IGT - 4/6/11 Mets at Phils

[A Boy Named Seo]

PS - did the font here change, or did I do something on my end?

[metsmarathon]

howard hits ball to pitcher. ball caroms off pitchers glove towards shallow second base. but second baseman is playing deep, and has to scurry in to get to the ball. he picks it up from a near-standstill just after howard makes it to the bag, and fires home just late on polanco.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Boyer + Buchholz pitched well. Lineup in the meantime can do some damage minus the easy outs, huh?

[G-Fafif]

NY field goal = 10-9 = Mets win the damn thing!

[G-Fafif]

Or we tie, go into overtime and...

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Radio on.

Wayne Hagin still sounds to me like he's choking back a snicker when the opposing team hits a home run.

[A Boy Named Seo]

metsmarathon wrote: howard hits ball to pitcher. ball caroms off pitchers glove towards shallow second base. but second baseman is playing deep, and has to scurry in to get to the ball. he picks it up from a near-standstill just after howard makes it to the bag, and fires home just late on polanco.

Thanks.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Boo on the givebacks. The Mets and fate are teaming up to punish me for my overdemanding ways.

[Guest Edgy DC]

C'mon, you Mets.

C'mon, you Pool.

[TransMonk]

L=#FF8000]et'=#FF8000]s G=#FF8000]o M=#FF8000]et=#FF8000]s!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Sigh. Letting Beato pitch the 8th-- and saving Frankie for later heroics-- would've worked as well or better.

Spare the 'Rod Tuesday, spoil the 'Pool, I guess.

[Gwreck]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Sigh. Letting Beato pitch the 8th-- and saving Frankie for later heroics-- would've worked as well or better. Spare the 'Rod Tuesday, spoil the 'Pool, I guess.

Pitcher's spot in the order came up.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Let's go here. Heart of the order yo

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Keith: 2 hands on the tool

[TransMonk]

Well, the boys put up a heck of a fight on a game that I had almost given up on as a loss in the 3rd. The O left some runs out there, the D let some runs up and Pelfrey just ain't right. In the end, their bullpen was just a bit better than ours tonight...and their lineup was a little luckier.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Deep sigh.

[G-Fafif]

Yeah, well, they're still from Philadelphia. Winning doesn't change that.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Win or not, the shame is with them for blowing a 7-0 lead at home. And they definitely were luckier than us tonight too.

Just gotta take the rubba game against Dick Halladay is all.

[Guest Edgy DC]

What's on the Mets is sorting out if their top starter is ineffective thus far because he's not on his game or because they're kidding themselves that he's their top starter.

[MFS62]

Calling Doctor Lans.
Doctor Alan Lans.
Mike Pelfrey's personal sports shrink died.
Mike needs a replacement.
Please report to the Mets clubhouse.
STAT!

Later

[G-Fafif]

Was just doing some research on "all" and it turns you can't win 'em.

At least that's what my sports psychologist says.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: What's on the Mets is sorting out if their top starter is ineffective thus far because he's not on his game or because they're kidding themselves that he's their top starter.

This is the boon of not having an ace but having a lot of good pitchers. there is no top starter. there is no 'must win' guy where the team struggles to score runs for cause 'he got this'. If the pressure is bothering Pelfrey, and not just two bad starts of him figuring stuff out, someoen needs to tell him he's simply one of five, not the front of the line.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't mean to suggest that the pressure is getting to him. I mean to suggest that a man without a punchout pitch is always going to have trouble finding sustained success, and is going to have to do a lot of hard work to find the success he can find.

I'm suggesting that if he doesn't find one, maybe he isn't that good. And maybe the team will be looking for two years trying to get a run out of him like they got at the start of 2010, but looking in vain.

It's not psychological, it just is. I'll resubmit my suggeston that Pelfrey try the high hard one with two strikes more, but I honestly don't know.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't mean to suggest that the pressure is getting to him. I mean to suggest that a man without a punchout pitch is always going to have trouble finding sustained success, and is going to have to do a lot of hard work to find the success he can find. I'm suggesting that if he doesn't find one, maybe he isn't that good. And maybe the team will be looking for two years trying to get a run out of him like they got at the start of 2010, but looking in vain. It's not psychological, it just is. I'll resubmit my suggeston that Pelfrey try the high hard one with two strikes more, but I honestly don't know.

I wasn't suggesting it was either, just that if it is, someone should step up and tell him to knock it off.

Yesterday seemed different. strikeout pitcher or not (And I agree with your suggestion) he should be able to battle and be competitive. Everyone was hit hard. It wasn't "oops, couldn't put him away and he pounded a single, or the ball just found all the holes today" Pelfrey, when his pitches are working, doesn't give up home runs (or much fly balls) the Mets have a good defense, and if his ball is sinking, there is little reason they shouldn't be in every game he pitches aside from errors in the field adding even more runners.

But he needs to know what to do when he's not getting the sink he likes, whatever he tried last night wasn't tricking anyone.

[Guest Edgy DC]

A Bronx rainout keeps the possiblity of triple disappointment away.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm a bit concerned over the recent revelation that Pelfrey's shoulder gave him consistent trouble last year, so much so that he was regularly injected with a heavy-duty strain of advil.

I know nobody wants to suggest spring training means much but he pitched like shit then too, making this more than just a few bad innings. He definitely needs a swing-and-miss pitch, hitters apparently know the book on him by heart.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ceetar wrote: This is the boon of not having an ace but having a lot of good pitchers. there is no top starter.

Ceetar always finds a way to make lemonade.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'm a bit concerned over the recent revelation that Pelfrey's shoulder gave him consistent trouble last year, so much so that he was regularly injected with a heavy-duty strain of advil. I know nobody wants to suggest spring training means much but he pitched like shit then too, making this more than just a few bad innings. He definitely needs a swing-and-miss pitch, hitters apparently know the book on him by heart.

Spring Training still means nothing. pitched crappy last year, but then only allowed 2 runs in April. But I wonder if there is a subtle difference in arm slot or something because on pitching with pain. I know Santana mentioned that last year, that his pitching with pain in late 2009 effected his 2010 start because he was out of sync a little.

Anyway, while 2 starts isn't enough to panic over, the next start becomes important. but it's also at home, which should help. These concerns about Ks have been concerns for years, so I still expect him to have a similar year to last year.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Ceetar wrote: This is the boon of not having an ace but having a lot of good pitchers. there is no top starter. Ceetar always finds a way to make lemonade.

Nah, this isn't lemonade. This is merely pointing out that it's not our best fruit that's sour, only 20% of it or so.

I never liked that analogy anyway. I LIKE lemons. I like sour. What's wrong with sour?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ceetar wrote: These concerns about Ks have been concerns for years, so I still expect him to have a similar year to last year.

And the greater concern of a career ERA of 4.41 --- his great first half last year included --- leads one to return to it.