Mets Trade Castro To White Sox

ramon-castroThe Mets have been rumored to be trying to trade catcher Ramon Castro since the off-season. Clearly, he’s not one of Jerry Manuel’s guys. There’s no doubt about that. For all of the denying that Manuel has done about not having a dog house, Castro sure appeared to be in it.

The Mets finally were able to unload Castro with Brian Schneider coming off the disabled list today, and Omir Santos hitting in the clutch like Johnny Bench.

The Mets acquire relief pitcher Lance Broadway (0-1 5.06) from the White Sox and assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo where to plan to use him as a starter. In a move that appears to degrade the value of both players in the trade, the Mets are also paying $1.4 million of the $1.75 million that’s owed to Castro this season, the last of his contract.

Mets 7 – Nationals 4 May 27, 2009

The Mets complete the 3-game sweep of the Nationals tonight that was an interesting game in several aspects. First, Johan Santana was struggling through 6 innings giving up 3 runs. Although he was struggling, he did have 11 strikeouts. But he also had 6 walks and gave up 3 hits. It wasn’t vintage Santana but it was enough to get the win and raise his record to 7-2.

Another interesting aspect of the game was Daniel Murphy at the plate. He was 3-for-4 with a homer a double and 5 RBI’s. The home run in the sixth inning appeared to go off the Subway sign that overhangs right field. Initially, the umpires called the ball in play and Gary Sheffield was thrown out at the plate. But the play was reviewed and the umpires called it a home run off the Subway sign. It was really hard to tell from the replays. I’d be curious to know what they saw in their replays.

Sheffield was 1-for-2 with 2 walks and a key 2-run double in the first inning. Luis Castillo was 2-for-2 with 3 walks as well. It was a good offensive night except for David Wright going 1-for-5 with 4 strikeouts.

The Mets move back into first place with a Phillies loss tonight after completing the sweep of the sad Nationals team.

52709

Game Preview: Nationals at Mets [Game 46] May 27, 2009

washington-nationals-logo2Washington Nationals (13-32 Road: 6-16) at New York Mets (25-20 Home: 14-8) 7:10 pm

Jordan Zimmermann (2-1 5.71) vs. Johan Santana (6-2 1.50)

TV: SNY  RadioWFAN

What to watch: The Mets go for the sweep tonight behind ace Santana. He’s been astounding this season and expect him to put the hammer down on a poor Nationals team. Zimmermann is a good looking young pitcher that appears to have a bright future. He beat the Mets at Citi Field on April 26. Since then he hasn’t been that great but don’t discount him, he’s got some talent.

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

Mets 6 – Nationals 1 May 26, 2009

Tonight’s game was the Livan Hernandez show. He went the distance only giving up a solo homer to Adam Dunn. He gave up 9 hits and 1 walk and threw 127 pitches in the game.

The Mets offense was solid but the big hit came from Gary Sheffield. For the second night in a row he hit a 3-run homer, this one a line shot to straight away left field. His average is up to .291 for the season and he’s filling in quite capably as the Mets cleanup hitter.

The Mets take the second game of three from the Nationals and go for the sweep tomorrow night behind Johan Santana.

52609

Game Preview: Nationals at Mets [Game 45] May 26, 2009

washington-nationals-logo1Washington Nationals (13-31 Road: 6-15) at New York Mets (24-20 Home: 13-8) 7:10 pm

Craig Stammen (0-0 5.68) vs. Livan Hernandez (3-1 4.93)

TV: SNY  RadioWFAN

What to watch: Stammen has made one start against the Pirates this season and went 6.1 innings giving up 4 runs. Hernandez has been up and down but was excellent in his last start in LA. Fernando Martinez makes his season debut for the Mets tonight as well.

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