New York Mets Baseball Blog » Brian Stokes

A Look Back At the Year End Review

Bernalda — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:13:45 +0000

Welcome back!! It’s spring time and the World Baseball classic is in full swing. Who would have thought that the Netherlands would be such a force? At least we know that Jose Reyes (and the rest of the Dominican team) won’t wear themselves out!

Time to look back at my year end review; wow I wasn’t even close! No Lowe (in case you missed it he is with the Braves), No Hudson-instead we are going to stick with Luis Castillo! Ollie’s back-but I was sorry to see Joe Smith go; however, I couldn’t be happier that Schoeneweis and Heilman are gone. The Mets chucked Duaner Sanchez too. So, what will the Mets look like in their new digs? For the time being it’s named Citifield, but we’ll have to see how Obama digs that since the gov’t owns Citibank now…can you imagine-”Please welcome, the New York Mets brought to you by the United States of America!” Wow-that gives new meaning to the words, “America’s team”.

Infield..scarily familiar. Delgado, Castillo, Reyes and Wright. Who could have a problem with SS and 3rd? They’ll be there for another 10 years. It was rumored that the Mets shopped Delgado, but no takers- one can only wonder, will he be as happy this year as he was when Willie was fired last year? And Castillo, losing 20lbs makes those achy knees feel a lot better, eh Luis? The way the Mets are praising this guy so far you’d think he was the second coming of Rogers Hornsby. At least the B.S. of him hitting lead off is over, I guess that was Jerry’s way of keeping the press from talking about the end of last season.

Outfield..Church, Beltran, Murphy/Tatis..right to left. No surprises here. Maybe the LF platoon but not really.

Catcher.. no news..Schnieder and Castro with Cancel in the wings. Snooze

Starters..Santana (who has already given us Mets fans a scare but will be ready to pitch opening day), Maine, Pelfrey (the calf injury doesn’t sound serious). Perez (head case, but usually pitches well against the Yankees and Braves) and who knows who’ll take the ball on the fifth day; Tim Redding looked like Schoeneweis and Heilman together when he gave up those homeruns in that preseason game against the Marlin’s the other night, as it turns out he has a bum shoulder …no worries with Johan’s ability but of course we’ll all wonder about the elbow-and I can only imagine the calls to the Fan when he has his first bad outting; Maine says he’s pain free and messin’ with a curve to give hitters something else to think about, Pelfrey, please don’t let last year be a fluke, Ollie, please don’t be a flake and will the fifth starter please stand up? From among Jon Niese, Tony Armas Jr.,Elmer Dessens, Nelson Figueroa, Freddy Garcia and Livian Hernandez somebody HAS to grab the spot right? Please? Somebody?

Bullpen..K-Rod is the closer and J.J. has the 8th, this we know. Sean Green, Feliciano. That leaves one or two spots depending on if the Mets carry 11 or 12 pitchers. Carlos Muniz, Brandon Knight, Eddie Kunz, Bobby Parnell, Brian Stokes or somebody we don’t know yet will have a big spring to grab those slots.

Bench..Alex Cora seems to be the backup infielder so far. Nick Evans and Angel Pagan are back to battle for outfield spots. Evans plays first too so a plus for him. Marlon Anderson is in camp again. Really? Sheesh. But so is Jose Valentin, can he channel 2006 again? And isn’t it about time we stop hearing about what a great player Fernando Martinez is and start seeing it? Really, what is he like 45 now, feels like I’ve been waiting for him for 25 years already. Seriously, Martinez won’t be 21 till Oct. Just in time for the World Series, right? Let’s hope.

Mets Homeplate

Met Bats Let Them Down, Lose 9-6 in 10

Bernalda — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:40:48 +0000

I know what you’re thinkin’. The Mets lose 9-6 and this clown says it’s the bats that lost the game. What a moron! Well, did you watch the game smart guy? While, yes the pitching was putrid, the Mets could NOT get a runner in from third, with NO outs, on multiple occasions. 7^th inning, 8^th inning, 9^th inning. It went on and on.

