SANTANA: Mets' fiery leader.
The odds of doing so tonight are greatly reduced with Johan Santana pitching. Santana is coming off an emotional victory last Friday over the Boston Red Sox.
Daniel Murphy is back at first base tonight, with Fernando Martinez batting seventh and playing right field.
For as long as Jose Reyes is out, it looks as if Angel Pagan will get the lion’s share of the time as the leadoff hitter whenever he’s in the line-up. Luis Castillo took a few turns there, but manager Jerry Manuel likes him batting second, which I have advocated all along.
Here’s tonight’s line-up:
Angel Pagan, CF
Luis Castillo, 2B
David Wright, 3B
Gary Sheffield, LF
Daniel Murphy, 1B
Ramon Castro, C
Fernando Martinez, RF
Ramon Martinez, SS
Johan Santana P
Note: Carlos Beltran, who took a cortisone injection in his knee, is on target to return Friday. … Omir Santos was scratched with a bruised shin. … Oliver Perez’s knee is still bothering him. … Four of tonight’s starters weren’t on the Opening Day roster.
This post was written by John Delcos
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Good evening, all.
Hoping for another electrifying performance tonight from Johan.
Perez with a bad knee too? I thought that was just a story the Mets made up to send him to the minors. Why dont they send him for a MRI already?
Murphy should’ve picked that…
Watch: That’ll be the only hit Johan allows tonight…
Keith Hernandez wwould have picked that one cleanly. Actually what I most remember about Mex was his arm. Strange thing to say for a first baseman but it was powerful and accurate.
Dan (5): Nobody did the 3-6-3 better than Keith.-JD
5 6 Keith is the best defensive 1B I’ve ever seen. Never seen anyone after him field the position better.
Aggressive throwing the ball too. Mex would charge in on a slow roller and throw out a runner advancing second to third or third to home
Got the suspense over early. Still not a single no-hitter ever by a Mets pitcher. Hard to believe with Seaver, Gooden, Viola, etc and Shea had bad lighting.
Dan (8): You’re right about that. A lot of guys on bunt plays are tentative in going for the lead runner.-JD
Dan (9): You’ll see, if and when there finally is a Mets no-hitter, it will probably be by some obscure guy.-JD
I know Oliver Perez has “no-hit stuff,” but I don’t see it. He’s too erratic and makes too many mistakes in the zone.-JD
No disrespect to the Gnats but I never felt they would score of Santana in that half inning. Of course there is always the fate of Roy Halladay today, get a big lead, get taken out and watch the bullpen blow it.
Dan (13): We’ve seen that scenario before.-JD
Did anybody see the video of Carlos Zambrano’s meltdown?-JD
Just watched it. Looked like he was out. Joel Sherman says the more he sees of bang bang plays on large screens with HD, the more he is convinced umpires just guess at it.
Wonder if there is any footage of Ferguson Jenkins getting ejected and throwing bats onto the field in 1973.
11.JD One of the guys traded for keith was named Rick Ownby, who pitched a 1 or2 hitter for the Mets in one of his first starts for them. WHat happened to Zambrano?
Ray (17): He went ballistic after a call went against him on tag play at the plate. Bumped the ump, threw the ball at the bleachers, and took a bat to a water cooler in the dugout.-JD
18. Ill have to tune in to baseball tonight now. Cubs have been losing alot of games. Guess he needed to blow off some steam.
The more I think of it, the more I don’t like the idea of bringing up F-Mart right now. There were other outfield options for the Mets and I’m not crazy about him just being here for a couple of weeks and then being sent down.-JD
Hey all. New guy here. Hoping you can help me keep my sanity as this DC dweller is forced to watch the MASN Homer feed featuring Carpenter & Rob Dibble.
21 Welcome aboard, cliffp!
John that’s actually why I do like this timing of the Fernando promotion. The argument that there’s less pressure knowing he’s just here for a short period of time seems sound to me. Of course for some guys that might make them press – ah the psychology of sports . . . who knows how he’ll react. But at least if he flounders he can be sent down without it looking like a rejection.
I am in favor of bringing F Mart up as long as he plays fairly often.
I always wonder how come a blowhard with little real knowledge like Rob Dibble keeps getting job after job.
Thanks Gil. Nice to see a couple of easy outs for YoYo after the 27 pitch opening frame.
Dibs is entertainment which can equal ratings – or in the Nats case a touch of entertainment to an otherwise unwatchable product.
