Separated at birth?On the left: Pedro Martinez // On the right: Domenico Nesci from A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and That's Amore.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Photo of the Day: Santana
Johan Santana allowed 3 earned runs on 4 hits in two innings in his first "start" for the Mets.
I still can't get over seeing him in a Mets uniform.
(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Game Recap: Cardinals 5 -- Mets 4
Johan Santana made his first "start" as a member of the New York Mets, and quickly got taken deep by a man who has one major league at bat in 3 years.
Santana pitched 2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits. Juan Gonzalez, who has only had one AB in the majors in the last 3 years, took Santana deep with two runners on base in the first inning.
Johan, #57, Mets blue and orange. I can get used to that.
It's just so fitting for the Mets to acquire the best pitcher in baseball and have him give up a 3-run home run to a man that been trying to come back for three years, isn't it?
(Adam Rubin has Santana's mid-game post conference.)
Both Billy Wagner and Aaron Heilman threw perfect innings of baseball.
Nelson Figueroa, Joselo Diaz, and Ricardo Rincon each tallied a scoreless inning.
Duaner Sanchez also pitched an inning, allowing a solo home run to Albert Pujols to lead off the inning, but shook off the rust and completed the inning without any further damage.
Luckily, no one tried to lay down a bunt while Wagner was on the mound.
Great to see Sanchez back and feeling good. Goggles, how I've missed you.
Eddie Kunz allowed one run to score on 2 hits in the top of the 9th inning. Kunz struck out one.
Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, going 2-3 on the day with a run and an RBI.
Brady Clark, who is a non-roster invitee, played the entire game, going 2-5 with 2 singles and a run scored.
Unfortunately, I just don't see any room on the team for Clark, as much as I'd think he'd help the team.
David Wright went 1-3 on the day, driving in one run. Moises Alou also drove in one.
Ruben Gotay came in as a substitution, and added a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Nice to see Gotay with some power. If he gets his shot this season, which I think he will since he is out of options, I'd love to see some power out of his bat along with some consistency of course.
(Doug Benc/Getty Images)
Juan-Gone takes Johan deep
It's the Mets, would you really expect him to cruise through this?
Yes, I know, first spring training start, but isn't it funny how Juan Gonzalez took Johan Santana deep for a 3-run home run in the first inning.
Juan-Gone has had ONE at bat in the majors in the last three years.
I just find this hysterical.
Update: Santana is done. 2 innings. 3 runs on 4 hits.
Line-up vs. the Cardinals, part duex
The Mets will take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game of spring training at 1:10 p.m.
Here are the line-ups via Adam Rubin:
Mets
SS Jose Reyes
RF Brady Clark
3B David Wright
1B Carlos Delgado
LF Moises Alou
DH Ryan Church
C Ramon Castro
CF Angel Pagan
2B Anderson Hernandez
Pitchers:
Johan Santana, Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Ricardo Rincon, Duaner Sanchez, Nelson Figueroa, Eddie Kunz.
Santana will be fun to watch, but I really want to see how Sanchez handles real batters.
1:10 on SNY. The moment we've kind of been waiting for.
Leap Day signifigance?
Does anyone find it significant that Johan Santana is making his first "start" on February 29th, or "Leap Day?"
Think the Mets are taking a "big leap" by acquiring Santana and pushing them to that next level to try and secure a World Series title?
Think on it.
Also, Check out Marty Noble's Leap Day column.
"I'm ready to go"
Duaner Sanchez, who hasn't pitched in the majors since a taxi accident in 2006, will pitch in todays game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sanchez missed all of 2007 as well with a hairline fracture in his shoulder. Sanchez was scheduled to pitch in yesterdays game against the Cards, but woke up with soreness and was scratched.
Bart Hubbuch in the NY Post quotes Sanchez as saying: "I'm ready to go."
Pretty exciting stuff today. Johan Santana will make the start, and Sanchez coming in for an inning will be great to watch. I'm confident Sanchez can make a full recovery and return to the dominant pitcher he once was.
Happy Santana Day
Today, February 29, 2008, Johan Santana will make his first appearance in a New York Mets uniform to face another teams batters.
It's a 1:10 p.m. game, with the St. Louis Cardinals traveling to Port St. Lucie to take on the Mets at Tradition Field. That leaves us with just about four and a half hours of waiting to see that first walk out to the mound and hear the cheers and claps from all the lucky fans down in PSL.
The game will be televised on SNY.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Mets are Kurkjian's pick; #1 Top Play
On SportsCenter Tim Kurkjian has chosen the Mets to win the NL East.
