New York Mets 2010

[gtru1981]

That’s more like it, The Mets did what they always do when they have a tough loss like Saturdays, and they came back strong.
Hisanori Takahashi pitched five innings, which is pretty much his limit and why he needs to be in the pen and not start. He threw 85 pitches allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 7. What is important to notice here is that he can’t go thru the opposing teams lineups more than twice cause they jump all over him. Like I said he is a relief pitcher and could be very good for us in that role.

I loved seeing Jason Bay coming to life going 2-for-5 with 4 RBI and a triple, he basically hit the ball hard every time he came to bat. Maybe just maybe he is finally on some sort of streak. If he could just stay hot.

David Wright shows no signs of letting up with 2 hits and 2 runs scored.

Angel Pagan back in leadoff had 3 hits a of which were doubles, with 2 RBIs

I was concerned to see that it took five relievers to get through the last four innings. We still do not have roles for those guys it’s just Manual throwin darts at a board and saying ”your up” We gotta fix that it’s bad for the guys not knowing when they will pitch or what there role is, I know it, Manual knows it, just about everyone knows it, so come on now fix it.

Did you see play the Ike man made on a ground ball in the hole, to keep at least one run from scoring, to end the game? Come on now how sweet was that? Oh and Ike hit his 10th home run of the season.

Baring another setback it looks like Jose Reyes will finally be back in the line up tonight.Reyes said last night he’s feeling better, he’s moving around well, he also said he did not expect the oblique to keep him from playing in the All Star game.
I am sure you have heard that David Wright and Jose Reyes have been selected to the National League All-Star team. What you may not know is that Wright’s string of five consecutive All-Star Games is tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history with Mike Piazza.This will be Reyes’s third All-Star appearance. His three All-Star appearances are the most in team history by a shortstop.
I am a bit peeved that Pelfrey was not selected; he has been sensational this season and deserves to play. I don’t wish anything bad for Yovani Gallardo but he injured his left side and in fact had to leave the game against St. Louis yesterday and I have to think Pelfrey would be the guy to replace him if the injury lingers.

It will be Pelfrey on the mound tonight against the Red who yesterday won their game with 14 runs, 7 of them homers; Pelf will have his work cut for him tonight against that first place team. We finish the first half against two first place teams with the Reds tonight and the Braves this weekend. I am thinking and hoping we could be in first place before the break. Lets Go Mets !.

I have written a few times when Keith Hernandez makes a WTF did he just say remark. I love Keith.
But yesterday it was Angel Pagan in an interview he did wit Kevin Burkhardt after that four hour game yesterday. Kevin said to Angel “That was a long game and you look totally refreshed, I’m Impressed.” Angel smiled and said to Kevin “You would not want to be inside me right now, you would really feel it”
Yeah, I know he of course did not mean it to sound the way my twisted mind heard it,
but I could not just let that go, come on…that was hot.

Dude i was so annoyed that Big Pel didnt get in and i was talking to my freinds whom are METS fan and he should have gone. He is awsome this year minus last 3 starts. You seem to have alot of connections with the mets.

 

[sonny10305]

Dude i was so annoyed that Big Pel didnt get in and i was talking to my freinds whom are METS fan and he should have gone. He is awsome this year minus last 3 starts. You seem to have alot of connections with the mets.

Thanks for contributing to this thread, please stop by ofhen and post your thoughts

As to your comment about my relationship with the Mets, I have met and gotten to know a few Mets like Ike Davis, Josh Thole, and Daniel Murphy to name a few.
I have also met a few Mets players like D Wright (although I do not know him) when he played his rehab in Brooklyn and some of the coaches and bat boys, SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt and I have had a few talks most recently in the Cyclones clubhouse.
It all began abut 8 years ago when I started attending Brooklyn Cyclones games pretty regularly, I would always get to the park early to watch the guys. Most of them would always come over to the fence and talk to me and I started a friendship with a few of them Today I have several very good friends who play for the Cyclones. My friendship with them led me to introductions to some Mets players; in addition I have followed the Buffalo Bisons for many years and have gotten to know a lot of them as well. If you get to the park early strike up conversations with the guys, most of them will talk to you, plus as a pitcher in a local team and a baseball fan for as long as I could walk I know a lot about the game which makes starting conversations with the guys easy. A couple of the Cyclone pitchers and I are now very goods friends and they have attended a couple of my games to support and teach me.
If I had to pick one player I have gotten to know the best and whom I have begun a good friendship with it would be Ike Davis, I got to know him in Brooklyn and now consider him a friend. I also keep in touch with Daniel Murphy during his unfortunate times. Nick Evans who is very close to Daniel is also a friend.
I don’t write much in here about my friendship with these guys; it is what it is and is very precious to me.

