Gwreck

This game was pretty ugly all-around. Man, there were a lot of stupid Mets fans there today. The "Jimmy Rollins" chant -- it actually broke out right after the error, but got louder after the WP -- was great, though. I couldn't see the bullpen from my Upper Deck, Section 35 seats, but does anyone know if Feliciano was actually warming up when Burgos was pitching to Utley? I couldn't believe Burgos was pitching to Howard either. The Endy pinch-running for the wrong runner bothered me, too. He got one-upped by Manuel, however in the "stupid strategy" department. Geary came in to get the final out in the 7th, but then stayed in the game to lead off. A one-run game, and you lead off with your pitcher? Manuel could've double-switched in Wes Helms at 3B, too, had he wanted to. Big brain freeze there. Maine's fastball was registering on the Shea gun consistently in the 86-88 range, which seemed a bit slow. Was surprised to see Franco PHing. Figured we'd get Newhan as the lefty in that spot. The muffed popup consisted of Nunez, Howard, Hamels and Ruiz all coming together at the same spot in right in front of the mound. Nobody called it. I couldn't believe Delgado wasn't out at the plate on that Valentin single. No idea what happened (way too far away to see) but the throw had him easily beat.

Off to the game this afternoon...the Phillies are likely to make a roster move involving pitcher(s) before the game but information was not available at press time... 2007 Phillies Jimmy Rollins' so-called "team to beat" this year has been just that: they've been beaten 5 out of their first 6 games. Atlanta swept them, winning two games in extra innings due at least in part to serious bullpen failure. Florida took two of three this weekend. Starting Pitcher Matchups Monday: Cole Hamels (L) vs. John Maine Hamels' first start was excellent and ruined by the bullpen. 7 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 4 H. He will strike out a lot of batters and will be the most challenging starter the Mets see this series. The Phillies are counting on him in this, his second season, to have an even better year than his last (23 Starts, 9-8, 4.08 ERA). Wednesday: Adam Eaton ® vs. Oliver Perez Eaton got shelled by the Braves last time around. 4.2, 7 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 3 K. He is susceptible to the homer as well, and the Mets' lefties should do quite well against him. Thursday: Jamie Moyer (L) vs. Tom Glavine Moyer may be the pitcher most like Glavine in the majors. Not a ton of strikeouts or walks, if the defense is on, Moyer will look pretty good. Moyer won his first start against Florida, 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR. Phillies Lineup Jimmy Rollins (S) SS Loud mouth, free swinger, pretty good OBP and defense. Shane Victorino (S) RF Extremely fast but very few steals. Decent contact hitter but not much power. OF defense is ok but not fantastic. Chase Utley (L) 2B The Phillies best all-around player. Has gotten better each of the past 3 years. Still strikes out too much (132 Ks last year) but 76 extra-base hits and 102 RBIs weren't too bad. Ryan Howard (L) 1B Had a poor spring, apparently attributable to him not getting into his "groove" with respect to his swing. He's started slowly this year, and while it figures that he won't necessarily replicate last year's numbers, he's still super-dangerous. Pat Burrell ® LF The original plan (and implemented the first two games) was to bat Howard 3rd and Utley 4th. Putting two strikeout machines like Howard and Burrell back-to-back might not be Charlie Manuel's smartest idea. Burrell is way overpaid by the Phils and they'd love to dump him if they could get a taker. He is always dangerous vs. the Mets. Wes Helms ® 3B Seems like he's been around forever but is only 30. He hit .329 (a career high) in a limited role (platooning with Mike Jacobs at first) for Florida last year. He did reach 23-67-.261 in a 475 AB year in 2003 for Milwaukee but how he'll do over a full season is questionable. Aaron Rowand ® CF Excellent glove, average bat. 12-60-.275 would be a solid year for him. Carlos Ruiz ® C A rookie with fewer than 100 ML ABs. 16-69-.307 at AAA last year. Phillies Bench 'n Bullpen Greg Dobbs (L), backup 3B, but not likely to seriously challenge Helms for ABs. Abraham Nunez (S), the backup middle infielder. Michael Bourn (L), untested rookie. Jayson Werth ®, formerly with the Dodgers. Some decent power. Rod Barajas ® is a solid backup catcher but figures to get no action this series (started Sunday). Tom Gordon ® Had a decent (34 for 39, 3.34 ERA) year in 2006 as closer. Blew his first save opportunity this year. Has only pitched 2 innings so far this year, so we figure to see him this series at least twice, regardless of whether there's a save situation or not. Ryan Madson ® Planned to be the 8th inning man, but has struggled early (and wasn't spectacular last year either). Antonio Alfonseca ® The 12-fingered and 12-toed wonder could replace Madson as the primary righthanded setup man if Madson continues to falter. Matt Smith (L), a pretty good situational lefty picked up from the Yanks in the Abreu trade. Geoff Geary ®, workhorse. 91.1 relief innings last year, 7-1, 2.96 ERA. Started off well this year so far as well. Clay Condrey ®, came back to the majors in 2006 after two years in AAA and pitched pretty well in 28 innings. Barring demotion, this will be his first full year in the majors. Who's Hot Pat Burrell hit .381 this first week. Jimmy Rollins has 3 Homers (including an inside-the-parker on Saturday) and 6 RBIs. He leads the Phillies in both categories. Who's Not Ryan Howard is hitting .217, has only 2 RBIs and one extra-base hit (a double). Lead setup man Ryan Madson has allowed runs in each of his first three appearances and already has two losses. 5 hits and 4 walks in 5 IP. He last pitched on Friday, so he should definetly be around sometime in this series. We unfortunately miss accused wife-beater Brett Myers this time around. He didn't look that good in either of his first two starts. Who's Hurt Freddy Garcia has bicepts tendinitis. Makes a rehab start on Tuesday with Clearwater (A). Jon Lieber, with a strained ribcage muscle. Made a rehab start Saturday with Clearwater Survey says he'll be in the bullpen when he rejoins the team. Ex-Mets None Ex-Phillies Billy Wagner. Chavez, Newhan and Franco all spent time with the Phillies in the recent to prehistoric past.

