GRAND PERFORMANCE

Mets 8, Reds 3 (NYM: 56-37, CIN: 49-45)

The Mets got their third grand slam in two games, and a solid performance from rookie Mike Pelfrey, beating the Reds, 8-3, in Cincinnati Tuesday night. I'm going to make this a quick recap, so we can all enjoy a great article by Justin from NYC.

Xavier Nady, Jose Valentin, and Carlos Beltran all homered for the Mets (Beltran's was his second grand slam in as many days) off of starter Eric Milton, giving Pelfrey plenty of run support again (his first win saw 17 runs scored by the Mets). Jose Reyes made his return from a stitched-up pinky finger, going 0-for-4, but scoring twice. Cliff Floyd was also 0-for-4, temporarily cooling off, and Carlos Delgado continued to slump, going 0-for-5.

Pelfrey was good. He pitched six innings, giving up 7 hits and walking 3, but giving up only 2 runs. He struck out 3. He hasn't looked spectacular, but looked very solid on Tuesday, and should have earned himself another start. He allowed a lot of baserunners, but got himself out of a few jams. I thought a telling moment came in the bottom of the fifth. With the Mets ahead 2-0, the Reds had runners on first and second with 2 out. Pelfrey blew a 96-mile-an-hour fastball by Adam Dunn to strike him out and end the inning, stranding the runners. Pelfrey is now 2-0, with a 3.27 ERA. He's looked good - not great, but good. It's exciting watching a young pitcher in his early stages.

THE KID'S KIDS: It took 10 innings, but Lakeland eked out a win against St. Lucie, 2-1.

In other news, Edgar Alfonzo, Jr., an occasional closer with the St. Lucie Mets, is in fact related to Edgardo Alfonzo. I think I raised this possibility earlier in the year, because Alfonzo's brother Edgar is an instructor in the Mets' minor league system. Well, now that the Mets have Edgardo back, the article mentioned all of his ties to the Mets' organization, and mentioned his nephew, Edgar, who I assume is the son of Edgar, Sr. Very confusing. I wish they would have named one of the guys Carl or something. Now we have to figure out if Eliezer Alfonzo out in San Francisco is related.

ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Edgardo Alfonzo made his debut for Norfolk Tuesday night. He was 0-for-4, with an RBI, in the 7-2 Tides win. Alfonzo started at 3B. 0-for-4 isn't going to get him to the Majors in a hurry.

BEAT THE STREAK: Mike Piazza had a hit in his first at-bat Tuesday night, so my streak is 4. Wednesday I will be at the Red Sox-Royals game in the afternoon, so I have to pick someone from that game. With Mark Redman, a lefty, on the mound for K.C., I'll take Kevin Youkilis to get me a hit.

COMING UP: On Thursday evening I'll post the Southern Bureau's labor of love, a comparison of the 1986 Mets to the 2004 Red Sox. Wednesday evening I'll recap the second game of the Mets-Reds series, bound to be a snoozer, with Steve Trachsel on the mound.

And now, johnnymets.blogspot.com presents, An Evening With Don Mattingly, brought to you by Justin from New York City. A couple of things you must know - as Justin explains, he was given the opportunity to meet and have dinner with Don Mattingly this past Sunday evening. Mattingly is the current hitting coach for the Yankees, as well as former first baseman and legend. The last thing I must tell you is that for Justin to meet Don Mattingly, is like for me to meet Gary Carter. He's just luckier than I am, I guess. Here's his recap:


my dinner with donnie (pronounce that like andre.. and it is a hilarious
play on words)

Sunday night, my brother, noted author Peter Schrager, and I attended
"an evening with Don Mattingly" and fnj the pines restaurant in The Bronx,
New York. We were 2 of about 200 people.. who paid 1500 dollars a ticket.
(we didnt actually pay. my dad's friend bought them and gave them to us).
Being that it was such a costly evening.. we figured we had to dress nice.
We were among a very few who apparently felt that way. Nothing like a room
full of adults in jersey's to make you feel not pathetic. Anyway... the
guest of honor came in.. and the first thing that happened was a q and a.
About 20 minutes of questions.. some good, some not so good. but he
answered every one thoughtfully and respectfully. then everyone got to go
up and take a picture with him and talk to him for a minute or two. That was
the best part, because he was really nice to everyone.. and actually had a
conversation. I told him that i run like him.. and he joked that was the
one part of his game i shouldnt have copied. Then i said, "yeah, but I run
hard everytime" and he liked that.

Once that part ended, it was basically just eating family style italian
dinner with a bunch of strangers. So, that's when the Schrager boys began
phase two of the evening... the part i like to call "making fun of others".
The main target of our ire was a person we called number 12. we called him
that because he was wearing a number 12 yankee jersey. First of all, unless
he was a big Andy Phillips or Tony Womack fan.. that was a soriano jersey,
and he's been gone for four years. If i were to wear a jersey to a nice
restaurant to meet a famous baseball player, my two rules would be this
1:wear the jersey of the person i am meeting, or 2: wear the jersey of my
favorite current member of said players former team. number 12 broke both
rules. His real sin, though, was being creepy and lurky. He litterally
followed Don Mattingly around the room, and went in for the handshake on a
number of occassions. He got BACK on the picture line after his turn...
which is definitely not cool. But after that part was over.. when everyone
was eating, including don mattingly, he went over to his table and shook his
hand again. and then throughout the night did it over and over again. Must
have gone in for nine shakes. That's seven too many in my estimation.

Anyway, the whole thing was sponsored by a memorbilia company, so there was
a silent auction for a bunch of stuff. Don Mattingly bought a Mark Messier
thing, which kind of blew my mind. All he needed to do was sing a bruce
springsteen song and talk like MR T and it would have been all of my
childhood heroes rolled into one. Then, on the way out, everyone got an
autographed picture of don mattingly scooping a throw out of the dirt. Im
guessing it was a short hopped throw from randy velarde, playing out of
position at third base. I have no proof of this.

So, overall.. the most important lesson was that Don Mattingly is a nice
guy. And really, there is nothing else you can ask for from your childhood
idol. thank you and good night.