The Mets completed their three game series with the Yankees on Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 win behind Oliver Perez.  The Mets finished 4-2 against the Yankees this season and are the winners of the Subway Series. 

This win was all possible thanks to Oliver Perez.  Yep, you read that right, I said Oliver Perez.  Perez was amazing, I don’t think I have ever seen him pitch that well; he has been working with new pitching coach Dan Warthen and yesterday’s performance showed how much his work has paid off.  Perez has a new delivery and has changed his position from the third base side of the rubber to the middle; as a result Perez’s new delivery allows him to use his legs more and give him more force as he propels his body to the plate.  That force was apparent yesterday as Perez had good speed on his fastball yesterday being clocked in the 94mph range with consistency.  In his 7 innings of work, Perez allowed just three hits, while recording 8 strikeouts.  The one earned run came off a homer to Wilson Betemit in the seventh inning.  Here is the big stat, Perez did NOT walk anyone, he threw 106 pitches yesterday 72 of those were strikes.  In four starts against the Yankees Perez is now 4-0 with 1.54 era.  After the game, Perez said that that performance was the “Real Ollie” let’s hope so!

I must admit that when Billy Wagner gave up the single to Derek Jeter, I thought the Mets were in trouble.  I was having flashbacks to the three consecutive blown saves in early June, especially when it looked like ARod was going to tie the game with one swing of his bat, however, Endy Chavez made the catch on the warning track and Wagner went on to ritire the next two batters he faced and notched his 18th save of the season.

The offense did just enough to get by yesterday.  The Mets scored first in the bottom of the second on a bases loaded infield hit by Luis Castillo, and then added another run in the third when Carlos Delgado hit a bomb to straight away center, his third homerun of the series and his 14^th of the season.  The third run came off a sac fly by David Wright in the bottom of the seventh.  However, again the Mets had a chance to really stick it to Darrell Rasner early on; in both the first and second innings the Mets loaded the bases and scored just one run.  In total they left 11 guys on base and didn’t really get a big hit when they needed one.  David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Fernando Tatis all had 0-fors yesterday.  However, the guys did make some hard outs and while they didn’t score as many runs as you’d like but they did win.

So glad to see Ryan Church back out there yesterday.  In his return Church was 2-4.  Having his bat back in the line up can only be a good thing for the Mets!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that there is truth to the rumor that Moises Alou could rejoin the team in Philly!   

Also, what is up with Jose Reyes?  For those of you who missed it yesterday, Reyes made a play on a grounder by Melky Cabrera, Reyes’ throw sailed over Delgado’s glove and Cabrera ended up on second.  Yeah, we’d all like Delgado to field a little better but if Reyes was throwing his glove in disgust at Delgado, I would not have wanted to be in the clubhouse after that little temper tantrum.  I can understand Reyes’ frustration, and I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and I sincerely hope that his reaction was because of his own bad throw, however Reyes should realize while Delgado should have made the play, he didn’t make an especially good throw either.  The Mets have to pull together as a team; this is not a time to fall apart.  I know a lot is being made of remarks by Johan Santana after his start against the Yankees.  He said something to the affect that he is doing his job, and that basically the other guys need to do their jobs too.  I know that you aren’t supposed to “call out” your teammates like that, but I get where Santana is coming from.  He should be mad; he isn’t getting the run support he needs, and has been the victim of some shoddy defense as well.  I have said that Santana hasn’t been as good as I thought he would be, and I realize that my expectations are unreasonable.  Santana has pitched very well, especially for a team that has given him little or no run support. The Mets offense didn’t even show up for Saturday’s game, and that has been the case when Santana has pitched.  If the Mets offense was doing its job he could easily be 11-3 on the season.

The Mets have eight games left going into the all star break.  In these next few games we are going to learn a lot about the Mets.  They play four with the Cardinals who are 47-36 and sit 2.5 games behind the Cubs.  The Mets then head to Philly for four, the Phillies have seen their 7 game lead in the division dwindle to one as they haven’t exactly been playing the best baseball themselves.  The Mets must have a great road trip.  I can’t even predict what will happen.  I’d love for them to go 6-2 but I have a feeling that 4-4 is more realistic.  Then again, with this team, anything is possible (and I mean that both in a good and bad way).

John Maine will pitch for the Mets tonight and the Cardinal have Kyle Lohse on the mound.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. 

Mets Blog

The New York Mets completed a rain shortened series with the New York Yankees on Sunday night with an 11-2 win.  However, one can only guess what the score might have been if not for an awful call by the umpires in the fourth inning.  The Mets had scored three runs off of Yankee starter Chien-Ming Wang when Carlos Delgado came to the plate.  Delgado hit a shot to left field that struck the foul pole and bounced into the crowd, third base umpire Mike Reilly called it a homerun; however first base umpire Alfonso Marquez said it was a foul ball, and after the umpires gathered to discuss it, the call was reversed by home plate umpire Bob Davidson.  Replays on the telecast showed that the ball was clearly a homerun, and when television cameras caught up with the guy who was sitting next to the foul pole and had possession of the “foul” ball, there was a black scuff mark on the ball and a white scuff mark on the foul pole.  Lucky for those umpires that Delgado went on to hit a RBI single and that those two runs did not cost them a victory.