I don’t have a lot to say about last night’s game except that I now know for sure there is a special place in Hell for umpires. Especially the ones who make it up as they go along. Enough said you guys know what I am talking about.

I like what the Mets have done with the rotation skipping Takahashi in the starting rotation against the first-place Braves this weekend. We will now have Santana Pefrey and Dickey and can first place be far behind.
The other good thing is that now Takahashi can help us in the pen as early as tomorrow.

 

[syam24]

What a nice performance from Johan last nite!! Pitched like the Cy Young winner of old. Shut down Cincy on 4 hits, sent Manuel back to the dugout where he belongs in the ninth and hit a home run to ensure the Mets would not be shut out again while he was pitching. His fastball was topping out in the low ninties on a regular basis, and the complete game finally gives the bullpen a night off. Let's see what Niese can do in the heat toinight. Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Johan continues to bounce back from his so-so starts. This time throwing a three-hit shutout, but this time against a very usually hot Reds lineup and if that was not enough he cracked a home run off the right field foul pole. It was the first a Mets pitcher has homered since John Maine back in ’07. I guess since the Mets offense rarely gives him any run support he thought he would give himself some.
His fastball velocity was up again right from the first pitch, I counted a first pitch strike about 25 out of 35 times, and the only drawback last night was his strikeout and walk ratio which worsened in later innings. I was thrilled to se him go nine, and syam I saw that too and laughed out loud when Manual thought about pulling Johan in that inning when ne allowed two men on, Manual went out to the plate and Johan gave him a look that simply said back off ole man, I’m fine, get out off my mound. Jerry took one look at Johan’s face did an immediate about face and ran back to the dugout.

I did think our bats should have gotten more results against that starting lefty, we should have hit him harder. But then I thought oh wait...that can’t happen cause Johan is on the mound and we don’t score with him pitching, right?? But seriously we should have done better against both the pitchers from last night they should have been able to stop us.

Reyes seemed to be no worse the wear on his return I was worried he would suffer some sort of setback and taking a swing or diving for a ball but he seems to be ok.

Yesterday I mentioned how I thought the changes in our starting lineup against the Braves this weekend was a really good thing and now we may have an added cherry to the top of that, There is a lot of buzz that Beltran, who is expected to rejoin the team right after the break may be in the clubhouse this weekend and could pinch hit. I get so excited about that idea that I have to pee every time I think about it. Can you see it? Can you feel it? The Citi crowd will go nuts if he comes out to bat, completely NUTS. What an awesome site that will be, Carlos coming up to the plate, it won’t matter if he strikes out or pops one up it will be ok cause he will be back in the lineup and that is such a very positive thing for us. Here is a something for you guys to chew on, bases loaded 9th inning and Beltran comes to the plate to pinch hit. First of all the noise in the ball park will be unreal and he will prolly get a standing cheering welcome.
Ok so here s what happens, he hits the ball down the middle scoring two runs and we win in a walk off victory. Now come on admit it, your smiling right now right? I gave you goose bumps right?? Ok so maybe it’s a dream and not likely o happen but still you have ask yourself, what if.
Hey at least I did not say he would get a grand slam....but could he??
Ok I will put my dreams away now and just be happy he is back, and salivate over the possibility that he might play in these three games before officially rejoining the team as a center fielder after the break, Another positive is it will give Carlos a chance to ease in to the situation, he will get a chance to warm up with the guys take a little BP, hang with his teammates and not just come in after the break and hit the ground running, it’s a win win and lets just hope manual does use him this weekend. Ya gotta Jerry…ya just gotta.
By the way, last night, in a rehab game he had two hits, including a double, a walk and a run scored and played all nine innings in centerfield.

I guess I should mention that Ollie Perez was in that game as well, he threw 85 pitches, 53 for strikes, allowed two runs and two hits, walked three and strike out seven, oh and he hit a batter.

I do have a question about moving Takahashi to the pen this weekend, and that is will he be back in the starting rotation after the break or do the Mets have some other plans? Hmmmmm

David Wright has been named the National League Player of the Month for June.
David batted an NL best .404 and knocked in 29 runs during the period, becoming the first Mets player to hit over .400 and have 25 or more RBI in a calendar month. What a terrific comeback for our boy after that miserable start to the season he had.

Of course no post would be complete without something about Ike Davis. Did you guys know that with his 10 home runs this season Ike is the third rookie to ever hit double digit homers before the all star break?
Well now you do.

Niese on the mound tonight to get us the series win and Josh Thole will be doing the catching.

I wanted to remind you guys that with the Mets off tomorrow SNY will carry the Brooklyn Cyclones game live with Kevin Burhardt and Bobby O doing the play by pay. If you get a chance I recommend watching these up and comers show their stuff. I have always been a big supporter and fan of the minor leaguers, watching them is a special treat check em out if you can. You might catch me in the stands I will be the cute Italian kid with the Mets cap and I like Ike shirt.