This post is really just a way to mention that Quinnipiac University's basketball team made the #1 play on the Friday edition of SportsCenter. Check it out if you get a chance, DeMario Anderson drains a half court three-pointer as time expires to beat CCSU.
Go Bobcats!
Nats blogger sick of Church
Over at Washington Nationals blog, Capitol Punishment (great name, by the way), is calling out Ryan Church for opening his mouth about the Nats use of him.
Chris Needham, who penned the column, gives Church a lot of credit for dealing with everything that he did, like being called out for being too laid-back. He then explains that Church opening his mouth is getting on his nerves.
From CP:
But at the same time, good riddance. The team is better with [Lastings] Milledge than it is with him. And Church's biggest asset to the team always was how cheap his contract was relative to the league-average performance he gave. Now that he's making north of $2 million, that value starts to erode.I can easily see Church getting grilled by the media and fans in NY for being too laid back. Look at how we treat Willie Randolph and Carlos Beltran. Both these guys are very laid back in the public eye, choosing (at least before a few weeks ago, Beltran) to stay quiet and reserved, and dealing with things behind closed doors.
I hope he enjoys NY. I hope he enjoys putting his foot in his mouth at some point this year. And I hope he enjoys the choruses of boos he's going to get when he flails weakly at a breaking ball in the dirt.
If Church fails to preform in NY, or goes through a slump, fans are going to jump all over him and his laid-back California attitude. Hopefully, Church will have a thick enough shell to deflect all the trash talk and be able to shine in the New York spotlight.
Oh, and to Capitol Punishment, good luck with Milledge and Elijah Dukes, they should be a handful.
Jon Niese profile
Jon Niese, the newly appointed best pitching prospect in the Mets system, will get the start on Saturday against the Dodgers.
Niese, who went 11-7, with a 4.29 ERA in High A ball with the St. Lucie Mets last season. Of the 27 games he started, he tallied two complete games in 134 innings. Niese struck out 110, while walking only 31.
Niese will be taking Pedro Martinez's position in the rotation this go-around, until Pedro is ready to pitch in early March.
Adam Rubin profiled Niese in his latest post on his blog Surfing the Mets.
From Rubin:
Niese, the top southpaw in the Mets’ minor-league system, features a 12-to-6 curveball (picture the hands on a clock) that you don’t see much from lefthanders anymore, with Barry Zito one notable exception.As our new "top prospect" he'll see a lot of attention over the next few years. It's so hard to pick a guy out from A ball and crown him a top prospect, especially after only one year.
The term prospect is thrown around so wildly recently, it has lost it's true meaning. Pretty much every player is a "prospect" now if the show the tiniest bit of ability. That's why they were picked up by a team in the first place, because they have talent. The baseball gods need to limit the use of "prospect" to those that show true major league level potential.
Don't expect Tatis or Armas Jr. anytime soon
Tony Armas Jr. and Fernando Tatis, two non-roster invitees are both struggling with their visa's, and will have a tough time making the squad.
Marty Noble quotes GM Omar Minaya as saying that the visa issues "will make it tough" for him to win a job. "It's up to the State Department."
Noble points out Tatis never really had a shot of making the team, regardless of visa issues.
Armas Jr. had a shot at making the club eventually, due to an injury, I feel. But if he's not in camp, that's not going to happen. I didn't like the deal when they signed him, so I guess I should be a bit happy about him never appearing in camp.
Photo of the Day: Maine
John Maine gave up 3 runs in only 1 and 2/3 of an inning in his first spring training start.
Talk about not starting off on the right foot. (See, it's his left foot. Get it?)
Game Recap: Cardinals 7 -- Mets 0
The Mets got rocked today by the St. Louis Cardinals to the tune of 7-0 in Jupiter, FL.
John Maine did not last a full two innings, was roughed up for 4 hits and 3 runs in 1 2/3 of an inning. Maine set down the side 1-2-3 in the first inning, but struggled in the second allowing a run to score on a wild pitch and two run scoring singles with two outs.
Maine did this a lot last year, and it's something to keep your eye on. He breezes through the first two outs of the inning and then struggles to close out the inning and pick up that elusive third out.
Scott Schoeneweis came in to relieve Maine, and did not allow a hit in his 1 1/3 inning of work.
Juan Padilla also added a scoreless inning of work in the 4th.
Nice to see Padilla put in a good inning, let's see how he pitches throughout spring training as he's on the comeback trail.
Ruddy Lugo came on for the 5th inning, allowing two run scoring singles while striking out one.
Joe Smith struggled though the 6th inning, letting 2 runs cross the plate on 2 hits and a wild pitch. Both Lugo and Smith stranded two runners on base when they closed out the inning.
