NY Mets 2014

[Sausy]

Incredible game for the Mets, even in another seemingly lost season. Very emotional Bartolo Colon, going down to the DR for his mom's funeral and possibly being traded by the end of the month in a waiver deal(though it appears Sandy Alderson would rather deal in the winter) the venerable veteran went six innings allowing five hits and two runs pitching basically with a very heavy heart but got the job done with another quality start. He got the offense to back him up... two home runs including a monster first one for Lucas Duda that went into the furthest reaches 457 ft out. Lucas now has 26 homers and 76 RBI. He was joined in the power parade by Travis d'Arnaud who hit his 12th, a solo shot and Ruben Tejada, who smacked a two run shot, his third. Daniel Murphy contributed strongly with two hits scoring two runs and driving in another. Mets won 11-3 to avoid the sweep in LA in most booming fashion.

The Mets also completed a rare triple play which culminated in Lucas Duda throwing out a runner at home. Of course with all the good stuff a couple of sour notes had to be hit as David Wright left n the third with neck spasms and Murph left in the ninth with a sore calf. While both aren't considered serious today's off day will be helpful in giving the guys rest but the Mets never seem to catch a break, even when they play a really fun, high scoring game like this. Hopefully they can bottle some of those runs for the homestand. I'd just be happy if the Mets scored 4,5,6 runs a lot more... with their pitching if they could just score 4 or 5 they'd be a playoff club with a serious threat to go deep into the postseason. It's too late for this season but there's no excuse to waste good pitching performances and keep putting the onus on the relievers to hold the fort. Hopefully this changes at least to the point the Mets finish strong to go into the offseason on a positive, hopeful note. And get Matt Harvey and Bobby Parnell back next year and get off their asses and make a big trade for offense in the offseason. You just can't keep ALL your prospects, having them means you have the flexibility to address other pressing needs. Another big bat and a solid contributing bat would go a long way.... just another couple of runs per game and the Mets can get into serious contention quickly with their pitching.

 

[sonny10305]

Both DWright and DMurphy are not in the lineup tonight. David is a real puzzle cause even the batting coach said publically that David’s problems stems from his shoulder David still insists that it is not. Keep in mind a ball player like Wright would never use an injury as an excuse for bad performance it is simply not done I mean just ask Jeter. So what is going on with David, first of all we all better hope it is his shoulder cause if it’s not then we my have some big problems. Question I have for David is he says he is just not producing well, so why? I mean we know about the swing which has been long and for sure it gets lengthy thru the strike zone. I firmly believe that the problem with David is his shoulder and he just won’t admit it... Period. I also think it was not wrong for the hitting coach to say what he did I think in some way the Mets wanted that leaked out, think about it.

Murph’s calf still feels tight today, yesterday I spent some time with him on the day off and he basically was the same ole Murph good spirits but he did not want to do much physically just video games and and cards but nothing strenuous. He did say he was considering seeing the doctor today if things remained the same this morning and so when he woke up not feeling any better said he will have it checked out by the doctor to see what is up with that. I will know more later today and when it is appropriate for me to write more I will maybe today more likely tomorrow I reminded Daniel that few days ago he made a play covering first where he had to stretch to the point that he felt a little something in that leg but walked it off and seemed to be ok but the next morning it was barking a bit so I still think that play has something to do with hat is bothering him. He really stretched to make that play from David and felt the discomfort immediately afterward, But unlike Wright I do not see any kind of long term out for Murph he should be ok but David is a big ?????

More tomorrow meantime Flores will play second tonight and Campbell will cover third. Both David and Daniel will be in the dugout tonight

 

[Sausy]

I do think the basic problem with David is his shoulder affected his swing.... whether it still hurts him now or not, it certainly messed up his mechanics but like you said sonny, David would never use that as an excuse. It may well be true, but David wants to perform and do his part. Last year he was going so well until being idled for weeks and curtailing what was developing into a very good season. This year he was rebounding from a slow start and once he hurt the shoulder and the injury was re-aggravated, despite getting an injection it basically screwed up his season. David is a proud guy who wants to live up to his responsibilities as a veteran and what is expected production wise, and I'm sure this has really bothered him. Like I said though, he's a stand up guy wh won't use the injury as a crutch even though it does seem the Mets organizationally think the injury is the source of his ineffectiveness especially since the all Star Break return.