Mets got off to a 5-1 lead thanks to a Carlos Delgado grand slam in the 3rd. Big Game Ollie could not get out of the 5^th (good luck on that big contract, Ollie) and the Cubs tied it up. Brian Stokes gave up a run in the 7^th to give the Cubs a 6-5 lead and then the fun began. First and third with no out for the Mets in the 7^th. No runs. They loaded the bases in the 8^th and were able to manage one measly run when Ramon Martinez (who the hell is THIS guy) was too scared to swing and luckily, Samardzjia walked him. Daniel Murphy triples to lead off the 9^th in a tie game. David Wright STRIKES OUT!! Can’t even make contact. They walked the Carloses to pitch to Ryan Church ( who left a bazillion guys on base lately). He grounds meekly to second for a force at the plate. Lastly, Castro STRIKES OUT! No runs. You knew they were losing this game at that point. Luis Ayala gave up 3 runs in the 10^th and it was a done deal.

The Phillies got blown out by the Braves. They were due so no biggie. The Brewers beat the pirates again. 11 in a row and counting. Way to go, Pitt!! Sabathia pitched again. I think he pitches every game for Milwaukee now. They think he’s “Old Hoss” Radbourn. Who’s that you may ask? “Hoss’ pitched for providence in the 1880’s. He was 60-12 one year, pitching 23 out of 24 games down the stretch. And today, we’re worried about pitch counts.

Mets Blog

Daniel Murphy’s Double Helps Mets Take Back NL East

Bernalda — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:44:22 +0000

The Mets got two strong innings out of Brian Stokes to close out the game in their 9-5 win over Atlanta on Friday night. New York was 0-6 in Atlanta this season and really needed to get this win considering that both the Brewers and the Phillies lost their games.

This bullpen is going to be the story every night. It strikes me as interesting that when Dan Warthen came to the Mets the starting pitching took off, but why is it that the bullpen seems to have gotten worse? Look-they were no great shakes to start the season, but no one has made any improvements and pretty much no matter who comes in, it seems that they can’t get an out. It took four relievers in the bottom of the seventh to get three outs. And how far have Duaner Sanchez and Aaron Heilman fallen that Nelson Figueroa and Ricardo Rincon come in to pitch before either one of them? As it turns out though, Aaron Heilman got a huge out for the Mets and so did Pedro Feliciano.

The Mets defense was atrocious, David Wright made another throwing error in the second inning that allowed two runs to score. Then in the bottom of the seventh inning; both Jose Reyes and Ryan Church made errors which helped the Braves tie the game. At that point it looked as if the Mets were going to pack it in for the night, but their offense had other things in mind. Lucky for the Mets that the Braves made two errors in the top of the eighth. Boy, Kelly Johnson is a terrible fielder!

Jose Reyes lead off the game with a homerun for a second consecutive night. He was 3-4 for the night, scored three runs and drove in a pair. Although David Wright has really been in a slump at the plate he did have 2 RBI and seemed to be hitting the ball better. But David needs to get his head in the game. As I mentioned before, he had a throwing error for a second consecutive night. These games are important and these guys can’t play sloppy like this. The only starter in the lineup to not get a hit was Ryan Church who looked totally lost at the plate.

The rookies were in the mix as well. Nick Evans started the game in left and hit his second homer of the season. I don’t remember the last time Evans actually started a game, but with the injury to Fernando Tatis he got the start in left. Daniel Murphy is a hitter. Wow-he came through with a huge pinch RBI double that gave the Mets a 7-5 lead. I know the Mets would like to have him play some second base during the winter, but this is a guy that can really be valuable for the Mets down the stretch. Jerry Manual said that because the Mets will face righties in the next six games (or so) Murphy will be getting the start in left.

Also, Brett Meyers is a jerk. Apparently he has a little problem with Jose Reyes. It seems Meyers and his buddy Jimmy Rollins like to do this little jive where Meyers mocks Reyes-I guess I can see how the Phillies might see Reyes as a hotdog. But really? There isn’t enough mustard for Jimmy Rollins, and seriously it gets old to see Ryan Howard strike his homerun pose when he hits a homer in the freaking joke of a ballpark they play in. But then again, it is all a matter of perception.

By the way, just an FYI-all you Morons who stand outside the SNY studios and do all that stupid stuff for the camera-you ALL look like JERKS!

Game two is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pedro Martinez will be on the mound for the Mets.