These two are battling for the bullpen spot, but I don't think they're going to make the team out of ST. AAA or even AA will be in their near future, I believe.
Steven Register and Nate Field closed out the game, with both pitchers allowing a hit a piece, but not allowing any other damage.
I'm really pulling for Register to make the team right out of spring training, otherwise he heads back to Colorado and the Mets owe $50 grand.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Mets struggled mightily.
Jose Reyes picked up one of only 4 hits, leading off the game with a single.
Ryan Church added another single in the second on a swinging bunt to third base.
Fernando Martinez led off the 4th inning with a single before being forced out at second to end the inning.
Marlon Anderson picked up the only other hit for the Mets, a single of course, which came in the 6th inning.
Yes, it's early, but picking up only 4 hits against a myriad of pitchers who may or may not ever see the Major League level is pretty sad. Nice to see F-Mart pick up a hit, I guess.
Rubin is live blogging
If you don't have MLB Gameday Audio, tune in to Adam Rubin's Surfing the Mets blog for a rundown of today's game.
Update: Mets are down 3-0 in the 2nd. John Maine is done for the day.
It's 7-0 in the seventh. Oh boy.
3:32 - Game over: 7-0. 4 hits for the Mets. Recap to follow.
Mets already in hot water
The Mets only brought one opening day started to Lakeland to take on the Tigers, and may be fined and/or reprimanded for not complying with league rules.
According to Jayson Stark on ESPN.com, Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, recently sent a memo to all teams requiring them they must bring a minimum of four players who were members of the team the previous year or had a "reasonable chance" of making the team this year.
The Mets brought Ryan Church, Ramon Castro, Marlon Anderson, and Ruben Gotay. I'm going out on a limb here and assuming pitchers weren't counted in this rule, because they also brought along Mike Pelfrey, Pedro Feliciano and Jorge Sosa, who all played significant time for the team last year.
Stark says, "Indications are that the commissioner's office is already looking into this one. The Mets could be fined, reprimanded or both."
This is all assuming pitchers are not counted in this rule and it was an oversight by Solomon and maybe even Stark. We'll have to wait and see, but this is a pretty silly rule, especially for the first spring training game that just happens to be 2 1/2 hours away.
UPDATE: The Mets were cleared of all charges by the commissioner's office.
Shawn Green announces his retirement
Shawn Green, who played for the Mets during the past two season, announced his retirement from baseball on Wednesday.
Green was partially open to a deal for a West coast team, but nothing popped up and he decided it was the right time.
From the Post:
Green, who is building his dream house in Irvine with his family (wife Lindsay and daughters Presley and Chandler), added, "I wanted to stay here with my family. Not travel around the country anymore. I enjoyed playing a lot. I enjoyed New York. But for me, it was time to be home."Shalom aleichem.
Line-up vs. the Cardinals
The Mets will make a much shorter trip today, 40 minutes or so down I-95 to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter Florida. The game is at 1:05 and will not be televised.
Mets
Jose Reyes SS
Fernando Martinez CF
David Wright 3B
Carlos Delgado 1B
Moises Alou LF
Ryan Church RF
Ruben Gotay 2B
Brian Schneider C
Marlon Anderson DH
John Maine will get the start, and also scheduled to pitch: Duaner Sanchez, Scott Schoeneweis, Joe Smith, Ruddy Lugo.
UPDATE: Sanchez has been scratched after needed an extra day to recover. He will pitch tomorrow.
I can't wait to see what a 1-2 punch of Reyes and Martinez can do. Martinez is getting the start in center as Carlos Beltran is still recovering. Once Beltran is back, Willie Randolph said he will use Martinez in the corner outfield positions.
Gotay's going to get a lot of work at second, as Damion Easley will be more of a roving utility man more than a back-up second baseman this season.
I'm really interested to see what ALL of these pitchers will be able to do today. Sanchez, Smith, and Register are all very intriguing. To me, Schoe is the only lock to make the team besides Maine, and the other pitchers are all battling for one or maybe two spots to make the team right out of spring training.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Photo of the Day: Pelf
Mike Pelfrey looked good in 2 innings of work against a very powerful Tigers line-up.
Let's see how he pans out over the next few weeks, and how much El Duque hurts his own cause.
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Game Recap: Tigers 4 -- Mets 2
Going on limited coverage, here is what I came up with for todays game:
As I reported earlier, Mike Pelfrey pitched 2 scoreless innings, only giving up one hit and striking out one.
Matt Wise, Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano and Jorge Sosa all followed with a scoreless and hitless inning respectively.
Willie Collazo gave up all four runs in the bottom of the 7th inning. Collazo allowed a triple, a run-scoring double, and a two-run single.
