I think I've figured out a way to while away the off-days. This might become a regular feature - I might give an update on these topics, in regard to the Mets and baseball in general, every two weeks or so. Since I just thought of it, no graphics today...but I'll try to dress it up in the future:
THE METS
Most Impressive: The reason I wanted to give an assessment, two weeks into the season, is because of Ryan Church's arm. That's by far been the most impressive thing about the Mets so far (slim pickings after the underwhelming 5-6 start). I could have mentioned Church for a number of reasons - he's hitting, period...but he's also hitting lefties - but teams have already stopped taking the extra base and challenging him in right field.
Least Impressive: Jose Reyes has had an awful start. He's just hitting .205, with a .238 OBP, and tack on a hamstring injury, to boot. He should be back playing soon, and I guess I'd rather he slump now than in September, but with the way he finished last year, Reyes needs to start playing better soon.
Biggest Surprise: I'd be lying if I said I expected this kind of start from Angel Pagan. Pagan leads the team with a .385 batting average, and is tied for the team lead with 10 RBI. I thought he might be a good addition to the bench when the Mets acquired him in the off-season, but now that he's the regular left fielder (in for the injured Moises Alou), he's been so good it raises the question - what will the Mets do when Alou comes back? I can't decide if I'd rather see them keep playing Pagan, or turn around and trade him while his value is sky-high and get some bullpen help in return (and while I have a limited attachment to him).
Biggest Disappointment: Pedro Martinez*'s injury is the biggest disappointment so far. I expected him to have some sort of injury mid-year, and miss a little bit of time, but to get hurt the way he did, so early in the year, it was a huge disappointment. It will only be OK if Martinez* returns relatively soon (on the timetable they set), and is healthy and effective straight through the post-season.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Most Impressive: Are you aware of what Brian Bannister has been doing for Kansas City? (There are actually a few Royals starters putting up some great numbers, but I like Bannister, so I'll focus on him.) Bannister is 3-0, with a 0.86 ERA. In 21 innings, he's struck out 13 and given up just 10 hits, while walking 5 against Detroit, the Yankees, and Minnesota. It's not surprising, based on what he did all of last year, but it sure is impressive.
Least Impressive: C.C. Sabathia has been terrible. He's 0-2 in three starts, with an 11.57 ERA. 13 K's and 9 walks in 14 innings - and he's given up 24 hits. (He's given up four more earned runs than he's had innings pitched.) I could have also gone with Andruw Jones here, too - but he had a bad season last year, so he hasn't impressed me in a long while.
Biggest Surprise: How about the hot start by the Florida Marlins, and though they've cooled lately, the Kansas City Royals (both are 7-5). Neither one will last, but it certainly surprises me that the team leading the NL East this deep into the season would be the Marlins. (The Pirates are also 6-6 - .500 would be a big deal for them.)
Biggest Disappointment: By far it's the Detroit Tigers. What a bust. They're not going to recover - I'm making that bold prediction right now, with them standing at 2-10. Don't you feel like we should have seen this coming? I kind of do.
I realize I must be missing a team or someone somewhere. I also realize that these categories are sort of close (is there much of a difference between "least impressive" and "biggest disappointment"? In my mind right now there is a subtle difference, but I may feel differently in two weeks.). I'll re-evaluate over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, put your thoughts, if you have any differing ones, or even if you agree, in the comments.
Showing posts with label Brian Bannister. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian Bannister. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2008
Sunday, April 29, 2007
MAINE MAN
Mets 1, Nationals 0 (NYM: 15-8, WAS: 8-17)
If John Maine keeps going like this, he's going to need to clear some space on his mantle. Maine improved to 4-0, lowering his ERA to 1.35, as the Mets took two out of three from the Nationals in Washington, DC. Right now, he's one of the best pitchers...not just in the National League, but in the majors.
Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. He's fun to watch. He's just mowing batters down. Now, I know the National League is a bit different offensively than the American, but he's pitching very impressively.
All the offense the Mets needed in this game came from Carlos Beltran, who BUNTED in the first inning. It drives me nuts when he bunts. After Jose Reyes singled, stole second, and then David Wright walked (hitting second - more on that and the walk in a bit), Beltran laid down a bunt. The announcer on MASN said he was probably bunting for a base hit, but Beltran was not busting it down the line. So the problem here is twofold - 1) if you're bunting for a base hit, run faster, Carlos, and 2) swing away, for crying out loud! Anyway, Reyes and Wright were stranded, and nothing came of that.
In the sixth, Beltran got a pitch up high, and swatted it out to right. That's what he should be doing every at-bat. The Mets had a 1-0 lead, and held that lead with the help of Aaron Heilman (two-thirds of an inning, but he loaded the bases), Scott Schoeneweis (one-third of an inning, inducing a bases-loaded groundout), and Billy Wagner (recording his fourth save of the season).
This has to be mentioned, but first I should say that Paul Lo Duca rested Sunday, as did Carlos Delgado, so Julio Franco started at first base. In the seventh inning, with runners on first and second, the Nationals laid down a bunt. David Wright stayed back to cover third, and Franco charged from first - he looked like Keith Hernandez. When the ball hit the ground, Franco was right on top of it, picked it up, and fired to third for the out. It was a great play, especially considering it was made by an old man.
Another fact worth noting - David Wright walked twice. He has now walked in ten straight games, thirteen total in that span. So he's not hitting, but he's getting on base. That's good that his slump isn't affecting his plate discipline. I wish I could tell you what's wrong with his hitting right now, though. Maybe his bat will wake up in Arizona.
The Mets host Florida for three games, then go on to Arizona, where the past couple of years they have absolutely caught fire. This should be a good week for the Mets - so good, in fact, that they are my choice for the "New Baseball Pool" this week.
NHL on NBC johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: For the third time this season, John Maine. He went 7 scoreless innings, striking out 8, while giving up 3 hits and walking three. He's just been fantastic all year.
TURNING TWO...HUNDRED: No double plays again on Sunday, so this item is going to be temporarily retired (I'm just not as excited about it after the confusion from mlb.com). It will be replaced with:
WHAT A STEAL!: Jose Reyes had two stolen bases on Sunday, increasing his season total to 16. I expect him to shatter the team record this season, 66, held by Roger Cedeno of those (soon) infamous 1999 Mets.
INJURIES: Jose Valentin left Saturday night's game after feeling/hearing a 'pop' in his leg. He was in New York on Sunday, not with the team, getting that checked out.
