R.A. Dickey and Jason Bay Over-Under

NEW YORK - JANUARY 05: (L-R) General Manager ...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The offseason leading into this spring might have been the most stressful I can remember. There was an eery silence coming from Jason Bay and his agent and Bengie Molina was still balking at the one year deal on the table. The holiday season had Mets fans begging for some free agent to sign or for Omar Minaya to pull off a trade with The Reds. Just when the tension became unbearable…it happened. The news hit that Minaya signed R.A. Dickey to a minor league contract.

At that moment, I thought Mike Francesa’s phone lines would burst into flames due to raging Mets fans. We were opening our windows at work and screaming in frustration. I was ready to move to some country that had never heard of baseball. Everyone understood the necessity of acquiring some depth. It just would have been nicer to know Jason Bay was locked down before Alex Cora was counting his millions. Continue reading “R.A. Dickey and Jason Bay Over-Under”

Mets 5 – Orioles 1 June 11, 2010

Chris Carter (R) of the New York Mets is greeted at home plate by teammate Ike Davis after hitting a three-run home run off of Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie in the fourth inning of their MLB interleague baseball game in Baltimore, Maryland June 11, 2010. REUTERS/Joe Giza (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets put up one run in the top of the first inning on a David Wright RBI single and they never looked back. The Orioles are just a terrible team and it’s a good time to beat up on a team during a road trip. R.A. Dickey was very solid again. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with him and it isn’t happening. Tonight he went 7 IP allowing 1 run and had a career high 8 strikeouts. The knuckler was moving. Rod Barajas had 2 passed balls and Dickey had a wild pitch that allowed the O’s to score their only run.

The Mets offense was solid with 10 hits and 1 walk. The big blast was a Chris Carter 3-run homer to right field in the fourth inning. Those are so rare for the Mets that it’s a shock when they get one. Wright was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s as well.

It’s a good way to start a three game series in Baltimore.

Box score

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Preview: Mets at Orioles June 11, 2010

New York Mets (32-28) at Baltimore Orioles (17-43) 7:05 pm

R.A. Dickey (3-0 3.20) vs Jeremy Guthrie (3-6 3.71)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets get three games in Baltimore this weekend against the worst team in baseball. That should help their poor road record (8-18). Dickey has made four starts this season and the Mets have won the last three. His knuckler has been much more effective than I thought it would be. Guthrie has pitched well this season. He’s only been hit hard in a couple out of his 12 starts. He’s a victim of pitching in front of a really bad team.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Mets Road Trip Preview: June 11-20, 2010

LONDON - APRIL 21: A passenger plane takes off from Heathrow airport on April 21, 2010 in London, England. Airlines are beginning to resume a normal service following six days of airport closures due to volcanic ash from Iceland covering British airspace. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets may have found their way to jump start some success on the road: awful American League teams.

The Mets will face two of the worst teams in the AL, the Orioles and the Indians, to start off the road trip. The final series, the Mets will take part in the second half of the Subway Series, with the final three games taking place at Yankee Stadium.

Friday, June 11th: Mets (Dickey) vs. Orioles (Guthrie) 7:05 PM
Saturday, June 12th: Mets (Takahashi) vs. Orioles (Matusz) 7:05 PM
Sunday, June 13th: Mets (Pelfrey) vs. Orioles (Millwood) 1:35 PM
Tuesday, June 15th: Mets (Santana) vs. Indians (Masterson) 7:05 PM
Wednesday, June 16th: Mets (Niese) vs. Indians (Talbot) 7:05 PM
Thursday, June 17th: Mets (Dickey) vs. Indians (Westbrook) 7:05 PM
Friday, June 18th: Mets (Takahashi) vs. Yankees (Vazquez) 7:05 PM
Saturday, June 19th: Mets (Pelfrey) vs. Yankees (Hughes) 1:05 PM
Sunday, June 20th: Mets (Santana) vs. Yankees (Sabathia) 1:05 PM Continue reading “Mets Road Trip Preview: June 11-20, 2010”

