IGT 4/16/06 vs. Brewers, Ben Sheets debuts against Bannister

[A Boy Named Seo]

That shot by Billy Hall was a frickin' laser beam.

[Elster88]

They zoomed in on the 396, which is where that double hit, and you could see the stitching and imprint of the ball. I'm not lying.

There was a "We Want Benson" chant.


But Julio gets the job done. 2 out of 3. Pretty good.

Hopefully that'll calm mlbtalk for the rest of the day.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Hey, Hey, Jorge!

A double, a wild pitch, but no runs allowed!

Nice win.

[Guest KC]

Lotta fun, Braves lost too!

[Guest Edgy DC]

]STOP USING JOSE VALENTIN FOR GODS SAKE! THIS IS BULLSHIT! HE IS SO DAMNED HORRIBLE! THE WORST BENCH PLAYER IN ALL SPORTS! GARBAGE! USE FRANCO! WOODWARD! GLAVINE! ANYONE BUT VALENTIN! THIS IS CRAZY!

A lot of mimosas flying around Easter brunches today.

]There was a "We Want Benson" chant.

Not cool. Way too close to Yankee fans chanting for David Wells to try to stick it to Roger Clemens.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Edgy DC wrote: ]STOP USING JOSE VALENTIN FOR GODS SAKE! THIS IS BULLSHIT! HE IS SO DAMNED HORRIBLE! THE WORST BENCH PLAYER IN ALL SPORTS! GARBAGE! USE FRANCO! WOODWARD! GLAVINE! ANYONE BUT VALENTIN! THIS IS CRAZY! A lot of mimosas flying around Easter brunches today. ]There was a "We Want Benson" chant. Not cool. Way too close to Yankee fans chanting for David Wells to try to stick it to Roger Clemens.

I know there is sarcasim there, but there is a HUGE difference between Jorge Julio and Roger Clemens

Granted they are both equally hated by Met Nation but still...

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm not comparing Jorge Julio and Roger Clemens. I'm comparing fans.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Edgy DC wrote: I'm not comparing Jorge Julio and Roger Clemens. I'm comparing fans.

Didn't we do that for every Jim Fregosi at bat at Shea? "We Want RY-AN!"

[Guest Edgy DC]

I never went to Shea for a Jim Fregosi at-bat.

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Whats the record for posts in one day around here? Seems like I jumped a few players with my meltdowns this morning and my continued wackiness today?

[The Big O]

Banno today:

1st - 1 out: single; 2 outs: walk
2nd - 0 outs: single, walk, walk
3rd - 0 outs: single; 1 out: single, walk
4th - 1 out: double, wild pitch, groundout (scored 1); 2 outs: double
5th - 2 outs: walk

11 baserunners in 5 innings, 1 run allowed. A little love for Brian Bannister, please?

Start 1: 2 hits, 4 BB, 4 K, 6 groundouts, 8 flyouts
Start 2: 3 hits, 0 BB, 1 K, 8 groundouts, 14 flyouts
Start 3: 6 hits, 5 BB, 4 K, 5 groundouts, 6 flyouts

Got a grounder for the final out of the 1st, then didn't get another until the 4th inning, his 18th batter faced. 3 K's in the first 2 innings, 1 in the 3rd, none thereafter. Maybe less velocity, more pitch placement as the game wore on? Though in his least-wild start, he got tons of flyouts, but a lone K. Weirdness.

[Elster88]

He gets more love when he doesn't give up all the hits and walks and thus gets more than 5 innings and thus doesn't tax the hell out of the bullpen.

[nymr83]

I was there today for my 3rd game of the young season. Bannister was the shakiest I've ever seen a winning pitcher be, but he got his job done.
The Beatles were back at Shea today... well, sort of... reliever Chad Bradford entered the game, approriately enough, to "Yellow Submarine." The crowd was singing along and laughing

[The Big O]

Interesting theoretical question whether you'd rather a) what happened today, or Bannister gives up 11 runs and the already chalked-up loss gets thrown to the long-inning guy. With the Braves coming up, you may well be right. On the other hand, a win's a win's a win.

I didn't see the game, but I'd guess BB didn't have his best stuff today. For pitching through it -- albeit a short outing -- and giving up only 1 run, he gets some love from me.

]"My approach is I don't give in," Bannister said. "I'll walk guys before I'll give them a pitch they can drive. I'll keep making my pitches all day."

Hmm...

[Elster88]

I'd much rather the pen gets used for a win.

In the end it wasn't too bad. Heilman's out for a game or two, but Wagner and Oliver only pitched one inning each.

[The Big O]

No Sandman today.

[Elster88]

Oops. Yeah true. He did warm up though.

Even better regarding your initial question. Julio's usage is not a big deal.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Can anyone find any good online photos from this games? I'd love to get blue cap (or helmet) pictures of Delgado, Nady, Bannister, etc. Newsday's web site often has a photo gallery, as does CBS Sportsline. The CBS site seems to be boycotting photos from Mets games this year. (They're devoting too much space to everything Barry Bonds does.) And Newsday had nothing when I checked this morning.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/nym/photos?pg=1&cap=0

The first 2 pages have pictures from yesterday's game.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

That's great, thank you! I was able to get a very nice Delgado, and a pretty good Bannister.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You can grab an Endy there also.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I considered that one, but it's kinda small and too much profile. I'll keep looking for a better Endy, even if the cap isn't blue.

[Elster88]

I didn't like the home run dance that Delgado and Reyes did. I don't like that crap. Do it in the dugout, fine.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I think that seeing two men dance threatens my marriage. We need a constitutional amendment.

[metirish]

Can we have Gary Carter teach these guys how to take a curtain call, show some life at least....

[Guest Edgy DC]

Which is it? Too much dancing or not enough life?

[metirish]

Hahaha, well a compromise then, they can save the dancing for the curtain call....really be like Gary.

[Elster88]

I like curtain calls, but mostly for special home runs. Like game winners (well maybe not game winners since then everyone is dancing on the field) but maybe game tiers or game take-the-leaders, etc.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Beltran's homer was special to Met fans because he hit it while putting up with their crap.

He showed heart so they adopted him.

[Elster88]

Well, whatever. As long as it was special.