Betty's No Good Clothes Shop And Pancake House
Monday, April 30, 2007
No hits? no runs? No problem.
Despite the general awesomeness of the Mets' offense, they have a tendency to make the strangest pitchers look like Cy Young contenders. This weekend was a prime example, as they scored a grand total of three runs in eighteen and one-third innings against Jason Bergmann (career ERA prior to Sunday's game: 5.25), Jerome Williams (2007 ERA after six shutout innings on Saturday: 6.11) and Matt Chico (2007 WHIP: 2.07). I've come to accept in recent years that rookie starters will make the Mets look hapless regardless of their actual talent level, but getting nearly no-hit by a veteran mediocrity like Williams is a bit much.
In total the Mets scored ten runs in three and one-third games, doing nearly half of that damage in a four-run twelfth inning on Saturday. For the most part, the Mets who had been hitting before this series kept hitting and those who hadn't been didn't start. Jose Reyes went three-for-twelve with three walks, a double and four stolen bases. He's now hitting a mere .343/.435/.576, but is on pace to finish the season with a Rickeyesque 112 walks and 112 stolen bases. Carlos Beltran went four-for-thirteen with one walk, one double and a home run that provided the only scoring in Sunday's game. He's hitting .333/.394/.625, just barely enough to outpace Moises Alou (.349/.400/.482) and Shawn Green (.360/.418/.551) for the best line among Met outfielders.
But while those who patrol the grass continue to pound the ball, Reyes's dirtbound compatriots are having more trouble. Jose Valentin (.279/.359/.471) is off to a fine start with both bat and glove, but he left Saturday's game with discomfort in his knee and flew to New York to get it tested on Sunday, although it doesn't appear to be anything too serious. Then there's David Wright and Carlos Delgado. Wright drew five more walks this weekend, keeping his OBP at a healthy .388, but his .329 slugging percentage isn't so pretty. Still, it beats Delgado's .187/.265/.264 line. But then, even Paul Lo Duca (.225/.288/.282) can beat that.
Fortunately, the Mets again got enough good pitching to take two of three games in this series. Oliver Perez got the loss on Friday, but his start was encouraging in that he had one bad inning and didn't fall completely apart. After giving up three runs in the first inning, he allowed just one more, going seven innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. He wasn't dominant, but giving up four runs in seven innings is going to be good enough for the Mets' offense on a lot of nights. Tom Glavine and John Maine chose not to take that chance as they allowed a total of one run in thirteen innings on Saturday and Sunday. Maine again kept his wildness within reason, walking three while striking out eight in seven innings.
The Mets (15-8) are third in the league (and the division) in runs scored with 126 as they head home, but no team in the majors has allowed fewer than their 75 runs. The Marlins (11-13) have been the NL's offensive juggernaut thus far with 134 runs scored and they will come to Shea for three games starting Monday. Orlando Hernandez (2-1, 2.53) may or may not start game one for the Mets as a sore shoulder will have him consulting with a medical professional. Mike Pelfrey (0-2, 7.90) and Perez (2-2, 3.86) are scheduled to follow him in he rotation. Scott Olsen (2-1, 6.23), Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 20.25 in relief) and Anibal Sanchez (2-0, 4.39) will almost surely start for Florida. Fortunately for the Mets, only one NL team has allowed more than 134 runs this season and that team is the Marlins, who have allowed 135. ¶ joe | 12:30 AM | 0 comments
Despite the general awesomeness of the Mets' offense, they have a tendency to make the strangest pitchers look like Cy Young contenders. This weekend was a prime example, as they scored a grand total of three runs in eighteen and one-third innings against Jason Bergmann (career ERA prior to Sunday's game: 5.25), Jerome Williams (2007 ERA after six shutout innings on Saturday: 6.11) and Matt Chico (2007 WHIP: 2.07). I've come to accept in recent years that rookie starters will make the Mets look hapless regardless of their actual talent level, but getting nearly no-hit by a veteran mediocrity like Williams is a bit much.
