I have an odd mix of feelings towards Tom Glavine:
On one hand, I am glad he is on the team, feel confident that the Mets will win when he pitches, and I'm definitely glad he's not on the Braves. I also think he gives us a better chance of winning postseason series if he gets starts.
On the other hand, I don't care if he gets to 300 wins, I don't care when he doesn't get credit for the win in a particular game, and I don't really like him all that much. His waffling about possibly returning back to the Braves whenever the subject comes up irks me, and his creature of habit tendencies annoy me too. I don't think I'll ever consider him a "true Met."
This is my dream:
The Mets win the large majority of Tom Glavine's starts this season, yet he finishes with just nine wins, one short of 300. The Mets win the division, and go on to win the World Series with Tom earning the MVP in either teh NLCS or World Series. In 2008, Glavine goes back to the Braves and gets his win. That win #300 happens in a Braves uniform, but on the road with little fanfare. The Braves finish in last place in 2008. Glavine retires at year's end and us Mets fans can say to Braves fans: "Yeah, your guy Tom Glavine... He was quite a pitcher, but he had to come to the Mets to get a Championship."
Mets beat Snakes 9-4, thanks to the bats of Damion Easley and David Wright, and an error by transplanted ex-Met Tony Clark.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
News: Chan Ho Park Experiment Over, For Now
The big league staff has seen enough of Chan Ho Park for now, and has transplanted him back to The Big Easy. In his place, meet the newest Met: Lino Urdaneta
According to the press release announcing the move, Urdaneta is a 27 year old righthander and he went 1-0 with six saves and a 5.84 ERA in 10 games in relief with The Zephyrs this season. In 12.1 innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight runs, earned, with two walks and two strikeouts.
Urdaneta was a non-roster invitee this spring. In his only major league appearance, in 2004 with the Tigers, he allowed six runs without recording an out. So, he's especially hopeful to see some big league action just so his ERA can be reduced from infinity!
Still to be seen is who will take Park's spot in the rotation. Jorge Sosa and Jason Vargas are the most likely candidates, as well as Aaron Sele. Phil Humber is the longshot.
According to the press release announcing the move, Urdaneta is a 27 year old righthander and he went 1-0 with six saves and a 5.84 ERA in 10 games in relief with The Zephyrs this season. In 12.1 innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight runs, earned, with two walks and two strikeouts.
Urdaneta was a non-roster invitee this spring. In his only major league appearance, in 2004 with the Tigers, he allowed six runs without recording an out. So, he's especially hopeful to see some big league action just so his ERA can be reduced from infinity!
Still to be seen is who will take Park's spot in the rotation. Jorge Sosa and Jason Vargas are the most likely candidates, as well as Aaron Sele. Phil Humber is the longshot.
A Couple Blogs Of Note
I try to keep my blogroll to a manageable number, just because I think that it carries more impact with just a handful of listings compared to a giant list of links to blogs that have various levels of commitments to them. with that being said, I'd like to give a tip of the cap to a couple blogs that I think are worth noting:
First of all, please have a stop by to MetsCentric, if you haven't already. This Mets blog is maintained by long time Mets fan, and fellow North Carolinian Transplant Barry Duchan. Barry's been a Mets fan since the days of the Polo Grounds, and he gives special attention to the forgotten Mets players of yore. Today he says he hopes that the new Citi Field will serve as a shrine to every player who has had the privilege of donning a Mets uniform.
Next, is a new blog that takes a unique approach to sports reporting. Intentional Foul is a Mets/Broncos/Utah Jazz blog, but it's also kind of a blog version of SNL's Weekend Update. Essentially, Len posts news stories, and then expands upon them in a satirical rant. You have to read a few posts to understand what I mean.
First of all, please have a stop by to MetsCentric, if you haven't already. This Mets blog is maintained by long time Mets fan, and fellow North Carolinian Transplant Barry Duchan. Barry's been a Mets fan since the days of the Polo Grounds, and he gives special attention to the forgotten Mets players of yore. Today he says he hopes that the new Citi Field will serve as a shrine to every player who has had the privilege of donning a Mets uniform.
Next, is a new blog that takes a unique approach to sports reporting. Intentional Foul is a Mets/Broncos/Utah Jazz blog, but it's also kind of a blog version of SNL's Weekend Update. Essentially, Len posts news stories, and then expands upon them in a satirical rant. You have to read a few posts to understand what I mean.
Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Ex Mets On The Mound
Victor Zambrano has cracked the Blue Jays rotation, graduating from the 'pen to replace Josh Towers as Toronto's fifth starter, and was kept to a 65 pitch pitch count in his first start yesterday. In 2 and 2/3 innings against the Indians, he allowed two runs on four hits, walked three and struck out one.
