WASHINGTON: NATIONALS PARK

Today I'll spend some time giving my opinion of Nationals Park in Washington, DC. It was a nice park, but nothing spectacular. The picture above was the best I could do as an establishing shot - the really nice view of the park I would have had to cross a river to get. But my mom took a picture out of the back of the car of that view...I'll post it if it came out nice. Anyway, the park really wet my whistle thinking about how good Citi Field is going to be. Because as un-spectacular as this park was, it was still pretty great, comparitively speaking. And I know Citi Field will be better. The details:

As much as Jacobs Field reminded me of Petco Park (and I know Jacobs came first, but I went to Petco first, so Jacobs reminded me of Petco), Nationals Park was definitely inspired by Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. I'm even more sure of this after watching the Nationals and remembering the Cincinnati connection of GM Jim Bowden. He must have had some say in the ballpark design. The outfield concourse especially reminded me of Cincy - there was more in Cincinnati, but the way the concession stands were set up, and the attractions (I think I described them as amusement-park like when I wrote about Cincinnati) were similar. (The Baby and I did not wait on line to use the play structure you see to the right.)

Do you notice in that picture the big blank green areas to the upper left? I think those are supposed to hold advertisements. And I think the outfield walls in Nationals Park are supposed to have more ads than they do. But the ballpark looks plain. It's weird for me to remark on the outfield walls of a Major League park as plain, because that's the way they all used to look, but nowadays everyone has advertisements on the walls, like the minor league parks. I think the Nats are having trouble scratching up some advertisers. Didn't seem like they were strapped for cash when we were there (it was the second-largest crowd of the season, and they did seem unprepared - certain vendors ran out of some elementary things like hot dogs), but maybe the fact that this brand-spanking-new ballpark is called Nationals Park instead of "Geico Park" or something is another indication they're having trouble selling the idea of baseball in the nation's capital.
See that middle picture above? That's another similarity to the Cincinnati design - there's not just a center field seating area - it's a strange part of the design. In Cincy, it's a steamship. In Washington, it's this rotunda thing. It's like they're trying to disguise that you have crappy seats.
Anyway, as I show you Tim Redding getting ready to throw the first pitch of the game, I'll tell you that I was psyched when I found out I'd have rooting interest - Redding is on my fantasy team, and he was starting against the Brewers. Redding has also been the best Nats starter by far, and he cruised for about 5+ innings. Then he fell apart. And the more I realized how bad the Nationals pitching is, the more I realized how sad the Mets' state of affairs is, because they make the Nationals' pitching look ridiculously good whenever they play them.

One weird thing about the ballpark is that in the parts where the concourse was open, there were all sorts of TVs. But behind home plate, in the areas where the concourse was closed, there were no TVs - the spot where you couldn't see the game at all. That puzzled me.

And lastly, it seems Milwaukee fans travel well. I'm always surprised when Brewers fans crawl out of the woodwork. We saw the Brewers in Cincinnati, and there were a good number of Brewers fans at that game. The Wife commented that it wasn't such a long ride for them. But there were a bunch at this game, too. And recently, although I spent part of that weekend traveling, when the Brewers were at Fenway, all sorts of Brewers fans were around town. I was surprised. But maybe I shouldn't be as surprised anymore.

Two more things (I'm squeezing all of my Nationals writing into two days, I guess, not the whole week like I said yesterday) - the ballpark is not in the greatest area, and here's another bad thing - just 5,000 parking spaces. Small little lots a block or so from the ballpark. The radio ads try to convince people to take the Metro...but we were able to park in a lot. And finally, there's no Expos history anywhere that I saw (no Gary Carter retired number - I guess all Expos records are gone), but there are Salutes to Hall of Famers throughout the building, and little bits throughout about the history of baseball in Washington.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about my weekend of bad decisions, and how we still survived.

Mets 10, Expos 1 (49-52, 6 GB)

OK, don't laugh. But this win over the Expos is just what the Mets needed. I'm back on the bandwagon (if I ever actually was off it). For the first time all year, I really enjoyed watching a Mets game. (OK, again, not really true - I enjoy watching them all...but I'm never really rewarded like I was on Thursday.) Everything fell into place, everything came together, it was a great all-around game. To wit:

Eric Valent (don't forget I wrote 3 months ago in this space how much I like him) goes 4-for-4, hitting for the cycle.
David Wright blasted two doubles, and is on his way to stardom.
Mike Piazza busted out of his slump with a 2-RBI single - when the game was still close, he broke it open.
Mike Cameron hit two home runs.
Al Leiter continued to pitch great - and he was more efficient, throwing 105 pitches in 6 innings.

