13 posts from June 2009

New York Mets are falling down, falling down, just like last year.

Jun 29, 2009
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Through 75 games, the 2008 and 2009 teams went 37-38. They were 4 games behind Philly at this point last year. And the Mets mostly hovered at the .500 level all of June, often falling 3 games under .500 before the 10-game win streak in early through mid July which propelled them above .500, back into the NL East race.

So turning things around isn't impossible.

But the major difference between last year's team and this year's team through 75 games?

Carlos Delgado was a week away from the beginning of his resurgence.
Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran were healthy.
Oliver Perez was starting to improve.
John Maine was still pitching well and his ERA was under 4.
K-Mart wasn't on the team.
Neither was Argenis Reyes.
David Wright had 12 HRs.

The biggest injury problems the team had were Ryan Church, Pedro Martinez (for the 83rd time), losing Billy Wagner in early August, and the revolving door of leftfielders filling in for Moises Alou.

For all of the fans who think things will be fine and dandy when (or if) Delgado, Reyes, Beltran, etc. come back? Remember that this team went 9-12 in April. So as is the case with baseball, there's no guarantees that their returns will change the team's fortunes, but you'd certainly like to have the opportunity to try and play games with your best players, win or lose.

Fernando Martinez. They call him F-Mart, I'll call him K-Mart.

Jun 28, 2009
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Mets' manager Jerry Manuel Plays the Cards He Has, Such as They Are

F-Mart (or K-Mart as I will be calling him the rest of the year) is clearly in a situation he's not ready for.

He can play the outfield just fine and dandy, and he did manage an RBI double during tonight's game against the Yankees. But in two key situations facing lefty Phil Coke and righty Brian Bruney, he not only struck out, but swung at pitches that were at the level of his neck or even higher up.

But it's not just these two ABs that have shown just how overmatched K-Mart is at the MLB level. He may very well be the next big thing in the Mets organization, but now that we've seen him play, it's clear that it won't be until 2010 at the earliest as to when he's truly ready for the bigs. It may even be longer than that.

Unfortunately, with no Carlos Beltran to play CF and the Mets organization refuses to believe Jeremy Reed is capable of being a full-time fill-in centerfielder, they're stuck with K-Mart until further notice.

I understand that Jerry Manuel doesn't want to overuse Gary Sheffield in the OF, and Ryan Church runs hot and cold, mostly cold against lefty pitching. And Fernando Tatis is on pace to win this season's "GO THE HELL AWAY" award after winning "Comeback Player" award last season, and Nick Evans has yet to prove he's any better than K-Mart, what can an MLB manager do with such unenviable options?

The NY Times article speaks of K-Mart's inexperience and youth working against him, but perhaps it's simply that his hitting skills have not fully developed at a level necessary when playing Major League Baseball. While he made a fantastic sliding catch in centerfield off a sinking liner from Chien-Ming Wang in today's 4-2 loss, he makes too many unnecessary one-handed catches, and doesn't consistently position himself properly on sac fly balls.

The Mets have hyped up Fernando Martinez as THE guy as the future of the franchise, but so far, the future looks bleak.

LIVEBLOGGING - New York Mets vs. New York Yankees - 6/28/09

Jun 28, 2009
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I'm not gonna lie.

This is going to be a pivotal game for the New York Mets in numerous ways. They've already lost the season series against the Yankees, having lost 4 out of 5 games so far. Will tonight be 5 of 6? Or can they escape with a 2-4 season record against the Skanks? If the Mets lose tonight, they'll have been swept at home by the Yankees.

The first Mets-Yankees game this year in which 2B Luis Castillo dropped what should have been the final out and put the Mets up 1-0 in the series, is looming larger than it has in a long while.

But it's more than the Yankees now. If the Mets win, they're going to fall to a record of 37-37, and 3 games behind the NL East-leading Phillies. Falling to .500 at this point in the season is only slightly palatable because the rest of the NL East (not including Washington) are all within 5 games of each other.

This is a Mets offense riddled with injury, and the reserves are not holding it together they way they need to. David Wright may lead the NL in BA, but his power numbers have dropped so far down, that he can't carry the team anymore.

The minor league callups like Argenis Reyes (2B) and Fernando Martinez (CF) have been perfectly fine in the field, and absolutely dreadful at the plate. The middle relief has become a little burnt out, and the minor league callups like Jon Switzer and veteran Elmer Dessens haven't helped any.

The key to the Mets winning games is that the "everyday players" need to step things up at the plate and begin to manufacture runs. You don't have to hit longballs to win games, but you do have to execute when runners are in scoring position. For a team to be 1-hit by AJ Burnett and shutout by the Yankees last night is discouraging. But the Mets only amassed 3 hits and 1 run on Friday night. So they've been outscored 14-1 by the Yankees in 2 games, and
40-15 over the 5 games played so far. Disgusting.

Tonight's pitching matchup pits Chien-Ming Wang (0-6, 11.20 ERA) aginst Livan Hernandez (5-2, 4.05 ERA). While Wang is winless this season, and hasn't won a game since June 15, 2008, he IS looking better than he did in the beginning of the season. He gave up 3 ER in 5 IP in each of his last two starts (Washington, Atlanta), and while that's nothing great, it's a lot better than the way he was pitching to begin the 2009 season.

Livan has become a solid #2 for the Mets. In his last two starts, he pitched 7 innings each game, giving up 2 earned runs each time out. However, he was the starting pitcher against the Yankees in the first game between these two ballclubs in 2009 in what is forever going to be known as "The Castillo game," and he got rocked hard in that outing for 6 ER in 5.1 IP.

The trick to Livan's success tends to be fiddling around a wider strike zone, and taking advantage of relatively inexperienced hitters who aren't easily fooled by his 80 MPH fastballs and 60 MPH curveballs. Livan has been enormously successful for the Mets against other NL East opponents this season, less so against the crosstown rival Yankees. We'll see if he can save this team from sinking tonight.

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(All times Pacific)
Top of 1st Inning:
5:11pm: Not a good way for the Mets to start a ballgame. Derek Jeter pounds a shot to deep left-center field which bounces off the wall for a leadoff double.

5:13pm: Nick Swisher grounds a ball to 1B Daniel Murphy who is playing in a little. Murphy seems to have a little trouble getting the ball out of his glove. He throws to 3B David Wright to get Derek Jeter at 3rd base, but Jeter makes it in safely. I don't fault Murphy for trying to make the play, but the sure out at 1st was probably more wise. Swisher safe at 1st.

5:16pm: Mark Teixeira strokes a double down the leftfield line scoring Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher. 2 runs across so far. Yankees up 2-0 and still nobody out.

5:18pm: Alex Rodriguez walks. Livan Hernandez is looking pretty bad through 4 batters. He may end up settling down but he's gotta limit the damage ASAP.

5:21pm: Robinson Cano grounds into 2B Luis Castillo, who throws to SS Alex Cora, and then onto 1B Daniel Murphy for the double play. However, Daniel Murphy drops the ball out of his glove, and his foot was moving off the bag anyways, so it looks like Cano woulda made it safely to first base no matter what. Daniel Murphy can't afford any more mental mistake at 1B. Mark Teixeira to 3rd base. 1 out.

5:24pm: Livan Hernandez almost picks off Robinson Cano at 1st but he dives back in just ahead of the tag.

5:25pm: Jorge Posada hits a sac fly to CF Fernando Martinez. He finally makes a two-handed catch and makes a nice throw home to catcher Brian Schneider, but Teixeira is safe without a problem. Yankees up 3-0. 2 outs.

5:26pm: Robinson Cano is caught stealing by Brian Schneider who throws onto Alex Cora, getting Cano easily. 3 outs. Livan has GOT to settle down, and no more fucking errors from the Mets defense.

Bottom of 1st Inning:
5:29pm: Daniel Murphy leads off and flies out to CF Brett Gardner. 1 out.

5:30pm: They just showed footage of Livan Hernandez in the Mets dugout after the top of the 1st. Schneider told him he did well, and then Livan gave Castillo a pat on the back for his nice play in the inning. Livan then went into the clubhouse to vomit.

5:31pm: Alex Cora gets hit by a pitch from Chien-Ming Wang and takes his pass to 1st base.

5:34pm: David Wright strikes out at a slider in the dirt. Lovely. 2 outs.

5:36pm: Gary Sheffield singles up the middle, sending Alex Cora to 3rd base.

5:37pm: Fernando Tatis flies out to RF Nick Swisher. 3 outs.

Top of 2nd Inning:
5:42pm: ESPN shows an interesting stat about Livan Hernandez. During the 1st inning this season, Livan has posted a 6.00 ERA. The rest of the game? A far more manageable 3.90 ERA.

5:43pm: Melky Cabrera strikes out swinging. 1 out.

5:44pm: Brett Gardner flies out to SS Alex Cora in shallow leftfield. Cora uses two hands baby. 2 outs.

5:45pm: Fernando Martinez may suck with the bat, but he makes a superb diving catch in centerfield to grab a sinking liner off the bat of pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. 3 outs.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:
5:50pm: Fernando Martinez grounds out to 3B Alex Rodriguez who is perfectly positioned in the 3B-SS hole, away from the line, makes a short dive to his left and throws to 1B Mark Teixeira for the easy out. 1 away.

5:51pm: ESPN shows a replay of A-Rod on the last play wincing a bit after the throw. Did he just hurt his hip a little? I FUCKING HOPE SO!!!!

5:53pm: Brian Schneider takes a 3-2 pitch low for a walk.

5:55pm: Luis Castillo grounds into a 4-6 forceout. 2B Robinson Cano to SS Derek Jeter to get Schneider. Castillo is safe at first as there was no throw from Jeter since Luis can still move.

5:56pm: Livan Hernandez swings at the first pitch he sees from Wang, grounding it to SS Derek Jeter who tosses to 2B Robinson Cano for the force. 6-4. 3 outs.

Top of 3rd Inning:
5:59pm: Derek Jeter hits a solid and hard line drive into the glove of CF Fernando Martinez. 1 out.

6:01pm: Nick Swisher crushes a ball off the FOXBusiness.com sign just on the foul side of the rightfield foul pole.

6:02pm: Swisher hits a line drive on the next pitch into the glove of RF Fernando Tatis. 2 outs.