Mets Blog

Mets 13-Nationals 10

Bernalda — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:34:55 +0000

The Mets had a huge inning against Odalis Perez scoring six runs in the bottom of the third. It looked as if they would cruise to the finish, but the Nationals would not go down with out a fight. New York blew a six run lead but, they seem to have found some offense at the right time and are playing like winners. After the game was tied at seven, the Mets scored six more runs to win 13-10. This is a hard time right now, the Mets have a three and half game (four in the loss column) lead with just 17 games left to play. This is right where the Mets were last year when they blew the seven game lead. But, this year is different, these Mets are different.

Mike Pelfrey pitched just five innings, allowed five runs on eight hits walked two did not record a strike out. Pelfrey had some trouble early on, his pitches were up in the zone and they were hitting him hard. It again raises the question if Pelfrey is going to (or has he already) hit a wall given that he has never pitched this many innings in one season before. But as Jerry Manual said, and I agree-the Mets are I in a pennant race and they need everyone to get them there.

The bullpen was not great last night, but I guess when you see that the other team has scored 10 runs it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the pitching stunk. Ah–where is Matt Wise when you need him? Aaron Heilman is a nightmare. I really don’t want to see this guy again unless the Mets are winning by 14 or losing by the same number. The Mets need to chuck him and just be done with that head case. Also, if you aren’t on the DL I really don’t care where you have tendonitis. If you are playing, then you are not injured. I hate when someone stinks and they all the sudden it is like, Oh…we’ll he has been hurt-who cares? Is he playing? If the answer is yes, then shut up. Anyway, the Mets had a two run lead and Heilman gave up a two run homer to Christian Guzman. Brian Stokes, who had been really good as of late wasn’t so great last night. He gave up a three run homer to who–uh, Christian Guzman. But, Joe Smith had another great outing and Luis Ayala closed out the game for his seventh save of the season for the Mets.

The offense, after not getting it done in the first two games against the Philles over the weekend has done an all out turn around. The Mets scored 29 runs in their past three games. Interestingly, it wasn’t Carlos Delgado who carried the team last night, although he did have an RBI in the game. Carlos Beltran had three big hit; he scored two and drove in two. The Mets also got RBI from Fernando Tatis (2) and Brian Schneider (2) and Damion Easley (1). David Wright had a great night; he was 4-4, scored four runs and drove in three. Wright said after the game that this is the best he has felt at the plate in a long time, and boy is that good to hear because the Mets need all their big hitters to get them through these next few weeks.

Wow-two ESPN “Top Ten” plays for the Mets last night. Fernando Tatis took the wrong route to a ball in left field and made an outstanding leaping catch to record the out it was great. Then David Wright, who at times has not been good with the glove, made a beautiful barehanded play on a slow hopper to third to throw the runner out at first. It was great! The Mets have played great fundamental baseball after having kind of a tough weekend in the field. Right now, this team is in a groove and they are playing some good baseball.

Elijah Dukes is a head case, this is a guy who needs a round the clock “minder” (is that another word for babysitter?) because he can’t keep himself out of trouble. Is it really worth it to have that guy on your team? I mean, his reaction to the “inside pitch” was a little extreme. Yes, Dukes hit a homer off Pelfrey in his first at bat-but the pitch wasn’t even close. They guy reacted as if Pelfrey threw at his head. Meanwhile, like two innings later Pelfrey trying to go inside hit Dukes and this time he just took his base. Whatever.

Jose Reyes stole his 282nd and 283rd bases in the bottom of the third inning and now is the Mets all time leader in stolen bases. It took Jose just six season to break the record that it took Mookie Wilson ten seasons to set. Just glad that Reyes is getting on base and that his slump against the Phillies didn’t carry over.

The Mets have an off day and then the Braves will be in town over the weekend. The Phillies will start a four game set with the Brewers tonight. Go Brew Crew! The Mets need to take care of business against the Braves. I must say though, it is kind of sad that in Shea Stadium’s last season the Braves come to town and not be anywhere near the race. I think they should as Chipper Jones to take down #10.

