With Ace on the Mound, Mets Fall Flat

They have an old saying in baseball. Throw strikes. Let them hit the ball. That’s what the eight guys behind you are for. That advice certainly worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday night. The combination of Zach Duke, John Grabow, and Matt Capps failed to record a single strikeout. Yet, they found other ways to get 27 outs, giving up just one run in a big 3 – 1 victory over the visiting New York Mets.

The game began as a pitcher’s duel between two aces: Zach Duke of the Pirates and Johan Santana of the Mets, and remained scoreless until the fifth. In the top of the fifth, Ramon Martinez and Jeremy Reed singled. Johan Santana sacraficed, moving Martinez to third and Reed to second. Luis Castillo followed with a sacrafice fly, giving the Mets a 1 – 0 lead.

The Pirates responded with one out in the bottom of the fifth when Jason Jamarillo hit a solo home run to tie the game at one. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Freddy Sanchez singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. This was followed by conseutive RBI doubles from Nate McLouth and Adam LaRoche giving the Pirates a 3 – 1 lead.

Giving the lead, Zach Duke managed to go one more scoreless inning for the Pirates. He was followed by John Grabow, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, and Matt Capps, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to record his 12th save in 14 chances.

It was a continuation of woes for the Mets offense, who after scoring five runs in the first three innings of Monday’s game have scored just one run in their last fifteen innings at the plate. David Wright is one for his last sixteen. His average is now down to .328 down from a high of .362 on May 22. Fernando Martinez went 0 for 4 Tuesday after a couple of big games. Omir Santos also went 0 for 4.

Of course, it’s hard to get too mad at the Mets offense, seeing as they were without Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Alex Cora, and Jose Reyes on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Santana went six innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and a walk. After a nearly perfect beginning to the season, Santana has “struggled” of late. He gave up four runs in seven innings to the Giants. He then had a beautiful start against Boston, but followed that with a subpar start against Washington when he gave up three runs in six innings. And now, in this game against the Pirates, he again gave up three runs in six innings of work, which was particularly surprising giving his record of domination of the Pirates. On the bright side, Sean Green, Ken Takahashi, and Brandon Stokes combined to pitch two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Meanwhile, the Phillies gained yet another game on the Mets Tuesday night. They dispatched of the Padres to move two and a half games ahead of the Mets in the NL East. Thankfully, for the Mets, the Brewers also lost, so the Mets remain just one and half games back in the NL Wild Card race.

The Mets will aim to end their two-game losing skid Wednesday night as they send Mike Pelfrey (4 – 1, 3.88 ERA) against Ross Ohlendorf (5 – 5, 4.45 ERA) of the Pirates.

Santana Leads Mets to Big Win at Fenway

Despite 5 – 3 Win, Mets Remain 1.5 Games Behind Phillies.

If there’s one combination that’s worked for the New York Mets this season, it’s Johan Santana, Bobby Parnell, and Francisco Rodriguez. All three pitchers have ERAs below two and are a major part of why the Mets are contending for a playoff berth as June approaches.

The Mets came into Friday night needing a win after four straight losses on the West Coast. With their ace pitcher on the mound against Daisuke Matsuzaka, the struggling Red Sox starter, the Mets needed to win this game. It wasn’t easy, but in the end, they were able to emerge with the win.

The Mets took a 1 – 0 lead in the top of the second on a solo shot by Gary Sheffield. The Red Sox tied it in the bottom of the second with a solo blast by catcher Jason Varitek, but the Mets would take the lead for good in the top of the fourth. Ryan Church started the inning with a fly out to center, but then Carlos Beltran doubled, Sheffield walked, and David Wright hit an RBI single to give the Mets a 2 – 1 lead. After Jeremy Reed grounded into a fielders choice, Omir Santos and Ramon Martinez each hit RBI singles to give the Mets a 4 – 1 lead.

The Red Sox trimmed the Mets lead to one in the bottom of the fourth. With one out and runners on second and third, shortstop Ramon Martinez made his 4th error of the season in just 19 chances, allowing two runs to score. Johan Santana escaped the inning without any further damage, and after four innings at Fenway, the Mets were still holding onto a 4 – 3 lead.

Santana held the Red Sox scoreless for the rest of the night. He threw a season-high 118 pitches on the night, 79 for strikes, and left after seven innings. In those seven innings, he gave up just three runs (two earned) on seven hits. He walked only one batter and struck out eight. Meanwhile, the Mets managed to give Santana a little more security in the top of the 7th, when Angel Pagan singled in Luis Castillo to give the Mets a 5 – 3 lead.

