Mets & Yankees off- season report

Dec-29-2008

The New York Mets GM Omar Minaya knew one thing back on Dec 8th when it was time for teams to sign free agents & upgrade themselves, it was time to make some moves to help Mets fans forget of the back to back collapses the team were coming off from.
It was also clear that the Mets needed to invest mostly in the bullpen an area where both collapses take most of the blame. The Mets main target this off season was making sure they get a closer. With that in mind and with a heavy crop of closers to choose from, Omar knew not to panic when time came to make that decision on who he was bringing in to replace Billy Wagner.

Well now the Mets have their 9th inning man in Francisco Rodriguez when Omar signed the top closer the market had to offer to a 3 year deal that will pay him $37 million dollars. With the poor economy on his side and also understanding that teams like the Yankees and the Redsox were not looking for closers, Omar also understood that he didn't need to overspend for a guy like K-ROD because these big market teams were already set in the closer's department. When you ad that the Mets also had a guy in K-ROD who was pretty much into the idea of putting on a Mets uniform, and you have the reason why Omar and the Mets were able to get the deal done at a premium.

From the beginning of the negotiations, it looked like the only teams the Mets had to compete with in order to get K-ROD were teams like the Angels, Dodgers or Cardinals. One would had thought that the Angels, K-ROD's former team, might want to keep the young 26 year old closer who was just coming off a record breaking season in which he had broken the all-time saves record. But instead the Angels decided to move on and not resign K-ROD as their ace closer. It would also make you wonder why a team like the Angels who are contenders wouldn't want to retain the closer, but they didn't and only time will tell if this was a wise decision by the Angels. Some say that the lost in his velocity has been a major concern throughout the league, and the Angels. Last season K-ROD's velocity was down from 97mph with regularity, to 93mph, but K-ROD has said that come next season he will bring the heat to show the Mets not to worry.

During the time when Minaya went out to reach out to K-ROD and his agent to try and sell them to the idea of coming to play in NY & Los Mets, that towards the end of their meeting, K-ROD had told Minaya that he really wanted to be a Met, and that right then and there Minaya knew that K-ROD was going to be a Met.

Now Rodriguez's will now come to the Mets with the pressure on him to try and help the Mets get rid of their chokers label which they now carry thought-out the league.
The one thing the Mets fans can expect from a guy like K-ROD is that he will bring that fiery in your face style and excitement to his game that the Mets fans already see from Jose Reyes. He is one of those guys that teams just don't like for his show boating ways. For sure he will get on many NL teams like the Phillies when he is giving the hitters his signature fist pumping finish, this making the Mets an even more hated team in the league.

K-ROD will hopefully give the Mets that confidence and toughness that the team lacks. So with Omar doing his job in replacing Billy Wagner, he then on the very next day acquires Seattle's closer J.J Putz in a 3 way trade to be the set-up man for K-ROD. In 2 days Omar has seemingly taken care of the Mets bullpen issues by getting 2 relievers of this caliber. At the same time Omar was able to get rid of 2 players off the team when he shipped Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweiss out of town in the trade. Now if Minaya can find a way to get rid of Luis Castillo then all should be good in Met land.

Putz comes to the Mets after a season in which he spent most of the year on the DL. But before his injury Putz was one of the top AL closers who for 2 straight years posted Era's under to 2, and commanded a fastball at about 98 mph. If he is able to come back to that form, the Mets then will have 2 closers to try and close out the games in the 8th and 9th innings. Last year after the 1st collapse, Omar knew he had to do something big and got the best starter that was out there when he acquired the best lefty in the game in Johan Santana. This year Omar needed to make another big move to try and help Mets fans forget, and he gets the best closer available.

There was a time last year that some fans questioned the decision by the Wilpon's when they extended Minaya's contract in September in the middle of their eventual 2nd collapse. But if your the Wilpon's, you can not complain about the job that Omar Minaya has done in his tenure here with the Mets. Minaya who is now entering his 5th year as GM, has increase the Mets attendances from 2 million fans in 2005, to 4 million in 08. Every year Minaya has added quality players to try and upgrade the team, from his 1st big move when he signed Pedro and Carlos Beltran, to his 2nd season when he added Billy Wagner and Carlos Delgado, to last season additions of Santana, and this year with K-ROD. If your a Mets fan you can't really complain about the job he has done when trying to bring good players in.
There are still more moves to be made and one can only feel confidence that Minaya will try and make moves that a Mets fan can approve. Hopefully he will be able to ad a nice outfielder, or a nice 2nd basemen like Orlando Hudson. Omar is being patience for sure, but I feel that there is some more big moves to be made.


And now shifting over to the New York Yankees, who have proved one thing so far, and that is money, and lots of it. Beginning with the signing of C.C. Sabathia to a 7 year deal of $161 million dollars, and then following that up a week later by then giving A.J. Burnett a 5 year deal of $80 million, and then 3 weeks later still have $180 plus to give Mark Texiera to be their new 1st basemen, one thing for sure is money is the theme with the Yankees.

As you can see money is not a problem for the Yankees, and they take care of theirs problems with money even with a bad economy, it doesn't matter. Just like Omar Minaya and the Mets, Brain Cashman and the Yankees were also on the hot seat after failing to get into the playoffs for the 1st time in 11 years. Cashman needed to make a splash as it is always accustomed in Yankee land, but this was more then just a splash when it comes to the amount that was spent on these 3 players.

Last year when Cashman decided to go with the youth and had decline a deal that had Melky Cabrera, Ian Kennedy, and Phil Hughes going out to the Twins for Johan Santana, he then took alot of heat after all 3 players failed to live up to the expectations put on them. It failed so bad that all 3 players are not even in the Yankee's immediate future plans when you look at it closely. This only made Cashman resort back to the only way the Yankees know how to operate, by spending big money on the top free-agents the market has to offer and over paying them to make sure they get them.


The word out on the streets is that Cashman is now in full control in bringing in the players he wants. But if you ask me, Cashman has been making his moves since last year when he decided to go in that youth movement direction. That was all Cashman but since it did not work, he is now on the hot seat and must now show and prove that he is a capable GM. So it is why this off-season moves have been, in a way, desperately made and out of control.

In getting Sabathia, the Yankees acted desperate in their pursue of the big lefty when they 1st made an offer to C.C. for $140 million and told him that the offer was not going to be there if he took too long. Then C.C. makes some comments saying that he wants to be a Dodger or play for a NL team, preferably in the west coast. As time past, the Yankees then started to worry that they may lose C.C. to another team and then began to stalk Sabathia by sending in guys like Reggie Jackson and others to keep track on him. By then the Yankees had now up their price to $161 Million, as then C.C. agrees to the deal in pinstripes.

Then you look at the 5 year deal that will pay A.J. Burnett $80 million plus, that was another deal made out of panic and was not well thought of if you ask me, this was a deal to a guy that before last year career year of 18 wins, had never had more then 12 victories and was always a DL visitor. The Yankees deal to Burnett should not had been for more then 3 years, but they gave him 5. The signing of Burnett only brings back memories of Carl Pavano when you compare the 2. The only difference is that Burnett has better stuff then Pavano, but only time will tell if this is Pavano 2.

