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LIVEBLOGGING - New York Mets vs. San Francisco Giants - 8-15-09

As the Mets continue to become more irrelevant in the postseason picture, that means the less games that FOX and ESPN are going to be televising with them involved.


However, the San Francisco Giants are 1.5 games out of the Wild Card hunt behind the Colorado Rockies, and 6.5 games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers, who have gone 13-15 since the All-Star Break.

Therefore, Giants in the playoff hunt on a Saturday afternoon gets FOX to air this game in the Los Angeles market. Works for me!

Despite the Mets woes of 2009, primarily due to overwhelming injury, fans still want to see them do well. It's more about "just win." Just get to the .500 mark now, and just plan for 2010. 

Today's pitching matchup is a dandy. Johan Santana (13-8, 3.00 ERA) vs. Matt Cain (12-4, 2.44 ERA).

Johan Santana's last start was Sunday at PETCO Park against the San Diego Padres. He went 8 innings, giving up 1 ER, and went 2 for 3 at the plate with an RBI. He got the W in the 5-1 victory that prevented a 4-game sweep at the hands of the Padres.

The last time the Mets saw Matt Cain, it was on the losing end of a 2-0 shutout at AT&T Park in San Francisco on May 17. That was the game where Mike Pelfrey balked 321 times in a game. True story! (ok, it was more like 3, but that's still a lot!)

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(ALL TIMES PACIFIC)
Top of 1st Inning:
1:11pm: I'm getting my first look at the old-school inspired-"New York Giants" cream-colored uniforms that the Mets are wearing this  There's a big N on the right side of the jersey, a big Y on the left side. It's pretty awful. Player names are not on the back either. But yeah, these unis kinda suck.

1:12pm: Eugenio Velez hits a pop foul into shallow rightfield which Francoeur, Murphy and Castillo all chase. Luis Castillo is the closest and gets his glove on it after a long run, but it falls out. The umpire ruled it a foul ball but the Mets may have caught a break cause it kinda looked fair. The official scorer ruled it an Error on Castillo.

1:13pm: No worries. Johan Santana gets Velez to strike out at the high heat. 1 out.

1:14pm: Freddy Sanchez hits a ball that almost tangles up 3B David Wright but he is able to field it and throw meekly to 1B Daniel Murphy who picks the throw out of the dirt for the out. 2 outs.

1:17pm: "Kung Fu Panda" Pablo Sandoval takes a walk on an inside fastball.

1:19pm: Johan Santana pulls the string on the 2-2 changeup which gets Bengie Molina desperately swinging and a missing for the K. 3 outs.

Bottom of 1st Inning:
1:22pm: Cory Sullivan smacks a curveball right to 2B Freddy Sanchez who throws onto 1B Ryan Garko for the out. 4-3. 1 out.

1:24pm: Luis Castillo slaps a single into LF to get on base. Castillo's BA just went over .300. I'm very pleased to see him having a rebound season.

1:25pm: David Wright flies out to CF Aaron Rowand. 2 outs.

1:26pm: Gary Sheffield looks foolish against Matt Cain, swinging through strikes 2 and 3. 3 outs.

Top of 2nd Inning:
1:29pm: Ryan Garko hits a broken bat grounder at SS Anderson Hernandez. 6-3. 1 out.

1:31pm: Aaron Rowand strikes out swinging at the famed Johan Santana changeup over the outside corner. 2 outs.

1:33pm: Nate Schierholtz hits a short bloop right into the glove of 3B David Wright. 3 outs.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:
1:36pm: Daniel Murphy lines a shot into LF but Eugenio Velez running in towards the ball makes a fine catch before diving. Usually you have to dive to make a catch but I guess this was more about balance. Either way, 1 out.

1:37pm: Jeff Francoeur flies out to RF Nate Schierholtz in foul territory. 2 outs.

1:38pm: FOX announcers Thom Brennaman and Mark Grace continue to talk about the Giants lack of offense, but tremendous pitching staff that has been keeping them in the playoff hunt. The Giants have the 2nd fewest number of homers in the NL (the Mets have the fewest) but are a winning team. It's not always about the longball, but the Giants hitting as of late has started to dwindle as they fail to score runs at all. Lincecum and Cain can only do so much.

1:40pm: Brian Schneider skies out to RF Nate Schierholtz. 3 up, 3 down. 3 out.

Top of 3rd Inning:
1:44pm: Edgar Renteria flies out to 1B Daniel Murphy who tracks it down running away from the plate before having a slight but harmless collision with 2B Luis Castillo, who was also chasing the ball. 1 out.

1:46pm: Matt Cain grounds out to SS Anderson Hernandez. 6-3. 2 outs.

1:47pm: Eugenio Velez hits a grounder just past the glove of Johan Santana on the mound but SS Anderson Hernandez is able to field it and throw onto first for the out. 3 outs.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:
1:50pm: Anderson Hernandez hits the first pitch he sees right back to Matt Cain, who fields it and throws onto first for the out. 1 out.

1:52pm: Johan Santana hits the ball hard but right at 2B Freddy Sanchez. 4-3. 2 outs.

1:53pm: Cory Sullivan flies out to LF Eugenio Velez. 3 outs. Mark Grace says we have a pitcher's duel here. Well DUH!

Top of 4th Inning:
1:56pm: Aaron Rowand swings at the first pitch from Santana, and flies out to CF Cory Sullivan. 1 out.

1:57pm: We're already in the 4th inning and it's not even been an hour .Grace and Brennaman note that the pitchers have been cruising at a very fast pace. Santana has spent only 16 mins on the mound so far, and Matt Cain has spent 14. 

1:58pm: Pablo Sandoval scorches a ball into centerfield for a single. First hit of the game for the Giants.

1:59pm: Bengie Molina lines a ball into LF for a single. Pablo Sandoval moves to 2nd on the hit. I hope the wheels ain't coming off of Johan. 

2:01pm: Ryan Garko flies out to CF Cory Sullivan. Pablo Sandoval tags up to 3rd base. 2 outs.

2:04pm: Aaron Rowand flies out to shallow rightfield, but 2B Luis Castillo makes a TWO-HANDED CATCH on the ball. 3 outs.

Bottom of 4th Inning:
2:07pm: Luis Castillo slaps a chopper over the mound and a charging Edgar Renteria at shortstop can't get a good grip on the ball to get "Mr. Infield Hit" Luis Castillo. And the BA keeps rising for Castillo, as he has both Met hits so far.

2:10pm: David Wright just got hit in the helmet by a Matt Cain fastball that seems to have knocked him out. Cain looks quite concerned and there's no question that was an unintentional pitch on an 0-2 count. The trainers are out immediately to check on him. He is clearly loopy and out of it, and he may think he's ok, but he HAS to be taken out of the game and make sure there's no concussion, or worse.

2:12pm: David Wright is up and walking, but he's out of the game. Fernando Tatis is the replacement at 3B. Since Wright was hit by the pitch, Tatis now on 1st base, Castillo moves over to 2nd. 

2:15pm: Gary Sheffield may have gotten away with looking at strike 3, although the ump called it ball 3 instead. And then he swings at a high ball 4. Yeesh. Still a full count.

2:17pm: Gary Sheffield hits a long flyball into the left-center power alley, but Aaron Rowand tracks it down just in front of the warning track. Luis Castillo tags up to 3rd base. 1 out.

2:18pm: Daniel Murphy flies out to Nate Schierholtz in shallow rightfield. Luis Castillo tags up from 3rd base and slides around Bengie Molina to tag the plate and score the first Met run of the game. Fernando Tatis tags up to 2nd base. 2 outs, Mets go up 1-0.

2:20pm: Jeff Francoeur grounds out to 2B Freddy Sanchez. 4-3. 3 outs.

Top of 5th Inning:
2:23pm: Nate Schierholtz crushes a ball off  the centerfield wall for a leadoff double.

2:25pm: Edgar Renteria strikes out swinging at the Johan Santana changeup inside. 1 out.

2:26pm: Matt Cain is up to bat and the fans boo him since he killed David.

2:29pm: Matt Cain strikes out swinging at the high heat. 2 outs. 

2:30pm: Edgar Renteria hits a check-swing grounder just past Johan Santana on the mound but 3B Fernando Tatis charges the ball and throws onto first for the out. 3 outs. No harm from the leadoff double. 

Bottom of 5th Inning:
2:32pm: Brian Schneider hits a weak grounder the opposite way towards 3B Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval fields it nicely and throws to first to get the slow Schneider. 1 out.

2:35pm: Anderson Hernandez grounds out to 1B Ryan Garko, who tosses over to Matt Cain covering 1st for the out. 2 away.

2:36pm: Johan Santana grounds out to 2B Freddy Sanchez, 4-3. 3 outs.

Top of 6th Inning:
2:39pm: Freddy Sanchez lines a ball past a diving Daniel Murphy for a leadoff single.

2:40pm: Pablo Sandoval lines a ball into leftfield for a single. Freddy Sanchez moves over to 2nd base.

2:41pm: Bengie Molina just misses a homerun off the first pitch he sees from Johan Santana, pounding the ball off the #14 sign in leftfield for a double. Sanchez scores the Giants' first run. Sandoval is over to 3rd base on the play, and Molina just makes it into 2nd base ahead of the tag. Tie game 1-1.

2:46pm: Ryan Garko lines a shot into centerfield that scores Pablo Sandoval to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. Bengie Molina moves to 3rd on the play. Still no out. The wheels seem to be coming off Santana. Tim Redding is now warming up in the bullpen.

2:49pm: Aaron Rowand grounds a ball up the middle past Santana, but SS Anderson Hernandez runs the ball down. He has a bit of trouble getting the ball out of the glove before shuffling it off to 2B Castillo at the last second to get the force on Garko at 2nd base. Bengie Molina scores, so it's now 3-1 Giants. 1 out.

2:51pm: Nate Schierholtz grounds to 2B Luis Castillo, who throws onto SS Anderson Hernandez at 2nd base to get the force on Aaron Rowand. 2 outs.

2:52pm: Edgar Renteria singles to leftfield. Schierholtz to 2nd on the play.

2:53pm: PItching coach Dan Warthen takes a trip to the mound to see why Johan Santana has fallen apart this inning.

2:54pm: Matt Cain strikes out swinging. 3 outs.

Bottom of 6th Inning:
2:58pm: FOX has footage of David Wright walking into the ambulance outside the ballpark. Good to see he's moving around, but he's obviously going to go through some tests at the hospital to make sure everything is good upstairs.

2:59pm: Cory Sullivan grounds out to 2B Freddy Sanchez. 4-3. 1 out. 

3:00pm: Luis Castillo slaps another base hit to centerfield. 3 for 3 today, and the only guy on the team who is hitting Matt Cain today.

3:01pm; Fernando Tatis strikes out looking at a fastball that just catches the outside corner. 2 outs.

3:03pm: Gary Sheffield grounds out sharply to 3B Pablo Sandoval. 5-4 for the forceout at 2nd base. 3 outs.

Top of 7th Inning: 
3:07pm: Eugenio Velez grounds out to SS Anderson Hernandez. 6-3. 1 out.

3:08pm: Freddy Sanchez skies out to CF Cory Sullivan in left-centerfield. 2 outs.

3:09pm: Well, it looks like Johan finally went for some payback. Santana throws way behind Pablo Sandoval, and the umpire issues warnings to both benches. That's a silly pitch considering Cain didn't intentionally go after Wright's head at all. Plus the ball didn't even hit Sandoval in the first place.

3:10pm: And then Kung Fu Panda Sandoval crushes a homer off the leftfield facade.  Giants go up 4-1.

3:12pm: Bengie Molina gets hit on an inside pitch from Johan Santana, but it was off the elbow. Giants manager Bruce Bochy is out to argue that since the warnings were issued, Molina should've been ejected. Jerry Manuel has a conference on the mound while Bochy argues with Brian O'Nora. Doesn't matter much, as Jerry is making a pitching change now.

3:15pm: Sean Green now on in relief of Santana, pitching to Ryan Garko. Garko hits a shot into the leftfield corner but it's high enough that Gary Sheffield tracks it down.  3 outs.

Bottom of 7th Inning:
3:19pm: Daniel Murphy leads off the 7th with a single to centerfield. Travis Ishikawa is in at 1B in place of Ryan Garko.

3:21pm: Jeff Francoeur flies out to deep CF, but Aaron Rowand tracks it down. 1 out.

3:22pm: Brian Schneider grounds into a 3-6-4 double play. Ishikawa to Renteria to Sanchez covering first. 3 outs.

Top of 8th Inning:
3:24pm: Aaron Rowand strikes out swinging. 1 out.

3:25pm: Nate Schierholtz grounds a ball past a diving Luis Castillo at 2B for a single.

3:26pm: Edgar Renteria grounds out to SS Anderson Hernandez. They try and turn a double play but only get Schierholtz at 2nd. 6-4. 2 outs.

3:27pm: Edgar Renteria takes 2nd on a Sean Green wild pitch. Matt Cain is still in the game for the Giants, considering how well he is pitching.

3:28pm: Matt Cain strikes out swinging. 3 outs.

Bottom of 8th Inning: 
3:31pm: Jeremy Affeldt warming up in the Giants bullpen, Nelson Figueroa warming up in the Mets bullpen.

3:32pm: Anderson Hernandez lines a ball into left-center field for a leadoff single.

3:33pm: Jeremy Reed is in to pinch-hit for Sean Green.