Johan hits one out

 

[sonny10305]

Big series this weekend against the Braves. We are 3 games behind them in second place and need to do at least 2-3. Even though the series won’t win or cost us the season it would be excellent to go into the break better than second place down 3 games.

First up is R.A. Dickey, he has got to dominate those Braves. I think we have the advantage in the pitching with Tommy Hanson on the mound for the Braves. Last season as a rookie Hanson went 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 21 starts. But so far this year he has not been the quality starter he was last year, in a recent game he allowed nine runs on 13 hits in 3.2 innings pitched. That ain’t good. His next start was bad as well.
We can beat this guy.

Josh Thole will catch tonight; Josh did an outstanding job catching Dickey lat time out. They have spent a lot of time together and Josh has learned to track the ball with his hand, rather than his hips. Because of the great relationship the two boys have Josh knows R.A well enough to anticipate when a fastball is needed.
How bout that!

Looks like my dream of having Beltran in the game this weekend as a pinch hitter is not likely to happen. The Mets said again this morning that barring a setback, he will be back on Thursday against the Giants to open the second half of the season. But I don’t care what they say I will still be hoping to see him in the dugout at least one of the games this weekend and wait and pray for Manual to shout out “Carlos your up”

Braves pitcher Hanson is a righty which may mean problems again for Jose Reyes; he just does not look comfortable batting from the right side against a right-handed pitcher. He needs to bat lefty against Hanson, so we will see if he is up for it tonight.

Many of the players have special handshakes but Reyes and Thole have their own thing,
a little good luck head rub

 

[syam24]

Well said Sonny. Let's see a good series this weekend, hopefully at least 2 out of 3, if not a sweep. The bats have been rather inconsistent this week, so need a wakeup call there. Glad to hear Beltran will start the second half with the Mets, will interesting to see what moves that necessitates. A lot will depend on how this weekend goes, I guess.
On a different note, I've seen a note on ESPN that the Yankees are close to acqiring Cliff Lee from Seattle for another bag of balls and used jock straps. It pisses me off that other teams refuse to get any value from the Yankees for All Star caliber players.

 

[sonny10305]

I am getting more concerned about Reyes
He can not hit the righties batting from the right side; he is not used to it and looks bad at the plate. He can’t bat lefty cause his oblique is still bothering him. To make maters worse he was asked to put down a sacrifice bunt which he is clearly not very good at. Why did they ask him to do that anyways? And while I am asking questions why was he batting second? Oh wait… Manual and his left right obsession, I forgot.
I really think after watching him play last night that he should be rested until he completely heals. Take the weekend off and just play the All Star game. Come back next week feeling better. They did do an MRI which showed no damage; doctors informed him that he could not further injure his side by playing this way. Haven’t we heard that before? Are the Mets willing to take a chance on losing Reyes the rest of the season by having him slide head first and get hurt again or just pull it going for a ball? Di you see him wince in pain after he made that sudden dive back to second yesterday? No no the risk is too high, he isn’t right he needs more rest. With another righty Tim Hudson on the mound today for Atlanta, SHUT REYES DOWN.

Great to see Nick Evans in the lineup for the weekend he will take Igarashis spot in the roster while Ryota goes down to St Luice to work on his secondary pitches, Nick replaces Tatis who is on the DL. If you don’t know much about this kid, I do so lemme fill you in. One of Tatis main strengths is hitting left handed pitching and his versatility which also happens to be true of Nick, Down in Binghamton he has had 12 homers, and 37 RBI. Don’t let last night fool you he is a very capable ball player and will be a star some day. You may remember I said that about Ike Davis last year and Nick has what it takes, trust me.
Igarashi going down won’t change the number of guys in the pen cause Takahashi is in there now till at least after the break.

So we lost Lee, well I had serious concerns about what we would have to give up to get him anyways, Syam mentioned a bag of balls and used jock straps but The Mariners had asked the Mets for Ike Davis as part of a deal for Lee, No fucking way could that happen. We should not trade Davis, Thole or Pagan, it’s just too much to give up for a pitcher, as bad as we need one I am not willing to make those trades.
So maybe now we can go after more available pitchers like Ted Lilly or Dan Haren I am up for Lilly for sure, we need to do something soon cause Takahashi has to stay in the pen he has proven he is no starter.

Ok Pelf it's up to you to stop the bleeding today

 

[Sausy]

I'm with you sonny,I'm glad we don't have to worry about losing any of these guys now that Cliff Lee is in Texas.Seattle kinda screwed the Yankees,killing therir deal with them and going with Texas' offer instead,but you can't exactly feel sorry for the Yanks.