Orlando Hernandez also was in New York to have his pitching shoulder checked out. He apparently felt pain there. He was supposed to pitch Monday against Florida, in New York. It remains to be seen whether or not he will make that start.
AROUND THE MAJORS: What happened to Josh Hancock of the St. Louis Cardinals is just horrible. That's going to be tough for the guys on that team.
The Rockies beat the Braves, putting the Mets back in front of the Braves by a half game. In that game, Troy Tulowitzki turned an unassisted triple play (the second triple play of the season - the Phillies also turned one). Tulowitzki is a good defensive player - he impressed me at Shea earlier this week against the Mets. How about this, too - he hit a triple.
Brian Bannister started for the Kansas City Royals on Sunday - and pitched well. The former Met gave up 3 runs in six-and-two-thirds innings, but on just 4 hits. I thought it was his first start of the season, but it wasn't. It looks like he's made at least one other start, maybe another appearance, too.
The Dodgers and Padres are heading to the 17th inning, so that's exciting. But I just saw a hilarious Coors Light commercial in between innings - I won't describe it - just keep an eye out for it. It's about new bottles where the mountains on the label turn blue when the bottle gets cold. The key line in the commercial - "It turned blue!" Really funny.
BEAT THE STREAK: Season high continues - I'm at six games, after A-Rod's hit. I'm going with Vladimir Guerrero against Odalis Perez on Monday.
If John Maine keeps going like this, he's going to need to clear some space on his mantle. Maine improved to 4-0, lowering his ERA to 1.35, as the Mets took two out of three from the Nationals in Washington, DC. Right now, he's one of the best pitchers...not just in the National League, but in the majors.
Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. He's fun to watch. He's just mowing batters down. Now, I know the National League is a bit different offensively than the American, but he's pitching very impressively.
All the offense the Mets needed in this game came from Carlos Beltran, who BUNTED in the first inning. It drives me nuts when he bunts. After Jose Reyes singled, stole second, and then David Wright walked (hitting second - more on that and the walk in a bit), Beltran laid down a bunt. The announcer on MASN said he was probably bunting for a base hit, but Beltran was not busting it down the line. So the problem here is twofold - 1) if you're bunting for a base hit, run faster, Carlos, and 2) swing away, for crying out loud! Anyway, Reyes and Wright were stranded, and nothing came of that.
In the sixth, Beltran got a pitch up high, and swatted it out to right. That's what he should be doing every at-bat. The Mets had a 1-0 lead, and held that lead with the help of Aaron Heilman (two-thirds of an inning, but he loaded the bases), Scott Schoeneweis (one-third of an inning, inducing a bases-loaded groundout), and Billy Wagner (recording his fourth save of the season).
This has to be mentioned, but first I should say that Paul Lo Duca rested Sunday, as did Carlos Delgado, so Julio Franco started at first base. In the seventh inning, with runners on first and second, the Nationals laid down a bunt. David Wright stayed back to cover third, and Franco charged from first - he looked like Keith Hernandez. When the ball hit the ground, Franco was right on top of it, picked it up, and fired to third for the out. It was a great play, especially considering it was made by an old man.
Another fact worth noting - David Wright walked twice. He has now walked in ten straight games, thirteen total in that span. So he's not hitting, but he's getting on base. That's good that his slump isn't affecting his plate discipline. I wish I could tell you what's wrong with his hitting right now, though. Maybe his bat will wake up in Arizona.
The Mets host Florida for three games, then go on to Arizona, where the past couple of years they have absolutely caught fire. This should be a good week for the Mets - so good, in fact, that they are my choice for the "New Baseball Pool" this week.
NHL on NBC johnnymets.blogspot.com Player of the Game: For the third time this season, John Maine. He went 7 scoreless innings, striking out 8, while giving up 3 hits and walking three. He's just been fantastic all year.TURNING TWO...HUNDRED: No double plays again on Sunday, so this item is going to be temporarily retired (I'm just not as excited about it after the confusion from mlb.com). It will be replaced with:
WHAT A STEAL!: Jose Reyes had two stolen bases on Sunday, increasing his season total to 16. I expect him to shatter the team record this season, 66, held by Roger Cedeno of those (soon) infamous 1999 Mets.
INJURIES: Jose Valentin left Saturday night's game after feeling/hearing a 'pop' in his leg. He was in New York on Sunday, not with the team, getting that checked out.
Orlando Hernandez also was in New York to have his pitching shoulder checked out. He apparently felt pain there. He was supposed to pitch Monday against Florida, in New York. It remains to be seen whether or not he will make that start.
AROUND THE MAJORS: What happened to Josh Hancock of the St. Louis Cardinals is just horrible. That's going to be tough for the guys on that team.
The Rockies beat the Braves, putting the Mets back in front of the Braves by a half game. In that game, Troy Tulowitzki turned an unassisted triple play (the second triple play of the season - the Phillies also turned one). Tulowitzki is a good defensive player - he impressed me at Shea earlier this week against the Mets. How about this, too - he hit a triple.
Brian Bannister started for the Kansas City Royals on Sunday - and pitched well. The former Met gave up 3 runs in six-and-two-thirds innings, but on just 4 hits. I thought it was his first start of the season, but it wasn't. It looks like he's made at least one other start, maybe another appearance, too.
The Dodgers and Padres are heading to the 17th inning, so that's exciting. But I just saw a hilarious Coors Light commercial in between innings - I won't describe it - just keep an eye out for it. It's about new bottles where the mountains on the label turn blue when the bottle gets cold. The key line in the commercial - "It turned blue!" Really funny.
BEAT THE STREAK: Season high continues - I'm at six games, after A-Rod's hit. I'm going with Vladimir Guerrero against Odalis Perez on Monday.
Friday, August 25, 2006
BROKEN RECORD
Phillies 4, Mets 3 (NYM: 78-49, PHI: 65-63)
5 times the New York Mets had won 11 straight home games. 5 times they had failed to win a twelfth. Add the current streak, just ended Friday night, to that list.
The Phillies snapped the Mets' franchise record-tying 11 game winning streak at Shea, and the Mets' 7-game winning streak overall, with a 4-3 win. The Mets hadn't lost since losing three out of four to the Phillies in Philadelphia last week. But the Phillies don't scare me. They're just playing some good baseball right now, and are playing some desperate baseball as well. They'll fade soon.
They also had Randy Wolf on the mound, and he has owned the Mets. He pitched very well again on Friday, holding the Mets after being staked to a 3-0 lead.