I was concerned that that call not going the Mets way was going to be a problem.  I thought for sure the Mets would end up losing the game 6-5 and that call would really make or break the game.  But, the Mets went back to work and really did what they had to do to win the game.  Seven of the nine Mets starters all had a hit, David Wright and Jose Reyes each had two hits, Reyes hit a homerun, his second of the series and fourth of the season.  However, the best thing that came out of that blown call debacle was that Willie Randolph actually got fired up.  He went out to argue the call with the umpires, when play resumed, Randolph must have continued jawing from the dugout because ESPN’s microphones picked up the shouts of home plate umpire Bob Davidson yelling “Shut up Willie!”  Although Davidson did not eject Randolph, bench coach Jerry Manuel who really got into with the umpires, was thrown out of the game.

Oliver Perez did a great job on Sunday night.  It looked like he might get into trouble in the bottom of the fourth when after the excitement in the top half of the inning, Perez gave up a lead off single to Derek Jeter and then a two run shot to Hideki Matsui to make it 4-2.  It looked like Perez might lose it in that fourth inning, but he composed himself and went 7 2/3, walked only two, gave up two earned runs on three hits, and struck out five.  Other than that one inning, Perez pitched really well.  He gave the Mets exactly what they needed, going deep in the game and preserving the win.   He is really going to be a big key to the Mets success down the road if they are going to go anywhere this year, and it was good to see him get it together instead of going into complete meltdown mode.

This was a great weekend to be a Mets fan.  The Mets finally played the way you expect them to, as a team they were great.  Ryan Church continues to make a name for himself.  His defense is really good, and he also has put up great offensive numbers, hitting his ninth homerun of the season last night; Church is now hitting .307 with 9 homeruns, 32 RBI.  I just hope that the Mets can capitalize on this momentum and play tough; they are now in second place, just one game out of first and tied in the loss column with the Marlins.  This upcoming road trip could be a big challenge; they’ve got four games in Atlanta and three in Denver against the Rockies.  After the trip, the Marlins come to town for three and then the Mets close out May with three against the Dodgers.  The Mets could really make some headway here in these next 13 games.  It would be great for them to open the up division a bit and put some distance between them and .500.   

The Mets have an off day on Sunday, and open a series with a double header against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.  First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.  The Mets will finally face Tom Glavine who will pitch the first game of the double header; he will be opposed by John Maine.  Claudio Vargas coming off a great start against the Washington Nationals, will start the 7:10 p.m. nightcap for the Mets.

Mets Blog    

The New York Mets beat the New York Yankees 7-4 on Saturday.  This was a good win for the Mets especially after their horrible series against the Washington Nationals.  The Mets dropped three of four to the Nats and have been playing uninspired baseball.  Comments made by closer Billy Wagner after Thursday’s loss caused a lot of Mets’ discussions, callers flooded the airwaves of sports talk radio, and Mets stories filled the pages of the New York newspapers.  It seems that Carlos Delgado and Wagner have cleared the air and apparently the two met privately on Friday to discuss Wagner’s comments.  After that meeting, the Mets had a team meeting and although the specifics of that gathering have not been disclosed, you get the sense that the Mets cleared the air as a team and are ready to get back to baseball. 

Stopper Johan Santana took the mound for the Mets, his start had been pushed back one day so that he could pitch the first game of the Subway Series, however because of Friday’s rain out, Santana took the mound on Saturday with extra rest and it showed, Santana struggled early, walking lead off hitter Johnny Damon to start the bottom of the first, the second guy to come to the plate was Met killer Derek Jeter who hit a home run to left field and with that it looked like as if it would be the Yankees day, the Mets were down 2-0 and Santana had yet to record an out.  Santana was not sharp but managed to get out of the first inning with out giving up anything else and also pitched a scoreless second.  With the score still 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the game turned in the Mets favor.  Johnny Damon lead of with a single, Bobby Abreu hit a long double to right fielder Ryan Church, he cut the ball off in the gap and the Mets executed a perfect relay play, Church hit cut off man Luis Castillo who threw to catcher Brian Schneider, Schneider did a perfect job of blocking the plate, Damon who was trying to score from first was thrown out at the plate and the Yankees would not score again until Jason Giambi hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh.  But at that moment, something changed and you could feel the momentum swing in the Mets favor.  Santana settled in and as the game went on he got better and better, he did give up three homeruns; two of them were solo homers but Santana pitched deep into the game going 7 2/3 giving up 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks and 5 strike outs.  In the bottom of the eighth Billy Wagner had a chance to put up or shut up and did just that, he recorded a four out save, although the bottom of the ninth might have been a little more exciting than one might have liked, Wagner finished it out and the Mets won the first game of the series.    