3:34pm: Jeremy Reed grounds to 1B Travis Ishikawa who looks at 2nd base before shuffling the ball back to Matt Cain at first base for the sure out. Anderson Hernandez moves to 2nd. 1 out.

3:35pm: Cory Sullivan ropes a ball to RF for a base hit that scores Anderson Hernandez from 2nd base. The throw from Schierholtz to the plate is way off the line, backed up by Matt Cain on the 3rd base side, and Cory Sullivan takes 2nd base on the play. 4-2 Giants.

3:36pm: Matt Cain is done for the day and booed by the CitiField fans. Jeremy Affeldt is coming in to pitch in relief for the Giants.

3:39pm: Luis Castillo is now batting from the right side against lefty Jeremy Affeldt. 

3:40pm: Luis Castillo takes two ball 4's for a walk. Although one of them was called a strike. And that's it for Affeldt as Bruce Bochy takes a trip to the mound to go to the bullpen. 

3:44pm: Closer Brian Wilson is on in the 8th inning to try and save things for the Giants. He goes ahead 0-2 on Fernando Tatis.

3:46pm: Fernando Tatis shoots a sinking liner into RF for a single that scores Cory Sullivan from 2nd base. Luis Castillo moves to 3rd on the play. The Mets are fighting back, and are now down 4-3.

3:47pm: Gary Sheffield flies out to RF Nate Schierholtz. Luis Castillo tags from 3rd again and scores a lot easier on this sac fly. Schierholtz's throw to the plate is on the fly so Molina has to jump and get it. Gary Sheffield takes 2nd on the throw home. 2 outs. Tie ballgame 4-4. Despite Matt Cain's performance today, he won't get the W today.

3:49pm: Daniel Murphy is taking the intentional walk with a base open.

3:50pm: Jeff Francoeur skies out to RF Nate Schierholtz. 3 outs.

Top of 9th Inning: 
3:53pm: Jeremy Reed is in LF in place of Gary Sheffield as a defensive replacement. Frankie Rodriguez is in to pitch the 9th inning to keep the Giants down.

3:54pm: Eugenio Velez swings the bat, makes contact, but the ball drops right in front of Brian Schneider who picks it up and throws onto 1st for the out. 2-3. 1 out.

3:55pm: Freddy Sanchez hits a weak groundball towards 3B but Fernando Tatis makes a very nce play on the ball, throwing to first for the out. 2 away.

3:57pm: Pablo Sandoval grounds out meekly to Luis Castillo. 4-3. 3 outs.

Bottom of 9th Inning:
4:01pm: Brian Schneider grounds out to 1B Travis Ishikawa, who tosses on to Brian Wilson covering at first. 3-1. 1 out.

4:03pm: Anderson Hernandez strikes out swinging. 2 outs.

4:05pm: Jeremy Reed grounds out to 2B Freddy Sanchez. 4-3. 3 outs. We're going extra innings.

Top of 10th Inning:
4:08pm: Bengie Molina takes a K-Rod fastball deeeeep and into the LF seats. Giants go up 5-4. I thought Frankie was back in the 9th. Guess not.

4:10pm: Travis Ishikawa flies out to LF Jeremy Reed in shallow leftfield. 1 out.

4:12pm: Aaron Rowand flies out to 1B Daniel Murphy. 2 outs.

4:14pm: Nate Schierholtz grounds out to 1B Daniel Murphy who takes it to the bag himself. 3 outs.

Bottom of 10th Inning: 
4:17pm: Giants closer Brian Wilson is still on the mound, which could be risky as he'll need to go 2.2 IP to lock it all down.

4:18pm: Cory Sullivan grounds out to 2B Freddy Sanchez. 4-3. 1 out.

4:20pm: Luis Castillo strikes out looking at a 99 MPH fastball on the outside corner. 2 outs.

4:21pm: Fernando Tatis flies out to Nate Schierholtz in RF to end the game. 3 outs.  Mets lose it in 10 by a final score of 5-4.

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A valiant but unsuccessful comeback for the Mets who were down 4-1 in the 8th before tying it up and taking the W away from Matt Cain. However, Frankie couldn't hold the lead in his 2nd inning pitched, giving up a kaboomer to Bengie Molina and that was the ballgame.

The big story out of the game is David Wright getting hit in the head by a Matt Cain 94mph fastball. Wright was taken out of the game and to the hospital via ambulance to undergo medical tests. Hopefully he's ok, but I have to imagine he'll be kept out of the lineup tomorrow as well just to give the noggin a little healing time, even if he's cleared by doctors and there are no serious injuries to DW.

Tomorrow's Sunday matinee will pit Jonathan Sanchez against the ever-failing Mike Pelfrey, so things don't exactly look promising for tomorrow's game. 

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LIVEBLOGGING - Game 162. New York Mets vs Florida Marlins.

It all comes down to this. Game 162 of the regular season. Potentially the last game ever played at Shea Stadium.

Game 161 of the 2008 Mets season was quite similar to Game 161 of the 2007 Mets Season. Johan Santana pitched a 2-0 CG SHO over the Marlins to keep the playoff hopes alive. Last year, John Maine flirted with a no-hitter for 7.2 innings against the Marlins while the Met bats scored 13 runs in a decimation, also keeping the playoff hopes alive.

It was the final game of the 2007 season which ended things for the New York Mets. While a lot is made of the abysmal pitching performance of Tom Glavine in that game, who managed to get one man out in the first inning while giving up 7 earned runs, one wonders how the Mets were going to win that game having scored a total of 1 run.

So for the second year in a row, it all comes down to the final game.

The New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers come into this game with identical records of 89-72 competing for the National League wild card. It'll take at least 90 wins to grab the Wild Card this season.

Both teams ultimately control their own fates. If both teams win or lose their respective games today (Mets against Marlins, Brewers against Cubs), the Mets and Brewers will face each other on Monday at Shea Stadium in a one-game playoff to determine the NL Wild Card winner.

If one team loses and one team wins today, the winner gets the NL Wild Card. If it's the Mets, they will face the Cubs in the NLDS. If it's the Brewers, they will face Philadelphia in the NLDS.

Today's Mets-Marlins game pits two leftys against each other. Oliver Perez against Scott Olsen.

Marlins starter Scott Olsen is 1-5, 4.89 ERA over his career against the Mets. That should bode well for the Mets except their offense desperately needs to come alive. 1 run on Friday, 2 runs Saturday, that's not gonna cut it, especially with the superwonky Mets bullpen and Oliver Perez having pitched terribly in September.

The rain in NYC has pushed back the start time of today's game from 1:05pm ET to at least 2:05pm ET, but baseball will happen at Shea Stadium today. That much is certain.

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ALL TIMES PACIFIC

Top of 1st inning:

11:01am: First pitch. Oliver Perez gets ahead of Cameron Maybin with a 1-2 count, and this Shea crowd is super pumped.

11:02am: Perez throws a slider by Maybin for strike 3. 1 out.

11:03am: John Baker flies out to LF Nick Evans. 2 outs.

11:04am: Jorge Cantu grounds the first pitch from Perez to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

11:06am: TBS announcer Harold Reynolds notes as I have, that Scott Olsen is not having a good year, and even less so against the Mets.

11:07am: Scott Olsen goes full count on Jose Reyes before inducing a flyout to CF Cameron Maybin. 1 out.

11:09am: Carlos Beltran has a career .444 BA against Scott Olsen.

11:11am: Carlos Beltran hits a hard grounder directly at 2B Dan Uggla. 4-3. 2 out.

11:12am: With "the shift" on, Carlos Delgado singles to leftfield.

11:14am: David Wright is up having a career year with 33 HRs and 124 RBIs. Yet it is well-known that Wright's numbers with RISP and 2 outs are very poor this year. However, Delgado isn't in scoring position this time.

11:15am: David Wright lines out to CF Cameron Maybin. 3 out.

Top of 2nd Inning:

11:18am: Mike Jacobs lines a rocket into the falling/diving glove of 1B Carlos Delgado. 1 out.

11:20am: Dan Uggla hits a hard shot towards Oliver Perez who deflects it off his pitching hand and the ball deadens before 2B Ramon Martinez can grab the ball. Uggla with the infield single and there is concern from the Mets trainer along with manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen. Hopefully no issues will occur out of this. Perez is ok for now.

11:21am: Josh Willingham skies a flyout to shallow right-center, caught by 2B Ramon Martinez. 2 outs.

11:22am: The dangerous Cody Ross is up, and he hits very well against Oliver Perez. Oliver throws 3 straight balls to Ross.

11:23am: Cody Ross walks on 4 straight. Dan Uggla to 2nd base.

11:24am: After another ball is thrown, this time to Alfredo Amezaga, pitching coach Dan Warthen comes out to the mound to make sure Perez is ok. Amezaga is 0-for-12 lifetime against Oliver Perez.

11:25am: Oliver Perez now gets ahead of Amezaga with a 1-2 count.

11:26am: Alfredo Amezaga lines out to CF Carlos Beltran. 3 out.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

11:29am: Nick Evans leads off the inning by lining out to CF Cameron Maybin. 1 out.

11:30am: Ramon Martinez grounds out to SS Alfredo Amezaga. 6-3. 2 out.

11:31am: Ryan Church strikes out. The fans cheer mid at-bat because the Cubs just went up on the Brewers 1-0.  3 out.

Top of 3rd Inning:

11:35am: Scott Olsen strikes out swinging. 1 out.

11:37am: Cameron Maybin walks. He has amazing speed so Perez is gonna have to be careful.

11:40am: John Baker chases a down-and-away breaking ball way out of the zone and strikes out. 2 out.

11:41am: Jorge Cantu skies a ball to RF Ryan Church. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

11:44am: Ramon Castro hammers a leadoff single into LF.

11:45am: Oliver Perez lays down a bunt but it's too close to the plate, so the charging 3B Jorge Cantu grabs the ball and throws down to 2nd base to get the slow Ramon Castro out at 2B. Oliver Perez barely beats the throw to 1st. 1 out.

11:47am: Jose Reyes strikes out on a 3-2 changeup. 2 out. Unfortunately, Scott Olsen is looking pretty good so far.

11:49am: Carlos Beltran flies out to RF Cody Ross who tracks the ball down just in foul territory. 3 out.

Top of 4th Inning:

11:52am: Oliver Perez gets Mike Jacobs out on 3 pitches. Two sliders in the zone that Jacobs lays off of. A third away that Jacobs swings and misses at. 1 out.

11:53am: Dan Uggla grounds out to SS Jose Reyes. Carlos Delgado makes a very nice play at 1B fielding a weak Reyes throw in the dirt. 6-3. 2 outs.

11:55am: Josh Willingham flies out to CF Carlos Beltran on a 3-1 pitch. 3 outs.

Bottom of 4th Inning:

11:58am: Carlos Delgado leads off the inning. He is 2 shy of 40 HRs this season. Can he work his moonshot magic today with the sun out?

11:59am: Nope. Delgado lines out to LF Josh Willingham. 1 out.

12:00pm: David Wright flies out to CF Cameron Maybin. 2 outs.

12:01pm: Nick Evans hits a grounder past Scott Olsen but is easily fielded by SS Alfredo Amezaga. 6-3. 3 outs. I love me a great pitching duel, but not today please!

Top of 5th Inning:

12:03pm: Cody Ross hits a 1-2 curveball on the ground to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 1 out.

12:04pm: The rain has returned to Shea Stadium. Fans around the ballpark begin to cover up.

12:05pm: Alfredo Amezaga strikes out swinging. 2 outs. I think I see Matt Dillon in the seats behind home plate.

12:07pm: Scott Olsen goes down swinging. 3 outs. Mets need offense now. Badly.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

12:09pm: Ramon Martinez hits a weak groundball to 2B Dan Uggla. 4-3. 1 out.

12:11pm: Ryan Church strikes out again. 2 outs.

12:13pm: Ramon Castro flies out to CF Cameron Maybin. 3 outs.

Top of 6th Inning:

12:17pm: Cameron Maybin hits a ground-rule double to leftfield. Maybin can easily score on a single anywhere.

12:19pm: John Baker is up to bunt Maybin over to 3rd.

12:20pm: Baker can't lay the bunt down and falls to 1-2, but Baker then strokes a single into CF that scores Cameron Maybin easily. Marlins go up 1-0.

12:22pm: Jorge Cantu singles to CF. John Baker to 2nd base. Pitching coach Dan Warthen takes the trip to the mound to chat with Oliver Perez. Joe Smith begins to warm in the Mets bullpen.

12:24pm: Mike Jacobs flies out to Nick Evans in deep LF but both runners tag up. The announcers get on Nick Evans for throwing to David Wright at 3B instead of to 2B. 1 out.

12:25pm: With 1st base empty, Dan Uggla gets the intentional pass.

12:26pm: With righty Josh Willingham coming up with bases jacked, manager Jerry Manuel goes to the mound and that's it for Perez. Joe Smith is coming in.

12:29pm: Joe Smith commits the unforgivable sin of walking Josh Willingham with the bases loaded. John Baker scores. Marlins now up 2-0.

12:31pm: Cody Ross fouls out to 3B David Wright. 2 outs.

12:32pm: Pitching coach Dan Warthen comes to the mound to make sure the defense and pitching is in sync. Alfredo Amezaga turns to the left side, and Joe Smith is not good against lefty hitters.

12:34pm: Amezaga grounds out back to Joe Smith, who runs towards 1st and tosses it to Delgado for the 3rd out.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

12:37pm: Robinson Cancel is pinch-hitting for Joe Smith.