Thole is really interesting in that Jerry Manuel and the Mets organization seem to love him,growing tremendously defensively and seeming looking like a real good offensive player,someone who can put the ball in play and do a lot of great team oriented things.I love Barajas but the future is Thole,who could be an underrated but vital cog to the Mets for the next decade.


Sorry for RA last night,pitched so well until the two homers late in the eighth...not going to be too hard on him,mistakes happen.I'm concerned again about the offense being asleep...too many inconsistent players like Bay and Francouer...Ike is going be great but has been in a rut lately,though glad it hasn't affected his defense.

Worried about Jose Reyes too...that's why I wasn't too happy about the Puerto Rico series with the Marlins...the facilities were far from major league top flight level and now he has a nagging injury to worry about.Mets haven't had too many fast healers lately.I won't regard him as a savior,it would be unfair to...but looking forward to seeing Carlos Beltran back and healthy and dependable after the All Star break.He might ease Jason Bay and Jeff Francouer's minds some knowing he can handle some of the load,they don't need to feel the ressure to knock in a run at every opportunity.

David Wright going up the middle on his last hit lst night brought a smile to my mouth....that's what he does when he's himself,going to all fields and looking focused and confident.You know with all his ability he will find a way to maximize his talents and help the team the best he can.

I wish Billy Wagner well,but he had to have a relatively easy inning last night against his old team...he gave us more than our fair share of dramatics whenever he closed for us in many stretches!

 

[Sausy]

I'm really disappointed in the Mets play approaching the All Star break....Angel Pagan and some really good relief performances were the only positives about today.Fuck it Mike Pelfrey,man up and get tough mentally...you have done it for most of this season,don't slide backwards now!As long as Jason Bay drives in runs,and plays the strong defense of most of the first half...I don't think Mets fans care if he's hitting all that many home runs.After a nice streak he is glacier cold right now...and Ike Davis I thought would be more locked in than wildly inconsistent.Jeff Francouer came here about a year ago and still seems the same maddeningly inconsistent player that caused Atlanta to give up on him....great defensively but trends either red hot or ice cold at the plate,again the word inconsistent is the most troubling thing about these Mets.Atlanta continues to do what it has to do to win,the Mets are back in bad habits again.I really hope Johann Santana can send the Mets into the All Star break on a positive note and salvage the series tomorrow but as much in it the Mets are,they are on the brink of being out of it again...they need to reflect a ton during the All Star break and recommit to doing the things that got them so far until these past few games,three straight losses.And losing two of three to Cincinatti ,the previous series saved by the 3-0 victory by Johann Santana...to go into the All Star break blowing five out of six and four straight would be a very distressing outcome indeed.

 

[syam24]

Our Mets are certainly going thru some struggles, particularly at the plate as we get to the All STar break. It's pretty hard to win if you don't score any runs. Pelfrey was not good yesterday, rarely did he get the first pitch over for a strike, seems he's reverted to last year's form. Let's hope the break will let him unwind and rethink what he was doing correctly earlier this season and repeat that. It's also a good time for a break as far as Reyes is concerned, hopefully yesterday does not set him back too much. Having the next 5 days off should help him, especially with no pressure to hurry back and perform. Ike can probably use a break as well. Perhaps this will let him rest up and come back ready to bang the ball around the lot again. And we can't say enuff good stuff about ANGEL PAGAN!! He's been tremendous! He needs to stay in the lineup when Beltran returns, I could see a rotation of Bay, Frenchy, and Beltran and keeping Pagan in the lineup everyday. Need Johan to come up big again today. Let's go Mets!!

 

[Sausy]

Yep,hopefully syam we can go into the break on a positive note,and in any case the guys could use the break and get focused and determined to get themselves back on track and in good shape for the pennant drive.I heartily join you in saying,"Let's go Mets"!

 

[sonny10305]

What would be do without saucy and syam to keep us real and more importantly keep us hopeful. The Mets just keep doing this to us, wining playing great ball and then out of nowhere everything starts to unravel.

I suppose we need to look at the pitching. Mike Pelfrey after pitching so brilliantly may be in a dead arm phase. His fastball is down and yesterday you it was obvious that he was not fooling the Braves with his off speed stuff, those breaking pitches ain’t cutting it. What’s worse is that you can see him making the adjustments but at the cost of his sinker which we did not see much of.
So sonny, what is this “dead arm” you speak of, well it seems to occur with some really good pitchers around the 100-inning mark, which Pelf hit last month, Johan Santana just came out of his and is back pitching like he should. Pelf will as well it has to run its course it’s what some have called a natural phenomenon. What Pelf has to do is not let him get to him and start to fuss about it as he seemed to be doing yesterday when he got a little frustrated and made a couple of mistakes, I think you could see his arm showed signs of tiredness as early as the first inning, when he hung a splitter to Votto. Which ended up in the Big apple.
You can also see signs of the dead arm when Pelf threw his breaking ball by way it rolls instead of having that late break. All we can do is wait, the dead arm will go away, but no one can ever say when.

