Carlos Delgado will be examined by a doctor today to evaluate his sore hip. He first felt the injury on Sunday when he hit a triple and slid into third base. Delgado didn’t play against the Florida Marlins last night but doesn’t expect the injury to be anything major.
More information as it comes in this afternoon.
The Mets got a good start by John Maine. Actually, it was an excellent start. He went 6 innings only giving up one unearned run on one hit. Another great sign for Maine is that he only threw 94 pitches over six innings. That’s usually one of his big problems, throwing too many pitches to go deep into games.
On offense David Wright was 2 for 4 with a triple, 2 runs, and 1 RBI. It’s nice to see him get something going with the bat. Daniel Murphy had a pinch hit triple. But the star of the game was Omir Santos who seems like he might be losing his status as the back up catcher and moving toward starting. He hit a grand slam off Anibal Sanchez in the first inning, complete with a curtain call from the crowd.
On defense Gary Sheffield got the start in left field and immediately dropped an easy fly ball. You would’ve thought it was Murphy out there if Sheff had spun around and fell down while he was dropping the ball. Carlos Delgado didn’t play after experiencing some pain in his hip when he hit a triple against the Nationals yesterday. Fernando Tatis started at first base. Also, Luis Castillo left the game after having some back spasms while running out a ground ball for a hit.
The Marlins lose their seventh straight game and the Mets go to 9-10 on the season.
Florida Marlins (11-7 Road: 6-3) at New York Mets (8-10 Home: 5-4) 7:10 pm
Anibal Sanchez (1-1 2.50) vs. John Maine (0-2 7.47)
TV: SNY Radio: WFAN
What to watch: The Marlins come to town riding a six game losing streak. Sanchez is a good pitcher who just turned 25 years old. His last start was a 7 inning, 3 earned run loss to the Pirates. The Mets would kill for a game like that from Maine. He’s been knocked around badly in his last two starts by the Cardinals and Padres. He’s another one of the Mets starters that needs to get it going or face the possibility of working out of the bullpen.
Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!
Within a five day span we’ve seen two examples of Carlos Beltran not sliding on plays that he clearly should have. You know what? I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me at all. The simple fact is that when you’re the best position player on the team with the highest payroll in the league you can make judgment calls.
On April 21st Beltran didn’t slide against the St. Louis Cardinals on a play at home. He stepped on Yadier Molina‘s foot and was tagged out. It was a bizarre play that Cards third baseman Joe Thurston made a great hustle play and throw on.
Yesterday Beltran didn’t slide on a steal attempt at second base because he thought that he heard David Wright hit the ball. He slowed up and was tagged out on the throw. Of course, the crowd boo’d him. He admitted after the game that he should have slid.
I’ve heard some people talking about how this is a bad influence on the younger players on the Mets. If any of the younger players on the Mets think that they’re the best position player on the team they should feel free to make judgement calls that are afforded to veterans like Beltran.
Of course, I’d like to see Beltran show the fire and go all out that everyone else wants from him. That’s not the way he is and I’ve accepted that along with his .406 batting average, outstanding defense, and 1.067 OPS. He’s kind of a soft player, not the kind that we like in New York. But he’s also an excellent player, maybe not one of the great ones, but very good.
Frankly, if he can avoid taking a few hits along the way this season he may be able to stay healthy enough to play 161 games like he did last season. That’s no small feat by the way. I’d rather see Beltran playing nearly every game this season than worry about one play and whether he slid or not.
In case you haven’t noticed, Carlos Beltran isn’t the problem with this Mets team. If you feel compelled to boo the home team, make note of every starting pitcher not named Johan Santana. Make sure that you notice Daniel Murphy stumbling around left field like a little leaguer and David Wright‘s .371 slugging percentage. Those are the problems with this team not Carlos Beltran.
Casey Fossum was designated for assingment after today’s game against the Nationals. He pitched in 3 games for the Mets after getting called up from Triple-A Buffalo when Nelson Figueroa was DFA’d.
Ken Takahashi is a 40 year old lefty who’s pitched very well at Buffalo. He’s pitched in 6 games, going 11.2 innings and has a 0.77 ERA.
I’m not sure what the Mets didn’t like about Fossum. He did give up 3 hits and 3 walks to the Nationals today. But that’s nothing compared to the disaster that Oliver Perez threw today. Then again, Fossum doesn’t make $12 million/year. So I guess that’s what happens.
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