Gwreck

Schoeneweis 2 Castillo 1 Wise 1

We score 9 runs off one of the best pitchers in baseball on Sunday and we can't get more than 1 off the chump the Braves throw out there? Pathetic.

Way ahead of you. Gwreck wrote: New York (N) at Florida April 2, 2008 In the top of the 5th inning, Carlos Beltran hit a deep fly ball off Matt Lindstrom to right-center field. The ball cleared the wall, struck a metal railing and bounced up in the air, landing back in the field of play. It was initially called a home run by third base umpire Jeff Kellogg. Kellogg was incorrectly overruled by second base umpire Rick Reed and Beltran was awarded a ground-rule double. The botched call was not game-determinative, as the Mets won the game 13-0.

Oops. I emailed them about Delgado's (although I suspect I was not the only one).

We still have more decisions to make after this doubleheader today: who will start on Saturday? at ATL Tue May 20 - John Maine and Claudio Vargas v. Tom Glavine and Jorge Campillo Wed May 21 - Pelfrey v. Jair Jurrjens Thu May 22 - Santana v. Tim Hudson at COL Fri May 23 - Perez v. Jeff Francis Sat May 24 - TBA v. Jorge De La Rosa Sun May 25 - Maine v. Aaron Cook vs FLA Mon May 26 - Pelfrey v. Ricky Nolasco Tue May 27 - Santana v. Andrew Miller Wed May 28 - Perez v. Scott Olsen vs. LA Thu May 29 - Pedro (??) v. Brad Penny Fri May 30 - Maine v. Chad Billingsley Sat May 31 - Pelfrey v. Hiroki Kuroda Sun Jun 1 - Santana v. Derek Lowe According to Marty Noble, Pedro could be back next week.

Still about 5 runs short of what I was hoping for this inning.

Would like to see Alou's first homer of the year right now as well.

One would think, although perhaps it's Maine-Schneider familiarity?

This one was much worse than Delgado's -- the ball was landing and took a dramatic bounce up in the air and back onto the field. The only possible way a ball could have done that was by striking a solid object beyond the wall. Terrible call.

Mets Reyes Castillo Wright Beltran Church Alou Delgado Schneider Maine Braves Yunel Escobar SS Mark Kotsay CF Larry Jones 3B Mark Teixiera 1B Brian McCann C Jeff Francoeur RF Kelly Johnson 2B Gregor Blanco LF Tom Glavine P

Beltran in Florida, the 2nd or 3rd game of the year.

Yes, exactly.

I think in our minds we all knew better but damn if that August run wasn't extremely exciting.

AG/DC wrote: That's not how I remember it. I recall them being within two games of .500 for about three months before finally putting together a small streak the last week to close at .512 and seven games out. Double checking, they only looked like contenders in late July when the made a run from ten games out to 3.5, but they were otherwise over five games out the entire second half. The peak was in August; they went 16-12 that month, and on August 30, they beat the Phillies (the Ramon Castro game) to bring them a half-game out of the wild card. Then they proceeded to go 2-13 in their next 15 games to drop them out of the race. Once out of it, they went on a 12-3 run in the final 15 games of the season.

I don't disagree about Reyes being a subpar leadoff hitter. But if Randolph had little options, that's more of a Minaya beef than a Randolph beef. Cameron would have been a good choice when healthy, but of course was hurt for all of April '05 and then after the collision was out for the year. So there were still a lot of leadoff at-bats to go around. After Cameron, who was the second best choice to lead off? Beltran?

Talent-wise, sure. Santana, Church and Schneider are all significantly better players than those that they replaced. Performance-wise? Not so much. I am concerned that with the exception of Church and Schneider -- and perhaps too soon to tell for left field -- we're getting less offensive output out of each position than we did last year.

I'm still not clear though on who on the 2005 Mets would have been a better leadoff hitter. Cameron, when healthy?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Or giving Reyes 700 plate appearances from the leadoff spot when it's painfully obvious that he's not deserving, not by a longshot. If Reyes isn't leading off, who is? (And if Reyes isn't leading off, where is he batting in the order?) --- I will also note that in 2007, Reyes' .354 OBP was 3rd best among team regulars (behind Wright and Alou). Granted that it was higher in April-August and much lower in September. This year? He is currently lagging behind behind all regulars not named Delgado. But is this reason to bat Beltran leadoff? (Or Castillo?) Edits: 1 to add the 2008 comparison, 1 to fix my inability to edit properly.