The only thing that went wrong on Thursday was the Braves' win. The Braves scored two runs in the 9th against Pittsburgh to come back and win, and maintain their 6 game lead over the Mets. Let's take a quick look at the NL East for a second. The Braves are on top, 55-46. Then the Phillies and the Marlins are tied at 52-50, 3.5 games back. The Mets are 6 back. The Marlins crushed the Phillies again Thursday, 10-1, to move into the second-place tie. The Marlins absolutely own Philadelphia. They're 11-1 against them this season, and are 23-3 against them over their past 26 meetings. That's why I said it before, and I'll say it again - the Mets don't have to worry about the Phillies. They have to worry about the Braves and the Marlins...and this weekend brings three huge games against the Braves. Ideal situation, the Mets sweep the Braves, get back to .500, and move to within three of Atlanta. They really can't afford to move further back in the division.

I'm telling you, Thursday's game was fun. The Mets were having fun, and they went out, and killed the Expos. I have a feeling we'll be looking back at this game as the turning point. The broadcasters actually made some very good points about the team's chemistry and why Mike Cameron is such a valuable member of the team. Hopefully they do build off this game, and they start a winning streak. The bad seeds of this team are gone (Karim Garcia, Shane Spencer, and Scott Erickson...OK, maybe not bad seeds, but the guys who didn't belong), and depending on who comes aboard before the deadline, these guys really enjoy playing together. I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be fun to watch.

The latest report out of Peter Gammons is the Mets are going to trade Matt Peterson and a player to be named later to the Pirates for Kris Benson. Not a bad deal - as long as the Mets don't give up more than one of their minor league pitchers before the deadline, I can handle any trades. The Mets have a real chance to make a move this weekend...or see their season come to a crashing end. I'll recap it Sunday night. Let's go Mets!!!!

And a quick Get Well soon to THE GREATEST (AND MOST FRAGILE) BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes. We need you!

Mets 4, Expos 2 (48-51, 5 GB)

So this is what the Mets are. A team that can barely get above the .500 mark, a team that doesn't score a lot of runs, a team whose best pitcher has a record of 8-8 (Tom Glavine). But you know what, as bad as all of this is, and as bad as things looked after the 19-10 loss to the Expos, the fact remains the Mets are just 5 games out of first place, and to this point, remain buyers, rather than sellers, as Friday's trade deadline approaches.

I received an e-mail from an angry Mets fan who identified herself as "Lauren", saying that Kaz Matsui should be sent to Triple-A because of his 21 errors, and the Mets should trade Mike Piazza while they can get some value for him. Well, "Lauren", I understand you're frustrated, but keep in mind Matsui's bat has probably kept the Mets in more games lately (and I stress - lately) than his errors have cost them. And Piazza's being hurt this past week might be a blessing in disguise, because he now has a week of rest under his belt. That's tough to come by for him at this stage of the season. I bet he comes back hitting the ball like crazy (not counting Tuesday night's pinch-hit groundout), and when he spurs the Mets to a 10-game winning streak, you'll regret wanting to trade him. That said, if the Mets lose the next few games before the deadline, trade 'em all. I can't take many more worthless seasons.

In the mess of Monday's 19-10 embarrassment, I neglected to mention David Wright's first career home run. It was a pretty good shot. As another loyal reader points out, only 754 more 'til he catches Aaron. Unfortunately, now the Mets are 0-1 in games in which Wright homers. And doubly unfortunate, it was just his fourth hit of the season. He needs to pick up the pace if he's going to pass Rose. So much pressure.

Speaking of pressure, Wright's fellow future-Hall-of-Famer, THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED, Jose Reyes, is on fire. He's up to about .262 right now, and is running like crazy. He stole another 2 bases Tuesday night - including third base. He's done that a bunch lately.

OH! How about this?! During Tuesday night's game, Fran Healy, talking about David Wright's batting stance, says, "You know who he reminds me of, holding his hands out like that? A man whose number is retired here in Montreal....and a former Met....." Thaaaaat's riiiiiiight.....None other than HALL OF FAMER GARY CARTER. And then, as an added treat, they do a split screen, showing Wright's batting stance compared with Carter's. If I hadn't gotten married in May, that might have been the greatest moment of 2004 for me. Oh well, I guess it'll have to settle for second-best.