6:03pm: Mark Teixeira lines out to LF Gary Sheffield. 3 outs. Livan looks like he settled down. But this Mets offense needs to come alive and not allow Chien-Ming Wang to get his shit straight today of all days.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:
6:06pm: Daniel Murphy strikes out swinging at a low pitch in the dirt. Posada drops it so Murphy runs but Posada completes the strikeout by throwing down to 1st. 1 out.

6:09pm: Alex Cora works out a walk.

6:10pm: David Wright hits into a 6-4-3 motherfucking double play. 3 outs. Wang can walk everyone he wants as long as the Mets keep grounding into these fucking DPs.

Top of 4th Inning:
6:14pm: Alex Rodriguez rips a ball into CF for a single. That makes him 12 for 20 off of Livan Hernandez.

6:15pm: Robinson Cano hits into a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play. Castillo to Cora to Murphy. 2 outs. Whew!

6:16pm: Jorge Posada grounds out to 2B Luis Castillo. 4-3. 3 outs.

Bottom of 4th Inning:
6:22pm: Gary Sheffield takes a leadoff walk.

6:24pm: King of the Double Play Fernando Tatis hits a chopper to 3B Alex Rodriguez, but with Sheffield running to 2nd base, Rodriguez throws on to 1B for the sure out. 1 out, Sheffield at 2nd base.

6:28pm: Fernando Martinez hits a fly ball the opposite way to deep leftfield which goes over the head of LF Melky Cabrera. The ball takes a carom towards centerfield, so it's tracked down by CF Brett Gardner. Martinez is into 2nd with the double, Sheffield scores. Mets finally score a run!!!! But they're down 3-1.

6:30pm: Brian Schneider grounds to 2B Robinson Cano. 4-3. Fernando Martinez to 3rd on the play. 2 outs.

6:32pm: Luis Castillo slaps a shot down the 3rd base line to score Fernando Martinez. Mets down 3-2 now.

6:33pm: Luis Castillo steals 2nd base although he doesn't really slide but rather, he kinda flops down at the last second. Maybe he thought that either the throw wasn't coming, or the throw was going into centerfield? Strange, but he's safe...

6:34pm: Livan Hernandez grounds out to SS Derek Jeter. 6-3. 3 outs. Finally some offense against Wang!

Top of 5th Inning:
6:37pm: Melky Cabrera crushes a 3-2 pitch to one of the deepest parts of right-centerfield, but Gary Sheffield makes a nice catch on a 400-ft flyball. 1 out.

6:38pm: Brett Gardner takes a walk to 1st.

6:40pm: Chien-Ming Wang tries to lay down a bunt but it goes up in the air about 15 feet, leaving Brett Gardner unsure of whether to run or not. Livan lets it drop on the 1st base side of the mound, fields it cleanly, throws to SS Alex Cora at second base, who throws onto Luis Castillo covering 1st to complete the double play. Excellent job by the Mets defense for once. 3 outs.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

6:43pm: On the replay of the double play that ended the 5th, you can see Wang is slowed down by Livan Hernandez's body that is in his way as he throws onto 2nd base. Wang can't legally run into him while Livan is fielding the ball, but he could have maybe bumped him immediately afterwards while the throw was being made. Still, I can't imagine Wang wants to run into any collisions.

6:45pm: Daniel Murphy strikes out swinging again. 1 out.

6:46pm: Alex Cora grounds out to 2B Robinson Cano. 4-3. 2 outs.

6:47pm: David Wright hits a soft grounder to 3B Alex Rodriguez which is fielded very nicely by A-Roid, who throws onto 1B Mark Teixeira to get the third out. David Wright is 0 for 11 this series.

Top of 6th Inning:

6:52pm: Derek Jeter takes a leadoff walk. Leadoff walks are never a good thing, and Nick Swisher has been hitting the ball hard tonight against Livan Hernandez.

6:56pm: Livan Hernandez walks Nick Swisher as well. Derek Jeter to 2nd base. Mark Teixeira is up and we's in trouble folks.

6:57pm: Bobby Parnell is warming up in the bullpen. Well that's not gonna help things...

6:58pm: Mark Teixeira skies out to Fernando Martinez in deep CF just short of the warning track. Both Jeter and Swisher tag up to 3rd and 2nd base respectively. 1 out.

6:59pm: With Alex Rodriguez up at the plate, 1 out, and an empty base, they may choose to walk A-Rod and face Robinson Cano, hoping to induce another double play out of Cano. Tough choice, but with A-Rod's numbers against Livan, I would probably give A-Rod the intentional pass.

7:00pm: Jerry Manuel makes the call to give A-Rod the intentional walk and load the bases. Robinson Cano has hit into two double plays tonight so far, although only one of them was successfully completed.

7:01pm: Robinson Cano is more unclutch than David Wright lately. Another tailor-made double play induced. Cano grounds up the middle to SS Alex Cora, who steps on 2nd and throws onto 1st to complete the 6-3 double play. 3 outs.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

7:04pm: Gary Sheffield hits a chopper up the middle which pitcher Chien-Ming Wang tries to leap and grab but it deflects off his glove towards 3rd base. Sheffield gets an infield single for his troubles.

7:07pm: Fernando Tatis lays down a bunt in front of the plate which is fielded by pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. Wang makes a slightly high throw to first base but Mark Teixeira makes the catch. Sheffield over to 2nd base. ESPN announcers Joe Morgan, Jon Miller and Steve Phillips are wondering about that play, theorizing that maybe Tatis missed a sign and it was supposed to be a hit and run instead of a sac bunt. I kinda doubt that. Tatis isn't good enough of a contact hitter to execute the hit and run, and with his luck it'd STILL be a double play. 1 out.

7:09pm: Lefty reliever Phil Coke is in the ballgame to pitch for Chien-Ming Wang. He'll be facing lefties Fernando Martinez and Brian Schneider, and also turn Luis Castillo around to the right side if it gets that far.

7:10pm: I don't like this matchup. Fernando Martinez can't hit lefty pitching this year unless it's Andy Pettite.

7:12pm: Sure enough, Fernando Martinez not only strikes out, but swings at a pitch which was at the level of his face.

7:13pm: Omir Santos is announced as the right-handed pinch-hitter to replace Brian Schneider, so Yankees manager Joe Girardi is making a double-switch of his own. Johnny Damon is in to play leftfield, Melky Cabrera moves over from leftfield to rightfield. Philip Hughes relieves Phil Coke, and Nick Swisher is out of the game.

7:16pm: Omir Santos flies out to RF Melky Cabrera. 3 outs.

Top of 7th Inning:

7:21pm: Jorge Posada slices a linedrive into leftfield but Fernando Tatis tracks it down. 1 out.

7:23pm: Melky Cabrera skies out to LF Fernando Tatis. 2 outs.

7:25pm: Brett Gardner pop flies out 2B Luis Castillo. The fans give him a sarcastic cheer. Although who knows if it's the Mets or Yankee fans doing that. Maybe both? 3 outs.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

7:31pm: Luis Castillo takes a leadoff walk.

7:32pm: Argenis Reyes is in to pinch-hit for Livan Hernandez. He's there to bunt Castillo over.

7:33pm: Argenis Reyes lays down a bunt towards the charging Alex Rodriguez who makes the throw to SS Derek Jeter to barely get Luis Castillo out at second base. Reyes should've been bunting towards 1st instead. Reyes now on 1st. 1 out.

7:34pm: With Argenis Reyes running on the pitch, Daniel Murphy grounds to 2B Robinson Cano. 4-3. 2 outs. Reyes at 2nd base.

7:38pm: Alex Cora watches a 1-2 fastball go right over the plate and I have no idea why, but he definitely looked overmatched by Hughes' 95 MPH fastballs. 3 outs.

Top of 8th Inning:

7:40pm: Lefty Pedro Feliciano is in to pitch for Livan Hernandez.

7:41pm: Johnny Damon grounds out to 1B Daniel Murphy who tosses onto Feliciano covering first base for the out. 1 out.

7:42pm: Brian Bruney is warming up in the Yankees bullpen.

7:44pm: Derek Jeter works out a walk.

7:45pm: Sean Green is warming up in the Mets bullpen.

7:46pm: Lefty hitter Hideki Matsui is in to pinch-hit for Phil Hughes. He grounds out to Pedro Feliciano. 1-3. Jeter to 2nd base. 2 outs.

7:48pm: After falling behind 2-1 to Teixeira, they make the call to give him the intentional pass. Probably a good idea.

7:49pm: Righty Sean Green is in to pitch for Pedro Feliciano. He's gonna face righty Alex Rodriguez.

7:53pm: With a 3-2 count, Sean Green walks Alex Rodriguez to load the bases. Jerry Manuel looks ticked off.

7:54pm: A lot of back and forth "LETS GO YANKEES" and "YANKEES SUCK" call and response chants. Unfortunately it's the Mets sucking big-time in this series.

7:55pm: Robinson Cano is up with the bases loaded and 2 out.

7:56pm: Robinson Cano grounds sharply to Luis Castillo's left. Castillo makes it looks easy with the pick and throw to 1st base for the 3rd out. That would've been another double play for Cano had there been less than 2 outs.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

7:58pm: Brian Bruney is on in relief of Phil Hughes to pitch the 8th and bridge the gap to Mariano Rivera. He'll be facing the slumping heart of the Mets lineup, beginning with David Wright.

8:00pm: David Wright takes a 4-pitch leadoff walk. I woulda preferred a homerun, but Bruney wasn't exactly giving Wright anything in the zone to swing at.

8:01pm: Alfredo Aceves is warming up in the Yankees bullpen.

8:02pm: Gary Sheffield skies out to SS Derek Jeter in shallow leftfield. 1 out.

8:03pm: Fernando Tatis is up, and I'm scared of the double play...

8:04pm: Bruney didn't give Tatis anything much to put in play, so he takes a walk too. Wright to 2nd base.

8:05pm: Fernando Martinez is in, and this is his chance of redemption. 2 men on, and he's facing a right-hander. He can't press here. A basehit to the outfield will likely tie the game.

8:06pm: Fernando Martinez swings at another high pitch around his neck level, and K's. Fucking crap. 2 outs.

8:07pm: Enter Sandman. It's time for a 4-out save from Mariano Rivera who will be facing Omir Santos.

8:08pm: Mariano Rivera comes in to pitch in relief of Brian Bruney. Bruney is responsible for the runners on 1st and 2nd.

