Tag: Gary Sheffield

Game Preview: Nationals at Mets [Game 16] April 24, 2009

Washington Nationals logoWashington Nationals (3-11 Road: 0-6) at New York Mets (6-9 Home: 3-3)  7:10 pm

Scott Olsen (0-2 9.00) vs. Johan Santana (2-1 0.46)

TV: SNY   Radio:  WFAN

What to watch: The Mets are in a 4-game losing streak and coming off a sweep at the hands of the Cardinals. The Nationals just won 2 of 3 at home against Atlanta. Olsen’s last start was a no decision against the Marlins and was a very good game, 7 IP and 2 ER. Santana hasn’t given up an earned run in his last two starts. He’s been terrific. The Mets need to get things turned around starting tonight. Olsen is the first lefty starter they’ve faced this season. Both Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield will be in the lineup.

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

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Game Preview: Mets at Cardinals [Game 15] April 23, 2009

St. Louis Cardinals logoNew York Mets (6-8 Road: 3-5) at St. Louis Cardinals (10-5 Home: 7-2) 1:40 pm

Livan Hernandez (1-0 4.63) vs. Kyle Lohse (2-0 2.57)

TV: SNY   Radio:  WFAN

What to watch: Jerry Manuel promised to shake up the lineup after last night’s loss. The Mets have now lost three games in a row. Expect to see Gary Sheffield in LF, Alex Cora at 2B, Carlos Beltran batting third, and David Wright batting fifth. It’s up to Hernandez to keep the Mets from getting swept in this series. Lohse had two very good starts but got hit by the Cubs in his last start for 4 runs in 5 innings.

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

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Mets Daniel Murphy Experiment Should End Now

Daniel MurphyI like Daniel Murphy and I believe that he has the potential to be a solid, if not good, major league player for a long time. He’s a hard worker and a good guy that the Mets organization really likes. And I like that too.

Daniel Murphy is not a major league left fielder. It’s as simple as that. Even when he doesn’t get charged with an error, he has misplayed balls like the two last night in St. Louis.

The fact is that Murphy has a decent bat, but it isn’t good enough to carry his poor defense. He’s clearly playing out of position and I respect that he’s giving it his all. But the Mets need to end the embarrassment that Murphy is suffering on a daily basis in the field.

Murphy shouldn’t be learning on the job at the major league level. There are 24 other players on the team and millions of fans that need to get past the last two seasons of gut-wrenching loses. We can’t have our season hinge on his learning curve in the field. The Mets sub-.500 season thus far isn’t all his fault. I’m not saying that it is. But he’s the only one on the team that has no business being out on the field. You don’t have to be a major league scout or talent evaluator to know that.

The correct course of action is for the Mets to give Murphy time at Triple-A Buffalo to hone his outfield skills until he’s ready for this level of play, if he ever will be. And he may not ever be ready. But we shouldn’t have to find that out with the big club.

Option Murphy to Buffalo now and spare us the disappointment in him. The embarrassment that he’s been suffering over the last two weeks may even stunt his growth as a player. He has to know that he’s letting the rest  of the team down, not to mention the fans.

Cory Sullivan and Fernando Martinez are waiting in the wings at Buffalo. Gary Sheffield and Jeremy Reed appear to be capable outfielders right now. Maglio Ordonez and Matt Holliday will likely be available via trade before the deadline in July if things aren’t working out with the existing cast of characters. There are a lot of options here for the Mets. The Murphy experiment should end now for everyone’s benefit.

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Brewers 4 Mets 2 April 19,2009

Score 4.19.09The Mets blew a quality start by Nelson Figueroa by not hitting, again, with runners in scoring position. They were 2 for 13 in the game and are now hitting .236 as a team with RISP through the first 12 games of the season.

The Mets couldn’t do anything with Carlos Beltran and Gary Sheffield on with no outs in the seventh inning. Fernando Tatis struck out and Omir Santos lined into a double play to end the threat. There’s been some criticism of Jerry Manuel’s decision not to sacrifice the runner’s around with Tatis’ spot in the lineup. But I like having Tatis hit with a runner in scoring position versus a sacrifice. He hit .392 with RISP in 74 at-bats last season so I like those odds.

The Mets win 2 for 3 from the Brewers in the series but their season record drops to 6-6.

Box score

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Mets Sheffield Hits 500th Homer; Gets Ball Back

Gary SheffieldGary Sheffield became the first player to hit his 500th home run as a Met and was warmly embraced by the team and the fans. It’s clear that the fans are charged up when Sheffield comes to the plate and the opposing teams respect his ability. We still need to see some consistent production over time if Sheffield is going to maintain his spot on the Mets roster this season. But I’d say that he’s off to a good start.

Chris Matcovich was the one that caught the ball and promptly returned it to Sheffield. He didn’t even request anything of Sheffield. But he did get some signed jerseys for him and his friends and Sheffield plans to give him some autographed bats in exchange for the milestone ball.

It’s good to see the ball returned to Sheffield. My view on these things is that if you catch a historic ball you should give it to the player or the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I understand that some people may need the money that could come from auctioning these valuable souvenirs and I don’t take that lightly. But if you’re in a resonably sound financial position, the fact is that the ball is more important to the player or the HOF than it is to you.

From MLB.com:

“I wanted nothing but to just give it back to Gary,” Matcovich said. “It was his ball. It’s not mine.”

And on a night full of exceptional memories — and an eventual 5-4 Mets win — this is one Sheffield won’t soon forget.

“That was special of him to do that,” Sheffield said. “He didn’t have to do that. But I’m appreciative that he did.”

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Game Preview: Brewers at Mets [Game 11] April 18, 2009

Milwaukee Brewers logoMilwaukee Brewers (3-7 Road: 1-3) at New York Mets (5-5 Home: 2-2) 1:10 pm

Yovanni Gallardo (1-1 6.94) vs. Johan Santana (1-1 0.71)

TV: SNY Radio:  WFAN

What to watch: Gallardo’s last start was pretty bad against the Reds. He went 5 innings and gave up 7 runs. He’s the guy they’re counting on to pick up the slack since they lost Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia. We may see Gary Sheffield get a start in left field today. I expect Santana to put on a good show in his first start at Citi Field.

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

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Mets Edge Brewers 5-4 April 17, 2009

Score April 17, 2009Livan Hernandez did his job as the fifth starter, he kept them in the game. His line doesn’t look great at 5 IP and 4 ER though. But he was doing pretty well until the sixth inning when Ryan Braun hit a three run bomb to left field. He had a little trouble in the fifth inning, but the shot by Braun put the Brewers ahead 4-3.

The bullpen continued their excellent work by throwing four shutout innings. What a change from last season!

The Mets were able to work themselves back into the game in the seventh when Gary Sheffield hit a solo homer, the 500th of his career. He got a nice standing ovation from the crowd as well. The team appears to have embraced Sheffield, they were all out on the field to greet him as he crossed home plate. The homer tied the game at 4-4.

In the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Delgado hit a double to left field. In another nice change from last season, Luis Castillo was able to bring him home with a single to score the winning run.

The Mets are now 6-5 on the season.

Box score

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