By the way, I'm ashamed to admit I didn't make it home from my damn math class in time for Wright's home run Monday night. I had to see it on replay. I feel like I betrayed my boy. (I strongly dislike this Math class as it is, now it is definitely on my sh** list.) Oh well. At least I saw Wright's first hit. He'll be more of a hits guy than a homers guy in his career anyway.

So Glavine pitches well, the Mets score enough runs to win...that's about as well-rounded a game as you can expect from the Mediocre Mets. (But don't forget - Mediocre is enough to get them into the post-season. I'm done pretending this is a great team, and a good division. I'll take the back door into the post-season and championship.) So they need to put the package together again on Wednesday night for Jae Seo. A nice winning streak here to get the Mets back to .500, then into second place, would be great.

NEWS: Another distraction the Mets don't need. Shane Spencer was arrested for DUI in Florida early Tuesday morning. I've about had it with Shane Spencer. This guy has a serious drinking problem. The funny thing is, the Mets were all about putting together a quality team with upstanding citizens this year. Then they go out and sign Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia. I didn't even know Spencer was this wild. He really kept a low profile with the Yankees, I guess, even though it's the same city. But first there was the pizzaman incident in Florida during spring training, then landing on the DL with a cut foot, which he says he got by stepping on glass while wearing sandals, but in my mind is starting to look like he kicked himself in the tooth because he's a drunken fool, and now this DUI thing. I'm sick of it. Shane should shape up or ship out.

Expos 19. Mets 10 (47-51, 6 GB)

That game reminds me of the old saying, "When you give up 19 runs to the Expos, you might as well shoot yourself in the face".

Expos 4, Mets 1 (47-48, 3 GB)

I'm starting to think the Mets may be no better than a .500 team. Luckily, that still leaves them just 3 games out of a playoff spot. But when you can't do better than a split against Montreal, let alone score more than a run in a game, you have to look at your team and think something's wrong.

I have a bunch of problems with Thursday's game. Here's a couple. Tom Glavine pitched great again, and again he gets nothing in return. At least he didn't get the loss. That went to John Franco, who served up a 2-run homer to Tony Batista in the 8th inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. That followed a dribbler of a base hit with two outs. I'm telling you, the Mets can't catch a break. Still, Franco can't keep giving up homers.

OK, another problem...HUGE problem. Why don't these major league baseball players run like they mean it? Good God, you just have to run hard a few times a game, will you do it once in a while?!?! Some instances, and they definitely cost the Mets yesterday:

Bottom 4: Kaz Matsui lines one to center field leading off the inning, Endy Chavez dives for it, misses it, the ball rolls all the way to the wall. Should absolutely be an inside-the-park home run, but Kaz is taking his time getting out of the box, and only ends up with a triple. The Mets go down 1-2-3 after that, so it stays scoreless instead of 1-0, Mets. I have a couple of problems with Matsui's baserunning. I've not once seen him slide into second base to break up a double play - he bails out as soon as the bag is touched. It wouldn't kill him to show a little more hustle.

Top 6: The only run off Glavine, a solo home run. The ball just cleared the wall by a little bit. Why does Mike Cameron give up on it so quick? He just stood and watched it, when I think he might have been able to catch up to it...I'm not positive that he would have robbed the homer, but he sure has done it enough in his career that I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But, oh, I forgot, he's wearing a Mets uniform now, so mediocre fielding is good enough right now.

Bottom 6: With Richard Hidalgo on first, Mike Cameron rips a double into the left field corner, with the score tied at 1. Hidalgo is being sent home, but after a few steps around third, he stops for some reason. The Expos catch Hidalgo in a rundown. They chase Hidalgo back to third. For some reason, as he's being chased back to third, Hidalgo stops, and runs back towards home. WHEN THIRD BASE IS LEFT UNCOVERED!!!! He could have easily dove (dived?) back into third base safely. But I don't know. Maybe I'm the only one who saw this. Ted Robinson and Fran Healy were too busy talking about everything else under the sun to bother to point it out. So maybe I'm wrong. But man, the Mets are killing me.

Good news: David Wright was 2-for-4, picking up his first two major league hits. His first hit was a double. He's just 2,998 hits from the 3,000 hit plateau, en route to the Hall of Fame. By the way, Wright also scored the only run of the game for the Mets. He was driven in by his co-first-ballot-inductee into the Hall, Jose Reyes. On his plaque, it will read, "THE GREATEST BALLPLAYER WHO EVER LIVED". Unfortunately, David Wright's Major League Baseball winning streak is over at 1. And the Mets are now 0-1 in games in which Wright gets a hit.

