Tag: Johan Santana

Jon Niese is “Nice”

Mets starting pitcher Niese leaves the game against Braves in New York

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsOk, I have to admit I really was down on this pitching staff early this year. I thought that Jon Niese would never make it as a fifth starter and that we would be going through one retread pitcher after another in our quest to find that decent fifth starter who can also eat innings.

Neise was Nice! This was a solid 5 1/3 innings of 5 hit, 1 run pitching that will lock down the fifth starter position. I will accept a game pitched like this from our #5 starter any day of the week.

The 116 piches and 5 walks allowed prevented him from staying in the game longer and getting the win. If Niese can improve on his “Nice” he could turn in a decent year.

With Johan Santana holding his own, Mike Pelfrey turning into Superman and even Oliver Perez showing signs of life, having four of our five pitchers in good form is a pleasant surprise. Good enough to win the division? No. Good enough to stay in the race until the trading deadline in July? Definitely! Continue reading “Jon Niese is “Nice””

Mets Payroll and Roster

CAF Give As You Earn material, May 2009
Image by HowardLake via Flickr

Sometimes I think that I should stop worrying about other people’s money. Then I realize that it’s only the Wilpon’s money that I’m concerned with. Those of you that read this blog regularly know that I frequently reference the Mets payroll. In doing so, I often find that I’m referencing abstract numbers that we all “sort of” know. For example, we all know that Johan Santana is making about $20 million per year.

A long time ago I had an idea that I wanted to add a page to this site that would give everyone the payroll numbers for the Mets. I started to do it but never finished. So I dedicated some time this week to putting it together and embedding it on the site. You can see the Roster page has been added now.

Google Docs is fantastic for tasks like this. I was able to embed the spreadsheet in the page and keep it updated remotely in Google Docs. I think it’s a perfect setup for the site.

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Mets 5 – Cubs 2 April 22, 2010

New York Mets vs Washington Nationals

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe game was really defined by both starting pitchers going toe-to-toe for six innings. Then Tom Gorzelanny lost it in the sixth and gave up a couple of runs. Johan Santana had runners on much of his 6.1 IP as he gave up 8 hits. But he didn’t give up any walks and had 5 strikeouts and only allowed 1 run. It was a good battle of the starting pitchers.

The Mets only had 7 hits in the game but there was a key double by David Wright in the sixth that got the scoring started. He had been hearing the boo birds, deservedly so with a 3 strikeout night. But the RBI double was good to see and I’m hoping that he can get something going.

Jeff Francoeur broke out of his slump with a hit. And Ike Davis was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. It looks like he’s pretty comfortable.

Francisco Rodriguez came in for a 5-out save for the first time as a Met. He hasn’t been getting many opportunities and the Mets needed to take this series. That was a good call by Jerry Manuel.

The Mets finally win a series for the first time this season taking three of four from the Cubs before the Braves come to town for the weekend.

Box score

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Preview: Cubs at Mets April 22, 2010

Chicago Cubs (6-9) at New York Mets (6-9)  7:10 pm

Tom Gorzelanny (0-1 1.93) vs. Johan Santana (1-1 3.00)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets and Cubs are playing the final game of their four game series tonight. The Mets can take the series with a win which would be their first series win of the season. Gorzelanny left his last start against Houston after only 3 innings when he took a line drive off his left arm. Santana was great in his last start in St. Louis throwing 7 shutout innings in what would go onto become the “marathon game”.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Mets’ Mike Pelfrey 2010 Early Season Success

Mike Pelfrey’s 3-0 start to the 2010 season has Mets fans buzzing that he’s finally developed into a legitimate #2 starter. It looks like the split finger fastball is the big difference.

Courtesy of Wikimedia

The biggest surprise for me this season has been Mike Pelfrey’s astounding success through his first three starts. His ERA is down to 0.86 after his start against the Cubs last night. It’s a huge turnaround from the regression he experienced in 2009 with a 10-13 record and 5.03 ERA.

The only physical difference is that he lost about 25 pounds in the offseason. But that can’t account for his tremendous early success after such a disappointing 2009. He wasn’t exactly overweight before this year.

It looks like the biggest difference is the development of the split finger fastball this year. He seems to have quickly developed a feel for it to get a nice, late sink on it. His motion with it is so deceptive because he doesn’t appear to deviate from his motion when throwing a fastball, which always had some sink on it anyway. I’m curious to know if Dan Warthen had any role in his development of the split finger. Continue reading “Mets’ Mike Pelfrey 2010 Early Season Success”

Cardinals versus Mets – “Clash of the Titans”

The Mets and Cardinals played and epic battle on Apirl 17, 2010 over 20 innings. David Daniels writes about his own epic struggle to follow the game during the movie “Clash of the Titans”.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Cardinals vs Mets! Albert Pujols vs Johan Santana. A Titan vs a… well, Santana.

That’s about as close as you’ll get on the Mets. The classic confrontation of the unstoppable force verus the very movable but suddenly immovable Mets!

20 innings of crazy baseball which, after the 12th inning I mostly missed. Who can watch 7 hours of baseball? The game should have ended around 7pm. I had plans for 9pm to see “Clash of the Titans” so I kept my plans, as a promise is a promise.

Thanks to everyone on twitter who kept giving me updates after I couldn’t watch. Besides following @matthewcerrone and @dave_doyle I know I have @mr_met_fan updates coming straight through to my phone as well as updates from @miketino10 and @aiahrachel. Some Mets fans who crack me up, keep me updated as to the Mets score, and keep me entertained when I can’t get to a TV. I was probably the only person laughing in the middle of such a suspense filled movie. Continue reading “Cardinals versus Mets – “Clash of the Titans””

Video: Jeff Francoeur – No Problem With Manuel

Last night ESPN Baseball Tonight aired a report by Seth Everett that several players have a problem with Jerry Manuel. The players Everett cited were Jeff Francoeur, David Wright, Johan Santana, and Jose Reyes. He listed the supposed reasons they all have a problem with Manuel.

Before today’s marathon game against the Cardinals, Francoeur responded and denied Everett’s report as a complete falsehood. See the interview below with Ken Rosenthal.
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