Jae Seo had a nice outing for the Devil Rays, allowing two runs off seven hits and a walk, while striking out three in six innings against Minnesota. Seo wound up with a no-decision in the 10 inning, 4-3 win over the Twins. Ty Wigginton drove in the Rays first run with a fielders choice in the fifth. Then, down by a run in the ninth, Wiggy put the game into extra innings with a single off Joe Nathan.
Reds pitcher Mike Stanton came into the eighth inning against the Astros on Wednesday night and managed to finish the inning without a pitch. He picked Hunter Pence off first base, as part of a 3-1 loss to Houston and Roy Oswalt.
Giants reliever Armando Benitez was unavailable to pitch yesterday against the Rockies due to soreness in his right knee, though he may be available today. "It's all right," said Benitez, who also said he was hurt last week. "It's not too serious."
Jae Seo had a nice outing for the Devil Rays, allowing two runs off seven hits and a walk, while striking out three in six innings against Minnesota. Seo wound up with a no-decision in the 10 inning, 4-3 win over the Twins. Ty Wigginton drove in the Rays first run with a fielders choice in the fifth. Then, down by a run in the ninth, Wiggy put the game into extra innings with a single off Joe Nathan.
Reds pitcher Mike Stanton came into the eighth inning against the Astros on Wednesday night and managed to finish the inning without a pitch. He picked Hunter Pence off first base, as part of a 3-1 loss to Houston and Roy Oswalt.
Giants reliever Armando Benitez was unavailable to pitch yesterday against the Rockies due to soreness in his right knee, though he may be available today. "It's all right," said Benitez, who also said he was hurt last week. "It's not too serious."
Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Ex Mets in Baltimore
The Orioles got help from three ex-Mets, but it still was not enough as the Mini-Mets fell to the Tigers, 3-2. Stephen Christopher Trachsel became the first Orioles starter to complete seven innings in three weeks. He allowed three runs on eight hits, but trailed 3-2 when he was removed after seven innings. The O's two runs scored on a Jay Payton double and a bases-loaded walk to Melvin Mora.
Transplanted ex-Mets Update: Mike Piazza Out 4 to 6 Weeks With A Bum Shoulder
Former Met and current A's Designated Hitter Mike Piazza strained his right shoulder last night diving into third base in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid being tagged. He's now headed to the DL and is expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks.
Piazza hadn't exactly been tearing up the AL with his hitting. After a hot start, he's hitting .282 with just 1 homer and 8 RBIs.
Piazza is the 7th player on the Oakland roster who are on the disabled list. Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Milton Bradley, Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia, and Bobby Kietley are all on the A's shelf as well.
The A's come to Shea on June 22nd for a three game set. Piazza may be back by then, but since he hasn't caught at all this season, he probably won't see any action anyway, other than perhaps as a pinch hitter.
Mike's ex-Met teammate Marco Scutaro is hitting just .139 this season, but of course he did have that three-run, walk-off, homer off Mariano Rivera on April 17th so I'd say he's having a good season.
Piazza hadn't exactly been tearing up the AL with his hitting. After a hot start, he's hitting .282 with just 1 homer and 8 RBIs.
Piazza is the 7th player on the Oakland roster who are on the disabled list. Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Milton Bradley, Mark Kotsay, Chris Denorfia, and Bobby Kietley are all on the A's shelf as well.
The A's come to Shea on June 22nd for a three game set. Piazza may be back by then, but since he hasn't caught at all this season, he probably won't see any action anyway, other than perhaps as a pinch hitter.
Mike's ex-Met teammate Marco Scutaro is hitting just .139 this season, but of course he did have that three-run, walk-off, homer off Mariano Rivera on April 17th so I'd say he's having a good season.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
I'm back. Where are the bats?
I'm FINALLY ready to resume my regularly schedule blogging activities. Last Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to final exams, and then (very) early morning I headed up to D.C. and Baltimore for work (and of course a weekend at RFK!)
First of all, what a dump RFK is. I've been there before, and said this before, but it honestly makes Shea look like the Taj Majal. Luckily for Expos fans, this is the last season at the stadium, with the new park opening next season. Yes, somehow, even though construction for both parks began last year, DC's new, as yet unnamed, stadium will be ready a full year before Citi Field.
I originally didn't think I'd be able to make Sunday's game, but my cousin who lives in the area told me last month that I had to make sure I was there because I had to be there to see the sweep completed. well, halfway through Saturday's affair I turned to him and reminded him that we might indeed see a sweep though not the one he predicted!
