Tag: Carlos Beltran

Beltran Powers Mets To 8-3 Win Over Reds

New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltrán before a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.Image via Wikipedia

Carlos Beltran is back! He continued to hit the Reds hard again on Mother’s Day going 2 for 5 with 2 RBI’s and his third home run of the season. Beltran was ice cold going into Los Angeles this week and started to show signs of life. Against Cincinnati he showed that he’s right on the ball.

Oliver Perez was serviceable going six innings for the win. He looked great until the sixth inning when things started to fall apart and he gave up three runs. This was his best start since April 19th in Philly.

Ryan Church continued his dream season making a fantastic catch against the wall in right field, and hitting a homer which was back to back with Beltran.

Carlos Delgado looks pretty comfortable in the seventh spot in the order. I hope Willie keeps him there until he proves that he deserves to move up.

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On Deck: Tuesday May 6, 2008- Dodgers

New York Mets (16-14) at Los Angeles Dodgers (18-14)   10:10pm

Nelson Figueroa (2-1) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (1-2)

TV: SNY Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets need to take both games in LA to win the series. It would be a huge boost for the Mets to win both series’ in Arizona and LA on this road trip. Kuroda hasn’t pitched well recently so tonight’s game is a good opportunity for the Mets. Carlos Beltran even had two hits last night, so his bat is starting to come alive.

Mets Pitcher Billy Wagner: Bully Or Team Leader?

The biggest story with the New York Mets over the last week has been closer Billy Wagner ripping Oliver Perez after Perez’ dreadful start against the Pirates on Wednesday. It’s raised many questions about the Mets as a team.

Do the Mets need a team captain?– They could probably use a team captain but I don’t know who would be the logical candidate. They would want someone that’s going to be around for several years like Jose Reyes, David Wright, Johan Santana, or Carlos Beltran. I doubt that it would be Santana. Typically, captains are position players. Wright and Reyes are pretty young to captain a team of veterans. Beltran is usually so quiet that it’s hard to picture him as the team leader. I don’t think that Billy Wagner would even enter the discussion on this topic. Continue reading “Mets Pitcher Billy Wagner: Bully Or Team Leader?”

Mets Drop Second Game To D-Backs 10-4

I never thought that the Mets would go into Arizona and sweep the D-Backs. They’re playing so well this season, it would seem almost impossible to win all three games there. So if the Mets were going to take two out of three, I figured that they wouldn’t be able to Brandon Webb. And they didn’t.

Webb didn’t pitch that well, so it’s a shame that the Mets couldn’t take advantage of a rare off day for him to get a win. Blame it on Mike Pelfrey, the bullpen, Carlos Beltran’s .208 average, or Endy Chavez’ non-existent bat. Blame it on all of them.

I’m just not seeing the tremendous upside of Mike Pelfrey that the Mets management does. The minor leagues are littered with guys who have great “stuff” but keep hitting bats and can’t throw strikes consistently. That’s what I see in Pelfrey. He was below average again today. His ERA is up to 5.27 now and that’s unacceptable in the rotation. He walked four and struck out one… that’s completely unacceptable!

Pedro Feliciano was pretty bad too, but his ERA was hurt by Scott Schoenweiss coming in and throwing a first pitch meatball to Augie Ojeda with the bases loaded. Ojeda hit it into the corner in right for a double for his 6th RBI of the game. How do you let a number 8 hitter beat you with six RBI’s?

The bullpen has been taxed far too much so far this season. The Mets really need the starters to get deeper into games badly. They can’t keep leaning on the bullpen to cover four or more innings in almost every game. There’s going to be a breaking point.

The Mets still have a chance to win the series tomorrow. Hopefully, they’ll be able to take this series before moving on to Los Angeles on Monday.

Box score

Video Highlights

On Deck: Saturday May 3, 2008 D-Backs

New York Mets (15-12) at Arizona Diamond Backs (20-9)   3:45pm

Mike Pelfrey (2-1) vs. Brandon Webb (6-0)

TV: Fox   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: Going against Webb is a really tough draw for the Mets. He won the Cy Young Award two years ago, and looks like he’s on his way to doing it again this year. If Carlos Beltran can wake up offensively the Mets will have a much better chance against Webb.

Mets Take Out Listless Nats 7-2

Johan Santana looks like he’s worth the money, and the prospects that the Mets gave up. He was good again tonight keeping the Mets in the game through seven innings. He had seven strikeouts, and gave up two runs, seven hits and one walk. I might also mention that he was 2 for 2 at the plate with two doubles.

Carlos Beltran was 2 for 4 and looked really good hitting left handed. Ryan Church was 2 for 5 as well. Angel Pagan had two steals, Reyes had one, and Luis Castillo had his fifth steal of the year. That’s one more than Reyes has.

The death knell for Carlos Delgado was subsided for one night mostly because the Mets won. But Delgado did have a hit and an RBI to stave off the vultures circling his career.

Playing against the Nationals is a good way to make a team feel good about themselves. They’ve got very little talent on that team. Their new stadium looks great though and has me looking forward to seeing Citi Field.

The Mets fans are traveling really well this season. There was an audible presence during the game. That’s great to see in another team’s stadium.

I have to mention that Willie Randolph is the last person to notice that Delgado should move lower in the order and Duaner Sanchez should pitch the eighth inning. It’s amazing to me that everyone else recognizes that before he does. He’s far too loyal to players that aren’t getting the job done. That’s all that I’ll say about that… I feel like I’m beating a dead horse.

Box score

Video Highlights

Latest Injury Updates

  • Carlos Beltran’s stiff neck is still bothering him when he looks to his left (bats right handed). But he didn’t even think about sitting out against Cole Hamels and the Phillies tonight.
  • Pedro Martinez is still working on his strained left hamstring with personal trainer Angel Persinal. You may remember his name from getting linked, at the Toronto airport, to a bag of performance enhancing drugs with Juan Gonzalez. Omar Minaya says Persinal is a Domincan legend and has no concerns about Pedro’s work with him.
  • Moises Alou played in an extended spring training game in Port St. Lucie, FL and got five at-bats. The Mets are encouraged by his progress but needs to be able to play in the field before going to the Florida State League.
  • Ramon Castro suffered some further tightness in his hamstring while running and is going for further evaluation.

Read the full story at the New York Times.