OHernandez 4 Castro 1 Green 1 Reyes .5

Yes, I can confirm that every addition I did was dutifully checked with the two online authorities. When I finished up '62, I simply took '62 roster, crossed off the first 35 guys, and then ordered the last 10 by date. I went to the retrosheet PBP to confirm order when there were more than one on the same day. I even double-checked home vs. away games, because the starting pitcher (in a home game) would make his appearance on the list prior to the leadoff batter.

Edgy DC wrote: Sorry, we're only measuring homers at the point of the lineup, right? So a lineup with Ken Singleton in 1970 wouldn't count his 250 subsequent homers.A 2003 lineup with Piazza, Floyd, Alomar, Burnitz, and Vaughn would be competitive. Would you believe there were a total of 6 games that year that all 5 of those guys in the starting lineup at the same time. Seriously. April 19, 2003 -- which included Jay Bell's 195 homeruns to date -- still was short, with a total of 1,449 lifetime homers to date. Alomar 201 Cedeno 25 Floyd 134 Piazza 349 Vaughn 327 Wigginton 8 Burnitz 210 Bell 195 The best 90s possibility would probably be '93, with Murray, Bonilla and HoJo, but that wouldn't come close. An '86 combination with Foster or even an '89 with Carter/Straw wouldn't come close either.

