Mets send McHugh to mound, start series with Nationals.

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

Only 22 games remain on the slate for the 2012 Mets. It’s been a crazy year, filled with hope, despair, drama and heartbreak. At the very least, I know history will remember 2012 as the season Johan Santana finally gave the Mets a no-hitter. Hopefully it will also be remembered as the year the great Matt Harvey debuted, but we won’t know about that for a long time.

Tonight the Mets kick off a three-game series with the Washington Nationals. Collin McHugh will be making his third major league start for New York while Washington’s Gio Gonzalez is trying for his 19th win of the season. Gonzalez, who is left-handed, sports a mid-90s fastball as well as a devastating curve. With a 2.98 ERA in 175.1 innings pitched so far, he’s as much a Cy Young candidate as anyone in the National League.

McHugh had an excellent debut against the Rockies in late August, but his second start, in St. Louis last week, was a dud. The Mets are hoping the righty can boost his confidence with a solid start tonight and become a decent spot stater or long reliever for the 2013 team.

The Nationals just lost two of three to the Marlins, but overall their recent homestand went very well. They won eight of 11 games against St. Louis, Chicago and Miami and now lead the NL East by 5.5 games over Atlanta. However, the big news is that their ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg has just been shutdown for the season after having an innings limit loom over his head for the entire year. Losing Strasburg hurts, especially because of the self-inflicted nature of the move, but the Nats still have great pitchers like tonight’s starter and Jordan Zimmermann, who should at the very least ensure that the Nats hang on to make the playoffs.

Ike Davis is the only lefty in the Mets batting order tonight. Terry Collins announced today that he plans to tweak the team’s game preparation by moving batting practice closer to the start of the game. There’s really no way to tell if this will cause a difference in batting performance, but if the Mets score 10 runs tonight, you can bet the SNY analysts will bring it up.

Unlike Washington’s pitching staff, the lineup hasn’t been a strength all season. However, when Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse are both starting, the Nats average 5.2 runs per game. Thanks to stints on the disabled list for both players, that has only happened 83 times this season. Of course, all that matters is that both are healthy for the playoffs. If they can continue averaging more than five runs per game, the Nats won’t need to worry about the loss of Strasburg so much.

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Niese, Parnell get discussed in awful Mets weekend update

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets were swept by the Braves this weekend, but I didn’t catch a whole lot of it because of all the football on TV. Yesterday, the Mets tied the game at 2-2 on David Wright’s sixth inning RBI double, but ended up losing 3-2 in the 10th inning. Brian McCann hit a solo home run in the game, in addition to the game-winning sac fly.

Here’s my opinion on three fun topics of discussion from the weekend:

Niese on the trading block?

Back on Friday, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com said that the Mets should consider trading Jon Niese for a good, young outfielder like Justin Upton. Upton’s team, the Arizona Diamondbacks were rumored to be trying to move Upton back in July, but nothing every came of it. The Mets actually have a good thing going with their pitching staff, but Upton’s upside is considerably higher than that of Niese.

That said, a trade involving the two players would also have to involve more Mets. I’m pretty sure the Diamondbacks would want a deal to start with Niese and either Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler. If the Mets could swing a deal for Upton that somehow only involved one of those three pitchers, I would do it in a heartbeat, but I’m not sure that’s even in the realm of possibility.

It should be an interesting winter for the Mets, as they have a deep and very obvious need for outfield help.

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Penn State breaks fans’ hearts, loses 17-16 at Virginia

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

This was a tough one to swallow. Penn State took a 16-10 lead into the final eight minutes of today’s game at Virginia, but Cavaliers quarterback Michael Rocco drove his team down the field for the win. The series culminated with a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jack McGee with just 1:28 on the clock.

Quarterback Matt McGloin and the Nittany Lions countered with a drive of their own. McGloin completed a pass to Kyle Carter to get Penn State into field goal range and then centered the ball on the 42-yard line to set up a potential game-winning field goal. However, Sam Ficken, who struggled with his kicking all day, hooked the ball left and Penn State left the field defeated once again.