The Mark Texieira deal was a good move by Cashman because they are getting a solid player who should fit the team and their 1B defense will also be upgraded at the same time, but to give him an 8 year deal is where the deal goes bad. I had predicted in my last post a few months ago that the Yankees will get C.C. and Texiera, and here they are. Look this is a good deal for the Yankees because Texiara is a solid player who will remind the Yankees fans of Tino Martinez, but in the long run the Yankees will pay the price. I don't ever remember the Yankees ever getting in 3 big contracts all in one year, but these are the times. When you spend $421 million dollars on 3 guys alone, it makes it real hard to root for you. But they are the Yankees and they have all the money in the world to spend on these players.

So where is Manny going?
From the looks of thing it's either the Angels or the Dodgers.

Look, the Yankees have already signed 3 big players to upgrade their team to the Mets 1 big signing of K-ROD, which is not that big if you start to compare his $37 million dollar deal. Minaya has always wanted Manny but the Wilpon's don't really like the idea of bringing in the problems that come along with having a guy like Manny on the team. But the Mets have seen how the Yankees have completely taken over NY this off season with the 3 big contract and must feel like they may want to make the final splash in the big city. So if you can get Manny for a 2 year deal then why not do it? Minaya is probably laying low, and waiting, so don't be surprise if when all is said and done Manny is a Met.

With the off-season report, This is Freddie Vargas.
See you on the rebound!!!

Mets Off-Season Wish List & Predictions

With the playoffs well underway, I at times find myself in deep though thinking of situations with the Mets David Wrigh & Jose Reyes as they try to create some Mets magic with triples and HR's, helping the Mets as they advance to the next round.
But instead, I find myself back to reality, and the reality is that the Mets are on vacation and in the playoffs a young Tampa Rays team is going up against the defending champions from Boston, while in the NL, that series has the Joe Torre & Manny Ramirez Dodgers advancing to face the Boys from Philly.
Instead of representing in these playoffs, the Mets once again are missing in action and missing out on a chance to excite NY in these playoffs. In the 45 years of the Mets existence's, The Mets & Shea has been the scene of the 69 Miracle Mets, and the 86 team of Doc & Straw, its only 2 World Series.
Part of being a Mets fan is appreciating the times when you win because when the Mets win, which is not very offen, miracles seem to happen. But when the Mets lose, they lose the hard way. So with the playoffs on display I watch and think of ways that the Mets could get better for next season with the off season luming.
Everyone knows that during this off season, the Mets faithful expects a lot of changes by GM Omar Minaya who most Mets fans, including myself, blame for not being able to make the proper moves to fix the bullpen after the 2007 meltdown. The 2008 bullpen was the same bullpen that choked in 2007, and so Minaya's mistake was that he was pretty much pining his hopes in 2008 with the return of Duaner Sanchez, while only acquiring Matt Wise as a free agent who was pretty much missing in action for the entire season.
Next year, Mets fans do not want to see the faces of Aaron Heilman and guys like Scott Schoewenwies or Pedro Feliciano, we want them gone, and we don't care if you have to trade all 3 and get one guy in return.
Of the 3 relievers, Heilman looks to be the one guy who the Mets could actually get some kind of value in return. Heilman does has stuff, but his problem is that he really cant handle the late inning pressures, and probably prefers to start games.
I think Heilman just needs a change of scenery, so you can see how some teams may be willing to take a chance on his stuff.
Another move Minaya needs to do is fill in the closers role now that Billy Wagner is pretty much done. Looking at what the market will provide this off season, the one name that Mets fans may immediately jump on to is K-ROD. Don't get me wrong, K-ROD would look real nice in a Met uniform, imagine K-ROD closing out games for his countrymen Johan Santana and helping Los Mets reach the playoffs.
K-ROD would be a real nice replacement of Wagner, but K-ROD will cost the Mets mucho dinero. Minaya may not want to invest on a guy who has already lost some of his velocity, and who carries that violent motion in his delivery. Talks around town is that K-ROD wants to come to NY saying that he would embrace, and likes, the hostile pressures that comes with playing in NY. He said he likes playing for fans that care so much and that it would only make him play harder. It reminds me of winter ball in Venezuela. But the word is that Minaya is not looking to invest another 100 million dollar plus contact just like he did a year ago for Santana, and that he is looking to fill in the closer hole with a lesser caliber closer. I wouldn't mind having a guy like K-ROD closing out the games for the Mets for the next 4 years, but I don't believe in breaking the bank on a closer. Thats just me. The Mets may very well still end up with K-ROD, but that is the one move I would stay away from because of how much he will command. But I still would be happy if K-ROD lands on the Mets.

We also here the talks around town that the Mets are also interested in getting the services of Orlando Hudson to play 2B. Luis Castillo who Omar Minaya made the mistake of signing to a 4 year deal last year, is another guy he needs to get rid of, as Castillo will certainly not be the Mets starting 2nd baseman come 2009.
I would love having a guy like Hudson who is a switch hitter & slick fielder and who would be a perfect #2 hitter in that Met lineup, I mean who would not like to have a guy like Hudson on the team?.
The word on the streets is that the Mets will also be looking at Manny Ramirez once again. Everyone knows that the Mets have been very interested in Manny Ramirez for the past 2 years now, but Minaya and the Mets just could not get a deal that would had made Manny a Met. Now Manny is a free agent and you know Manny is going to want to come to a big market team who can afford a guy like Manny, NY and the Mets would seem like a perfect fit. Imagine Manny coming to the Mets and teaming up with Minaya to open up the new CITIFIELD in 2009 with Santana on the mound, as a new era in Mets baseball begins. The Mets would like to get Manny on a 2 year deal, but most likely Manny is looking for a 4 year deal, so it wont be easy.
If Minaya can get a guy like Manny, even with the Manny being Manny issues, and all the antics, I'm all for it. Having Manny's bat in late September, and having the best righthanded hitter in the game, means no more bases loaded and no outs and no runs situations for the Mets. So Omar, go get Manny!

My predictions are that the Mets will not get K-ROD, hopefully land Orlando Hudson, but probably wont, and Manny becomes a Met.
Whatever happens, it should be exciting!

For the Yankees, I predict they will get Sabathia or Mark Texiera, or both.

And Now For The Mets

So I had my thoughts about the Yankees so what about the Mets? Another season another late season melt down and no playoffs for the Mets, again. So where do we start? Lets start at the top; the Mets gave Omar Minaya an extension, now don't get me wrong I really like Omar but this is the guy who has put these teams together that have melted under the pressure the last couple of years and he gets an extension. This is the same G.M. who let C.C. go to the Brewers, Harden go to the Cubs and even Blanton go to the Phillies. Omar stood pat while other teams in the National League went out and made some bold moves to get better. The Mets just resigned Jerry Manuel to come back to manage, another move that I just don't get. I mean did Manuel really do that good of a job? He couldn't get this team to the playoffs when all they had to do was win a game or 2 in September. Why wouldn't the Mets do their due diligence and at least look at other managers? I mean where other teams beating down Manuel's door for his services? I don't think so. So what about the players? The Mets don't have a lot of free agents, they just picked up the option on Carlos Delgado who had a good 2nd half of the season, a major change from the first half of the season where Met fans were practically booing him off the field. Anyone who has watched this team down the stretch knows that the bullpen was the weak spot for the Mets. Obviously the big name on the market is K-Rod but he won't come cheap and do the Mets want to commit that type of money to a closer? Probably not. Omar Minaya is going to have to earn his money this winter because the Mets are in a tough spot with Billy Wagner who is out for the 2009 season and might be done with his pitching career. So what would I do if I were running the team? Well, you say goodbye to some of the dead weight on the team, namely Pedro Martinez and hand over the pitching spots to the young guns in your system. What else would I do? I would have to shake the core of this team who have under achieved the last 2 seasons and who you could say over achieved when they went to the NLCS a couple of years ago. First off, I try and move Jose Reyes. On the surface it sounds crazy but this is the best time for the Mets to do it, he's signed to a very reasonable contract and you can use him to really plug some holes on this team. The other major move that I make? Trade Carlos Beltran. Beltran is a very good player but again he's the type of player that will get you some good pieces in return. The Mets have to do something drastic right now because this team as presently constructed can not win, they have proved it 2 years in a row and keeping the status quo would be a huge mistake. Just like for the Yankees, the winter is going to be a very important one for the Mets.