Carlos Beltran and Oliver Perez – Same Injury, Same Agent

Jun. 08, 2010 - Washington, DC, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - epa02192870 Sports agent Scott Boras chats on the phone prior to his client Washington Nationals' pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg making his Major League Baseball debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park, in Washington, DC, USA, 08 June 2010. Boras helped Strasburg sign a record 15 million US dollar contract as the Nationals' top draft choice a year ago, and Boras is also the agent for the Nationals' top choice this year, 17-year-old Bryce Harper.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsOne of the comments on my last post inspired me to write this one so keep the comments coming:

Carlos Beltran and Oliver Perez share the same agent and have the same injuries. Here are some interesting facts:

Back in 2000, injuries limited Carlos to only 98 games while with the Kansas City Royals and he lost the starting centerfield job to Johnny Damon, another Scott Boras client. Yes, you guessed it! The injury was a “bruised knee”. In July of that year Carlos refused a rehab assignment in Florida on the advice of Scott Boras. Kansas City management then suspended Carlos for almost a month and when he came back he ended up rehabbing in the minors anyway.

I know this was 10 years ago and should be ancient history but is it?

Back then Carlos’ desire to play for the Royals was questioned by teammates and management alike. These same questions could now be asked again of Beltran and of Perez.

Fast forward to 2009 where Boras has advised Beltran to have surgery on the same knee without consulting the Mets and now another of his clients, Perez, is also out with a similar mysterious right knee injury. Continue reading “Carlos Beltran and Oliver Perez – Same Injury, Same Agent”

Mets Home Stand Review: June 4-10, 2010

New York Mets batter Ike Davis tosses his helmet as he runs home after he hit a solo home run against the San Diego Padres to win the game in the eleventh inning of their MLB National League baseball game in New York, June 8, 2010. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsAnother Mets home stand, another successful Mets home stand.

The Mets swept the pesky Marlins to start off the festivities at home, and then took two of three from the surprise team of the National League, the San Diego Padres.

Friday, June 4th: Marlins 3, Mets 4
Saturday, June 5th: Marlins 1, Mets 6
Sunday, June 6th: Marlins 6, Mets 7
Tuesday, June 8th: Padres 1, Mets 2 (11)
Thursday, June 10th: Padres 4, Mets 2 (Game 1), Padres 0, Mets 3 (Game 2)

The Mets had something to prove in the first series of this home stand, as they were facing a Marlins team which had owned the Mets so far in 2010, holding a 6-1 record when facing the Metropolitans.

The Mets won a nail-biter 4-3 on Friday night, thanks in part to Hanley Ramirez not running hard on a ground ball which could have tied the game had he gotten to first base in time. The following afternoon, Jon Niese returned from a hamstring injury and pitched brilliantly, allowing just one run in seven innings.

The series finale didn’t look good for New York, as they were down 5-0 going into the bottom of the 6th inning. A 3-run 6th and 7th would tie the game at 6-6, and then Ike Davis would serve up a game-winning RBI groundout in the 8th inning. Continue reading “Mets Home Stand Review: June 4-10, 2010”

John Maine Rehab Assignment To Begin

NEW YORK - JULY 10: John Maine #33 of the New...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Mets pitcher John Maine will begin a rehab assignment for the Binghamton Mets in Trenton on Sunday. He says that he’ll need one more start after that before re-joining the Mets. He’s been on the disabled list for right rotator cuff tendinitis.

Maine can rest and rehab all he wants, but if he doesn’t re-gain his velocity there’s no way that he’ll be an effective pitcher. He just doesn’t have the control or secondary pitches to throw a sub-90’s fastball successfully.

The big issue for Maine is that he’ll be a free agent after this season and likely pitching somewhere else in 2011. This is his third straight season with health problems and he’s become a guy that can’t stay healthy and hasn’t been effective when he is healthy.

Maine will return to the starting rotation when he comes back, likely next week. The only reason he’ll get a rotation spot is because Hisanori Takahashi has been equally awful in his last two starts.

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