New York Mets (28-28) at San Francisco Giants (25-33) 10:15pm
Pedro Martinez (0-0) vs. Barry Zito (1-8)
TV: SNY Radio: WFAN
What to watch: Five years ago this would’ve been a great pitching duel. Now it’s a mystery. Pedro is always hurt, and Barry Zito’s skills have dropped off a cliff. The Mets need to take both remaining games from the Giants to salvage this series after getting bombed last night.
Oliver Perez couldn’t get out of the first inning. He gave up six runs on five hits (two homers) and two walks. This was even worse than his start at Shea against the Pirates on April 30th when he went 1.2 innings.
Jonathan Sanchez pitched a good game for the Giants giving up two runs over seven innings. The Mets were out of the game right from the start.
What a waste to fly all night to get to San Francisco for that. The Mets were completely out of the game from the first batter that Perez faced. That’s ugly.
CBS Sportsline is reporting that the Mets re-signed 34 year old outfielder Raul Gonzalez today to a minor league contract. He played for the Mets in 2002-03. He was playing in the Mexican League until being released last month. He’ll go to extended spring training in Port St. Lucie and then Triple-A New Orleans.
Don’t expect to see him with the big club barring disaster in the outfield. He’s a deep insurance policy.
The Mets have gone 5-2 on their recent home stand since Willie Randolph met with the Wilpons and Omar Minaya. Jose Reyes is on base constantly, Ryan Church is back, Pedro is back, Carlos Beltran is killing the ball, and Moises Alou is coming back. But Carlos Delgado is still a light hitting corner infielder, Oliver Perez is still erratic, and I don’t even know what to say about Aaron Heilman. I guess you could say he’s been hit harder than a piñata this season.
The question for the poll is: Are the Mets early season problems “fixed”? It’s a complex situation broken down to a simple question. I’m curious to see what you think. The poll is on the right side of the page.
The baseball amateur draft starts this Thursday and the Mets have plenty of needs in their farm system. Obtaining Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins this off season drained several of the Mets top prospects. That trade included the Mets numbers 2, 3, 4, and 7 prospects. I still like the trade and the contract for Santana. I think he’s got the right stuff and fluid motion to avoid long term injuries enough to be successful over the next seven years.
That said, the Mets need to re-stock young players. Bob Klapisch wrote a good column today on the Mets strategy for this draft. Continue reading “New York Mets Amateur Draft Strategy”
Peter Pascarelli of ESPN Radio talks to Johan Santana, prior to last night’s game, about his role on the team, the fans, his health, Pedro’s return, and the Mets early struggles.
Skip to about the 9 minute mark to hear Santana.
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New York Mets (28-27) at San Francisco Giants (24-33) 10:15pm
Oliver Perez (4-3 4.83) vs. Jonathan Sanchez (3-3 4.26)
What to watch: The Giants are a really bad team this season. But it’s a tough break for the Mets to play Sunday night fly to SF and then have to play a game the same day. I wouldn’t expect to see the Mets geriatric set playing tonight (Delgado, Castillo). As usual, who knows what’s going to happen with Perez pitching.
The Mets Report 