This weekend the Mets host the Braves. The two teams play for the first time since early April. If the Mets don't take the series, it might be time to spark up johnnyjets.blogspot.com.

Mets 5, Expos 4 (47-47, 3 GB)

David Wright is the New York Mets third baseman. A few thoughts occurred to me as I was watching last night. It's weird to see a career begin like we're seeing with Wright. Provided he's the star everyone's making him out to be, it could be possible that 25 years from now, we'll see Wright's number 5 go up with all the other Mets' retired numbers. Ideally, 5 would go up with 7, as The Greatest Ballplayer Who Ever Lived Jose Reyes and Wright retire together. And their numbers would hang with all the Mets championship banners from 2004-2029. (OK, that's a stretch, the Mets would probably get beaten out twice in that span of years.) But in this day and age, it's pretty much near impossible for those two guys to stay with the Mets their entire careers, and for those careers to be productive too. But it sure is fun to think about right now.

Last night's game is just what the Mets needed. Finally, a break went their way. That hasn't been happening much lately.

Bottom of the 8th, Ty Wigginton on second, Todd Zeile pinch-hitting, he grounds it to third, it looks like the game's going to stay tied into the 9th....but Nick Johnson drops the ball at first!!! I remember that happening to the Mets early in the year. Maybe their luck is changing. Braden Looper got a big double play in the ninth to finish off his 20th save of the year.

Mike Stanton, again, was not effective. He relieved Jae Seo (who pitched very well, but tired) with two men on, and promptly surrendered a 3-run home run to the first batter he faced. Way to go Mike. Luckily, the Mets survived.

The Mets need these games against Montreal. MSG showed an interesting graphic during last night's game - everyone in the NL East has been beating up on the Expos. The Mets need to follow suit, because they haven't shown that they can dominate against other teams in the division. So far, so good. I wouldn't mind a couple of blowouts, though.

David Wright was 0-for-4 in his big Mets debut, but he looked pretty good in the field. He ended the first inning with a nice play moving to his left, snaring a grounder, then throwing a strike to first base. I'd like for him to get a hit one of the next couple of nights just so he's not pressing very long for his first major league hit.

The addition of Wright forced a couple of changes for the Mets. First, Dan Wheeler was sent to the minors so they could bring him up. That was (obviously) not based on performance, because Wheeler has been one of the more reliable pitchers the Mets have coming out of the bullpen. But everyone else who would have been a candidate to go to the minors has some kind of stipulation (out of options, in contract, etc.) in which it couldn't happen. So expect a trade soon so the Mets can clear a roster spot and bring Wheeler back up.

Secondly, expect that trade to include Ty Wigginton. All he's done now is shown he's valuable at another position, after playing so well at first base last night. And before the game, when asked about moving to first for Wright, Wigginton flat out said he wasn't happy about it. Wigginton is not the type to cause trouble around the clubhouse, but he's not happy, and as my friend Steve said recently, let's face it - this is about as good as he's ever going to play. So the Mets might as well deal him and get something good for him while his value is so high. The question now is, what are they going to get in return, with the deadline less than 10 days away??

NL EAST GLANCE

Philadelphia - 24-18
Florida - 25-19
Mets - 22-22, 3 GB
Atlanta - 21-22, 3.5 GB
Montreal - 14-30, 11 GB

Let's start with the Phillies, the first two games of this all-important 12-game stretch. Philadelphia is hot. I know I criticized them early on, but they've improved their play. Like the Mets, the Phillies are 7-3 in their last 10. But take it a bit further back, and they've won 12 out of 16. Before that they were playing about .500 ball. They've made a very nice recovery after the 1-6 start. The Phillies also haven't missed a beat since losing their closer, Billy Wagner, to injury at the beginning of this recent stretch - his replacement, Tim Worrell, has blown just one save during that time (he's closed out five games). The good news here is Worrell's more beatable than Wagner, in case the Mets find themselves trailing the Phillies late in an upcoming game.