LoDuca 2 Green 1.5 Glavine 1 Schoenweis 1 Delgado .5 Smith .5

1. Richie Ashburn (April 11, 1962) 2. Felix Mantilla 3. Charlie Neal 4. Frank Thomas 5. Gus Bell 6. Gil Hodges 7. Don Zimmer 8. Hobie Landrith 9. Roger Craig 10. Ed Bouchee 11. Bob Moorhead 12. Herb Moford 13. Clem Labine 14. Jim Marshall 15. Joe Ginsberg (April 13, 1962) 16. Sherman Jones 17. Elio Chacon 18. John DeMerit 19. Ray Daviault 20. Bobby Smith 21. Chris Cannizzaro (April 14, 1962) 22. Al Jackson 23. Jim Hickman 24. Craig Anderson 25. Rod Kanehl (April 15, 1962) 26. Ken MacKenzie 27. Jay Hook (April 17, 1962) 28. Bob L. Miller (April 21, 1962) 29. Harry Chiti (April 28, 1962) 30. Dave Hillman 31. Sammy Taylor 32. Cliff Cook (May 8, 1962) 33. Marv Throneberry (May 11, 1962) 34. Vinegar Bend Mizell (May 15, 1962) 35. Joe Christopher (May 21, 1962) 36. Willard Hunter (June 1, 1962) 37. Gene Woodling (June 17, 1962) 38. Joe Pignatano (July 14, 1962) 39. Choo Choo Coleman (July 16, 1962) 40. Bob G. Miller (July 24, 1962) 41. Rich Herrscher (August 1, 1962) 42. Sammy Drake 43. Galen Cisco (September 9, 1962) 44. Larry Foss (September 10, 1962) 45. Ed Kranepool (September 22, 1962) 46. Larry Burright (April 9, 1963) 47. Duke Snider 48. Tim Harkness 49. Al Moran 50. Don Rowe

Nope, we don't. He also debued August 1, 1962. Was trying to keep the listing style already adopted. 1. Richie Ashburn (April 11, 1962) 2. Felix Mantilla 3. Charlie Neal 4. Frank Thomas 5. Gus Bell 6. Gil Hodges 7. Don Zimmer 8. Hobie Landrith 9. Roger Craig 10. Ed Bouchee 11. Bob Moorhead 12. Herb Moford 13. Clem Labine 14. Jim Marshall 15. Joe Ginsberg (April 13, 1962) 16. Sherman Jones 17. Elio Chacon 18. John DeMerit 19. Ray Daviault 20. Bobby Smith 21. Chris Cannizzaro (April 14, 1962) 22. Al Jackson 23. Jim Hickman 24. Craig Anderson 25. Rod Kanehl (April 15, 1962) 26. Ken MacKenzie 27. Jay Hook (April 17, 1962) 28. Bob L. Miller (April 21, 1962) 29. Harry Chiti (April 28, 1962) 30. Dave Hillman 31. Sammy Taylor 32. Cliff Cook (May 8, 1962) 33. Marv Throneberry (May 11, 1962) 34. Vinegar Bend Mizell (May 15, 1962) 35. Joe Christopher (May 21, 1962) 36. Willard Hunter (June 1, 1962) 37. Gene Woodling (June 17, 1962) 38. Joe Pignatano (July 14, 1962) 39. Choo Choo Coleman (July 16, 1962) 40. Bob G. Miller (July 24, 1962) 41. Rich Herrscher (August 1, 1962) 42. Sammy Drake 43. Galen Cisco (September 9, 1962) 44. Larry Foss (September 10, 1962) 45. Ed Kranepool (September 22, 1962)

Round out 1962: 35. Joe Christopher (May 21, 1962) 36. Willard Hunter (June 1, 1962) 37. Gene Woodling (June 17, 1962) 38. Joe Pignatano (July 14, 1962) 39. Choo Choo Coleman (July 16, 1962) 40. Bob G. Miller (July 24, 1962) 41. Rich Herrscher (August 1, 1962) 42. Sammy Drake 43. Galen Cisco (September 9, 1962) 44. Larry Foss (September 10, 1962) 45. Ed Kranepool (September 22, 1962)

Humber made his New Orleans debut wearing...#37, which I found curious.

Perez 5 Reyes 3 Alou .5 Green .5 LoDuca .5 Wright .5

#1: April 6, 2007 Mets 11, Braves* 1 Orioles 6, MFYs 4 * 2nd place in East at time of game.