It was a heroic effort from Johan Santana who threw a ton of pitches to help the Mets end their losing streak. It was an efficent night for the Mets offense who scored five runs on just eight hits and left just five runners on base. And it was a good night for the Mets bullpen. Bobby Parnell pitched a perfect eighth, lowering his season ERA to 1.86. Then, Francisco Rodridguez pitched a perfect ninth to record his 12th save of the season.

It was a mixed day for Mets third basemen David Wright, who went 1 for 3 with a walk. He drove in his 29th run of the season, yet he also made his 7th error of the season which ties him for the league lead among third basemen.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the Phillies also won on Friday night, defeating the New York Yankees by a 7 to 3 margin. The Phillies remain one and a half games ahead of the Mets in the NL East. The St. Louis Cardinals also won Friday, shutting the Royals out 5 – 0, so the Mets also remain two and a half games behind the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card standings.

The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey (4 – 1, 4.61 ERA) to the hill Saturday evening to take on Red Sox ace Josh Beckett (4 – 2, 5.85 ERA). The game is at 7:10 EST.

The Mets Lose A Laugher

Part of the magic of baseball, or perhaps of any great sport, is that anything can happen. No two games are the same. The only thing one can expect is the unexpected. And so it was Monday night, as the Mets made mind-boggling error after mind-boggling error in their 11-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mets starter Tim Redding, just called up from triple-AAA Buffalo, got off to a bad start Monday night as he gave up two runs in the bottom of the first.

The Mets, however, would get one of those runs back in the top of the second on a Ramon Martinez RBI groundout, driving in David Wright, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Meanwhile, Redding found a groove, and ended up going six innings, giving up just the two runs on two hits and four walks.

Yet, for the first several innings of the ballgame, Dodgers starter Randy Wolf stymied what had once seemed a potent Mets offense. In fact, the Mets were still down 2 – 1 when Angel Pagan led off the top of the eighth with a double to deep left field. After Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran failed to plate the runner, Gary Sheffield hit a little squibber that somehow managed to find the outfield grass, and even more miracously, allowed Pagan to score the game-tying run.

But this was not the Mets night out in the field. The Mets had already made one error (a Martinez fielding error) as the game headed into the later innings. Then, things really started to go sour. In the eighth, Martinez made a throwing error that nearly cost the Mets a run. In the ninth, Sean Green made a horrible throw to first on a ground ball, that put Jean Pierre on third and nearly let him score.

But it wasn’t until the 11th when the mental errors really began to kill the Mets. In the top of the 11th, it appeared that the Mets had taken the lead when Ryan Church singled to left, and Angel Pagan then hit a ball into deep right field. Church came in to score. But wait, he didn’t score because he had never touched third base. The Dodgers touched third base. Three outs. Inning over. Still a tie game.

Then, in the bottom of the 11th, Brian Stokes made his only real mistake of the ball game, walking Mark Loretta to lead off the inning. Then, the next batter, Xavier Paul, hit a ball to left-center field that should’ve been caught but wasn’t due to poor communication between left-fielder Angel Pagan and center-fielder Carlos Beltran. After an intentional walk, the Mets brought the infield and outfield in, literally bringing Carlos Beltran in to play short center field.

Stokes managed to record the first out of the inning on a short fly ball, and then got Orlando Hudson to hit a sharp grounder to first that should’ve at least led to a force out at home if not an inning-ending double play, except Jeremy Reed in trying to get the out at home, threw the ball past the catcher. Ball game over. The Dodgers win, or more accurately, the Mets lose.

It was almost laughable. Church forgetting to touch third. And then, five fielding errors, each one sillier than the last. Most were rookie mistakes. Ramon Martinez, who made two errors, is just up from the minors. Angel Pagan, in left field, also just got back to the majors, and was probably too nervous to hear Beltran calling him off. And then Jeremy Reed, not used to playing first base, got too caught up in the situation, too caught up in trying to make that spectacular double play, and ended up throwing the entire game away.

On the bright side, the bullpen was brilliant for the Mets. Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless seventh, J.J. Putz worked around Martinez’s second error and a James Loney single to pitch a scoreless eighth. Sean Green was shaky, but managed to overcome his own error and general wildness to pitch a scoreless ninth.

