IGT, 7/7: Mets @ Phils

[Guest AG/DC]

With Pedro squared up against Adam Eaton, I'm declaring this a Big Game_TM. You may think it gauche to start an IGT this early, but mentally, brother, I'm already in the game.

Eaton is 5-0 career against the Mets, but it seems a pattern not destined to hold. This year, for instance, he has two starts, 11 innings and seven earned runs, but no decisions. What's that shit about?

[TransMonk]

="AG/DC"]I'm declaring this a Big GameTM.

I agree, a lot of things that haven't happened in a while go down if we win tomorrow.

Last time the Mets were above .500: 6/5/08
Last time the Mets won 3 in a row: 5/29/08
Last time the Mets were 2.5 games back: 5/20/08

It would be nice to feel optimistic about this team again. The long road back to feeling that way starts with a win tomorrow.

[Guest AG/DC]

Last time Pedro Martinez was generally effective: 6/15/08

[Gwreck]

Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing -- starting the IGT now, and declaring it a Big Game. Great minds think alike, or something like that.

My takeaway from this series so far is that Philly is a flawed team that has had too many things go right for them so far. Hamels (who we missed this series) is a stud, but the rest of their rotation is suspect. Rollins and Howard are performing below their potential. As we saw in games 1-3, their offense can be stopped.

I see no reason why the Mets can't take this division. Yes, it will require that the bats get going for a longer stretch. But we are not playing in a division with a Cubs/Brewers or Devil Rays/Red Sox. We have a nice 6 game stretch against bad teams going into the break.

We need this game tonight.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree, this would be a Big Win.

And it would be considerably bigger if the Mets could win 6-2 with six solid innings from Pedro than if they won 8-6 with five lousy innings from Pedro.

[seawolf17]

I'd even take a 3-2 loss if we get six quality innings from Pedro. He may not be PEDRO any longer, but they need him to be something if they're going to come back and win this thing -- and splitting four games in Philly, whereas it's not ideal, is not the end of the world either, especially considering the Fish are on a tough West Coast swing right now and our guys are heading home to face two teams they should be able to beat.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

seawolf17 wrote: I'd even take a 3-2 loss if we get six quality innings from Pedro. He may not be PEDRO any longer, but they need him to be something if they're going to come back and win this thing -- and splitting four games in Philly, whereas it's not ideal, is not the end of the world either, especially considering the Fish are on a tough West Coast swing right now and our guys are heading home to face two teams they should be able to beat.

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

Win tonight as ugly as it needs to be. Pedro can work on his cometics at AAA for all I care.

[Frayed Knot]

Also, this team has put itself in a position where these 'we did OK' splits of 4-game series aren't getting us anywhere.
Lose tonight and that's 3 of those in a row.

[Guest AG/DC]

Over the last ten games all three teams in the top of the division have gone 5-5. A win here (and yeah, I'll take an error-strewn 11-7 duckfucker) going into two series aganst second-divison clubs would be a chance to make a move

There's going to be an intense amount of heat on some team after today, and I'd rather it not be on Jerry Manuel, but his brother insteead.

As baseball teams gravitate toward .500, there's one really good (over .600) team in the game right now (Tampa), and three really bad (sub-.400) ones (Seattle, Washington, San Diego). But (1) we spit the bit against some of these, and (2) Colorado and San Francisco are close to really bad, but both have their share of weaponry and we can't win if we aren't showing up.

Let's show up today and get on a roll. Remember that we play these guys again a week after the All-Star break, hopefully healthier. But you can bet that we'll be seeing Hamels next time.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yeah, I'd MUCH rather see them overcome a bad start by Pedro than lose despite a good one.

There are seven games remaining before the All-Star break. My goal is to have the Mets win five of them. (More would be nice too, of course.)

A win against the Phillies tonight, no matter how ugly, and then two of three against both the Giants and Rockies. That would leave them with a modest 49-46 (.516) record, which, no matter how modest, is a lot better than where they've been for most of the year.

[soupcan]

="TransMonk"] Last time the Mets were above .500: 6/5/08 Last time the Mets won 3 in a row: 5/29/08 Last time the Mets were 2.5 games back: 5/20/08

In addition, a win today would give the Mets a 7-3 season series advantage with only 2 of the remaing 8 games against Philly to be played in Philadelphia.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yep, this game is a big one.

I hope Pedro Martinez had Wheaties for breakfast this morning.