Brian Bannister was the Mets' starter, and he gave up those 4 runs - 2 coming in the first, and 2 coming in the third on a Ryan Howard homer. The Mets blew a couple of chances to get back into the game, with David Wright stranding some runners, and now showing some extreme frustration at this slump. He's 0-for-his-last-24 or so against lefties - he used to own lefties, so I'm not sure I understand what's going on there.
All told, Bannister pitched pretty well for his first game back, going 6 innings, giving up those 4 runs. Carlos Beltran was responsible for most of the Mets' offense, hitting a 2-run homer (his 37th) off Wolf in the 5th inning.
A scary moment came when Jose Reyes stole second base - sliding headfirst, and jamming his hand agianst Jimmy Rollins' foot. Reyes shook the hand through the rest of the inning, but played the rest of the game - we'll have to keep an eye on whether or not that acts up on him again.
The Mets look set to have their 13th starting pitcher of the year on Saturday night, and it looks like Oliver Perez will be called up to pitch against the Phillies. Bannister might be sent down to make room for Perez. At least the Mets have the opportunity, with their big lead, to take a long look at these other pitchers.
MAGIC NUMBER: The number is stalled at 22.
THE KID'S KIDS: A doubleheader for the St. Lucie Mets and Daytona. The Mets won game 1, 4-2, ensuring that they could not finish the night out of first place (entering the night with a half-game lead). The Mets scored 4 runs in the final two innings to come from behind and win.
In game 2, Daytona returned the favor, with a 4-2 win, so it's like nothing happened. St. Lucie still holds a half-game lead in the second half.
ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Starting at third base, Edgardo Alfonzo was 2-for-4 for the Tides, with a double. He's now hitting .258. September 1st is in a week- we'll see if this is enough for Alfonzo to make the team when the rosters expand.
5 times the New York Mets had won 11 straight home games. 5 times they had failed to win a twelfth. Add the current streak, just ended Friday night, to that list.The Phillies snapped the Mets' franchise record-tying 11 game winning streak at Shea, and the Mets' 7-game winning streak overall, with a 4-3 win. The Mets hadn't lost since losing three out of four to the Phillies in Philadelphia last week. But the Phillies don't scare me. They're just playing some good baseball right now, and are playing some desperate baseball as well. They'll fade soon.
They also had Randy Wolf on the mound, and he has owned the Mets. He pitched very well again on Friday, holding the Mets after being staked to a 3-0 lead.
Brian Bannister was the Mets' starter, and he gave up those 4 runs - 2 coming in the first, and 2 coming in the third on a Ryan Howard homer. The Mets blew a couple of chances to get back into the game, with David Wright stranding some runners, and now showing some extreme frustration at this slump. He's 0-for-his-last-24 or so against lefties - he used to own lefties, so I'm not sure I understand what's going on there.
All told, Bannister pitched pretty well for his first game back, going 6 innings, giving up those 4 runs. Carlos Beltran was responsible for most of the Mets' offense, hitting a 2-run homer (his 37th) off Wolf in the 5th inning.
A scary moment came when Jose Reyes stole second base - sliding headfirst, and jamming his hand agianst Jimmy Rollins' foot. Reyes shook the hand through the rest of the inning, but played the rest of the game - we'll have to keep an eye on whether or not that acts up on him again.
The Mets look set to have their 13th starting pitcher of the year on Saturday night, and it looks like Oliver Perez will be called up to pitch against the Phillies. Bannister might be sent down to make room for Perez. At least the Mets have the opportunity, with their big lead, to take a long look at these other pitchers.
MAGIC NUMBER: The number is stalled at 22.
THE KID'S KIDS: A doubleheader for the St. Lucie Mets and Daytona. The Mets won game 1, 4-2, ensuring that they could not finish the night out of first place (entering the night with a half-game lead). The Mets scored 4 runs in the final two innings to come from behind and win.
In game 2, Daytona returned the favor, with a 4-2 win, so it's like nothing happened. St. Lucie still holds a half-game lead in the second half.
ALFONZO'S COMEBACK: Starting at third base, Edgardo Alfonzo was 2-for-4 for the Tides, with a double. He's now hitting .258. September 1st is in a week- we'll see if this is enough for Alfonzo to make the team when the rosters expand.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
11TH - OURS
Mets 9, Giants 7, 11 innings (NYM: 14-7, SFG: 11-10)
The Mets came back, took a lead, blew a lead, then took a lead again on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco. In the end, they headed to Atlanta (after an off-day Thursday) with a win, but it could have been costly.
Brian Bannister gave up 3 runs in five innings, and also drove in two runs during a 2-for-3 afternoon at the plate. But it was after he doubled in the top of the sixth, when he was running home to score the go-ahead run, that he came up lame, barely able to make it down the third base line with the Mets' 4th run, with a hamstring injury (big credit to Bannister, though, for gritting it out and getting across the plate despite the pain he was in). Bannister left the game immediately (replaced by Aaron Heilman). I'll keep you posted on when he will come back - but the Mets are having hamstring problems - first Carlos Beltran* and now Bannister. I'd hate to see Bannister be out long - first of all, because the Mets aren't deep in pitching, and secondly because he's fun to watch pitch. I think the latest I heard is that Bannister would be re-evaluated in Atlanta.
Billy Wagner blew a save in this game but all 3 runs he gave up were unearned, coming after a David Wright error with a man on and 2 out in the 9th. After the error, Wagner gave up a pinch-hit, 2-run homer to Barry Bonds (number 711 career), but the Mets got clutch hits from Chris Woodward and THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, in the 11th to win it. The Mets also got great work from the bullpen - particularly Chad Bradford and Darren Oliver, in extra innings.
14-7 is the Mets record. That's good for a .667 winning percentage. That's 2 wins every 3 games. The Mets have the potential to keep that up all year. That's scary...for other teams.
MAILBAG: I almost don't believe my eyes - after about 2 years away from the site - Steve from New York is back in the inbox!!! And we welcome him back with open arms:
"Johnnymets -
As you know, I am a long time Mets fan and am used to them making terrible trades. Clearly, Kazmir for Zambrano is very close to top of the list. What is driving me crazy is that everyone in NY sees that Zambrano is horrible except for Randolph and Peterson. What are the two of them smoking? How much longer can this follishness continue? While listening to WFAN earlier today, I learned that the Mets are planning the weekend rotation to be Martinez - Glavine - Zambrano, Fri - Sun respectively. Normally, Sunday's game would be pitched by Trachsel, which is his 5th day. As most Mets fans know, Trachsel does well and likes to pitch on his 5th day. Instead, the Mets braintrust has decided to push Trachsel back a day, instead of skipping Zambrano all together, (which they would have been able to do because of the day off).