Friday's game was a mess. O'Perez pitched well enough, especially after Austin Kearns hit a homerun in the first to give some lucky brat an autographed baseball. Unfortunately the Mets have completely forgotten how to score runs. It doesn't help that three members of the Mets lineup (LoDuca Wright Delgado) are automatic outs. Thank God for Beltran Feivel and Reyes! Despite the Mets recent loss of hitting ability, Randolph oddly allowed Perez to bat for himself in the 6th inning down by a run and bases loaded with one out. Perez struck out and Reyes grounded out to end the inning. The ninth inning was a little fun. Chad "the Chief" Cordero was brought in to preserve a one-run lead. Reyes and LoDuca were quickly retired, and Cordero threw a strike to Beltran. Catcher Schneider tossed the ball back to Cordero, who didn't wait for Beltran to settle in before firing a second strike in. Beltran argued that time had been called, but the umpire didn't budge. Beltran screamed and yelled and got in his face. Give credit to the ump - it's the most I've ever seen anyone argue without getting bounced. Beltran stepped back into the box and popped out to second. Mets lose 4-3.
Saturday, the Mets made some punk named Jerome Williams look awesome. The guy came into the game with a 7.77 ERA but he had a no-hitter going for 5 innings. The Expos had a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning, but Old Man Franco scored Endy Chavez with a pinch-hit single. The Mets wound up winning the game in the 12th scoring runs off of a two run double by Beltran and a Wright two run single. The real story was the first base umpire, Tony Randazzo, previously known as Friday night's homeplate umpire (see above) who was absolutely horrible calling the plays at first. The Mets were robbed three times on calls down there, which finally prompted Willie Randolph to come out and argue, getting himself ejected. He put up a decent spectacle, but probably could have been even more vehement. Also notable in the game was in the fourth inning, Jose Valentin suddenly walked off the field. Turns out he's got a bum knee and was off to teh DL. Great. One of the few guys hitting. Mets win 6-4.
Sunday, Beltran scored the only run of the game for either team, hitting a solo homerun in the 6th. John Maine was awesome, and it was a gorgeous day to sit in the ugly stadium. Still too bad the Mets suddenly can't hit. Transplanted ex-Met Jesus Flores got a second straight start behind the plate. At the plate, he attempted a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, but Julio Franco made like Keith Hernandez, charging the ball and throwing to third for the forceout. By the way, here's a non sequitor, albeit a true one: Ronnie Belliard is a fat bastard. Mets win, 1-0. On the whole, it was a good weekend in DC.
Some notes: The Expos have this idiot running around the ballpark playing trivia games or shooting T-Shirts between innings on the scoreboard. The guy is a total frat-boy and inning after inning the guy's voice wears on you like a parasite. I don't know who this schmuck is but he needs to shut up. 29 innings of him over a 3 day span was just too much. Another thing RFK could do to enhance the fan experience is to ask the players to pick some more songs to come to the plate to. Austin Kearns comes up to some country song that sings something along the lines of "some girls from my hometown have no teeth in their mouth but Some Girls Do. Some Girls Do," Ryan Church i think came up to "Crazy Train," and Ryan Zimmerman struts up to a diddy with the lyrics "This is why I'm Hot This is Why I'm Hot I'm Hot Cause I'm Fly You Ain't Cause You Not This Is Why I'm Hot." Over and Over again for 29 innings. Pretty bold for a guy hitting .230. Why does the team have a giant chicken (or is it a seagull?) for a mascot? With attendance as poor as it is, why were there no giveaways all weekend. You'd think sponsors would want to put their name on a tchotchke the weekend the Mets are in town, the one chance they have to get in front of some fans! The one promotion, if you could call it that, was a pre-game concert Friday night by a Bobby Montez or something like that. A dude singing melodramatically while playing keyboard. Music to do heroin to, or something.
Monday night I hoped to be home early, but due to flight delays I had to watch Monday night's debacle at a dive in the Charlotte Airport called the Fox Sports Zone. I didn't get home until 11:30, complete with heartburn from the nachos. Regardless, that should be the end of the Chan Ho Park Project. Mets lose to Miami, 9-6.
Last night I was so friggin exhausted I slept right through the Mets 5-2 loss to the Fish. Missed David Wright's first homer of the season!
Today I listened to the 6-3 win on Gameday Audio, at my desk. O'Perez continues to look good, but Wright, who although he had another RBI, made two errors, one in the ninth that allowed two runs to score. Mets Win, 6-3.
Stay tuned to this spot for Transplanted ex-Mets updates and more of what you usually can expect here.
Lets Go Mets!
First of all, what a dump RFK is. I've been there before, and said this before, but it honestly makes Shea look like the Taj Majal. Luckily for Expos fans, this is the last season at the stadium, with the new park opening next season. Yes, somehow, even though construction for both parks began last year, DC's new, as yet unnamed, stadium will be ready a full year before Citi Field.
