Tag: Billy Wagner

Mets, Maine Beat Nats 5-2

New York- John Maine (1-1) got his first win of the season pitching 6.2 innings giving up five hits, four walks, and two earned runs to go along with four strikeouts. He wasn’t quite as sharp as we saw in spring training but it was good enough for a win tonight. Joe Smith finished off the seventh and the eighth innings. Billy Wagner closed out the ninth for his second save.

The Mets had an unusual power surge with home runs from Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and Ryan Church against his former team. Luis Castillo also had a quiet 3 for 4 night.

The Mets secured the series by taking the first two games of the three game set. They’ll finish the series tomorrow night at Shea Stadium with John Lannan (0-2) up against Nelson Figueroa (1-0).

Box score

ESPN Video Highlights 

MLB.com Video Highlights 

Is Aaron Heilman Back On Track?

Aaron Heilman 03:45, 19 July 2007 . . Metsfan7 . . 700×680 (428,001 bytes)Image via WikipediaAaron Heilman pitched the eighth inning tonight despite having three poor performances to start the season. I have to admit that I thought it would be better to put him in a less stressful position. Willie Randolph is loyal to his veteran players, sometimes to a fault. He kept Heilman in his normal eighth inning role.

Heilman is pitching to a 9.00 ERA so far this year and has been the goat of several recent games. He even walked two batters in his appearance tonight.

Clearly Randolph is standing by Heilman as his setup man but the leash has to be shorter than when the season began last week. I don’t sense any sentiment among Mets fans that Heilman is the closer of the future for the Mets. Billy Wagner is still under contract for next season so there’s no immediate need for concern. I like Heilman’s stuff as a setup man and hope tonight’s eighth inning is a sign that he’s back on track.

Mets Beat Phils 4-3 in 12th Inning To Win Series

New York- John Maine pitched a great game coming back from a poor first appearance. He went six innings giving up only one run. He did have five walks tonight but was able to work out of trouble.

Aaron Heilman blew the lead in the eighth inning giving up a monster lead-off home run to Ryan Howard to lead off the inning. He ended up giving up two runs in the inning that allowed the Phillies to tie the game at three.

Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless ninth, strangely throwing from the windup. Scott Schoenweiss had a nice rebound performance pitching 1.1 innings and working his ERA down to 3.00. Hopefully, he can keep that going.

Jose Reyes hit a double off Tom Gordon in the 12th inning and scored on a single by Angel Pagan. Pagan has been in the middle of everything the Mets have done offensively this young season hitting .370 over the first eight games.

The Mets win the series 2 games to 1 and  have the Brewers coming to town tomorrow night for a three game series.

Box Score 

Billy Wagner: Headed For Trouble?

Source: WikipediaI’ve read several media reports that Billy Wagner signed a deal to do a weekly call-in radio interview with 1050 AM ESPN-Radio. There are many players that would be a good spokesman for the Mets but Billy’s not one of them.

It’s guaranteed that Billy’s notoriously big mouth will get him into trouble at some point this season. He’s always quick to call out his teammates and this radio deal gives him a soap box to cause trouble.

Billy’s best seen and not heard. I love having him close for the Mets, he’s one of the best in the game at a difficult job. The radio gig is a recipe for disaster though.

War of Words Continues with Phillies

Mark Hale of the Post reports that Jimmy Rollins and Billy Wagner are still jawing about the upcoming season series.

“That wasn’t a one-year thing,” Rollins said. “It’s still gonna ring true in 2008 and every year I’m with the Phillies. We’re going to win. It’s gonna come down to who wants it more, and we want to win more than the Mets do.” Continue reading “War of Words Continues with Phillies”