Friday’s starters: Johan Santana v. Mike Hampton, game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Mets Blog

10-8 Seems to be Lucky As Mets Win and Phillies Lose By Same Score

Bernalda — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:39:17 +0000

The Mets were able to get by the Nats 10-8 last night, and strangely the Phillies lost to the Marlins by the same score. So the Mets stretched their lead over the Phillies by two and a half-three in the loss column. The Phillies were down early and came back to make it interesting, but in the end just couldn’t get it done. Unlike the Mets who seemed to be determined last night.

I don’t know if the Mets were scoreboard watching or what happened but they played like crazy last night. The Carloses hit back to back homeruns to give the Mets the lead in the inning. For Carlos Delgado that was his second homer of the night. He is in a zone that I pray lasts until the end of September. He hit two shots that were just unbelievable. It isn’t just Delgado who has been in a zone, Carol Beltran is hitting .348 with six homers and 17 RBIs in his last 14 games, he also joined Wright and Delgado in 100 RBI club. I thought it was a good sign last night that both David Wright and Jose Reyes did a much better job with the bat. Wright actually had a two out RBI. In addition, Ryan Church hit in the two spot last night, he had two RBI, one of the solo homerun.

Oliver Perez stunk up the joint, for the most part the pitching for both teams was terrible. Lucky for the Mets the Nationals pitched worse. Perez, who has really been good for the Mets just didn’t have it last night. He only worked three and a third innings; allowing seven runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out two. It was uncharacteristic of the Perez we have seen recently. Nelson Figueroa and Brandon Knight were awful, but kudos to Joe Smith, Brian Stokes, Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala who combined to pitch four shut out innings.

For as much as I have ragged on Billy Wagner in the blog this season, I actually felt bad for him last night when they showed clips of his press conference from earlier in the day. He really broke down when asked what his son thought of what was happening. I guess you can understand how it feels. It isn’t a life threatening illness, but it is your livelihood, and while I’m sure he has plenty of money, but it is always better to leave your terms. Who knows if he’ll ever pitch again.

The Mets and the Nationals will meet again tonight at 7:10 p.m. Mike Pelfrey will be on the hill for the Mets and the Nats will counter with Odalis Perez.

Mets Blog

Mets Best Brewers, Win 6-5 in 10

Bernalda — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:54:23 +0000

The Mets were able to overcome a shaky first outing by rookie Jonathan Niese to beat the Brewers 6-5 in 10 innings. Endy Chavez hit a sac fly in the top of the 10th to score the go ahead run and to put the Mets in position to sweep the series against the Brew Crew.

The Mets got a great performance out of their bullpen as Niese failed to even get out of the fifth inning. Knowing how well the Mets bullpen has pitched this season, I was figuring that we’d be in a for a long night. But, for a second straight night, the bullpen did not allow a run and kept the Mets in the game. Obviously, the Mets have the added benefit of the expanded roster which allows Jerry Manual to basically work match ups, but also I think it adds a little competitive nature to the bullpen-competition is a good thing especially for a bullpen that has been awful!

Carlos Beltran who suffered a bruised knee when he slid into the home plate umpire on Monday night did play last night, he hit a three run homer and as of late is swinging a hot bat. I know that there was some discussion as to whether he would even be in the line up yesterday and it seems that Manual basically said to him that unless he had a broken leg he would be in the line up. And, when you are in a pennant race, that is how it has to be. Nobody is healthy, but you’ve got to play through it. Not only did Beltran have a great night with the bat, he also had a great defensive play, throwing a runner out at home to keep the game tied at five.

While Niese’s outing last night didn’t go as well as Mets fans might have hopped, the rookies are making a statement on this team. Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans continue to play well. And while I sometimes cringe when I see those guys go back on a ball, they have really played well for guys who are natural infielders. Murphy has been great with the bat, he knows how to prolong at bats by working the count. Not only that, Murphy also seems to run the bases well, and in fact the reason the Mets won the game was because of smart base running by Murphy. I know Minaya said that the organization expects that Evans will actually hit for power as he matures, Evan’s hasn’t quite shown that just yet, but he did hit his first homerun in the bigs over the weekend.

So the Mets will wrap up their though road trip with a 2:05 start in Milwaukee this afternoon. Thus far, with only one left to play the Mets are 5-2 on the road trip. This was a big test for the Mets as they played games not only against their division rivals, the Phillies, but against the Marlins-who aren’t totally out of it, and the Brewers who are trying to hold on the the wild card. The Mets will return home and after an off day will play three with the Phillies-this marks the last series of the regular season between the Mets and the Phills.