Here’s the five most important things for Penn State fans to take away from the loss.

Penn State forced four turnovers while committing none of their own

I’d love to know the last time Penn State had four more takeaways than giveaways and still managed to lose the game. Part of the problem was that the Lions had trouble punching the ball into the end zone, but it’s hard to imagine PSU losing if Ficken had made just one more field goal. Tight end Paul Freedman’s fumble on Virginia’s first possession led to a missed field goal. Likewise with Jordan Hill’s incredible interception in the second quarter. Penn State went three and out and punted after a third quarter Virginia fumbled snap. The last turnover, caused by Deion Barnes’ sack of backup quarterback Phillips Sims, resulted in Ficken’s only made field goal of the game.

Three points off of four turnovers is no way to go through life. Also, if you count missed field goals as equal to turnovers (they pretty much are), then Penn State also turned the ball over four times. No wonder this one came down to the wire.

Sam Ficken made only one of five field goals and one of two extra points

Penn State had five more first downs than Virginia (19-14) and gained 35 more yards (330-295) in addition to the aforementioned turnovers advantage. Of course, a big reason why Penn State fell short was Sam Ficken’s inability to kick a football through the uprights. Ficken missed from 40 yards, 38 yards, 20 yards and 42 yards. He did hit on a 32-yard field goal that put Penn State up 16-10 in the fourth quarter, but Virginia ended up winning by one in part because Ficken had an extra point blocked earlier in the game. I’m not sure what Ficken looked like in practice, but I can’t imagine he was this bad. I also don’t know where Penn State goes from here in regards to the kicking situation. Hopefully we’ll learn more during the week.

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The Trenches: Penn State vs. Virginia

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

American football is a glorious, gritty game played by tough, strong me. Unfortunately the only players we usually hear about are the pretty boys who wear special practice jerseys and the glory hogging “skill” players. I’m going to try to change that a little bit.

A lot has been said already about Virginia’s three-headed running monster of Perry Jones, Kevin Parks and Clifton Richardson. We know Penn State will face challenges in the secondary because of inexperience, a lack of depth, and the questionable status of Stephen Morris. There’s also the story of UVA quarterback John Rocco, who grew up dreaming of becoming a Nittany Lion, having a chance to deal a serious blow to Penn State morale.

However, A big part of why football games are won and lost takes place on the line of scrimmage, where the most beast-like players do battle. Welcome to the trenches.

When Virginia has the ball

Perhaps the two most talented players on the entire Cavaliers team are the starting tackles, Oday Aboushi and Morgan Moses. Penn State might want to think about some up-the-middle blitzes because it will be tough sledding trying to get pressure off the edge against the Hoos. They only allowed 1.23 sacks per game last season and PSU only had one last week against Ohio.

Aboushi was named a preseason All-American by ESPN this season after he returned to school despite being projected as a second round NFL draft pick. More amazingly is the fact that Aboushi is a devout Muslim who fasted through Ramadan despite the month-long holiday occurring during summer practice.

Protein shakes? Training table spreads? Not for Aboushi. Not during daylight. He’s up at 5 a.m. to eat a large breakfast, and then he’s done for more than 12 hours, some of which are spent in calorie-burning, sweat-inducing workouts.

It will probably take more than a few bull rushes to tire out Aboushi this season. Meanwhile, Moses is has reportedly switched away from fatty foods and is down 30 pounds from last season.

“When a big guy loses [30] pounds and can drive by McDonald’s and not order a No. 6 and super-size it,” London said, “I think he’s really getting it.”

I don’t usually buy into the “best shape of his life” stories, but this one was great because Virginia head coach Mike London talked about a No. 6 like it was the most common thing in the world. He also apparently knows of a secret McDonald’s where you can still super-size your meal. Nobody tell Michelle Obama.

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Mets give strange gift to Jones, play vs. Braves tonight

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

Back in April, Craig Carton and some other people thought it would be a terrible idea for the Mets to honor Chipper Jones at Citi Field during the legendary third baseman’s last major league season.