The offense has gone back into a coma, while the Braves pounded out 15 hits, we only managed only 4 all but 1 by Angel Pagan, who seemed to be the only one hitting once again, he has hit 17 doubles now. Just showing how important it ill be for manual to find lots of playing time for angel when Beltran comes back. We cannot take him out of the lineup

As saucy mentioned Ike Davis has been in a huge slump, his batting average has dropped from .272 in early June to .196 yesterday. He is very frustrated and needs to go home for the next three days and get himself together; he is way to upset with himself and needs to figure it all out. I have no doubt that he will. Let’s not forget he is having a solid year. With 16 doubles and 10 home runs and has been tearing it up at first base with a .994 fielding percentage. That my friends is good defensive playing
I have to also mention Josh Thole, who since coming back up has a .500 batting average and has been doing an outstanding job catching. How exciting to see him having a hot start, which is just what Josh has had.

Saucy also mentioned Dickey and I always knew it was just a matter of time before the batters figured him out, I was just not happy to see the Braves catch on so quickly. But have no fear my pretties he has a game plan and will return strong, actually he did not pitch all that bad yesterday until …well you know.
Today Santana will hopefully do what he does when the Mets need him most and get us a win then the boys can go home get some rest and gear up for the second half stronger than ever.

We can only hope it will be with Reyes and that he isn’t suffering some sort of setback with that oblique, as you know he had to leave the game yesterday when the pain got to him. I was yelling yesterday that the Mets should have rested Jose till next Thursday and not risk aggravating that injury, but the Mets let him play and took the risk. Fortunately David Wright had the good sense to keep an eye out for Reyes, noticed he was having trouble and basically stopped the game yesterday calling Manual to the field and saying he Jose should not be playing. Manual agreed and Reyes came out of the game. Atta boy David for doing what had to be done for the team and for Jose.

We will also have Beltran back and Manual has said Carlos will bat cleanup and not third , Jerry has decided wisely that he did not want to disrupt D Wright who is performing so well in that slot. This will mean Davis and bay will drop down a spot in the order. I like that a lot and the change in order will be good for Ike and Jason, and David needs to stay where he is.

Allow me to echo saucy and syam:
Lets Go Mets!

 

[sonny10305]

Whew we needed that and making it a shutout was just the cherry on the cake.
Our 13th shutout is the best in the NL.

Santana pitched a great game, throwing 7 shutout innings and allowing only 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5. He has won back to back starts for the first time all year, and extended his scoreless innings streak to 16.
Parnell threw a perfect eighth, his killer breaking ball wiped out those Braves hitters, He knew exactly how to use that pitch, He was just awesome keeping those batters in check I especially liked the Chipper Jones at bat, Parnell knew better than to throw Chipper one of those fastballs he loves to crush, so Bobby hit him with his breaking ball finishing him off with a slider that caught him trying to cheat, but he did not get away with it and was on his way back to the dugout. Awesome performance once again from Bobby, I dono about you guys but I think we have our 8th inning guy.

With Beltran returning on Thursday I wondered who would be sent down to make room for him. Well the Mets announced they have optioned Jesus Feliciano back to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for Carlos on the roster. It was either him or Chris Cater and although I liked the job Feliciano has done for us I wanted Carter to be the one to stay. We have a very crowded outfield right now and what we need more is a good bench player, and for me that would be Carter who shows me more offensively than Feliciano, so good move.

Manual has also announced his second half lineup, I wrote yesterday that Beltran would bat clean up and now we have learned that Pagan will play right field and Francoeur will sit. Of course this will change day to day cause first of all I do not expect Carlos to be able to hit the ground running and play everyday right off. So Bay Pagan and Francoeur will get playing time. I am sure Jeff will plat against the lefty pitchers.
The new line up sounds good until you think about it a bit more, with Bay batting 7th it means he will hit in front of the catcher, the problem with that is when Barajas catches, he is not hitting all that well and so Bay will not get many fastballs to hit. Thing is I wanted the change to help Bay get off to a good start but following Barajas could prevent him from doing that.

How important was that 450’ bomb Ike Davis hit yesterday, he so needed that. Ike went home last night to spend time with his parents and I am sure spending time with his dad will be great for Ike . He’s tired and just needs to take a break as just abut all the Mets players need to do. Of course our boy Wright won’t be going home he is off to the left coast for the All Star game.

