Kid Pro Kuo

[Guest Edgy DC]

Your game two starter.

Or their game two starter, actually.

How 'bout that?

[metirish]

It would have been cool if Glavine faced Maddux but lets pound this guy instead.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

We're still his only win of the year. I thought he'd be a "2nd/3rd time through the lineup" victim, but the Mets were flat that night too.

Wright made a bad error in the top of the first and Reyes got caught stealing 3rd in the bottom of the 1st and that was that.

[soupcan]

I think its a mistake for the Dodgers to start him based on those 6 innings he threw.

Much has been said about the Mets being vulnerable to lefties once X-Man was dealt but it also happened to coincide with Wright cooling off.

Wright is no longer cool.

As Dickshot said, that was the rook's only win.

Grady Little has decided to start a rookie with a less than impressive resume against a superior offensive team in the postseason. Time will tell if this guy is still as clueless about postseason pitching as he was 3 years ago.

Bring the kid on and the Mets dominance will remain......


Status Quo.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

soupcan wrote: Grady Little has decided to start a rookie with a less than impressive resume against a superior offensive team in the postseason. Time will tell if this guy is still as clueless about postseason pitching as he was 3 years ago.

That's just what I was thinking.

[HahnSolo]

Isn't Penny being hurt part of the reason he's doing this?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I think expecting Grady Little to screw up is extremely presumptuous.

Grady is starting a lefty with 10.7 K/9 vs. the Mets. He's no dummy.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

It's probably less that he was stupid in 2003 than he was subservient to the desires of Pedro Martinez.

[MFS62]

And if Trot Nixon doesn't misjudge Jeter's fly ball and allow it to land for a double that ignited the MFY rally, Pedro gets out of the inning with a 5-2 lead and the baseball pundits are still talking about what a great manager Grady is.

Later

[soupcan]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Grady is starting a lefty with 10.7 K/9 vs. the Mets. He's no dummy.

6 innings. That's a pretty small sample size to use to justify starting this guy.

I know he's got something like 107 Ks in 78 innings but strikeout pitchers get hit too and this Mets team can hit.

I wouldn't do it.

P.S. I'm hearing on the radio that Maddux is the Game 2 starter.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Wishful thinking that a sub-optimal Pedro Martinez could pull a couple of outs out of his ass helped destroy the 2003 Sox, but it's not like I wasn't exercising the same hopes a week or two ago.

Grady knows that he's holding the weaker hand, so he's looking to fortune and playing a wild card. Makes sense to me.

It'll be a great story if Kuo wins a game (or two!).

Except, you know, if you're a Mets fan.

[soupcan]

You'd start the rook over Maddux in Game 2?

[MFS62]

soupcan wrote: You'd start the rook over Maddux in Game 2?

The rook pitched well at Shea, and Maddux likes to pitch in LA.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

soupcan wrote: You'd start the rook over Maddux in Game 2?

No.

Apparently our sources are conflicting. MLB's schedule still lists Kuo for Game Tuo.

[Frayed Knot]

Kuo also relieved twice early in the year against the Mets which, when added to his 6 inning start, brings his total record to 9 IPs, 4 H, 12 Ks, 3 BBs

Still a small sample but an impressive one - plus it's not like they're starting him instead of Maddux. They'll both get 1 start most likely, just in reverse order.

[soupcan]

I hear ya but that's a big leap of faith in my book.

I've gotta believe that Grady will have an itchy trigger finger should Kuo get into early trouble though.

Or, knowing Grady, maybe not.

[Guest cleonjones11]

Kou is better than any healthy Mets pitcher

[Guest Edgy DC]

Stop shitting in the Pool, please.

[Guest cleonjones11]

Edgy DC wrote: Stop shitting in the Pool, please.

Getting a little "Edgy" about our chances Big boy

[Guest Edgy DC]

No.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

cj11 - "Kou is better than any healthy Mets pitcher"

Sal, is that you?

[Valadius]

It sure sounds like him.

[Elster88]

Johnny Dickshot wrote: We're still his only win of the year. I thought he'd be a "2nd/3rd time through the lineup" victim, but the Mets were flat that night too. Wright made a bad error in the top of the first and Reyes got caught stealing 3rd in the bottom of the 1st and that was that.

Didn't Maine also get lit up that day? I might be remembering incorrectly.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Maine wasn't sharp, and he coughed up 2 long HRs and nearly a 3rd in the same inning. But sloppy fielding and noffense made him work xtra hard.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Q & A with Dodgers starter Hong-Chih Kuo

Hong-Chih Kuo will start Game 2 of the NL division series for the Dodgers today. Moved from the bullpen last month, he is the third player from Taiwan to start a major-league game, following Colorado's Chin-Hui Tsao and high school teammate Chien-Ming Wang, who won Game 1 of the ALDS for the Yankees on Tuesday night. Kuo's lone major-league win in two seasons came Sept. 8 at Shea Stadium.

What is the biggest game you've pitched in your life?

Probably (today).

You and Chien-Ming Wang are friends. Did your families know each other, or were you friends all the way through high school?

We were pretty good friends, pretty close. When I was in the minor leagues we've been talking a lot, about the rehab stuff, ask a lot about how to throw the sinker and stuff.

Who was the No. 1 starter?

Probably him (smiling). I played the outfield when I was in high school. I was a pitcher and outfielder.

What is it about starting that has brought out the best in your pitching?

I guess maybe I feel more comfortable.

When they call the bullpen, I could throw five or 10 pitches and try to get ready. ... When I am a starter I get 15, 20 minutes, whatever I want, working on my stuff. I feel more confident during the game.

What do you throw besides your fastball that works well for you?

I throw the fastball, slider, change-up, everything. But when I was a reliever I just throw the fastball and slider, I don't have the chance to throw my change-up more. But as a starter, I can miss a little bit ... maybe throw some change-up, some curveballs.

Is there another pitcher on the Dodger staff that you've found it educational to talk to, who's helped you with your pitching?

I have a learned a lot from the old guys. (Derek) Lowe, (Greg) Maddux, (Brad) Penny. I can ask a lot of questions, but you can just learn from them when they're pitching the game. You sit there, you watch, see how they get guys out.

What are your thoughts on the Mets' lineup?

Tough. Just go out there and do the best I can.

Ken McMillan

[Willets Point]

Let's light up the rook tonight!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I know. I'm giddy about the notion that we could land a haymaker in the first two innings and effectively end thiis series.

Getting way the freak ahead of myself, I know.

[metirish]

Eric Byrnes was raving about this kid last night when he wasn't polishing Jeter,said he had one of the best fastballs he's ever seen.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I want our boys to knock this rookie out so thoroughly that all the other lefties in the playoffs make like David Wells and "tweak" something before their starts against us.

[smg58]

So Maine is an emergency the Mets wanted to avoid, and Kuo is a difference-maker. I suppose it doesn't matter that Maine had the better season. It disturbs me that some people think that tonight's pitching matchup (1 ML win vs. nearly 300) actually favors LA, and that not all these people are Dodgers fans.

(Or maybe I'm just a little bit annoyed that ESPN.com's survey asking who'd win this series had 70% going for the Dodgers. That and the articles suggesting that the two teams are so evenly matched. It's like the season -- you know, the one in which the Mets were the best team in the NL by a very, very wide margin -- didn't happen.)