What are your thoughts and how long can the Mets fans let this nonsense go on?
PS - The FAN was saying that one of the reasons, besides stupidity could be that they want to keep Zambrano away from the Shea crowd as long as possible. That might be the smartest thing they have done all season (however, it will probably be to the detriment of the team)
PPS = If Bannister can't start on his next scheduled date, do the Mets bring Heilman from the bullpen for a start?
Steve"
Steve - The way I see things with Zambrano right now is, the Mets can't win every game. So Zambrano is that equalizer, allowing them to lose every fifth day or so. (I'm only partly kidding there.) I've said it before - this is the year where the Mets learn whether or not Rick Peterson's work with Zambrano will pay off. (So far, not so good.) I couldn't listen to WFAN today, obviously, but I did get the Mets game on SNY. And Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were saying that Steve Trachsel will pitch on Sunday, on his regular fifth day, and Zambrano would just be skipped. I'm not sure who's right - them or 'FAN, but now Bannister's injury throws a wrench in things, if he ends up being out for a while.
I do NOT think Heilman should be thrown in for a fill-in start. If he's going to be starting, I agree with what Hernandez said on SNY - it shouldn't be a permanent thing. The thing is, the way Duaner Sanchez has been pitching, I'd rather see him take over Heilman's role, Zambrano be a permanent reliever (where I liked the way he looked last year), and Heilman starting every fifth day. I think that's the best the Mets could do.
Thanks for writing, Steve! Keep it up.
ELSEWHERE AROUND THE NL: Some sweeps worth noting. The Reds beat the Washington Nationals, completing a 3-game sweep, behind a 1-hitter by Bronson Arroyo. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I did say I thought Arroyo being traded by the Red Sox would light a little bit of a fire under him. He's now 4-0, and has pitched brilliantly.
The Brewers swept the Braves. The Mets have been struggling a bit lately (1-2 vs. Atlanta, 2-2 vs. the Padres), but it's nothing compared to what the Braves have been doing. They're now 9-12. The Mets need to twist the knife a little bit this weekend in Atlanta - a place where they haven't had much success in recent years.
Finally, the Cardinals swept the Pirates, but Jose Hernandez hit a homer off Jason Isringhausen in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. (The Cardinals won in the bottom half.) I'm telling you - the Cardinals bullpen is flawed this year. That will eventually cost them.
FROM THE AL: This stuff about Kevin Mench is great. I've always liked Mench - I always used to pick him up as a spare outfielder whenever I used to play fantasy baseball with current baseball players. He got off to a very slow start this season - 0 HR, 0 RBI in his first 10 games, I think. Turns out, he was wearing uncomfortable shoes - they were too small for his feet. So he misses five games, switches shoes, and has been on fire. He hit a grand slam Wednesday, and has homered in six consecutive games. What a riot.
THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie Mets manager and Hall of Famer Gary Carter has his work cut out for him. The Mets' 2005 first round pick, pitcher Mike Pelfrey, who has been pitching very well (winning Monday night) has been promoted to Double A. Managing in the minors has to be very tough with all of that roster upheaval due to promotions, demotions, etc.
On Wednesday, Carter's Mets scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth (awesome managing!) to beat Jupiter, 5-3. The win makes the Mets 13-6, and vaults them into first place.
Other Kid's Kids (and Dmitri Young's brother): Delmon Young, Devil Rays prospect and current Durham Bull, threw a bat at a home plate umpire after being called out. I'm not sure how the bat was thrown, or how the umpire is doing. This was a replacement ump - the minor league umpires are on strike - as a matter of fact, another replacement ump was involved in an incident with the Norfolk Tides, the Mets' Triple A affiliate, when Victor Diaz collided with him at first base. The collision forced Diaz to miss four games.
SNY PROGRAMMING: For the first time, during Wednesday's Mets game, I saw an SNY programming commercial showing that the Mets would be showing lots of Classic Mets games from 1986 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of that team. They should show classic games non-stop - instead of that drivel they call "Daily News Live". I'm psyched, needless to say.
PIC OF THE DAY: I need to write some stadium reviews from the West Coast - Thursday is a Mets' off-day, so that looks like a good time to write them, but for now, enjoy this pic from our trip:
I do believe the Padres have the least intimidating mascot in the Majors. Although, Padres fans could probably make a good counter-argument......
BEAT THE STREAK: I picked David Wright because he owned Jason Schmidt, but the Giants went with Matt Morris instead. Wright finally doubled in the 8th, to keep my streak alive - now a 5-gamer. I'm going with the history again on Thursday - Mike Lowell, a career 6-for-13 hitter against Paul Byrd.
The Mets came back, took a lead, blew a lead, then took a lead again on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco. In the end, they headed to Atlanta (after an off-day Thursday) with a win, but it could have been costly.
Brian Bannister gave up 3 runs in five innings, and also drove in two runs during a 2-for-3 afternoon at the plate. But it was after he doubled in the top of the sixth, when he was running home to score the go-ahead run, that he came up lame, barely able to make it down the third base line with the Mets' 4th run, with a hamstring injury (big credit to Bannister, though, for gritting it out and getting across the plate despite the pain he was in). Bannister left the game immediately (replaced by Aaron Heilman). I'll keep you posted on when he will come back - but the Mets are having hamstring problems - first Carlos Beltran* and now Bannister. I'd hate to see Bannister be out long - first of all, because the Mets aren't deep in pitching, and secondly because he's fun to watch pitch. I think the latest I heard is that Bannister would be re-evaluated in Atlanta.
Billy Wagner blew a save in this game but all 3 runs he gave up were unearned, coming after a David Wright error with a man on and 2 out in the 9th. After the error, Wagner gave up a pinch-hit, 2-run homer to Barry Bonds (number 711 career), but the Mets got clutch hits from Chris Woodward and THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, in the 11th to win it. The Mets also got great work from the bullpen - particularly Chad Bradford and Darren Oliver, in extra innings.
14-7 is the Mets record. That's good for a .667 winning percentage. That's 2 wins every 3 games. The Mets have the potential to keep that up all year. That's scary...for other teams.