I really liked Willie's thoughts on the doubleheader against the Reds last week where he said he deliberately put the A lineup behind Santana in the first game because winning the first game of the DH puts more pressure on the other team and also puts the possibility of the DH sweep on the table. (Hoping he does the same today).

Bunting is for losers. 1st and 3rd with 1 out and the pitcher up, I want our pitcher swinging away. Unwillingness to pinch-hit or pinch-run. Particularly frustrating when it's late and we've had one of our crappy backup catchers in the game but we haven't hit (or run) for him.

Mets v. Braves (May 20-22) The Mets visit Atlanta for a four game series; the doubleheader on Tuesday includes a regularly scheduled game and a makeup of the April 4 rainout. Recent: The Braves took 2 of 3 from Oakland this weekend at home after a poor road-trip where they dropped 3 of 4 at Pittsburgh and 2 of 3 at Philadelphia. Such has been the season for the Braves this year: they own the league's best home record (16-5) and worst road record (6-16). Braves are in 4th place, 1 game back of the Mets and Phillies, 2 games back of the Marlins. The Braves have the second best ERA in the NL (3.56 to Arizona's 3.55) but have a inconsistent offense. Vs. Mets, 2008: 2-3. Braves took 2 at Turner Field the first weekend of the season. They beat up on John Maine and the bullpen in the first game, an 11-5 win. In the second game, Smoltz and the Braves 'pen outpitched Santana to a 3-1 win, in what was probably the Mets' second worst offensive performance this year. In the second series, at Shea at the end of April, the Mets took two of three. Jair Jurrjens walked in 3 runs in the third inning of the first game but held the Mets otherwise and Pelfrey had a poor outing. Game #2 of the series was the game where the Mets got 4 runs off Hudson in the third inning, at which time Hudson was pulled. Maine and 4 innings of bullpen work held the Braves off for a 4-3 Mets win. The final game was a 6-3 Mets win where the Mets hit Smoltz hard and Figueroa was good for 5 innings before turning into a pumpkin. Delgado had 2 homers that Sunday. Pitching Matchups: Tuesday, Game 1: John Maine vs. Tom Glavine (L) Glavine's first start against the Mets since going back to Atlanta; nobody here needs a suggestion as to what we'd like to do to Glavine in this game. Glavine is 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 7 starts this year. Since coming off the DL (he missed a pair of starts) Glavine has alternated good outings with bad outings, his last 2 being 7 innings, 5 hits and 2 runs at Pittsburgh, where he got a no-decision and 5 2/3 at Philly with 4 runs (although Glavine got his first win). Tuesday, Game 2: Claudio Vargas vs. Jorge Campillo ® Campillo was property of the Mariners' system for the past 3 years and was signed to a minor league contract by the Braves in the off-season. He has been doing an excellent job as the Braves' long man this year. In 13 appearances, he as a 1.27 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, 16 hits (no homers), 5 walks and 17 Ks. This will be his first major league start since 2005. In his second major league game ever, Campillo started for the Mariners against the Tigers on August 2, 2005. He left with a strained elbow after only 1 inning, an injury that required Tommy John surgery. Wednesday: Mike Pelfrey vs. Jair Jurrjens ® This will be a rematch of the April 25 game that the Mets lost. Jurrjens was acquired from Detroit in the off-season for Edgar Renteria. He's 22 years old and is having an excellent season so far: 4-3, 2.82 ERA. 45 hits (only 1 of which was a home run), 20 walks and 44 Ks in 54 1/3 innings. Apparently Jurrjens has a in-stadium fan club known as "Jurrjens' Surgeons. Wednesday's game is an ESPN broadcast for the out-of-towners. Thursday: Johan Santana vs. Tim Hudson ® This will be the Mets