Month: June 2008

Easley Homer In 10 Caps 5-4 Mets Win

image The Mets made Jerry Manuel’s first win as manager a dramatic one. David Wright tied the game in the ninth inning with an RBI single scoring Jose Reyes.  It was only K-Rod’s second blown save of the year.  Damion Easley won it in the tenth inning with a solo home run off Justin Speier.

Oliver Perez had what’s come to be a typical start for him.  He was pitching well until giving up three runs in the fifth inning.  The middle innings seem to be a problem that he can’t overcome.  His final line was six innings pitched giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks to go along with two strikeouts. He was wild at times and doing some crazy hesitation motion like Asian pitchers in the sixth inning.  It’s hard to understand what’s going through his head sometimes.

Reyes had a huge offensive game going 3 for 5 with three runs scored, one of those hits being a triple.  Carlos Delgado also had a solo homer in the fourth inning off Jon Garland.  Wright was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI’s including the critical RBI hit in the top of the ninth.

The bullpen was clean through the last four innings of the game. Joe Smith, Scott Schoenweiss, Duaner Sanchez, and Billy Wagner all looked very good tonight.

The Mets win 2 of 3 in Los Angeles against a very good Angels team. The team has an off day tomorrow before beginning a weekend series with the Rockies in Colorado.

Box score

Video Highlights

Video: Mets Players On Willie Randolph

The Mets “core” players talk about the decision to fire Willie. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright do the talking. Beltran is particularly insightful about the players causing Willie to lose his job.

NY Times: Jerry Manuel Profile

I’ve read many profiles of new Mets manager Jerry Manuel over the last 24 hours. Most have been too brief with Zen-like references of his reading preferences. For a more in-depth description of who Jerry Manuel is take a look at Ben Shipgel’s profile of Jerry Manuel in the New York Times.

Some quotes from the column:

Manuel’s other preferences include more fluidity within the lineup, which includes a partiality for moving Beltrán, the regular cleanup hitter, or Wright, the No. 3 hitter, if he sees fit, and the hopes of establishing more definite roles among his relievers.

I like that quote because I’ve thought all along that Carlos Beltran was miscast as a cleanup hitter. It would be nice to see David Wright there once in a while too. I’m looking forward to a fresh perspective on the Mets lineup.

Willie Randolph Speaks To Media

Although I’m pretty much done with Willie Randolph at this point, he did have some comments to the mass of media assembled outside of his New Jersey home today. He said that he didn’t think that Omar Minaya was going to fire him. He thought that a couple of coaches were going to be fired. Here are a few quotes:

"No, I thought he [Minaya] was talking about whacking a couple of my coaches," Randolph told reporters in the driveway of his Franklin Lakes, N.J., home.

"That’s why I was stunned," Randolph said. "The way he was talking to me, I thought I was secure for the time being."

"I felt all along this team would play better and we would eventually get into the season and do really well," said Randolph, wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt with a Negro League design on it.

"In my mind this happened way, way too early."

I have to say that I’m a little surprised that he came out with some of these comments. I won’t say that he came out swinging but he did have some pointed comments. I thought that his thoughts would be much more subdued in an attempt to position himself for another managerial interview.

Read the full story at the NY Post.