What to Do...The Yankees Version

So the playoffs are going on and for the first time since 1993 the Yankees are not a part of it. It feels a bit odd to me to watch these games and not see the pinstripes in the middle of it all. So what do the Yankees go from here? Last week the Yankees started the reconstruction of the team by resigning Brian Cashman to a 3 year deal. Good move by the Yanks, Cashman has only had real control over the team for 3 years and has done a good job in trying to restock the farm system and trying to get the Yankees younger. Sure, not all of his moves have panned out, like Igawa and Pavano but overall I feel he has done a good job and should get the chance to see his vision thru. So like many teams the Yankees have some decisions to make about their roster and free agents. Lets start with Bobby Abreu. Abreu has a good run with the Yankees and has been very consistent and depending on what type of money and years he wants I think the Yankees should bring him back. Jason Giambi, it was a nice run for him in NY but its time to cut ties with the Giambino. Andy Pettite and Mike Mussina, I feel the same way about these two guys, if they want to come back for another year you have to find a way to make it happen because you can do a lot worst than these two in the back end of your rotation. Carl Pavano. I'm not even going to touch that one. The Yankees obviously have some holes on the team, no real 1st baseman and some question marks in the rotation. So what do you do? I feel that the time is right for the Yankees to part ways with Robinson Cano. Right now might be a good time to do this because you can get something for him in return and might be able to plug up some holes. The Yankees will throw a ton of money at Sabathia and Burnett who look like the big two pitchers in the free agent market this winter. I say stay away from both. Sabathia is a gamer, no doubt about that but he's going to want to be the highest paid pitcher in the game and investing that type of money and years on a big guy like C.C. might not be the way to go. As for Burnett, the Yankees might be in love with him because he's pitched so well against them but this has Pavano version 2.o written all over it. The Yankees might be better suited to look for bargain deals with some free agents or go the trade route as opposed to going out for the biggest names out there. Another thing is that they can't forget about the young pitchers that they have, who I think can be productive pieces to the puzzle. Needless to say this off-season is going to the most important one for the Yankees because it'll set the stage for the next few years to come. I can't wait for the hot stove to start heating up next month. Coming soon, my thought on the NY Mets.

Post Season Preview, Predictions and Other Thoughts

Well it was a hell of a season with some very unexpected twist and turns and for the first time since 1994 there will be no post season baseball in New York City. Way back in April we made some predictions for the season, so lets see how we did:
I had the Red Sox winning the East, Indians winning the Central, Angels the West and Yankees the Wild Card. In the NL I had the Mets, Cubs, D'Backs and Braves and had the Yankees beating the Mets in the World Series. I guess my World Series prediction won't come true and I went 3-8 in picking playoff teams. Fred went 4-8 picking the Angels, Red Sox, Brewers and Dodgers.

So the post season match ups are all set we have the Rays and White Sox in what could be an interesting match up because the Rays are a young team and it'll be something to see how they react to the big stage of the playoffs. The White Sox come in stumbling as they needed to go to a play-in game with the Twins to reach the post-season. I like the Rays to pull it out in 4 games.
The other AL match up has the defending world champions Red Sox at Anaheim. The Red Sox have a few key injuries and I think them playing on the road in Anaheim and battling the injuries to JD Drew, Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett might be a bit too much to overcome. I want to say Anaheim in 3 but I can't see the Sox going down that easily, my pick is Anaheim in 4.

On to the N.L. The Brewers will go up against the Phillies. The Brewers are coming off a dramatic weekend which saw them over-take the Mets and win the wild card. No Ben Sheets for the Brewers and C.C. will only get 1 start will be too much for the Brew crew. I like the Phils to take this one in 4 games.
The other match up is probably the best one of the first round. The Cubs and Dodgers, two teams with a lot of history and huge fan bases. I'm sure the suits at MLB and Fox love this match up. The Dodgers are one of these teams that are quietly good, you dont really hear much about them but they have decent starting pitching and a pretty good bullpen and with Manny playing for a contract, you know he's going to do his thing at the plate. The Cubs come in with big expectations as the Cubs faithful believe that this is finally the year that they go all the way. The Cubs have had the luxury of setting up there rotation so they will go with Dempster and Zambrano at a 1-2 punch. I can see this series going the distance and the Cubs pulling it off in 5 games.

Look for my post-season assesment of the Yankees and Mets coming soon.

End of an Era as Mets make it back to back!

It was the end of an Era as another NY ballpark was going out of buisness. The New York Mets had everything on the line on what would be the last day at Shea. Most of the old Mets players from the past came by for old time sake as the Mets were to throw a ceremony after the game for one last time. Some even wondered if Dwight Gooden would even show up and come by for the festivities. Before the 1st pitch, the guy they called the Franchise, Tom Seaver, made his way to the center field area to help the lovable Mr. Met take down the #1 off the center field wall, indicating one last day. When the Met players ran onto the field, most of the fans were still running high with momentum from Johan Santana complete game shout out that kept the season alive for today. Now it was Oliver Perez who was expected to follow up Santana's performance and deliver the goods.

It was in the 3rd inning with the game still scoreless, that the Mets fans let out this loud cheer out of no where, it was after noticing that the Cubbie's had just taken a 1 to 0 lead on the Brewers.