MAILBAG: I almost don't believe my eyes - after about 2 years away from the site - Steve from New York is back in the inbox!!! And we welcome him back with open arms:
"Johnnymets -
As you know, I am a long time Mets fan and am used to them making terrible trades. Clearly, Kazmir for Zambrano is very close to top of the list. What is driving me crazy is that everyone in NY sees that Zambrano is horrible except for Randolph and Peterson. What are the two of them smoking? How much longer can this follishness continue? While listening to WFAN earlier today, I learned that the Mets are planning the weekend rotation to be Martinez - Glavine - Zambrano, Fri - Sun respectively. Normally, Sunday's game would be pitched by Trachsel, which is his 5th day. As most Mets fans know, Trachsel does well and likes to pitch on his 5th day. Instead, the Mets braintrust has decided to push Trachsel back a day, instead of skipping Zambrano all together, (which they would have been able to do because of the day off).
What are your thoughts and how long can the Mets fans let this nonsense go on?
PS - The FAN was saying that one of the reasons, besides stupidity could be that they want to keep Zambrano away from the Shea crowd as long as possible. That might be the smartest thing they have done all season (however, it will probably be to the detriment of the team)
PPS = If Bannister can't start on his next scheduled date, do the Mets bring Heilman from the bullpen for a start?
Steve"
Steve - The way I see things with Zambrano right now is, the Mets can't win every game. So Zambrano is that equalizer, allowing them to lose every fifth day or so. (I'm only partly kidding there.) I've said it before - this is the year where the Mets learn whether or not Rick Peterson's work with Zambrano will pay off. (So far, not so good.) I couldn't listen to WFAN today, obviously, but I did get the Mets game on SNY. And Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were saying that Steve Trachsel will pitch on Sunday, on his regular fifth day, and Zambrano would just be skipped. I'm not sure who's right - them or 'FAN, but now Bannister's injury throws a wrench in things, if he ends up being out for a while.
I do NOT think Heilman should be thrown in for a fill-in start. If he's going to be starting, I agree with what Hernandez said on SNY - it shouldn't be a permanent thing. The thing is, the way Duaner Sanchez has been pitching, I'd rather see him take over Heilman's role, Zambrano be a permanent reliever (where I liked the way he looked last year), and Heilman starting every fifth day. I think that's the best the Mets could do.
Thanks for writing, Steve! Keep it up.
ELSEWHERE AROUND THE NL: Some sweeps worth noting. The Reds beat the Washington Nationals, completing a 3-game sweep, behind a 1-hitter by Bronson Arroyo. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I did say I thought Arroyo being traded by the Red Sox would light a little bit of a fire under him. He's now 4-0, and has pitched brilliantly.
The Brewers swept the Braves. The Mets have been struggling a bit lately (1-2 vs. Atlanta, 2-2 vs. the Padres), but it's nothing compared to what the Braves have been doing. They're now 9-12. The Mets need to twist the knife a little bit this weekend in Atlanta - a place where they haven't had much success in recent years.
Finally, the Cardinals swept the Pirates, but Jose Hernandez hit a homer off Jason Isringhausen in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game. (The Cardinals won in the bottom half.) I'm telling you - the Cardinals bullpen is flawed this year. That will eventually cost them.
FROM THE AL: This stuff about Kevin Mench is great. I've always liked Mench - I always used to pick him up as a spare outfielder whenever I used to play fantasy baseball with current baseball players. He got off to a very slow start this season - 0 HR, 0 RBI in his first 10 games, I think. Turns out, he was wearing uncomfortable shoes - they were too small for his feet. So he misses five games, switches shoes, and has been on fire. He hit a grand slam Wednesday, and has homered in six consecutive games. What a riot.
THE KID'S KIDS: St. Lucie Mets manager and Hall of Famer Gary Carter has his work cut out for him. The Mets' 2005 first round pick, pitcher Mike Pelfrey, who has been pitching very well (winning Monday night) has been promoted to Double A. Managing in the minors has to be very tough with all of that roster upheaval due to promotions, demotions, etc.
On Wednesday, Carter's Mets scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth (awesome managing!) to beat Jupiter, 5-3. The win makes the Mets 13-6, and vaults them into first place.
Other Kid's Kids (and Dmitri Young's brother): Delmon Young, Devil Rays prospect and current Durham Bull, threw a bat at a home plate umpire after being called out. I'm not sure how the bat was thrown, or how the umpire is doing. This was a replacement ump - the minor league umpires are on strike - as a matter of fact, another replacement ump was involved in an incident with the Norfolk Tides, the Mets' Triple A affiliate, when Victor Diaz collided with him at first base. The collision forced Diaz to miss four games.
SNY PROGRAMMING: For the first time, during Wednesday's Mets game, I saw an SNY programming commercial showing that the Mets would be showing lots of Classic Mets games from 1986 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of that team. They should show classic games non-stop - instead of that drivel they call "Daily News Live". I'm psyched, needless to say.
PIC OF THE DAY: I need to write some stadium reviews from the West Coast - Thursday is a Mets' off-day, so that looks like a good time to write them, but for now, enjoy this pic from our trip:
I do believe the Padres have the least intimidating mascot in the Majors. Although, Padres fans could probably make a good counter-argument......
BEAT THE STREAK: I picked David Wright because he owned Jason Schmidt, but the Giants went with Matt Morris instead. Wright finally doubled in the 8th, to keep my streak alive - now a 5-gamer. I'm going with the history again on Thursday - Mike Lowell, a career 6-for-13 hitter against Paul Byrd.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
OPENING DAY PART TWO
Mets 7, Nationals 1 (NYM: 5-1, WAS: 2-6)
One week later, different ballpark, same teams, same result. Mets win over the Nationals. I just finished catching up on the game, watching it off TiVo in fast forward. Brian Bannister got the win he should have gotten last week - now he's 1-0. Bannister pitched 7 very good innings, striking out just one, but also giving up just one run. It came on an Alfonso Soriano homer in the 7th. Soriano blasted a ball just foul down the left field line, then on the next pitch crushed the solo homer. So Bannister did look tired at the end of his start, just like last time, but he also reached back for that something extra against his last batter and struck him out...just like he did the last time. Bannister might have a nice year - that'll be something fun to watch.
Offensively, things are looking good for the Mets. Future Hall of Famer David Wright (of course) got things going with an RBI double in the 4th, then Cliff Floyd made it 2-0 with a sac fly (he has yet to get hot - but look at what the Mets are doing without him. I'd rather see Floyd finish the year with solid numbers after a slow start, like he will hopefully do this year, than have him start off as hot as he did last year and slowly sliiiiiide down).
The Mets got 2 more in the fifth on an RBI single by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, and then an RBI double by Paul LoDuca. Reyes' hit scored Anderson Hernandez, who slapped at the ball and hit it over the pitcher's head for an infield single. If he can manufacture hits like that, everything will be fine at second base. After Brian Bannister doubled in the 7th, Jose Reyes tripled, making it 5-0. It's more exciting to see Reyes hit a triple than to watch home run hitters come to the plate. Reyes hit a ball into the left-centerfield gap, and legged out the triple. He is so fun to watch.