8:12pm: Santos is putting together a nice AB against Rivera, and he just gave everyone a thrill by punching a nice liner down the rightfield line but landed on the railing in foul territory.

8:14pm: David Wright steals 3rd base without a throw.

8:15pm: Mariano throws an inside cutter that crosses the inside corner. Santos doesn't like the call, but it was a strike. 3 outs. *sigh*

Top of 9th Inning:

8:17pm: Jeremy Reed is into play RF, Gary Sheffield moves from LF to RF. Frankie Rodriguez is on to pitch the 9th and hopefully maintain the 1-run deficit.

8:18pm: Jorge Posada pops one into the Bermuda Triangle in short centerfield. Alex Cora thinks Luis Castillo has it, Castillo thinks Cora has it, so both momentarily look at each other. Cora dives for the ball but can't make the play. Probably scored as a hit.

8:20pm: It is scored as a hit, the first since the 4th inning. Although earlier Joe Morgan said they hadn't had a hit since the 1st inning. WTF ESPN?!

8:21pm: Melky Cabrera grounds to 3B David Wright. He throws to 2B Luis Castillo, who throws to 1B but Cabrera is too fast to double off in this spot. 5-4 forceout. 1 out.

8;23pm: Melky Cabrera steals 2nd base. Santos makes a nice throw to Cora who makes a nice tag, but Cabrera beat it. Nice?

8:25pm: Brett Gardner takes a 3-2 pitch high and outside for a walk. Yankees with runners on 1st and 2nd, 1 out.

8:30pm: Johnny Damon smokes a liner into RF but it's a damn good thing Jeremy Reed is there cause he's right on it for the out. Runners do not advance. 2 outs.

8:31pm: The situation is simple. 2 outs, runners on 1st and 2nd. Derek Jeter is up. If you walk Jeter, Mariano Rivera is going to bat, and... he doesn't bat. So either you walk Jeter and force Girardi to pinch-hit, or you just face Jeter. Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips think that facing Jeter is a huge mistake. I do too. They should force Girardi to do something with Rivera.

8:34pm: They're pitching to Jeter?! WTF?! Even Jeter doesn't get it. Frankie goes 2-1 before the IBB is called. That was a waste of 3 pitches.

8:35pm: Mariano Rivera is batting with bases loaded and 2 outs. Frankie can't fuck this up, can he?

8:36pm: Frankie goes 2-0 before catching up 2-2 on the count. Mariano has his bat on his shoulders all the way so far. Rivera swings and fouls one off.

8:37pm: Holy fuck. Frankie walks Mariano Rivera and Melky Cabrera scores from 3rd base. Yankees up 4-2. Unfuckingreal.

8:40pm: On a 3-2 count, Mark Teixeira checks his swing and thinks he's walking, but the 3rd base umpire says he swung and that's it. 3 outs. Yankees up 4-2.

Bottom of 9th Inning:

8:43pm: Mariano Rivera is still pitching, now facing the bottom of the order with Luis Castillo, Jeremy Reed and Daniel Murphy.

8:45pm: Luis Castillo grounds out to 2B Robinson Cano. 4-3. 1 out.

8:47pm: Jeremy Reed strikes out looking. He was clearly overmatched by Mariano. 2 outs.

8:48pm: Daniel Murphy fists a base hit to LF to prolong the agony a little more. Alex Cora is up next, with David Wright after him. I hope Cora can somehow take a walk here.

8:49pm: Nope. He swung first pitch and grounded right to 2B Robinson Cano. 4-3. 3 outs. Fucking unreal.

GAME OVER - Yankees win 4-2

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What an absolute nightmare. Swept by the Yankees in 3 games in their own ballpark. Mariano Rivera gets his 500th career save along with his first RBI EVER. Chien-Ming Wang finally wins a fucking game.

Plenty of blame to go around tonight.

Daniel Murphy's fumfering in the 1st inning. He attempted to get Derek Jeter at 3rd base on a groundball, and it was close. But it was the wrong play. I won't kill him on that only because it was close, and it would've been great had he nailed him. However, dropping the ball on the Cano double play AND having your foot off the bag when neither of those things should have occurred.

Manager Jerry Manuel. Despite needing to make a couple of moves, having lefty Fernando Martinez face lefty Phil Coke in the 6th inning was a bad call. Martinez can't hit lefty pitching, and looked like a fucking joke doing so in this AB where he struck out at a ball at eye level. The right move was pinch-hitting for him using Nick Evans, and then either moving him into CF, or then putting Jeremy Reed into CF instead. I can understand not wanting to sub in 2 bench guys for one, but it had to be done, and Jerry didn't.

The other ridiculous managerial call was pitching to Derek Jeter in the 9th with Mariano Rivera on deck. Even Jeter thought this was retarded. Seriously! While ultimately the Mets lose the game either way, the fact that Jerry didn't call for the intentional pass to Jeter immediately was one of those huge "Is this guy for real?" moments. The only defense I can imagine Jerry Manuel might have for not walking Jeter initially was a reluctance to put Melky Cabrera on 3rd base, capable of scoring on any wild pitch or passed ball that got away from catcher Omir Santos.
Now, if you want to go with that defense, fine. Well, not fine, but... I get it. But then on a 2-1 pitch, he changes his mind and gives Jeter ball 4.

Frankie Rodriguez. Despite Cora and Castillo not figuring out who should make the catch on Jorge Posada's flyball into the Bermuda Triangle, he's given leadoff hits before and gotten out of jams. However, walking Brett Gardner couldn't happen here, and walking Mariano Rivera was unforgivable. The only saving grace was that they were already losing the game 3-2, so what's another run at that point?!! Still, tough to take.

So what now?

The team drops to 37-37, 3 games behind Philadelphia and further down into the murkiness of the wildcard race. Granted neither of those things really mean too much right now, but this team isn't even treading water anymore.

They're at .500, still sinking and it's June 28. July doesn't get any easier for this decimated team, as they go on the road to play 3 in Milwaukee, one make-up game in Pittsburgh, and then 3 in Philly which they HAVE to win by any means necessary or this season is over before they get to the All-Star break. Even if all the regular players (Delgado, Reyes, Beltran) make it back by August 1, they're likely going to have to win over 40 games in August-September, which is asking a helluva lot from any team.

The month of June isn't over yet, but despite the team's 19-9 turnaround in May, which honestly should've been closer to 22-6, the best the Mets can now hope for is to take the next two games against the Brewers and go up to a 11-16 record for the month of June. They went 9-12 in April.

The thing is, with so many key people out, making a deal for one player, even someone like an Adam Dunn for example (which won't happen, but for the sake of my point...) doesn't address the other needs the team has. So for the front office to go ahead and deal for players, it has to be significant, and that's going to likely require moving some valuable prospects in a deal. The Mets don't want to mortgage their future, nor should they.

But part of their future is hurting them right now, namely Fernando Martinez, who clearly isn't ready for the bigs, and maybe AAA isn't right for him either yet. But with no Carlos Beltran for a while, the team is in a pickle and then some.

I don't envy GM Omar Minaya right now, because you're truly in a bind right now. The team finally hit the .500 mark, there's no quick fix, you have no real idea who is coming back when. This makes for a strong possibility that the Mets would become sellers at the July 31 deadline, instead of buyers, depending on the way things go over the course of July. Then that begs the question, who would the Mets trade AWAY at that point? Well, if that happens, I'll address it in 30 days from now. Hopefully that doesn't come to be.

My All-Star Ballot

Jun 27, 2009
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Every year, MLB begins their All-Star game balloting near the end of April, which is far too early. I advocate for voting only after June 1, as you simply cannot elect players to the All-Star game based on less than one month of baseball.

This usually leads to uninformed voting by the baseball fans as it pertains to which players are elected as starters. While most players elected as starters are deserving, that's not always the case. Luckily the players and managers get to choose the pitchers and reserves.

Now that it's June 27, definitely late in the game, here's my rundown of the All-Star ballots and current voting totals:

American League: (vote totals as of June 21)

1st Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Mark Teixeira	Yankees	1,561,292
2.	Kevin Youkilis	Red Sox	1,525,660
3.	Justin Morneau	Twins	1,275,694
4.	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	944,855
5.	Chris Davis	Rangers	632,895

Interesting numbers overall. Miguel Cabrera should probably be higher up in the vote totals than Kevin Youkilis, but any of these 4 choices are very respectable picks. Seattle's Russell Branyan is having a remarkable year and isn't in the top 5. He's certainly more deserving than Chris Davis. Tampa's Carlos Pena is a home run machine but his BA is too low.

My pick: Mark Teixeira (Yankees). Defense matters too, and Mark is the best defensive 1B in the game.

2nd Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Ian Kinsler	Rangers	1,791,177
2.	Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	1,732,787
3.	Robinson Cano	Yankees	1,062,863
4.	Aaron Hill	Blue Jays	775,200
5.	Placido Polanco	Tigers	660,693

The small-market playing Aaron Hill should be higher up in this race as well, though Ian Kinsler is certainly a respectable pick. Boston's Dustin Pedroia is not worthy of starting, and I'm not even sure he belongs on the team as a reserve either.

Tampa's Ben Zobrist is not on the list at all, probably because he wasn't on the original ballot. Since he's taken over for the injured-for-the-season Akinori Iwamura, Zobrist is having a phenomenal season and is just as deserving as anyone.

Robinson Cano doesn't deserve the nod this year. He's good, but not an All-Star in 2009. There's ZERO justification for Placido Polanco being in the top 5.

My pick: Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay) as a write-in. I would also be fine with picking Aaron Hill or Ian Kinsler.

3rd Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Evan Longoria	Rays	2,488,076
2.	Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	1,165,243
3.	Michael Young	Rangers	933,630
4.	Mike Lowell	Red Sox	890,138
5.	Brandon Inge	Tigers	535,226

Not surprisingly, this is a two-man race between A-Rod and Longoria, but the one player who isn't on this list who certainly deserves consideration, is the Angels' Chone Figgins. Figgins is currently 2nd in BA among all AL 3B, has 23 SB and is a fantastic leadoff guy. But Figgins has no power, which is why he'll never make the team as a starter.

So back to reality... A-Rod isn't hitting at a level worthy of election and he missed 6 weeks of the season. For him to be #2 on this list is a complete joke.

