Month: April 2011

Mets 6 – Nationals 4 April 26, 2011

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 05: Pitching coach Da...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The Mets won their fifth game in a row on their first game of a road trip to DC. Chris Young came back from the disabled list to somewhat of a shaky start. He only got through 4.2 innings allowing 3 solo home runs including two of those to Wilson Ramos. Young only allowed 4 hits and 2 walks but started getting pretty wild in the fifth inning. It was definitely time for him to get pulled.

The Mets offense was particularly impressive in scoring their 6 runs in four different innings. They had 12 hits and 1 walk in the game and kept stringing hits together. There was a big surprise in the second inning when Young laid down a safety squeeze scoring Ike Davis. I was so surprised that I thought it might have been a busted play with Davis making an unplanned dash for home.

Davis had 3 more hits in the game including a double to raise his average to .338 and Josh Thole put up 3 RBI’s in the game to lead the offense.

The streaking Mets go for the series win tomorrow night in DC.

Box score

Preview: Mets at Nationals April 26, 2011

New York Mets (9-13) at Washington Nationals (10-11)  7:05pm

Chris Young (1-0 1.46) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (1-3 3.70)

TV: SNY Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Nationals took a series from the Mets earlier this month at Citi Field. But the Mets are going for their fifth win in a row tonight. Young is back from the disabled list tonight after suffering from minor biceps tendinitis. He’s been pitching really well and looks to continue that against the Nats. He held the Nats to 1 run on 1 hit over 7 innings on April 10.

Zimmermann pitched poorly in his last start in St. Louis going 6 innings and allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. But he did beat the Mets on April 8 going 5.1 innings and allowing 2 runs.

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Video: Mets Weekly Report – Gee, Bay, Streaks

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: RY 24: Dil...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This week Kerel Cooper of On The Black and I talk about the Mets current four game winning streak. We talk about how we got here with strong starting pitching from Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, and Chris Capuano.

We also talk about Chris Young coming off the disabled list and the decision to keep Dillon Gee on the roster at the expense of D.J. Carrasco.

We update our thoughts on the Mets prospects for the season now that we’re nearly a month into the season.

 

Review: New York Mets The Complete Illustrated History

If you’re a Mets fan, and I’m assuming you are if you’re reading this, “New York Mets The Complete Illustrated History” by Matthew Silverman is a must-have coffee table book. It’s a large book filled with huge pictures of the Mets from 1962 through the 2010 season. If you’ve read any of Silverman’s other books, you know that he’s one of the foremost authors of Mets books. You can see the complete list of books he’s written on his website.

Of course, there’s extra attention paid to the teams from ’62, ’69, ’73, ’86, and 2000 as there should be. There are so many images that I’ve never seen before. Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Nolan Ryan together with Gil Hodges was a great picture. I always think of what could have been when I see pictures of Ryan.

Some of the images that really jumped out at me were:

  • Tug McGraw
  • Willie Mays celebrating in the locker room after clinching the NL East in ’73
  • Seaver when he got the news he was traded to the Reds in ’77
  • Doc Gooden in ’84
  • Lenny Dykstra’s walk off homer against the Astros in game 3 of the ’86 NLCS

The thing I like about books like this is that you can pick it up and read through Silverman’s rich description of a season or two. Or you can even go through a decade in an afternoon and get a great feel for the era. The late ’70’s and early ’80’s will be depressing though.

The World Series teams are the most exciting to read about. I particularly love to read about the build up from the abyss of the early ’80’s to the Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter trades, and Doc and Straw coming up to the team. The build up to something great was so clear and palpable.

Overall, it’s a great book to add to your collection if you’re a Mets fan. If you know someone that’s a Mets fan, this is a guaranteed hit as a gift. You can purchase the book at Amazon. It’s listed at $19.80 as of the writing of this post.

I did receive a promotional copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.

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Preview: D-Backs at Mets April 24, 2011

Arizona Diamondbacks (8-11) at New York Mets (8-13) 1:10pm

Armando Galarraga (3-0 6.00) vs. Jon Niese (0-3 5.87)

TV: SNY Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets have a chance at a sweep today against the D-Backs. They were terrible last season and they look just as bad this season. The D-Backs have won all three games that Galarraga started despite the fact that his pitching has been pretty average, at best. Over his last two starts against Cincinnati and St. Louis, he allowed 8 earned runs over 11 innings of work.

Niese’s last start against the Astros, a loss, was a good recovery from two really bad starts. He went 6 innings and allowed 2 runs.

It’ll be interesting to see if Carlos Beltran starts in right field today. He’s been playing for a long time without a break. With Angel Pagan on the disabled list, the Mets need Beltran to play as much as possible.

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Preview: D-Backs at Mets April 23, 2011

Arizona Diamondbacks (8-10) at New York Mets (7-13) 1:10pm

Barry Enright (0-1 6.23) vs. Dillon Gee (1-0 1.59)

TV: WPIX          Radio: WFAN

What to watch: If the weather holds out for the game today, the Mets will go for their third straight win. Gee is on the mound again for Chris Young after having a nice start in Atlanta. He went 5.2 innings against the Braves only allowing 1 run.

Enright hasn’t been very good in his three starts for the D-Backs this season as evidenced by his 6.23 ERA. He did have two good starts against the Mets last season though. He was 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA last season against the Mets.

Mets 4 – D-Backs 1 April 22, 2011

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 11: Jason Isringhausen #...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The Mets won their second game in a row behind a really strong start by Mike Pelfrey. Pelf went 7 innings allowing 1 run and lowering his ERA by 2.5 runs. He looked like the Pelf when he was going strong last season, his sinker was working for strikes and he mixed in a couple of curveballs for strikes too. It’s a shame that he hasn’t been able to be more consistent when you see him pitch like he did tonight.

The Mets couldn’t get much going offensively against Joe Saunders managing only 2 hits off him. They finally got on the board when the D-Backs bullpen took over and Ike Davis hit a 2-run homer. It was initially called a double off the center field wall. But Terry Collins asked for a review and got one. The instant replay clearly showed it was over the line of the wall for Davis’ second homer in two days.

The Mets put up some insurance runs in the eighth as the D-Backs kicked the ball around. And Jason Isringhausen and K-Rod locked down the late innings. This game was just how Collins would have drawn it up. I hope they can keep the good vibes going.

Box score