Carlos Beltran* capped the scoring with a 2-run bomb to right field - I haven't seen a measurement, but it hit the facing of the upper deck, which says 468 on it. So it was at least 470 feet. Could our boy Carlos* finally be coming around?
No one was hit in this game...Wednesday night could be a different story, when Pedro Martinez* takes the mound against his new rivals.
RANTS FROM A MAD PREGNANT WOMAN: Just recently I was discussing with the wife how much time I might be able to take off from work when the baby arrives. It looks like it might be two weeks. Since the baby is due September 30th, I mentioned the possibility that my two weeks off could come around the time of the World Series, in which I fully expect the Mets to be participating. I may have mentioned something about taking the time to go to New York for the World Series. She said no. Actually, it was, NO!!!! Something about having to take care of the baby. I think it's the hormones. She'll see things differently once the baby's out. I'll try again then.
GONE-SON ARROYO: Rhymes with Bronson. I can't believe that Arroyo has homered in his two starts with the Reds. I think he's really playing mad that he was traded. That could have been the best thing that ever happened to him.
THE KID'S KIDS: Unfortunately, at posting time, the finals of the night games for the St. Lucie Mets aren't available, so I'm going to have to do these on one-day delays. Two days in this case, because Monday night's game was suspended due to a power outage, in the ninth inning. So that game was going to be completed before Tuesday night's regularly scheduled game. I'll update all that on Wednesday. St. Lucie is a game back of Brevard County right now, at 4-1 on the season.
BEAT THE STREAK: Stupid A-rod. The streak came to a screeching halt when the Yankees came back with 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th, to beat the Royals, 9-7. A-Rod was left on deck, at 0-for-2, in the 8th when the Yankees made the last out, and he never got up again. A new streak has to start now - I might just pick random guys all next week while I'm away, and pick up with Beat the Streak when we get back.
One week later, different ballpark, same teams, same result. Mets win over the Nationals. I just finished catching up on the game, watching it off TiVo in fast forward. Brian Bannister got the win he should have gotten last week - now he's 1-0. Bannister pitched 7 very good innings, striking out just one, but also giving up just one run. It came on an Alfonso Soriano homer in the 7th. Soriano blasted a ball just foul down the left field line, then on the next pitch crushed the solo homer. So Bannister did look tired at the end of his start, just like last time, but he also reached back for that something extra against his last batter and struck him out...just like he did the last time. Bannister might have a nice year - that'll be something fun to watch.
Offensively, things are looking good for the Mets. Future Hall of Famer David Wright (of course) got things going with an RBI double in the 4th, then Cliff Floyd made it 2-0 with a sac fly (he has yet to get hot - but look at what the Mets are doing without him. I'd rather see Floyd finish the year with solid numbers after a slow start, like he will hopefully do this year, than have him start off as hot as he did last year and slowly sliiiiiide down).
The Mets got 2 more in the fifth on an RBI single by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, and then an RBI double by Paul LoDuca. Reyes' hit scored Anderson Hernandez, who slapped at the ball and hit it over the pitcher's head for an infield single. If he can manufacture hits like that, everything will be fine at second base. After Brian Bannister doubled in the 7th, Jose Reyes tripled, making it 5-0. It's more exciting to see Reyes hit a triple than to watch home run hitters come to the plate. Reyes hit a ball into the left-centerfield gap, and legged out the triple. He is so fun to watch.
Carlos Beltran* capped the scoring with a 2-run bomb to right field - I haven't seen a measurement, but it hit the facing of the upper deck, which says 468 on it. So it was at least 470 feet. Could our boy Carlos* finally be coming around?
No one was hit in this game...Wednesday night could be a different story, when Pedro Martinez* takes the mound against his new rivals.
RANTS FROM A MAD PREGNANT WOMAN: Just recently I was discussing with the wife how much time I might be able to take off from work when the baby arrives. It looks like it might be two weeks. Since the baby is due September 30th, I mentioned the possibility that my two weeks off could come around the time of the World Series, in which I fully expect the Mets to be participating. I may have mentioned something about taking the time to go to New York for the World Series. She said no. Actually, it was, NO!!!! Something about having to take care of the baby. I think it's the hormones. She'll see things differently once the baby's out. I'll try again then.
GONE-SON ARROYO: Rhymes with Bronson. I can't believe that Arroyo has homered in his two starts with the Reds. I think he's really playing mad that he was traded. That could have been the best thing that ever happened to him.
THE KID'S KIDS: Unfortunately, at posting time, the finals of the night games for the St. Lucie Mets aren't available, so I'm going to have to do these on one-day delays. Two days in this case, because Monday night's game was suspended due to a power outage, in the ninth inning. So that game was going to be completed before Tuesday night's regularly scheduled game. I'll update all that on Wednesday. St. Lucie is a game back of Brevard County right now, at 4-1 on the season.
BEAT THE STREAK: Stupid A-rod. The streak came to a screeching halt when the Yankees came back with 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th, to beat the Royals, 9-7. A-Rod was left on deck, at 0-for-2, in the 8th when the Yankees made the last out, and he never got up again. A new streak has to start now - I might just pick random guys all next week while I'm away, and pick up with Beat the Streak when we get back.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
WAGNER LOSES GRIP ON BANNISTER; METS LOSE IN 10
Nationals 9, Mets 5, 10 innings (NYM: 1-1, WAS: 1-1)
OK, it's my fault. I take the blame. I'm the one who called my parents in the sixth inning to let them know they should watch the Mets, because Brian Bannister had gone five no-hit innings. Then I told my sister, and no sooner did she say, "Isn't that supposed to jinx it?", did Bannister give up a double...then hit a batter....then give up a 3-run homer to Nick Johnson. The Mets still led, 4-3, but I told my sister, "Yes, it jinxes it." Sorry Brian.
I also messed things up for Billy Wagner. I'm sitting there, thinking, as the Mets head into the top of the ninth with their 4-3 lead, "So this is what if feels like to have 100% confidence in the bullpen." Wagner promptly went 3-0 on Ryan Zimmerman, then got back to 3-2, then left a fastball up that Zimmerman turned on and hit over the wall to tie it at 4.
It got worse. In the tenth, Jorge Julio gave up 5 runs, and the Nationals went on to a 9-5 win.