12:39pm: Scott Olsen issues a leadoff walk to pumpkinhead Cancel.

12:41pm: Jose Reyes flies out to RF Cody Ross. 1 out.

12:42pm: Carlos Beltran goes SLAMMALAMMADINGDONG with a 2-run bomb to LF. Mets tie it up 2-2 and the crowd is electric for Carlos Delgado to slam another one.

12:44pm: Delgado strikes out swinging at ball 4. 2 outs.

12:47pm: David Wright grounds out meekly to SS Alfredo Amezaga, 6-3. 3 outs. Brand new ballgame.

Top of 7th Inning:

12:50pm: Brian Stokes is in to pitch for the Mets. Luis Gonzalez pinch-hitting for Scott Olsen. He grounds out to 2B Ramon Martinez. 4-3. 1 out.

12:52pm: Cameron Maybin smokes a ball to LF that hits the bottom of the wall. With Endy Chavez in the outfield, Maybin can't make it to 2nd base. Long long single.

12:54pm: Brian Stokes is ahead of John Baker 0-2, but Baker fights/fouls some pitches off.

12:55pm: Even on a pitchout, Cameron Maybin steals 2nd base easily. Partially due to a bad throw from Stokes, and Castro not throwing it to Reyes' target.

12:56pm: John Baker can't lay off the high heat and strikes out swinging. 2 outs.

12:57pm: Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen goes out to the mound to talk with Brian Stokes. Jorge Cantu up at the plate.

12:58pm: Scott Schoeneweis is warming up in the bullpen, and Brian Stokes throws 3 straight balls to Cantu. Schoeneweis will likely be pitching to Mike Jacobs if Stokes can't get Cantu out.

1:00pm: Jorge Cantu smokes a ball to deep LF but Endy Chavez makes a fantastic catch running back towards the warning track to get a ball that would have scored 2 runs otherwise. 3 outs and the Mets squeak out of a jam.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

1:04pm: Your hero and mine, Endy Chavez, leads off against Marlins reliever Joe Nelson.

1:05pm: Brewers just tied things up in Milwaukee 1-1 thanks to a Michael Wuertz-bases loaded walk to Craig Counsell.

1:06pm: Endy Chavez flies out to RF Cody Ross. 1 out.

1:09pm: Ramon Martinez strikes out swinging on a full count. 2 outs.

1:11pm: Ryan Church strikes out again. 3rd time today. 6th in a row. 3 outs.

Top of 8th Inning:

1:14pm: Lefty Scott Schoeneweis is pitching for the Mets. Righty Wes Helms pinch-hitting for lefty Mike Jacobs.

1:15pm: Wes Helms golfs a low pitch out of the zone and into the LF bleachers. Marlins go up 3-2 and that's all for Scott Schoeneweis.

1:18pm: Double-switch. Argenis Reyes is into play 2B and Luis Ayala is on to pitch.

1:20pm: On a 3-2 count, Luis Ayala serves up a golden ball to Dan Uggla to pound into the LF bleachers as well. Marlins now up 4-2 off the back-to-back jacks.

1:22pm: Josh Willingham flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 1 out.

1:23pm: Cody Ross flies out to deep RF but Ryan Church makes the catch. 2 outs.

1:24pm: Alfredo Amezaga flies out to LF Endy Chavez. 3 outs. Mets are in deep shit as the Brewers just went ahead on the Cubs 3-1 thanks to a 2-run HR from Ryan Braun.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

1:27pm: Marlins closer Kevin Gregg is in to pitch, and perhaps early? Jorge Cantu moves over to 1B as Wes Helms plays 3B. Dan Murphy is in to pinch-hit in Ramon Castro's spot but strikes out swinging. 1 out.

1:28pm: Marlon Anderson is in to pinch-hit for 2B Argenis Reyes' spot. I imagine Murphy will go to 2B.

1:30pm: TBS announcers point out that you can blame the bullpen all you want, but the Mets have scored only 2 runs today. And yesterday. Team no hit, team no win.

1:31pm: Marlon Anderson hits a grounder back to Kevin Gregg which deflects off his glove but to 2B Dan Uggla who makes a nice throw to just get Marlon Anderson at first. 2 outs.

1:32pm: Jose Reyes golfs a ball into death valley in right-center. CF Cameron Maybin dives but can't make the catch as the ball hops over the wall for a ground-rule double. Lucky for the Marlins or Reyes would have tripled easily, if not scored on an inside-the-park HR.

1:34pm: Kevin Gregg walks Carlos Beltran, and that's it for Gregg as Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez goes to lefty specialist Arthur Rhodes in the bullpen to face potential lefty Met hero Carlos Delgado.

1:35pm: The Milwaukee Brewers just won their game 3-1 behind CC Sabathia's CG. Can the Mets come back right now? They're gonna have to.

1:37pm: Carlos Delgado flies out to deep LF but Josh Willingham makes the catch. 3 outs.

Top of 9th Inning:

1:40pm: Luis Ayala is still pitching for the Mets, and Jeremy Hermida is in to pinch-hit for Arthur Rhodes.

1:41pm: Jeremy Hermida hits a leadoff single to RF.

1:42pm: Cameron Maybin goes down swinging. 1 out.

1:43pm: Luis Ayala is done as Jerry Manuel is going to the bullpen so lefty Pedro Feliciano can face lefty John Baker.

1:46pm: After falling behind 3-1 to John Baker, Pedro Feliciano strikes out John Baker.

1:48pm: That's it for LOOGY Pedro Feliciano. Jerry Manuel, much like his predecessor Willie Randolph, is forced to play the lefty/righty matchups with his bullpen. Righty Bobby Parnell is in to pitch against righty Jorge Cantu.

1:51pm: Jorge Cantu flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 3 outs. It's now or never. Literally.

Bottom of 9th Inning:

1:54pm: Former Met prospect Matt Lindstrom is in relief for Florida to rub it in. David Wright leads off.

1:58pm: After a long at-bat, David Wright pops out to 2B Dan Uggla in shallow rightfield. 1 out.

2:00pm: Endy Chavez hits a hard grounder right back to pitcher Matt Lindstrom. 1-3. 2 outs.

2:01pm: Damion Easley is in to pinch-hit for Bobby Parnell.

2:03pm: Damion Easley works the count full before taking a walk. Unfortunately, the non-hitting Ryan Church is up now. Now is his chance to atone for his 6 Ks.

2:05pm: Ryan Church flies out to deep center, but Cameron Maybin makes the catch for the final out. Marlina win 4-2, Mets are eliminated from the postseason as the Marlins celebrate their win on the field.

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While the bullpen has blown many games this season, and were the big-picture problem, this entire Florida series came down to the Mets offense not doing anything. 1 run on Friday, 2 runs on Saturday behind Johan Santana, 2 runs today.

Even more disheartening when you consider that Marlins starter Scott Olsen is not someone who historically does well against the Mets. And yet, this offense absolutely and collectively DIED against the Florida Marlins.

Of all the permutations that could have occurred today, this is the one that should never have happened.

The Mets miss the postseason again.

Go Angels and Go Cubs!!!!!

Post a comment Tags: new york mets, chicago cubs, david wright, shea stadium, milwaukee brewers, tom glavine, willie randolph, oliver perez …

LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies. 9-7-08

Game 3 of the final series between the Mets and Phillies during the regular season all comes down to this.

The Phillies won the first two games of the series and have shrunk the Mets NL East-division lead to 1 game. If the Phillies complete the sweep at Shea, they will be tied for first place as the two teams go their separate ways. The Mets have a 2-game series against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Phillies return home to face the Marlins in a 3-game set Monday through Wednesday.

A lot is going to be made of this series, but even if the Mets lose this game, there are still 19 games remaining for both teams, and it's very likely going to be a race that goes down to the final week, or even day unless one team... ahem... collapses.

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(All times Pacific)
Top of 1st Inning:

5:11pm: Jimmy Rollins grounds sharply to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 1 out.

5:12pm: ESPN's Jon Miller reads off a bunch of stats as to how many times Santana has pitched well only to have the Mets' bullpen blow it for him. *sigh*

5:13pm: Chase Utley lines a single into centerfield.

5:14pm: Jayson Werth is up, and he hits lefties VERY well this season, especially with the longball. He has 15 HRs in 2008 against lefty pitching, which leads the majors.

5:15pm: Johan Santana falls behind Jayson Werth going 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, and ends up walking him.

5:17pm: Ryan Howard singles to leftfield scoring Chase Utley from 2nd easily. Jayson Werth to 2nd. Phillies go up 1-0.

5:18pm: Met-killer Pat Burrell is up. Although he's slumping something fierce over the last month. Burrell has 42 HRs against the Mets, the most among all active players.

5:20pm: Johan Santana is having trouble throwing strikes. 20 pitches in the inning so far 11 of them are balls.

5:22pm: Pat Burrell thinks he just saw ball 4, but it was clearly strike 3 that went into Schneider's mitt. 2 out.

5:23pm: Shane Victorino flies out to deep centerfield. 3 out.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

5:28pm: Jose Reyes pops out to 2B Chase Utley. 1 out.

5:30pm: Ryan Church fights off a high fastball and hits it into LF for a single.

5:31pm: David Wright, swinging an 0-2 pitch, fouls it off but also hits catcher Chris Coste's glove on his swing, triggering a catcher's interference call from the home plate umpire. David Wright automatically gets 1st base, Ryan Church moves to 2nd.

5:33pm: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is out to argue and gets the toss for his argument. The fans pop huge and a "LETS GO METS" chant erupts.

5:34pm: Carlos Beltran lines a ball down the leftfield line. Ryan Church scores easily. David Wright beats the tag of Pedro Feliz at 3rd base, Carlos Beltran to 2nd on the throw. Tie game 1-1. Bench coach (acting manager) Jimmy Williams is out to argue the call at 3rd. Replays show Wright may have been out but it's tough to tell. No ejection this time.

5:37pm: Carlos Delgado grounds a ball up the middle for a single, driving in David Wright and Carlos Beltran. 3-1 Mets.

5:39pm: Fernando Tatis grounds a ball up the middle but SS Jimmy Rollins makes a nice play to field the ball, toss to Utley at 2nd for an out, but Tatis beats the throw to 1st. 2 out.

5:41pm: Cole Hamels strikes out Damion Easley. Pretty exciting inning to start this one. Mets up 3-1, a rare catcher's interference call, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel ejected, and Cole Hamels looks very hittable. Hopefully moreso than Santana.

Top of 2nd Inning:

5:45pm: Pedro Feliz goes down swinging at a Johan Santana changeup. 1 out.

5:46pm: Chris Coste takes a trot down to 1st base.

5:47pm: Cole Hamels lays down a bunt in front of Johan Santana who fields it cleanly, fires to Reyes at 2B for the out. Reyes throws to Easley covering 1B, but Hamels beats the throw. 2 out.

5:49pm: Jimmy Rollins grounds to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

5:52pm: Brian Schneider strikes out swinging. 1 out.

5:55pm: Johan Santana lines a 3-2 pitch down the leftfield line. If not for 3B Pedro Feliz knocking it down, it would have been a double for Santana. However, he'll settle for a single.

5:56pm: Jose Reyes is not looking good at the plate against Cole Hamels.

5:57pm: Jose Reyes hits a weak groundball to SS Jimmy Rollins who tosses the ball to Chase Utley at 2B, but Utley comes way off the bag and Santana is safe at 2nd. That should be ruled an error on Utley as there was no need for him to field the toss from Rollins that way.

5:58pm: Ryan Church hits a grounder back to pitcher Cole Hamels, but he can' t field it cleanly as it goes off his glove.  Bases loaded for the Mets and that may end up rule being an infield single. David Wright to the plate with bases full and 1 out.

6:01pm: Miller and Morgan note David Wright's less-than-stellar numbers with bases loaded. And sure enough, Wright goes down swinging on a 3-2 fastball from Hamels. 2 out.

6:02pm; Carlos Beltran swings at the first pitch and fouls out to 1B Ryan Howard. Phillies escape the jam. 3 out.

Top of 3rd Inning:

6:06pm: Johan Santana strikes out Chase Utley. 1 out.

6:08pm: Johan Santana strikes out Jayson Werth on 3 pitches. 2 outs.

6:09pm: Ryan Howard crushes the first pitch he sees from Santana into the LF bleachers for his 40th HR of the season. Mets lead cut to 3-2.

6:10pm: Pat Burrell strikes out swinging. Santana ends up striking out the side but gives up the dinger to Howard. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

6:12pm: Carlos Delgado hits a scoreboard moonshot SLAMMA LAMMA DING DONG, which is all the more dramatic considering the piece ESPN just did on him, explaining how the Mets were trying to figure out what to do with Carlos after his subpar first half. Mets up 4-2.

6:15pm: Fernando Tatis hits a hard lineshot into the glove of CF Shane Victorino. 1 out.

6:16pm: Damion Easley breaks his bat with a bloop shot to shallow center which is tracked down and caught by SS Jimmy Rollins. 2 out.

6:18pm: Brian Schneider smokes a shot into centerfield which almost gets past CF Shane Victorino, but Schneider is limited to the single.

6:20pm: Johan Santana grounds out to 3B Pedro Feliz who throws to Utley for the forceout at 2nd. 3 out.

Top of 4th Inning:

6:24pm: Shane Victorino foul pops to 1B Carlos Delgado. 1 out.

6:25pm: Pedro Feliz pops out to 2B Damion Easley. 2 out.

