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New York Mets (28-27) at San Francisco Giants (24-33) 10:15pm
Oliver Perez (4-3 4.83) vs. Jonathan Sanchez (3-3 4.26)
What to watch: The Giants are a really bad team this season. But it’s a tough break for the Mets to play Sunday night fly to SF and then have to play a game the same day. I wouldn’t expect to see the Mets geriatric set playing tonight (Delgado, Castillo). As usual, who knows what’s going to happen with Perez pitching.
John Maine wasn’t impressive tonight giving up three runs in the first inning. He did settle down and make it through six innings but it was a rocky start.
Luis Castillo left the game after turning a double play and the early word is that he has a strained hip flexor. I can’t believe we still have 3.5 more years of him with the Mets.
Russell Martin killed the Mets tonight going 4 for 4 with 3 runs and 3 RBI’s. The Dodgers 20 year old starter Clayton Kershaw wasn’t great tonight in his second big league start. But you can see that he’s got some talent with a good fastball and big 12-6 curve.
The game got out of hand due to Aaron Heilman once again. He had a few good outings but reverted back tonight giving up four runs without getting an out on four straight hits. Overall it was an ugly game for the Mets pitchers.
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If the Mets turn things around this season, mark this date on your calendar. The Met have their first come from behind win after the seventh inning this season. Fernando Tatis had the big hit off Justin Miller to score Carlos Beltran for the win.
There are so many things to talk about in this game. Endy Chavez hit a pinch hit solo homer in the ninth inning to tie the game and send it to extras. Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes also homered earlier in the game.
I like this lineup much better without Carlos Delgado in there. Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis are doing some nice things at the plate. They were both looking to hit behind runners and lift the ball for sacrifice flies. Those are the little things that you don’t get from Delgado, who’s usually swinging for the fences no matter what the situation dictates.
Aaron Heilman had another really nice outing. He pitched two scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth with four strikeouts. It would be great to have him come back to form.
Oliver Perez was his typical unpredictable self tonight. He went six innings giving up five runs on four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. The wheels came off in the sixth inning when he gave up six runs.
For the Marlins, Cody Ross hit two bombs. And I mean bombs. His second home run may have actually damaged Citi Field, it went that far. Both homers were off Perez.
The Mets take the series from the Marlins 2 games to 1. The Dodgers come to town tomorrow.
The first two months of the season have proven that the New York Mets have an average record with above average talent. That’s on the manager. Beyond managerial problems, the Mets have several issues on their roster. Not every problem can be solved easily but there are some quick, inexpensive solutions.
Problems:
Wow, that’s a big list of problems! Although the list appears to be insurmountable, it’s not. Continue reading “Mets Have Problems, I Have Solutions”
Source: Flickr- Llima
The official announcement about Mike Piazza’s retirement hit the media today. He hasn’t played all season so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
Since leaving the Mets after the 2005 season he bounced around to the Padres and A’s. He didn’t sign with anyone this season. I’m not sure if that was his choice, but I doubt it. Otherwise, he would’ve announced his retirement after the end of last season.
Piazza is a first ballot Hall of Famer due to his monstrous offensive numbers for a catcher. He wasn’t much of a defensive catcher… he only threw out 23% of runners stealing on him. I was surprised that the SNY crew during the game today mentioned that he played well defensively. I seem to remember the Marlins (Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo) running at will against Piazza.
By the way, he’s not gay.
You won’t read this here very often: the Mets scored their only run of the game on a Luis Castillo home run. How about that?
The most disappointing thing about this game is how well Tom Glavine looked. John Maine couldn’t keep up with him. The Mets scored their only run in the first inning and left the bases loaded. They never mounted a threat after that.
Maine only made it through four innings giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks. Scott Schoenweis relieved him in the fifth and then Aaron Heilman let things get out of reach in the seventh inning. Brian McCann hit a two run homer off Heilman. He just can’t figure out how to get through a clean inning.
They’ll do it again tonight at 7:00pm with Claudio Vargas going against Jorge Campillo.
Luis Castillo played today despite reports that he might be headed to the 15 day disabled list. He injured his quadriceps and missed two games. Hopefully, he can continue to play. If he has to go on the disabled list now it can’t be retroactive to the day he got hurt because he played in today’s game.
Pedro Martinez threw a well publicized simulated game in Florida yesterday. He had a 55 pitch workout and felt good afterward. His ailing hamstring doesn’t appear to be giving him any trouble. The plan is for him to throw another 75-80 pitch simulated game in about five days. Then he’ll be ready to begin pitching in rehab games. So we’re still looking at about three weeks before we’ll see him back with the team.
The Mets Report 