Nice job to get us started with the KTEs this season! X-Mets: Chris Woodward, Tyler Yates. X-Braves: Glavine, Julio Franco.

1. Richie Ashburn (April 11, 1962) 2. Felix Mantilla 3. Charlie Neal 4. Frank Thomas 5. Gus Bell 6. Gil Hodges 7. Don Zimmer 8. Hobie Landrith 9. Roger Craig 10. Ed Bouchee 11. Bob Moorhead 12. Herb Moford 13. Clem Labine 14. Jim Marshall 15. Joe Ginsberg (April 13, 1962) 16. Sherman Jones 17. Elio Chacon 18. John DeMerit 19. Ray Daviault 20. Bobby Smith Cleaned this up a little.

Strange lineup. The Matt Diaz/Ryan Langerhans left field spot appears to be a straight platoon, and I guess Cox is doing the same with Scott Thorman/Craig Wilson at first base. Kelly Johnson is the usual leadoff hitter/2B, I guess this a day off (?).

New York Mets Reyes SS LoDuca C Beltran CF Delgado 1B Wright 3B Alou LF Green RF Valentin 2B Perez P =red]Atlanta Braves Chris Woodward 2B Edgar Renteria SS Larry Jones 3B Andruw Jones CF Brian McCann C Jeff Francoeur RF Craig Wilson 1B Matt Diaz LF Mark Redman P

My guess is a big fluctuation at Shea depending on the day of the week. Having a Tuesday/Friday plan this past year, I'd say Friday nights probably were in the 8-10 ejections per game range. Still, 31? How much more than normal is the question I'd ask.

When voting, I try to consider what factors were the most direct and proximate cause of the victory (the win being most important). A "quality start" with a win for the starting pitcher is usually going to get 2-3 points, minimum. The first and go-ahead RBIs are always going to be more important than tacking-on. Hence, LoDuca (remember, he was 3-3 before a run was scored) and Beltran were most important offensive point-earners, with Maine easily the most important point-earner in the game. All of the additional hitting and quality relief, while nice, fall by the wayside in those sort of games.

Maine 5 Beltran 2 Reyes 1 LoDuca 1 Green 1

Tonight's pre-game discussion topic: Braden Looper: Most irrational hate for an ex-Met in the last 10 years. Agree or disagree?

Mets Reyes SS LoDuca C Beltran CF Delgado 1B Wright 3B Alou LF Green RF Valentin 2B Maine P =red]Cardinals David Eckstein SS Chris Duncan LF Albert Pujols 1B Scott Rolen 3B Jim Edmonds CF Preston Wilson RF Yadier Molina C Aaron Miles 2B Braden Looper P

I thought both were funny, until the aforementioned slogan at the end.

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I disapprove of this fate-tempting with Wagner still to arrive.True. I mean, you're giving out 4 or 5 or 6 points already -- what if Pujols tied that game up and we had to go to extras? C'mon. I'd have to hold all of you responsible. Seriously, I don't see how Hernandez can't get 6 for this game. The pitching wasn't necessarily a "6" performance on its face but when you add 2-3 and 2 RBI I find it tough to give him anything else.

OHernandez 6 Reyes 1.5 Beltran 1 Wagner 1 Heilman .5

The thread was prematurely archived, I believe. http://www.getalifealready.com/cpf/archives/f1_t5699.shtml [u:e68f0f75f1]Combining the two threads here, we have:[/u:e68f0f75f1] Phillies - Gwreck Marlins - Seawolf17 Nationals (first series) - EdgyDC Braves (first two April series) - Rockin' Doc Brewers - TransMonk Cubs - KC Pirates - GYC Reds - Astros - Cardinals - Rockies - OlerudOwned Giants - SteveJRogers Dodgers - A Boy Named Seo DBacks - Padres - Oakland - DocTee Twins - Tigers - MFYs - Sharpie asked for the Giants but I think SteveJRogers claimed it first in the old thread. Elster, metirish, you want to grab one of the other teams that's left?