Dillon Gee was back to being reliable Dillon last night... though he did think he didn't have his best stuff out there. He was very effective, going six and two thirds innings allowing two runs on six hits with only two walks. The relief corps did their job and it ended with a strong Jeurys Familia in the eighth giving way for the save by Jennry Mejia in the ninth for a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves home at Citi Field.

Juan Lagares starred defensively and offensively with a couple of tremendous catches including a showstopping diving shorstring catch and hit a two run homer, his fourth. Ruben Tejada singled in the other Mets run early and Travis d'Arnaud had two hits including a double and scored twice.


Both Wright and Murphy appear more day to day but Murph did get a diagnosis of a mild calf strain so the Mets aren't likely to push him back too quickly. Maybe as sonny said in his last post Murph did hurt himself stretching for the ball at first the other day and tweaked it then. Thankfully though Mets had other guys contributing tonight and that's what they need, everyone taking turns supporting each other and stretching the effectiveness of the lineup.

 

[sonny10305]

Both Wright and Murphy appear more day to day but Murph did get a diagnosis of a mild calf strain so the Mets aren't likely to push him back too quickly. Maybe as sonny said in his last post Murph did hurt himself stretching for the ball at first the other day and tweaked it then. Thankfully though Mets had other guys contributing tonight and that's what they need, everyone taking turns supporting each other and stretching the effectiveness of the lineup.

After last night game Murph said he felt no discomfort at all and was going to have a light workout and ask Collins to out him back in the lineup today, Daniel also said Wright was feeling good last night and thinks he would be back today as well

 

[sonny10305]

As a cautious move both the boys Wright and Murphy are still not back in the lineup tonight both need a bit more time Murph felt good last night but they want him to wait are being very careful with him. Soup and Wilmer back in d'Arnaud hitting cleanup Wheeler on the mound
I did not want Murph to lose too much time cause I am rooting for Daniel to reach the 200 hit mark which on his current pace is on track to do To punctuate Saucy’s comment about Flores and Soup performing really well filling in for David and Daniel, yes indeed that was great to see. I worry about Flores since he does not seem to have much to give as a shortstop and seemed more comfortable at second. Soup has always been a good third baseman so no worries about him. Both guys have performed almost a well as Justin Turner would have had he still been with the Mets. Justin as you know played a damm good third and short and we have missed his talents in the infield. No worries about Justin however he is killin it in LA has never been happier and is a big help to the Dodgers with his masterful contributions both on the field and at the plate. JT still has arbitration years left and cannot become a free agent until 2017. He has been an extremely important to the team with injuries to Hanley Ramirez and Juan Uribe. JT has arguably been the most valuable Dodger this season has had an awesome impact on the Dodgers. I have people tellin me that Justin has been one of the most impressive Dodgers this season. I hope you guys remember Justin ya know when he was a Met he was one of those players who will always have a dirty uniform by the end of the game. The Dodgers bench has been rated the best in baseball now maybe you don’t put a whole lot into WAR but if you do the Dodgers are 4.6 combined and the reason is Turner, who had a 2.1 WAR by mid August which in case you I not know is higher than the total for every other teams’ bench except maybe Oakland. That WAR for Justin makes him the fifth highest among Dodgers position players. Now I know what our thinking that yeah WAR is kind a weird stat, but Turner has been just as impressive with his basic numbers too. Only two Dodgers have higher batting averages than Turner Correia and Robinson, Justin’s.313 average leads the team among qualifiers. Now for sure JT isn’t a home run hitter and doesn’t steal a lot of bases, but he goes out there and helps the team win every night, and what else can you ask from your bench player ya know just like when he was a Met only now he is even better. Sooo why isn’t he a Met? Well that’s a question no one has been able to answer at least not to my satisfaction, one of the dumbest move Alderson has made to b sure. And one more thing, cause once I get started talking about Justin it’s hard for me to stop
The Dodgers just might not be in first place if it weren’t for Turner, Seriously.