Now, eternal optimist that I am, there were lots of positives in this game. (I'm not nearly as upset by this loss as I probably should be.) I'll start at the beginning - Brian Bannister pitched very well. (He was wearing number 40 - I'm surprised the Mets gave up Braden Looper's number so soon.) He got himself in a jam in the 2nd inning, with men on 2nd and 3rd, and managed to pitch out of it with a strikeout and a flyout. He was clearly gassed in the sixth, and still faced a few batters, striking out his final batter, after giving up the 3-run homer to Nick Johnson.
The Mets' bats were working early - they blew a 4-0 lead. David Wright had an RBI single in the first (after Carloses Beltran* and Delgado struck out with runners on 1st and 2nd), Xavier Nady homered to make it 2-0 (he is tattooing the ball early on), and Delgado rebounded later with a 2-run bomb of a homer to make it 4-0.
Anderson Hernandez looks great at second base. He saved Aaron Heilman (who actually pitched well in his second game - as did Duaner Sanchez, getting the 4-3 lead to Wagner) by fully extending and diving into right field for a ball hit over his head. He stayed down for a while, but it looked like he only knocked the wind out of himself. He also made a great play running into right field's foul territory, catching a ball over his shoulder, and then calling off Carlos Delgado on a similar play in foul territory behind first. A great defensive game from Hernandez.
Believe it or not, I thought Jorge Julio actually pitched well too. He hung a curve to Jose Guillen that Guillen just put over the left-field wall (Cliff Floyd actually mis-timed his jump, or else it would have been a long out), but his stuff looked good. After the Guillen homer, he struck out Nick Johnson, but the ball got away from LoDuca, and Johnson reached. Then a nubber in front of the mound was thrown away by LoDuca, and it snowballed. But I expected a lot worse from Julio, and I was encouraged by the way he played.
The Mets had mounted a 2-out rally in the bottom of the ninth, after Wagner's blown save, by the way, and LoDuca flew out to right with the bases loaded, following a pinch hit single by Julio Franco (47 years old!) and a walk (!) by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. The Mets just couldn't get their bats going after the fourth inning.
NO SNY: I couldn't watch the game on SNY because as soon as the game started, DirecTV blacked out the SNY feed, and I had to watch the Nationals feed. That's OK - SNY needs to work out all their bugs. I was watching the pre-game, and some dude tossed to sound, and the sound never rolled. It's uncomfortable to watch. Speaking of uncomfortable to watch, one of SNY's big shows is "Daily News Live", hosted by Gary Apple. Not good. Rob Schneider was a guest on the show, promoting his new movie (very knowledgable in sports, by the way), and he should have hosted. At one point, Apple says, "Coming up after the break, we'll switch gears and talk football with......with.......with, uh......" And Rob Schneider says, "With WHO?!?!?" It was great. Turns out, Apple forgot he was having the Chicago Bears' Thomas Jones on the show. So SNY's programming has a long way to go, in this humble opinion. They should have made me their official blogger...I wouldn't be nearly as hard on them. I really do want to see Gary Cohen do a game on TV, though.
COMMERCIAL WATCH: Heineken is out with a few good new ads for baseball season, the best of which features a couple of brothers visiting their parents, and the less responsible brother wins points by bringing Heineken. It's much better when you see it - not read about it in my nutshell recap. Also, from the "Didn't Expect That" category, Suzy Kolber is the new spokeswoman for Chevy. Seriously.
BEAT THE STREAK: I picked Miguel Tejada, he had a hit in the Orioles win over Tampa Bay, so I have a 2-gamer going (Wells had a hit yesterday). Tomorrow, it's Jose Reyes.
The Mets' 3 hour-37 minute, extra-inning loss has me up way past my bedtime. Big game for Pedro* in his season debut now on Thursday night. You can see that game on ESPN - unfortunately, I'll have to watch the Nationals feed, because I think it's Chris Berman.
OK, it's my fault. I take the blame. I'm the one who called my parents in the sixth inning to let them know they should watch the Mets, because Brian Bannister had gone five no-hit innings. Then I told my sister, and no sooner did she say, "Isn't that supposed to jinx it?", did Bannister give up a double...then hit a batter....then give up a 3-run homer to Nick Johnson. The Mets still led, 4-3, but I told my sister, "Yes, it jinxes it." Sorry Brian.
I also messed things up for Billy Wagner. I'm sitting there, thinking, as the Mets head into the top of the ninth with their 4-3 lead, "So this is what if feels like to have 100% confidence in the bullpen." Wagner promptly went 3-0 on Ryan Zimmerman, then got back to 3-2, then left a fastball up that Zimmerman turned on and hit over the wall to tie it at 4.
It got worse. In the tenth, Jorge Julio gave up 5 runs, and the Nationals went on to a 9-5 win.
Now, eternal optimist that I am, there were lots of positives in this game. (I'm not nearly as upset by this loss as I probably should be.) I'll start at the beginning - Brian Bannister pitched very well. (He was wearing number 40 - I'm surprised the Mets gave up Braden Looper's number so soon.) He got himself in a jam in the 2nd inning, with men on 2nd and 3rd, and managed to pitch out of it with a strikeout and a flyout. He was clearly gassed in the sixth, and still faced a few batters, striking out his final batter, after giving up the 3-run homer to Nick Johnson.
The Mets' bats were working early - they blew a 4-0 lead. David Wright had an RBI single in the first (after Carloses Beltran* and Delgado struck out with runners on 1st and 2nd), Xavier Nady homered to make it 2-0 (he is tattooing the ball early on), and Delgado rebounded later with a 2-run bomb of a homer to make it 4-0.
Anderson Hernandez looks great at second base. He saved Aaron Heilman (who actually pitched well in his second game - as did Duaner Sanchez, getting the 4-3 lead to Wagner) by fully extending and diving into right field for a ball hit over his head. He stayed down for a while, but it looked like he only knocked the wind out of himself. He also made a great play running into right field's foul territory, catching a ball over his shoulder, and then calling off Carlos Delgado on a similar play in foul territory behind first. A great defensive game from Hernandez.
Believe it or not, I thought Jorge Julio actually pitched well too. He hung a curve to Jose Guillen that Guillen just put over the left-field wall (Cliff Floyd actually mis-timed his jump, or else it would have been a long out), but his stuff looked good. After the Guillen homer, he struck out Nick Johnson, but the ball got away from LoDuca, and Johnson reached. Then a nubber in front of the mound was thrown away by LoDuca, and it snowballed. But I expected a lot worse from Julio, and I was encouraged by the way he played.