If was still scoreless in the 6th, and if your a Mets fan like me, you start to feel the tension building as Marlin's starter Scott Olsen, is matching up Perez efforts. The rain then starts to fall making it for a more climatic scene as the Mets fans stay right in their seats regardless of the rain that falls on them. Leading off the inning for the Marlins was Cameron Maybin who doubles to start things for the Marlins as Mets fans begin to worry. Maybin was then followed by Jeff Baker who then would go on to single to score Maybin for a 1 to 0 lead. Jorge Cantu would follow with another hit and by now Perez begins to falter.
Perez would then get former Mets Mike Jacobs to fly out to deep left but both Baker and Cantu would advance to 2nd and 3rd. Jerry Manuel would then walk Dan Uggla to load the bases and set up a match up of Joe Smith vs Josh Willingham. The game had now reach nail biting time when Joe Smith then walks Willingham to force in the 2nd run. Joe Smith then finds himself and gets the next 2 batters to get out of the jam, keeping the Mets still in the game.
In the Mets 6th, Ronbison Cancel gets on to lead the inning for the Mets. He is then followed by Jose Reyes who then flies out to right for the 1st out. Up next was Carlos Beltran who then takes a Scott Olson pitch deep and over the wall for a game tying HR. It was just was the Mets needed at the time, and so things were starting to look up. For the time in the game I start to feel good about our chances today.
In the 7th, Endy Chavez makes a nice running catch to keep the game tied at 2, no way is that catch made if the Mets have Daniel Murphy or Nick Evans out there.
With the game still tied in the 8th, Jerry Manuel hands the ball to Scott Schoenwiess to keep the Marlins at bay. The Marlins counter with pinch hitter Wes Helms. Helms a veteran would go on to takes Scott Schoenwiess deep and over the wall giving the Marlins a 3 to 2 lead. You can here a pin drop at Shea. Manuel then relieves Schoenwiess and brings in Luis Ayala who proceeds to give up another HR, this time it was Dan Uggla who makes it back to back. I felt crushed.
In the Mets 8th, the Met quickly mounted a bit of a threat as they get 2 on with 2 outs and with Carlos Delgado coming up for the clutch situation. Delgado who has been the Mets most prolific hitter in these clutch moments, was looking to put himself into Big Papi status if he could deliver for the Mets and put them ahead. Facing the hard throwing veteran lefty Authur Rhodes, Delgado drives the ball deep to the opposite field in what looked like another opposite field bomb by Delgado. But it was not to be as the ball found the glove of Josh Willingham for the 3rd out.
Now I really felt crushed.
The Bullpen would go on to hold the Marlins in the 9th as the Mets now got ready for their final at-bats. David Wright led the inning off against the hard throwing former Met farmhand Matt Lindstrom, everyone in the stands was waiting for something to happen. You then start to get the feelings that the Mets could possibly go down for a 2nd straight year, on the last day. The count was 3 and 2 as Wright then flies out for the 1st out.
A concern look was now on all the Mets faces. Endy Chavez was up next as he then grounds out to the pitcher for the 2nd out. What is happening here? Damon Easley was the last hope and by now things start to look rather bleak at Shea. Damion Easley would come up and get on with a walk bringing the trying run to the plate.
Up next was the struggling Ryan Church who was due up next as you start to look for a prayer. Church took his swing and as the ball came off his bat, the ball travled deep and far in what looked like a game tying HR, but all it was was the end of the Mets when Church would fly out to Maybin and for the 2nd straight year the Marlins had put an end to the Mets in front of the home crowd, closing out the Shea ERA in tears. It was over.

Now the Mets were getting ready to pay respect to the old players who had helped write the Mets history books. It was suppose to be a joyous ceremony but it felt more like a funeral. It just didn't seem right. As you watch this unfold, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darliing looking a bit shaken, try to put into words what they had just finished witnessing once again.

It was not easy but this was reality and the season was now over. For a 2nd straight year the Mets had let is all go on the last day. This one was suppose to be special, one last game at the old eyesore, and one last miracle.
I guess this is how it is suppose to be for the Mets Next year, when the Mets get ready to open up the new CitiField, maybe a new brand of Mets baseball will come with it.
Seeing all the old Mets come out one by one made you a little misty eye cause you knew that you was watching the end of an Era in New York Baseball.
Yes Shea was an eyesore, and Yankees Stadium was really nice, but those are our childhood memories and come next year these 2 ballparks will be no more.
For many of us growing up and going to these parks as a kid was just part of growing up in NYC and being a baseball fanatic. Mets fan around the world, will never forget the last day at old Shea, and the collapse that helped seal the deal.

Thanks to Santana Mets still in it.

On the final day of the regular season at Shea, Mets will go out this rainy afternoon and prevent the Shea Era from ending in heart break for the 2nd straight year in a row.
Thanks to another brilliant performance by Johan Santana, who once again came up big like the big 7 year contract Omar Minaya signed him for, the Mets get to see another day of importants. There is nothing else to be said about Santana, excpet that he went the distance and pitched a shoutout to keep the Mets alive and make game 162 an important one, where the Mets will give the ball and trust it with Oliver Perez on 3 days rest, just like Santana had just done. This was a game where Santana had to be on point and make no mistake, and no mistakes where made. The Mets were only able to get 2 runs off of Marlins ace Ricky Nalasco who was also looking for his 16th win of the season, just like Santana. Nalasco was strong in this one but Santana was just better. The Mets runs were score when Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, then stole a base and score the Mets 1st run on Carlos Delgado RBI sacrifice fly which prove to be enough for Santana on this day.

The always pesky Marlins were no match today, and Santana was simply to much.
After the game the Mets would get some help when the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers to set up a tie for the Wildcard. As for the Phillies, they won there game againts the Nationals and have made it back to back Division titles. So now it either the Mets or the Brewers who will have to win thier games today to push a final game on Monday at Shea, to see who will be the last NL team to get in.
C.C Sabathia will go for the Brewers & of course it will be Oliver Perez for the Mets.

In the rain Beltran delivers

The emotions were high once again on a rainy night at Shea as the Metropolitan manage to stay alive in a must win game that was won in dramatic fashion.
It is never easy if your a Met fan even when they win a game where every inning is like a playoff pressure bubble waiting to explode right in face. But this time it was the Mets who exploded for 4 runs to come back and win a game that looked like another tough lost when Cubs farmhand Micah Hoffpaiur ripped his 2nd HR of the game to give the Cubs a 6 to 3 lead in 7th. At that point in the game, one starts to wonder about another lost opportunity that the Mets had delivered their fans for the 2nd year in a row, on the final season at Shea.
But on this night the bad memories from last year were put on hold when Carlos Beltran's game winning hit in the 9th, gave the fans some hope for October baseball.
The season is now down to 3 games with the Mets now tied in the Wildcard with the Brewers, and just 1 game behind the division leading Phillies. It's never was meant to be easy for the Mets fans who have endure so much pain even when they win.
Playoff baseball will continue tonight when the Mets will try to start the last series of the season, weather permitting, with the Florida Marlins in town.
Just like the Yankees had done a week ago, the Mets get ready to close out Shea for the last time, this weekend. Hopefully, it will all end with some happy times instead of the jeers and tears.

Hard to swallow lost may spell doom for Mets.

This will one hurt for a while. It will hurt for the way it all ended, for the many missed chances and opportunities squandered by the Mets during this devastating defeat. There were times during last night game that you felt good and confident about the Mets, but this was a night of highs and lows and ultimately it all ended with the lowest feeling one could ever take from a baseball game.

The Mets fell behind early to the Cubbies 1 to 0 in the 3rd when Carlos Zambrano let a few calls that didn't went his way effect him to the point of losing his cool.
At one point during his meltdown, a already very agitated Zambrano seem to have lost it all when Jose Reyes antics at 3rd base with the bases loaded, was halfway down the line because Cubs 3rd baseman Aramis Ramirez was playing way off the bag for Delgado who was at the plate. At this point, Zambrano was talking to himself, losing his focus entirely, when he then went on to groove a fastball that Delgado deposit over the wall opposite field for an electric grand slam that seemed like the night's key hit at that moment. The big hit from Delgado seemed to be the end for the Cubs, but it was just the beginning.