My Vote: Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay). I'm not even sure you can justify voting for anyone else above Longoria as a starter. Plenty of other good options for reserves (Figgins, Rolen, Lowell, Young) but Longoria is clearly heads and shoulders the best pick.

Shortstop
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Derek Jeter	Yankees	2,563,093
2.	Jason Bartlett	Rays	1,148,988
3.	Elvis Andrus	Rangers	844,349
4.	Marco Scutaro	Blue Jays	684,883
5.	Jed Lowrie	Red Sox	459,732

I think this shows how poor the AL depth is at SS this season, especially when you compare the depth at the position in the NL. Derek Jeter is the leader, and it's tough to argue against him this year, although Tampa's Jason Bartlett with just over 200 ABs, is hitting .363 and is outpacing Jeter in all other categories.

Elvis Andrus is really mediocre, while Toronto's Marco Scutaro is being overlooked. Jed Lowrie is clearly a joke pick by the Boston fans.

My Pick: Jason Bartlett (Tampa Bay). Can't ignore the numbers, but I can't say Jeter is a bad option for once.

Catcher
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Joe Mauer	Twins	2,298,544
2.	Jason Varitek	Red Sox	1,108,054
3.	Jorge Posada	Yankees	947,887
4.	Jarrod Saltalamacchia	Rangers	827,063
5.	Victor Martinez	Indians	754,571

This should really be a two-player race, period. Any other options are complete jokes, especially Jason Varitek. Oh those hilarious Boston fans, always trying to elect goof picks to the game.

There are only two options here. Joe Mauer, and Victor Martinez. There's no rationale for anyone else.

My Pick: Joe Mauer (Minnesota). The premiere catcher in baseball. While both Mauer and Martinez have 14 HRs as of today, Mauer has done it with a lot less ABs and is hitting JUUUUUST a smidge under .400.

RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Jason Bay	Red Sox	2,077,504
2.	Ichiro Suzuki	Mariners	1,455,266
3.	Josh Hamilton	Rangers	1,385,212
4.	Torii Hunter	Angels	1,186,097
5.	Carl Crawford	Rays	1,172,241
6.	Jacoby Ellsbury	Red Sox	1,051,270
7.	Johnny Damon	Yankees	1,021,394
8.	Ken Griffey Jr.	Mariners	1,009,584
9.	Nelson Cruz	Rangers	956,294
10.	Adam Jones	Orioles	894,664
11.	J.D. Drew	Red Sox	818,459
12.	Nick Markakis	Orioles	756,316
13.	Curtis Granderson	Tigers	641,102
14.	Grady Sizemore	Indians	626,014
15.	Bobby Abreu	Angels	614,244

Picking outfielders for the All-Star game can sometimes be tricky cause you're not voting for LF, CF, RF. You're voting for the 3 outfielders who have been the best in the game, and sometimes centerfielders aren't an option. That's not the case this year.

First, examining the fan voting so far... Josh Hamilton wasn't exactly having a great year to begin with, has been on the DL twice, and that's where he is currently. Even if he makes it to the team, I don't think he's healthy enough to play.

How Ken Griffey Jr. can be on this list, well, fans are fucking dumb. Granted it's only #8, but Chicago's Jermaine Dye doesn't even make the list?

My picks: Jason Bay (Boston), Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), Torii Hunter (Los Angeles) Since Hamilton won't play, it looks like my top choices will actually be in line with the fan totals.

Now, to the pitching staffs, which are not chosen by the fans, but I'll list my 12 picks anyways.

Starting Pitchers:

Zack Greinke (Kansas City) - STARTER

Roy Halladay (Toronto)

Edwin Jackson (Detroit)

Kevin Millwood (Texas)
Jered Weaver (Los Angeles)

Felix Hernandez (Seattle)

Relief Pitchers:

Jonathan Papelbon (Boston)

Mariano Rivera (New York)

Joe Nathan (Minnesota)

David Aardsma (Seattle)

George Sherrill (Baltimore)
Brian Fuentes (Los Angeles)

National League: (vote totals as of June 22)

1st Base
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Albert Pujols Cardinals 2,934,794
2. Ryan Howard Phillies 1,393,546
3. Prince Fielder Brewers 1,155,529
4. Adrian Gonzalez Padres 894,600
5. Lance Berkman Astros 512,879

If you vote for anyone other than Albert Pujols, you should probably be punched in the face until you are dead. But if you MUST vote for someone other than Prince Albert, then the only real other options are Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzales. Ryan Howard whiffs far too often and doesn't have the BA to warrant the vote.

My Pick: Albert Pujols (St. Louis). DUH!

2nd Base
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Chase Utley Phillies 2,922,796
2. Orlando Hudson Dodgers 1,082,248
3. Rickie Weeks Brewers 832,870
4. Skip Schumaker Cardinals 729,722
5. Dan Uggla Marlins 475,372
If you vote for anyone other than Chase Utley, you should probably be punched in the face until you are dead. What I'm trying to say is that at 1B and 2B, the NL starters are no-brainers. There's Chase Utley, and then there's everyone else.

However, the one person not making the top 5 who probably should, is Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez. especially since Rickie Weeks is out for the year. Skip Schumaker is obviously getting a hometown vote, but he's not really deserving. Dan Uggla has become a feast-or-famine power guy. So his HR totals are up with Utley's, but the rest of his hitting is not.

My pick: Chase Utley (Philadelphia)

3rd Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	NL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	David Wright	Mets	1,698,366
2.	Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	1,148,054
3.	Chipper Jones	Braves	1,104,485
4.	Pedro Feliz	Phillies	954,945
5.	Bill Hall	Brewers	842,295

It's tough to pick against David Wright here, as he leads the entire NL in BA, and also leads all 3B in stolen bases. His power numbers are down, his strikeout numbers are up.

Probably the most surprising thing about the current vote tallies for this position is that there are a bunch of players deserving of votes who aren't in the top 5. Casey Blake of the Dodgers, Mark Reynolds of Arizona, Pablo Sandoval of San Francisco. It's probably not a coincidence that all 3 of them are in the NL West, but all 3 are certainly more deserving of a spot than Bill Hall or Pedro Feliz.

My pick: David Wright (New York)

Shortstop
RANK	PLAYER NAME	NL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Hanley Ramirez	Marlins	1,648,482
2.	Jimmy Rollins	Phillies	1,494,466
3.	J.J. Hardy	Brewers	1,051,309
4.	Miguel Tejada	Astros	834,754
5.	Jose Reyes	Mets	754,579

You can't justify voting for Jose Reyes anymore since he's been on the DL for a good portion of the season and no one knows when he's coming back. It definitely won't be in time for the All-Star game.

Nor can you justify voting for Jimmy Rollins here, who is having an abysmal season hitting .211 as of today. The fact that he's getting any votes is truly sad. JJ Hardy is just as bad. Washington's Cristian Guzman should be in the top 5 instead.

This vote really comes down to two players. Hanley Ramirez, and Miguel Tejada.

My Pick: Hanley Ramirez (Florida). The power numbers are overwhelming, although Tejada should certainly make the team as a reserve.

Catcher
RANK	PLAYER NAME	NL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Yadier Molina	Cardinals	1,496,285
2.	Brian McCann	Braves	1,180,312
3.	Ivan Rodriguez	Astros	1,002,882
4.	Jason Kendall	Brewers	995,633
5.	Carlos Ruiz	Phillies	980,164

Clearly the weakest position in all of the NL. Yadier Molina is the best defensive catcher of the bunch, but Brian McCann has the bat which Yadier does not. The other Molina brother, Bengie, should certainly be in the top 5. How the hell can anyone vote for Jason Kendall or Carlos Ruiz?

My pick: Brian McCann (Atlanta)

Outfield
RANK PLAYER NAME NL TEAM TOTAL VOTES
1. Raul Ibanez Phillies 2,465,539
2. Ryan Braun Brewers 2,178,144
3. Carlos Beltran Mets 1,779,344
4. Alfonso Soriano Cubs 1,639,664
5. Shane Victorino Phillies 1,371,362
6. Manny Ramirez Dodgers 1,162,507
7. Mike Cameron Brewers 1,140,167
8. Rick Ankiel Cardinals 1,011,527
9. Jayson Werth Phillies 1,008,256
10. Corey Hart Brewers 959,614
11. Ryan Ludwick Cardinals 950,662
12. Adam Dunn Nationals 742,515
13. Matt Kemp Dodgers 673,979
14. Andre Ethier Dodgers 642,983
15. Justin Upton D-backs 594,185

This is interesting. While Carlos Beltran should definitely make the All-Star team, he's not going to be healthy enough to play, as he went on the DL just a week ago.

Raul Ibanez is also on the DL but he'll be back shortly. He's a no-brainer as far as the voting goes. Ryan Braun is an excellent second choice, so now who would the third best option be? Definitely not Alfonso Soriano. If I'm strictly picking a backup CF, either Michael Bourne of the Houston Astros or Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies would be my choices. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers isn't a bad pick for CF but he does whiff a lot.

However, I'm looking to elect the best 3 outfielders, period. And somehow my third pick isn't even in the top 15, which is completely absurd considering who DID make the list and shouldn't have.

My picks: Raul Ibanez (Philadelphia), Ryan Braun (Milwaukee), Brad Hawpe (Colorado).

And now to the 12 pitching choices, though again, it's not up to the fans.

Starting Pitchers:

Tim Lincecum (San Francisco) - STARTER

Dan Haren (Arizona)

Matt Cain (San Francisco)

Javier Vasquez (Atlanta)

Josh Johnson (Florida)

Yovani Gallardo (Milwaukee)

Relief Pitchers:

Frankie Rodriguez (New York)

Heath Bell (San Diego)

Trevor Hoffman (Milwaukee)

Ryan Franklin (St. Louis)
Jonathan Broxton (Los Angeles)

Francisco Cordero (Cincinnati)

Now, it should be said that a lot can change in a week from now. Players can get injured. Someone may end up being more well-deserving that was overlooked, so I may do another ballot in a week from now if things change drastically.

Is Angel Stadium turning into Dodgertown?

Jun 25, 2009
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2 violent episodes raise questions about safety at Angel Stadium

After two violent incidents at Angel Stadium this season, one in which a man died while in a fight, and now an off-duty cop shot two people who were allegedly attacking him with bottles, there is a growing perception that the slimebag criminal and thug element that infests Dodger Stadium like a cancer is spreading to games in Anaheim.