It’s the play-by-play guy Carpenter who whines about every close pitch they don’t get and plays “we might have won if only . . .” all night. He even speculated last night that the error initially charged (later changed) to Ryan Zimmerman might not be a coincidence because it gave Ryan as many errors as his All-Start rival D Wright . . .
cliffp (23): Welcome … You make an excellent point. I guess if he looks at it as if he knows this is for the short term, then there’s no harm. I don’t want to take the risk of losing him.-JD
Welcome aboard, Cliff. Going back to Ollie, I want to bring up something I brought up early this season and basically got called a conspiracy theorist. Look at all the Mets that went to the WBC that are injured. Delgado, Reyes, Beltran, Perez, Putz. Frankie coming up with back spasms for the first time. Its not worth it.
(25) Dan, isn’t that what we were saying about Steve Phillips?
Ray (29): You get no argument from me on that one, but the injuries to Delgado and Beltran can’t be related because they are tied to specific plays.-JD
Ray – there was some crazy stat floating around a couple of weeks ago that some huge number of WBC starting pitchers had been injured.
Wow – Manny Acta just did one of the live interviews – except it was actually live and between the innings . . . you saw him giving a sign to the infield. Dibble asked him flat out “why would you not pitch around the cleanup hitter when he’s that hot and second base was open.” Either Manny or Dibble will be out of a job by the end of the year.
(31) JD, you don’t get the “conspiracy theory” aspect. Specific play or not, it doesn’t mean there wasn’t something at the WBC that made them more susceptible to being injured!
Really need to jump on the kid Zimmerman now. Don’t let him off the hook – give Johan more breathing room.
Based on what he’s being paid, Sheffield has come close to earning his money with the Mets.-JD
Did Wright strike out with men on base? This must be where I came in about a month ago…
Jeff (34): I’m not a WBC guy, but I don’t see the connection with the injuries to Delgado and Beltran.-JD
31. Disagree, John. Betrans knees have been bothering him for years. We heard about Delgagos hip last year. These are chronic problems that may have been aggrivated by going all out before they were loose. I especially remember Beltran crashing into the wall knee first in a game.
Murph is back! (one can hope can’t he?)
John (38) Neither do I, but I’m trying to be supportive of Ray. He seems to be sensitive about being called a conspiracy theorist.
A two out hit with a runner in third! Even against the Gnats it is a rare thing of beauty!!
Santana staked to a 3 run lead. Let’s hope for a change we don’t follow the pattern of the best pitcher inexplicably blowing it, and we actually follow expectations and complete the sweep.
Jeff, you add nothing to this board. you just snipe at other posters here. This is the last post by you that I will answer. You even take a shot at wright, who has been red hot for a month.
Jeff (43): Would be nice. Would like to see the makeshift offense add a couple of tack on runs. That’s still a concern for me.-JD
Wonder where Chiti is these days? Hope he’s well.-JD
Allright guys – gonna take some work to make those brooms of use. I was just about to type how nice a fit Dunn would have been in the off-season . . . c’est la vie.
Think he got all of that. Just remember who wanted him. And, I don’t care about the strikeouts.-JD
Apparently I spoke too soon. It’s never easy when it’s supposed to be.
I’m with ya on that one John. I was a proponent of dealing Delgado while his stock was high but can’t blame Omar for not pulling that off. The way the slugger market developed there were way too many cheaper options for clubs who wanted one.
46. Delcos, I know he was upset with some of the posters here,But its not like Chiti to back off a fight. I hope hes alright too. Chiti, give us a shout if your out there.
Hi Everyone – got in the car, left rehearsal and heard that home run in the car on the way home. What else have I missed?
Ray (51): Chiti has been with me from the beginning, just like you and several others. I would hate it for him to leave.-JD
Annie (52): Two run double by Sheffield, RBI hit from Murphy and Santana now in trouble.-JD
John (46) Harry was here on Friday before the weekend – seemed OK to me.
Would love to know if that walk of the pitcher was Johan trying to be too fine or just losing the zone.
John (54) So Sheffield is still on that hitting streak -
cliffp (56): I would guess the latter.-JD
Wow . . . and he’s at 90 pitches in the 4th . . .
He’s been all over the place this inning. Four walks in the inning. … This trouble is his doing.-JD
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Guess you’re right, Ray.
Santana doing his best Ollie impersonation. I hope he is OK.
Yesterday Livan goes the distance and tonight we have the bullpen active too early. What’s going on?