Oliver Perez who was on the hill was now pitching with a 5 to 1 lead, but it was in the 5th that Perez had his own meltdown that would ultimately get the Cubs even. Perez left the game in that same 5th inning with the Mets up 5 to 3, and 2 runners on bases as Jerry Manuel called for the anemic Duaner Sanchez to follow Perez. Sanchez immediately came in and gave up the game tying hit to Reed Johnson who drove in Fukodome on a error by the Mets left fielder, Daniel Murphy, it was now all tied at 5.

With the game now heading into the late innings and with the bullpen from hell ready for action, the chances against the NL best seemed slim. In the 6th, Joe Smith, who has been one of the few out of the bullpen you could actually trust coming out of the bullpen, came in, got the 1st 2 batters, then gave up 2 out hits to Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. Jerry Manuel would then call for journeyman Ricardo(straight out of the Mexican League)Rincon, who would come in to get Fukodome to stop the Cubs 2 out threat. The game then moved into the 7th, as Jerry Manuel goes to Brain Strokes who gets the 1st 2 batters he faces, but then allows a Alfonso Soriano 2 out double that drives in the go ahead run as the Cubs take a 6 to 5 lead. A glance at the scoreboard and you see that the Brewers have taken a 3 to 1 lead on the Pirates, making the situation worsen.
In the Mets 7th Jerry Manuel uses seldom use Ramon Martinez as a pinch hitter to lead off the inning. Martinez who has only had 1 at-bat as a Met, collected a lead off double, his 1st hit as a Met, to get things started. Jose Reyes would then came in to bunt the runner over but reached base safely to make it 1st and 3rd and nobody out. Things were starting to feel good for the Mets at that point as things looked gravy. Up next was Daniel Murphy who would hit a line drive to 1st that turned things sour for the Mets when Reyes was doubled up at 1st. David Wright would then complete the failed opportunity as the Mets finish the inning without pushing in single a run.
The game moved on to the bottom of the 8th, when the Mets led off the inning with a Carlos Delgado double. Again the Mets had things going as Carlos Beltran would then single to make it a 1st & 3rd situation with no outs. Once again the Mets had the inning set-up and this time Ryan Church would take his shot at the Cubs bullpen. Church would then strike out for the 1st out. Up next for the Mets was Ramon Castro who went down on a grounder to 3rd that would strand Delgado at 3rd for the moment. The Cubs would then go on to walk Endy Chavez of all people to load the bases for Ramon Martinez who was looking for his 2nd hit as a Met. This time Martinez would walked with the bases loaded to tie up the score at 6. But that was all the Mets would get out of this inning as Jose Reyes who last night had the key hit would ground out for the 3rd out.
In the Cubs 9th, Luis Ayala came in and got a scoreless 9th to move things smoothly. In the Met 9th, Daniel Murphy gets the 3rd straight lead off hit for the Mets in consecutive innings, and this time it was a triple that got things started. The Mets quickly found themselves in great position and no outs yet again, but then Lou Pinealla would then make a ballsy move opting to pitch to David Wright who would go on to strike out for the 1st out. Pineala then walks Delgado and Beltran to pitch to the struggling Ryan Church with the Base loaded. Church was put in the clutch situation with the game on the line for for the 2nd time in the game. With the infield in, Church grounds hard for a force at the plate for the out, leaving it all for Ramon Castro. Bob Howry who was the Cubs pitcher in the messy situation, would go on to strikes out Castro and again strand the runners. At this point in the game, the feeling is that the Mets had just let this one get away, to many chances where gone to waste for the Mets to overcome. The game now enters extra innings, and the Brewers have just won their game and now wait on this one. In the 10th, Ayala is still on for the Mets as he gets the 1st 2 batters he faces, but then goes on to gives up the go ahead run when Derek Lee drove in Ryan Teriot with a double.
Aramis Ramirez then took out the Mets hearts when he followed Lee's hit with a 2 run bomb that blew the game 9 to 6. Right then and there you felt done as a Mets fan, and start to wonder if this would just be to much to overcome. No way do the Mets come back from this one, you just knew that nothing Amazing was going to happen on this night. The least liked Met (Luis Castillo) lead off the Mets last hope of an inning and went down weakly for the 1st out, you knew it was over. Jose Reyes struck out for the final out of the game, as Kerry Woods and the Cubs seal the deal on yet another Mets heart breaker. This one really hurts because of all the missed opportunities that were missed over and over on 3 consecutive innings. On many nights on a Mets lost, we would be talking about how the Mets had just lost the game because of the bullpen not doing their jobs. But on this night the bullpen did get the job done, as it was the Mets bats who could not execute and break the game through.
The devastating lost now puts the Mets and tonight's game, is a must miss win situation, once again. The hard lost now falls on the right arm of Pedro Martinez, who all season long has not shown the Mets faithful any confident that he will keep the Mets in it to win it. Pedro will need to overcome his 1st inning jitters, if the Mets plan on coming out on top in this crucial game. Rich Harden get the ball for the Cubs, as the Mets will try to rebound from their worst defeat of the season.
Painful.

7 games at Shea, and the bullpen from hell.

Watching the Mets Jonathan Niese give up the grand slam HR to his pitching counterpart Jason Marquis in the 4th inning of last night game, was like taking a punch to the stomach. It was a reminder of last season when the Mets and their bullpen would go on to lose everthing on the last day of the season. One does not easily forget and watching last night game the memories were still very fresh.
This was not what I wanted to see from the Mets especially when your getting ready for a big series vs the NL best and the season on the line.
The Mets had an early lead of 2 to 1, but then everything came crashing down In the
4th as the Mets fell behind big 8 to 2. You could feel the energy leave Shea soon after the Marquiss bomb.
At the same time, the Phillies where playing the Braves, with a chance to pull
away 2 and a half games ahead of the Mets, a big win for sure if your the Phillies.
Then in the 8th inning, the Braves led off the inning with a leadoff triple, but they wound not score. The very next inning, the Phillies would erupt for 4 runs, as the rally towels were out in full force in Philadelphia, as the signs where negative for the Mets.
The Night would eventually end with the Mets losing 9 to 5, falling 2 and a half games back to the Phillies, as their Wild card lead is now a single game on the Brewers.
In the game, Carlos Beltran goes down with a possible injury when he crashed into the center field wall when making a nice running catch. Hopefully for the Mets, Beltran will not lose any time.
Now the Mets find themselves in a must win situation tomorrow night as the Mets will now give the ball to Santana in hopes to stop the 3 game losing streak, and prevent the pressure from building up. And it will not be easy, look for Lou Pinealla to have all his horses against Santana, just like he had against the rookie Niese.
I for sure, will pretty much take this game as a must win or it can all snowball into what we already know are the possibilities.
Lets go Mets!!!

Last 7 games means hit or miss for the Mets

Well it's now down to the nitty gritty for the Mets, who at the moment, with 7 games left in the schedule, find themselves fighting for a playoff spot againts the Brewers and their rivals the Phillies.

It seems to me that the Mets must at least win 5 to 4 of the remaining games if they want to be a representative in these playoffs.
After losing 2 straight during the weekend to the Braves, the Mets find themselves alive but with no room for error. Imagine if it all came down to the last game of the season once again, just like it did last year?
if so, the Mets will put all their faith in the hands of Johan Santana instead of Tom Glavine this time around, which is a good thing, but these are the Mets.

Imagine if the Mets were again to go down in front of their home fans, to the same team that took them out last season, the Marlins, in what could be the last game at Shea? I would say it's time for a new stadium.