Another highlight in last nights game was Josh Thole’s pinch hit RBI, I dono about you guys but hen guys like Thole, Carter, Pagan and Davis perform like they did last night it just gives me such hope for the rest of the season.
We just have to figure out what to do abut the starting pitching, Takahashi can not start, he is useful in the pen but not as a starter. Right now Manual has him penciled in to start in the second half but that has to change. My concern in getting a pitcher is at what cost, who will we lose. A day does not go by that I don’t hear that Thole is being showcased and he could be used to get a stating pitcher. I am not down with that at all, we can not give him up.
Here’s an idea, how bout Maine and Perez, two for the price of one,
what do you suppose we could get for those two?

The Mets will have the next three days off, and then they will open the second half of their season on Thursday night against the Giants in San Francisco with Dickey and Lincecum.

 

[syam24]

Yesterday was a much needed win! Johan was outstanding, and the solid bullpen work very nice to see. Parnell, I think, can handle the eighth inning, as long as he doesn't have to go a third night in a row, from what I've seen. It should allow Manuel to use Feliciano in some of those eighth inning spots on occasion. KRod had a 1-2-3 ninth, where'd that come from??? Was about time, and great to see, especially vs the Brave. Thole's pinch hit at bat was a work of art, fouling off several pitches, before lining the RBI hit, and Ike's bomb was incredible! That should help him get ready for the second half. What we have to remember is that Ike is still a rookie and still learning, he's really done a remarkable job in the clean up spot for such a young guy. I wish there was some way to infuse some of Reyes speed into Ike's legs. Slow is an understatement for his speed. Can't have everything I guess. Well here's wishing for a great second half with a solid contribution from Beltran. We also have to have some patience with him, he's only faced A ball pitching, it may take a bit for him to catch up to some major league pitching. I read Ollie was unremarkable yesterday at Buffalo, 5 inning, 5 walks. And so it goes. Second half, Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

While we wait for the start of the second half of the season we can look back at decent first half. The Mets finished the first half of their season with a 48-40 record overall, 30-16 at Citi Field, and 18-24 on the road. There are 74 games remaining, 35 of which will be at home, and 39 being on the road, and half of their remaining games will be against teams currently over .500.
Probably the toughest portion of the next schedule is going to be right after the all-star break, as 23 of their next 29 games are against San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Colorado, and Philadelphia, and 17 of those games are on the road, where we have had our problems
But then things get better after that, as from August 16 – 29 they play Houston, Pittsburgh and Florida so we have a very good chance of winning some games during that stretch, but still this upcoming road trip will be a very important one we need to play over 500

The lineup will include Carlos Beltran who I don’t expect to be 100& on that road trip it will take him a few games maybe a week to completely return to form. I have a good felling about him and that he will be back strong and contribute greatly to the team’s effort to get to the playoffs.

Reyes is still a question no word yet if he will for sure be in the lineup on Thursday. I can’t help but worry of even if he does return Thursday he will remain healthy the rest of the season I really have my doubts about that, I hope I am wrong but I don’t see Reyes saying healthy. Hope I’m wrong but….

It will be interesting to se what if anything the Mets do as the trade deadline gets closer, a big part of me wants a starting pitcher but the more I hear Omar and Jerry talk the more I think it won’t happen and we will stay with what we have. Well see.

Big night for baseball tonight with the All Star game, always a thrill to watch the best of the best slug it out.
So any chance the NL will finally win one?
D Wright will bat fifth tonight; here is the batting order for the National League:

Hanley Ramirez, SS
Martin Prado, 2B
Albert Pujols, 1B
Ryan Howard, DH
David Wright, 3B
Ryan Braun, LF
Andre Ethier, CF
Corey Hart, RF
Yadier Molina, C
Ubaldo Jimenez, P

 

[sonny10305]

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said on Tuesday that the Mets "deserve" to host an All-Star Game at Citi Field. The Mets are expected to be awarded the 2013 All-Star Game, but Selig wouldn't confirm anything."The Mets have built a great new ballpark and, yes, they deserve an All-Star Game," Selig said.

David Wright represented the Mets well last night, collecting hits in both of his at-bats, running his All-Star hit streak to five games.
After the game David spoke about the game and the decision for him to only bat twice along with his not trying for third after that second base steal (which I greed with cause he woud have gotten thrown out)
I usually to not to gush about my boy David but he is just so sweet in this clip I just can’t help myself

 

[sonny10305]

Tonight is the night Carlos Beltran returns. The last time Beltran played a full season for the Mets, he hit .284 with 27 home runs, 40 doubles, 116 runs scored and 112 RBIs in 2008. This year in 14 rehab games in St. Lucie, Beltran hit .367 with seven walks and five doubles.
But he is older now, and at that age when so many big leaguers begin to decline. And Beltran is just six months from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
What kind of Beltran are we gonna see? He told reporters on Sunday that he's about 80 percent healthy. If Beltran can hit the way we're used to seeing, and the way he did in his rehab games, then just maybe the Mets lineup becomes one of the best in the entire National League. A plus for Wright batting third with Beltran in clean up is the number of fastballs he is gonna get to crush.