And then what can you say about Brian Stokes? He was fantastic on Monday night. He pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth, and did his best to work through adversity in the eleventh. He made one mistake. The leadoff walk, but after that was perfect. Forcing a fly ball that should’ve been caught. Then, one batter later, getting Rafael Furcal to hit a short fly to left, too short to score the run, with the bases loaded and none out. Then, getting a grounder to Jeremy Reed, what should’ve been a double play ball. Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. The Mets lost by a score of 3 to 2.

Now, the Mets and Phillies are tied for first. The Braves are two and a half back. The Marlins are three back.

Mets Battered, Swept, and Utterly Humiliated by the Cardinals

Sports Illustrated boldly picked the New York Mets to win the World Series. Expectations are high for the Mets. And thus far, the Mets are disappointing on every level. The offense hits, but not with runners in scoring position. The bullpen has a few studs, but lacks depth. And the starting pitching, aside from Santana, has been dreadful from the second spot to the fifth.

On Thursday afternoon, the Cardinals finished off their three-game sweep of the New York Mets, withstanding a late Mets rally to win 12 – 8. Each game of the series presented a whole new set of issues for the Mets.

On Tuesday, Oliver Perez was given an early 4 – 0 lead, but promptly threw the game away, giving up four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Perez would leave after 4 and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks. After three starts, Perez has an ERA of 7.80. The bullpen pitched well until the eighth when Putz had his first bad game, giving up two runs. The Cardinals were helped by a crucial error from Mets left-fielder Daniel Murphy.

On Wednesday, the Mets once again received a subpar performance from their starter. John Maine lasted 5 and two-thirds innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits and five walks. Manuel was forced to go to his bullpen early again, bringing in both Casey Fossum and Brian Stokes for the second straight game. The two pitched well, but it was of no use, as the Mets couldn’t manage any offense against Cardinals starter Joel Pineiro. The Mets would fall 5 – 2.

Then, on Thursday, the Mets left ten runners on-base in a 12 - 8 loss to the Cardinals. But the big story was once again the starting pitching. Livan Hernandez struggled Thursday afternoon giving up seven runs in just four and a third innings. Manuel once again needed big innings out of his bullpen. Brian Stokes was brought in for the third straight game, which has to worry Mets fans who watched Stokes and Joe Smith burn out last year.

General Observations: The Mets are hitting the ball well. Most of their starters are off to fast starts. Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Murphy, and Church are all hitting over .300. Yet, the Mets are having a hard time bringing runners home. And Sheffield is off to a terrible start. He has just two hits in eighteen at-bats. Meanwhile, the Mets starting pitching has been simply horrific. Perez and Maine are both off to terrible starts. Hernandez looked terrible on Thursday. Pelfrey is injured forcing the Mets to turn to Nelson Figueroa, a rather mediocre veteran from Pittsburgh. Thus far, the rotation, with the exception of Santana, has been among the worst in the Major Leagues. And the bullpen has had to work way too hard these past few weeks. For the most part, they are doing well, but there have been some problems with the middle relievers. Pedro Feliciano continues to struggle and Sean Green gave up five runs on Thursday. The pen is being overused and is in danger of burning out as spring turns into summer.

Marlins Blow Save But Prevail 5 – 4 Over the Mets

It was a rally that simply led to more heartbreak for the New York Mets Friday against the Florida Marlins. In the top of the ninth, down 4 – 3 to the Florida Marlins, Carlos Beltran started the rally with a one-out single. Ryan Church then followed with another single, moving Beltran to second. Ramon Castro subsequently fouled out, leaving the Mets with just one out to play with. Up came Jeremy Reed, a 27 year-old backup outfielder who was picked by the White Sox but spent the last five years with the Mariners. In his first Mets at-bat, Reed came up big, hitting an RBI single that knotted the game at 4.

But then, the Mets bullpen brought more heartbreak. Pedro Feliciano, who struggled last year and has gotten off to a horrible start this year, was brought in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. It didn’t go well. One walk and two singles later, Feliciano walked off the mound a loser. After two wins to begin the season, the Mets were back to .500, two games behind the first-place Marlins.