In total the Mets scored ten runs in three and one-third games, doing nearly half of that damage in a four-run twelfth inning on Saturday. For the most part, the Mets who had been hitting before this series kept hitting and those who hadn't been didn't start. Jose Reyes went three-for-twelve with three walks, a double and four stolen bases. He's now hitting a mere .343/.435/.576, but is on pace to finish the season with a Rickeyesque 112 walks and 112 stolen bases. Carlos Beltran went four-for-thirteen with one walk, one double and a home run that provided the only scoring in Sunday's game. He's hitting .333/.394/.625, just barely enough to outpace Moises Alou (.349/.400/.482) and Shawn Green (.360/.418/.551) for the best line among Met outfielders.
But while those who patrol the grass continue to pound the ball, Reyes's dirtbound compatriots are having more trouble. Jose Valentin (.279/.359/.471) is off to a fine start with both bat and glove, but he left Saturday's game with discomfort in his knee and flew to New York to get it tested on Sunday, although it doesn't appear to be anything too serious. Then there's David Wright and Carlos Delgado. Wright drew five more walks this weekend, keeping his OBP at a healthy .388, but his .329 slugging percentage isn't so pretty. Still, it beats Delgado's .187/.265/.264 line. But then, even Paul Lo Duca (.225/.288/.282) can beat that.
Fortunately, the Mets again got enough good pitching to take two of three games in this series. Oliver Perez got the loss on Friday, but his start was encouraging in that he had one bad inning and didn't fall completely apart. After giving up three runs in the first inning, he allowed just one more, going seven innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. He wasn't dominant, but giving up four runs in seven innings is going to be good enough for the Mets' offense on a lot of nights. Tom Glavine and John Maine chose not to take that chance as they allowed a total of one run in thirteen innings on Saturday and Sunday. Maine again kept his wildness within reason, walking three while striking out eight in seven innings.
The Mets (15-8) are third in the league (and the division) in runs scored with 126 as they head home, but no team in the majors has allowed fewer than their 75 runs. The Marlins (11-13) have been the NL's offensive juggernaut thus far with 134 runs scored and they will come to Shea for three games starting Monday. Orlando Hernandez (2-1, 2.53) may or may not start game one for the Mets as a sore shoulder will have him consulting with a medical professional. Mike Pelfrey (0-2, 7.90) and Perez (2-2, 3.86) are scheduled to follow him in he rotation. Scott Olsen (2-1, 6.23), Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 20.25 in relief) and Anibal Sanchez (2-0, 4.39) will almost surely start for Florida. Fortunately for the Mets, only one NL team has allowed more than 134 runs this season and that team is the Marlins, who have allowed 135. ¶ joe | 12:30 AM | 0 comments
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A very special episode of Growing Pains
In Mike Pelfrey's first two starts, he at least managed not to fall completely apart. There wasn't too much to be encouraged by beyond that, but for a guy only a year into his professional baseball career, it was something. Start number three did not even reach those lofty heights and the day may be approaching when the Mets have to reevaluate their short-term plans for their first round draft pick of two years ago.
The previously punchless Colorado Rockies came to life at the sight of Pelfrey's fastball on Thursday, pounding him for six runs on eight hits and one walk in three innings, knocking him out of the game before he even had a chance to bat. Pelfrey now has an ERA of 7.90 in 10.2 innings with six strikeouts, seven walks and two home runs allowed. He's given up a total of twenty hits. There's been a lot of talk from Mets announcers this year about Pelfrey choosing to pitch to contact and generate ground balls rather than going for strikeouts and, if this really is his intent, early on it looks to be about as good an idea as it sounds like. One of the differences between Pelfrey's time in the majors and his brief but excellent stint in the minors in 2005 is that in the minors he was striking out more than a batter per inning whereas in his major league career he's struck out exactly one batter per walk allowed. The Mets' infield defense may be very good, at least up the middle, but getting outs without having to rely on your defense is still a surer route to success if you can pull it off. These three starts don't provide a very large sample on which to judge these ideas, especially since Pelfrey got knocked out of each of them before the end of the sixth inning, but the early results are not encouraging. Pelfrey's still just twenty-three and has a history of success in college in the minors, but he may not be quite ready to dominate major league hitters. It would not be the first or even the five hundredth time that Spring Training success failed to mean a damn thing.