Well, today, the supposed apocalyptic event passed without much fanfare. There was a nice little press conference before the game and Chipper graciously accepted a strange 3-D piece of art that the Mets gave him.

Seriously, it’s a pretty weird piece of art.

https://twitter.com/AmazinAvenue/status/244179034030878720

I’m guessing it will go into his son’s bedroom. According to the SNY broadcast, Chipper’s son Shea has an orange and blue bedroom that is decorated with actual Shea Stadium seats. He really went all the way with the “Shea” thing, which is pretty sweet considering there are plenty of devoted Mets fans who don’t have their kids grow up in bedrooms adjourned with old stadium chairs.

Chipper Jones is a class act and an important part of Mets history, so I’m glad the team bestowed this small measure of gratitude upon him. Good job by the Mets.

Anyway, as I type this, the Mets and Braves are tied at 0-0 in the third inning, so here’s a couple of news bits I heard before the game:

First, Matt Harvey will only make two more starts this season. He’s got 157.1 innings under his belt already (majors plus minors), and they’re aiming to get him to 170.

Second, Rueben Tejada is not making a start tonight because he’s apparently too tired/fatigued. He’s 22 years old, so I’m taking that to mean he had a REALLY good time last night. I’d more upset if the Mets were in a pennant race.

Oh, one more thing. Andres Torres left the game with an injury and now Jordanny Valdespin (and not Scott Hairston, who also started) is playing center field. Yikes. Enjoy the game, everybody.

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Knicks to look hot in new uniforms this fall

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

The Knicks have decided to rip off the Mets and take the black out of their uniforms starting this season. The new look also features a crew neck (instead of a v-neck) and a colorful waistband on both the home and road jerseys.

I’m not a fan of the adjustment to the “New York” font, but overall the uni looks pretty fly. Here it is being modeled by forward Amar’e Stoudemire as well as Kelly Rippa and her new co-host Michael Strahan (courtesy of KnickSwag.com):

It’s kind of strange how the shoulder/neck stripes stop abruptly at chest level, but it’s not a huge problem.

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More Ogletree please! Cowboys sock Giants 24-17

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

The name “Kevin Ogletree” has taken root in my consciousness and won’t let me go. I keep seeing the Cowboys’ third wide receiver bolting past Corey Webster on a double move and catching Tony Romo’s perfectly thrown ball for a touchdown to put Dallas up 14-3.

Then it’s 3rd and 11 and the Giants just need this one stop to get the ball back to Eli Manning and the offense. But there’s Ogletree again, catching a slant between Justin Tryon and Antrel Rolle. If they could have delayed Ogletree just a split second, Jacquian Williams could have drilled Romo into the ground for a sack.

Unfortunately for the Giants and me, Kevin Ogletree was not to be denied last night, and the Cowboys beat the Giants 24-17 in the first regular season game of the 2012 NFL season. What a bummer. Justin Tryon should not have even been on the field, but the Giants’ fourth option at cornerback, the peerless Michael Coe, left the game with a hamstring injury shortly after denying Kevin Ogletree a third touchdown pass.

Seriously, if Coe’s hamstring gave way one play eariler, we very well could be talking about Kevin Ogletree’s three-touchdown night. Instead, the Virginia Cavalier had to settle for “only” eight receptions and 114 yards with a pair of scores.

Despite all the Ogletree, it seemed like the Giants were a play here and a play there from actually pulling of the victory. Maybe if the refs saw Orlando Scandrick yanking Victor Cruz’s jersey the Giants get an extra four points after Michael Boley’s long interception return. Maybe if Victor Cruz could have caught the freaking ball on the plays he didn’t get held, there’s an extra opportunity to score. Maybe if Michael Coe didn’t get hurt he could have knocked down the pass that fell into Miles Austin’s hands for a 34-yard touchdown catch and run.

All of those things could have been different, but weren’t. You can say the same about any football game. If you look at the stats, though, it becomes clear that Dallas kicked all kinds of booty in this game, and the Giants were outplayed.