Tonight’s line up as of this morning and subject to change is Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Ike Davis, Jason Bay, Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada , and R.A. Dickey.
Jose Reyes will be a game time decision, I don’t think Manual will switch Thole cause he is the best catcher for Dickey, and just possibly the best catcher on the team.
In addition Alex Cora, who is a lefty, may replace the righty Ruben Tejada at second base against Tim Lincecum.It hasn't been an especially outstanding season for Tim Lincecum his gone up from 1.76 to 3.16.
Dickey is now 6-2 on the season his ERA is now 2.77. He has pitched well for the most part, but the question is, will he ever be as consistent as he was during his six-game winning streak

Maybe the best part about getting three days off for the Mets, is resting they're overworked bullpen. Most importantly, giving Jose Reyes three days to try and recover from his oblique injury.

They need to at least go 6-5, on this road trip I would hate to se them go worse than 5-6. If they can do that, they'll come home at the end of the month, ready to enter the pennant race in August and September, with October on their radar.

Now that DWright has returned to his superstar status we need Jason Bay to start earning those big bucks, he has for the most part been a bust at the plate, and I am sick of hearing how unfriendly that big bad Citi field park is to him…please. He has yet to resemble the consistent run producer he's been over the last seven years of his career. In all fairness I will sayBay has performed in some areas. His defense has been outstanding and I like the way he runs the bases hard every time every ground ball, every base hit. But he has only had 6 home runs.

Pelfey has to dominating the other teams again, he has got to return to getting the ball over the plate
He needs to stop faling behind so much, when he is behind he can't throw that killer split finger fastball

Josh Thole needs to play more often he is one of the keys to the second half.

At last nights Cyclones game I got a little wet (we had an hour rain delay and I helped pull the tarp out on to the field) but we won and are now in first place. The Cyclones offense has now scored at least five runs in 16 out of the 26 games they've played this season. That powerhouse that is Cory Vaughn hit another home run his second consecutive night, his eighth of the season.

I dono about you guys but after three days with out em I am ready or some Mets baseball

 

[Sausy]

Another perspective from sonny that hits it out of the park(even CitiField)!

This 11 game road trip scares me....a bad one could really hurt the Mets hopes and if the offense is gonna sleep yet again like tonight(and the last two wins have been 3-0,one of them both by Johann Santana who powered a home run in the first one)and waste great starting piching,we are in big horse manure!RA Dickey bounced back big time tonight,allowing only a run in seven innings.Tim Lincecum finally had a great game against the Mets,one of the very few clubs that kind of previously had his number.He was terrific,I think he was 89 pitches in eight brilliant shutout innings.He is fun to watch when he's on...had been a little less consistent this year as Sonny mentioned,at least for him but tonight he was a master again.Maybe we get Zito tomorrow while we have Niese...we gotta have this game.

I'll say it again,fuck these side trips in playing the Marlins in Puerto Rico,because of the substandard facilities...nothing against Puerto Rican baseball fans,they're great and passionate and definitely the idea wasn't in itself a bad one,but Jose Reyes was screwed up again ,the substandard field conditions really aggravated the oblique injury if not brought it about.The Mets never seem to have fast healers,and in this case it isn't surprising because oblique muscle injuries tend to be complex,very tricky and hard to quickly recover from.I felt terrible for Jose,knowing he had gotten into a patented groove after the hamstring and thyroid problems kept him out for so long....and it took him a while to get it all back,now this...it's gotta be really frustrating for him.When he's on,the Mets tend to feed off it and when they were really starting to get it going good he and Angel Pagan seemed to be involved in almost all the key plays.They were mentioning after the game that the best course would be for the Mets to take decisive action,as it appears it may take some more time for Jose to get back on the field.Disable him and find a depth source from either the organization or outside,if they have to.Bob Ojeda and Gary Apple were talking about how last year the Mets were hurt when their depth was greatly weakened,and with no Fernando Tatis either now that's another option removed for contigencies they have to take into account.You need some experienced players who can fill a role in an emergency that won't leave you in a bind...though this year is nothing yet like last,with the injuries to Reyes,Tatis and Luis Castillo's bad feet,a reliable starter isn't the only need but a little more depth off the bench.