Ike Davis is struggling a bit in Pittsburgh in fact he recently lost the everyday first base job to Alvarez and is now playing off the bench. But in true Ike fashion in last night’s game Ike came in and came thru with an eighth-inning pinch-hit at-bat. With two outs and two runners on base, the Ike man crushed a changeup deep into the right-center-field seats to give the Pirates a 5-2 win over the Cardinals. Thing is Ike has only had three at-bat in the last week with his playing time cut. What Pirates manager has been quick to learn about Ike is that he is always prepared on the bench and right when they need him he put a beautiful swing and gets it done. Yeah, that’s my Ike making a difference in a game with the team tastin playoff late in August. Ike will tell you that to him every game means something and not being a regular player does not change that It's still exciting to come to the ballpark every day, even if you're not playing, he would smile that Ike smile an say that he know he Is going to be in a huge situation at some point in the game. The bench is new territory for Ike and ya know what; Ike likes it In the past when he was a Met and things did not go as well as he would want it to go like Ike would not take it well but talking to him now he sounds confident and happy and feels good about the future and I am so very proud of him for that.

I will never let Mets fans forget Turner and Davis

Here is Ike after that homer last night

 

[syam24]

Ike hit another HR today for the Buccos. Nice effort by the Mets last nite, Gee pitching well into the seventh, and Lagares providing both offense and wonderful defense. More Braves tonite, let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

I should have mentioned in my post above that David Wright took batting practice and fielded ground balls. He does feel a lot better and the chances are good that he will be in the lineup tomorrow. Daniel however maybe should not have had that workout last night maybe overdid it he now will need a couple of more days I would not be surprised if he did not return now till the weekend we will see how he feels tomorrow and Friday. Too bad cause he really thought he was past it but the work out proved he is not ready. Of course in both cases the Mets want to be cautious especially with Murph with his history you have to be very careful of he cannot risk coming back too soon and misses a lot more than two days.

 

[Sausy]

Sonny you're so right on the JT thing...... Mets really screwed up just treating him like shit(most of the front office, I know Terry Collins always loved him though)but JT is the type of player who might make a great manager someday... positive, always works hard and for the team, and is universally popular with his teammates. I'm glad Ike's had some moments recently, too. Always know you're keeping up with them and will update whenever possible and appreciate it!

Tough loss last night, 3-2 to Atlanta... Mets didn't have quit in them but the incredible Andrelton Simmons play n the hole and throw robbing Travis d'Arnaud of the game tying hit in the eighth really was a killer after Juan Lagares had singled in Eric Young for the Mets second run. A couple of guys on the ninth off of a somewhat wild Craig Kimbrel but alas nothing else. Zack Wheeler pitched very well, an error by Ruben Tejada responsible for a run scoring but Zack pitched pretty well going seven full innings for only the second time this year allowing three runs(only two earned) on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. It was his first loss though after six straight victories. The guys onthe SNY broadcasting crew were highlighting the incredible defense of both Simmons for Atlanta(who made a couple of scintillating plays topped off by the d'Arnaud one and Lagares who made a tremendous sprinting catch by the left center wall late in the game, and comparing them as tremendous defensive players for their positions who'll be stars if they can adequately hit. This year Lagares is doing better than Simmons in that regard but no question they are both tremendous, athletic defensive talents.

 

[sonny10305]

I spent the Day at Citi watchin BP and Jon’s pen session DWright took batting practice and is in lineup tonight but Murphy is not he is just not getting better he has times when it seems improved and then it acts up again, he’s got to look more into this it not normal recovery time for a simple strain the doctor he saw on Tuesday was not concerned but I am. He playfully plays the whole thing down walks fine you would not know he was hurting but he can in no way run.
Meantime Vic Black received an injection in his neck to help the herniated disk. Good grief

The Brooklyn Cyclones are in Troy NY so I have a couple of days off I did not attend this road trip I have responsibilities in Brooklyn while they are away minding the fort if you will. The team returns on Sunday at home and then away for the last game of the season on Monday. We have been on a roll this month and as a result lead the wild card race for the final spot in the 2014 New York Penn-League playoffs.

Very unhappy to hear our AAA team will remain in Vegas two more years I have never heard one good comment about playing there NOT ONE! Most guys I spoke with including Harvey hated it there. KB had the best comment when he said Guam was unavailable.