6:26pm: Chris Coste grounds to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 3 out. A very economical 7-pitch inning for Johan Santana.

Bottom of 4th Inning:

6:28pm: Cole Hamels is going to be lucky to go 5 innings this game with his pitch count now above 80.

6:29pm: Jose Reyes continues to look horrible against Cole Hamels, swinging at a pitch in the dirt for strike 3. 1 out.

6:30pm: Ryan Church grounds out sharply to 1B Ryan Howard who runs to the bag for out 2.

6:31pm: David Wright flies out to 2B Chase Utley in shallow left-center. 3 out.

Top of 5th Inning:

6:34pm: Johan Santana strikes out Cole Hamels, which is now 6 K's through 5.1 IP. 1 out.

6:36pm: Jimmy Rollins grounds to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 2 out.

6:38pm: Chase Utley flies out to LF Fernando Tatis. 3 out.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

6:43pm: Carlos Beltran goes down swinging. 1 out.

6:45pm: Carlos Delgado crushes yet another moonshot off of Cole Hamels' first pitch. This time off a changeup instead of the curveball. Mets up 5-2.

6:46pm: Fernando Tatis grounds out to 3B Pedro Feliz. 5-3. 2 out.

6:47pm: Damion Easley hits a hard shot to LF that bounces up against the wall for a double.

6:48pm: With a base open, Cole Hamels gives the IBB to Brian Schneider so they can face Johan Santana.

6:49pm: ESPN's Jon Miller says Carlos Delgado's 2nd HR went an estimated 460 feet. Wow.

6:50pm: Johan Santana strikes out swinging on Cole Hamel's 109th pitch. 3 out.

Top of 6th Inning:

6:53pm: Jayson Werth grounds out to 3B David Wright who makes a very nice play and throw onto 1st for the out. 1 out.

6:55pm: Ryan Howard flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 2 out.

6:58pm: Pat Burrell works out a walk.

6:59pm: Shane Victorino flies out to RF Ryan Church. 3 out.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

7:02pm: Now pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies is right-hander Clay Condrey. Maybe Jose Reyes can start hitting better now.

7:03pm: Or not. Reyes breaks his bat with a grounder to 2B Chase Utley. 4-3. 1 out.

7:05pm: Ryan Church strikes out swinging. 2 out.

7:06pm: David Wright grounds the first pitch he sees from Condrey right to SS Jimmy Rollins. 6-3. 3 out.

Top of 7th Inning:

7:08pm: Pedro Feliz grounds a ball past Carlos Delgado into RF for a single.

7:09pm: With Johan Santana nearing 100 pitches, this will surely be his final inning.

7:10pm: Chris Coste flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 1 out.

7:11pm: Carlos Ruiz in to pinch-hit for Clay Condrey.

7:13pm: Ruiz grounds out to David Wright who makes a diving stop, gets up and throws to Easley for the out. Easley throws on to Delgado at first but Ruiz beats it easily. 2 out.

7:15pm: Jimmy Rollins lines a 3-2 pitch directly at David Wright for the third out. Santana throws 110 pitches for the night through 7, and he's done. Another very good outing from Johan.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

7:20pm: In relief for the Phillies is right-hander Rudy Seanez.

7:21pm: Carlos Beltran just misses a HR by a bit as he hits a long flyball to the warning track, but Jayson Werth catches it. 1 out.

7:22pm: The fans chant "MVP" at Carlos Delgado, which he may be for the Mets team, but certainly a joke if they think it's for the National League. Mind you, a good percentage of these "fans" are the same asshats who were busy booing Delgado in May, demanding his release, and parroting the words "Bring up Mike Carp!" until their empty heads exploded.

7:23pm: It is noted that no Met has ever hit 3 HR in one game at Shea Stadium.

7:24pm: Carlos Delgado strikes out swinging. 2 out.

7:26pm: Jon Miller notes that no one is pitching in the Mets bullpen, which indicates Santana is going another frame.

7:27pm: Fernando Tatis skies a shot into left-centerfield, but it's caught by Shane Victorino. 3 out.

Top of 8th Inning:

7:29pm: Johan Santana pitching another inning to the heart of the Phillies order. Utley, Werth and Howard. Endy Chavez is in LF as a defensive replacement for Fernando Tatis.

7:31pm: Chase Utley grounds out to 1B Carlos Delgado who jogs to the bag for the out.

7:32pm: Jayson Werth pounds a ball to deep CF for a double. Mets manager Jerry Manuel goes to the mound to get Johan Santana, who gets the standing ovation from the Shea fans. Santana even tips his cap to the 1st-base side fans. Sometimes lefty-specialist Pedro Feliciano is coming in from the bullpen to face lefty powerhouse Ryan Howard.

7:36pm: Ryan Howard grounds out to 1B Carlos Delgado who jogs to the bag for the out. Jayson Werth goes to 3rd on the play. That's all for Pedro Feliciano. Jerry Manuel to the mound for the pitching change as righty Brian Stokes is in to face righty Pat Burrell.

7:39pm: Pat Burrell breaks his bat on the first pitch he sees from Brian Stokes, grounding out to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

7:42pm: Luis Ayala is warming up in the bullpen for the 9th. Ayala may be the closer for the rest of the season if Wagner's setback today is as serious as is being reported.

7:43pm: Damion Easley hits a ball over CF Shane Victorino's head that goes just past his glove for a leadoff stand-up triple.

7:45pm: Brian Schneider hits a long fly ball into RF caught by Jayson Werth, but Damion Easley tags up easily to expand the Mets lead to 6-2. 1 out.

7:46pm: Marlon Anderson is in to pinch-hit for Brian Stokes.

7:47pm: Marlon Anderson fouls off two pitches before swinging through the third and striking out. 2 out.

7:48pm: Jose Reyes grounds out to 1B Ryan Howard who is a step away from the bag when he fields it. 3 out.

Top of 9th Inning:

7:51pm: Luis Ayala is on to pitch the 9th in a non-save situation.

7:52pm: Shane Victorino hits an excellent unintentional swinging bunt which deadens downs the 3rd-base line. Catcher Brian Schneider fields it and tries to throw out Victorino at 1st, but the throw sails over Delgado into RF and bounces into the stands. Victorino to 2nd on the error.

7:53pm: Greg Dobbs is in to pinch-hit for Pedro Feliz. Dobbs flies out to CF Carlos Beltran. 1 out.

7:54pm: Righty pitchers Al Reyes and Joe Smith are warming up in the Mets bullpen. Lefty Matt Stairs is on to pinch-hit for Chris Coste.

7:55pm: Matt Stairs basically does the same thing Shane Victorino did. A swinging bunt, except the ball goes further up the third-base line for an infield hit. David Wright knows he has no chance so he lets the ball go. Victorino to 3rd base on the play. The hide is torn off on this ball.

7:57pm: Tadahito Iguchi is in to pinch-run for Matt Stairs. Andy Tracy is in to pinch-hit for Rudy Seanez.

7:58pm: Andy Tracy hits a flyball to deep LF which Endy Chavez catches near the wall with a slight jump. Victorino tags up. Mets lead cut by one, but they're still up 6-3. 2 out.

7:59pm: Luis Ayala gets the dramatic strikeout game-ender with Rollins swinging and missing. 3 out. GAME OVER. Mets win 6-3.

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With the Mets victory, they lose the series but gain a division lead back on the Phillies to 2 games.

The two teams will not meet again this season, and with Milwaukee looking to be the NL Wildcard team at this point, they can't face each other in the postseason either.

More importantly, the Mets win the season series from Philadelphia 12-7, something they did not do in 2007 when they went 6-12 against the Phillies.

The next 19 games will be very important to both teams, which I believe will go down to the final week. The Mets have a 4-game series against the Chicago Cubs Sep 22-25 which the Mets are going to have to dominate if the Phillies are still in the race 2 weeks from now, and with their upcoming schedule, there's no reason to expect that they won't be.

Post a comment Tags: baseball, washington nationals, mlb, espn, atlanta braves, new york mets, david wright, chase utley …

LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs. Colorado Rockies, July 13, 2008.

It's the last MLB game before the All-Star break, pitting the surging New York Mets against the hapless Colorado Rockies. The Mets are on a 8-game winning streak, having taken 3 out of 4 from Philadelphia at Citizen's Bank Park, then sweeping the San Francisco Giants at Shea Stadium in 3 games, and have won the last two from Colorado at Shea as well.

If the Mets win today, they will finish up a half-game behind Philadelphia at the All-Star break, a place where very few people thought the Mets could end up just a month ago. Part of the Mets surge is thanks to the Phillies' own record over the last month or so.

Since Jerry Manuel took over the New York Mets on June 17, 2008 while in Anaheim, the Mets have a 16-9 record. Over that same period of time, the Phillies are 10-14. It didn't help Philadelphia's cause losing that series to the Mets recently.

In the month of July, the Mets are an impressive 10-2, and tonight, they look to go into the All-Star break sweeping another joke of an NL West team, the way they should have done a couple of times earlier in the season.

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5:05pm: ESPN just did a piece on Matt Holliday set to very somber music. Did he die or something?

Top of 1st Inning:

5:10pm: Scott Podsednik hits a ball up the middle into centerfield for a leadoff single.

5:12pm: ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller brings up the remarkable pitching the Mets have had over the last 5 games, setting a modern era record, giving up less than 3 hits in 5 consecutive games.

5:13pm: Clint Barmes grounds into a 6-4-3 doubleplay. 2 out.

5:14pm: Ramon Castro takes a life-shortening foulball off the bat of Matt Holliday into his mask which stuns him for a bit.

5:15pm: Mike Pelfrey gets Matt Holliday swinging and missing at the next two pitches for Pelfrey's first K of the game. 3 out.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

5:18pm: It's a crying shame that the Mets bench is so short that they have to use minor-leaguer-that-can't-hit-MLB-pitching-Nick Evans in LF. That's a situation GM Omar Minaya is going to have to solve over the next couple of weeks.

5:19pm: Jose Reyes hits a hard liner right to 1B Joe Koshansky for the first out.

5:20pm: Of course as soon as I take a knock at Nick Evans, he hits the first pitch he sees into centerfield for a single. Granted, it's off of Rockies pitcher Mark Redman, who hasn't been all that good since 2003 while with the championship Florida Marlins.

5:21pm: David Wright takes a walk. Nick Evans over to 2nd.

5:24pm: Carlos Beltran goes BOOM with a looooong 3-run blast into the leftfield bullpen. Mets go up 3-0.

5:25pm: Damion Easley lines a grounder into 2B Omar Quintanilla, 4-3. 2 out.

5:26pm: Jon Miller says Beltran's HR went an estimated 415 feet.

5:27pm: Carlos Delgado pops out to shallow left-centerfield and the ball almost drops until SS Clint Barmes is able to run it down. 3 out.

Top of 2nd Inning:

5:30pm: Brad Hawpe grounds out, 4-3. 1 out.

5:31pm: Garrett Atkins keeps Damion Easley busy by also grounding out to him. 4-3. 2 out.

5:32pm: Mike Pelfrey strikes out Joe Koshansky with a sinker. 3 out. A very economical 10-pitch inning for Pelfrey.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

5:35pm: Fernando Tatis hits the weakest grounder ever back to pitcher Mark Redman, though not weak enough to make it look like a swinging bunt. 1-3. 1 out.

5:36pm: Ramon Castro lines a ball into centerfield for a single. Mike Pelfrey will surely be up to bunt.

5:37pm: Mike Pelfrey hits a nice sac bunt on the first pitch back to pitcher Mark Redman. 1-3. 2 out. Castro to 2nd.

5:39pm: Jose Reyes hits a chopper over the middle just over Mark Redman and through the middle infield that scores Ramon Castro from 2nd. Mets up 4-0.

5:43pm: Nick Evans goes the other way by hitting a single to right-centerfield. Jose Reyes to 3rd. You know Mark Redman really sucks when he's allowing Nick Evans to tee off on him.

5:44pm: David Wright hits the first pitch he sees hard at 2B Omar Quintanilla who fields it and tosses to SS Clint Barmes at 2nd for the 3rd out. 4-6.

Top of 3rd Inning:

5:48pm: Pelfrey gets ahead of Yorvit Torrealba with a 1-2 count and gets him swinging at the high heat for a K. 1 out.

5:52pm: Omar Quintanilla has a great AB against Mike Pelfrey, fouling off a ton of pitches before he smashes a 400-ft ground-rule double over the centerfield fence. The Mets are lucky it bounced over or it would have been a triple.

5:53pm: Mark Redman hits a sac bunt back to Pelfrey, 1-3. 2 out. Quintanilla to 3rd.

5:55pm: Scott Podsednik gets jammed and hits a weak grounder towards 3B David Wright who charges and throws the speedy Podsednik out at 1B. 5-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

5:59pm: Carlos Beltran hits a hard line drive past the glove of pitcher Mark Redman that goes up the middle for a leadoff single.

6:00pm: Damion Easley hits the ball right back to Mark Redman who hesitates a second before throwing to 2nd for the out, which may have eliminated the double play, since Easley is called safe at 1st on the throw. Replays show that Easley was out but it was very very close. 1-6. 1 out.

6:02pm: Carlos Delgado grounds into a double play, 5-6-3. 3 out.

Top of 4th Inning:

6:07pm: Clint Barmes goes down swinging. 1 out.

6:08pm: Matt Holliday hits a ball like a swinging bunt that goes towards 3B. David Wright charges and fields but has no play on Holliday.

