IGt, 4/2, Mets vs. O's... Again

[Guest Edgy DC]

Take a real busride for once, guys.

Mets have the A-list today with a distinctly scrubless lineup.

Baltimore	New York
Andino, SS Turner, 2B Salazar, O, RF Scott, 1B Zaun, DH Moore, 3B Cabrera, J, LF Christian, CF Moeller, C Eaton, P	Reyes, J, SS Murphy, LF Wright, 3B Delgado, 1B Beltran, CF Church, RF Schneider, C Castillo, 2B Pelfrey, P

[Guest Edgy DC]

Baby birds jump on top with a single by Andino and Salazar doubling him in.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

So, if Pelfrey's on today, and Johan went yesterday... that puts lil' Sid and Maine-- respectively-- on tap for the Sawx this weekend, no?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Pelf throwing BP out there today.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Cool. I just realized that the O's are playing with a DH and the Mets without.

Adam Eaton is their pitcher, and I just added him to the lineup. I still think of him as a Padre, though he hasn't been since 2005.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Eight runs in four innings for Pelf. Won't somebody please join me in panicking?

[Benjamin Grimm]

http://www.nativeremedies.com/images/design/ailmentPhotoHysteria.jpg

[metirish]

It's getaway day , Pelfrey will be fine.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm on record as saying it's looking like a backslide year for Mike P. He doesn't whiff enough guys for a power pitcher.

[metirish]

Does he need to be a big strike out pitcher to have success? With his power stuff can't he pitch to contact and get ground balls?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It's easy to make a case that all five starters will take a step back this year.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Painfully true. I'm sticking with Pelfrey.

Offense is another questiion. Mets get five back against Eaton, with a big pinch double from Tatis and a triboom from Reyes.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ramon Castro pinch-hits for Schneider and it's Fat Catcher Power... Activate!

Two run homer, and it's 8-7.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: ... Fat Catcher Power... Activate!

"Shape of... Pear. (Sigh)"

[Guest Edgy DC]

And the Mets walk off with a victory, coming back from 8-0!

Pinch-hit walk in the ninth for minor-league loaner Mark Kiger, who I was just checking out today, wondering how his missus is doing. And I was saying to myself, "Self, I wonder why Mark Kiger hasn't gotten a little spring training lookiesee."

9-8 is your final. Five innings scoreless from the pen, after six scoreless yesterday. Takahashi debuted, giving up three walks and a hit in his two shutout innings.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

wow.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: wow.

wow about Takahashi or wow about coming back from 8 down or just wow for wow's sake?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

wow for the 8-run comeback

[Guest Edgy DC]

And you so-called gangstas all sat this one out, letting me do the watching for you.

Gangstas, my ass.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Seriously, you people sure you like baseball?

Mets emptied the bench for this win. Baltimore stuck with the farting nine.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Edgy DC wrote: Eight runs in four innings for Pelf. Won't somebody please join me in panicking?

Not panicking over this game so much as having nagging concerns over his ability. He improved so much last year by hitting the strike zone (walk rate dropped by about 2 per 9 innings), and he seems to have done that by throwing more fastballs. Which is great for him, because his fastball has that fantastic natural sinking action, and because the Mets have a fantastic infield defense. And he should get by as a pretty good starter like that, as long as he has that fastball and a good defense behind him. But if he's ever going to make the jump to be a front of the line guy, he needs some sort of offspeed pitch, which isn't exactly breaking news. In his most dominant outing last year, he threw 99 fastballs and 9 offspeed pitches. That Pelf could do that to a lineup with just his fastball is a fantastic sign, as far as his ceiling goes, but there's no way he could go out and do it every start. He could be Brandon Webb with a faster sinking fastball if he finds a secondary pitch as good as Webb's changeup.

[Guest Edgy DC]

18 different Mets batted in this one. Only nine O's.

[MFS62]

OlerudOwned wrote: In his most dominant outing last year, he threw 99 fastballs and 9 offspeed pitches. That Pelf could do that to a lineup with just his fastball is a fantastic sign, as far as his ceiling goes, but there's no way he could go out and do it every start. He could be Brandon Webb with a faster sinking fastball if he finds a secondary pitch as good as Webb's changeup.

I'm not sure, but I think Drek Lowe also throws a very high percentage of sinking fastballs.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

I see in the paper this morning that Tatis played a few innings at second base in this game, and that Jerry wouldn't hesitate to give him a start at that position during the regular season when the Mets face a lefty.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm not sure what that says about Murphy. I'm guessing he's being looked at as a future firstbaseman after Delgado leaves and/or Martinez arrives, and the Mets would be loathe to expose him to a single potential spiking at second. Tatis is more expendable.

But I'm not sure I buy that. Is secondbase statistically that much more dangerous than the outfield? And why play him there in the AFL if they don't even want to make him the emergency fourth-string guy? People slide in Arizona also.

None the less, I like the idea of Tatis taking a turn. The last career corner infielder I recall starting at second is Ray Knight in 1985, when neither Kelvin Chapman nor Wally Backman was hitting a lick against lefties. I think Knight got two starts only though.