The Marlins have been the opposite of the Phillies lately. They're still playing very good ball, going 5-5 in their last 10 games. But they've definitely evened out since their hot start, and their pitching has shown it can be beaten. In May, the Marlins are just 10-11. The next 13 games for the Marlins are against the Reds and the Mets. The Reds have been better this year, and while I don't think they'll contend all year, they're playing Florida at a time when they can be beaten. One other note on the Marlins. Everyone's expecting the team to improve exponentially when A.J. Burnett comes back from Tommy John surgery sometime next month. I agree that most of these pitchers come back from this surgery stronger, and that Burnett was a very good pitcher to begin with. But he was also a streaky pitcher. Jack McKeon has said since last year the Marlins won't need to make a trading deadline move to improve their team because they'll be getting Burnett back. This is different though. When you make a trading deadline move you're getting a pitcher who's been pitching in the majors. Burnett hasn't pitched against major league batters in at least a year and a half. I think he'll be great next year, but I anticipate a bit of a rough go for Burnett the rest of this year.

The Braves can't be counted out yet. They're not as strong as they've been in the past, but they're still only a half-game behind the Mets. Most of the players on this team know how to win, and while I don't think they'll be a threat, they always, somehow, come back to bite me. So for now, we'll keep an eye on them. They've also been hit by the injury bug - Chipper Jones has just gotten back to action after a hamstring injury, and they are now without Marcus Giles. (They've been without Rafael Furcal almost the entire season.) The pitching is starting to come around, too - Mike Hampton has been pitching much better his last couple of outings.

Montreal - they won't be a threat at all the rest of this season. The Mets better cream them the next time they play. This team is beaten down from all their travel, not to mention, they're just not very good.

Tonight - Mets vs. Dodgers (Mets are 7-12, 6 GB)

I hereby declare these next few games are the key to the Mets' season. If they come out of Los Angeles and San Diego within sniffing distance of .500, they're in OK shape, with Jose Reyes coming soon to boost the lineup. (Cliff Floyd should be back before the Mets visit the Padres.) We're talking 2-out-of-3 in both series, or a split of the 6 games is even good. If they're swept by one of the teams, forget it - that's too big of a hole to get out of. Tom Glavine needs to come through tonight - this is what happens when you're named the number one starter. You've got to be a stopper. And Glavine needs to stop this slide.

Here's the weekly NL East update:
Florida - 13-6
Atlanta - 10-9, 3 GB
Philadelphia - 7-10, 5 GB
Montreal - 5-15, 8.5 GB

The Mets fall in between the Phillies and Expos. If the Mets are to make the post-season, I think they're going to have to win the division. I think the rest of the National League is too strong for one of the East teams to contend for the Wild Card. Of course, for the Mets to contend, they need to catch the Marlins. Florida has been on fire. They own Philly and crushed Montreal. But they've struggled against the Braves - losing five of six. The Mets don't face Florida until the end of May. They need to keep themselves within striking distance so we can see how they handle themselves in important games. Then again, at this point, they're all fast becoming very important.

Atlanta just took a big hit - Chipper Jones was placed on the 15-day DL (strained hamstring). They are out west against the Giants, before facing the Rockies in Colorado. The Braves are in an unfamiliar position for this time of the year, just a game above .500. It'll be interesting to see how they respond to that. They've lost a little of their luster, but I still don't think you can count out the Braves.

Philadelphia might have passed the Mets, but this is what I expected of them. I think they'll struggle all year. Right now, they're in Saint Louis, then they return home to face the Diamondbacks. The Cardinals got off to a shaky start and then turned it around, and the Diamondbacks have been struggling. The Phillies probably won't make up much ground this week.

Montreal continues to chase records of futility. They're the only NL team hitting worse than the Mets, and scoring less runs. Their schedule sucks too - after playing just three games at home in Montreal (after opening the season in Florida and Puerto Rico), the Expos are now out west. They play the Padres and Dodgers - I wouldn't be surprised to see them come out of that trip with only one win in seven games.

Notes: I received confirmation from barnesandnoble.com that my order of the Jeff Pearlman book is on its way...With Matt Clement's near no-hitter of the Mets on Sunday, I've been thinking about the fact that the Mets have never thrown a no-hitter. As I mentioned earlier this year (it's somewhere on the blog, if you search for it), I think one of the Mets pitchers will throw a no-hitter this year. They've just looked so good. But I hope it happens when I'm there. I just feel like with all the time I put into this team, it's the least they can do for me. Make my ticket stub a piece of history. Mets pitchers, if you're reading this, please throw a no-hitter May 10th in Arizona. That's the next game I'll be at. If not then, I'll let you know the next time I'm in attendance. Thank you.