Of course the Mets must 1st duke it out with the NL best the Chicago Cubs, with a 4 game series, a series where both teams could possibly match up againts each other if the Mets can find a way to prevail.

Lets go Mets!!!
oh the agony.

Mets split vs Phillies, claim back 1st.

It was a huge win for the Mets last night as they got what they needed after blowing a 7 run lead the previous night. It was huge because this erases any thought for the moment, of last year historic that played down the stretch.
Johan Santana pitched well for 6 innings but left the game down 3 to 2. But this time the Mets saved Santana in the losing column when Carlos Delgado tied the game with a 2 out HR in the 8th that led to 3 more runs, capped by rookie Daniel Murphy go ahead RBI's double. It was Delgado 2nd HR in the game and his 30th of the season. This is a guy in Carlos Delgado that earlier in the season the NY Mets fan base, including myself was ready to cut him loose because of his poor play. But the Mets are in this race because of Delgado's emergence which has fueled the team ever since he had the big game at Yankee Stadium where he ripped the Yankees for 9 RBI's in 1 game. Ever since that game, Delgado has been the clean-up hitter the Mets were missing earlier in the season when Carlos Beltran was the man in the clean-up spot and was not producing.
This is the Carlos Delgado of 2006 and the Mets can only hope his hot bat continues to come thru as they come down the final month of the season.
The Final score was 6 to 3 as the Mets get back in 1st place and move on to Florida for the weekend series vs. the struggling Marlins staring on Friday.

Mets Blow It

Up 7-0 to the Phillies, the Mets blow the lead and lose the game, and their hold on 1st place, in 13 innings 8-7. I've been saying it for a while now, the bullpen will be the death of that team. Met fans better remember that your starters can't go 9 innings all the time.

Mets make you cry, fall in 13th & into 2nd place.

Last night I got home to catch my Mets up 7 to 1 in the 5th inning as Pedro Martinez who at the time had 8 strike outs and was looking poised for the victory over their ach rivals the Phillies. But as everyone in Mets land would find out later in the evening, the Mets would once again let one get away in dramatic fashion. This was a game where you knew what was possible but didn't want to believe it could happen again, especially to the Phillies who last year around the same time would have all the answers for the Mets in every way shape or form.

The Mets had numerous chances in this one to add to the lead when they where up 7 to 1, but what I witness was 3 double plays that would eventually catch up to the Mets in the end for failing to add the runs that would had put the Phillies away for good.

The bullpen did ok, and it looked all good when Luis Ayala came in to get 1st Pat Burrel and then Ryan Howard to Start the 9th, but then it was Jason Werth who is one of the most clutch hitters, at least whenever he plays the Mets, who got a bleeder to keep things going, leading to pitch hitter Eric Brunlet who came up and deliver a gapper that just seemed to trickle away from both Beltran and Church in the outfield, so perfectly place that it led to the game tying run that led to 4 more innings of baseball.
From their on the Mets gave the ball to none other then Aaron Heilman who would pitch 3 nerve racking innings in where Heilman would be in trouble in all 3, but would some how get out of trouble each time. He made you sweat. But each time the Mets would come up to bat, they would come up 1,2,3 and go down without much of a fight, and you knew deep down inside if your a Met fan, that the Mets would eventually lose this one sooner or later.
It was in the 13th, when Scott Schoenweiss came in to relieve Heilman and quickly gave up a lead off triple to Shane Victorino to start the Mets demises. Jerry Manuel then loaded the bases knowing that the pitcher's spot was up, as Brett Myers came up to the plate and was order by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to just stand there and not swing the bat, as Myers got to a 3-2 count on Schoenweiss but then took a called strike 3 for the 1st out. But up next was Chris Coste who came in as a pitch hitter in the 8th and who was already 3 for 3 at the time who finally ending the night for the Mets when he delivered the game winning hit over Carlos Beltran who was playing in for the possible play at the plate.

It was a lose that had me having night mares last night, as I tried to get some sleep after all this. Johan Santana gets the ball tonight in a must win for the Mets who could claim back 1st with the victory.

Weekend Review, Week Preview

So all in and all it was a good weekend for the Yankees who went down to Baltimore and swept the Orioles at Camden Yards. The big news of this series was Saturday night where 'American Idle' made his first start of the season and got the win. Pavano looked a bit rusty but was able to get thru 5 innings, giving up 3 runs. The Yankees have a huge 3 game series with the Boston Red Sox starting tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees currently trail Boston by 5 games in the chase for the wild card so a poor showing in this series by the Yankees and that will be the final nail in the coffin for the '08 season, if the Yankees play well in this series then it should make for a fun September. After that series the pesky Blue Jays come to town for 3 games, the Yankees dropped 2 of 3 to the Jays earlier this week in Toronto.

Mets weekend review

When the Mets started the weekend series vs. the Houston Astros, the Mets where holding on to a 2 and half game lead on the 2nd place Phillies on top of the NL East. But after Sunday the Mets now find themselves holding on to the slimmest of leads of only a half of game, as the weekend which started off well for the Mets, did not end as the Mets would had like.
On Friday the Mets had a good start to the series in where they welcome back outfielder Ryan Church who had missed close to 3 months with his head injuries as the Mets faithful gave Church a standing ovation in the 2nd inning when he came up to the place. The Mets also got a good pitching performance from their ace Johan Santana who on a night where Santana didn't have his best stuff, Santana still manage to give the Mets 7 scoreless inning for a 3 to 0 victory. with the 7 scoreless innings, Santana has now piled up 16 straight scoreless innings up to date.
Luis Ayala was also able to secure the win for Santana in this one, and get himself his 1st Mets save as the Mets maintain there lead on the Phillies.

But In the 2nd game of the series John Maine was hit hard as the Astros won big by the score of 8 to 3. After the game the talks around the Mets club house was that there may be the possibility that John Maine may be done for the season as his arm which has given him problems for over a month now has not healed the way the Maine and the Mets had liked.
Jerry Manuel sounded as if he was looking for excuses after this one where he talked about Maine hurting the team because he is out there trying hard, but not at a 100%. It clearly sounded as if Maine season may be in jeopardy by the managers reactions after the game.
With the lost the Mets found themselves up by only 1 and a half game after the lost.

in game 3 on Sunday, the Mets had an early lead in this one of 3 to 0, in which the Astros tied the game, and then later in the game had a 2nd lead of 1 run in the game but eventually the Mets where not able to take home the victory as the Mets once again had the bullpen let it get away once again, which came in the 10th inning when Pedro Feliciano came in and gave up 2 bombs to Brad Ausmus who at the time had only 1 other HR for the season, and then 2 batters later gave up another bomb this one to Daren Erstad who had only 3 HR at that point. It was another bullpen metldown for the Mets as the Astros won the game by the final score of 6 to 4, spoiling Oliver Perez and the Mets day in which Perez pitched well, and Carlos Beltran hit 2 homeruns in the lost. Clearly the Mets bullpen relivers of Pedro Feliciano and Duaner Sanchez have looked more and more like Aaron Heilman lately where they have not been reliable at all once they come into games. Right now who can the Mets trust in the bullpen? This has to be one of the worst bullpens in the league right now, and one just has to wonder can the Mets get buy with this current bullpen?