6:10pm: Brad Hawpe singles into left-centerfield with Holliday running on the 3-2 pitch.  Holliday to 3rd.

6:12pm: Garrett Atkins hits a grounder to David Wright. Wright throws in the dirt to 2B Damion Easley, who somehow fields it cleanly and still manages to throw to Delgado at 1B without being affected by the sliding Brad Hawpe. 5-4-3 doubleplay. 3 out.

Bottom of 4th Inning:

6:17pm: Fernando Tatis hits a 2-2 pitch up the middle through the rickets of Mark Redman and past a diving Omar Quintanilla for a single.

6:18pom: Ramon Castro singles to RF Brad Hawpe. Fernando Tatis races to 3rd on the play and slides in safe.

6:20pm: Mike Pelfrey bunts up the 1st base line, moving up Castro to 2nd base. 1B Koshansky fields the ball and throws to 2B Omar Quintanilla at first. 3-4. 1 out.

6:21pm: Jose Reyes gets the intentional pass to load up the bases and pitch to the weak Nick Evans. Except that Evans already has 2 singles off Redman today.

6:22pm: That's all for Mark Redman, who pitched terribly against the Mets today. 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR.
6'7" righty Ryan Speier comes in for relief with the bases loaded, 1 out. Not an easy jam to get out of, even with Nick Evans up.

6:24pm: Nick Evans hits a shot into CF but Scott Podsednik tracks it down. Sac fly for Evans, with Tatis scoring easily. 2 out. Castro tags up to 3rd. Mets up 5-0.

6:25pm: David Wright swings at the first pitch he sees, hitting a hard grounder but right at 3B Garrett Atkins. 5-3. 3 out.

Top of 5th Inning:

6:29pm: Joe Koshansky singles into CF.

6:30pm: Yorvit Torrealba grounds into a routine doubleplay. 6-4-3. 2 out.

6:32pm: Omar Quintanilla grounds to Carlos Delgado's right, but Delgado is able to field it and throw to Pelfrey covering first for the out. 3-1. 3 out.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

6:36pm: Carlos Beltran bloops a single into leftfield for his 3rd hit of the day.

6:37pm: Damion Easley grounds out to 1B Joe Koshansky. 3-6. They try and complete the 3-6-3 double play but Easley beats the throw back to 1st.

6:38pm: Carlos Delgado hits a low inside fastball for one of his patented moonshot blasts that goes a mile in the air before coming down just short of the giant scoreboard. A gigantor Delgado HR, Mets up 7-0.

6:39pm: Fernando Tatis grounds out to SS Clint Barmes. 6-3. 2 out.

6:40pm: Ramon Castro skies out to LF Matt Holliday. 3 out.

Top of 6th Inning:

6:44pm: Seth Smith pinch-hits for Ryan Speier. Smith grounds out, 4-3. 1 out.

6:45pm: Scott Podsednik lines a ball off of Mike Pelfrey's left foot which deflects towards 2B Damion Easley, who throws to Delgado at 1B. Score that 1-4-3. 2 out.

6:46pm: Clint Barmes flies out to shallow center just beyond the lip of the grass. 2B Damion Easley brings it down for the 3rd out. Jon Miller notes that's the first flyball out the Rockies have hit all game.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

6:48pm: Matt Herges is on in relief for the Colorado Rockies. Mike Pelfrey at the plate in a non-sacrifice situation, so he'll be attempting to swing away.

6:49pm: Mike Pelfrey strokes a 2-1 curveball into LF for a leadoff single.

6:50pm: Jose Reyes grounds into a 4-6-3 doubleplay. Quintanilla to Barmes to Koshansky. 2 out.

6:52pm: Nick Evans hits a soft line drive bloop into shallow rightfield which is caught by 2B Omar Quintanilla in a nice grab. 3 out.

Top of 7th Inning:

6:56pm: Matt Holiday strikes out looking. 1 out.

6:57pm: Brad Hawpe grounds out to SS Jose Reyes. 6-3. 2 out.

6:58pm: Garret Atkins lines out softly to 2B Damion Easley. 3 out.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

7:04pm: Luis Vizcaino is now pitching in relief for the Rockies. David Wright hits a high flyball to CF Scott Podsednik. 1 out.

7:07pm: Carlos Beltran strikes out looking. 2 out.

7:09pm: Jon Miller notes that the Mets improved play coincided with the DL trip of Luis Castillo and the resurgence of Damion Easley. I think it's not just Easley, but a combination of the bullpen, starting pitching, and the bench guys finally performing at the level they should be.

7:10pm: Damion Easley strikes out. 3 out.

Top of 8th Inning:

7:14pm: Joe Koshanky grounds out to 2B Damion Easley. 4-3. 1 out.

7:16pm: Mike Pelfrey hits Yorvit Torrealba with a pitch on the elbow which sends Torrealba walking for a while, gritting out the pain before finally going to 1st base.

7:18pm: Omar Quintanilla is fighting off a lot of pitches again. The last time this happened, he hit a ground rule double.

7:19pm: This time Quintanilla fouls out to David Wright, who catches the ball right in front of Peter Gammons. 2 out.

7:20pm: Jayson Nix is in to pinch-hit for Luis Vizcaino's spot.

7:21pm: Big "Pelfrey" chant among the fans at Shea. Pelfrey is ahead 0-2 on Nix.

7:22pm: Jayson Nix hits a 95 MPH fastball on the ground in-between Wright and Reyes for a single.

7:23pm: Pelfrey has thrown 114 pitches at this point, and pitching coach Dan Warthen had initially said that he didn't want Pelfrey to go more than 100 pitches tonight. Warthen visits the mound to check on his pitcher, and he'll stay in the game for now. Now the fans chant "LETS GO PELFREY!"

7:26pm: Scott Podsednik fouls out to 3B David Wright. 3 out. The fans go nuts for Pelfrey, who is done for the night.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

7:29pm: During the commercial break, Pelfrey gave the fans a curtain call hat tip.

7:31pm: Brian Fuentes, now on in relief for Colorado, strikes out Carlos Delgado. 1 out.

7:34pm: Fernando Tatis flies out to RF Brad Hawpe. 2 out.

7:36pm: Ramon Castro strikes out. 3 out.

Top of 9th Inning:

7:40pm: Joe Smith is on to pitch the 9th for the Mets.

7:41pm: Clint Barmes grounds out to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 1 out.

7:42pm: A fan in the crowd shows his broom to the camera, indicative of sweeping the Rockies. You can't bring brooms into Dodger Stadium because it could be used as a weapon, or it might actually be used to sweep up the trash there, made up mostly of Dodger fans.

7:43pm: Matt Holliday grounds out to Damion Easley, 4-3. 2 out.

7:44pm: Brad Hawpe singles to CF. That's the 7th Rocky hit of the game. Hawpe steals 2nd uncontested on the first pitch strike to Garrett Atkins.

7:45pm: Garrett Atkins hits a liner right to David Wright at 3B. 3 out. Game Over. Mets win 7-0.

This is the 9th win in a row for the Mets, the 4th shutout in the last 6 games. Granted, it helps to pitch against the shit teams of the NL West when you want to fatten up.

Keys to the Mets win:

  • Lights-out pitching from Mike Pelfrey, who is easily the #2 pitcher on the team right now, and some might even say the best. His line tonight: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.
  • Pelfrey has been amazing since May 31 against Los Angeles. Even his bad starts (June 16 vs. Angels and Yankees) are games the Mets won.
  • Carlos Beltran's 3-run HR in the 1st gave Pelfrey all the runs he needed.
  • Carlos Delgado's ridiculous HR moonshot off Ryan Speier may have hit a jet before it fell.
  • Joe Smith allows a baserunner in the 9th, but who cares? The Mets bullpen is also firing on all cylinders.
So the Mets finish up at the All-Star Break at 51-44. Normally that might not be reason for optimism, but as mentioned earlier, the Phillies aren't playing the way they need to in order to hold onto the division lead, and the Mets were written off by a lot of people a month ago.

There's still a lot more baseball left to play, and one hopes the All-Star Break doesn't stop the Mets winning momentum.

After the break, the Mets go on the road for a 4-game series at Cincinnati before returning to Shea to face the Phillies and Cardinals in 3-game sets.

Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, new york mets, david wright, shea stadium, carlos delgado, jose reyes, carlos beltran …

LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs New York Skankees. 6/29/08

A Sunday morning game on TBS means it's a Mets-Yankees game I actually get to see. That's pretty damn rare these days as I haven't the slightest idea when the Mets will be on national TV again. And they sure ain't coming to California again for the rest of the season unless they AND the Dodgers or Giants or Padres somehow miraculously make the playoffs.

But I'll take the few games I can watch and try to enjoy. With Oliver Perez on the mound for the Mets, the "try" part may prove difficult.

One thing I HAVE grown a bit tired of when watching the highlights of the last couple of games recently, is shots of little kids together. One wearing a Met hat, one wearing a Yankee hat, and the two kids are BEST FRIENDS! Fuck that, you can't be friends with the enemy! You have to bludgeon them with a bat! Even at age 7.

Tell little Antonio that the douchebag next to him wearing a Derek Jeter t-shirt stole his iPod, and watch the havoc ensue.

Onto the game!!!

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Top of 1st Inning:

10:11am: Johnny Damon goes down swinging. 1 out.

10:13am: On the off chance that Oliver Perez ends up pitching wildly today, I'd  at least like him to hit Yankee batters in the face with the ball. Especially Derek fucking Jeter.

10:14am: Derek Jeter grounds out sharply to 2B Luis Castillo, 4-3. 2 out.

10:15am: Alex Rodriguez fouls out to 1B Carlos Delgado. 3 out.

Bottom of 1st Inning:

10:17am: Jose Reyes lines a 0-1 pitch into short rightfield for a leadoff single.

10:18am: Luis Castillo squares to bunt but pulls back at the last second. Jose Molina can't catch the ball and it goes to the backstop. Jose Reyes takes 2nd on the Passed Ball.

10:21am: Luis Castillo fails to bunt or even make contact as he watches strike 3 go by him on the outside corner. 1 out.

10:22am: David Wright hits a long long flyball to deep right-centerfield, but RF Justin Christian pulls it down just in front of the wall. Jose Reyes tags up to 3rd. 2 out.

10:25am: Carlos Beltran walks. Runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 out.

10:26am: Jose Reyes is dancing off 3rd to a ridiculous degree.

10:27am: With Carlos Beltran running on the 0-1 pitch, Carlos Delgado flies out to CF Melky Cabrera. 3 out.

Top of 2nd Inning:

10:31am: Jorge Posada strikes out. 1 out.

10:34am: Wilson Betemit strikes out swinging. 2 out.

10:36am: Melky Cabrera groundsout to SS Jose Reyes, 6-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:

10:39am: Ryan Church returns!!! And now endless second-guessing about the concussion handling resumes...

10:40am: Ryan Church lines out to 1B Jorge Posada. 1 out.

10:42am: Endy Chavez hits a ball into the shallow right-centerfield Bermuda Triangle that no one can get to. Chavez on 1st with a single.

10:44am: Brian Schneider hits a groundball between 1st and 2nd for a single. Chavez to 2nd base.

10:45am: Oliver Perez lays down a sac bunt towards 3rd. Alex Rodriguez fields it and throws to Posada at 1B for the 2nd out. Schneider and Chavez move up a base.

10:46am: TBS lets us know that Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner's has an 0-3, 10.93 ERA over his last 3 road games.

10:47am: Jose Reyes takes an intentional unintentional walk to load up the bases.

10:51am: Luis Castillo works a full count from Rasner and hits a chopper up the middle for one of his patented infield singles. Derek Jeter makes a nice play and throws to Posada at 1B but Castillo beats the throw. Endy Chavez scores. Mets up 1-0. Bases loaded for David Wright with 2 out.

10:54am: David Wright grounds out to 3B Alex Rodriguez, who runs to third base for the out before Jose Reyes gets there. 3 out.

Top of 3rd Inning:

10:59am: Jose Molina strikes out swinging. 1 out.

11:00am: Justin Christian pops out to 1B Carlos Delgado. 2 out.

11:02am: Pitcher Darrell Rasner strikes out looking. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

11:05am: Ron Darling reminds us that no Met has ever pitched a no-hitter. *sigh*

11:06am: Carlos Beltran pops up to 2B Wilson Betemit. 1 out.

11:09am: Carlos Delgado hits a mammoth HR just to the right of the Apple, which hits off the scoreboard. 2-0 Mets.

11:10am: Ryan Church hits a flyball into shallow LF that SS Derek Jeter cannot get to. Church on 1st with a single.

11:12am: With Ryan Church running on the pitch, Endy Chavez hits a 3-1 chopper right down to 1B Jorge Posada, who steps on the bag for the out. 2 out.

11:14am: Brian Schneider is intentionally walked so Darrell Rasner can face Oliver Perez.

11:16am: Oliver Perez strikes out swinging. 3 out.

Top of 4th Inning:

11:20am: The lights are on at Shea with darkening skies and the threat of rain looming.

11:21am: Johnny Damon strikes out. That's 6 K's in 4 IP. 1 out.

11:22am: Derek Fucking Jeter breaks up the perfect game with a basehit to RF.

11:23am: Oliver Perez throws a Wild PItch that gets past C Brian Schneider, although it probably was a ball Schneider should have handled. Derek Jeter to 2nd on the WP.

11:24am: Alex Rodriguez hits a MONSTER moonshot foul into the mezzanine level. Perez better not give him another one like that.

