Bad News B-Mets Thread

[Guest Edgy DC]

Brian Bannister has simply been Pedro II this season. Last night he beat the Altoona Curve almost single-handedly with eight innings on the hill and two doubles at the plate.

W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
7	1	2.04	12	12	0	0	0	70.2	59	19	16	6	18	58

Also looking good right now is the Benson trade, as Altoona will be throwing former B-Met Matt Peterson at the Bingo tonight. Peterson enters the game with a 4-3 record, but a 7.00 ERA. Owitch.

I got confused in the transfer; who's our Bingo correspondent again?

[Guest KC]

I think it's SI Franco

[seawolf17]

I claimed them, but never followed up. I'll take it from here.

[Frayed Knot]

Check out the season to date for Anderson Hernandez - the swag from Detroit in the Vance Wilson deal:
.314/.345/.455 -- 11 2Bs, 1 3B, 7 HRs in 242 ABs

Known as a defensive SS before the deal, this kind of offense could make him a future ML backup or, even more likely, a trading chip since the starting job is pretty much spoken for in the foreseeable future.

He'll turn 23 at the end of this season.

[Guest SI Metman]

There are rumblings that Humber and Milledge could be making appearances up there in the next few weeks. Petit finally came back on Tuesday and struck out 6 in 2 2/3 IP. He was on a 50 pitch count.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Get on the stick C-Wolf.

[Guest SI Metman]

Brian Bannister pitched a 4 hit shutout tonight, striking out 10 as the B-Mets beat Norwich 1-0.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That was even more remarkable than "four-hit shutout" suggests. Bannister had a minimum-batter game, facing only 27 hitters. In some ways, that's more impressive than a no-hitter. I'm certain it's rarer.

Five batters reached first -- four on singles and one on an error. Of those five, one was erased on a double play and the other four were all caught stealing. Joe Hietpas caught three of them and Bannister picked off the fourth.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Wow!

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

That's my boy - the best defensive catcher in the minors!

[Guest SI Metman]

Kevin Deaton took a no-no into the 7th for the B-Mets tonight as they beat New Britain 10-4.

The B-Mets smacked out 17 hits. 3 each for Hernandez, Duncan and Lydon.

Deaton gave up a homer in the 8th. His line:

8 IP 4 H 1 ER 1 BB 6 K

Jacobs caught and had 2 sac flys.

[Guest SI Metman]

Petit tonight:

6 IP 8 H 2 ER 1 BB 6 K, ND

Jacobs had 2 homers for the B-Mets, 14 total for the season, B-Mets won 9-8 on a walkoff single by Victor Hall after the pen blew an 8-4 lead in the top of the inning

[Guest SI Metman]

Yesterday was a good one.

Tigers Justin Verlander pitching his second start for AA Erie against Binghamton:
7 IP 4 H 0 R 2 BB 7 K

It doesn't matter though. B-Mets score 4 in the 9th and win 4-3 on a walkoff 3 run homer by Victor Hall against former Met Edwin Almonte who did not record an out

Kevin Deaton started for the B-Mets, but left with a shoulder injury:
5.2 IP 3 H 3 ER 2 BB 5 K

Anderson Garcia got the win:
1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K

Joe Hietpas was 2-3, both hits off Verlander.

[Frayed Knot]

For most of the season, Brian Bannister has been pretty unhittable at Double-A Binghamton, last night (Tuesday) was not one of the those nights. The Mets righthander could not get out of the fifth inning as New Britain touched him for six earned runs over 4 1/3. The Southern California product allowed eight hits, three walks and fanned only one.

[Guest SI Metman]

Binghamton won 10-6 over New Britain tonight

Baldiris 3-4, 2 HR (2) 4 RBI
Jacobs C 3-4, HR (15), 2 RBI
Lambin 2-4, 2B, HR (14), 2 RBI

In other B-Mets news, First Baseman Brett Harper and SS Corey Ragsdale have been promoted from St Lucie and will join Binghamton on Thursday.

Mike Jacobs is going back to full time catching.

[Guest Edgy DC]

This episode of "Declining Prospects," starring Aarom Baldiris and Ambiorix Concepcion, has been cancelled.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

If Jacobs is going back to catching full time, what happens to my adoptee, Joe Hietpas? He's a better defensive catcher, and from what I've been reading his bat has really come around this year.

[Guest SI Metman]

Actually, now Lind says that Jake and Harper will rotate between 1st and DH, and Jacobs will catch about 3 or 4 times a week now, so Heitpas is still safe as long as they keep playing those AL affiliates.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Sounds like the org likes Jacobs as a utility bat. A first baseman who can catch (and hit) is a handy thing to have.

[smg58]

What can you tell me about Chase Lambin, since he just got promoted? He seems to have come out of nowhere to put up really strong numbers this year, but at 25 (26 next week) is he a legit prospect?

Any idea when Bannister and Petit will see Norfolk?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Lambin is a Houston man with good power for a middle infielder, but whiffs a lot, with 234 strikeouts and 102 walks in 286 career games. His big break came at the end of last season, when either the Arizona Fall League or the Mets decided at the last moment that Jeff Keppinger saw enough time in the big legues, and Keppinger's name was withdrawn from the AFL list, and Lambin's added. Chase hit only .227, but slugged four homers and two doubles against some higher-level competition than he was used to, and like his Peoria Saguaro teammate Brian Bannister, developed some important experience (and maybe confidence) heading into AA this year.

