Here’s the video from MLB with Johan Santana striking out David Freese for the final out of his no-hitter last night. It’s funny, I still can’t believe that this actually happened last night. I have the game on my DVR and there’s no way that I’m deleting that video. I’ll burn it to a DVD and hold onto it.
This is one of the rare videos that MLB makes available for us to embed on our site. So enjoy it and Let’s Go Mets!!!
I can’t believe that I’m finally writing this post. After 50 years, over 8,000 games… Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets history. The Padres are the only team left in MLB without a no-hitter in their history. And it feels good.
The game will be defined by two plays. Mike Baxter caught a fly ball while crashing into the left field wall. The catch kept the no-hitter in tact, although Baxter left the game with shoulder pain. The second play was a hit by Carlos Beltran down the left field line that was called a foul ball. Replays showed it hit the chalk but the umpire’s call on the field was foul.
After all the great pitchers in Mets history. And all the pitchers that went on to leave the Mets and throw no-hitters for other team, the Mets finally have their own no-hitter. It’s still hard for me to believe this actually just happened.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson spoke recently about his desire to discuss a long-term contract with David Wright’s agent soon. It makes sense for Wright to negotiate a deal now because he’s hitting nearly .400 for the first two months of the 2012 season. But the Mets don’t need to rush into anything. Wright is under team control through the 2013 season with an option year that’s certain to be exercised.
I expect serious negotiations to take place after the 2012 season ends between the Mets and Wright. Don’t forget that Wright is only 29 years old and has already earned about $40 million in his career, not including endorsements. So he doesn’t need to be in a hurry to sign an extension either. Plus, he would be one of the best free agents available after the 2013 season along with Curtis Granderson and Jake Peavey.
Check out the video from ESPN below with their take on the possibility of a contract extension for Wright during this season.
According to ESPN stats, attendance at Citi Field is down about 10% in 2012 through the first 19 home games. The Mets are averaging 27,683 paid per game. They finished 2011 averaging 30,108 in a park with a capacity of 42,000.
The Mets finished 2011 averaging 14th in MLB in home attendance. So far in 2012, they’ve slipped to 16th in the league.
Of course, much of attendance can be attributed to on-field performance. But the Mets have surprised early this season tied for third in the NL East and attendance is still slipping. The visiting opponents have a lot to do with interest in buying tickets as well. So far, the Mets have hosted the Braves, Nationals, Giants, Marlins, D-Backs, Brewers, and Reds.
The backlash against the Wilpons for the Madoff Ponzi scheme lawsuit also has something to do with fans staying away from Citi Field in my opinion. Allowing Jose Reyes to walk away in free agency because of related financial constraints didn’t help sway ticket buyers either.
It’ll be interesting to watch how attendance fluctuates this season. My guess is that the average game attendance continues to slide as the Mets begin to gravitate toward their predicted finish of an under-.500 team.
After losing a blowout Friday night and a pitching dual yesterday, the Mets try to avoid leaving Toronto empty-handed. The Blue Jays can send the Mets packing for Pittsburgh with a sweep today.
It may not be easy either as the Mets send Dillon Gee to the mound. He got bombed by the Brewers in his last start for 7 runs in 5.1 innings and the Phillies got him prior to that for 4 runs in 5.2 innings. Basically, he hasn’t been pitching well in the last two weeks.
Contrast that with Blue Jays starter Henderson Alvarez. He’s gotten wins in three of his last four starts and his ERA is 1.03 in May.
On paper, it doens’t look good for the Mets. But I have to say that early in the season the Mets haven’t let losses start to pile up on them. They’ve done a good job of coming back with wins before there can become a series of losses. Today will be a big test of that resilience that we’ve seen thus far in the season.
Much has been written this year about Ike Davis’ struggles at the plate. And he sure has struggled mightily. But when you look at his splits, he’s not hitting that badly on the road. He just can’t hit a lick at home. Going into tonight, his slash line for the season is .173/.236/.276. Really ugly!
But if you look at his home/road splits, he’s not hitting that badly on the road. He’s hitting a home run every 16 at-bats on the road this year. That’s better than his (short) career numbers of a home run every 25.8 at-bats. His slash line on the road this year is .286/.340/.490. Not bad.
Take a look at his home/road splits:
http://www.sports-reference.com/js/sr_share.js
Report from Baseball-Reference.com.
I’m not sure what to make of his road success this year in the same number of plate appearances and at-bats as he’s had at home. Do you?
Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada did a face plant on first base legging out a bunt in the fourth inning yesterday. He just got tripped up before the base and stayed on the ground for a few minutes. It was bad enough that he left the game and had an MRI.
It looks like the damage is a strained quad and facial cuts and bruising. He’ll probably go on the DL today before the Mets start their series in Philly.
Jordanny Valdespin is already on his way to Philly to re-join the team. He’s played in 7 games this year with only 6 at-bat’s and no hits. He’s also been playing the outfield at Buffalo but he’s a natural middle infielder.
It’s a shame to see this happen to Tejada so early in the season in a freak play like that. He’s been a big surprise to me so far this season. I thought he was going to be an automatic out but he’s been solid offensively hitting .305 with a .762 OPS.
The Mets Report 