11:25am: Perez is taking it to A-Rod in this battle. It's a full count and A-Rod is fighting pitches off. A light rain has begun in Flushing.

11:27am: Perez wins the battle by blowing one by A-Rod that he can't catch up to. 7 strikeouts for Perez. 2 out.

11:29am: Jorge Posada grounds out to 2B Luis Castillo. 4-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 4th Inning:

11:33am: Jose Reyes grounds out to SS Derek Jeter. 6-3. 1 out.
The rain is getting heavier. The Mets need to get through the top 5 of this game, as the thunderstorms forecast in the area may be too much for a simple "delay."

11:34am: Luis Castillo squibs a single down the leftfield line.

11:35am: David Wright flies out to RF Justin Christian. 2 out.

11:36am: Carlos Beltran strikes out swinging at slop. 3 out.

Top of 5th Inning:

11:44am: Wilson Betemit hits a 3-2 fastball directly at 3B David Wright for a lineout. 1 out.

11:45am: Melky Cabrera strikes out swinging. 2 out.

11:46am: Jose Molina flies out to LF Endy Chavez. 3 out.

Bottom of 5th Inning:

11:51am: Carlos Delgado hits a couple of hard balls foul, but ultimately foul pops out to C Jose Molina. 1 out.

11:52am: Ryan Church grounds out to 2B Wilson Betemit. 4-3. 2 out.

11:53am: Endy Chavez lines a single to RF.

11:57am: Brian Schneider flies out to LF Johnny Damon. 3 out.

Top of 6th Inning:

11:59am: The rain seems to have stopped for now, and the game is now official anyways. It's now the 6th inning, so this is either the time that Perez falls apart, or shows us greatness.

12:01pm: On a 3-2 pitch, Justin Christian flies out to RF Ryan Church. 1 out.

12:02pm: Chad Moeller pinch-hits for Darrell Rasner, as the Yankees need some runs. I hope they don't get shit, obviously.

12:03pm: Chad Moeller just misses a HR by a couple of feet, flying out to deeeeeep LF, but Endy Chavez pulls it down just in front of the wall. 2 out.

12:04pm: Johnny Damon lines a ball into deep RF. Ryan Church gets a glove on it but it deflects off the mitt to the wall, but Damon is held to a long single.

12:05pm: Derek fucking Jeter hits the first pitch he sees for a groundball to 2B Luis Castillo. Castillo flips to Jose Reyes at second for the 3rd out. 4-6. 3 out.

Bottom of 6th Inning:

12:08pm: David Robertson is making his MLB debut for the Skanks, pitching in relief of Darrell Rasner.

12:09pm: Perez goes flat on his back after Robertson throws high and inside, but it wasn't nearly as close as Perez' flop made it look.

12:11pm: Oliver Perez has a good AB but ultimately strikes out swinging. 1 out.

12:12pm: Jose Reyes singles to CF.

12:16pm: Luis Castillo singles down the leftfield line bringing him to 3-for-4 on the day. Reyes to 2nd base. Is a double-steal coming?

12:17pm: With David Wright batting, Robertson's first pitch is in the dirt and it gets away from Molina enough to allow Reyes and Castillo to move up 90 feet.

12:19pm: David Wright flies out to RF Justin Christian. Reyes and Castillo tag up on the play, Reyes scores. Mets up 3-0, 2 out.

12:20pm: Carlos Beltran flies out to CF Melky Cabrera. 3 out.

Top of 7th Inning:

12:22pm: The sun is shining bright at Shea Stadium again. No signs of rain for now.

12:24pm: Alex Rodriguez hits a first pitch that just goes foul down the LF line. The 2nd pitch he hits is a very high flyball just left of the pitcher's mound, David Wright catches it for the 1st out.

12:27pm: Jorge Posada hits a flyball to deep RF that Ryan Church takes a tough route to, but brings it down. 2 out.

12:29pm: Wilson Betemit hits a tape-measure HR blast over the picnic bleachers in leftfield. Yankees now on the board but trail 3-1.

12:31pm: Melky Cabrera hits a grounder to SS Jose Reyes who throws high to Carlos Delgado at 1B. Delgado should've caught it, but the Error goes to Reyes. The ball went into the dugout, so Cabrera takes 2nd base.

12:33pm: Jose Molina hits a flyball to RF Ryan Church. 3 out. We move into the 7th-inning stretch with the Mets up  by a score of 3-1.

Bottom of 7th Inning:

12:38pm: Carlos Delgado hits a high flyball deep to RF, but Justin Christian catches it on the warning track. 1 out.

12:39pm: Ryan Church singles to RF.

12:40pm: Endy Chavez hits the ball the opposite way to LF for a base hit. Church to 2nd. Both Castillo and Chavez are 3-for-4 on the day.

12:42pm: Brian Schneider hits the first pitch into a 4-6-3 double play. 3 out.

Top of 8th Inning:

12:45pm: Met manager Jerry Manuel makes a double switch. Pedro Feliciano is on to pitch the 8th inning and will bat 5th in Carlos Delgado's spot, Fernando Tatis replaces Carlos Delgado at 1B.

12:48pm: Justin Christian flies out to LF Endy Chavez. 1 out.

12:49pm: The golden-thonged mustache Jason Giambi pinch-hits for David Robertson, and promptly hits the first pitch to LF Endy Chavez for out 2.

12:52pm: Joe Smith warming up in the bullpen in case Feliciano can't get Johnny Damon.

12:53pm: Pedro Feliciano strikes out Johnny Damon looking. 3 out.

Bottom of 8th Inning:

12:56pm: TBS announcer Chip Caray says that they were mistaken earlier about a double switch being made. There were two player changes (Tatis for Delgado, Feliciano for Perez) but they were not changed around in the lineup. Edwar Ramirez now pitching for the Yankees.

12:57pm: Marlon Anderson is in to pinch-hit for Pedro Feliciano. He flies out to CF Melky Cabrera. 1 out.

12:58pm: Jose Reyes flies out to shallow LF with SS Derek Jeter running it down. 2 out.

1:00pm: Luis Castillo flies out to LF Johnny Damon. 3 out.

Top of 9th Inning:

1:03pm: Enter Sandman. Billy Wagner is on to close out the game for the Mets. But he'll be facing Jeter, A-Rod and Posada in doing so.

1:05pm: Derek fucking Jeter lines a single up the middle that 2B Luis Castillo dives for but can't get to.

1:06pm: Billy Wagner throws a Wild Pitch in the dirt, Jeter to 2nd as the ball goes to the backstop.

1:07pm: A-Rod hits a shot that makes it to the LF warning track, but Endy Chavez catches it. 1 out.

1:08pm: Jorge Posada grounds to SS Jose Reyes, 6-3. Derek Jeter can't advance.

1:11pm: Billy Wagner throws a slider down Broadway and Betemit is frozen. Strike 3, 3 out. Game over. Mets win 3-1.

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

- Oliver Perez has his best start of the season, with only a Wilson Betemit solo bomb to taint an otherwise great performance. 7IP, 3 H, NO WALKS, 1 ER, 8 strikeouts.

- Carlos Delgado's moonshot HR to put the Mets up 2-0.

- Both Luis Castillo and Endy Chavez knocked out 3 hits each, accounting for half the Met offense. Ryan Church and Jose Reyes had 2 hits each.

- Feliciano perfect in the 8th, Wagner scares us in the 9th by allowing a leadoff single from Derek fucking Jeter, who then gets to 2nd base thanks to a Wild Pitch, but ultimately Wags gets the job done by then retiring A-Rod, Posada and Betemit.

The Mets finish up the first 81 games of the season at 40-41, and win the season series from the Yankees 4-2.


Post a comment Tags: new york yankees, alex rodriguez, new york mets, david wright, derek jeter, shea stadium, subway series, oliver perez …

Mets vs. Angels - 6/16/08 - Keys to the Mets Win

The New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday, 6/16/08 by a final score of 9-6.

A very exciting offensive-based game from start to finish with a lot of edge-of-your-seat moments, here are the key reasons why the Mets were able to take the first game from the Angels:

  • Staked Mike Pelfrey to a 2-run lead in the first, and tacked another run each in the 2nd and 3rd innings to go up 4-1 after 3 innings. One of those runs was a Jose Reyes creation. He ledoff the game with a walk, moved over to 2nd after Castillo grounded out, stole 3rd base with ease and ran home on the errant throw by catcher Jeff Mathis that went into leftfield.
  • Carlos Beltran finally hitting the longball. 2 of them. As I've said a bajillion times, Carlos Beltran is the key to the success or failure of the 2008 Mets. If he puts up 2005 numbers, this team is going to do poorly. If he puts up 2006 numbers, there is much hope for the postseason. But he needs to turn things around over the course of the season. Let's hope that tonight was the beginning of that.
  • Offense as a whole. Jered Weaver looked very average tonight, not the way he's pitched over the past 5 starts at all. The Mets' offense had to take advantage of that, and they did.
  • Pelfrey didn't pitch great, but he left the game with the 4-3 lead, and didn't choke in clutch situations. Pedro Feliciano's shoddy relief ended up charging runs to Pelfrey in the 7th. But hey, for once Pelfrey got the W!!!
  • Top 7, the Mets scored 4 very important runs off the Angels. Weaver left the game with baserunners on 2nd and 3rd. He was relieved by Jose Arredondo, who has been extremely effective for the Angels this year with a 0.69 ERA coming into the game. That ERA almost doubled to 1.32 after Arredondo couldn't stop the Mets. 2 runs charged to Weaver, 2 to Arredondo (though only 1 earned).
  • In what had to be the most important part of the entire game, with runners on 1st and 3rd in the bottom of the 7th inning, and Pedro Feliciano failing to record Angel outs, Aaron Heilman was brought into the game to face two right-handed All-star bats in Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Despite the ginormous lump in the collective throats of Met fans, with 1 out and only up  by 2 runs, Heilman may have made his best appearance in the 2008 season by not only striking out Vlad, but also striking out Hunter. VERY clutch performance from Aaron Heilman, a guy who needs to make these kind of performances the rule, not the exception.
  • After the scary bottom 7th inning, the Mets tacked on another insurance run in the 9th thanks to a Jose Reyes leadoff double. This was actually a single in which Reyes deked RF Gary Matthews into making a throw to 1B when Reyes was already in-between the bases, and went to 2nd on the throw. Very smart baserunning by Reyes. Then a Luis Castillo sac bunt that moved Reyes over to 3rd, and a David Wright sac fly that put the Mets up 9-6.
  • Duaner Sanchez pitched a perfect 8th. Billy Wagner wasn't lights out, and did allow 2 baserunners with 1 out in the bottom 9, giving the Rally Monkey a chance to make a difference for the Angels, but Wagner got Garrett Anderson to hit the ball hard at SS Jose Reyes, who promptly doubled off Chone Figgins at 2nd base to end the game.


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Since the Arizona Diamondback series at Shea Stadium in which the Mets lost 2 of 3 thanks to Billy Wagner blown saves, and the "Willie Watch" which picked up steam as a result, the Mets have since won 3 out of their last 4 ballgames.

One wonders if it's a coincidence that whenever the Willie Randolph firing rumors boil up, the Mets win more ballgames. After the initial May 26 meeting that Willie had with the Wilpons and Omar Minaya, the Mets took 3 straight series (Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco) before then losing 6 of 7 to San Diego and Arizona.

It's still too early to tell, but it's a curious pattern to take note of. Maybe this team requires consequences in order for them to play better baseball.

Game 2 of the 3-game series is tomorrow with a battle of top aces Johan Santana vs John Lackey.   I highly doubt the final score will be something resembling 9-6.   

Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, san diego padres, new york mets, texas rangers, arizona diamondbacks, angel stadium, shea stadium …

Tres vs Texas

The Texas Rangers are the ultimate in polar opposites, making for a .500 record of 34-34.

They are the best hitting team in MLB (Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Milton Bradley).
And they also have the worst pitching in MLB. (Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla (default ace), Scott Feldman, Kason Gabbard).

They even have a manager in Ron Washington who weathered an early headhunting this season as many were calling for his firing.

The good news is that the Mets starting pitching has been ranged anywhere from adequate (Maine, Pedro) to good (Perez) to fantastic (Pelfrey, Santana) over the past 9 games.

The bad news is the Mets' bullpen. A 4.14 bullpen ERA is 13th in the NL. In losing six of their last seven, the relievers have a 7.43 ERA, and Wagner is 0-1 with a 23.14 ERA in his last three appearances.

The Mets are 4-7 in June going into the series against the Rangers, and they're in desperate need of series wins. After winning series against Florida, Los Angeles and San Francisco, going 7-3 over those games, the team then lost 6 out of 7 games, losing 4 straight to San Diego and dropping 2 out of 3 to Arizona.

The pitching matchups definitely favor the Mets, even with the shaky bullpen that has reared its head over the past week. The problem is offense. The Mets bats are wildly inconsistent and sputter to score runs and there's no rhyme nor reason as to when/why their bats will heat up or cool down. Texas doesn't have that problem.

It goes without saying that the Mets must win this series before they go back on the road to face an extremely tough AL West-leading Angels, and another 3 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver. The same very weak NL West basement-dwelling team that took 2 of 3 from New York over Memorial Day Weekend.

The season isn't over yet, but the clock is ticking for the turnaround.

Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, new york mets, pedro martinez, shea stadium, johan santana, josh hamilton, willie randolph …

LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 6/1/08.