Pelfrey's pummeling could not quite erase the memory of the first two games of this series, each of which went rather well for the Mets. Games one and two featured excellent starting pitching performances, from John Maine and Orlando Hernandez, respectively. Each pitched at least seven innings with Maine allowing one run and Hernandez none. Maine got plenty of offensive support while El Duque had to settle for watching extra inning heroics from the bench. Jose Valentin and Carlos Delgado each homered in game one and Damion Easley provided a dramatic two-out, two-strike, game-tying blast in the bottom of the tenth inning of game two to set things up for the inevitable Endy Chavez-fueled victory. Scoring just thirteen runs in three and a third games against the Rockies' pitching staff is a bit of a letdown for the Mets' offense, but at least they escaped with a couple of wins.
The "teams they really ought to beat" segment of the first-place Mets' (13-7) schedule takes its show on the road this weekend as they make a stop in the NL East cellar to take on the Nationals (6-15). Oliver Perez (2-1, 3.31), Tom Glavine (3-1, 3.07) and Maine (3-0, 1.71) will start for the Mets as they try to improve upon the two-game split these teams battled to two weeks back at Shea. None of them pitched in that series. Neither did Matt Chico (1-2, 6.38), Jerome Williams (0-4, 7.77) nor Jason Bergmann (0-1, 3.27), who will take the hill for the Nats this weekend. ¶ joe | 11:30 PM | 0 comments
In Mike Pelfrey's first two starts, he at least managed not to fall completely apart. There wasn't too much to be encouraged by beyond that, but for a guy only a year into his professional baseball career, it was something. Start number three did not even reach those lofty heights and the day may be approaching when the Mets have to reevaluate their short-term plans for their first round draft pick of two years ago.
The previously punchless Colorado Rockies came to life at the sight of Pelfrey's fastball on Thursday, pounding him for six runs on eight hits and one walk in three innings, knocking him out of the game before he even had a chance to bat. Pelfrey now has an ERA of 7.90 in 10.2 innings with six strikeouts, seven walks and two home runs allowed. He's given up a total of twenty hits. There's been a lot of talk from Mets announcers this year about Pelfrey choosing to pitch to contact and generate ground balls rather than going for strikeouts and, if this really is his intent, early on it looks to be about as good an idea as it sounds like. One of the differences between Pelfrey's time in the majors and his brief but excellent stint in the minors in 2005 is that in the minors he was striking out more than a batter per inning whereas in his major league career he's struck out exactly one batter per walk allowed. The Mets' infield defense may be very good, at least up the middle, but getting outs without having to rely on your defense is still a surer route to success if you can pull it off. These three starts don't provide a very large sample on which to judge these ideas, especially since Pelfrey got knocked out of each of them before the end of the sixth inning, but the early results are not encouraging. Pelfrey's still just twenty-three and has a history of success in college in the minors, but he may not be quite ready to dominate major league hitters. It would not be the first or even the five hundredth time that Spring Training success failed to mean a damn thing.
Pelfrey's pummeling could not quite erase the memory of the first two games of this series, each of which went rather well for the Mets. Games one and two featured excellent starting pitching performances, from John Maine and Orlando Hernandez, respectively. Each pitched at least seven innings with Maine allowing one run and Hernandez none. Maine got plenty of offensive support while El Duque had to settle for watching extra inning heroics from the bench. Jose Valentin and Carlos Delgado each homered in game one and Damion Easley provided a dramatic two-out, two-strike, game-tying blast in the bottom of the tenth inning of game two to set things up for the inevitable Endy Chavez-fueled victory. Scoring just thirteen runs in three and a third games against the Rockies' pitching staff is a bit of a letdown for the Mets' offense, but at least they escaped with a couple of wins.