Andy Pettitte pitched for the Yankees and in the first two innings looked unhittable, in fact, in the first two innings Pettitte had already recorded five strike outs.  To their credit, Mets batters hung in and had some good at bats, in the top of the fourth the Mets would take the lead and not look back.  Ryan Church lead off the inning with a single to center, David Wright got credit for a single when he hit a ball to center that that Jeter lost in the sun and was unable to make a play on, Carlos Beltran followed that up with a singled to left fielder Johnny Damon.  Ryan Church took advantage of Damon’s lack of arm strength and scored from second on the play.  Andy Pettitte then walked Moises Alou to load the bases; Carlos Delgado popped up and Damon Easley was called out on strikes but with two out Pettitte walked Brian Schneider which also walked in the tying run.  Luis Castillo came to the plate with the bases loaded and hit what basically amounted to a swinging bunt that looked as if it might go foul, however it stayed fair and neither Pettitte nor third baseman Alberto Gonzalez could make a play on it, everyone was safe and the third run of the inning crossed the plate. 

The Mets scored three more runs in the top of the seventh off reliever Kyle Farnsworth.  Farnsworth has been to the Yankees what Aaron Heilman has been to the Mets, and today, he did not disappoint.  Jose Reyes hit his third homerun of the season in the top of the seventh off of Farnsworth who then walked Church and gave up a homer to David Wright to give the Mets a 6-3 lead.  The Mets would tag on one more run in the top of the ninth off Joba Chamberlain, Carlos Beltran hit a tripled on a line drive to left and scored on a two out single by Carlos Delgado.  

All in all it was a much better performance by the Mets.  Who knows with these guys.  Maybe all the controversy this past week with the awful series against the Nationals and the angst in the clubhouse actually did bring them together as a team.  For me as a Mets fan, it always is hard when this series comes around and the Mets aren’t playing well.  However, hanging in the game to win instead of quitting when they were down which we have seen so many times is a good sign, winning this series might be what the Mets need.  There was a renewed sense of excitement in the dugout today, and the TV cameras caught it more than once, it was almost a flashback to last season when the team actually seemed to be having fun.  

I know as a Mets fan I tend to get mad and complain and be hypercritical of the Mets play and of some of things manager Willie Randolph says and does.  But the truth of the matter is, I love the Mets, I love this team.  By and large, they are my guys, some I like more than others, but at the end of the day-they are still my team and my guys.  We just want them to win.  We want them to play better, and let me tell you, we want them to beat the Yankees. 

The Subway Series will wrap up tonight on Sunday Night Baseball.  First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 pm.  The Mets will face Yankee ace Chien-Ming Wang and Oliver Perez will pitch for the Mets.  Perez has had some good games against the Yankees, I just hope we see a good Oliver Perez tonight. 

Mets Blog

The New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates were postponed Monday due to the rain; the  game has been rescheduled for August 11th.  First pitch Tuesday is set for 7:10.  Because there is no game to recap, I thought we should take the opportunity to discuss some other aspects of the Mets, namely Carlos Delgado. 

Carlos Delgado told New York reporters that he did not come out for a curtain call on Sunday as Mets fans cheered for him because he did nothing worthy of a curtain call.  Funny Carlos, the Mets fans saw it other wise.  How about the fact that you have been killing the Mets in the line up?  The fans were trying to show you some love, buddy.  I hope for you that you are out of your funk because if you have another slump this season, I’m pretty sure that Mets fans will be even more unpleasant to you. 

These guys are such cry babies!  Should Mets fans boo as much as they do?  Maybe not.  But let’s not forget that Carlos Delgado was a big part of what happened at the end of last season.  Mets fans buy tickets to watch their team, and while some argue that paying admission does not give you the right to boo-others would argue that booing is part of the game. Fans are not telling Delgado that they hate him, they are telling him that they expect more.  Unlike Delgado, most of us do not have millions of dollars lying around, when folks come out to the ball park, they spend a lot of money to do so, and it should be noted to dear Carlos, that without those folks that boo–and CHEER you, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to rake in the dough!  So next time Mets fans want to show you some love-return their affections. 

What Delgado fails to realize is that the New York fans welcomed him with open arms when he came to New York via the trade with the Marlins.  We remember that the Mets tried to bring him to New York via free agency when he left Toronto.  Instead, he said some really uncomplimentary things about New York and then signed a big contract with the Florida Marlins.  Things didn’t quite work for him there so he found himself in New York via a trade.  Mets fans gave Carlos the benefit of the doubt because after all, it was a partnership.  With the Mets, Delgado had a chance to showcase his talents on a big stage.  In return, with Mike Piazza leaving via free agency, the Mets found that big bat replacement in the heart of the order to hit behind Carlos Beltran.  At the time it was unknown what David Wright would accomplish so  the Mets felt that Delgado was the best option.  Mets fans were ecstatic, and felt that Delgado was the key they needed to get them to the play offs and beyond.  

So I have to say, I am really not too sympathetic to a guy who is a little senstive to the crowd booing.  It’s part of the game, it is part of playing in New York.  For players, New York can be the best stage, win in this town and you’re a king-ask Derek Jeter. 

Mets Blog