[Guest themetfairy]

Style points don't count here - we need a win with a capital W!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

By the way this is a Big Game only because both Saturday and Sunday were also Big Games.

This has been a strange year even by Met standards. I emotionally folded up the tents Friday night, thinking that maybe the Jerry Era was indeed no different than the Willie Era after all, after a few weeks of truly believing it was going to be different.

Then with my spirit destroyed on Saturday they unexpectedly win, then look like they'll win again Sunday only to beg me to start hating them again before turning around and winning the damn thing after all, as if to say, "FU, John Cougar Lunchbucket, if that is your real name, we Mets in the Jerry Era aren't so emotionally weak after all. Sure, there are still scumbags form an earlier time, like Wagner, that we need to shut up and trade to Cincinnati, and Alou, who we should release for fucking us over so many times, but dammit, we have regained the will the win after so many months without it, and we're just learning it all over, so do us the favor of hanging in there while we get it together. Our wins are not pretty, and don't come as frequently as we'd like even still; but they will come. See?"

[Centerfield]

JCL and I had the same weekend. I actually turned off the game yesterday after Wagner's fuckjob and let my son watch an episode of Dora.

I was shocked when the episode ended and the game was still on.

[Guest themetfairy]

Centerfield wrote: JCL and I had the same weekend. I actually turned off the game yesterday after Wagner's fuckjob and let my son watch an episode of Dora.

MK would have so shinkicked you for that!

[Benjamin Grimm]

I too turned off the game after Werth's homer. I did a half hour on the treadmill, took a shower, read my daughter a chapter from her Harry Potter book, and then checked online and saw the happy (and surprising) final score.

I had that game mentally filed in the Loss column.

[soupcan]

I started watching it at my father-in-law's house in Rockport, MA, 200 miles from my house

Left there at the start of the rain delay for the drive home. Turned on WFAN about 45-50 miles from home just in time to hear Heilman get the final out of the 8th.

Listened to Wagner give up the Werth homer as my wife looked at me and said sarcastically 'Wow, shocker.'

Got home, put the kids to bed and saw Tatis hit his and Bazooka Joe not throw the last out into rightfield.

[Fman99]

Centerfield wrote: JCL and I had the same weekend. I actually turned off the game yesterday after Wagner's fuckjob and let my son watch an episode of Dora. I was shocked when the episode ended and the game was still on.

I had a similar evening. When Werth went deep I shut it off and my family and I went for a nice walk. Came home to find out that they had in fact won the game. Good stuff.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Goodguys lineup via Rubin:

Reyes, ss
Chavez, rf
Wright, 3b
Beltran, cf
Easley, 2b
Delgado, 1b
Tatis, lf
Schneider, c
Martinez, rhp

Rubin also sez Mets confirm Church's trip to NY, though no DL yet.

[Zvon]

J. Rollins SS
S. Victorino CF
C. Utley 2B
R. Howard 1B
P. Burrell LF
G. Dobbs 3B
J. Werth RF
C. Coste C
A. Eaton P

[Zvon]

Phils reliever Tom Gordon placed on the 15 day DL with right elbow inflammation following yesterdays game.

Pitcher R.J. Swindle will replace Gordon on the roster.

[Zvon]

Slight delay as the field needed some extra treatment due to the recent weather woes.

[Zvon]

If your interested in voting David Wright in for the final All-Star Game spot,
please vote.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nym

[Benjamin Grimm]

Reyes gets things started nicely with a leadoff single.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Follow that with a steal of second and a bunt single by Endy, and we're in business.

First and third for Wright.

[Benjamin Grimm]

David brings home the run with a groundout to second.

Not quite the three-run homer I was hoping for.

Beltran up.

[Zvon]

Wow. Wacky 1st.

Reyes steals 2nd...I think..he stumbles and the ball got thru the catcher. He could have had 3rd, but Im just glad he didn't hurt himself.

Chavez bunts him over. A perfect bunt that is thrown away and he gets a single.

Then Wright hits a hump back liner to Utley that looked like a DP, but Chavez is called safe at second, umps saying Chase missed the tag...Reyes scores.

Looks like Chavez was out to me but the other Manuel does not put up much of an argument.

Easley drives in Chavez with a single to right!

[Zvon]

Lets Go Pedro!

[Zvon]

Nice first from Pedro.
Two ground outs and a foul pop out to Wright.
1-2-3.