Mets 3, Expos 2 (7-9, 4.5 GB)

Thursday, April 22, 2004

It's not good when you have to battle for a win for the right to earn a split with the Montreal Expos in your own park. But it's a win, and that's the bottom line. This one got off to a start that made you think the game was never going to be in doubt - the Mets loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the first. Awesome! With Piazza, Phillips, and Cameron coming up, they'll at least get one run, right? Nope. K, pop-out, and backwards K. Looks like another long day for Steve Trachsel.

Trachsel (2-2) was great again. He's been unbelievable since his first start against Atlanta. He made just one bad pitch, giving up a solo homer to Brian Schneider to tie the game at 1 in the top of the seventh. And that's where this game differed from past Mets games recently.

Instead of making a bad situation worse, the Mets bounced back. They stopped the bleeding, kept it 1-1 into the bottom of the seventh. Then Mike Piazza and Mike Cameron hit RBI doubles to make it 3-1 (Cameron's barely missed being a homer to make it 5-1).

Then, John Franco with a very un-John-Franco-like perfect eighth inning. And the top of the ninth, the Mets stopped playing the crisp defense they had played all game, nearly causing Braden Looper to blow a save. But the way Looper bounced back after a Ricky Gutierrez error at third and Shane Spencer error in left field was great. Looper has four saves, and he was clearly irritated by those errors. But he got the outs he needed. I have more confidence in Looper, even with runners on, than in any Mets closer in recent memory.

Notes: It's good that Kaz Matsui is struggling like hell at the plate, but still managing to get on base. That wasn't supposed to be his strong point. But he reached on an error yesterday, and walked in the seventh to start the rally...Mike Piazza is swinging the bat great. And Ted Robinson and Fran Healy are going to drive me out of my mind. They've been brutal. But I have to credit Robinson with a great point - Piazza wouldn't have played yesterday (day game after a night game) if he wasn't playing first base. And even after the game, Piazza was saying the first base thing isn't such a bad idea, because it keeps him in the lineup when he's swinging a hot bat...The Mets went 4-6 on the 10 game homestand. Not good. This was their second-longest homestand of the year. They have two 11-game homestands later in the year. Big road trip. Must play at least .500 ball against the Cubs, Dodgers, and Padres. Preferably better than .500...Cliff Floyd should be back in the lineup when the Mets play the Dodgers. That's huge...And finally, if you get the chance to stay awake at the end of next week and watch the Mets at San Diego, check out Petco Park. It's a great-looking park, with a warehouse in left field that butts right over the left field wall. It's also a pitcher's park, which should benefit the Mets.

Expos 2, Mets 1 (6-9, 4.5 GB)

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

I don't even know who to be mad at for last night's game. Man, that was frustrating. First of all - what the hell happened to Karim Garcia when he was nailed at the plate? The replays focused on the play at home, but how was he out by so much? If I hadn't seen him take a cheap shot to the catcher's face, I might think he still hasn't scored. By the way - real smart move throwing an elbow to a catcher's face while he's still wearing a face mask. Maybe he thought the catcher was a Florida pizza deliveryman or a Fenway Park groundskeeper. I gave him a chance, but Karim Garcia is back on the johnnymets sh**list. I'm not even going to mention how in the bottom of the first Garcia took a 3-1 pitch and started walking to first like he earned an automatic ball call. You're Karim friggin' Garcia - not Wade Boggs! In case you didn't notice, Karim, which you probably didn't, because you have a pea-brain, umpires don't like being shown up. No surprise Garcia got called out on strikes on the next pitch - he's just lucky it was a great curve. If it was a borderline pitch, the umpire still would have punched him out. I can sense bad things in the future with Karim Garcia if things continue to slide - the Mets should trade him while his value is high right now and get some bullpen help.

Hey - here's an interesting fact - the bullpen didn't screw up last night. Mike Cameron, though, cost the Mets this game, making an error that led to the go-ahead run scoring. Tom Glavine (2-1) was the hard-luck loser. He deserves to be 4-0. That's pretty horrible.

I don't even know that you can blame Matt Galante very much for those two outs at the plate. OK, maybe on the Piazza one. He's slow as hell. But again, Garcia should have scored. I never saw a wide enough replay on the play showing why Garcia didn't score, and I know the centerfielder feigned like he was going to catch the ball, but Garcia shouldn't have even been looking out there. He should have scored.

The overnight callers on WFAN (and the host) were ripped at Art Howe for last night's game. I don't know that I'll blame Howe for this one, but there's plenty of blame to go around.

Just FYI - here's what's to come. The Mets can barely score more than a run against Pittsburgh and Montreal. Pittsburgh is getting pounded by the Cubs, with Chicago averaging about 10 runs a game this past week. The Mets go to Chicago next.