The "teams they really ought to beat" segment of the first-place Mets' (13-7) schedule takes its show on the road this weekend as they make a stop in the NL East cellar to take on the Nationals (6-15). Oliver Perez (2-1, 3.31), Tom Glavine (3-1, 3.07) and Maine (3-0, 1.71) will start for the Mets as they try to improve upon the two-game split these teams battled to two weeks back at Shea. None of them pitched in that series. Neither did Matt Chico (1-2, 6.38), Jerome Williams (0-4, 7.77) nor Jason Bergmann (0-1, 3.27), who will take the hill for the Nats this weekend. ¶ joe | 11:30 PM | 0 comments
Monday, April 16, 2007
Perhaps the rain can wash away the memory of this series
Prior to being rained out on Sunday and Monday, the Mets played two-thirds of a series against the lowly Nationals and failed to beat them so badly that they got relegated to AAA as one might have hoped. Mike Pelfrey pitched adequately on Friday while Orlando Hernandez got smacked around on Saturday. The offense didn't put up much of a fight in either game, managing just five runs on sixteen hits in the two games. Hopefully they'll come out ready to play tomorrow night at Citizen's Bank Park.
Weather permitting, the Mets (7-3) and Phillies (3-8) will play a one-game series. Tom Glavine (2-1, 3.12) is now scheduled to start for the Mets. Freddy Garcia (17-9, 4.53 in 2006 with the White Sox) will make his season debut for the Phillies. Garcia has started one game in his career against the Mets. In 2003, as a member the Mariners, he allowed one run on six hits and one walk in a complete game victory. Glavine's victory over Philadelphia on Thursday was the twenty-seventh of his career against seventeen losses. In sixty starts against the Phillies he has posted a 3.83 ERA. ¶ joe | 9:24 PM | 0 comments
Prior to being rained out on Sunday and Monday, the Mets played two-thirds of a series against the lowly Nationals and failed to beat them so badly that they got relegated to AAA as one might have hoped. Mike Pelfrey pitched adequately on Friday while Orlando Hernandez got smacked around on Saturday. The offense didn't put up much of a fight in either game, managing just five runs on sixteen hits in the two games. Hopefully they'll come out ready to play tomorrow night at Citizen's Bank Park.
Weather permitting, the Mets (7-3) and Phillies (3-8) will play a one-game series. Tom Glavine (2-1, 3.12) is now scheduled to start for the Mets. Freddy Garcia (17-9, 4.53 in 2006 with the White Sox) will make his season debut for the Phillies. Garcia has started one game in his career against the Mets. In 2003, as a member the Mariners, he allowed one run on six hits and one walk in a complete game victory. Glavine's victory over Philadelphia on Thursday was the twenty-seventh of his career against seventeen losses. In sixty starts against the Phillies he has posted a 3.83 ERA. ¶ joe | 9:24 PM | 0 comments
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Maybe this is what Jimmy Rollins meant by "the team to beat"
The Mets took Rollins up on his offer in two out of three games despite less than stellar starting pitching. On Monday a Rollins error opened the door for the Mets to take batting practice against the Phillies' bullpen in a seven-run eighth inning. Overall they scored eleven runs despite just one extra base hit. Wednesday's game saw Adam Eaton somehow hold them to just two runs on four hits and three walks over seven innings. The bats showed signs of life on Thursday scoring five runs on nine hits including two doubles and a triple. The New York offense leads the National League with 54 runs scored through nine games.
The Mets have allowed the second fewest runs in the league, 23, but this series was not a great one for their starters. On Monday John Maine had to be removed with two outs in the fifth inning having already allowed five hits and six walks, though he was wily enough to limit the Phillies to just two runs. Oliver Perez was not so wily on Wednesday, walking seven in two and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs despite allowing just one hit. Tom Glavine's trademark craftiness could not quite overcome the cold, windy conditions at Shea on Thursday as he gave up three runs on three walks and four hits, including two Rollins home runs, in six innings.