Also, Pedro Martinez has returned to New York to work out with a personal trainer. The Mets have been careful not to say too much, but it seems that Pedro is having trouble getting lose both prior and during his starts. The issue of him loosening his shoulder is something that Gary, Keith and Ron have talked about especially in response to the trouble Martinez seems to have in the first inning. Clearly with the off days in the next two weeks, the Mets can get by with a four man rotation, but a three man rotation isn’t going to work. I would be surprised if Niese get another start, and given how Nelson Figueroa and Brian Stokes have kind of etched out places for them in the bullpen, does it makes sense to have one of them start?

Mets Blog

Mets Pound Astros 9-1

Bernalda — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:15:12 +0000

Mike Pelfrey and Carlos Delgado combined to have a great night for the Mets last night. Pelfrey pitched his second consecutive complete game. He allowed only one run (which came in the ninth inning) off six hits, he walked none and stuck out six. He got the Astros to hit into three double plays. Not only did Pelfrey pitch well but he scored from first on a triple by Jose Reyes in the bottom of the eighth. Reyes had a good night at the plate going 3-2 with a walk, two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base.

Delgado, was 2-4 with six RBI, he belted two three run homers for the Mets and made an outstanding play on a grounder by Ty Wiggington in the ninth inning. Carlos even came out for a curtain call after he hit the second homer. Ryan Church who drew big applause from the crowd was 2-4. I think when Chruch comes up to bat-you know how all players have their “song”-well I think they should play “Living On a Prayer” just because it would be funny!

John Maine will return to the DL because of discomfort in his shoulder caused by bone spurs. The Mets will not have to fill the rotation spot until next week Tuesday when they are in Milwaukee. No news yet as to who will be starting but some of the names thrown around are Jon Neise, Nelson Figueroa, and Brian Stokes. When something like this happens you can’t help by worry-the Mets are really in the thick of it, and while Perez, Pelfrey and Santana have been great, there is concern about the fourth and fifth starters-Pedro pitched better in his last outing, but has really struggled, and you can only guess what you will get from the guy who will take Maine’s spot in the rotation-especially considering that we’re still not sure if the bullpen can be trusted-clearly Pedro Feliciano didn’t have his good stuff on Sunday.

So, the Mets open a two game short series with the Phillies down in Philly. Tonight, the Mets will face Jamie Moyer-and we know how well that always goes. Pedro is on the mound for the Mets, but after seeing the homeruns he’s given up recently, one can only imagine what can happen in that bandbox the Phillies play in. At worst the Mets can split the series and not lose any ground, but they really can’t drop both games. The Mets have played well against the Phillies this season, but we’ve all seen how tough the Phillies can play. Hopefully the positive win against the Astros last night can give the Mets some momentum.

Also, on a side note-last night was my birthday and I’m lucky enough to share it with my nephew Danny who just happens to be an Astors fan-so you guessed it, we spent the evening at Shea Stadium. The win was bittersweet for me, because I really wanted Danny to have a great birthday. But, after the second Delgado three run homer-Dan kind of new that it wasn’t the Astros night and did his best to handle his disappointment. I have to give that kid credit because he proudly wore his Bagwell jersey to the game and cheered loudly for his Astros. Dan turned 10 yesterday, and I have to tell you, conducted himself much better than a few Mets fan did. Between the subway ride and the walk out of Shea Stadium more than one grown male had some snide remark for the kid-seriously guys? Where do these jerks get off razzing a 10 year old kid? I was really disappointed that there are so many JERKS that call themselves Mets fans.

Game time tonight is set for 7:10 p.m. The crowd is going to be tough down there in Phillie. Lets Go Mets!

Mets Blog

Mets End Road Trip on Low Note, Lose 5-2 to Bucs

Bernalda — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:40:05 +0000

The Mets fell just one game shy of a perfect road trip losing 5-2 to the Pirates on Monday afternoon. New York’s lead was shaved to just one and a half over the Phillies in the National League East. Clearly, if you start watching the standings this early you can really drive yourself crazy.