Carlos Beltran looked fine in his first game back,getting a hit though caught stealing.His last at bat was a bit worrisome as it appeared he wasn't running all out...it was mentioned that it wasn't good for whatever reason as if it was he was favoring the knee it will take him awhile to get going,and if he simply was conserving himself,well it wasn't a blowout,down only two runs...he is supposed to be a team leader and those types run all out,nowing others are looking to them.As good as Carlos can be,he doesn't seem to have the force of will to take it in his hands and assertively lead by example.I don't think Mets fans are doing him any favors,or the Mets organization to think of it,by treating him as a savior in his return.I hope I'm wrong,but he's got to still play all out if he can indeed run without problems....I understand he'll take a bit to round into form and others have to do their fair share as well.

Feliciano concerns me,his appearances have tended to be very shaky lately and Dessens runs hot and cold....love what Bobby Parnell is doing,hopefully all the promise and potential he's showed will all come together this year...his arm is electric!

Love hearing about the Cyclones,and glad to hear they are doing so well...Cory Vaughn really must be some kind of player,because you know when sonny starts talking up people,they usually are very special.Sonny's been a fan of Cory from the start,Cory's also got the baseball pedigree from dad Greg Vaughn,though from sonny's description Cory is more of the rangy athletic type rather than the bulkier slugger type his dad was.(Greg is also even bulkier slugger Mo Vaughn's cousin)You know talent when you see it!Happy the rain couldn't dampen the Cyclones and I know sonny is in his element at the ballpark,talking and rooting all day and night if he could....hope they paid you for helping out with the tarp,babe!As much as sonny loves the Mets,I'm thinking to him NOTHING beats a great time at the ballpark seeing the stars of tomorrow playing with sheer love and joy and passion and the fans are closer to them and the action.When a special player is just starting up,it becomes sweeter seeing the beginnings of the journey to stardom...glad sonny has that opportunity to really take pride in the development of future stars.

 

[sonny10305]

First of all let me thank Saucy for all those kind words. Saucy gets why I love my Cyclones I have been around the team for about 8 years now. Watching these kids develop is more exciting and fun than I can describe to you guys ya jus gotta be there.
As for Cory Vaughn who as Saucy wrote is the sun of Greg Vaughn a four time all star who played for 15 years with teams like the Padres, Reds, and Rockies to name a few. I spent most of the rain delay with him after getting ribbed by the team for my efforts pullin on that tarp, man that thing is heavy!
The guys on the team jokingly call Cory, Big Brown, after that horse that won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness last year.Cory and I have hit the links a few times he loves to play golf. He actually got started through Tony Gwynn who was the one who recruited Cory in 2006. Before that Cory had all but decided to accept a baseball scholarship from USC. A big challenge for Cory is his having diabetes which he found out about when was around 10. If you spend time with him you will notice food and drinks always around as well as his insulin pump in the back pocket He has to Test his blood sugar like 7-8 times a day, but he is so cool about it and won’t let him affect his life he just won’t let it get to him. I just wanted to share that cause he makes me so proud of the great kid he is. Cyclones won again last night and Fred Wilpon was there

Now about last night I thought it was an outstanding start for effort by R.A. Dickey which once again went to waste. He allowed one run in seven stout innings, limiting the Giants to one run on five hits and one walk over seven innings while throwing only 96 pitches the pen was a mess, they had enough rest no excuse

Carlos Beltran went 1-for-4 with a single, a fly out and two groundouts. After the single, he was caught stealing but on an outstanding throw by the Giants catcher
Beltran didn’t get many chances in the field, but what went on between him and bay who did not communicate well on a deep fly to left-center, although Bay did catch that ball. Um, Jason have you met Carlos?
Kevin Burkhardt said hat the OF grass was shot from a Paul McCartny concert. Not good.
By the way I agree with saucy about that ground out to in the ninth without hustling down the line, not very Beltran like but we can’t expect him to be 100% yet. So let’s just wait and see how that goes. We also need to remember that he has only seen A-ball pitching for a month

We could not do much against Lincecum, who threw his first shutout of the season, allowing six hits and one walk striking out five. He seems to be coming back from a few bad starts and that’s good but did he start pitching better last night?

Jose Reyes is still suffering from pain in his right side, has not swung a bat since Sunday, and will be shutdown until he has no pain. We may see him Saturday at the earliest. That’s fine, I complained like hell about the Mets using him while he is still hurting and wanted him to rest, although is it me or is this “minor” injury lasting to long.

Luis Castillo is expected to rejoin the Mets next weekend but Fernando Tatis underwent shoulder surgery yesterday and was placed on the 60 day disabled list.

Throwin some bull pen this afternoon, pitching tomorrow.

 

[Sausy]

Good luck on your game tomorrow,sonny.Hoping your summer team's season is going well.Thanks for a little more insight on Cory Vaughn,seems like a real good kid who won't let his having diabetes bring him down.Hoping he's one of those who we're talking about excitedly in a few years,I know you'd be proud to say I saw him in the beginning!