Later in the evening , the Phillies played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Sunday nights ESPN game of the week, where the Phillies came back in the 9th to tie it and then win it in extra innings, as the Phillies now stand just a half of game back of the Mets.
Now the Mets get ready to close out the series with Houston tonight as the Mets now give the ball to Mike Pelphey in hopes of the series split.
Tonights game is a big one for the Mets cause after this the Mets get ready for a rare 2 game series againts those same Phillies on Tuesday, in Philadelphia, who at the moment find themselves ready to make their move on the Mets. The Phillies will also play tonight and will finish their 4 game series with the Dodgers and will be looking for a 4 game sweep.
From here on in the Mets and Phillies look headed for another dramactic September run to see who will be this year representative in the NL East.

Note: Seems to me like Luis Castillo, who has been missing in action for some time now with his injuries, and who was schedule to make his comeback in the Houston series, is being pushed back by the Mets brass and Omar Minaya. It is clear that the Mets like what they are getting from Argenis Reyes and Damon Easley as a platoon at 2nd base and do not want to mess with the chemistry. On Saturday Castillo had to give an interview and was trying to explain himself on why he has been pushed back for a later return, and was very careful on what he was trying to say when explaining himself, and was also visibly upset. It's seems to me that the Mets want Castillo out and not back anytime soon and have told him to chill out for now.
I wont be surprise if we dont see Castillo back again this year unless an injuries happens to his successors.

Mets weekend review.

And now with the Mets weekend update,

And what can you say about the New York Mets as the boys from Queens took care of some light weight competition during the weekend just like they had to do, as the Mets make it 6 in a row with just 38 games left to go.

Johan Santana completed the stellar weekend performance by pitching his 1st career shout-out as a Met, giving the shaky bullpen the day off and the Mets a bit of a swagger. The offense was provided by Brain Schneider who went deep for his 4th dinger of the year driving in 3 runs, as the Mets beat the Pirates by the score of 4-0.

The Mets offense so far through the weekend has been a team effort, in which the lineup has provided some early offense giving the starting rotation some breathing room and something to work with.

The Mets well balance attack along with its good starting pitching, has moved the Mets to a 2 game lead on the 2nd place Phillies, and right now the Mets are playing like one of the best team in baseball. But one thing the Mets still have is a bullpen that has been the Mets biggest problem so far this year, and if you're a Mets fan, one cannot get too comfy because you know this is the same bullpen that blew it for the Mets last year.

Another thing this Mets team has is Jerry Manuel making the calls from the dugout and right now he seems to be the right guy to lead the way. Manuel who plays a more aggressive ball then Willie Randolph did and is a manager that likes to play the hot hand, has been the perfect leader thus far, as one can only hope that he will be able to lead the team in the right direction as the season comes to its final month and a half. This team also has a #1 in Johan Santana that can only help the team down the stretch, and a 5th starter in the name of Pedro Martinez, and if Pedro Martinez is your #5, then you have to feel pretty good about the rotation.

The Mets will now go for their 7th in a row later this afternoon and try to complete this series against the Pirates as they go for the series sweep. John Maine will get the ball, and this will be his 2nd start after coming off the DL. Maine will look to continue this good starting pitching for the Mets, and will be seeking his 11th win of the season.

To try and provide some help for the bullpen, the Mets acquired 30 year old veteran righty reliever Luis Ayala who been a Expos-National his entire career. Ayala may not be anything to get excited about, but at the moment anything will do, at least Omar is doing something and he is doing at the cheaps when you take into consideration that he only had to give up Anderson Hernandez to get Ayala services.

Yankees Win!

The Yankees finally won a game, now they're only 6 games out. What a mess. Right now the hottest team in the leauge is the Mets, winners of 5 in a row. Seems to me like we've seen this before from the boys from Queens, they're beating up on the teams they're suppose to beat up on. Lets see how long they can keep this going for.

Mets Report: Back in 1st!

The New York Mets are back in a 1st place tie with the Philadelphia Phillies after routing the lowly Nationals last night 12-0. It was a game the Mets needed as John Maine made his return on the hill with 5 scoreless innings and Brain Strokes pitched the last 4 for the win.
This was a big win because it lets the bullpen rest for the day, a bullpen that right now looks like the worst in the league. This is pretty much the same bullpen that blew it last season down the stretch, and which is taking on the same look of late.
Jerry Manuel saw it last season and needs to make some changes to prevent what he already knows about his bullpen. Some starters may have to be moved to the bullpen Manuel said, right now the Mets are scrapping against teams like the Nationals and Pirates, so we know what is ahead. The Mets have the advantage in that their remaining schedule favors them when it comes too the poor teams they will be playing, but nothing is going to be easy as it was poor teams like the Nationals that eventually led to the Mets demise last season.
Also Billy Wagner is out and even when he is good he makes you cringe, and don't let me get started with our current closer Aaron Heilman.
The good thing is players like Fernando Tatis who keeps on producing big time, and now Rookie Daniel Murphy has come up from the minors and has done wonders with his limited time in the bigs.
Jose Reyes has continued with his productive ways, and if Mike Pelphey stays on the right path, then the Mets I think should be ok. Now if only Carlos Beltran bat can get going, then I would feel much more comfy with the Mets chances. But for the moment we are tied for 1st, and this is much better then where we were just a month ago which was some 6 games back, so let's go Mets!!!

D.O.A.

Its over for the Yankees. It was a valiant effort, I mean they lost Matsui, Posada and Wang for the season and have had a ton of other injuries which was too much to overcome. The good thing? Football starts in a few weeks.

Bad Weekend

I don't even know where to begin with the Yankees. All season long I've been trying to convince myself that this team is better than what they've shown on the field even though deep down I know better and I know that this is not a playoff team. It's hard to admit it but this Yankee team is just not that good. They're too old, too many injuries and are just way too inconsistent to really contend for a playoff spot. Maybe, and I really hope this happens, this will be the true wake up call for the Yankees and they won't go down the same road they've been going down the last 7 years and I think they've already started with trying to build the team from within and making smart signings and trades. If it means sacrificing this season for it then I'm all for it. I guess time will tell.

Pedro and the Mets

Yesterday I mention how Pedro Martinez must now start to show the Mets a little something of his old form, well, as PEDRO threw his 1st pitch, it was quickly launch over the left field wall for a leadoff HR off the bat of Jody Gerut. This was clearly not the Pedro I was looking for as 2 batters later Pedro gave up another long ball, this time to Brain Giles. Martinez pitched into the 7th inning, and wound up giving up 3 runs, but to me it is clear that Martinez was pitching very carefully and this to a last place team that does not feature much of a scare with the lineup they have, I mean the only guy you get scared of is Adrain Gonzalez and he ain't all that scary. I can not see Pedro doing the job against a Phillies or Marlins lineup that features a bunch of guys that can take you deep, and I don't want to even imagine Pedro vs. a good American league team like Sox or Angels or a potent Yankee lineup.
The Mets went on to lose the game 4-2 and fall back 3 games back, and again must win tonight's game to at least take the series against the lowly last place Padres. The Mets David Wright gets the goat of the game in this one as he made 2 big mistakes.
1st in the 5th inning, Wright was on 1st base with the rookie Daniel Murphy on 2nd with 1 out, when Carlos Beltran drove one deep to right only to get caught by Giles when Wright simply forgot how many outs they were and had taken the METS out of the inning by his blunder. Then in the 7th, Wright made an error on 3rd which was eventually the go ahead run for the Padres.
The Mets will now give the ball to Johan Santana this afternoon, and hopefully he can go all 9.

