IGT: Mets vs. Phillies 6/15 - Going for the Sweep

[Guest sharpie]

Mets:
Reyes ss
Chavez rf
Beltran cf
Delgado 1b
Wright 3b
Woodward 2b
Marrero lf
Castro c
Trachsel p

Phil-Ins:
Rollins ss
Utley 2b
Abreu rf
Burrell lf
Howard 1b
Rowand cf
Nunez 3b
Fasano c
Lidle p

Lastings punished for not hustling. Eli hopes to take advantage in his first Met start.

[MFS62]

Shit!
Not the "sweep" word jinx again.

Later

[Elster88]

It didn't jinx them on Sunday.

[MFS62]

Elster88 wrote: It didn't jinx them on Sunday.

I still am thinking in old Mets mode. When someone mentioned the word before the final game of a series, it always seemed the Mets would lose. I forgot it is a new era.

Later

[Guest holychicken]

Looks like I won't be getting any work done this afternoon.

[Frayed Knot]

Woody for Valentin isn't surprising; Marrero for Milledge somewhat is.
Punishment?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Frayed Knot wrote: Woody for Valentin isn't surprising; Marrero for Milledge somewhat is. Punishment?

I'm certain. As certain as I am that WWSB will it explain it away by saying "I just wanted to give him a blow" and insist the punishment he's not handing out is not related to Milledge's loafing; and in fact, Milledge's loafing is yesterday's news and so why do you wanna write about that anyway.

[Elster88]

Mets
		AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
Reyes, Jose	SS	.261	52	6	31	28
Chavez, Endy	RF	.296	21	1	13	5
Beltran, Carlos	CF	.300	49	18	52	12
Delgado, Carlos	1B	.268	40	19	49	0
Wright, David	3B	.336	42	43	47	10
Woodward, Chris	2B	.295	9	1	11	1
Marrero, Eli	LF	.226	7	4	12	3
Castro, Ramon	C	.246	7	2	5	0
Trachsel, Steve	P	.130	1	0	1	0
			( 3 - 4 )	4.70
Phillies
		AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB
Rollins, Jimmy	SS	.257	51	9	22	14
Utley, Chase	2B	.304	53	12	40	6
Abreu, Bobby	RF	.291	49	8	48	11
The Bat, Pat	LF	.259	30	16	47	0
Howard, Ryan	1B	.288	36	22	54	0
Rowand, Aaron	CF	.293	28	8	24	4
Nunez, Abraham	3B	.174	4	0	1	0
Fasano, Sal	C	.265	8	3	8	0
Lidle, Cory	P	.095	2	0	0	0
			( 4 - 5 )	4.68

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: Woody for Valentin isn't surprising; Marrero for Milledge somewhat is. Punishment?

I don't think its punishment.
Lidle is a "crafty veteran" who has sometimes given the Mets fits. He might be too much for Lastings to handle. Looks like Willie is loading up the lineup with lefty batters. Cliff's apparently not ready to play yet, so Eli it is.

Later

[seawolf17]

Gotta figure Eli's going to play some during the DH days, so they probably want to get him some ABs.

[Elster88]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: ="Frayed Knot"]Woody for Valentin isn't surprising; Marrero for Milledge somewhat is. Punishment? I'm certain. As certain as I am that WWSB will it explain it away by saying "I just wanted to give him a blow" and insist the punishment he's not handing out is not related to Milledge's loafing; and in fact, Milledge's loafing is yesterday's news and so why do you wanna write about that anyway.

I don't have a huge problem with Willie lying about punishing his guys. Is it really going to help Milledge to have his punishment announced on Sportscenter?

Besides, on M&MD yesterday, Willie said he wanted to get Eli a start.

BTW, your post reads like you were channeling someone else when you wrote it.

[Guest Hillbilly]

Trachsel has been having a bad year. I have a feeling that his next 5 or so starts will determine his fate with this Mets team.

[Guest KC]

I think punishment is a little strong. Willie said on the pre-game that he told
him what he should have done and that the game is faster here and there's
little room for mistakes and that he would have told the same thing to any-
one on the team and that Lastings was responsive in a positive way. (total
paraphrasing on my part)

Team's playing like .800 ball the last twenty games, Willie can do and say
what he wants for now.

[Elster88]

]Trachsel has been having a bad year. I have a feeling that his next 5 or so starts will determine his fate with this Mets team.

I guarantee you that that is not the case. Traxxxx is here for the rest of the year. Archive it as a prediction.

To dump him and keep El Duque is the height of stupidity, shut outs in the desert nonwithstanding.

[Guest Hillbilly]

No matter how he pitches? I mean if he returns to his career norms, sure he stays. OTOH, if he continues to struggle he'll lose his job to Bannister or Pelfrey.

[Elster88]

I guess not no matter how he pitches. I'm saying as long as he pitches reasonably close to career norms. If his ERA stays at 5 or below, I say he stays on the team. And if it stays that high, that means he's pitching just as poorly as he has been.


So I guess what I meant to say was, if he continues to pitch at the same poor level he has, he will stay on the team and in the rotation.

[Guest Edgy DC]

="KC"]Team's playing like .800 ball the last twenty games, Willie can do and say what he wants for now.

"And the Mets are up 7-2 in the third, in a game that's remarkable because Willie Randloph is piss drunk and waving a loaded gun at his players. He may get criticized by the talk radio crowd for this tomorrow, but I say, hey, it's working. A lot of things haven't worked for the Mets the past five years and if Willie is getting them to play .800 ball by instilling in them a healthy respect for the game under threat from a snub-nose revolver, well, I think Omar should pat him on the back, say good job, and stay the heck out of his way. And... this is a real treat. Ralph Kiner is joining us in the booth! What do you say, Ralph?"

"If you were slumping, or he didn't think you were playing heads-up ball, Leo Derocher used set your bed on fire when you were sleeping."

[Elster88]

You owe me a soda.

The last line especially slayed me.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I'm with the "these next 4 or 5 are crucial for Traxxxx" camp.

I wasn't blaming WWSB for downplaying the issue at all, just saying he will. And for a minute there I was trying to channel Joseph Heller.

[Elster88]

I think I'll start a Trachsel Watch Thread after today's game.

I'm of the opinion that we have plenty of room to let Trachsel work himself out. It's been what, 10 starts so far?

[Guest Hillbilly]

yet another 1st inning run. All I can say is wow!

[Elster88]

Didn't even get the radio set up yet.

[seawolf17]

And the Mets score a first-inning run for the 783rd consecutive first inning. I love this team.

[Guest Hillbilly]

Endy steals 3rd to get there with 1 out.

[Elster88]

So why do guys like Marlon Anderson and Endy Chavez come here and play so well? They must be "New York Guys".

[Elster88]

Hillbilly wrote: Endy steals 3rd to get there with 1 out.

Was it a close play? Did he get a great jump? Did the catcher even throw? Why didn't Delgado follow him?

Gameday doesn't have the details.

[Gwreck]

David Wright with the 3-run

[Elster88]

I'm glad his homer came in the first inning today.

[Guest Hillbilly]

OK Trax. Get ball throw strike you got a 4 run lead and a red hot offense.

[MFS62]

I wonder if Lastings put his arm on Marrero's shoulder and said "Kid. You gotta' swing the bat."?

What's the over/ under for the number of runs Traschel will give back in the bottom of the first? That has been his pattern after the Mets have scored for him recently.

Later