At first glance, one would like to blame the Mets bullpen for the loss yesterday and if you read any of the sports pages in the New York area, most of the writers did. Too often have we seen the bullpen go out and just throw one away. There is no question that they are partly responsible for blowing it yesterday. Brian Stokes pitched an inning and a third allowing two runs on three hits, one of those hits was a homer by Adam LaRoche. Pedro Feliciano worked a third of an inning, he retired the first hitter he faced then gave up a single to Adam LaRoche. Duaner Sanchez entered the game, faced four hitters and couldn’t get any of them out.

Also, if John Maine did his job, the bullpen wouldn’t have had to pick up the slack after the fifth inning. Yeah, he allowed no runs and only two hits, but he still walked four. He had to leave the game in the fifth because of a high pitch count. Really, this guy needs to get it figured out.

The real story of the day is that the Mets are not hitting with guys in scoring position. The Mets were 0-9 with runners in scoring position. Damon Easley who has subbed for both David Wright and Jose Reyes in the series was 0-8 and hit into four double plays. On Monday alone, Carlos Delgado left six runners in scoring position, including bases loaded in the eighth inning. In the past 13 games, Delgado is 7-48 with runners in scoring position.

Look, the fact of the matter is that the Mets have to do two things to win-they have to pitch and they have to hit. We know that early in games they can score, the Mets lead the league in runs scored in the first three innings of games. However, they are also a league worst in giving up runs in the last three innings of games. If the Mets can’t score enough runs to overcome their bullpen trouble, then they aren’t going to hold on down the stretch.

Mets Blog

Maine Returns to Rotation, Mets Shut Out Nats 12-0

Bernalda — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:13:12 +0000

The Mets woke up this morning to find themselves tied for first in the NL East and they can thank the Los Angels Dodgers for that.

John Maine returned from the DL last night. He has been out of the rotation since July 28th when he went only four and a third innings against Florida. Maine pitched five solid innings of one hit ball, he walked four and stuck out six. After the game he admitted to some soreness, but reiterated that it was nothing like he felt before.

The bullpen did not cause any commotion in the game, recent call up Brian Stokes pitched four innnings in relife to get his first save. In four innings of work he allowed three hits and struck out three. Maybe the Mets have found the long man for the pen.

Listen, I think that Maine looked much better last night, but I don’t think we can make any evaluation until at least his next start, because against a team like Washington, it is hard to gauge just how well he actually pitched. Also, I thought that four walks in five innings was way too much. That is something that was a problem for him well before he was injured.

The Mets found plenty of offense scoring eight of their 12 runs in the third inning. Washington’s starter Jason Bergmann really struggled, facing 13 Met in the inning, he walked five and allowed four hits. Christian Guzman misplayed a ball that Jose Reyes hit, so only 6 of the 10 runs that Bergmann allowed were earned.

Daniel Murphy continues to hit the ball well. He was 3-6 last night with three RBI, including a two run oppostiefield homer in the top of the fifth. Fernando Tatis also hit a homerun, and was 2-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Only two Mets were hitlessin last night’s game, both Carlos Delgado and Brian Schneider, but they both reached base three times via walks.

Last night was a great win for the Mets, one that they really needed. It has been a long time since the Mets scored that many runs. Although, I always worry that that means they won’t score any runs in the next two or three games. New York has just over 40 games left to the regular season and as we all know they are locked in a tight race for the top spot in the division. The Mets really are going to have to win the division, because they are five games out of the wild card, and two teams ahead of them, the Brewers and the Cardinals and playing good baseball right now.

Counting tonight’s game against the Nationals, the Mets will play eight more games in the month of August with teams that are under .500. The Metsproblems with these lowly teams have been well documents, just look what happendon Monday against the Pirates. And, at the tail end of those eight games are with the Braves, and we are all aware of how the Mets play against the Braves. So, the Mets are at a point where they should be able to keep pace with the Phillies, but time and time again, this team shows us that with them, anything is possible.

The Mets and the Nationals wrap up the series tonight, game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. The Mets will have Oliver Perez on the mound who is 8-7 witha 3.90 era. The Nationals will counter with Collin Balester who is 2-4 with a 4.66 era.