Rough go for Collazo, but it's still wayyy too early to think this means anything for the season.
The only runs for the Mets came in the first 2 innings, on a sac-fly from Ramon Castro with the bases loaded in the first and a Anderson Merchado run scoring triple in the 2nd. Angel Pagan scored on Castro's sac-fly, and Michael Abreu crossed the plate on the triple. Ryan Church contributed with a walk to load the bases in the first inning.
Jeremy Bonderman, who was on the mound for the first two innings, did not use his breaking ball at all, while focusing on other pitches. Bonderman gave up 4 hits overall.
Don't worry, it's the first game and only a few players that will make the team took the 2 1/2 hour bus trip.
Pelfrey looks good in limited role
Mike Pelfrey started today against the Detroit Tigers, and what is pretty much their opening day line-up, pitching 2 scoreless innings.
Pelf gave up only one hit, an infield single to Magglio Ordonez, and struck out one batter.
David Lennon relays a quote from Pelfrey:
"I want to be on this team and I want to help them," Pelfrey said a few minutes ago in the empty visitors clubhouse. "Worse comes to worse, I think I’ll just try to make their decision difficult. I think the chances of the whole staff going the whole year without something happening is slim. If I don’t get out of spring training, then some time during the year I’ll get my opportunity. I look at it as there’s no way I can be mad. They’ve given me opportunities, I just haven’t taken advantage of them and that’s the bottom line."The Mets got a run from a Ramon Castro sac-fly and an Anderson Machado triple drove another run in.
The Tigers are leading 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th inning.
You can't put much stock into what goes on in these early games, but it's still nice to see a good, short outing against a major league opening day lineup.
I like Pelfrey's attitude here, he knows he has a chance, and he's going to try his hardest to make the team out of ST. If not, he's willing to work down in AAA until his chance comes along. Great stuff.
Achoo! Kazmir sidelined with "stuffiness"
I guess the Mets knew his arm was prone to the common cold.
Hat tip to Sox & Dawgs for the link.
Line-up vs. the Tigers
John Delcos relays the line-up for the Mets game against the Detroit Tigers at 1:05 p.m, and also points out it's not much warmer down in Florida. It's about 36 degrees here, and it's only apparently 55 and dropping down in FL.
METS
CF Angel Pagan
LF Brady Clark
DH Marlon Anderson
RF Ryan Church
C Ramon Castro
2B Ruben Gotay
1B Michel Abreu
3B Anderson Machado
SS Anderson Hernandez
RHP Mike Pelfrey
DETROIT
CF Curtis Granderson
2B Placido Polanco
DH Timo Perez
RF Magglio Ordonez
3B Miguel Cabrera
1B Carlos Guillen
SS Edgar Renteria
C Ivan Rodriguez
LF Jacque Jones
RHP Jeremy Bonderman
The Mets are running the B, or even C, team out there against the absolutely stacked Tigers line-up.
Man, that's a good looking squad Jim Leyland is running out there today. If the Mets can squeak out a victory here, at least in the first few innings when the "starters" are in, I'll be pretty amazed.
Can we call it real baseball yet?
Sure, we finally have a game against a MLB team, but with Ryan Church being the only opening day starter to make the trip, does it really count?
Mike Pelfrey will also be at the game, as he is the slated to get the start. It should be interesting to watch Pelfrey this spring training because there has to be the thought in the back of his head that he can make the team with a strong performance and a little help from an injured Orlando Hernandez. Today's first game won't hold much water as to how Pelfrey will look when April rolls around, but as we progress through ST, we can start to see what he's really made of.
The Mets take on the Tigers today at Joker Marcham Stadium, 1:05 p.m.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Photo of the Day: A-Hern
The question remains, can you hit?
If not, the next question is why are you still on the team?
(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Heilman has to sing
According to Jeremy Cothran on his blog for NJ.com relays a few tidbits about todays game against the U of Michigan:
Because Aaron Heilman gave up a run today against the University of Michigan in a game that ended in a 4-4 tie, the ex-Notre Dame pitcher must sing the Wolverine's fight song. Obviously, he's not too happy about it.Poor Heilman, that's got to be rough. I can't wait until he hears back from his ND teammates. Hopefully someone gets a recording of the performance.
...
Billy Wagner, the third Mets pitcher this afternoon, wasn't too happy when a Michigan player dropped a bunt on him in the third inning. The Mets closer shook his head at the hitter while waiting for the ball to come in.
Sherman rubs me the wrong way
In Joel Sherman's daily 3 Up /3 Down post in the NY Post, he poses a question to his readers about Pedro Martinez</