IGT Businessmen's Special Thursday 5-25-06 Mets vs Phillies

[Guest Rotblatt]

Well, shit.

[Guest Hillbilly]

Matsui is going lose his job. AH was tearing up AAA. Anybody know if he's still hot?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Kazoo has an awful lotta guys on base recently.

[Elster88]

Gwreck wrote: ="Elster88"]Let Kaz hit. This game is not THAT important. Let him swing. ?? I think it's pretty important.

It's not. We already took two. And it wasn't a Glavine or Pedro start, which we want to win 99% of.

[Gwreck]

The reason we want to win Pedro/Glavine games is because they usually are good efforts from our starting pitchers. Got a good effort from our starter today too. Sure, 2 of 3 is fine but a sweep can't be undervalued, especially going into a series which we should also sweep.

[Elster88]

Gwreck wrote: The reason we want to win Pedro/Glavine games is because they usually are good efforts from our starting pitchers.

I realize.

Gwreck wrote: Got a good effort from our starter today too.

Irrelevant to my point.

Gwreck wrote: Sure, 2 of 3 is fine but a sweep can't be undervalued, especially going into a series which we should also sweep.

Not undervaluing it, and my point stands...it's not a huge game. Let Kaz get his swings there...show you trust him (even if you don't). When he's hitting .200 in July, we can pinch hit for him in the late innings of a close game against the Phillies. Actually if he's hitting .200 in July we should give someone else a look. But not Andy-Handy.

[Gwreck]

Orlando Hernandez announced as Sunday's starting pitcher.

[Gwreck]

Orlando Hernandez announced as Sunday's starting pitcher.

[Frayed Knot]

I think it's about time we remind Gordon that he's old and not very good



- 4 pitch walk to Endy

[Guest vtmet]

AH is batting .314 with a .364 OBP for the Tides...he's dropped off a bit in the past week, but in a lineup that he's the only guy hitting .300 probably doesn't help...Milledge has been slumping and just recently is starting to hit again...

but, AH batting .160 at Shea vs Kaz batting .160 at Shea is a little different...AH might eventually start hitting at the MLB level and his defense helps some of these pitchers out...Kaz doesn't look like he'll ever figure out how to hit at Shea and while his defense has improved, it will never match AH's....

[A Boy Named Seo]

Beltran w/ no batting gloves. That looks new to me.

[Guest Hillbilly]

2 of 3 ain't bad. Bigger win for Phils than loss for the Mets.

[Elster88]

Great job by Heath Bell today, despite allowing the inherited runner to score.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Shit. I smelled blood in the water and wanted a sweep.

Ah, well.

[Willets Point]

Caca!

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

3-4-5: 0-11, 6 Ks

[Elster88]

Official attendance: 51,365.

[Centerfield]

2 of 3 from the Yanks and Phils. I was hoping for more, but I will take that. I'm looking forward to frying some fish this weekend.

[Elster88]

Centerfield wrote: 2 of 3 from the Yanks and Phils. I was hoping for more, but I will take that. I'm looking forward to frying some fish this weekend.

One Wagner meltdown from 5-1. I'll take it as an overall team performance every time.

[Guest Hillbilly]

Hillbilly wrote: ="Centerfield"]I will be happy when Jeremi Gonzalez is no longer on this team. Right now I'm guessing - You'll sleep well tonight.

Sleep tight CF, he's now a Tide. I think that's the end of him.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]but, AH batting .160 at Shea vs Kaz batting .160 at Shea is a little different...AH might eventually start hitting at the MLB level and his defense helps some of these pitchers out...Kaz doesn't look like he'll ever figure out how to hit at Shea and while his defense has improved, it will never match AH's....

I understand the desire to move on, certainly, but there's a lot of stuff here that doesn't hold up. To start with, Kaz has an .863 zone rating to Hernandez's .767. (Kaz doesn't have enough innings to qualify but if he did and maintained that rate, he would be second in the National League.)

Bring Hernandez up and give him some time, sure, but we're still going largely on wishes.

Again, it's Kaz's approach that maddens me. He seems to deliberately want to top everything, as if he's going to get astroturf singles by bouncing balls over the pitcher's head. Just swing baby. You're an eighth-place hitter with no responsibility to go moving runners over or anything. Whack it. Whack the shit out of it.

[Zvon]

Two points upon seeing the game-

(im not meaning to trash Willie, just talkin baseball here).

The move in the 7th- Bringing Bell in to pitch to Burrell.
Now I know that Willie didnt put Bell in there to walk him, or even pitch around him in that situation.
But he walks him and then has to face the lefty Howard, who singles in an insurance run for the Phils.

I would have just had Feliciano, who just had K'd Abreu, walk Burrell
(intentionally or by pitching around him) and stay in to face Howard.
Not a big deal, and could have been played either way.
The former just seemed the most logical, with the way Burrell hits the Mets.

Up side- Bell did get some work in and does have to get in the groove.
He pitched well after that.

More upsetting to see was Utley's 7th inning double and extra base (he went to third on the throw home).
That was the go ahead run for the Phils.
I saw a view from behind/left of the plate on the replay.
Utley whips a liner to the wall, not quite down the line but into far right.
The view showed all of right field even before the ball is struck, and Nady is nowhere to be seen.
Where the hell was he playin?
This is hot hitting Utley up with a speedy Victorino on first.
You give him the right field corner?
Even playing a normal right field Nady would have retrieved that ball with time for a sure play at the plate.

Im not blaming Nady- Im not blaming Willie.
Im just posting my observations and blowing off steam.

A sweep here would have been nice.
I read we havent swept the Phils since '97.