The month of June begins with the final game between the Mets and Dodgers this season. As the Mets lost 2 of 3 to the Dodgers in Los Angeles during May 5-7, the Mets MUST win this game in order to win the season series 4-3.

The Mets will be taking a late-night flight tonight after the game to San Francisco for a game against the Giants tomorrow night. The Dodgers will also be taking a late-night flight tonight after the game back to L.A. to play Colorado. This is something that ESPN announcers Jon Miller and Joe Morgan will mention several times during the national telecast.

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Top of 1st Inning:
5:08pm: Pierre slaps a hit past David Wright at 3B who was playing shallow. The ball goes into LF and Pierre scratches out a double.

5:12pm: Matt Kemp lines a single into CF that easily scores Juan Pierre from 2nd. Dodgers go up 1-0. Shit.

5:16pm: Jeff Kent watches strike 3 go right by him, even though it was slightly inside. 1 out.

5:18pm: On a 2-1 pitch, Matt Kemp gets picked off by Johan Santana as he's trying to steal 2nd. Kemp gets caught in a brief rundown as Jose Reyes chases Kemp back to 1st before laying on the tag. 2 out.

5:19pm: James Loney K'd. 3 out.

Bottom of 1st Inning:
5:22pm: Jose Reyes lines a single into CF.

5:24pm: Jose Reyes steals 2nd, though still almost gets thrown out by Russell Martin, who double-clutched.

5:25pm: Luis Castillo flies out to centerfielder Matt Kemp. Reyes dekes a throw but isn't tagging up. 1 out.

5:27pm: David Wright hits a bloop single to RF Delwyn Young. Not sure if Young misjudged it or was just playing too deep. Reyes was running full speed once he noticed the trajectory of the ball and runs past Russell Martin's tag to score. 1-1 game.

5:29pm: Carlos Beltran hits a swinging bunt which goes to the third-base side of the mound. Kuroda fields it and fires a bad throw to 1B James Loney who doesn't quite catch it, but pins it to his body long enough to demonstrate control, and Beltran is out at 1st. Wright to 2nd on the 1-3 play.

5:30pm: Carlos Delgado flies out to deep CF for the 3rd out.

Top of 2nd Inning:
5:35pm: Johan Santana gives up a leadoff walk to Russell Martin.

5:36pm: Delwyn Young strikes out swinging. 1 out.

5:38pm: Blake DeWitt strikes out swinging. 2 out.

5:41pm: Luis Maza walks on a full count. Russell Martin to 2nd.

5:44pm: Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda pops out to 1B Carlos Delgado. 3 out. Santana walks 2 in the inning but also strikes out 2. He has 4 Ks through 2 IP.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:
5:47pm: Ryan Church skies a ball to deep rightfield but Young catches it without a problem. 1 out.

5:48pm: Brian Schneider pops up to SS Luis Maza for the 2nd out.

5:50pm: Endy Chavez grounds out to SS Luis Maza. 6-3. 3 up, 3 down. Short inning for Kuroda.

Top of 3rd Inning:
5:52pm: Juan Pierre lines out to LF Endy Chavez. 1 out.

5:55pm: Matt Kemp hits a chopper past the mound on the third-base side which is bare-handed and thrown to first by David Wright, but Kemp has the speed to beat the throw. Infield single.

5:56pm: Jeff Kent grounds to Jose Reyes who makes a diving stop, gets up, flips to Castillo at 2nd, Castillo throws to 1st to complete the 6-4-3 DP. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:
6:00pm: Johan Santana grounds out to 2B Jeff Kent. 4-3. 1 out.

6:02pm: Jose Reyes doubles to left-centerfield. If Andruw Jones' fat ass was playing CF, Reyes probably could've went to third.

6:07pm: Luis Castillo grounds out to 2B Jeff Kent, 4-3. Jose Reyes to 3rd on the play. 2 out.

6:10pm: David Wright hits a line drive past 3B Blake DeWitt for a single to LF. Reyes scores and the Mets go up 2-1. Yeehaw!

6:12pm: Carlos Beltran hits a 2-run Strawberry shot to RF. BOOM SHAKKALAKKA. 2nd HR in 2 days. Mets up 4-1.

6:14pm: Carlos Delgado walks. Hiroki Kuroda is not looking too good, which worries me, cause if he continues to pitch poorly, we'll see the evil Hong-Chih Kuo soon. Mets need a lot more runs. Maybe they can space it out over the game? :)

6:17pm: Speaking of more runs, Ryan Church hits a 2-run bomb to RF! 6-1 Mets!

6:20pm: Brian Schneider hits only his 2nd double of the year as he smacks the ball to LF.

6:21pm: Endy Chavez getting the intentional pass with Johan Santana up next.

6:23pm: Pitching change. The evil Hong-Chih Kuo is in relief for Kuroda and will probably pitch at least 3 Innings.

6:25pm: Johan Santana grounds out to 1B James Loney. 3 out.

Top of 4th Inning:
6:28pm: James Loney hits a chopper that slightly glances off the tip of Johan Santana's glove, but SS 3Jose Reyes fields it cleanly and throws to 1st for the out. 1-6-3. 1 out.

6:29pm: Russell Martin grounds out to 3B David Wright. 5-3. 2 out.

6:31pm: Delwyn Young grounds out to 2B Luis Castillo. 4-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 4th Inning:
6:35pm: Jose Reyes hits a soft liner to 2B Jeff Kent. 1 out.

6:37pm: Luis Castillo hits a linedrive to 2B Jeff Kent, who dives in the air to make the play. Great D from a 40-year old 2B. 2 out.

6:38pm: David Wright singles to CF.

6:39pm: David Wright steals 2nd base easily.

6:40pm: Carlos Beltran gets the intentional pass so Kuo can pitch to the weak-lefty-hitting Carlos Delgado.

6:41pm: Carlos Delgado hits a solid line drive right into the glove of leftfield Juan Pierre. 3 out.

Top of 5th Inning:
6:45pm: Blake DeWitt flies out to LF. 1 out.

6:47pm: Luis Maza grounds out to 3B David Wright. 2 out.

6:49pm: Hong-Chih Kuo strikes out. 3 out.

Bottom of 5th Inning:
6:51pm: Ryan Church hits a flyball over CF Matt Kemp's head for a double.

6:52pm: Brian Schneider grounds out to SS Luis Maza. 6-3. 1 out.

6:54pm: Endy Chavez grounds out softly to 3B Blake DeWitt. 5-3. 2 out.

6:56pm: Johan Santana pops out to LF Juan Pierre. 3 out.

Top of 6th Inning:
7:00pm: Juan Pierre singles to center.

7:01pm: Matt Kemp grounds out to SS Jose Reyes who makes the throw to Luis Castillo but Pierre's hard slide and Kemp's speed prevents the double play. 1 out.

7:02pm: Jeff Kent grounds out to 3B David Wright who makes a great pickup on the ball. 5-4-3 DP! 3 out.

Bottom of 6th Inning:
7:05pm: Jose Reyes hits a chopper that Hong-Chih Kuo jumps in the air to field, throws to 1B for the out. 1-3. 1 out.

7:07pm: Luis Castillo pops out to 2B Jeff Kent. 2 out.

7:10pm: David Wright strikes out. Fucking Kuo shuts down this offense. 3 out.

Top of 7th Inning:
7:12pm: James Loney hits a leadoff single to CF.

7:15pm: Russell Martin hits a flyball to deep left-center, but it's caught by CF Carlos Beltran. 1 out.

7:16pm: Delwyn Young hits a chopper to 1B Carlos Delgado, 3-6 fielder's choice. Loney out at 2nd, Young on 1st. 2 out.

7:18pm: Blake DeWitt hits a long flyball down the RF line that goes foul, but not by much.

7:20pm: Blake DeWitt strikes out. 3 out.

Bottom of 7th Inning:
7:25pm: Carlos Beltran hits a grounder to SS Luis Maza, but Maza throws wide of 1B James Loney. Beltran safe at 1st on Maza's error. E6.

7:27pm: Carlos Delgado grounds to 2B Jeff Kent, who throws to 2nd to get the lead runner Beltran. Fielder's Choice, 4-6. Delgado on 1st. 1 out.

7:28pm: Ryan Church hits a grounder past SS Luis Maza for a single. Delgado to 2nd.

7:30pm: Brian Schneider looks at a low strike for strike 3. 2 out.

7:32pm: Endy Chavez lines out to LF Juan Pierre. 3 out.

Top of 8th Inning:
7:35pm: Luis Maza lines out to SS Jose Reyes. 1 out.

7:37pm: Terri Tiffey pinch-hits for Hong-Chih Kuo and grounds out on the first pitch to 2B Luis Castillo. 4-3. 2 out.

7:39pm: Juan Pierre takes a 4-pitch BB.

7:41pm: Matt Kemp hits a hard grounder up the middle for a basehit.

7:42pm: Willie Randolph comes to the mound and is taking Santana out. The fans are very happy with his performance, as they should be. Righty specialist Joe Smith is coming in to face Jeff Kent with 2 out and 2 men on.

7:45pm: Smith hits Kent in the butt with a pitch. Bases loaded with lefty James Loney coming up. It's time for either Feliciano or Schoeneweis to come in.

7:48pm: Lefty Scott Schoeneweis is in to hopefully get the team out of the jam.

7:50pm: On a 3-1 hitter's count, James Loney grounds out to SS Jose Reyes. 6-4. 3 out, crisis and ulcer averted.

Bottom of 8th Inning:
7:53pm: Cory Wade is on in relief for the Dodgers. Raul Casanova is in to pinch-hit for Schoeneweis.

7:54pm: Raul Casanova strikes out looking. 1 out.

7:55pm: Jose Reyes strikes out swinging. 2 out.

7:57pm: Luis Castillo grounds out softly to SS Luis Maza. 6-3. 3 out. Will we see Heilman in the 9th?

Top of 9th Inning:
7:59pm: No Heilman. Lefty Pedro Feliciano is in to pitch.

8:00pm: Russell Martin foul pops out to 1B Carlos Delgado. 1 out.

8:02pm: Delwyn Young hits a hard but harmless groundball chop back to pitcher Pedro Feliciano. 1-3. 2 out.

8:03pm: Blake DeWitt flies out to LF Endy Chavez to end the game. 3 out.

METS WIN 6-1!!!!

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

The Mets take 3 of 4 from the Dodgers, giving them the season series win 4-3.  After losing 2 of 3 to St. Louis at home, the Dodgers got swept in Chicago, and lost 3 of 4 to the Mets.  Good.

FUCK THE DODGERS AND THEIR ROTTEN SHIT FANS!

The Mets now go on to play the Giants in SF, and then Padres in San Diego. Here's to a winning June!

Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, espn, new york mets, david wright, andre ethier, shea stadium, johan santana …

LIVEBLOGGING: New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies 4/9/08

Wow, I haven't updated this blog in 6 months. That's not very good of me, but with the new 2008 MLB season, and the beginning of the NHL playoffs today, I'll be updating this a LOT more than I have since October.

Onto today's Liveblogging, which is the New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies on ESPN2. From beautiful (?) Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadow, NY. This is the 45th and final season the Mets will play at Shea Stadium. People often refer to Shea as a dump, and for the most part, it is. But it's still a nicer place than Yankee Stadium, even if Shea doesn't quite have the history.

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Top of 1st inning:
4:10pm First pitch from Mike "Should have been in the Santana trade" Pelfrey is to Shane Victorino, leading off tonight since Jimmy Rollins hurt his ankle. Boo hoo.

4:11pm: Pelfrey K's Victorino. Out 1.

4:12pm: Squibber hit in front of the plate by Bruntlett. Brian Schneider, he of great defensive skill, runs the ball down and throws to 1st for the 2nd out.

4:14pm: Chase Utley got hit by pitches 25 times last year. Ouch! That's a lot. In any case, Utley flies out to center for the third out.

Bottom of 1st inning:
4:16pm: Normal 2B Luis Castillo is out with a sore knee tonight, so Damion Easley is playing 2B instead. Angel Pagan will bat behind Reyes.

4:17pm: Jose Reyes draws a leadoff walk.

4:19pm: Angel Pagan hits the 1st pitch on the ground to pitcher Kyle Kendrick. He can't field it cleanly but is able to throw out Pagan at 1st. Reyes to 2nd. 1 out.

The announcers note that Jose Reyes hasn't stolen a base since Sep. 15 last year. This angers me since I'm counting on him for steals in my fantasy league.

4:20pm: David Wright singles the ball to rightfield, Jose Reyes scores easily. Mets 1-0.

4:21pm: Carlos Beltran lines out to Shane Victorino in CF. 2 out.

4:22pm: There sure are a ton of empty seats at Shea right now. Then again, it's quite cold in NY right now so I don't blame people for not showing. Of course, if this were Dodger Stadium, they'd announce the attendance at 50,000 either way.

4:25pm: Carlos Delgado draws a walk. Runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.

4:26pm: Ryan Church up, who is having a pretty good start to the season so far hitting .333, leading the team with 6 RBIs.

4:27pm: Church walks too. So now it's bases loaded for Damion Easley.

4:29pm: Damion Easley hits a chopper up the middle but SS Eric Bruntlett fields it and throws to 1st for the third out.
The David Wright single earlier in the inning that scored Jose Reyes was changed to an Error on Chase Utley, who really should have fielded the ball.

Top of 2nd inning:
4:33pm: Mike Pelfrey strikes out Ryan Howard. Ryan Howard either hits HRs or strikes out. Luckily, Pelfrey didn't give up a HR, yet. 1 out.

