IGT 8/19- Mets @Athletics: Unfortunately The Mets Suck

[Zvon]

They suck but we'll win this one. Cause we're not supposed to. After that, back to suckage.

NYM: (59-67, 29-35 away)
D. Gee (4-5, 3.69 ERA)

OAK: (73-51, 40-21 home)
S. Kazmir (13-5, 2.78 ERA)

This is an inter-league game. 10:05 start

[Fman99]

I hate 10 PM start times.

[Frayed Knot]

Gonzalez Germen will join the team for this series, and quite possibly the next one, as Colon officially goes to the (3-7 day) bereavement list.

[Edgy MD]

Fman99 wrote: I hate 10 PM start times.

Sometimes it delays gratification. Sometimes it delays mortification.

That June 24 thumping we gave Kazzy featured Chris Young going 2-3 with two homers, a walk, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored. He's indisposed at the moment. Also going deep in the game were Grandy and d'Arnaud. All homers except Young's segundo were off his Kazziness. All the starters had at least one hit, including Colon, who went 1-2 with a sac bunt. It was his second hit in as many starts and second and last (to date) of the season.

Kazzy still struck out four in three innings. Other lowlights included Eric Young getting picked off. Watch out for that.

Mets also fed off the bullpen. They only got one run in two innings off of Jimmy Johnson, but he looked far worse than that. Unfortunately, Oakland has since realized that, and Johnson's a Detroit Tiger now. Met bats also got two runs in three innings off of Jeff Francis... and he was last seen with the Yankees, his third team of the season, before being released in early August. Here's hoping the PtBNL the Yankees are forced to give up is somebody named Yogi Mantle or something.

I nonetheless go forward in the faith that hope in beating this team (to the extent that there is hope) lies in getting into their bullpen.

[Lefty Specialist]

Dunno, have kind of a 'Hindenberg-approaching-the-mooring-tower' feel about this one.

[ashie62]

10pms were awesome 20 years ago...now...not so much...

[Guest d'Kong76]

NY Mets at Oakland
When: 10:05 PM ET, Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
SportsDirect Inc.

The Oakland Athletics may be scuffling a bit on offense, but their struggles seem small in comparison to recent hitting woes of the New York Mets. The Athletics, who host the Mets on Tuesday for the first of two games, return home after dropping five straight for the first time since May 6-10, 2013. Oakland (73-51) has owned the best record in the majors for much of the season, but the slide has allowed the Los Angeles Angels (73-50) to take a one-half game lead in the American League West.

The Athletics� league-best offense has been grounded in August, batting an AL-worst .224 and averaging 3.7 runs since dealing Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for Jon Lester at the trade deadline. The Mets managed a four-game split with the Chicago Cubs despite tying a dubious team record on Monday by becoming the first team in 10 years to produce four hits or fewer in five consecutive games. Although New York ended its six-game streak of recording one extra-base hit or less in the 4-1 loss to the Cubs, it is the only team with a lower team batting average in August than the Athletics (.206).

TV:
10:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), CSN California (Oakland)

PITCHING MATCHUP:
Mets RH Dillon Gee (4-5, 3.69 ERA) vs. Athletics LH Scott Kazmir (13-5, 2.78)

Gee fell to 0-4 with a 5.60 ERA in six starts since July 9 following Thursday�s 4-1 setback versus Washington. The 28-year-old Texas native, who gave up four runs on four hits and four walks in six frames in the outing, has surrendered two homers in three of his last six turns during the longest winless streak of his career. Gee is 5-4 with a 3.64 ERA in 11 all-time interleague starts, but was roughed up in his only career outing against the Athletics in 2011, yielding four runs on three hits and six walks over four innings.

Much like his team, Kazmir has struggled in August, falling to 1-2 with a 5.49 ERA this month after allowing three runs in seven frames in a loss at Kansas City on Wednesday. The rough stretch comes after the former Mets farmhand, who has already matched his career high in victories, went 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in four July outings. Kazmir was pounded for seven runs in three innings in a loss to the Mets on June 24, evening his mark at 1-1 in two career starts against the team that traded him away in 2004.

WALK-OFFS:
1. During its lackluster run in August, Oakland is 3-10 when scoring three runs or fewer and 4-0 when scoring four runs or more.
2. Mets 2B Daniel Murphy�s ninth-inning double in Monday�s loss was the 187th of his career, tying him with Daryl Strawberry for eighth on the club�s all-time list.
3. Athletics RHP Fernando Abad has stranded all 23 of his inherited runners � the best mark among major-league relievers that have not allowed an inherited runner to score.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Crisp, CF
Jaso, DH
Donaldson, 3B
Moss, LF
Vogt, 1B
Norris, C
Reddick, RF
Callaspo, 2B
Sogard, SS

[Guest d'Kong76]

Lagares, CF
Granderson, RF
Wright, 3B
Duda, 1B
d'Arnaud, DH
Campbell, LF
Flores, SS
Tejada, 2B
Recker, C

[Edgy MD]

Terry's calling you out, there, Juanito. Make good on it.

[Edgy MD]

Granderson reaches by walk.

Oakland is starting to be my favorite park.

[Edgy MD]

And Wright knocks a change to left.

Wear this guy down.

[Edgy MD]

Me gusta all that foul territory.

[Edgy MD]

First and third with one out in the second.

[Edgy MD]

But nope.

[Edgy MD]

Bud Selig in the Oakland booth.

[Edgy MD]

Ray Fosse calling Bud Selig "boss." When Selig did a double-take, Fosse told him he was a 1978 Brewer. But I knew that wasn't true because the 78 Brews were my first Strat team. Fosse was a Brewer in 1979.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

The "Careless Whisper" at-bat music for Reddick? Even 2/3 of the way through the year, still plenty smileworthy.

[Edgy MD]

Selig will be teaching in retirement, possibly at three different universities.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Where will he get his course material? Are there 30 professors who want to use him as a mouthpiece at each of three different campuses?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

This inning is starting to feel like a car crash in slo-mo.

[Edgy MD]

And the Mets escape as Gee paints the black.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

AIRBAG DEPLOYED, OUTSIDE CORNER

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

GONE[/bigpurple]

TDA Flight 388 arrived at its destination with surprising punctuality, there.

[Frayed Knot]

Good news = 1-0 Mets
Bad news = We've used up our quota of hits for the game

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I think the Mets are depressed because Gee isn't hurt.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Sigh. Can't rely on those airbags to keep us out of crashes indefinitely, it seems.

[Edgy MD]

Campbell looking lost.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Hey! Extra-base hits! Plural!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

After midnight, we gonna chugalug and shout.