Is this true?

Too soon to tell, and probably not. The fight that occurred earlier this season where a man died, was not between fans of different teams. It was, "Angel on Angel" violence so to speak, and the death was a freak accident that was not intended. The man hit his head on the concrete and died as a result. He was not stabbed nor shot, and while being punched in the face doesn't make things better, it's not quite the same thing.

The incident that occurred on Wednesday night is tragic, but still unclear as to what was going on. It is not believed to be a matter of Rockies fans attacking an Angels fan or vice versa. But what exactly happened, we only have the cop's version of. His story is that he was being attacked by two men with bottles, and he shot them to protect himself and his family. Both men are in the hospital, so it should be interesting to see what their side of the story is.

But these are extremely isolated incidents.

Violent events are not isolated at Dodger Stadium, and it is well-known that if you go to Dodger games rooting for the opposition, you are taking your safety into your own hands. Especially if you're a Giants fan.

America saw what kind of fans the Lakers had the night the team won the NBA Championship as they rioted and destroyed downtown Los Angeles. If you saw footage from the victory parade at the Los Angeles Coliseum 3 days later, you could see a lot of those same "people," just better-behaved due to the overwhelming police presence and "zero tolerance" criminal behavior policy they had in effect for the parade.

The Dodgers share that same element of fans and if they ever won the World Series, Los Angeles would be decimated.

The Angels do not typically attract the same type of fan because most Angel fans have class. There will always be people who are the exception to that, but the organization has a well-deserved reputation for being family-friendly and having a fanbase that is primarily well-behaved. The same cannot be said for Dodger fans.

Longtime Angel fans quoted in the L.A. Times article above may fear that things are getting worse at the Stadium, but that doesn't seem to be a valid fear at this stage. Hopefully it never will become legitimate.

The Mets are in trouble.

Jun 22, 2009
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Today's plethora of roster moves:

- Carlos Beltran to the 15-day DL.
- Fernando Martinez is back WAY too soon out of necessity, again.
- Lefty reliever Ken Takahashi optioned to Buffalo.
- Lefty reliever Pat Misch promoted from Buffalo to Mets.
- Utility man Wilson Valdez DFA'd.
- Reliever Elmer Dessens promoted from Buffalo to Mets.
- Minor league outfielder Wily Mo Pena released from Buffalo Bisons.
- Minor league outfielder Bobby Kielty released from Buffalo Bisons.
- Minor league catcher/infielder Javier Valentin released from Buffalo Bisons.

Mets' Current Disabled List (both 15 and 60 days):
Major Names: Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, John Maine, Oliver Perez, JJ Putz.
Minor Names: Angel Pagan, Ramon Martinez.

The Mets are 6-12 for the month of June, which is a big big problem.

With the Mets playing the Cardinals and Yankees over the next 7 at CitiField, this schedule is not getting any easier and with more players getting hurt and certain members of the bullpen temporarily losing whatever talent they once had (Parnell, Takahashi), this team is limping badly, figuratively and literally.

LIVEBLOGGING - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Los Angeles Dodgers - 6/20/09

Jun 20, 2009
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Game 2 of my liveblogging baseball doubleheader. Wheeeeeee!!!!

It's the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pitching for the Angels, Jered Weaver (7-2, 2.08 ERA) vs. Jeff Weaver (3-1, 3.72 ERA). Jered has been extremely solid this season for the Angels while older brother Jeff has found his way back to the majors with the Dodgers in a combination of long relief and spot starts.

This is the first time that the two have faced each other in an MLB game and it's the first time brothers have faced each other on the mound since 2002 when Alan Benes (Chicago Cubs) pitched against Andy Benes (St. Louis Cardinals).

The Angels have won 3 of 4 from the Dodgers this year and at worst, would suffer a 3-3 split in the season series if they lose today and tomorrow night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(All times Pacific)

Top of 1st Inning:

6:08pm: Juan Pierre flies out to LF Juan Rivera. 1 out.

6:09pm: Rafael Furcal grounds out to SS Erick Aybar. 6-3. 2 outs.

6:11pm: Jered Weaver strikes out Orlando Hudson looking with a beautiful fastball on the inside corner. 3 outs.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

6:15pm: Chone Figgins smacks a leadoff single into LF to his close friend Juan Pierre.

6:16pm: Dodgers announcer Vin Scully is rambling on about famous siblings in sports. I would gladly switch to the Angels broadcast of this game but for some reason it's not in HD, so I'm stuck with Scully's monotonous drone.

6:17pm: Jeff Weaver tries to pickoff Chone Figgins at first base but throws the ball in the dirt and it bounces off the photographer's booth wall, goes into rightfield and Figgins races to 3rd base.

6:18pm: Bobby Abreu ropes a shot into rightfield for an RBI single driving in Chone Figgins. 1-0 Angels.

6:20pm: On a 1-1 pitch, Bobby Abreu is caught stealing by a mile. His headfirst slide into 2nd base was way early and that must've been a terrible jump he got to get thrown out by that much. Credit Dodger catcher Russell Martin wtih the perfect throw.

6:21pm: Torii Hunter strikes out swinging. 2 outs.

6:22pm: Vladimir Guerrero cracks a first-pitch single into rightfield.

6:24pm: Vladimir Guerrero with a big lead on first, steals 2nd base just beating the tag.

6:25pm: Juan Rivera watches strike 3 go by him. 3 outs.

Top of 2nd Inning:

6:28pm: Scully is still going on about brothers in sports. Now he's talking about the Klitschkos in boxing, who swear they will never fight one another.

6:29pm: James Loney scalds one to the deep rightfield corner but Bobby Abreu has enough room to make the catch just shy of the warning track. And unlike the Mets outfielders, Abreu uses two hands. 1 out.

6:30pm: Something is funky with the centerfield camera and they've switched to a different camera which is even further angled off until they can figure out why the main cam is so wacky.

6:31pm: Casey Blake hits a hard line drive directly at 1B Kendry Morales. 2 outs.

6:32pm: Andre Ethier skies out to CF Torii Hunter. 3 outs.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

6:34pm: Kendry Morales goes BOOOOOM! Homerun into the right-centerfield bleachers. Angels go up 2-0. Jeff Weaver isn't happy.

6:35pm: Maicer Izturis skies a foul ball that Andre Ethier can't get to. It drops in foul ground. 1-1 count.

6:36pm: Izturis hits another one in the same direction except it's in fair territory, and it's caught by 2B Orlando Hudson in shallow rightfield. 1 out.

6:37pm: Jeff Mathis pops out to SS Rafael Furcal in shallow centerfield. 2 outs.

6:38pm: Erick Aybar flies out to deep centerfield but CF Matt Kemp makes a fantastic leaping catch against the wall to rob Aybar of the hit. 3 outs.

Top of 3rd Inning:

6:41pm: Mark Loretta grounds out to SS Erick Aybar. 6-3. 1 out.

6:42pm: I was just thinking that Russell Martin hasn't had a homerun all year. And then he bangs one out into LF for a solo blast. Martin's first homerun this season. A 59-game power drought for Martin. Dodgers put a run up on the board but trail 2-1.

6:44pm: Matt Kemp takes a walk.

6:46pm: Juan Pierre singles into rightfield, sending Matt Kemp to 3rd base.

6:47pm: Catcher Jeff Mathis tries to pick off Matt Kemp at 3rd but he gets back safely.

6:51pm: Jered Weaver is having trouble now, as he walks Rafael Furcal and loads the bases. Kemp at 3rd, Pierre at 2nd, Furcal at 1st. Orlando Hudson coming to bat. Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher holds a conference on the mound with Weaver and Jeff Mathis.

6:53pm: Orlando Hudson hits a sac fly to LF Juan Rivera which easily scores Matt Kemp from 3rd but does not advance the other runners. 2-2 game now. 2 outs.

6:54pm: James Loney strikes out swinging at a terrible 0-2 pitch in the dirt, but catcher Jeff Mathis drops the ball. He recovers, throws onto 1st base and completes the strikeout. 3 outs. Brand new ballgame at 2-2.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

7:00pm: Chone Figgins strikes out swinging. 1 out.

7:01pm: Bobby Abreu hits a grounder right back at pitcher Jeff Weaver who fields and throws onto 1st for the out. 1-3. 2 outs.

7:03pm: Torii Hunter lines out to LF Juan Pierre. 3 outs.

Top of 4th Inning:
7:07pm: Casey Blake strikes out swinging. 1 out.

7:08pm: Andre Ethier strikes out swinging. Mathis drops the ball, throws onto 1st to complete the strikeout. 2 outs.

7:09pm: Mark Loretta hits the ball into leftfield for a single.

7:10pm: Earlier on when Russell Martin hit his first homerun of the season, Vin Scully said that Russell Martin hadn't hit a homer in 59 games, but this is game 69 of the season for the Dodgers. So as usual, Vin Scully fucks up the info and no one ever corrects him. Pathetic.

7:11pm: Russell Martin ropes a ball into centerfield for a single that moves Loretta over to 2nd base. Torii Hunter fires a perfect throw to SS Erick Aybar to make sure Loretta doesn't think about taking 3rd base.

7:12pm: Matt Kemp flies out to RF Bobby Abreu. 3 outs.

Bottom of 4th Inning:
7:15pm: Vladimir Guerrero lines a single into LF. Vladdy's power numbers have pretty much died this season, but he's still hitting .300.

7:17pm: Juan Rivera lines out to 3B Casey Blake who doubles off Vladdy at 1st for the 5-3 double play. 2 outs.

7:19pm: Kendry Morales grounds out sharply to 2B Orlando Hudson. 4-3 on the scorecards kiddies. 3 outs.

Top of 5th Inning:
7:23pm: Juan Pierre hits a leadoff single into leftfield. Juan Pierre is a pesky bastard.

7:26pm: Juan Pierre must've gotten a terrible jump off of Jered Weaver, cause Weaver is easy to steal off of, Jeff Mathis had to dig the ball out of the dirt, the throw was a 1-hopper to SS Erick Aybar, and Juan Pierre got caught stealing for only the 5th time this year. 1 out.

7:27pm: Rafael Furcal gets a free pass to first.