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Penn State lost to Ohio 24-14, world not ending

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

Yeah, of course it was disappointing to watch the Penn State football team lose to Ohio 24-14 in the first game of the 2012 season and the first game of Bill O’Brien’s Penn State coaching career. However, it wasn’t because Ohio is a lousy team or because Ohio is a part of the MAC conference. Most of my disappointment comes from the fact that Penn State was leading 14-3 at halftime and seemed to be in complete control of the game.

The only reason the score was even that close was because of two costly Penn State fumbles (and subsequent Ohio fumble recoveries). The first, by Bill Belton, came on Penn State’s opening drive as the team was threatening to score. The second game deep in Penn State’s own territory on a punt that was muffed by linebacker Gerald Hodges. I’m still not sure what O’Brien saw in Hodges as a punt returner, but I haven’t reviewed the press conference transcripts yet.

Anyway, you have to figure if Penn State manages to recover just one of those fumbles, they have at the very least three more points on the Bobcats than they actually did at halftime. As it turned out, that wouldn’t have mattered, as Ohio stormed back to outscore Penn State 21-0 in the second half en route to a huge win.

Although Penn State by no means played well in the second half, Ohio caught a huge break on the first drive of the half when quarterback Tyler Tettleton’s errant third down heave bounced off the hands of PSU Safety Stephen Obyeng-Agyapong. Instead of being caught for an interception or at least knocked down to force a punt, the ball fluttered into the hands of Ohio’s Landon Smith, who ran for the touchdown to make the score 14-10.

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Carson called up for Mets vs. Rockies tonight

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

Jeremy Hefner is having a baby! Well, his wife is at least, and the Mets will use the situation to temporarily bolster their bullpen. Robert Carson, the lefty from Mississippi, is the lucky Bison getting called up. The move makes sense considering the heavy workload that Josh Edgin has had to suffer through lately. Look for Carson to get some use tonight if the Mets need to get a lefty out.

Carson was briefly with the Mets earlier this season. He allowed two runs in three innings while walking two and striking out none. He’s almost certain to do better this time around, but you never know.

Regarding Johan Santana, the Mets are now uncertain if he’ll even start this Thursday. Late last night, the team announced that Santana was going to have an MRI on his back and now he might not be able to go on Thursday. In his stead, either Collin McHugh or Jenrry Mejia could get the start.

I’m also thinking that McHugh should be the guy if Santana can’t go. He’s been a lot more effective than Mejia’s been at triple-A this season. A lot of people think he’s even a better option than Hefner in the majors.

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Mets spoil good Dickey start, lose to Rockies 3-1

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets fell eight games below .500 and are now tied for fourth place with the Philadelphia Phillies after losing 3-1 to the Colorado Rockies on Monday night. R.A. Dickey pitched seven solid innings and left with the game tied 1-1, but the Mets couldn’t score after the first inning and the Rockies broke through against the New York bullpen.

Yuck, what a bad way to lose. There is some sentiment on the internet that this is the low point of the season for the Mets, but really, the team has been out of playoff contention for a while now. We’ve known for a few weeks now that it would require a miracle for the Mets to make the playoffs. This loss to an admittedly bad Rockies team doesn’t change that.

Still, it would be nice to see Dickey become the first Met since Frank Viola to reach 20 wins. The silver lining is that Dickey did help his Cy Young bid by striking out six batters and walking only two in his seven innings. The only tally Dickey allowed was a solo home run in the fifth inning off the bat of Tyler Colvin. Dickey’s 0-2 knuckleball was sinking out of the strikezone, but Colvin drove it off the facing of the Pepsi Porch.

“It wasn’t a terrible knuckleball (on the homer), it went right into his swing plane.”

Asked about his Cy Young aspirations, Dickey said, “I just want to get to 16 wins. Getting ready to pitch against Houston on Saturday is my only concern. It doesn’t go beyond that.”

After Dickey was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning, the Rockies pounced on reliever Josh Edgin in the eighth. Shortstop Jonathan Herrera led off by pushing a punt down the first base line. Edgin attempted to flip the ball to first with his glove, but the toss sailed wide and Herrera chugged on over to second. From there, all it took was a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch to get Herrera across with the go-ahead run.

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