Brooklynite Nelson Figueroa gets the start tomorrow. With Pedro and El Duque out, the Mets signed Claudio Vargas to a minor league contract today and it probably will not be long before he gets his shot at Shea.

WP: Jorge Sosa (1-0)
LP: Tom Gordon (0-2)

METS 8, PHILLIES 2

2008-04-09T22:33:00.004-04:00

It was nice of the Mets to win on my dad's birthday. And tonight's win was huge because it ended a nine-game losing streak against the Phillies. Encouraging was that Mike Pelfrey pitched five solid innings for the win. Last year he was 0-7 before getting his first win so it's nice to see Pelf go 1-0. It's especially important that he pitch well because it looks like El Duque is going to be out longer than anticipated. Not in the lineup for the Mets tonight was Luis Castillo who left Tuesday's game with a strained knee. Easley filled in at 2nd, and Pagan took over the #2 slot in the batting order which might suit Pagan because he is a good contact hitter. On the Phillie injury front, Jimmy Rollins was scratched from tonight's game and his shortstop replacement - Eric Bruntlett - was quite horrid. His two errors in the 3rd inning helped the Mets build a six run inning. So now the Mets are 3-4, a game and a half behind the first place Florida Marlins. The first place Florida Marlins??? Ah... gotta love the standings in April.

WP: Mike Pelfrey (1-0)
LP: Kyle Kendrick (1-1)

PHILLIES 5, METS 2

2008-04-08T18:49:00.007-04:00

Today was the final opening day at Shea Stadium and I was there! It would have been nice if they won though! Ah well, a good time was had anyway and I have a snazzy new schedule magnet on my refrigerator. I also took a bunch of pictures of Shea as well as Citi Field which is progressing very nicely.

I also went to the Diamond Club and had my picture taken with the 1986 championship trophy!

Anyway, the game. Today was the fifth time I sat in the Parks box and each of the other four times they won. Guess the streak is over. For the first half of the game, it looked like they would win after all. Oliver Perez was solid again and put in 5 and two-thirds scoreless innings. He has not given up a run all year. Carlos Delgado homered in the second and after 6 innings the Mets had a 2-0 lead. Then it was the bullpen's turn. Oy vey... the bullpen. Scott Schoeneweis and Aaron Heilman were today's culprits. Frustrating to watch leads slip away with the offense unable to regain them. We're now 2-4. Tomorrow is Mike Pelfrey's turn and Pelf better bring it. The guy has been given so many chances and if he completely screws up tomorrow, I don't think he should be given another one. No pressure though!

WP: Jamie Moyer (1-0)

LP: Scott Schoeneweis (0-1)

S: Tom Gordon (1)

BRAVES 3, METS 1

2008-04-06T19:37:00.005-04:00

Turner Field is not kind to the Mets. Never has been. Today's loss was tough considering that Johan pitched so well. Only one run allowed in seven innings and he still gets a loss. The bats were just anemic all afternoon. I knew they should have saved some of their 13 runs from Wednesday for the Atlanta series! Trailing 1-0, Aaron Heilman gave up a two-run homer to Mark Teixiera in the 8th, which made the score an imposing 3-0. But I still held out hope for a 9th inning comeback against new Atlanta closer Rafael Soriano. One of the SNY guys mistakenly called him Rafael Santana and for a while he pitched as well as our cherished 1980s shortstop. But although the Mets got a run in the 9th (preventing a shutout) and put the tying runs on base, it was just not meant to be. Now we are 2-3, a half game out of Atlanta and Florida. Basically the division is a five-way tie with no team dominating for the first week of the season. And Tuesday is the home opener at Shea! The final home opener at Shea! Sniff...

WP: John Smoltz (1-0)
LP: Johan Santana (1-1)
S: Rafael Soriano (1)

BRAVES 11, METS 5

2008-04-05T21:26:00.004-04:00

I did not see today's game. It is a good thing. Instead, I was playing The Amazing Race! You know that reality TV show where teams of two race around the world? Well today teams of six were racing around Manhattan. My team came in 4th out of 12. Not bad but on par with my course. In my fantasy baseball league, I'm also in 4th out of 12 teams! Anyway... the game. From what I read, not a good one. Maine didn't pitch well and Jorge Sosa pitched even worse. Hopefully Johan will pick up the pieces tomorrow but what is this business about Bobby Cox scratching Tom Glavine? He's having Smoltz start instead and used the excuse, "well, we're next going to Colorado and since Smoltz is coming off the DL he shouldn't pitch in cold weather." Um, sure. Sounds like Glavine is DUCKING the Mets cause he's afraid of us whupping his butt. We'll see - we've got a few more series against the Braves this year and Glavine can't duck us forever.

