IGT 4/5/06 - Young Mr. Bannister Debuts vs. The Nationals

[Guest Edgy DC]

OK, so that flyout by Wright wasn't so good.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Cliff has one last chance to hit a birthday home run for lubitul.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

And he doesn't do it

[Guest Edgy DC]

Oh, my stars.

Popout by Cliff Floyd.

[nymr83]

I don't like Floyd swinging without a strike on him with this score.

[The Big O]

On the bright side, anybody else you'd rather have up in this situation than the X-Man?

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

A balk brings Beltran home and moves Delgado to second.

[Guest Edgy DC]

A balk advances the runners, Mets within four.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

X-Man grounds out to end the game.

Damn.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And Nady ends it.

Night.

[Willets Point]

April baseball.

Blagh. The Mets lose.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Baseball sucks.

I can't wait til November.

[nymr83]

We've all seen the strength of schedule, this isn't the kind of game we can afford to lose (one in which we led 4-0 after 3 and 4-3 after 8), it's going to be another long summer if the Mets don't fatten up on the April schedule.

[Guest KC]

I agree, can't lose a game when you're up 4-sniffle late - 9-5.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Anderson Hernandez provided one of the best plays I've ever seen tonight but he looks just dreadful at the plate.

[Frayed Knot]

What's he now, about 1 for 26 in the majors?
And I'm not sure if he's gotten the ball out of the infield in more than 2 or 3 of those 26 ABs. Hell, his hit barely made it out.

Not suggesting that his trial is up already ... just that Met fans shouldn't root too hard for Matsui's knee problem to develop massive complications.

[Guest Edgy DC]

And perhaps we should should further root for Jorge Julio posting many nights in which he excels much further than this evening. And for any usurpers to unseat that.

[Zvon]

Ouch!
This one hurt.

I guess Wags will have his share if blows, but spoilin Bannisters debut bites.

[Guest martin]

just got back from the game. it went from terrific to terrible pretty quick. the extra inning was hard to watch, especially considering it was freaking freezing. and this cat julio, i am not enthused.

and what is up with wagner? the shea gun had him topping out around 93. i have never seen triple digits in person, i hope wagner can show me what it looks like sometime this season.

[Elster88]

KAZ MATSUI SUCKS!!!! PUT ANDERSON HERNANDEZ IN THERE!!! THE GRASS IS GREENER!!!

I get to say ITYS about Anderson Hernandez and regarding Jorge Julio for Anna Benson. 'Course it's only been 2 ames. Hopefully I'll be eating my words before long


2006 is, so far, better than 2005. I didn't break my TV until game 2 this year.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

The loss felt a lot like last year, IMO. Not the blown-save part (I'm OK with that -- it happens) but that they stuck the bats up their asses for most of the game.

BTW, that was an impressive shot from Zimmerman off Wagner. He killed it!

[Guest Rotblatt]

Hernandez definitely looks lost at the plate.

If WIllie wants to go defense first, fine, but at least be willing to pinch hit for him when it's late and close and we've got a runner on.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Last night's play afield and abat has me wondering if, come August, he's not Matsui's replacement or Matsui's platoon partner, but maybe Matsui's defensive sub. One game, of course, but just wondering.

Seems to me they had the DC pitching staff on the ropes and could have put the game a little further out of reach. Wagner blew his first save and boo-hoo, but let's give him more leads out of the reach of a solo homer.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Lesson to young Mr. Bannister. With a four-run pad, be willing to risk a one-run single in order to avoid a three-run homer.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: Lesson to young Mr. Bannister. With a four-run pad, be willing to risk a one-run single in order to avoid a three-run homer.

His dad should have told him that.

Did anyone hear the WFAN interview with Brian's dad before the game?

I just caught the end of it. What did he say?

LAter

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Floyd Bannister was also interviewed from his seat at Shea during the game on SNY. Talked about how Brian was originally an infielder, and a good hitter, but when he got to a higher level his lack of foot speed made him turn his sights toward pitching.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Also, it turns out I wasn't screwed by Comcast on Monday afternoon, but by ESPN. MLB Extra Innings wanted to telecast the game, but ESPN forced the blackout, but then they decided not to air the game, but basketball news instead. I asked ESPN for an explanation, but they haven't gotten back to me. (And I doubt that they will.)

Last night was the first time since 1997, when WWOR got out of the superstation game, that I was able to watch a Mets telecast on TV with Mets announcers. (I was able to do it on my PC last year with MLB.com.) Very cool. I felt like I was back in New York, which is always a nice feeling.

The strangest part was when they turned the camera inward towards the booth. I'm not referring to Keith's furry lapels, which were pretty darn strange in their own right, but to Gary Cohen. It was weird seeing such a familiar voice coming from an unfamiliar face. I had seen photos of Gary Cohen, but he looked different as a moving image on the screen.

[soupcan]

A suck-ass game but as has been said - blown saves happen. Still and all they should've pulled that one out.

A win today and they take the series though.

So I'm watching the game last night in the kitchen and I'm standing in front of the TV (it's on the counter), my wife walks in as Hernandez is going back on the ball, she opens her mouth to say something just as Hernandez reaches full extension and grabs the ball - I go 'WOW!' and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She starts yelling at me for scaring her and all the while I'm trying to see if he held onto the ball, if he's okay, etc., etc. I'm saying 'Oh my god did you see that?!' and she couldn't have cared less. She's now yelling at me for scaring her and I'm yelling at her to watch the replay so she'll understand why I yelled in the first place.

So the rest of last night and this morning we're not speaking to one another.

Thanks Anderson.

[Guest cooby]

You have to stand in the kitchen to watch the game?

[soupcan]

Got home late, was eating dinner.