Notes: Brad Wilkerson doubled off Glavine in the fifth inning - that was just the second extra-base hit off Glavine so far this year (the other was a Marcus Giles homer in the season-opener)...Piazza's swinging the bat better. I think he hits the record-tying and -breaking homers by the weekend, and then can concentrate on helping this team win.

Expos 2, Mets 1 (6-8, 3.5 GB)

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

This is getting bad. The Mets were not regarded as a contender coming into the 2004 season. (Except by me.) Here's one way to know a team is not respected - their appearances on national television are few and far between. Here's a way to tell their status has fallen even further - their appearances on digital cable's "Extra Innings Package" get eliminated in favor of "better" games in the third week of the season. That's what I faced last night when I tried to tune in to the Mets and Expos. The Mets game was bumped. And the Mets are not doing anything to improve their standing in the eyes of observers. (I'm even starting to get down on them.) They've got to fix the bullpen.
So, despite my best efforts, I didn't see last night's game, but I've looked into it, and seen the hi-lites. I know that Al Leiter had his scoreless innings streak snapped - but he ONLY GAVE UP ONE RUN!!!! And he didn't factor in the decision! Come on, guys, you've got to start hitting. And the bullpen has to stop giving up runs. (Wanna look on the bright side? The bullpen broke a trend of giving up infinite amounts of runs in the late innings. Of course, to the Expos, one run is an infinite amount.)
David Weathers (1-1) was the culprit this time - again. He gave up a home run to Jose Vidro, breaking a 1-1 tie. The Mets only got four hits off Montreal pitching. Not going to win too many games that way. Tom Glavine goes tonight. The Mets need to score some runs.

Notes: The Expos are 2-3 against the Mets, and 1-8 against the rest of the league. Yikes....Jason Phillips is getting a little upset about losing playing time to Todd Zeile. I remember reading during spring training that Phillips is a bit of a hothead when things don't go right for him. I hope this doesn't become a clubhouse distraction. And I hope Art Howe doesn't try to get Phillips dealt out of spite. (Although I have a sneaking suspicion Phillips' future in NY is a bit more secure than Howe's.)...As of right now, the Mets are slated to be on the "Extra Innings" package tonight - hopefully they don't get bumped.

Mets 4, Expos 1 (6-7, 2.5 GB)

Monday, April 19, 2004

One down, three to go. The Mets did what they needed to do last night against Montreal. Tyler Yates (1-1) got his first major league win, and in my opinion, showed that last week against the Braves was more likely the exception than the rule. Of course, he pitched against the lowly Expos, but I think he is going to be a very good pitcher. At the very least, he's got his confidence back from the poor outing against Atlanta.
Braden Looper picked up the save despite a shaky ninth. That was a little stressful, although I never had the sense of impending doom that we all knew so well during the Franco/Benitez closer days. I kind of felt that Looper was going to get the outs.
Mike Piazza might be breaking out of his slump. I feel like as his bat gets going, so might the rest of the lineup. Piazza went 2-for-3 last night, and just missed the record-tying homer. The sooner he hits that home run, and the sooner he starts blistering the ball like he was in the opening series against Atlanta, the sooner things start going well for the Mets.

Notes: Karim Garcia continues to impress the hell out of me, with a home run last night...Ty Wigginton homered last night also, hopefully that gets him on track, because he's been hitting the ball hard, but making outs all year...The Daily News reported this morning that Jose Reyes and Cliff Floyd are both targeting next Tuesday in Los Angeles as dates to return to the lineup. Against the L.A. pitching, that might be very important.

Here's the weekly look at the rest of the NL East:

Florida (5-1) - Florida beat up on Montreal and Philadelphia in Miami. Not sure if they're for real...but they showed last year, obviously, that they should be taken seriously. So I'll consider that a legit 5-1. Here's the weird thing - Armando Benitez has 5 saves for the Marlins. In 5 opportunities! That won't last.

Atlanta (3-3) - The Braves have to be a little bit worried. Chipper Jones strained his hamstring yesterday, and may not play today against the Mets. If they lose his bat, that spells even more trouble. And Russ Ortiz gave up 4 ER in 7 innings yesterday - another not-so-typical-of-a-Braves pitcher outing for Ortiz, after a great season last year. So there are question marks. The Mets can really put some doubts in the Braves minds if they take 2 out of 3, or even better, a sweep.