John Maine pitched a solid game for the Mets. He gave up only two hits and one walk over five innings. The problem: both hits were solo home runs. 2 runs in 5 innings. Solid, but then in came a always shaky bullpen. In the sixth, Sean Green gave up one run, a walk, and three hits, including an RBI single to Jorge Cantu. Then, in the seventh, Bobby Parnell gave up three hits, including an RBI single to Hanley Ramirez. 4 – 3 Marlins. Putz pitched well in the eighth, but then in came Feliciano in the ninth. Another rough day for the Mets bullpen. Another rough day for a Mets offense that scored just three runs and left 14 men on base. And ultimately, another loss.

NL East Scouting Report: The New York Mets

Over the next few days, The Evanston Sports Radar will be beginning our 2009 Mets baseball coverage with a team-by-team summary of the National League East. Starting tonight with the New York Mets infield, I will analyze all five teams in the division to give you all some idea of what each team brings to the table this year.

The New York Mets (Part 1 of 2)

Infield: B … The left side of the Mets infield is arguably the best of the game, but the rest of this infield is average.

Catcher: C- … Defensively speaking, Brian Schneider is one of the best, but on offense, he provides very little. His on-base percentage last year was just .339. This is a definitely weak spot for the Mets.

First Base: B … Carlos Delgado is coming off a brilliant 2008 season, when he came back from a rough 2007 to put up excellent stats for the 2008 Mets. He has the potential to hit .280, hit 30 home-runs, and knock in over 100 runs. He also provides a steady veteran glove at first. He brings a lot to the table, except he’s 36 years old which brings up various concerns about a 2009 decline.

Second Base: C+ … Luis Castillo is only 33 years old, and he’s put together some great seasons in the past. He has the potential to hit .300, steal 20 bases, and drive in a fair amount of runs. And he apparently is in good shape this year. That being said, he has a lot to prove after a miserable 2008 season. 

Third Base: A … David Wright is 26 years old and presumably entering his prime. He’s hit over .300 each of the last three seasons. He’s scored at least 100 runs and hit in over 100 runs each of the last two years. He hit 26 homeruns in 2006, 30 in 2007, and 33 in 2008, so there’s a chance that the total could increase this year again. One of the best in the game.

Shortstop: A- … Jose Reyes, at just 25-years-old, is one of the best shortstops in the game. One can easily see him hitting .300 in 2009, with 15 home-runs, 70 RBI, 120 runs. and 60 stolen bases. He’s that good. The only thing that really leaves me concerned is the fact that Jose’s stolen-base number dropped from a career-high 78 in 2007 to just 56 in 2008. And Jose also has a frustrating tendancy to get into slumps. That being said, he’s a potential All-Star and a huge part of this Mets lineup.

Infield Bench: C+ … Fernando Tatis is coming off an excellent comeback year in 2008, and Alex Cora is coming off an impressive 2008 season with the Red Sox. Yet, this infield bench is for the most part unimpressive.

Outfield: B … For all the recent talk concerning the Mets starting rotation, the Mets season could well hang on the fate of the Mets outfield. If Carlos Beltran can rediscover his power stroke, if Daniel Murphy can continue last season’s success, and if Ryan Church can stay healthy, the Mets may be the team to beat in the NL East. The problem is: those are some awfully big “ifs”.

Left Field: B … Daniel Murphy was one of the Mets surprise stars last year. He hit .313 for the Mets in his rookie campaign with an on-base percentage of nearly .400. His pretty swing convinced manager Jerry Manuel to move Murphy to #2 in the lineup. Certainly, he could be a star in the Mets outfield for years to come, yet there is also a risk that Murphy goes through the dreaded sophomore slump in 2009.

Center Field: A- … Carlos Beltran’s glove is priceless in center field. And he has put together three straight seasons of 110+ RBIs for the Mets. He hits for decent average, and stole 25 bases last year. Yet, one must be concerned about his declining power numbers. Despite having more at-bats than in previous years, Beltran hit just 27 home runs last year, compared to 33 in 2007 and 41 in 2006.

Right Field: B- … If Ryan Church could only figure out a way to stay healthy. When healthy, Church is a tremendous asset. He hits for average and has decent pop. Yet, Church still has to show fans that he can keep it up for an entire season.

Outfield Bench: C+ … Fernando Tatis is a talented player to be able to put in off the bench. And Jeremy Reed and Cory Sullivan are decent. Yet, this bench certainly doesn’t strike me as being anything special.