 

[sonny10305]

Update on Murphy he will have an MRI thank goodness and about time more tomorrow

 

[sonny10305]

It was clear that Murphy’s calf was not getting better and the MRI showed that it was a bad strain and he cannot play for a while so it can heal. Murph was very disappointed calling it frustrating he had hoped it wasn't that bad but it ended up being worse than he thought. But as irritated as he is that it has happened he also feels that he has got to be smart about it and get healthy, and it's not fair to the rest of the team to risk further problems and go out there with that injury and try and play thru it.We can only hope Murphy will be with the Mets in 2015 but expect him to talked about in trade rumors again this winter. I thought about it hard and long took my anger out on the punching bag last night followed this morning with a long run and realize that what is best for my good friend and that is take it slow for a while. And no matter how it goes this winter the smart move is to place him on the DL this season, even if he takes the rest of the season off. With the rosters about to expand anyway, there is no better time to be extra careful with Murph who clearly is one of our premier stars. If the Mets are going to make a strong and healthy run at the National League East next season, they will need Murphy at 100 percent to get that done. There is simply no reason to risk further injury by running him out or even continuing to assume it will get better. I think The Mets decision although I hate to see it happen is a smart one, giving Daniel 15 days off and see where he stands Of course we have to face the real possibility that he could be done for the season. I will no doubt spend a lot of time with Murph this winter from time to time I will let you guys know how he is doing.

Dilson Herrera has been called up to play second base. You may recall we got him from the Pirates in the Marlon Byrd trade last, I follow the AA and AA teams all year Herrera has played well in the minors, hitting about .330 he has close to 20 doubles, about 10 home runs and maybe 50 RB so it sounds like a sound move for us to get a real good look at him now in the majors. Trying to remember the last Mets prospect promoted from AA congrats to Herrera.

Vic Black also on the DL received an epidural after an MRI showed he had a herniated disc found out that he does not need surgery, just six weeks of complete rest after the season. We need to be careful with VI as well when you think about Bobby Parnell's neck issues last summer. Parnell you know also was diagnosed with a herniated disc and has not pitched since. He had surgery in September beginning of September.

 

[sonny10305]

A note about my last post and Murphy’s DL I hope you guys did not get the wrong idea about Murphy and did not mean to kill the rest of the season for him I am just thinking as many of us have that the Mets with this season lost may decide to just shut him down as by the way they should do with Wight, David even more so than Daniel. The chance that Murph will return mid September is very possibly, probably even. Did not see much last night from Wright, I saw him in BP and he looked really good so I was surprised he did not do better last night. Take the rest of the season off David

 

[sonny10305]

A note about my last post and Murphy’s DL I hope you guys did not get the wrong idea about Murphy and did not mean to kill the rest of the season for him I am just thinking as many of us have that the Mets with this season lost may decide to just shut him down as by the way they should do with Wight, David even more so than Daniel. The chance that Murph will return mid September is very possibly, probably even. Did not see much last night from Wright, I saw him in BP and he looked really good so I was surprised he did not do better last night. Take the rest of the season off David

Also Murph will see the doc again today for a complete look at that MRI not available till this morning better news I hope

 

[Sausy]

I spent the Day at Citi watchin BP and Jon’s pen session DWright took batting practice and is in lineup tonight but Murphy is not he is just not getting better he has times when it seems improved and then it acts up again, he’s got to look more into this it not normal recovery time for a simple strain the doctor he saw on Tuesday was not concerned but I am. He playfully plays the whole thing down walks fine you would not know he was hurting but he can in no way run.
Meantime Vic Black received an injection in his neck to help the herniated disk. Good grief

The Brooklyn Cyclones are in Troy NY so I have a couple of days off I did not attend this road trip I have responsibilities in Brooklyn while they are away minding the fort if you will. The team returns on Sunday at home and then away for the last game of the season on Monday. We have been on a roll this month and as a result lead the wild card race for the final spot in the 2014 New York Penn-League playoffs.

Very unhappy to hear our AAA team will remain in Vegas two more years I have never heard one good comment about playing there NOT ONE! Most guys I spoke with including Harvey hated it there. KB had the best comment when he said Guam was unavailable.

LOL sonny on the Guam quip by KB.... the Mets are East Coast and their AAA squad should be relatively close. And no pitching prospect like it there, for certain. If I remember correctly both Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler were kind of off much of their stay at Las Vegas, and Montero has become more like his old self but really struggled. We can see Noah Syndegaard will be thrilled when the season is over, never quite being able to make his stuff work as well in the high desert air. Obviously they have to make adjustments but still it disrupt the normal player development process.

