Tag: Rod Barajas

Mets 9 – Phillies 1 April 30, 2010

New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathan Niese throws against the Colorado Rockies in their MLB baseball game in Denver

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets put the beat down on the Phillies tonight led by an outstanding start from Jon Niese and two homers by Rod Barajas. Niese was in complete control through 7 IP, helped by having a lead from the second inning on. The Mets win their eighth straight game in a route. The best way to win one in Philly.

The offense really came alive in the bandbox Citizens Bank Ballpark. The Mets had 10 hits including four homers, the two by Barajas plus David Wright and Jeff Francoeur had one each.  And Angel Pagan was 3 for 5 with a triple and two RBI’s.

Francoeur was hit by a pitch pretty badly on the left elbow in the seventh inning. He ran the bases, and even scored, but had to leave the game. X-rays were negative though. I was disappointed that Niese didn’t go for payback in the bottom of the inning. Jenry Mejia did hit Chase Utley in the eighth but it was a breaking ball. Clearly, he wasn’t trying to hit him.

Overall, it was an excellent game. There were some great plays in the outfield including two by Francoeur and one at the wall by Jason Bay. The Mets are really firing on all cylinders right now. It’s exciting to watch again.

Box score

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Mets Catchers Barajas, Blanco Not Cutting It

The Mets made a big mistake when they signed Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco. They should have gone with a platoon of Omir Santos and Josh Thole.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia

The problem that I had with Brian Schneider in 2008 and 2009 was that he was an automatic out. Now, I’m starting to long for the days of Schneider hitting .218. After watching Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco over the last three weeks, I’m wishing we had a .218 hitter behind the plate.

Mike Pelfrey has been astounding so far this season and he’s given credit to his personal catcher, Henry Blanco. And everyone seems to like what Barajas is doing in the field as well. But let’s not forget that catchers have to bat! Barajas and Blanco are rally killers.

I wrote last October that the Mets needed a youth movement at catcher. As it turns out, I was right. Although Omir Santos and Josh Thole haven’t done much hitting at Buffalo in the early season. But they aren’t doing any worse than Barajas and Blanco. Continue reading “Mets Catchers Barajas, Blanco Not Cutting It”

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””

Nationals 4 – Mets 3 April 10, 2010

New York Mets Jose Reyes runs to first base at Citi Field in New York

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThere were a couple of big season debuts for the Mets today: Oliver Perez made his first start of the season and Jose Reyes returned from the disabled list. It’s still hard to believe that it’s been nearly a year since Reyes played in a game.

Perez looked just like he has over the last few seasons. His pitches were all over the place while occasionally displaying strikeout ability. Here’s the breakdown of the game:

  • The Good– Reyes came back and went 1 for 4, the bullpen had 3.1 innings scoreless, Jeff Francouer went 2 for 4 (.444 on the season)
  • The Bad – Willie Harris robbed the Mets again closing out the game on a diving catch of a line drive by Rod Barajas
  • The Ugly– Perez gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in 5.2 IP, David Wright made his second error in five games

Box score

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Mets Send A Message To NL “We Came To Play”!

Florida Marlins at New York Mets

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsOk, my prediction on my last post was dead wrong and I’m so glad it was!

Even though I wasn’t one of the many lucky Mets fans who attended opening day, I was not even one of the lucky Met fans who was able to play hooky from work to watch at home. I did end up listening to the game on WFAN and what I heard made me smile.

Right from the beginning this seemed to be a whole new team! David Wright’s first at-bat is a homer! Johan Santana gets an immediate two-run lead and never gives it up as I expected. Twitter was going absolutely crazy as was my phone. Very hard to get work done…

It’s great to be in a meeting and know your team is winning opening day and twitter is giving me the recap. I can’t help but laugh and yes, the boss looks over and wonder’s “What’s so funny!?”

Quick twitter recap – One minute Wright is the home run leader, the next he’s tied with Albert Pujols, a few minutes later Pujols is the league leader again. Phillies fans are tweeting with a #mets hashtag, “Halladay is dealing what was that about Johan Santana being the best pitcher in the NL East?” “#Phillies are striking fear into the hearts of the #Mets #Cards#Dodgers and #Yankees“.  Baseball is back but now it’s interactive! Following baseball on twitter is too much fun!

Hey Phillies Fans…No fear on our end!

Continue reading “Mets Send A Message To NL “We Came To Play”!”

Highest Payroll in National League Should Be Good For Fourth Place

David Daniels writes that the Mets, despite the highest payroll in the National League, will continue to underachieve in 2010.

Courtesy of permanantly scatterbrained FlickrEditor’s Note: This is a guest post by long-time Mets fan David Daniels. David is a Long Island native that gives his take on the state of the Mets in 2010. You can read David’s work at his site on Long Island life and tech.

Baseball’s back! Let the season begin, but before it does here is where I think this Mets team will stand at the end of the year. Stock up on your Rolaids and Tums because we’re in for another wild ride and when the dust clears this team will be in 4th place and possibly fighting for the basement of this division.

Why? This team has entirely too many issues so I’m going to start at the top:

Management – A clown of a GM, two straight collapses, a ballpark dedicated to another team, a manager fired in the middle of the night, a beat writer blamed for the team’s troubles, not to mention the Madoff mess where the Wilpons may, or may not have, lost significant money – Mets Management has one debacle after another to their credit and, yes, we will get more of the same this year. I just don’t trust this management team with making any decision bigger that deciding if “Frankie should go back to glasses.”

From managing the media, to managing injuries to managing the farm system, the Mets have failed miserably at all three. The newest instances with Reyes’ and Beltran’s most recent injuries just reaffirms that management and the medical staff are still not on the same page. Expect more bad decisions by management regarding injuries. I just hope they don’t ruin any careers.

Having solid management from top to bottom is the foundation of a successful franchise. Another losing season and Omar’s gotta go. We’re stuck with the Wilpons because I really don’t think they will ever sell the team. The Mets need a new blueprint for success. Paying top dollar for free agents and plugging all your holes with retread players is a formula that Omar has proven does not work. Let’s cut our losses early this year. No waiting till 2012 when Omar’s contract expires. The Wilpons should have a replacement for him ready to go by the July trading deadline or there will be many empty seats after July. Except me. I enjoy buying $.99 seats on Stubhub. Really!

Continue reading “Highest Payroll in National League Should Be Good For Fourth Place”

Video: Review of Mets Catchers, Daniel Murphy, Luis Castillo

This is the second in a series of videos that I did with Kerel Cooper of On The Black and Joe Janish of Mets Today. You can see the first video in the series about grading the Mets’ 2010 offseason.

This video is tackling a few tough subjects: the catchers, Luis Castillo, and Daniel Murphy. See what we have to say below and add your comments.

http://blip.tv/play/guougcvaRAI%2Em4v