On Deck: June 28- Yankees At Mets (Game 3)

New York Yankees (43-37 Road: 21-19) at New York Mets (39-40 Home: 21-17)  3:55pm

Andy Pettite (8-5 4.04) vs. Johan Santana (7-6 2.93)

TV: FOX   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: Obviously, this is a great pitching match up. That’s why Fox took it for their national game. Santana hasn’t won a game since June 1 and lost his last two starts. It’s time for him to lock down the Yankees for a win today. The Mets have a real chance to move up in the standings because the Phils are playing so poorly right now. Today is the perfect day to start taking advantage of that.

Contest Winner: Best Comment Of The Week June 23-27

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 04: Carlos Delgado #21 of the New York Mets rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the National League Division Series at Shea Stadium on October 4, 2006 in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Travis Lindquist/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Carlos Delgado

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Reader “td” wins the contest this week for suggesting that the Mets trade Carlos Delgado between games of the double header yesterday to maximize his value. td wins a copy of the book “Mets By The Numbers” by Jon Springer and Matthew Silverman.

Thanks to Matthew Silverman for supporting the contest here. Be sure to visit his website for information on his group gathering at the Shea Stadium picnic area for a game on September 24 against the NL’s best team, the Chicago Cubs. At that point, there will only be five games left at Shea. So be sure to join the group for an evening against the NL’s best. Hopefully, there will be playoff implications hanging in the balance.

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Pedro Horrible As Mets Lose 9-0 To Yankees

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This is the second consecutive awful start for Pedro Martinez. He gave up six runs before being chased from the game after 5.2 innings. He gave up six hits and five walks in that span to allow the Yankees to put the game completely out of reach.

Sidney Ponson was on cruise control against the Mets offense. Apparently, the Mets didn’t keep anything for the second game of the double header after scoring 15 runs in the first game.

It was an ugly game but not completely unexpected. Most double headers are split anyway.

Two Weeks For Mets To Make A Move

National League

Image via Wikipedia

The Mets have been an inconsistent, troubled team for much of the 2008 season. The next two weeks give the Mets an opportunity to show what the rest of their season will look like. There are series against the Cardinals and Phillies on the road, and the Giants and Rockies at home. It seems like they’ve been playing the Rockies way too much already…

The Cardinals are currently in the National League lead for the wild card and the Phillies lead the NL East. That’s an opportunity and a challenge.

The Giants and Rockies give the Mets a chance to stomp on some weak West division teams that have been out of the race this season.

To do that the Mets need a lot more than they’ve gotten from Oliver Perez. His 5-5 record and 5.29 ERA just isn’t getting it done. He’s always been maddeningly inconsistent but it’s been taken to new heights this season.

The injuries to Ryan Church and Moises Alou have obliterated the Mets plans for their regular outfield. Alou is a walking injury so that wasn’t completely unexpected but Church was the team’s MVP for the first two months of the season.  Before going on the disabled list he was hitting .300/ .365/ /.522 with 10 homers and 35 RBI’s.

If the corner outfield positions can be solidified and Perez’ spot in the rotation becomes more consistent, the Mets will be a contender this season.

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On Deck: June 27- Yankees At Mets (Game 2)

New York Yankees (42-37 Road: 20-19) at New York Mets (39-39 Home: 21-16)  8:05pm

Sidney Ponson (4-1 3.88) vs. Pedro Martinez (2-1 6.57)

TV: YES, WPIX    Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets go for the split stadium double header sweep tonight. Ponson is making his first start for the Yankees this season after being released by the Rangers. Pedro gets his first start at Shea Stadium since his win versus Texas on June 15. Hopefully, the Mets crowd will lay off Carlos Delgado for one game after he went berserk in the Bronx.

Delgado’s 2 HR, 9 RBI Caps 15-6 Win Over Yanks

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There was too much offense by the Mets to even cover it all in this recap. Jerry Manuel has to be very happy with what he saw today. He’s been looking for more offense from the Mets, and now we’ll see if they can be consistent with it.

Carlos Delgado went crazy today offensively. He set a Mets team record with 9 RBI’s. He was 3 for 5 with a double, two homers, one of which was a grand slam and the other was a three run shot.

Luis Castillo went 2 for 3 with 3 walks and 2 stolen bases and 5 runs scored. David Wright was 4 for 5 with 3 RBI’s.

Mike Pelfrey, the Mets’ starter, was shaky today after his three previous starts were very good. Pelfrey consistently had men on base but I liked the way he never let the game get completely out of hand. That’s a good sign. He went five innings giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks.

Fernando Tatis played first base and had two incredible diving plays but was charged with throwing errors on both plays. One of the plays should have been an error charged to Pelfrey who didn’t catch the ball.

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