4:34pm: Pat Burrell singles up the middle.

4:36pm: Geoff Jenkins singles through the hole in between 1st and 2nd

4:39pm: It's starting to rain at Shea. Pedro Feliz hits what should be a double-play inning-ender, but Jose Reyes gives a bad feed to 2B Damion Easley who can't catch the ball. Error on Jose Reyes, and now it's bases loaded.

4:40pm: Carlos Ruiz singles to rightfield. Pat Burrell scores. Bases still loaded. Tie game at 1.

4:41pm: Pitcher Kyle Kendrick hits a squibber to Carlos Delgado in front of the first base bag. Delgado throws to Brian Schneider at home for the force. 2 out.

4:42pm: Shane Victorino grounds to David Wright who throws to 1st for the 3rd out.

Bottom of 2nd Inning:
4:46pm: Brian Schneider draws a walk to leadoff.

4:47pm: Mike Pelfrey lays down a nice sac bunt. Schneider to 2nd. 1 out.

4:49pm: Jose Reyes hits a broken bat grounder to Ryan Howard, who tosses the ball to Kyle Kendrick covering at 1st. Schneider to 3rd.  2 outs.

4:51pm: Angel Pagan draws a walk. That's the 5th walk from Kendrick, and it's only the 2nd inning.

4:56pm: Kyle Kendrick keeps trying to paint the corners but isn't getting the calls. He walks David Wright. That's the 6th BB now.

4:58pm: Carlos Beltran up with bases loaded. I'd much rather have Beltran up than Easley with bases loaded. But there are 2 out.

4:59pm: Beltran hits a 2-2 pitch to Chase Utley, who throws to Ryan Howard for the 3rd out. The Mets can walk all day but that's twice with bases loaded that they didn't convert anything. 3 out.

Top of 3rd Inning:
5:02pm: We are reminded, seemingly forever, of the 2007 Mets collapse. Curious how no one mentions that the Phillies, after winning the NL East, got swept in 3 games by the Rockies.

5:03pm: Eric Bruntlett grounds out, 4-3. 1 out.

5:05pm: Chase Utley strikes out. 2 out.

5:07pm: Ryan Howard finds a way to get a ground ball through the Ryan Howard shift on the right side, singling to rightfield.

5:09pm: Pat Burrell pops out to Damion Easley in foul territory of shallow rightfield. 3 out.

Bottom of 3rd Inning:

5:12pm: Carlos Delgado hits a double to leftfield. Carlos has been defeating "the shift" lately by hitting balls the opposite way.

5:14pm: Ryan Church hits the first pitch from Kendrick to centerfield for a single. Delgado moves to 3rd base.

5:15pm: Damion Easley singles a weak grounder through the hole in-between 3rd and short, Carlos Delgado scores. 2-1 Mets.

5:16pm: Brian Schneider lines out to Ryan Howard. 1 out.

5:19pm: Mike Pelfrey lays down a bad bunt right in front of the plate, but catcher Carlos Ruiz fields it anyways even though it was going foul, throws to Feliz at 3B trying to get the lead runner but it gets away from him so it's bases loaded again for the Mets. Charlie Manuel wants to argue interference by Pelfrey who briefly was in Ruiz's way as he tried to run, but that's horseshit. His catcher shoulda let the ball roll foul for an out. Instead, error on Ruiz.

5:20pm: Kyle Kendrick is visited at the mound by his pitching coach for the third time in this game, once per inning.

5:22pm: Jose Reyes hits what should be a 6-4-3 DP groundball to Eric Bruntlett, but he can't field it at all, so Church scores. Error on Bruntlett. Bases still loaded. Mets now up 3-1. The Phillies have 3 Errors in 3 Innings.

5:23pm: Angel Pagan doubles down the leftfield line. Damion Easley scores with Mike Pelfrey following. Jose Reyes to 3rd. Mets up 5-1.

5:24pm: That's it for Kyle Kendrick. Charlie Manuel giving him the early hook. Though the way he's pitching tonight, ya can't blame him. I guess there's hope for Mike Pelfrey tonight after all.

5:26pm: Funny that only one of the 5 Met Runs was charged to Kendrick. The rest were thanks to shoddy Phillie defense.

5:27pm: Now pitching for Philadelphia...delphia.....elphia....lphia..... Chad..chad chad chad...Durbin...Durbin....urbin... rubin.....

5:28pm: David Wright hits a grounder to SS Eric Bruntlett who can't field that ball either. They're sure missing J-Roll right now. Jose Reyes scores on the 4th Phillie error. 6-1 Mets.

5:29pm: Chad Durbin throws a wild pitch which hits the front of the plate, bounces over the catcher. Ruiz can't handle at all. The ball goes to the backstop so Angel Pagan scores. 7-1 Mets.

5:30pm: Carlos Beltran draws a walk.

5:31pm: Carlos Delgado is up again. The Mets have now batted around this inning.

5:32pm: Carlos Delgado lines out to Geoff Jenkins in rightfield who makes a nice diving catch. 2 out.

5:33pm: Ryan Church strikes out to end the inning. 3 out. Mets score 6 in the inning and now lead 7-1.

Top of 4th Inning:
5:39pm: Geoff Jenkins grounds out softly to Carlos Delgado. 1 out.

5:42pm: Pedro Feliz draws a walk after going full against Pelfrey.

5:46pm: Carlos Ruiz grounds out to 2B Damion Easley, who tags out Feliz and throws to 1st for the 4-3 DP. 3 out.

Bottom of 4th Inning:
5:50pm: Damion Easley skies a ball to shallow leftfield, caught by Pat Burrell. 1 out.

5:51pm: Brian Schneider grounds out to Ryan Howard. 2 out.

5:52pm: Mike Pelfrey strikes out. 3 out.

Top of 5th Inning:
5:55pm: Chad Durbin grounds out to Jose Reyes, 6-3. 1 out.

5:57pm: Shane Victorino grounds out to Carlos Delgado. 3-1. 2 out.

5:58pm: Eric Bruntlett walks. Why does Mike Pelfrey wear a mouthguard?

6:01pm: Chase Utley doubles to left-center, scoring Eric Bruntlett. Mets lead cut by one, now 7-2.

6:02pm: The announcers are talking a lot about Bill Buckner and his big return to Boston last night. They even show the famous clip from the 1986 World Series. I never get tired of seeing it because that is the definition of awesomeness.

6:04pm: Ryan Howard scalds a grounder right into the glove of 1B Carlos Delgado, who runs to the bag for the third out.

Bottom of 5th Inning:
6:06pm: Jose Reyes pops out to shortstop Eric Bruntlett. 1 out.

6:07pm: Shea Stadium ONLY cost $28.5 million to build back in 1964. I think CitiField costs around $600 million.

6:08pm: Angel Pagan grounds out to Eric Bruntlett, who almost boots that one as well but manages to hang on and throw to first for the 2nd out.

6:10pm: David Wright goes down on strikes. 3 out.

Top of 6th Inning:
6:13pm: Mike Pelfrey's pitch count was at 100 through 5 Innings, so Jorge Sosa is on in relief.

6:14pm: Pat Burrell hits a soft line drive that bounces to Jose Reyes, who boots it, but manages to recover in time to still throw out Burrell, who I imagine wasn't running too hard out of the box to still get thrown out. 1 out.

6:15pm: Geoff Jenkins grounds out to Carlos Delgado. 2 outs.

6:16pm: Dave O'Brien and Joe Morgan are discussing the Amazins lack of a no-hitter in franchise history, despite numerous former Mets such as Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Tom Seaver, doing so with other teams.

6:17pm: Pedro Feliz grounds out to Jose Reyes, 6-3. 3 out.

Bottom of 6th Inning:
6:21pm: Carlos Beltran strikes out. 1 out.

6:22pm: Carlos Delgado flies out to centerfield. 2 out.

6:23pm: Ryan Church grounds out to Ryan Howard, 3-1. 3 out.

Top of 7th Inning:
6:25pm: Carlos Ruiz fouls out to Carlos Delgado. 1 out. Eric Bruntlett's blonde beard is silly.

6:26pm: Greg Dobbs is up pinch-hitting for Chad Durbin.

6:29pm: Dobbs goes down swinging. 2 outs.

6:30pm: Shane Victorino flies out to leftfield. 3 outs.

Bottom of 7th Inning:
6:33pm: Clay Condrey is in to pitch for the Phillies. After Jorge Sosa pitched 2 solid innings for the Mets, with a 5-run lead, I wouldn't fault Willie for using Scott Schoeneweis in the 8th or 9th, providing the lead stays what it is.

6:35pm: Damion Easley leads off with a walk.

6:36pm: Brian Schneider singles to rightfield, Damion Easley stops at 2nd.

6:38pm: Marlon Anderson pinch-hitting for Jorge Sosa.

6:39pm: Anderson flies out to deep left-center. Shane Victorino catches up to it, but Damion Easley is able to tag up to 3rd base. 1 out.

6:41pm: Jose Reyes grounds to 2B Chase Utley. Schneider avoids the tag, Utley throws to first to get Reyes, and then they apply the tag to Schneider for the third out. However, Easley scored the run before Schneider was tagged out, so the Mets sneak another run in. 3 outs. Mets up 8-2 after 7.

Top of 8th Inning:
6:44pm: Pedro Feliciano is on to pitch the 8th Inning, and promptly gives up a leadoff single to error-maker Eric Bruntlett.

6:45pm: Chase Utley flies out to Angel Pagan in leftfield. 1 out.

6:47pm: Ryan Howard gets fooled on a nice changeup for strike 3. 2 out.

6:49pm: Joe Morgan tells a story about ordering a $9 hamburger from room service back in 1966 when he stayed in a Manhattan hotel. That's insane even nowadays.

6:50pm: Pat Burrell singles to rightfield. Bruntlett moves to 2nd.

6:51pm: Jayson Werth is in to replace Geoff Jenkins. Werth provides a right-handed bat against lefty specialist Pedro Feliciano.

6:53pm: Jayson Werth takes 4 straight balls for a walk. Rick Peterson out to check with Feliciano before he pitches to powerhitter Pedro Feliz.

6:54pm: Bases loaded, 2 out. Pedro Feliciano gets 2 strikes on Feliz before throwing 2 balls outside.

6:55pm: Feliz pops out to Damion Easley in shallow rightfield. 3 out. No damage done.

Bottom of 8th Inning:
6:58pm: Rudy Seanez is now pitching for the Phillies, Jayson Werth is now in RF in place of Geoff Jenkins.

6:59pm: Angel Pagan draws a leadoff walk.

7:02pm: David Wright lines out to SS Eric Bruntlett. He tries to double Pagan off of first but Angel gets back safe. 1 out.

7:04pm: Carlos Beltran flies out to deep rightfield. 2 outs.

7:05pm: Carlos Delgado flies out to Pat Burrell in left. 3 outs.

Top of 9th Inning:
7:07pm: Pitching the 9th for the Metropolitans is Carlos Muniz, who just replaced reliever Matt Wise after he went on the DL.

7:09pm: Carlos Ruiz goes down swinging. 1 out.

7:10pm: Pinch-hitting for Rudy Seanez, Chris Coste doubles down the leftfield line.

7:11pm: Shane Victorino grounds out to Damion Easley, 4-3. Coste to 3rd. 2 out.

7:12pm: Eric Bruntlett pops out to catcher Brian Schneider for the 3rd out.  Game over. METS WIN!!

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The Mets finally beat Philadelphia for the first time in the last 10 games. Mike Pelfrey pitched pretty well through 5 Innings, giving up 2 ER on 5 Hits. He walked 2 and K'd 3.

A big thank you to Eric Bruntlett, whose 2 costly Errors were the major difference in the game allowing the 6-run 3rd Inning.



Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, new york mets, david wright, espn2, chase utley, shea stadium, philadelphia phillies …

SOUND THE ALARMS

I'm in a strange position. I rarely get to see the Mets play, so I don't know exactly what the problem is with this team, and who is to say that even if I DID see them play on a regular basis, I'd be able to pinpoint the problem.

But I know they've lost 5 in a row. Philadelphia swept them at Shea, and now the lowly Nationals are on the verge of doing the same to the Mets at RFK Stadium. I know that when I see the boxscores, that the last two games the Mets scored in the 1st inning, getting out to a healthy 3-4 run lead, only to have their pitching staff continually squander that lead.

I know that the team committed 10 fielding errors in the course of 2 games, something that no Mets team had EVER done before. I know that this is not as good a team as they were in 2006, but they're not nearly as bad as they have been playing either. I'm not even going to talk about the postseason right now, because it may be completely for naught if the Metropolitans keep losing game after game. The Mets had a 7-game lead over the Phillies on Sep 12. No team has ever squandered that big of a lead and lost the division in MLB history.

Do I think the Mets are going to completely collapse? No. But is barely winning the division and then getting eliminated in the first round by (presumably) the San Diego Padres or Arizona Diamondbacks any better? No. The 2007 Mets need to somehow turn things around immediately and convincingly win this division by DESERVING it, as opposed to squeaking into the title.

I suppose in an ironic twist, I fully believe my 2nd-favorite team, the L.A. Angels of Anaheim, are going to win the World Series anyways, beating whoever they face (at this rate, it looks to be the Skanks, the Sux, and whoever the NL representative is)

Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, san diego padres, new york yankees, boston red sox, new york mets, world series, arizona diamondbacks …