Saying Goodbye to 2008

The ball rocketed off Ryan Church’s bat. And for just a second, the melancholy faded. Tie game. The Mets could still be going to the playoffs. On a huge two run home-run by Church. And then the ball fell out of the sky into the right fielder’s glove, at the edge of the warning track. And that was the end of the season. And the end of Shea Stadium. 44 years at Shea. The lovable losers of 1962. The Miracle Mets of ’69. The Mets that believed in ’73. One of the best teams ever to play the game in ’86. And the group of nobodies that somehow made it to the World Series in 2000. And the Chavez catch of ’06. And now, the collapse of ’07 and the near-miss of ’08. Shea is gone.

This was obviously a frustrating game for Mets fans. Oliver Perez was masterful for the first five innings. But, so was Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen. The tension kept adding up. I knew the Mets needed to score, before the Marlins broke it open. We needed to get some runs. Establish the fact that this was our game. Just like the Mets ought to have established weeks ago that this was our season by beating the Phillies at home.

But no, the Marlins scored first. The walk with the bases-loaded was particularly tough to watch. 2 – 0 Florida. But at this time, Milwaukee was still losing toi the Cubs, so for all intents and purposes, the Mets could’ve lost to the Marlins and still ended up tied for the wild-card. And then things got even better. A two-run homerun by Carlos Beltran, an incredible clutch hit that tied the game up and energized the Shea crowd. 

But Mets fans were still nervous. Perez had been replaced in the sixth inning, which meant that the whole Mets season was going to come down to their bullpen and their late offense. Not good. And sure enough, after a strong performance by Joe Smith and a beautiful inning from sudden star Brian Stokes, the Mets bullpen gave it up in the eighth. The first batter Scott Schoenweis faced. Homerun. The first batter Luis Ayala faced. Homerun. At the end of seven and a half, Marlins four and the Mets two.

And at around the same time, the Milwaukee Brewers stromed to a 3 – 1 lead over the Chicago Cubs on a huge two-run shot off the bat of Ryan Braun. So, the Mets needed to win. And as always, they came close, torturing their fans with near-miss after near-miss. With two runners on in the bottom of the eighth, Carlos Delgado lifted a long fly ball to left-center. But if was caught, right at the edge of the warning track. And then with two outs and down to the final strike of the season, Damion Easley walked, bringing up Church, who had struck out his last six times at this plate. But this time he gave it a ride. A ride that fell just short. 

Give credit where credit is due. C.C. Sabathia pitched a marvelous game. A Johan Santana type of performance. And the Brewers fought. And they won. Their first playoff berth in decades. It really is a nice story.

But for the Mets, this was a real heartbreaker.

Mets Take Out the Brooms and Mop Up the Brew Crew

The Mets had already won the series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They had already impressed fans and reporters alike. But, that wasn’t enough for the Mets. With some suggesting that the Mets take it easy today and rest their key players for the upcoming weekend series against the Phillies. the Mets refused to lose.

Instead, they came out playing hard as ever, scoring six runs in the top of the first and never looking back en route to a 9 – 2 victory. The first inning onslaught was highlighted by three straight hits, a walk, and then back-to-back homeruns. The first was a grand slam off the bat of Ryan Church. The second a solo shot by Brian Schneider.

It was a truly impressive showing by the offense. On a day when the stars were mostly held in check (Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado went a combined 4 for 16 with just 2RBI), the other key contributors came through. The Mets got another big day from Daniel Murphy (2 – 4, 2R), and got a big 2RBI single from Nick Evans to put the game out of reach in the eighth inning. And then of course, the big blows from Schneider and Church. Nine runs on ten hits. Another productive day for the Metsies.

And meanwhile, Oliver Perez wasn’t at his best today, but he managed to overcome bouts of wildness to pick up his 10th win of the season. He walked five, but in the end gave up only two earned runs, lasting into the seventh inning. He was then followed by 2 and a third innings of seamless bullpen work.

It was a great day for the Mets, but I do wonder about today’s bullpen management. Don’t get me wrong. I love Jerry Manuel, and think he deserves serious consideration for Manager of the Year. However, I’m not sure why he put Scott Schoenweis in to pitch the 9th, with the team up 9 – 2. Why not give one of the new September call-ups a chance to pitch?

But, at the end of the day, it was the Mets fourth straight win, and if we’re lucky we could end the day with a 3 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. Every day, it seems like the Mets are rapidly making their way towards an NL East title. Success this weekend would make things even better, and allow us to soon begin talking about magic numbers. But for now, great win. Great offense. Great pitching. Great team.