That was unintentionally funnier than I intended. It should have been:
>> #
Jeff M. May 27, 2009 7:10 pm
Santana staked to a 3 run lead. Let’s hope for a change we don’t follow the pattern of the best pitcher inexplicably blowing it, and we actually follow expectations and complete the sweep. <> Ray Sadecki May 27, 2009 7:11 pm
Jeff, you add nothing to this board. <<
Guess you’re right, Ray.
Step away from the computer for half an hour, Dunn hits a long home run and Santana walks the ballpark??? That’s our Mets.
Fernando still hasn’t gotten the ball out of the infield.
Considering he threw 118 pitches in his last start, it wouldn’t surprise me if this is his last inning.-JD
That pop-up was simply Martinez not being familiar with the park.-JD
JOhn (60) Howie talking about two good innings 2nd, 3rd, and two bad ones 1st and 4th. Doesn’t know what to think. Also says Santana talked to the home plate umpire on his way off the field.
Given his injury history he’d probably have jammed his wrist had tried to make the catch. But he made that one nicely!
Anyone know if they’re going to use the off-day to skip Redding’s turn in the rotation?
10 strikeouts and the game is tied? Mets have to score here.
I don’t think it’s fair to call Johan’s 1st inning “bad” – 1 hard hit ball that could have been an out, a walk and 3 k’s.
If they’re skipping Redding then he’s probably only got 5-10 more pitches in him. If they using Redding & Johan has 5 days off coming they could take him to 120 tonight.
I can’t imagine Santana leaving the game because of pitch count. NY Times article this morning says that first thing Nolan Ryan did in Texas was to stop all pitch counting.
Should we mention history could be set tonight as Randy Johnson goes for career win 300? Hope he gets it and decides to retire at season’s end, if not sooner. Probably be a long time before another pitcher gets it. Moyer has 249 but looks like batting practice pitcher now. Andy Pettitte at 217 wins and age 36??? Might have to wait 10-12 years for Halladay and Santana
Gotta rough up Zimmerman here – can’t give him an easy inning.
Mets really only have 1 hard hit ball tonight – Sheffield’s double in the gap. Everything else was a bloop or seeing eyer. Zimmerman has been very impressive.
Stupid me. Big Unit going for 299 tonight.
Marlins have taken a 5-1 lead over Phils in the 6th. C’mon Johan- mow ‘em down.
Johan’s only chance for a win is to hold them here and hope the Mets can actually do something in the bottom of the inning. But that walk doesn’t bode well.
Is this really Santana being wild or is this ump horrendously bad? I have to think this ump must be doing a shady job here (not able to get the game on TV here)
Ump has been consistent but has a very small strike zone. That’s all you can ask for. The small zone definitely hurt Johan in the 4th but the last walk he wasn’t close on ball 4.
(81) It would be easier to blame the walks on the ump if Santana didn’t also have 11 K’s.
rmkmets (81) That’s what I thought, too – no tv for me either.
Dan (78): This is his third attempt at No. 299.-JD
Not really Jeff – 9 of the 11 k’s have been swinging – only 2 were called 3rd strikes.
(86) Apparently the batters have a bigger strike zone than the ump.
Howie believes this is Santana’s final inning – 118 pitches right now. Wonder how Santana feels about this?
That’s it for Santana tonight. Looks like another no-decision unless the Mets can get something this inning.-JD
Wow – 6 of the Mets 8 k’s have been swinging as well. That’s 15 of 19 – I’ve no idea what the average ratio is but I’ll bet that’s an outlier.
Well, let’s hope the Mets can get through to Zimmerman now… Santana deserves a win, if only to make up for all the other times he pitched well enough to win and didn’t.
Time for a little bottom-of-the-barrel magic.
NOW Murph is back!
Oh, come on… that wasn’t a HR?
Jeff M (94) Howie says that if a ball hits the Subway sign it’s a home run…
The Mets had the last two go in their favor. I don’t know about this review.-JD
Somehow, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets don’t score this inning. … Check that, the Mets have gotten the last three rulings on HR replay.-JD
Scratch that (97).-JD
Finally! This gives a whole new meaning to “long ball”!
This is a very interesting game….Mets lead 5-3.
That landed right on the chalk for a double — which Gary first called a HR because he couldn’t see it from where he was. As he said, “Citi Field’s an interesting place, isn’t it?”
Result aside, I’m so glad to see that advertising revenue trumped common sense when they let Subway paint that section yellow so it is very difficult to pick up the ball against that background.
4 replays in the last 5 games has to be a record – winning all 4? sure hope this isn’t one of those things that eventually “evens out”
(102) Advertising revenue trump common sense? I think that horse left the barn a very long time ago.