third time seeing Hudson this year. He is 6-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts (61 2/3 innings). Aside from the game against the Mets when Cox lifted him after 3 innings, his only other start of less than 6 innings was last Saturday, when he gave up 5 runs in 5 innings to the Athletics. Hudson gave up 2 homers in that start, only the second and third home runs he's given up this year. Trivia time: Tim Hudson has 141 career wins, which is 12th on the active players* leaderboard. Who's ahead of him? *Defined as having pitched in a Major League game in 2008. Braves Lineup: Yunel Escobar, SS 4-19-.308, .385 OBP Mark Kotsay, CF 3-19-.301, .354 OBP Chipper Jones, 3B Larry is hitting .410 with 11 homers, 32 RBIs and has an OPS of 1.154. No, those are not typos. Mark Teixeira, 1B 5-21-.247, .335 OBP. Teixeira is a free agent at the end of the year and could conceivably even be traded at the break if the Braves struggle. You could probably get 2-1 odds that he'll be playing in New York next year, although which team will pay more is unclear. Brian McCann, C 7-26-.316, .379 OPS. Jeff Francoeur, RF 3-26-.263, .307 OBP. Has cut down on the Ks somewhat this year (only 25 in 175 ABs so far) but can still be counted on as a free-swinger. Kelly Johnson, 2B 5-17-.278, .342 OBP. Matt Diaz (vs. lefties)/ Gregor Blanco (vs. righties), LF Straight platoon. Diaz: 2-14-.268, .284 OBP; Blanco 0-6-.308, .385 OBP. Bench-n-Bullpen: Backup catcher Corky Miller cannot hit. Recent call-up Omar Infante has 7 hits in 22 ABs. Ruben Gotay is hitting .231 with only 1 extra base hit. The Braves bullpen is down several of their top relievers but currently has a 16-inning scoreless streak. Braves have only 6 saves and no reliever has more than 2. Jeff Bennett ®: 35 innings (including 3 starts), 3.34 ERA, 29 hits/19 walks/22 Ks. Blaine Boyer ®: 24 2/3 innings, 4.01 ERA, 19 hits/4 walks/27 Ks. Manny Acosta ®: 20 2/3 innings, 3.48 ERA, 16 hits/12 walks/13 Ks. Will Ohman (L) : 18 innings, 2.50 ERA, 17 hits/9 walks/14Ks. Chris Resop ®: 13 2/3 innings, 5.93 ERA, 14 hits/7 walks/11 Ks. Royce Ring (L): 7 innings, 6.43 ERA 7 hits, 2 walks/5 Ks Injuries John Smoltz is on the DL with an injured shoulder and it was initially announced that he would resume the role of closer once he came off the DL. Apparently, that may not be very soon, however: he's had pain while throwing during his rehab and could be out for a while. Rafael Soriano (elbow) has been out since early April but should be back in a few weeks. Mike Gonzalez had Tommy John surgery last year and will begin a minor league rehab assignment in a week or two. Peter Moylan had Tommy John surgery two weeks ago and won't be heard from until mid-2009. Mike Hampton is still being paid on the contract he signed after leaving the Mets, to the tune of $15 million this year. All that's left is a $6 million buyout (which the Rockies are still on the hook for) and he'll be a free agent at the end of this year. He hasn't pitched in a major league game since August 19, 2005. Ex-Braves: None Ex-Mets: Glavine Hampton Gotay Royce Ring

I believe this is the first time SNY has shown 7/10/99.

Time to bump this sucker up -- and maybe a sticky? -- with the game less than 2 weeks away. Important Stuff: 1. Who's in? As of March, this was our count: CPF Meeting - Regular Season Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets Shea Stadium Saturday, May 31, 2008 3:55 PM Gametime ?? PM Tailgatetime IN: KC Gwreck (+1) Soupcan Sharpie AG/DC seawolf17 Farmer Ted holychicken Mendoza Line JC Lunchbucket SteveJRogers Vic Sage Rockin' Doc ???: Willets Point Valadius OUT (Regrettably): themetfairy Feel free to update as applicable. 2. Start time? First pitch is at 3:55. What time do we want to meet? 1:00? 1:30? Your thoughts welcomed.

I'll put together something tonight.

Perez 4 Alou 2 Delgado 1.25 Church 1.25 Reyes 1.25 Wright .25