7:29pm: Orlando Hudson grounds out to 1B Kendry Morales who throws to SS Erick Aybar for the forceout at second on Furcal. No throw to first by Aybar. Hudson now on first base. 2 outs.

7:30pm: James Loney ropes a single into centerfield. Orlando Hudson moves to 2nd base on the hit.

7:33pm: Casey Blake hits a high pitch into centerfield for a base hit that scores Orlando Hudson from 2nd base. Torii Hunter throws all the way to the plate but Mathis has to come out to get it. He wants to throw down to 2nd base because Casey Blake goes to 2nd on the throw but no one is there to take the the ball. Rafael Furcal to 3rd base on the play. Dodgers go up 3-2.

7:35pm: Andre Ethier belts a shot into the right-centerfield gap for a 2-run triple. No idea why Angels manager Mike Scioscia didn't give Ethier the intentional pass and pitch to righty Mark Loretta. Definitely would've been the logical move. Now the Dodgers are up 5-2. Shit.

7:36pm: Mark Loretta flies out to CF Torii Hunter. 3 outs.

Bottom of 5th Inning:
7:38pm: They show the replay of Casey Blake's hit and 2B Maicer Izturis inexplicably abandons his position and seems to go towards 1st base for no discernible reason unless 1B Kendry Morales was out of position too? Angel manager Mike Scioscia is not happy about that. Then again, I'm not happy that he didn't put Andre Ethier at first last inning.

7:40pm: Maicer Izturis pops out to 2B Orlando Hudson in shallow rightfield. 1 out.

7:41pm: Jeff Mathis grounds out to 3B Casey Blake. 5-3. 2 outs.

7:43pm: Erick Aybar not only swings at strike 3, which is way inside, but the ball hits him too. Aybar takes off for first but there's no need for Russell Martin to throw down to first since the ball hit Aybar. DERP! 3 outs.

Top of 6th Inning:
7:46pm: Kevin Jepsen is warming up in the Angels Bullpen.

7:47pm: Russell Martin has found his stroke tonight. He lines a single into leftfield.

7:48pm: Matt Kemp scalds a ball into leftfield for a single. Russell Martin goes to 2nd base. If Weaver can't get Juan Pierre out now, this may be his last batter.

7:49pm: Juan Pierre lays down a sac bunt fielded by 3B Chone Figgins who makes the throw to first to get Pierre. Martin to 3rd, Kemp to 2nd. 1 out. That's all for Jered Weaver, who did not look good tonight. Mike Scioscia goes to the mound and is going to the bullpen.

7:50pm: Kevin Jepsen is in to relieve Jered Weaver and face Rafael Furcal.

7:53pm: After handling a couple of pitches in the dirt, Jeff Mathis can't save every wild pitch from Kevin Jepsen. The ball gets away from Mathis and Russell Martin scores. Matt Kemp to 3rd base. Dodgers now up 6-2.

7:54pm: Rafael Furcal strikes out swinging at a 2-2 curveball. 2 outs.

7:55pm: With Orlando Hudson batting, ANOTHER wild pitch from Jepsen gets away from Jeff Mathis, but this time Mathis is able to run and recover it. He throws to pitcher Kevin Jepsen at the plate and Jepsen tags out Matt Kemp trying to score to end the inning. 3 outs. Dodgers up 6-2.

Bottom of 6th Inning:
8:00pm: Chone Figgins smashes a flyball off the right-centerfield wall for a leadoff triple, his 4th this season.

8:01pm: Joe Torre makes the visit to the mound to get Jeff Weaver. Thuggish Dodger fans in the crowd applaud Weaver's performance today.

8:02pm: Ronald Belisario is on in relief of Jeff Weaver.

8:05pm: Bobby Abreu strikes out swinging at an outside pitch clocked at 94 MPH. 1 out.

8:06pm: Torii Hunter is hit by a pitch in the left arm and takes 1st base. Unfortunately, that does set up a double play ball for Vladdy, who despite having a stolen base today, is not the best at getting to 1st base to beat out double plays anymore. But he does have two singles today so... we'll see.

8:08pm: Vladdy strikes out swinging at a terrible pitch low and inside. 2 outs. I can't believe they may end up stranding Figgins at 3rd and not even scoring a single run this inning. Who are they, the Mets?!

8:11pm: Torii Hunter steals 2nd base uncontested.

8:12pm: Juan Rivera strikes out swinging as well. Ronald Belisario strikes out the side and the Angels can't buy a run. 3 outs.

Top of 7th Inning:
8:15pm: Rich Thompson is on in relief for the Angels, taking over for the wild Kevin Jepsen.

8:16pm: Orlando Hudson flies out to CF Torii Hunter. 1 out.

8:17pm: James Loney grounds out to 1B Kendry Morales. 2 outs.

8:18pm: Casey Blake strikes out swinging at a wicked curveball from Rich Thompson. 3 outs.

Bottom of 7th Inning:
8:21pm: Ramon Troncoso is warming up in the Dodgers bullpen.

8:22pm: Kendry Morales singles to leftfield to lead off the inning.

8:23pm: Maicer Izturis strikes out swinging. That's 4 K for Belisario now. 1 out.

8:25pm: Jeff Mathis strikes out looking. Make it 5. 2 outs.

8:27pm: Erick Aybar walks. Kendry Morales moves over to 2nd base.

8:28pm: Dodger manager Joe Torre wants to go to Ramon Trancoso instead so that's it for Ronald Belisario. I'm not sure why Torre doesn't have enough faith in Belisario to face Figgins, since it's one righty reliever replacing another and you're not turning Chone Figgins around here which would be the smart move since he's not very good from the right side of the plate... I can only guess that Torre thought Belisario was either running out of gas, or didn't want to have his pitch count go too high.

8:31pm: Chone Figgins grounds into a forceout. SS Rafael Furcal throws onto 2B Orlando Hudson to get Aybar. 3 outs.

Top of 8th Inning:
8:34pm: Andre Ethier grounds out to 2B Maicer Izturis. 4-3. 1 out.

8:36pm: Mark Loretta skies out to CF Torii Hunter in left-center. 2 outs.

8:37pm: Russell Martin finally makes an out by popping out to SS Erick Aybar. 3 outs.

Bottom of 8th Inning:
8:41pm: Bobby Abreu strikes out looking at a fastball over the inside half of the plate. Abreu doesn't strike out often, and he's done so twice tonight. Blecchchh. 1 out.

8:44pm: Torii Hunter walks. Vladimir Guerrero could sure use a resurgence of power right about now to get the Angels back in this game.

8:45pm: And as soon as I finish typing that, Vladdy grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. They ain't coming back tonight. 3 outs.

Top of 9th Inning:
8:48pm: Matt Kemp lines a ball into leftfield for a leadoff single.

8:50pm: Matt Kemp steals 2nd base but hurts his left hand sliding into the bag. On replay, it looks like Erick Aybar accidentally stepped on his hand, but he's ok.

8:52pm: Juan Pierre lines out to RF Bobby Abreu. Kemp cannot advance to 3rd base. 1 out.

8:55pm: Rafael Furcal walks, and that's all for Rich Thompson. Manager Mike Scioscia goes to the mound and makes a pitching change. Rafael Rodriguez is coming in from the bullpen to face Orlando Hudson.

8:58pm: Orlando Hudson smacks a ball in between Izturis and Morales into rightfield for a single. Bases are now loaded. Kemp at 3rd, Pierre at 2nd, Hudson at 1st. James Loney up to bat.

9:01pm: James Loney strikes out swinging at a slider. 2 outs.

9:02pm: Casey Blake grounds out to 2B Maicer Izturis. 4-3. 3 outs. Rodriguez gets the team out of a jam. The Angels still have a 4-run deficit facing them and it looks like Big Jonathan Broxton is coming in to close for the Dodgers, even though it's a non-save situation.

Bottom of 9th Inning:
9:05pm: Jonathan Broxton is in to pitch the 9th inning. He's been bothered by a big toe problem for a couple of games but is ready tonight.

9:07pm: Juan Rivera takes a leadoff walk off a 3-1 inside pitch.

9:08pm: Juan Rivera takes 2nd base on the first pitch but the Dodgers don't care. Defensive indifference = no stolen base.

9:10pm: Kendry Morales strikes out swinging. 1 out. Vin Scully mentions that lefty hitters are hitting around .050 this season against Broxton. As I rarely trust anything that Scully says, I'll check on that stat.

9:11pm: Scully gets it right. Before Morales' AB, lefty batters were hitting .053 against Broxton this year. Now they're hitting .052 against him.

9:12pm: Maicer Izturis slices a ball towards the leftfield line that is tracked down by Juan Pierre. The ball would've ended up going foul had Pierre not caught it. So, pretend it's Manny out there and it's just another strike.

9:14pm: Gary Matthews Jr. is in to pinch-hit for for Jeff Mathis. Unfortunately, Matthews is a lefty so Scioscia ain't playing the matchups.

9:15pm: Matchups? We don't need no stinking matchups. Gary Matthews Jr. smashes a 2-run blast into the right-centerfield bleachers. The Angels are now down 6-4. That's the first homer that Broxton has given up all year, but it probably won't make much difference in the end result. And now lefties are hitting .068 against Broxton. :-)

9:16pm: Erick Aybar grounds out to 2B Orlando Hudson. 4-3. 3 outs.

Game over. The Dodgers win by a final score of 6-4.

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This snaps the Angels' 7-game winning streak.

The win goes to older brother Jeff Weaver. The loss goes to younger brother Jered Weaver. Jonathan Broxton does NOT pick up a save in this game. This was Jered Weaver's worst performance of the season.

Jeff Weaver's final line: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR (Morales)
Jered Weaver's final line: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HR (Martin)

As usual, a couple of questionable managerial calls by Angels manager Mike Scioscia. Some worked out (Matthews), some didn't (not intentionally walking Andre Ethier).

The star of the game was Russell Martin, who finally hit a homerun this year, and that really changed the momentum of the game for Weaver. After retiring the first 7 batters of the game, Martin's homer changed everything.

The rubber game of the 3-game series is tomorrow night on ESPN, and after liveblogging two games today, I don't think I'll be doing it again tomorrow night, even though I'll likely watch the game.

Besides, I have to put together some non-liveblog entries.