Glad they're finally going to do an MRI on Murph... would be frustrating for him if the calf strain proves more serious than initially thought but though he's in good spirits trying to downplay concerns and he's walking fine if he can't run or make sarp movements laterally it is a definite cause for concern. If he has the miss the rest of the year, better take a cautious approach allowing for a full healing than take the risk of him suffering a more serious injury.


Jon Niese was alright tonight going seven plus innings allowing three runs on nine hits but was bested by Atlanta's Mike Minor.Dice K was horrible and allowed Atlanta to blow the game open, four hits and three runs in less than an inning for the 6-1 final. Just another frustrating loss in a season of many frustrating losses.

 

[Sausy]

It's good to hear though we will get to see Dilson Herrera and see what he can do... as you said sonny he had a great year in AA and with Murph out for awhile why not see what he can do at second base? He seems to have real ability and with the Mets season just winding down now the least we can do is have some of our younger players get extended looks to see if they can contribute.

Scary Vic Black has the same neck issues as Parnell and hoping that he can get though the rest of the season with just the injection and that the six weeks of rest after the season ends will be enough for a full recovery and no surgery will be needed.

 

[syam24]

Hate to see all these injuries popping up, but it can be brought on by a long season and the wear and tear of competing. It will be good to give Herrera a look for the rest of the season, just to see how far along he really is. AA is usually a pretty good indicator for hitters to have such a superior, .330, avg. As Sonny and Saucy have said, let's hope Vic Black's issue resolves itself without surgery. Bring on the Phils, lets go Mets!

 

[sonny10305]

LOL
Glad they're finally going to do an MRI on Murph... would be frustrating for him if the calf strain proves more serious than initially thought but though he's in good spirits trying to downplay concerns and he's walking fine if he can't run or make sarp movements laterally it is a definite cause for concern. If he has the miss the rest of the year, better take a cautious approach allowing for a full healing than take the risk of him suffering a more serious injury.

Turns out the MRI showed that the calf injury is a serious as it gets and he will miss at last 15 days on DL. He is very disappointed but determined to get back into the game even if he misses more than the 15 days which seems likely sine those calf injuries can be a bear to heal and he has to be careful for a while; it would be impossible for him to pay thru with that cause as a hitter when you hit the ball and then charge out of the box you put stress directly on the calf muscle. Part of the bummer is that Murph was way on his way to 200 hits which would be a nice milestone for him but it aint gonna happen this year now. The loss to the team is huge since Daniel has been their most consistent hitter this season. I had worried that the Mets might decide to shut him down for the season but what Collins is saying now is that they will not and when Murph is ready he will be in the lineup. Make no mistake, Terry said, Murphy is our second baseman and he does not want to see him watch from the dugout if he is ready and able to play. I sure hope Collins sticks to that. Murphy of course has said he expects to play even if it’s just a few games in late September. Then we will see what the Mets do over the winter will they offer him a well deserved extension or let him go,

I have this great portrait hanging in my den.

 

[sonny10305]

Let's try that pic again shall we

 

[Sausy]

Aww, sonny, can't see the pic Says it's been deleted or moved.

I really hope Murph can play too, even if it's just the last week or two. Murph has gotta be frustrated but we know he's going to do what he can to get the calf better and to get back into the lineup, hopefully this season and hopefully still as a Met. The important thing is not to rush it and to get fully healed. Last thing he wants is to aggravate it or have a tear, so just wish Murph as fast a recovery as possible and hope we can see him in the lineup as the season winds down and not to rush things.

Jacob de Grom was excellent last night in a 4-1 Mets victory over the Phillies. Allowing only one run on four hits in seven innings with five strikeouts now is 7-6 with a 2.94 era and was looking every bit a serious Rookie of the Year candidate. Travis D'Arnaud had a clutch RBI hit and the Mets were really helped by a bad play by Phillies left fielder Grady Sizemore who misplayed a simple popup by trying to one hand it and bounced out of his glove scoring one and soon afterwards in a double steal Eric Campbell stole home. Something that rarely happens for the Mets...luck and aggressiveness to tack on more runs but this time our boys got the breaks and made excellent use of them.

 

[Sausy]

Let's try that pic again shall we

Very nice!!!!!!!!! I was responding to your original post of the pic which had been taken down or something but this is a very good drawing... who drew it, it's really good!