Tag: Damion Easley

Maine Hurt As Mets Drop Phils 9-4

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John Maine went 5.2 innings before a cramp in his non-pitching forearm forced him to leave the game. He looked much better than his previous start in St. Louis when he complained of dead arm symptoms. The cramp in his forearm didn’t appear to be too serious though.

The Mets scored nine runs, so there were many offensive stars. But Damion Easley really stands out. He went 3 for 5 last night with an RBI and has really been a consistent offensive force. It’s going to be tough for Luis Castillo to break into the starting lineup when he comes off the disabled list.

The top of the eighth was tremendously exciting for the Mets (and fans). Easley scored on a wild pitch. Then Brian Schneider came off the bench to hit a huge pinch hit two run double to right. He’s been on the bench a lot lately but after that hit he’s guaranteed to be starting today.

The Mets tacked on three more runs in the ninth to secure the game in a must-win situation for the Mets. It was a great game to watch. Both managers emptied their benches including back up catchers which is really rare for a regular season game. It was obvious that both managers were going all out for the win. Gary Cohen mentioned during the SNY broadcast that it was a playoff atmosphere and he couldn’t have been more correct.

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Cards Glaus Walks Off Against Mets 8-7

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There were a lot of good things that happened for the Mets offense. The same Mets offense that’s struggled for consistent production all season. But for all of the good that the Mets did on offense, it was undone by bad pitching.

Pedro Martinez was bad again. Tonight was his third consecutive bad start and it raised his ERA to a whopping 7.39. It’s time to be concerned about his long term viability as a starter. His line tonight was 5 IP | 7 H | 5 R | 5 ER| 1 BB| 4 K| 2 HR. Pedro did come back after a rain delay in the fourth inning. But the damage was done by giving up four in the first inning on an RBI single by Rick Ankiel and a three run bomb by Troy Glaus. More on Glaus later.

In the eighth inning Aaron Heilman hit Ryan Ludwick with his first pitch of the inning. Then Chris Duncan hit a two run bomb off Pedro Feliciano on his first pitch to tie the game at seven. Troy Glaus hit his second homer of the game off Carlos Muniz in the ninth. Muniz is clearly overmatched by big league hitters. He’ll probably be sent back to Triple-A New Orleans after tonight’s game.

The Mets had some great offense tonight that went for naught. Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Damion Easley all had three hits in the game. Easley also had 3 RBI’s in his second consecutive start at second base. He may become the starting second baseman as there’s talk of Luis Castillo going on the disabled list.

Tough game tonight.

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Pedro Looks Great As Mets Over Giants 9-6

The game wasn’t as close as the score appears for those of you that didn’t stay up until 1:20am to watch the whole game. Pedro Martinez was fantastic going six innings and throwing his fastball in the low 90’s with regularity. I was shocked that he had that kind of velocity. I was also shocked that he went six innings.

The Mets had a long turn at bat in the fifth when they scored eight runs, the most of any inning this season. But Pedro came back out for the top of the sixth. He looked like he was starting to get a little shaky in the fifth and sixth but it was a great comeback game for him.

Offensively, one of the stars of the game was… Pedro Martinez. I’m not kidding. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run. Damion Easley was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and a run.

Barry Zito was horrible again. It’s a real warning sign about signing pitchers to long term contracts. His contract may go down as the worst contract in baseball history. Although Kevin Brown and Mike Hampton have had awful contracts as well.

Scott Schoenweiss looked like he reverted to 2007 form in the ninth inning. He went .1 innings giving up two hits (one homer) and two walks for three runs. Billy Wagner had to quickly warm up and bail him out.

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First Base Platoon Might Work

Mets outfielder Fernando Tatis during a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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The Mets might be onto something sitting Carlos Delgado against lefties. Damion Easley can play first, so can Nick Evans and Fernando Tatis. All are right handed hitters that can drive the ball. Evans may be a little over matched right now but I’d like to see him continue to get at-bats to see what he can do.

Delgado tells the New York Post that he doesn’t like the platoon idea:

“We’re gonna have to talk,” Delgado said yesterday when asked how he would respond to Randolph about platooning against lefties. “Obviously, I would not talk to you before I talk to him. I haven’t said anything, but I want to make it clear.”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m challenging anybody, but it’s true, I would have to talk to [Randolph] about that,” Delgado said.

It may not be up to him anymore. The Wilpons and Omar Minaya must’ve made it clear to Randolph that he has to do what’s best for the team or he could lose his job as manager. That means that there may be some bruised egos along the way.

Mets, Santana Over Marlins 5-3

Johan Santana (6-3) got the win tonight going seven innings giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks, while recording seven strikeouts. The Mets sorely needed a win after losing seven of their last eight games. Santana comes through…

The lineup was juggled a bit tonight with Carlos Delgado riding the pine and Damion Easley getting a start at first base. Easley contributed with a 1 for 3 night, scored a run, and had an RBI. It was nice to see a Mets first baseman putting the ball in play and making an offensive contribution.

Fernando Tatis, getting a start in right field, went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s. Ramon Castro also went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s. The bench players came up big tonight.

The Mets close the gap a little with the first place Marlins by cutting their lead down to 5.5 games.

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