I actually think the park is way overgimmicked. C’mon Fernando.
Cliffp (105): Well, there’s no shortage of advertising.-JD
You gotta run, son.-JD
Uh-oh! Fernando going to remember that one for a while!
Nothing like on-the-job training.
Score it your garden variety 2-1-3!
John (107) Howie is screaming that the kid should be taken out of the game right now.
Howie ought to calm down. What Jer ought to do is calmly say “If it every happens again not only will you be pulled immediately from the game but you’ll also be sent back to Buffalo.”
I agree cliffp, the kid is clearly pressing and was discouraged by another bad at-bat….no that doesn’t excuse it, but I’m willing to give him 1 free pass.
Can you pull a rookie for a rookie mistake when you don’t pull veterans for rookie mistakes? I don’t think so.
FMart should get yanked. That’s inexcusable and he did a similar thing in AA last year (didnt run out a grounder) and got reprimanded for that too.
I understand what you’re saying Jeff but I think you can set different standards for guys who haven’t yet been corrupted into the “normal” veteran non-hustle standard.
Trust me, they’ve already talked with Martinez, and they’ll talk to him again.-JD
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04242007/sports/mets/pedros_on_target_for_return_in_august_mets_mark_hale.htm
There is a link to the story about the last time FMart didnt hustle and got benched for it
BTW…knowing Manuel’s idiotic lineup decisions, what are the odds that Murphy is on the bench and Tatis is at 1st on Friday? I say pretty high
Nice pull rm.
Late comer here – nice to see everyone here
Hey Ed, nice of you to pop in. It has been an interesting game.-JD
Was that a Parnell K on a breaking pitch?!?!? What a bizarro game!
weird game – johan wasn’t getting the inside pitch but he wouldn’t stop throwing it …. F Mart not running and Murphy stealing a HR
Why pull Parnell here? Watch the walk. Or worse, remember Ibanez and Utley vs Pedro. This move never works.
Its not a second guess if I say it before the outcome – I would have left parnell in let him pitch carefully – but I have all the faith in him with the rest of the line-up
Feliciano has a habit of walking the first hitter he faces when its a tough hitter
wow
Mets have k’d 14 Nats through 7ip. Nice job Bobby P & Pedro dos.
123. On the radio broadcast they played the twilight zone theme.
edfever (122) Hi ed – hope you had a good holiday and didn’t have to work. this game has been a bit strange.
MASN guys said they got an e-mail from someone claiming that 2 Mets fans in the 1st row said they didn’t see it hit the sign. Anyone watching the SNY feed? Was there any conclusive video?
Ray (131) I’ve never heard Howie and Wayne so excited about a game…
cliffp (133): They haven’t shown anything conclusive. I wonder if the umps got another angle.-JD
What happened here?
How come superman has become mortal?
Somebody must have slipped him some kryptonite.-JD
Thanks John. The MASN clip was not conclusive to me. fwiw Any signage is going to have white in it somewhere. Yellow is a problem but if it hits in the white part of a red, green, blue or black sign you’ve got the same problem.
133 Cliff, I hear those DC broadcasters cry every time a call goes against the Gnats.
134. Annie, yeah Howie is really animated tonight. I though he was going to have a stroke when the kid didnt run out of the box, lol.
I’m really hoping this is good experience for F-Mart. For some reason I’m concerned that this will crush him.
138. I remember former A’s owner campaigned for orange baseballs.
jk – it’s all about frustration for Fernando. He’s yet to have a ball reach the outfield. You’re right – he needs a base hit to put this behind him. Barring a double play he ought to get one more shot tonight.
Ray (141): That’s right. Charlie Finley.-JD
Ray (139) Both Howie and Wayne are really hyped. Apparently this isn’t the first time the kid didn’t run…
what happened with fmart?
he didnt run to first?
do the mets not teach baseball fundamentals at any level of their organization?
if you want your pro team to hustle, shouldn’t you teach this in your minors?
The Nats play-by-play guy is just brutal Ray. C’mon DW break this sucker wide open.
murph hit a homer?
does this mean he will sit for the next 5 games?
dave (145): You learn to run in Little League. The ball was clearly in fair territory.-JD
dave – check the link rmk posted at #118 – the mets did teach him in the minors. not everyone learns at the same rate.
Dannie Murph! Rockin’ the house with 5 rib eyes!