Montreal (2-4) - The Mets got an up-close look at Montreal too. The Expos' pitching was pretty solid, surprisingly. Their hitting wasn't anything special. 4 runs in three games. They might have a problem there. But it's too small a sample to make a determination yet.

Philadelphia (1-5) - Surprised? Philly honestly doesn't scare me. It might be a different story when the Mets play them, but I feel like the Phillies will choke at the end of the year. It's not choking, though, when you straight up suck for the entire year. It's called "continuing to suck". I think the Phillies will be a bust.

Mets 4, Expos 1

Sunday, April 11, 2004

OK. First I'll focus on the positive. The Mets are back to 3-3. That's good news. And Tom Glavine (2-0) pitched great again. No earned runs in 7 IP. And the Mets won despite some discouraging circumstances. Which is also good news. But that brings us to the bad news.

Mike Piazza probably won't play in today's home opener after the collision at first base where he tried (unsuccessfully) to field an errant throw, and was grazed by Peter Bergeron. He was described as "woozy". But with an off-day scheduled for tomorrow, Piazza should be back behind the plate Wednesday.

Cliff Floyd DEFINITELY won't play today, and could end up on the disabled list. Floyd came up lame running out an infield hit. He strained a quad. I'm sure this is somehow related to when he was hit by a pitch in the calf on Friday, because he had trouble shaking that off, it looked to me. I'm no doctor, so I don't know how the two could be related, but that's my diagnosis. Maybe he was favoring his calf, and ended up straining his quad. (I don't know what I just wrote.)

Also, Karim Garcia has a broken tip of a finger on his throwing hand. I really didn't want to like Garcia, after his Yankees stint and pre-season allegations (fight with a pizzaman), but he was great the first week of the season. This injury could hurt, but it might not be a bad thing to get Shane Spencer some more AB's. Eric Valente will also see more playing time vs. righties.

The only other bad news is that I saw Jose Reyes is not making much progress...so I don't know whether he'll be back or not on this homestand. But, hey, the Mets are 3-3! Better than when they were under .500.

Expos 1, Mets 0

Saturday, April 10, 2004

San Juan, Puerto Rico - The Mets seem to have left their offense on the mainland. After mustering just three runs in Friday night's extra-innings win over Montreal last night, the Mets got just three hits last night, losing to the Expos 1-0.

The good news from the game was Al Leiter. Leiter pitched five shutout innings in his first start of the season, delayed a few days after he was hit in the face by a line drive in his final spring training start against the Florida Marlins last week. Leiter threw 97 pitches over those five innings, working deep into counts on most hitters, and having 28 pitches fouled off against him!

The Mets couldn't get anything going against starting pitcher John Patterson (1-0), making his first start for the Expos. The Expos weren't much better, scraping across a run in the seventh inning after a Brad Wilkerson double, followed by a 2-out RBI single by Peter Bergeron.

Jae Seo (0-1) gave up the run, making his first appearance for the Mets this season. Seo was called up when Scott Erickson was placed on the DL Thursday, after being bumped out of the number four spot in the rotation with a weak spring training.

The Mets couldn't have asked for a much better chance to win the game in the top of the ninth, trailing by just one run with Cliff Floyd, Mike Piazza, and Mike Cameron due up. But Expos closer Rocky Biddle retired those three batters on just five pitches, setting up today's rubber match at Hiram Bithorn Stadium at 1 o'clock.

Notes: The Mets announced New York sports stars Tom Seaver, Ed Kranepool, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and Emerson Boozer will all throw out ceremonial first pitches before the Mets' home opener at Shea Stadium tomorrow afternoon. The Mets will honor the 35th anniversary of the 1969 Mets, Jets, and Knicks, all championship winners that year...Hiram Bithorn Stadium has been reconfigured for this season's 22 games where it will host the Expos, with the outfield walls readjusted to the dimensions of Montreal's Olympic Stadium.

My take: Not quite sure what to take from this game. The Mets' offense has been shut down this series versus the Expos, but at least the starting and relief pitching has been much better. Both the pitching and hitting have shown flashes over the first 5 games, if the team can play a complete game night in and night out, this will be a fun year.

Sunday, April 11, 2004

I've just created this space so that I can provide daily updates on the New York Mets in what I am sure will be a highly successful 2004 season. Right now, the Mets are 2-3, but I'm sure things will turn around. Perhaps I'll post the recaps of the first five games of the season. If I'm unable, I'll start with today's game against the Montreal Expos in San Juan, Puerto Rico.