Month: July 2009

Phillies 4 – Mets 1 July 4, 2009

The Mets got a decent effort from Fernando Nieve, the kind of effort that you would expect from a guy that was claimed off waivers in the spring. He gave up 3 earned runs over 5.2 innings, not bad. Once again, the bullpen was spotless over the final 2.1 innings.

The problem again today was defense and lack of hitting. David Wright let an easy foul ball drop next to him. It appeared that a fan yelled “Got it!” and Wright thought Alex Cora was calling for it. And Omir Santos dropped an easy foul ball too that led to a run.

On offense, Cora was 3 for 4 and that accounted for half of the Mets 6 hits in the game. Even with their “offense” lineup on the field, the Mets couldn’t do anything against Jamie Moyer.

The Mets need a win tomorrow afternoon to avoid the sweep in Philly.

7.4.09

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Oliver Perez Returns To Mets; Redding To Bullpen

OliverPerez1As expected the Mets are moving Tim Redding to the bullpen to make way for Oliver Perez‘ return from demotion “injury”. Perez made two start at Triple-A Buffalo going 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA. That’s not exactly lighting the world on fire in the minors. Perez also had 9 K’s and 9 BB’s in his two starts. The word is that Perez will start at home on Wednesday against the Dodgers.

Redding and his 6.99 ERA are headed to the bullpen, I assume to be the long man. Of Redding’s nine starts this year, I would only classify three of them as being “quality”. He’s a good emergency starter, but isn’t much more than that.

The only real question now is who Perez will replace on the roster. My assumption is that Elmer Dessens will be designated for assignment. Redding will assume his role as the righty-long reliever.

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Game Preview: Mets at Phillies [Game 80] July 4, 2009

phillies logoNew York Mets (39-40 Road: 17-23) at Philadelphia Phillies (40-37 Home: 14-22) 4:10 pm

Fernando Nieve (3-1 2.25) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-6 6.05)

TV: FOX  Radio:  WFAN

What to watch: Nieve gets another chance in the rotation because of injuries. But he got lit up by the Brewers for 11 hits and 3 runs in 3.1 innings in his last start. He may not get another start if he gets bombed like that again today on national TV. Moyer has been pitching a little better lately after an awful start to the season. The Phillies have won three of the last four games that Moyer started.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!

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Phillies 7 – Mets 2 July 3, 2009

The story of this game is that Livan Hernandez got lit up by the Phillies for 7 runs in 3 innings. When that happens, the game is usually over. And it was in this case. The bullpen came in and threw five shutout innings, only giving up one hit.

On offense, Ryan Church was 3 for 4 and raised his season average to . 300. He’s looked so good lately going the other way. His swing has always  been the classic lefty pull hitter swing, but he’s really driving the ball to left field now and he played a pretty decent center field tonight.

There were two defensive bloopers by the Mets tonight that looked awful. It had absolutely no impact on the game because the Mets were out of the game so early. But Fernando Tatis didn’t cover second on a single up the middle and allowed Jimmy Rollins to walk into second base. And Daniel Murphy missed an easy throw at his chest from David Wright. The ball got by him and he and Brian Schneider both stood around while Shane Victorino walked to second base. Both plays were really ugly. Tatis isn’t normally a second baseman and Murphy doesn’t seem to be able to play anywhere capably in the field.

The Mets drop the first of three to the Phillies.

7.3.09

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Game Preview: Mets at Phillies [Game 79] July 3, 2009

phillies logoNew York Mets (39-39 Road: 17-22) at Philadelphia Phillies (39-37 Home: 13-22) 7:05 pm

Livan Hernandez (5-3 4.04) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (0-0 0.00)

TV: SNY  Radio:  WFAN

What to watch: The Mets take their two game winning streak into Philly tonight. The Phils just got swept in Atlanta and have lost six of their last eight games. Hernandez hasn’t pitched badly but the Mets have lost the last four games that he started. Lopez is making his season debut for the Phils tonight. He made 14 starts for Colorado last year and was 5-4 with a 4.42 ERA.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!

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Mets 9 – Pirates 8 July 2, 2009

This was a rain-delayed wild one. For starters, Tim Redding was terrible giving up 5 runs in 2.1 innings. When that happens you start to think the game is a lost cause but they came right back scoring in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to take an 8-5 lead.

The Mets got big offensive games from Fernando Tatis and Ryan Church getting 3 hits apiece. Daniel Murphy had a big pinch-hit single that scored two runs in the fourth inning that got the scoring started for the Mets.

Everything was looking good with the Mets leading 8-6 going into the bottom of the ninth. But Francisco Rodriguez didn’t have it at all. He gave up a pinch-hit single to Freddy Sanchez and then a homer to Adam LaRoche to tie the game.

Church had a game winning hit for the second straight day. He scored Tatis with the winning run in the tenth inning. Rodriguez pitched another inning in the tenth, which I was surprised to see. But Jerry Manuel didn’t have too many options in the bullpen. He used six relievers in the game because Redding got bombed so early.

The Mets win their second straight heading into Philly. But don’t plan on seeing K-Rod tomorrow. He threw 46 pitches in this one.

7.2.09

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