With Keppinger down, Lambin may steal his bacon again. Certainly the slow start of Aarom Baldiris (and Aarom's inability to show power, which Chase certainly has, before his two-homer game the other night) may have helped him move ahead on the organizational depth charts this year.

[Guest SI Metman]

Petit pitched into the 8th tonight, and Brett Harper hit a tiebreaking pinch hit homer to lead the B-Mets to a 6-4 victory.

Petit: 7.2 IP 7 H 4 ER 2 BB 7 K

Harper: 1-1, HR (1), 2 RBI
Jacobs 1B: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB
Lydon: 2-4
Heitpas C: 1-3, RBI
Clements DH: 2-3, RBI

It was a good night for the B-Mets 3 catchers.

[MFS62]

Jacobs now has 17 homers.
When are they going to promote him to AAA?

Later

[seawolf17]

I'll be in Norwich, CT on Saturday to catch the B-Mets and the Navigators. Full report when I return.

[Guest Rotblatt]

]Jacobs now has 17 homers. When are they going to promote him to AAA?

When Diaz is done learning 1B, I suppose . . . Valent's been playing there lately as well. Speaking of which, I forgot to mention that in my Tides report!

[seawolf17]

Official Game Story:

Brian Bannister lost his third straight start and two Norwich Navigators pitchers combined to limit the Binghamton Mets to five hits as Norwich took the first game of a four-game series 7-2 at Dodd Stadium Saturday in a game delayed by rain for nearly an hour and a half in the sixth.

Norwich (40-47) got to Bannister in the first. Jamie Athas led off with a single, stole second, moved to third after Dan Ortmeier walked and Carlos Valderrama was hit by a pitch, and scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 Navigators lead.

Athas led off the fifth by doubling to right off Bannister (9-4) and scored on Ortmeier�s RBI single. After Ortmeier stole second and advanced to third on a flyout, he came home on an Eliezer Alfonzo base hit. Two batters later, A.J. LaBarbera made it 5-0 with a two-run homer.

The B-Mets (40-43) rallied in the fifth for a pair of runs. Jeff Duncan led off by drawing a walk against Merkin Valdez (5-4) and stole second. Victor Hall drove Duncan home with a double to right and Hall would later score on a wild pitch, cutting Norwich�s lead to 5-2.

After play resumed, the Navigators tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth against B-Mets reliever Matt Lindstrom with Julio Cordido drawing a bases-loaded walk and Fred Lewis bringing another run home with a groundout to first. Norwich�s Matt Palmer relieved Valdez after the stoppage and pitched the final 3 2/3 innings for his first save.
-------------------------------------------------

Seawolf Game Notes:

Brian Bannister was awful. I watched him warming up; he had to keep apologizing to Joe Hietpas, because he was bouncing balls all over the place. He threw two wild pitches in the first inning (the game story above calls it a SB for Athas, but it wasn't), scoring a run (I originally scored the first one a PB, but when he threw the second one, I went back and changed it). In the third, they smacked him all over the park, including a looooong home run. Every ball was hit hard.

The Mets threatened in the fifth, so they pulled Bannister for a PH, but they only picked up two.

Then the rains came. It monsooned for about ten minutes, but the grounds crew couldn't get the tarp on the field. They pulled it out, but started unrolling it too far in right field, so it didn't cover the whole field. So they tried to fold it back up and re-do it, but by that point, the rain was stopping, and the damage was done. A ten-minute rainstorm turned into a 90-minute rain delay while the grounds crew remade the field.

We had to catch a 6:00 ferry, so we had to bolt after the delay, causing me to miss my adoptee, Matt Lindstrom, pitching in relief. We listened to the game on the radio the rest of the way; Lindstrom got punked by an error by 2B Aarom Baldiris on a double-play grounder, which eventually led to two unearned insurance runs.

I forgot to take any action photos, but I have a lot of inaction photos, plus a short digital video of Bannister warming up (about 8 MB - if anyone wants to host it, let me know).


Brian Bannister in the bullpen


OFs Victor Hall and Wayne Lydon stretch


1B Mike Jacobs


2B Corey Ragsdale


3B David Bacani


Minor league baseball at its finest. Note that the Gators use two different styles of numbering on the back of the jerseys.


The scouts were out in force; here they're gunning Merkin Valdez.


The monsoons. Note how they started the tarp way out in right field, and as a result, it didn't cover the infield.


Do-over.


The B-Mets are not impressed.


Finally, the sun comes out again. Sewaolf adoptee Matt Lindstrom (facing away) exits the dugout to head down and warm up. Note Mike Jacobs (far right) hanging out with fans.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Nice job Seawolf!

[seawolf17]

Thanks. Forgot this part:

Schaefer BMotG:

MLindstrom 3
VHall 3
JDuncan 2
JRodgriuez 1
JHietpas 1

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

What did Joe do to merit his point.

And, moreso, why didn't you take any pictures of my adoptee, huh?

[MFS62]

Nice job, Wolf.
Thanks.

Too bad you had to waste a shot on Corey Ragsdale who is already a waste of oxygen.
If that waste a of a high draft pick ever gets his average above .250 at Binghamton (its around .100 now), I will allow him to breathe again.

Later