Five RBI for Murphy. He has to play Friday.-JD
Murphy to spend next 2 games on bench…
Daniel Murphy is back !!!
gotta bench him now. i say pinch tatis for him now.
Dave (147): I would almost guarantee that Dopey Manuel benches him for the next game.
Now Murphy is DEFINITELY back in a big way. How many RBI does he have tonight?
Redemption opportunity for F-Mart – hearin’ the boos!
Oh — 5 rbis, answered, then asked. sorry.
Think F-Mart will run?-JD
Francesca joked with jerry on the radio today that Castro and Church were in his doghouse didnt deny not missing church
cliffp(149)
thanks. i guess he didnt learn.
jd – what happened pop fly/dribbler in the infield /outfield?
rmkmets – next series..
dave (161): Pop-up in front of the plate.-JD
Matt Lindstrom just walked Matt Stairs to load the bases w/2 outs in the 9th and bring JRoll to the plate as the tying run.
Putz is not impressing me in the least – i say use him ion a trade if he has enough value
Dave – the pop up was dropped. He would have easily been on 1st by the time the ball hit the ground had he run.
JRoll lines out. Marlins down Phils – 1st is our for the taking.
cliffp (167) I hope that happens, but in this game, nothing seems to be going in a normal fashion.
john/cliffp
my daughter started softball this year. i tell her she makes contact run to first. dont think run. he is 20 years old. no one has taught him this?
dave (169): Apparently not. Tony Bernazard tried, but it didn’t stick.-JD
Marlins win two of three in Philly. Mets better not be thinking they’ll take the Marlins with no problem.-JD
Fmart standing there watching a ball in play in front of him is inexcusable. I don’t think Fmart is ready for the big leagues. Fmart is only 20 years old. I think he should get more time in the minors.
In the same vein John let’s hope tonight is a bottoming out of sorts for the Nats – they face the Phils next.
(171) the marlins always give the Mets a hard time.
Pagan having a very nice series. His swing is nice and level, he’s working the count, generally getting good breaks on fly balls. Of course it is the Nats but hopefully he’ll be in a little groove for awhile.
What was he looking at
Ugh, we’re back to this version of Wright?
(176) funny I’ve been saying that all night. he keeps looking at strike three down the middle. It’s a understatement to say wright has had a night for the ages on the brutal side.
I wonder if Citi field has security cameras they dont want people to know about – which is what the umps saw
Now I know what got Howie and Wayne going tonight – White Castle hamburgers!!
wright has left a small country on base tonight.
DW is hitting .350 – baseball is a game of ugly nights by beautiful players. I’ll take 8 of him in the lineup and see you in October.
John
They have had several years to watch him. I know he is a phenom, but he needs to learn fundamentals. This is something my fav ex met no longer Nat player never learned.
Talent takes you a long way. Fundamentals takes you farther.
Why is Ollie in the minors? Why was Michael Jordan so good? His fundamentals were great. He played D. Always hustled and outhustled the opposition. Did the little things right. That is what I like about Murphy. For all his flaws and he has his share. He tries. He works at his game, takes extra practice to get better. He gets a raw deal, but I don’t hear him mouthing off on how the organization owes him.
dave (183): I couldn’t agree with you more. Well said.-JD
just as i talk about murph he boots one.
john.
thanks
I hate innings like this.
Howie has put this bizarre game ‘in the books’.
Santana wins it, but left early, rookie Martinez doesn’t run, the Subway sign produces a two run homer, and Sheffield is still on his game.
Day off tomorrow – See you Friday when the Marlins are in town.
The boys are back in first.-JD
(183) Mets love to rush their farm which doesn’t give the caoching staff to instill Fundies… We’ve seen this since Omar took over and it’s my biggest critque of the org.. They have done a very good job of finding talent but are poor at developing it… What they doing is challenge players which makes they rely on thier pure talent and never develop solid fundies
Pitchers struggle with secondary pitches and positional players struggle with anything that doesnt come natural
ed (190-191): There’s something to what you are saying. You don’t have to look any further than Jose Reyes. He still has fundamental breakdowns.-JD
A good bad night.
john(192)
sad, but true.
Our first place New York Mets. Sounds beautiful. See y’all on Saturday afternoon.
just saw a replay of the bloop in front of the plate. his expression was one of uncertainty. it should not have happened. i hope it doesnt happen again. i guess i wont come down too hard, but he cant let something like that happen again.
maybe extra running tomorrow?
Dave — laps? Do they still do that?
Jeff (197): They should.-JD
good win for the metsies…well earned day off. rest up fellas, and play great this weekend