Perez's meltdown is obviously the most troubling of the three. He pitched a good first inning before completely losing his control in the second inning. Perez has had outings like this before, for example last June 23rd when he walked seven in three and two-thirds innings. Last April he walked five batters in a start shorter than five innings twice. There's no reason to think that this disaster will completely shatter his confidence and ruin him forever. It's disappointing after his good spring and excellent first start to see that he may still be the same guy he was the last two years.
The leisurely pace of these first two weeks is about to speed up as the second-place Mets (6-3) don't have another day in the next fortnight. Luckily they get to ease into this stretch with a series at home against the Nationals (2-8). Mike Pelfrey (2-1, 5.48 in 2006) will be called up to make his season debut on Friday. He will be opposed by the theoretical ace of the Nats, John Patterson (0-2, 9.35). Patterson has a career 5.18 ERA against the Mets in twelve starts, having allowed fourteen home runs in 64.1 innings.
Orlando Hernandez (1-0, 1.38) will start Saturday afternoon's game for the Mets. El Duque has been quite successful thus far despite a K:BB ratio of 6:6 and two home runs allowed in thirteen innings. Shawn Hill (0-2, 3.09) will go for Washington. Given that this game will start at 1:10 on a day when Fox is showing games around four, I expect to have some trouble watching it on MLB.TV.
John Maine (1-0, 1.54) will try to rebound from his rough second start on Sunday with the aid of a very beatable opposing offense. Rookie Matt Chico (0-1, 7.27) will see if he can get the Mets out after not having much luck against the Marlins or Braves. ¶ joe | 10:28 PM | 0 comments
The Mets took Rollins up on his offer in two out of three games despite less than stellar starting pitching. On Monday a Rollins error opened the door for the Mets to take batting practice against the Phillies' bullpen in a seven-run eighth inning. Overall they scored eleven runs despite just one extra base hit. Wednesday's game saw Adam Eaton somehow hold them to just two runs on four hits and three walks over seven innings. The bats showed signs of life on Thursday scoring five runs on nine hits including two doubles and a triple. The New York offense leads the National League with 54 runs scored through nine games.
The Mets have allowed the second fewest runs in the league, 23, but this series was not a great one for their starters. On Monday John Maine had to be removed with two outs in the fifth inning having already allowed five hits and six walks, though he was wily enough to limit the Phillies to just two runs. Oliver Perez was not so wily on Wednesday, walking seven in two and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs despite allowing just one hit. Tom Glavine's trademark craftiness could not quite overcome the cold, windy conditions at Shea on Thursday as he gave up three runs on three walks and four hits, including two Rollins home runs, in six innings.
Perez's meltdown is obviously the most troubling of the three. He pitched a good first inning before completely losing his control in the second inning. Perez has had outings like this before, for example last June 23rd when he walked seven in three and two-thirds innings. Last April he walked five batters in a start shorter than five innings twice. There's no reason to think that this disaster will completely shatter his confidence and ruin him forever. It's disappointing after his good spring and excellent first start to see that he may still be the same guy he was the last two years.
The leisurely pace of these first two weeks is about to speed up as the second-place Mets (6-3) don't have another day in the next fortnight. Luckily they get to ease into this stretch with a series at home against the Nationals (2-8). Mike Pelfrey (2-1, 5.48 in 2006) will be called up to make his season debut on Friday. He will be opposed by the theoretical ace of the Nats, John Patterson (0-2, 9.35). Patterson has a career 5.18 ERA against the Mets in twelve starts, having allowed fourteen home runs in 64.1 innings.
Orlando Hernandez (1-0, 1.38) will start Saturday afternoon's game for the Mets. El Duque has been quite successful thus far despite a K:BB ratio of 6:6 and two home runs allowed in thirteen innings. Shawn Hill (0-2, 3.09) will go for Washington. Given that this game will start at 1:10 on a day when Fox is showing games around four, I expect to have some trouble watching it on MLB.TV.
John Maine (1-0, 1.54) will try to rebound from his rough second start on Sunday with the aid of a very beatable opposing offense. Rookie Matt Chico (0-1, 7.27) will see if he can get the Mets out after not having much luck against the Marlins or Braves. ¶ joe | 10:28 PM | 0 comments