J-E-T-S

How about the Jets stepping up and trading for Favre? Good move by Gang Green.

Ouch

Joba is on the DL and Jeff Karstens who the Yankees traded to the Pirates took a perfect game into the 8th inning today. Karstens is 2-0 since the trade with a 0.00 ERA. I guess pitching in the Minor...I mean National League has its advantages.

Yankees take another hit

The New York Yankees took another hard lost last night after the previous night where they has lost the game and Joba Chamberlain.
With an already fragile rotation, the Yankees were counting on Andy Pettite to give them a lift but is was not to be as Pettite gave up runs early and offen. The Yankees made a comeback but were not able to finish the job as AROD finished the game with a game ending double play.
The lost was made worst because both the Rays and the Sox, the 2 teams ahead of the Yankees both won their game leaving the Yanks now 6 and half games back. Whats worst is that the Yankees have a tougher division then the Mets and this is looking more and more harder to overcome with the last 2 losses. The Yanks send Sidney Ponson to the mound in hopes to get the Yankees back on track.

Mets hang on.

It was a big win for the Mets who were pretty much playing a must win against the last place Padres. Mike Pelfrey who came up big with 6.2 strong innings, found himself locked in an early pitchers duel vs the 6 foot 10 inch righthander Chris Young. Pelfrey got some big time support by one man and that man was Fernando Tatis who once again came through for the Mets.
So far this year Tatis has been the one big pickup that Omar Minaya gets credit for as Tatis just seems to be involved in every Mets victory. 1st in the 4th, Tatis tied the game up with a solo blast, then in the 6th, with the Mets down 2-1, Tatis homered again, this time a 3 run shot that put the Mets ahead 4-2.

But in the 9th, with the Mets ahead 6-2, Aaron Heilman gave up a 3 run blast to Jody Gerut to make the Score 6-5. This was Heilman 9th homerun given up this season and one has to wonder if bringing in Heilman is a good idea anymore as he has given it up more times then a Hunts-point Ho. On a night where the Mets did not have the services of Billy Wagner, the Mets were able to hang on as the Padres did not have anything left and so the Mets prevailed for the must have victory.


Earlier today the Mets had to put Billy Wagner on the 15 day DL. Now the Mets will have to count on a bullpen that features a already banged up Duaner Sanchez, who last week, was having a hard time reaching 88mph on his fastball, and who is looking like a prime candidate for a little time on the DL. The Mets will also have to count on Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis as your 2 lefties relivers, including 2nd year man Joe Smith who has been ok but is not one who you can count on for more then a couple of batters at a time, and then you have Aaron Heilman.
If you're a Mets fan, you get the feeling that when Heilman comes into a game that soemthing bad is going to happen once you spot that nervous look in his eyes that he sports from time to time, especially in those tight situations. Rookie Eddie Kunz will now be part of the bullpen as the rookie will probably have to save the Mets wins down the stretch.


Tomorrow night, Pedro Martinez must now start showing the Mets something, as the season is down to 50 games left and we still haven't seen Pedro do his thing, or perhaps we will never see Pedro do his thing again. If the Mets make the playoffs, there is a possibility that Pedro Martinez may be the Mets 5th starter, which was not the plan.

Damn

Last night hurt, not only losing the game in the bottom of the 9th and not being able to take advantage of losses by the Red Sox and the Rays but Joba get hurts in the process. Not a good night in Texas.

On another note, you gotta love Ozzie Guillen for admitting that he's told his pitchers to throw at batters. I love how everyone is 'outraged' by this, like he's the only manager who's ever done this.

Down But Not Out

What a win today for the Yankees, facing the Angels today, the same Angels team with the best record in baseball, facing their ace and being down 5-0...what do the Yankees do? They storm right back to take the lead, they give up the lead and storm right back again and take the lead for good for a 14-9 win today at the Stadium. Big day for Xavier Nady who had 6 RBI's and who should have had 7 if it wasn't for Abreu's blunder on the bases and for Pudge who hit his first homer as a Yankee. The win was big because it sends the Yankees off on there most important road trip of the season on a high note, they're off to Texas for 4 games then to Anaheim for 3 and to Minnesota for 3 more. The next 16 out of 19 games for the Yankees are away from the Stadium and I feel that this stretch will make or break there season.

What is going on with the team from Queens? After winning 10 in a row they can't seem to do anything right anymore, going 1-5 on a road trip that took them to Miami and Houston. The good thing for the Mets is that they have the Padres at home this week before starting a big series with the Marlins over the weekend. The Mets might be without Wagner who's suppose to have an MRI on his forearm and I don't know if they have someone ready to step up and close out a close game if Wagner is not there.

He Did What?

So I was watching the Dodgers-D'Backs game last night and saw a rare sight; Manny Ramirez hit a dribbler between the pitcher and catcher and he actually hustled down the line to beat out the throw. I don't ever recall seeing Manny run out a play like that. If I were a Red Sox fan I would be pissed because regardless of the all the numbers he put up, he could never seem to care enough to run out a grounder and then the first day with a new team he's hustling like some 21 year old rookie. If there was ever a true addition by subtraction, I think we're going to see it with this Red Sox team.

On another note, the Yanks lost a heart-breaker last night 1-0, got great pitching out of Ponson and couldn't scrape up 1 run. The great teams find a way to win those types of games. The good news is that the Yanks have scored 5 runs in the first 5 innings today.

People that know me know of my dislike for FOX's Joe Buck but I have to give him credit today, Jose Molina leading off the fifth inning, Buck said that Molina is in a good spot because he hits well when he leads off an inning and 2 seconds later Molina hits the ball off the foul pole. Good observation Joe Buck.

Good race going on in the NL East right now, I think that this might be the race to come down to the last week of the season with the Phillies, Mets and the surprising Marlins battling it out.
Should be a good race.

Theo Pulls the Trigger

I couldn't believe it but the Sox traded Manny away today to the Dodgers and got Jason Bay to replace him. As a Yankee fan it makes me happy because we don't have to deal with the Ortiz/Manny 1-2 punch but as a sports fan it makes me even happier because its great to see a team finally say ENOUGH to a selfish, me first player. Playoff hopes be damned. Simply put, Manny is a disgrace to baseball, thankfully he's wasn't on the Yankees. How much did the Sox wanted to get rid of this guy? The Dodgers aren't paying anything for his services. Maybe there is some hope in sports.

Yankess Make Their Move

So the Yankees made another move today, trading Kyle Farnsworth to the Tigers for Pudge Rodriguez. At first I didn't think this move was not necessary for the Yankees but the more I thought about this, I really like this move. Molina is a very good catcher but is not a great hitter and a catching tandem of Pudge and Molina it makes the team that much better and putting Rodriguez on the Yankees will surely fire him up. Farnworth or as I like to call him Farnsworthless has been been pitching well of late but I'm not going to shed a tear now that he's gone. Another good move by Cashman.

A New Sports Blog

So I thought this would be a good idea to share thoughts/ideas with a couple of friends in the east coast about all our various sports teams. I hope we'll have some fun with this and have some good discussions about baseball, football, hockey, basketball although I have a feeling that baseball will be the biggest discussion topic. Let the good times roll.