The Mets had mounted a 2-out rally in the bottom of the ninth, after Wagner's blown save, by the way, and LoDuca flew out to right with the bases loaded, following a pinch hit single by Julio Franco (47 years old!) and a walk (!) by THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. The Mets just couldn't get their bats going after the fourth inning.
NO SNY: I couldn't watch the game on SNY because as soon as the game started, DirecTV blacked out the SNY feed, and I had to watch the Nationals feed. That's OK - SNY needs to work out all their bugs. I was watching the pre-game, and some dude tossed to sound, and the sound never rolled. It's uncomfortable to watch. Speaking of uncomfortable to watch, one of SNY's big shows is "Daily News Live", hosted by Gary Apple. Not good. Rob Schneider was a guest on the show, promoting his new movie (very knowledgable in sports, by the way), and he should have hosted. At one point, Apple says, "Coming up after the break, we'll switch gears and talk football with......with.......with, uh......" And Rob Schneider says, "With WHO?!?!?" It was great. Turns out, Apple forgot he was having the Chicago Bears' Thomas Jones on the show. So SNY's programming has a long way to go, in this humble opinion. They should have made me their official blogger...I wouldn't be nearly as hard on them. I really do want to see Gary Cohen do a game on TV, though.
COMMERCIAL WATCH: Heineken is out with a few good new ads for baseball season, the best of which features a couple of brothers visiting their parents, and the less responsible brother wins points by bringing Heineken. It's much better when you see it - not read about it in my nutshell recap. Also, from the "Didn't Expect That" category, Suzy Kolber is the new spokeswoman for Chevy. Seriously.
BEAT THE STREAK: I picked Miguel Tejada, he had a hit in the Orioles win over Tampa Bay, so I have a 2-gamer going (Wells had a hit yesterday). Tomorrow, it's Jose Reyes.
The Mets' 3 hour-37 minute, extra-inning loss has me up way past my bedtime. Big game for Pedro* in his season debut now on Thursday night. You can see that game on ESPN - unfortunately, I'll have to watch the Nationals feed, because I think it's Chris Berman.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
PLAYING CATCH UP...
That's what I'm doing after missing a day of big news. The Mets announced on Tuesday that Brian Bannister would indeed be the fifth starter, meaning Aaron Heilman will be pitching out of the bullpen. This means a lot of things.
- First and foremost, Heilman is in the role he didn't want, and Bannister got the job Heilman felt he earned. Heilman, though, says he wants to be a part of the team, because he knows this team could be special, and he's willing to do this for the team. Willie Randolph says the whole point of this decision is that it makes the team better. Another note is that Heilman and Bannister have developed a friendship this spring, which has tempered Bannister's enthusiasm for being named the starter, and probably makes this a slightly easier pill to swallow for Heilman.
- This does make the team better. The Mets are counting on Heilman to be the primary bridge from the starter to Billy Wagner. Think Mariano Rivera to John Wetteland...or, a slight downgrade from that.
- Heilman pitches very well against lefties. That means the Mets, when they break camp, could possibly carry one less lefty in the 'pen. The Mets have a strange situation because they have Chad Bradford, a specialist brought in to face only righthanders. So when there is a lefty that Bradford would have to face, chances are he's coming out...so he's almost a waste of a pitcher's spot. Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano are the favorites to make the team from the left side (although I have my doubts about Oliver - he might very well have had some impressive springs in recent years, which might explain some of his sorry Major League seasons the past few years - not counting last year, when he wasn't in the majors).
All in all, I think the Mets are a better team. And I think they really want to appease Heilman...just not this year. I think in 2007, Heilman will graduate to number three starter, or thereabouts. But this year, in the hunt for the World Series, Heilman will be strengthening the bullpen.
SI PICKS: Got the 'Sports Illustrated' baseball preview edition today, and I haven't had much of a chance to go through it yet, but I did see that they pick the Mets to be a wild card, but bow out of the playoffs in the first round (losing to the Cardinals - no way). They pick the White Sox to beat the Cardinals in the World Series. It's fashionable to pick the White Sox this year (see my picks), but I'm having second thoughts. They've had a bad spring, and I'm reading bad things about Bobby Jenks. But they have a deep rotation, and that could take them far. I'm standing by my pick of the White Sox losing to the Mets in the World Series, but consider this paragraph the White Sox disclaimer.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE: The Bensons are breaking up. I've been seeing on some other blogs that Anna Benson has filed for divorce from Kris. I hope I'm not spreading a false rumor here, but it isn't a stretch. I feel kind of bad for Kris Benson in all of this. He seems like a fairly normal guy. He has three kids, and a wife who, let's say, makes life a little difficult. And she's filing for divorce from him. I bet he gets the kids.
BEAT THE STREAK: My pick for Sunday night (in case I don't get to write again this weekend) is Grady Sizemore. All he needs to do is get a hit to get me off on the right foot. I forgot if I've already mentioned this, but keep an eye on the Phillies Opening Day - Jimmy Rollins is taking a 36-game-hitting streak into this season.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
TOE-ING THE RUBBER
Pedro Martinez* made his first spring start on Sunday, and the results were more than encouraging. Pedro* went three scoreless innings against the Orioles, striking out 2, and Victor Zambrano finished the shutout with six scoreless innings. Hence, the Mets-Fan-O-Meter is in good shape. I realize the Fan-O-Meter did not look good at all in the upper right corner of the page, so the Fan-O-Meter will probably appear next to the daily posting, and I will work on something else for the upper right, where the Mets logo is now. One last note on Pedro* - it looks now like he will be the starting pitcher in the third game of the season, with Zambrano going in game 2.HEILMAN/BANNISTER: There are reports that the Mets have made up their mind to have Brian Bannister be the fifth starter, and Aaron Heilman resume his out-of-the-bullpen role from last year. That's fine with me, because I think Heilman was great in relief, and will continue to be great in relief, and it's probably best for the team. I just hope Heilman doesn't get mad and let it affect his performance, because he has pitched well enough this spring (as has Bannister) to earn a starting spot.
2ND BASE: With the second base job appearing to be Anderson Hernandez's now that Kaz Matsui is not available in the early part of the season, I just hope the Mets don't go after Tony Graffanino. Graffanino was put on waivers by the Red Sox. The Mets don't need to muddy up that second base position hunt any further with an outsider - they have plenty to choose from between Hernandez and Jeff Keppinger.
WAGNER: Billy Wagner is back to throwing a baseball, and the stiffness in his finger is going away, as expected. He should be OK by the start of the season.
One week until Opening Day. This is going to be a very busy week for me, but I'll try to give a season preview when the roster decisions are all made.
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