LIVEBLOGGING - New York Mets vs. Tampa Bay Rays - 6/20/09

Jun 20, 2009
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It's a LIVEBLOG doubleheader today, at least, that's the plan if the rain doesn't ruin things in New York. It certainly won't ruin anything in Southern California, since we barely have rain to begin with. That's sometimes a problem, but not when it comes to baseball.

It's the return of Johan Santana (8-4, 3.29 ERA) for the New York Mets, who had the worst start of his career last Sunday at Yankee Stadium when he gave up 9 earned runs in 3 innings. The Yankees slaughtered the Mets by a final score of 15-0 when it was all said and done. Santana has not been the same pitcher over the last 6 starts (6.50 ERA) he was in his first 7 starts (0.78 ERA) of the season.

Mets ace Santana will be facing Tampa's ace James Shields (5-5, 3.52 ERA). While Shields does possess a 3-to-1 K/BB ratio this season, teams are hitting .282 off of him this season. The Mets have a very good offense, just not with bases loaded, and they're still in the midst of a team power outage with a total of 42 homeruns on the season. That's only one more than the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants.

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(All times Pacific)

Top of 1st Inning:

1:12pm: BJ Upton hits the first pitch from Santana hard but right at 3B David Wright for a 5-3 groundball out. 1 out.

1:13pm: Carl Crawford grounds out to 2B Luis Castillo. 4-3. 2 outs.

1:14pm: Evan Longoria hits a grounder up the middle but SS Alex Cora makes a nice play to grab the ball and throw onto Daniel Murphy at first for the out. 3 outs.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

1:19pm: Alex Cora watches a breaking ball go right down Broadway for strike 3, and he knew it. Cora had a nice at bat fouling off a bunch of pitches but froze on the curve. 1 out.

1:20pm: Daniel Murphy grounds out to 2B Ben Zobrist. 4-3. 2 outs.

1:22pm: Carlos Beltran flies out to LF Carl Crawford. 3 outs.

Top of 2nd Inning:

1:25pm: FOX shows a scary stat. Carlos Pena has 21 HRs this season. The Mets starting lineup today? A total of 22.

Part of the Mets' power problems is due to CitiField's huge dimensions, but they ain't hitting dingers on the road either.

1:26pm: Carlos Pena takes a leadoff walk on a full count.

1:28pm: Ben Zobrist hits a check-swing grounder to 1B Daniel Murphy who turns a beautiful 3-6-3 double play with SS Alex Cora. 2 outs.

1:29pm: Jason Bartlett grounds out to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 3 outs.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

1:32pm: David Wright grounds out to 3B Evan Longoria. 5-3. 1 out.

1:33pm: FOXSports' Ken Rosenthal notes that while David Wright is leading the NL in batting average, he's on pace for a record low in homeruns (10, he currently has 4), and a career high in K's of 160. He's also on pace to steal a career high of 48 bases. Of course, paces generally don't mean shit when the season is over and the numbers never match.

Even Tim McCarver knows tat.

1:34pm: Ryan Church lines a changeup for a double down the rightfield line.

1:35pm: Jeremy Reed tries to bunt his way on but fouls it off. Tim McCarver doesn't like the play here. Neither do I.

1:36pm: On the next pitch, Jeremy Reed grounds out to 2B Ben Zobrist. 4-3. 2 outs. Ryan Church moves over to 3rd base on the grounder. Same result as the bunt basically, but at least he was trying to hit.

1:37pm: Omir Santos lines a ball into rightfield for a double that scores Ryan Church. Mets go up 1-0.

1:38pm: Luis Castillo grounds out to SS Jason Bartlett. 6-3. 3 outs.

Top of 3rd Inning:

1:41pm: FOXNews' Greta Van Susteren threw out today's first pitch and now is in the broadcast booth. She throws just as poorly as Baba Booey. But at least she's a woman and has an excuse to throw that badly.

1:42pm: Gabe Kapler flies out to RF Ryan Church. 1 out.

1:43pm: Michel Hernandez hits a nice linedrive into the left-centerfield gap which is caught by LF Jeremy Reed. I really wish Reed would start more games for the Mets. 2 outs.

1:45pm: James Shields takes a walk thanks to Johan. He's pitching better today than last Sunday (so far), but walking the pitcher is never a good thing.

1:46pm: It's starting to rain hard again in Queens. BJ Upton strikes out swinging. 3 outs.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

1:48pm: Today's Trivia Question. Who was the youngest player ever to lead in All-Star voting? I'd have to guess Alex Rodriguez when he was playing for Seattle?

1:49pm: Johan Santana hits a flyball to deep LF but it's caught easily by Carl Crawford. 1 out.

1:50pm: Random observation. Typically, Yahoo! Sports and other feeds are very far behind real-time, but for some reason today, they're not more than 30 seconds behind real-time. Go figure.

1:51pm: Alex Cora lines a double down the rightfield line. Hitting down that line seems to be working out well for the Mets today. 3 hits, 3 doubles, all to rightfield.

1:52pm: Daniel Murphy flies out to LF Carl Crawford. 2 outs.

1:53pm: Carlos Beltran grounds out to SS Jason Bartlett. 6-3. 3 outs.

Top of 4th Inning:

1:57pm: Carl Crawford flies out to LF Jeremy Reed. 1 out.

1:58pm: Evan Longoria flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. Announcer Thom Brennaman says it was smoked. It was not. 2 outs.

2:00pm: It sure looks like it's pouring in Flushing. Lots of umbrellas in the stands although the peeps behind home plate don't seem to mind getting wet.

2:01pm: The answer to the trivia question as to who was the youngest player to ever lead in All-Star voting? Ken Griffey Jr. That was my 2nd guess! :-)

2:02pm: Carlos Pena flies out to RF Ryan Church, who doesn't make the catch with 2 hands. GRRRRR. 3 outs.

Bottom of 4th Inning:

2:04pm: David Wright grounds out to 3B Evan Longoria. 5-3. 1 out.

2:07pm: Ryan Church strikes out swinging. 2 outs.

2:08pm: Jeremy Reed grounds out to SS Jason Bartlett. 3 outs. This game is moving along fairly quickly. 4 innings in less than an hour.

Top of 5th Inning:

2:11pm: Johan Santana throws a beautiful changeup on the outside part of the plate. Ben Zobrist swings and misses and that's strike 3. 1 out.

2:12pm: So much for Johan's no-no. Jason Bartlett doubles down the leftfield line for Tampa's first hit of the game.

2:14pm: Gabe Kapler lines a shot down the rightfield line for a double. Zobrist scores to tie up the game 1-1. All 5 hits in this game have been doubles.

2:16pm: Michel Hernandez flies out to 2B Luis Castillo in short rightfield. And the dumbfuck uses 1 hand. The crowd cheers him facetiously for making the catch. They should be on him for not using both hands. 2 outs.

2:19pm: James Shields strikes out swinging. 3 outs.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

2:22pm: FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver thinks Omir Santos has a slight resemblance to former Met catcher Paul LoDuca. I guess I can see that but he's hardly a dead ringer or anything. Santos flies out to RF Gabe Kapler. 1 out.

2:24pm: Luis Castillo grounds out to 1B Carlos Pena. 2 outs.

2:25pm: Johan Santana strikes out swinging at a James Shields changeup. 3 outs.

Top of 6th Inning:

2:31pm: BJ Upton is having a pretty good at bat against Johan Santana. 3-2 count and Upton keeps fouling off pitches. Santana has now thrown 77 pitches, and walks Upton.

2:32pm: The rain has stopped. Or slowed a lot to the point it's no longer viewable on TV.

2:33pm: Carl Crawford shoots a grounder towards 3B David Wright. Wright throws onto Castillo at 2nd for the force on Upton but they can't complete the double play on the speedy Crawford. 1 out.

2:35pm: Thom Brenneman and Tim McCarver make the point that since Jerry Manuel took over as Mets manager, the team is 89-69. You'd think that would quiet the ignorant fools who think Jerry is going to be fired this season, but that would make sense, so...

2:36pm: Carl Crawford gets too big of a start trying to steal 2nd base and Santana picks him off by throwing to 1st. Daniel Murphy throws down to SS Alex Cora who makes the tag. Carl Crawford actually might have been safe but the ump called him out. 2 outs.

2:37pm: Evan Longoria flies out to LF Jeremy Reed. 3 outs.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

2:40pm: FOX replay seems to show that Crawford didn't get his foot on the bag cause Alex Cora was blocking it with his own. Still somewhat inconclusive since they only showed that image as a still and not in movement

2:41pm: Alex Cora flies out to LF Carl Crawford. 1 out.

2:42pm: Daniel Murphy hits a liner to deep RF but it's caught by Gabe Kapler. 2 outs.

2:44pm: Carlos Beltran looks at strike 3 on the outside corner. 3 outs.

2:45pm: This is a heckuva pitcher’s duel. Shields looks to be more on than Santana, as he hasn’t walked anyone yet.

Top of 7th Inning:

2:48pm: Carlos Pena crushes a bomb into right-centerfield to put the Rays up 2-1. Deepest part of the park too, over the 415-foot sign by a couple of feet. Throwing the ball back onto the field is still stupid.

2:49pm: Ben Zobrist grounds out to SS Alex Cora. 6-3. 1 out.

2:50pm: Jason Bartlett grounds out to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 2 outs.

2:51pm: Gabe Kapler flies out to LF Jeremy Reed. 3 outs.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

2:55pm: David Wright flies out to RF Gabe Kapler. 1 out.

2:56pm: It's raining again. We never have these rain problems in Los Angeles. For baseball, that's a good thing. For droughts and general water shortages in the state, that's a bad thing.

2:57pm: Ryan Church grounds out to 1B Carlos Pena. 2 outs.

2:58pm: Jeremy Reed hits a short grounder just past James Shields but it's fielded by 2B Ben Zobrist who throws to 1st to just get Reed. 3 outs. Shields has retired 15 Mets in a row. They haven't had a hit since Cora's double in the 3rd inning and Shields' pitch count is at 87. He could easily pitch all 9 innings at this pace.

Top of 8th Inning:

2:59pm: Now it's absolutely pouring at Flushing. They may have to call a rain delay cause now it's just ridiculous.

3:00pm: Michel Hernandez flies out to RF Ryan Church who is clearly annoyed by the rain in his face. 1 out.

3:01pm: And it's time for a rain delay. They had to stop it.