Mets Blog

Bullpen Helps Santana Get 10th Win as Mets top Nats 3-2

Bernalda — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:09:49 +0000

The Mets finally got a decent performance out of their bullpen and held on to win 3-2 in Washington on Tuesday night. With Johan Santana on the mound you almost automatically think the bullpen will blow it. However, Santana did get his 10th win of the season, he pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits; he walked two and struck out six.

Jerry Manual elected to pinch hit for Johan Santana in the top of the eighth inning. Santana was visibly unhappy about leaving the game at that point. Listen, considering how the bullpen has pitched as of late, and particularly how they seem to pitch in relief for Santana, I can imagine that he was not too happy about leaving the game in the hands of the bullpen. Also, now he’ll have to hear that he only gave the Mets seveninnings, he hadn’t even thrown 100 pitches. Listen, Santana wasn’t exactly stellar last night, he relinquished the lead on two occasions. In the bottom of the first with a two run lead, Santana gave up two in the bottom of the inning. Then, with the Mets winning 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, he gave up a solo pinch hit homer to Ryan Langerhans-it was Langerhans’ first homer of the season. However, Santana pitched well enough to get the win and after what he has been through with this bullpen, it was good to see that he finally got one.

If someone had told you in March that Santana wouldn’t get his 10th winuntil the middle of August, you would think that something ridiculous had happened, and the truth is, the bullpen has been ridiculous. If the bullpen had been able to hold leads in the games that Santana started he would be a 15 game winner right now. Since the all star break, the Mets bullpen has a 6.82 era, the worst in the majors. After the latest debacle against the Pirates in Monday’s make up game, Jerry Manual vowed to shake things up. Scott Schoeneweis called a bullpen only meeting challenging guys to step up and go out and do what has to be done. Apparently, it must have worked because both Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano threw scoreless innings to finish out the game last night. Smith worked the eighth, he allowed on hit and stuck out two. Feliciano worked the ninth, he did not allow a hit or a walk and stuck out two, Feliciano also earned his first save of the season.

The Mets scored two in the top of the first, Nick Evans singled with one out, and scored on a two out double by Carlos Beltran. Beltran would score on a single to center by Carlos Delgado. The Mets scored one in the third to go ahead 3-2 on a RBI double by Carlos Beltran. Beltran had a better night at the plate last night, he was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. He left two guys in scoring position when he stuck out with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. However, hitting in the cleanup spot seems to agree with him, and given that winning these games against Washington and Pittsburgh are so important, hopefully, Beltran can really get it going. The Mets left the bases loaded againin the top of the eighth inning.

Good thing Damion Easley got hit in the head by a pitch in the top of the eighth ( he wasn’t actually “hit”more like the ball just grazed his helmet), otherwise the Mets would not have gotten a run home from third withless than two outs at all in the game. What a terrible job by the Met’s hitters in that spot. Dan Murphy pinch hit for Ramon Castro and struck out. Then Brian Schneider pinch hit in the pitcher’s spot and struck out also, for that Santana could have batted and stayed in the game.

A win is a win, and because the Phillies lost to the Dodgers on Tuesday night, the Mets sit in second place just one game out. This is really a make or break road trip for the Mets. The bullpen has got to get straightened out because the Mets are in a situation where a couple of losses in a row could be very hard to overcome. Yes, the Mets do have five games left with the Phillies, so there is that to keep in the back of your mind, but the Marlins are not going away just yet. The Mets meet the Marlins six more times, three of those games are the last three games of the regular season. While we are discussing the last week of the season, the Mets are at home but play three with the Chicago Cubs and three with the Marlins; at that same time the Phillies will be at home for three against Atlanta and Washington. So, really, the time to make up ground is getting short so the Mets must take advantage of the next two series and win some games.

Ryan Church had a good work out down in Florida and is feeling good. The Mets have still not set a time frame for his rehab assignment. Carlos Muniz was sent down to Triple A New Orleans and Brian Stokes will stay with the team. Luis Castillo‘s return from the DL has been delayed “indefinitely” because he has been away from workouts attending to a personal family matter. That or he realizes that when he returns he will be sitting on the bench. Either way, let him stay down in Florida.

The Mets and the Nats meet up again Wednesday night. John Maine, fresh off his stint on the 15 day DL will start for the Mets and the Nationals will have Jason Bergmann on the mound. Maine is 9-7 with a 4.13 Bergmannis 2-8 with a 4.13 era. Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

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