I originally didn't think I'd be able to make Sunday's game, but my cousin who lives in the area told me last month that I had to make sure I was there because I had to be there to see the sweep completed. well, halfway through Saturday's affair I turned to him and reminded him that we might indeed see a sweep though not the one he predicted!
Friday's game was a mess. O'Perez pitched well enough, especially after Austin Kearns hit a homerun in the first to give some lucky brat an autographed baseball. Unfortunately the Mets have completely forgotten how to score runs. It doesn't help that three members of the Mets lineup (LoDuca Wright Delgado) are automatic outs. Thank God for Beltran Feivel and Reyes! Despite the Mets recent loss of hitting ability, Randolph oddly allowed Perez to bat for himself in the 6th inning down by a run and bases loaded with one out. Perez struck out and Reyes grounded out to end the inning. The ninth inning was a little fun. Chad "the Chief" Cordero was brought in to preserve a one-run lead. Reyes and LoDuca were quickly retired, and Cordero threw a strike to Beltran. Catcher Schneider tossed the ball back to Cordero, who didn't wait for Beltran to settle in before firing a second strike in. Beltran argued that time had been called, but the umpire didn't budge. Beltran screamed and yelled and got in his face. Give credit to the ump - it's the most I've ever seen anyone argue without getting bounced. Beltran stepped back into the box and popped out to second. Mets lose 4-3.
Saturday, the Mets made some punk named Jerome Williams look awesome. The guy came into the game with a 7.77 ERA but he had a no-hitter going for 5 innings. The Expos had a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning, but Old Man Franco scored Endy Chavez with a pinch-hit single. The Mets wound up winning the game in the 12th scoring runs off of a two run double by Beltran and a Wright two run single. The real story was the first base umpire, Tony Randazzo, previously known as Friday night's homeplate umpire (see above) who was absolutely horrible calling the plays at first. The Mets were robbed three times on calls down there, which finally prompted Willie Randolph to come out and argue, getting himself ejected. He put up a decent spectacle, but probably could have been even more vehement. Also notable in the game was in the fourth inning, Jose Valentin suddenly walked off the field. Turns out he's got a bum knee and was off to teh DL. Great. One of the few guys hitting. Mets win 6-4.
Sunday, Beltran scored the only run of the game for either team, hitting a solo homerun in the 6th. John Maine was awesome, and it was a gorgeous day to sit in the ugly stadium. Still too bad the Mets suddenly can't hit. Transplanted ex-Met Jesus Flores got a second straight start behind the plate. At the plate, he attempted a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and second, but Julio Franco made like Keith Hernandez, charging the ball and throwing to third for the forceout. By the way, here's a non sequitor, albeit a true one: Ronnie Belliard is a fat bastard. Mets win, 1-0. On the whole, it was a good weekend in DC.
Some notes: The Expos have this idiot running around the ballpark playing trivia games or shooting T-Shirts between innings on the scoreboard. The guy is a total frat-boy and inning after inning the guy's voice wears on you like a parasite. I don't know who this schmuck is but he needs to shut up. 29 innings of him over a 3 day span was just too much. Another thing RFK could do to enhance the fan experience is to ask the players to pick some more songs to come to the plate to. Austin Kearns comes up to some country song that sings something along the lines of "some girls from my hometown have no teeth in their mouth but Some Girls Do. Some Girls Do," Ryan Church i think came up to "Crazy Train," and Ryan Zimmerman struts up to a diddy with the lyrics "This is why I'm Hot This is Why I'm Hot I'm Hot Cause I'm Fly You Ain't Cause You Not This Is Why I'm Hot." Over and Over again for 29 innings. Pretty bold for a guy hitting .230. Why does the team have a giant chicken (or is it a seagull?) for a mascot? With attendance as poor as it is, why were there no giveaways all weekend. You'd think sponsors would want to put their name on a tchotchke the weekend the Mets are in town, the one chance they have to get in front of some fans! The one promotion, if you could call it that, was a pre-game concert Friday night by a Bobby Montez or something like that. A dude singing melodramatically while playing keyboard. Music to do heroin to, or something.
Monday night I hoped to be home early, but due to flight delays I had to watch Monday night's debacle at a dive in the Charlotte Airport called the Fox Sports Zone. I didn't get home until 11:30, complete with heartburn from the nachos. Regardless, that should be the end of the Chan Ho Park Project. Mets lose to Miami, 9-6.
Last night I was so friggin exhausted I slept right through the Mets 5-2 loss to the Fish. Missed David Wright's first homer of the season!
Today I listened to the 6-3 win on Gameday Audio, at my desk. O'Perez continues to look good, but Wright, who although he had another RBI, made two errors, one in the ninth that allowed two runs to score. Mets Win, 6-3.
Stay tuned to this spot for Transplanted ex-Mets updates and more of what you usually can expect here.
Lets Go Mets!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)