WP: Tim Hudson (1-0)
LP: John Maine (0-1)

RAINED OUT

2008-04-04T22:53:00.003-04:00

Tonight was the first meetup for the season of the New York Mets Meetup group! It's a fun crowd to gather with and root on the Mets. I went to one of their parties last year and then participated in a group trip to Cooperstown a month ago (complete with a long bus ride with baseball movies on the DVD player!) Tonight's meetup was at the Grand Saloon on East 23rd Street between Lexington and 3rd. The menu said that in its former life, the establishment was a brothel. If only our former governor was around then...

Anyway I was all excited about tonight's game vs. the Braves and seeing John Maine pitch. But alas, it was rained out. Didn't stop us from socializing as we watched the SNY UltiMet Classic game from last May vs. the Giants. Well we didn't really watch the game, but it was on. Titled "Two Balks and a Walk" it was the one where Armando Benitez did himself in. But with tonight's rainout, Maine will pitch tomorrow instead. Johan Santana is still scheduled to pitch on Sunday when he will be opposed by Tom Glavine. Wow! Santana vs. Glavine. That's a great storyline. But what about Mike Pelfrey? Poor guy gets passed over.

And how amusing is it that Mike Hampton is on the DL for Atlanta... again. He's a sorrier case than Carl Pavano.

METS 13, MARLINS 0

2008-04-02T23:55:00.002-04:00

The MRI results for Pedro confirmed that it was a sprained hamstring and that he will miss 4-6 weeks. Sad but I suppose it could have been worse. Hopefully his absence will not be more than that and hopefully he will continue to travel with the team as his personality does wonders for clubhouse chemistry. It certainly seemed that the loss of Pedro caused the rest of the Mets to step up their game tonight. 13-0 - wow! Oliver Perez can be either really really good or really really bad but tonight it was the former. Six shutout innings with eight strikeouts. And everyone took turns whacking the Marlin pitchers. Church went yard, Wright went yard and Beltran WOULD have went yard if the umpires didn't reverse their original call. Had the Mets not had such a large lead, Willie should have argued it more vigorously. But I suppose it's hard to complain in the midst of such a blowout. Record now stands at 2-1. On to Atlanta!

WP: Oliver Perez (1-0)
LP: Andrew Miller (0-1)

MARLINS 5, METS 4 (10 innings)

2008-04-01T23:45:00.004-04:00

Noooooo!!! Is this some kind of April Fools joke? Pedro is hurt! (By Pedro, of course I mean Pedro Martinez, but like Elvis, no last name is necessary) After missing most of the 2007 season with a shoulder injury, he completely rehabbed it and was set to go for the 2008 campaign. Until he strained his hamstring tonight! Seeing him limp off the field was just heartbreaking. In the clubhouse, Kevin Burkhardt reported that Pedro told him that he felt a pop. That cannot be good. Oh yeah, the Mets lost tonight in extra innings. But that is certainly a secondary story to the loss of Pedro. Let's keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow's MRI results.

WP: Justin Miller (1-0)
LP: Matt Wise (0-1)

METS 7, MARLINS 2

2008-03-31T23:36:00.004-04:00

2008. A new year, a new blog! And today was not a shabby way to start the year as excellent hitting and pitching contributed to yet another Opening Day victory for the Mets. (The Mets have the best Opening Day record of any team in the majors) After the stench of the September 2007 collapse, the Mets needed to do something huge in the offseason. Trading for and then signing Johan Santana was huge enough and today he delivered. While it's still unclear what the year has in store, today was a sweet beginning. And even though the game was played in Miami, I could have sworn it was New York, based on all the Mets fans in attendance!

WP: Johan Santana (1-0)
LP: Mark Hendrickson (0-1)