3:02pm: Most fans are headed towards the exits figuring this game is over. It's certainly an official game, but hopefully the Mets will get their chances to fight back down 2-1. FOX is moving on to the Detroit-Milwaukee game, which means I will temporarily stop the liveblog until the Mets game resumes.

4:09pm: The rain delay is ending, the tarp is off the field, and they'll be finishing the game very soon.

4:11pm: Bobby Parnell is in the game now in relief of Johan Santana. Parnell has been terrible lately. Not sure why.

4:13pm: Pat Burrell is in to pinch-hit for James Shields. Good thing the Mets won't be facing Shields anymore. His line for the game, 7 innings, 3 hits (all doubles), 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.

4:15pm: Parnell walks Pat Burrell. Yeesh.

4:16pm: Pedro Feliciano is warming up in the bullpen. BJ Upton lines the first pitch he sees from Parnell into centerfield for a base hit. Burrell to 2nd base. With lefty Crawford at the plate, this should be the time for Feliciano to come in. Sure enough, here comes Jerry Manuel, presumably to make the pitching change.

4:18pm: Pedro Feliciano is in to hopefully get the Mets out of this jam. For Jerry Manuel to go to a struggling Bobby Parnell when the Mets are down by a score of 2-1, when he could've gone to Sean Green or Brian Stokes, is very puzzling.

4:19pm: It's raining again. Tim McCarver thinks Jeremy Reed is playing WAY too deep in LF, and he might be right.

4:20pm: Wow. Slightly wacky play. Carl Crawford grounds out to Pedro Feliciano, who turns around, throws to SS Alex Cora at 2nd, who throws onto 1st to just nail Crawford. First base ump Jerry Crawford signals safe at first but quickly switches to an out call. Tampa manager Joe Maddon comes out to find out why he called him safe first. Looks like Jerry just had a brain fart. Replays show that Carl Crawford was barely out, so it's the right call by the umpire. 3 outs.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

4:24pm: Dan Wheeler is in to pitch for the Mets. This is the best chance the Mets are going to have to score some runs. Omir Santos leads off the inning. Could certainly use a clutch dinger right about now.

4:25pm: Omir Santos swings at strike 3. Catcher Michel Hernandez drops it so Santos runs to 1st but he's thrown out, 2-3. 1 out.

4:26pm: Thom Brennaman notes what I wrote earlier. The Mets haven't had a baserunner since the 3rd inning. Shields didn't walk anyone. Luis Castillo needs to get his ass on base. Frankie Rodriguez and Sean Green are warming up in the bullpen.

4:28pm: Luis Castillo hits a chopper right back to pitcher Dan Wheeler who jumps and fields it. 1-3. 2 outs.

4:29pm: Gary Sheffield is in to pinch hit for Pedro Feliciano.

4:30pm: Gary Sheffield grounds out to SS Jason Bartlett. 6-3. 3 outs.

Top of 9th Inning:

4:31pm: Sean Green comes on to pitch in relief. He has not given up a run in his last 15 outings, spanning 15.2 IP. I believe Green and Parnell switched bodies.

4:32pm: Evan Longoria grounds out meekly to 3B David Wright. 1 out.

4:34pm: Carlos Pena grounds out to 2B Luis Castillo, 4-3. 2 outs.

4:35pm: So much for Sean Green's scoreless streak. Ben Zobrist lines a shot down the RF line and over the fence for a homer. 3-1 Tampa.

4:37pm: Jason Bartlett flies out to LF Jeremy Reed. 3 outs.

Bottom of 9th Inning:

4:38pm: Last chance for the Mets, but at least it's the top of the order. Cora and Murphy need to set the table, and Beltran/Wright need to be clutch motherfuckers.

4:40pm: JP Howell is in to close for the Rays. He CAN be beat but the Mets need to make something happen. Alex Cora is the man to do it. Righty hitter Fernando Tatis is going to pinch-hit for Daniel Murphy to face the lefty Howell.

4:43pm: Alex Cora can't make it happen as he grounds out to 2B Ben Zobrist. 4-3. 1 out.

4:44pm: Fernando Tatis pinch-hitting for Daniel Murphy.

4:45pm: Fernando Tatis flies out to RF Gabe Kapler. 2 outs.

4:46pm: Tim McCarver thinks Carlos Beltran may think about bunting to get on base cause he's a very good bunter. That may be true Timmy, but Beltran also knows how to take walks, and he can hit, and frankly, a bunt ain't the best call in this situation.

4:47pm: Carlos Beltran ropes a shot into left-centerfield for a single. Can David Wright boom one right now?

4:48pm: Tampa pitching coach Jim Hickey holds a conference on the mound.

4:49pm: David Wright swings at a terrible pitch in the dirt putting him behind 0-2.

4:50pm: And he swings at another shit pitch to strikeout and end the game. 3 outs.

Game over. The Mets lose 2-1 to the Rays.

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Story of the game? Pretty easy. Tampa's pitching was extremely effective today. James Shields outpitched Johan Santana. The Tampa bullpen of Dan Wheeler and JP Howell did not falter at all. The only baserunner the Mets had after the 3rd inning was Carlos Beltran in the 9th.

Carlos Pena's blast off Johan Santana in the 7th was the ultimate difference maker, and Ben Zobrist's HR off of Green in the 8th made it that much harder for the Mets to come back.

Bobby Parnell needs to figure his shit out soon. He has been terrible this month, posting a 9.53 ERA. Good thing Feliciano bailed him out of the 8th inning with the 1-6-3 DP.

Now I have an hour break before the next LIVEBLOG begins, which will be the Dodgers vs. Angels out at Angel Stadium.

Sammy Sosa tested positive for PEDs in 2003.

Jun 16, 2009
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4264062
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/sports/baseball/17doping.html

While this is not exactly surprising to most baseball fans, Sammy Sosa was always suspected of having taken banned substances during his playing time in baseball. The difference is, he had never been named by the Mitchell Report nor any other credible sources, except for Jose Canseco, who has turned out to be the single most credible person in all of baseball when it comes to the subject of PEDs in the sport.

However, his name never came up through Brian McNamee or Kirk Radomski or any other trainers. It was all reasonable speculation, but still speculation.

Until today.

Nothing good ever comes of Lakers or Dodgers victories in Los Angeles.

Jun 14, 2009
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UPDATED 6/15/09 12:36pm:

The Los Angeles Times has a photo gallery of a lot of the scumbags in action. Hopefully these cunts will be identified and tracked down by the LAPD.

Videos of the rioting and other assorted criminal behavior (or just pure criminals) is making its way to YouTube:

LA Lakers Victory Celebration 09 - Bonfire Rioting

Looting Lakers Fans - Celebration turns to riot at Shell Station

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Face it.

Los Angeles sports fans aren't really sports fans. Some are, but most aren't. They're a criminal element. They're gang members. They're thugs and wannabe thugs. They get tattoos of the LA Dodgers logo on their bald heads, the Lakers logos on their biceps.

They don't really want World Series wins or World Championships of any sort. They want an excuse to cause trouble with 1,000 of their closest scumbag friends. A reason to join together and cause a ruckus. People who think destruction of property is cool. People who think setting fires to trees and news vans is a positive for society. People who believe that "celebrating" is causing havoc and shaking cars. People who blatantly break the law, knowing that they will get away with it.

Back in 2000, when the area around Staples Center wasn't as built up, and the LAPD wasn't prepared, there was a ton of damage caused by people "celebrating" the Lakers' first NBA Championship since 1988. They destroyed a news van, caused over $500K in damage to local businesses, and burned several police cars and trees in the area.

The LAPD learned quickly what most sane people already knew. A sports championship was going to be an ugly excuse for violence and misbehavior for this rather large group of slime.

In the two years after where the Lakers also won NBA titles, the LAPD learned their lesson and made sure there wouldn't be the same level of problems there was in 2000. Well see, that's the trick. While the police presence around Staples Center definitely quelled the crowds those years, there was still trouble. After all, troublemakers and people incapable of behaving like humans, instead of apes on crack, are going to "celebrate" in their own fucked up ways.

Had the LAPD not stepped up their presence during those years, the amount of damage would've been unfathomable.

Now we jump ahead to 2009, the Lakers' first NBA championship since 2002, after being in the postseason every year but one (2005), and the criminal element is back. So is the LAPD, and it seems that they were still surprised by the amount of trouble they had to face this time around.

Fans set small fires in the area around Staples Center. Uprooted trees, set those on fire. Groups of "fans" tried to tip a cop car. One person took a flaming trash can and threw it at the cop car, destroying the windshield. Other groups tried to tip other cars before LAPD made them disperse, or the drivers of the vehicles driving through the war zone were able to drive away.

5 people have been arrested so far tonight and those numbers will certainly climb high as the night goes on. A bunch of police barricades were set on fire. An MTA bus has been attacked and destroyed by Laker "fans" right under the 10 freeway. Graffiti taggers. Rocks and bottles throwing. And let's be honest about the situation, a lot of these people are Mexican. How do I know this? Mexican flags being displayed proudly alongside Laker flags as they continue to destroy signposts, "Walk/Don't Walk" signs and other public property.

The city has shut down all Metro trains into the downtown area because the piece of shit "fans" threw trash cans and other debris onto the tracks. Plus they probably didn't want their trains getting destroyed.

Local news footage has shown a Shell gas station suffering damage. There's a news report that a shoe store downtown was looted already. Must be because the bangers need new Kobe sneakers so they could pedal their stolen bikes home back to East L.A.

Just imagine had the Lakers won the finals at Staples Center? Holy shit... They'd have to call in the military.

And now the city of Los Angeles, along with the Lakers, are going to have a victory parade on Wednesday, June 17 that starts at Staples Center downtown and ends at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Who is footing the bill for this? The Lakers will be paying 50%, and so will the city. But how much money did the city spend on law enforcement just tonight? Why should the city have to pay a single dime to celebrate a basketball team whose fanbase is clearly more interested in causing trouble and violence than actually partying without hurting people? Your tax dollars at work, folks.

Anyone in the city of Los Angeles should be outraged that their tax dollars are supporting this useless bullshit.

I may hate the New York Yankees with every fiber of my being, but when they win World Series Championships, their fans don't riot. They celebrate and party CIVILLY, and they act like they've been there before.

Laker fans only act like they've been in jail before, which is where they should ultimately be, permanently.