Month: July 2009

Mets 4 – Reds 0 July 11, 2009

Tonight’s game was marked by the debut of Jeff Francoeur with the Mets and Johan Santana getting back to his old form. Santana went 7 shutout innings giving up only five hit and 1 walk. He was outstanding and appears to be over whatever problems have plagued him over the last month and a half.

All of the Mets runs were scored in the first and second innings. And Francoeur chipped in with 2 RBI’s on a bloop single in the first inning down the right field line. That was one of his 2 hits on the night. Although he did have an ugly steal attempt and was picked off by the pitcher. Angel Pagan also had 2 hits including a triple and played a very nice center field tonight. Omir Santos was 3 for 4 tonight which is a nice recovery for him from a slump that had me doubting his viability as a big league hitter.

7.11.09

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Game Preview: Reds at Mets [Game 86] July 11, 2009

RedsCincinnati Reds (42-43 Road: 22-23) at New York Mets (40-45 Home: 23-20)  7:10 pm

Johnny Cueto (8-5 3.45) vs. Johan Santana (9-7 3.29)

TV: WPIX  Radio:  WFAN

What to watch: Cueto got rocked by the Phillies in his last start for 9 runs in .2 innings. He’s been up and down over the last month. Santana has lost four of his last five decisions. Look for Jeff Francoeur to make his Mets debut in right field tonight.

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

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Audio: Church, Minaya Discuss Mets-Braves Trade

Ryan ChurchHere’s the announcement to the media from Omar Minaya discussing today’s trade with the Braves. Ryan Church and Jeff Francoeur and trading right fields in the NL East.

Omar Minaya audio

This is Ryan Church’s reaction to the news that he’s been traded to the Braves. He does a good job of showing class when he could have taken the opportunity to air grievances with his year and a half as a Met.

Ryan Church audio

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Reds 3 – Mets 0 July 10, 2009

At this point, I’ve almost gotten used to the Mets getting shut out. It’s come to that point. They got a decent start from Fernando Nieve going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs. That’s enough to make a game of it on most night… for most teams.

Once again, the Mets had nothing going on offense at all. They only had 4 hits in the game and two were by Daniel Murphy. Again, there were no extra base hits. It’s ugly.

Bronson Arroyo got the complete game shutout tonight for the Reds.

7.10.09

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Mets Trade Church To Braves For Francoeur

Flickr photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Flickr photo courtesy of Keith Allison

We have the announcement of a trade this afternoon with the Mets sending Ryan Church to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur and cash. It’s basically a swap of under-performing right fielders. Despite Jerry Manuel’s denials, I think we all knew that Church was in his dog house.

We all know Francoeur, we’ve seen him a million times with Atlanta. He’s got a huge arm in the outfield and decent range. He strikes out a LOT and last season was a nightmare for him and he hasn’t been able to turn it around this season either. He’s 25 years-old and in his fifth big league season. He’s making $3.375 million compared to Church’s $2.8 million. That’s why the Mets are getting cash back.

It sounds like a fair deal to me. It won’t change the fortunes of either team in any big way this season or beyond. Both players weren’t meeting expectations, so maybe a new start will work out for them.

Church never seemed like the same player after he suffered a concussion in Atlanta last May. Until then, he was the most valuable player on the Mets. Then the Mets botched his medical situation and flew him around the country with a concussion. He ended up on the disabled list and has never been the same. I like Church as a player but don’t think he’ll ever have much success hitting lefty pitching.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t give us any indication of the direction that Omar Minaya is taking at the trading deadline either. This move doesn’t really improve the team other than adding a right handed bat to a lefty-heavy lineup.

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